Ghul-na (Mind Bender)

Posted by EarthDragon on 23rd December 2016.

The striking fist or flashing sword pales beside a ghul-na’s focused stare. Psionic powers arise from a regimen of strict mental discipline developed over months and years of self-scrutiny and subconscious discovery. Those who overcome their personal demons, fears, and other pitfalls of intense self-reflection learn to call upon an internal reservoir of psionic power. Ghul-na depend on a continual study of their own minds to discover an ever wider range of mental powers. They meditate on memories and the nature of memory itself, debate with their own fragment personalities, and delve into the dark recesses of their minds’ convoluted corridors. “Know thyself” is not just a saying for a ghul-na—it’s the road to power. The ghul-na draws real power from their mind. Their power is a logical expression of lore attained through ongoing self-study. Their aggressive powers do not freely scale as do the spells of arcane and divine casters, but they enjoy supreme flexibility in accessing those powers. A ghul-na must choose one discipline in which to focus, at the cost of losing access to the signature powers found in other disciplines—so in a sense the ghul-na character class is six classes rather than one. A shaper (a ghul-na who has selected meta-creativity as her discipline) is a very different character from a telepath (a ghul-na whose discipline is telepathy).

  Adventures

A ghul-na adventures to stimulate their mind. New experiences translate to new avenues of thought, and eventually to the discovery of previously latent abilities. A ghul-na’s powers are innate but not effortlessly attained. Good ghul-na seek what is best in the world and attempt to preserve those elements with their mastery of mental powers. Evil ghul-na seek to mould others to their own desires, whether using their powers openly or in secret.

  Alignment

For a ghul-na, psionics is a personal art. Ghul-na look always inward, so they tend slightly toward neutrality over both chaos and law, but being neutral is not a requirement. Ghul-na can be either good or evil.

  Background

Those destined to be ghul-na show signs of mental powers from the time they are just a few years old, but manifestations become especially noticeable at puberty. Unexplained noises and lights, crockery flying through the air of its own accord, and the appearance of small items out of thin air are common occurrences. Many who have the gift grow out of it, turning away from their potential. However, a few embrace their new-found special powers. Ghul-na are often on their own, misunderstood and feared by friends and family. Sometimes, ghul-na find others with similar abilities and form informal networks, small societies, or even tiny communes populated with individuals who all possess some psionic ability.

  Role

A ghul-na’s powers make them a good addition to any party. Ghul-na take on differing roles within a party, based on the discipline each one selects. For example, seers (specialists in clairsentience) serve to guide parties in difficult spots, while shapers (ghul-na who have chosen meta-creativity as their discipline) vastly upgrade the party’s options in a fight.

  Game Rule Information

  Abilities

Intelligence determines how powerful a power a ghul-na can manifest, how many powers they can manifest, and how hard those powers are to resist.

  Alignment

Any.

  Vitality Points

d4.

  Class Skills

The ghul-na’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Psicraft (Int). In addition, a ghul-na gains access to additional class skills based on his discipline:
Seer (Clairsentience): Gather Information (Cha), Listen (Wis), and Spot (Wis).
Shaper (Metacreativity): Bluff (Cha), Disguise (Cha), and Use Psionic Device (Cha).
Kineticist (Psychokinesis): Autohypnosis (Wis), Disable Device (Dex), and Intimidate (Cha).
Egoist (Psychometabolism): Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex) and Heal (Wis).
Nomad (Psychoportation): Climb (Str), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Telepath (Telepathy): Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), and Sense Motive (Wis).

  Skill Points at 1st Level

(2 + Int modifier) x 4.

  Skill Points at Each Additional Level

2 + Int modifier.

  Class Features

All of the following are class features of the ghul-na.

  Weapon and Armour Proficiency

Ghul-na are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, quarter staff, and short-spear. They are not proficient with any type of armour or shield. Armour does not, however, interfere with the manifestation of powers.

  Power Points/Day

A ghul-na’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points they have available. Their base daily allotment of power points is given on the table below. In addition, they receive bonus power points per day if they have a high Intelligence score (see Expanded Psionics Handbook). Their race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain feats and items.

  Discipline

Every ghul-na must decide at 1st level which psionic discipline they will specialize in. Choosing a discipline provides a ghul-na with access to the class skills associated with that discipline (see above), as well as the powers restricted to that discipline. However, choosing a discipline also means that the ghul-na cannot learn powers that are restricted to other disciplines. They can’t even use such powers by employing psionic items.

  Powers Known

A ghul-na begins play knowing three ghul-na powers of the player’s choice. Each time they achieve a new level, they unlock the knowledge of new powers. Choose the powers known from the ghul-na power list, or from the list of powers of your chosen discipline. You cannot choose powers from disciplines other than your chosen discipline. (Exception: The feats Expanded Knowledge, and Epic Expanded Knowledge, do allow a ghul-na to learn powers from the lists of other disciplines or even other classes.) A ghul-na can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than their manifester level. The number of times a ghul-na can manifest powers in a day is limited only by their daily power points. A ghul-na simply knows their powers; they are ingrained in their mind. They do not need to prepare them, though they must get a good night’s sleep each day to regain all their spent power points. The Difficulty Class for saving throws against ghul-na powers is 10 + the power’s level + the ghul-na’s Intelligence modifier.

  Maximum Power Level Known

A ghul-na begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As they attain higher levels, a ghul-na may gain the ability to master more complex powers. To learn or manifest a power, a ghul-na must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the power’s level.

  Bonus Feats

A ghul-na gains a bonus feat at 1st level, 5th level, 10th level, 15th level, and 20th level. This feat must be a psionic feat, a meta-psionic feat, or a psionic item creation feat. These bonus feats are in addition to the feats that a character of any class gains every three levels. A ghul-na is not limited to psionic feats, meta-psionic feats, and psionic item creation feats when choosing these other feats.

  Psionic Disciplines

A discipline is one of six groupings of powers, each defined by a common theme. The six disciplines are clairsentience, metacreativity, psychokinesis, psychometabolism, psychoportation, and telepathy.

A ghul-na who chooses clairsentience is known as a seer. Seers can learn precognitive powers to aid their comrades in combat, as well as powers that permit them to gather information in many different ways.

A ghul-na specializing in metacreativity is known as a shaper. This discipline includes powers that draw ectoplasm or matter from the Astral Plane, creating semisolid and solid items such as armour, weapons, or animated constructs to do battle at the shaper’s command.

Ghul-na who specialize in psychokinesis are known as kineticists. They are the masters of powers that manipulate and transform matter and energy. Kineticists can attack with devastating blasts of energy.

A ghul-na who specializes in psychometabolism is known as an egoist. This discipline consists of powers that alter the ghul-na’s psychobiology, or that of creatures near him. An egoist can both heal and transform himself into a fearsome fighter.

A ghul-na who relies on psychoportation powers is known as a nomad. Nomads can wield powers that propel or displace objects in space or time.

A ghul-na who chooses the discipline of telepathy is known as a telepath. He is the master of powers that allow mental contact and control of other sentient creatures. A telepath can deceive or destroy the minds of his enemies with ease.

  Ex-Members

There are no special rules for leaving this class.

* Base attack bonuses are handled differently for epic characters.

** Save bonuses are handled differently for epic characters

*** Number of Power Points per day, numbers of powers known, and maximum power level does not increase past 20th level. Manifesters above 20th level gain access to Epic Level powers