Shokatsu (Elemental Priest)

Posted by EarthDragon on 10th January 2017.

Shokatsu are divine spell-casters who cast spells by attuning themselves to the elements around them and focusing the power of the elements through their bodies to produce magical effects.

  Adventures

Shokatsu often adventure to increase their magical knowledge and personal power. They are particularly drawn to investigate disturbances in the natural harmony of the elements. Some shokatsu dedicate their lives to plumbing the depths of magic for magic's own sake, hoping eventually to learn the mysteries of Spirit, the "fifth element" that binds the others together.

  Alignment

While many shokatsu attempt to follow the standards of honour and loyalty, and thus adhere to a lawful alignment, not all shokatsu live up to those standards. There are no alignment restrictions on shokatsu.

  Background

Shokatsu learn the practice of magic in special schools throughout The Unification, and are usually Citizens. They devote themselves to the tenets of one of the five most ancient clans that existed before The Unification and can usually claim a blood tie to the clan they dedicate themselves to.

  Role

Shokatsu are much more than spell-slinging sorcerers. They are the foundation of one of The Unification’s most ancient religions – priests who teach the rituals of piety, keep the names of the Fortunes, and even measure the passage of time. They study for years to learn even the fundamental elements of their magical practice, and are the most literate class of people in The Unification. A shokatsu's spells are written on toka (non-magical prayer scrolls) that the shokatsu carries with them, serving as a divine focus for casting the spell.

  Game Rule Information

  Abilities

Charisma determines how powerful a spell a shokatsu can cast, the number of spell points a shokatsu has per day, and how hard those spells are to resist. To cast a spell, a shokatsu must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell's level. A shokatsu gets bonus spell points based on Charisma. The Difficulty Class of a saving throw against a shokatsu's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the shokatsu's Charisma modifier. High Dexterity is helpful for a shokatsu (who typically wears little or no armour) because it provides her with an Armour Class bonus. A good Constitution gives a shokatsu extra hit points, a resource that they are otherwise low on.

  Alignment

Any.

  Vitality Points

d6.

  Class Skills

The shokatsu's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Scry (Int, exclusive skill), Spellcraft (Int).

  Skill Points at 1st Level

(4 + Int modifier) x 4.

  Skill Points at Each Additional Level

4 + Int modifier

  Class Features

All of the following are class features of the shokatsu.

  Weapon and Armour Proficiency

Shokatsu are proficient with all simple weapons and with the no-mori. They are not proficient with any type of armour, nor with shields. It is considered inappropriate for a shokatsu to wear armour, and many Citizen warriors consider it an insult to their station to have a non-warrior wearing the armour that they believe is a badge of their rank – they do not even like Civilian warriors wearing anything heavier than light armour. Likewise, while a shokatsu is entitled to wear the no-mori as a member of the noble class, wearing a kun-zat is considered an indication that the wearer is prepared to use it in defence, and most shokatsu would rather leave the swordplay to the warriors. Note that armour check penalties for armour heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armour and equipment carried.

  Spells

A shokatsu casts divine spells, but their spell knowledge is limited. Your shokatsu begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of your choice, plus one 0-level spell and one 1st-level spell that are determined by your elemental school. At each level, the shokatsu gains one or more new spells, as indicated on the table below. One spell of every level is determined by the shokatsu's school; sometimes these spells are normal spells on the shokatsu spell list, but often they are additions to the spell list . These spells are listed with the shokatsu spell list in the Magic chapter. (Note: The number of spells a shokatsu knows is not affected by their Charisma bonus, if any; the numbers on the table below are fixed.) A shokatsu is limited to casting a certain number of spells of each level per day, based on the number of spell points they have. The number of spells she can cast per day is improved by bonus spell points, if any. A shokatsu may use a higher-level slot to cast a lower-level spell if they so choose. To learn or cast a spell, a shokatsu must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell's level . The Difficulty Class for saving throws against shokatsu spells is 10 + the spell's level + the shokatsu's Charisma modifier. Shokatsu do not have spell-books, though they write their spells on toka. These toka serve as divine focus items and must be read as part of the spellcasting process. Shokatsu can use the Scribe Scroll feat to create magic scrolls that work the same as a wizard's or cleric's scrolls.

  Element Focus

All shokatsu have a favoured element: air, earth, fire, or water. A shokatsu's choice of specialized element is determined by the clan schools in which they study. At least half the spells a shokatsu knows at each spell level must belong to their favoured element, and the spell dictated by their school also belongs to that element. This is reflected on the table below which indicates how many spells of each level must be spells of the shokatsu's favoured element. Shokatsu automatically gain the benefits of the Spell Focus feat for spells from their favoured element. As the cost of specializing in one element, a shokatsu is prohibited from learning spells associated with a different element. The prohibited element is dictated by the favoured element, as described below.

Air spells are subtle, involving travel, intuition, influence, divination, and illusion. Earth is the prohibited element for air shokatsu. The school of the Minyari clan specialises in air magic.

Earth spells involve resilience and resolve, health and growth, the body and its strength. Air is the prohibited element for earth shokatsu. The school of the Anasati clan specializes in earth magic.

Fire spells are destructive and blatant, though they also deal with intelligence, inspiration, and creativity. Water is the prohibited element for fire shokatsu. The school of the Acoma clan specializes in fire magic.

Water spells involve transformation, cleansing, healing, and friendship . Fire is the prohibited element for water shokatsu. The school of the Kehotara clan specializes in water magic.

The shokatsu of the Yoshoni clan's school can specialize in any of the four elements. The Yoshoni school also trains shokatsu who specialize in the fifth element, Spirit, but this is the purvey of a prestige class.

  Sense Elements

One of the first "spells" a shokatsu learns-a magical effect so basic that it becomes a spell-like ability-is the ability to sense elements. As a full-round action, a shokatsu can become aware of all sources of one chosen element (air, earth, fire, or water) within 10 feet of themselves. The shokatsu learns the size of the objects but not their precise location or actual nature. By concentrating longer, a shokatsu can either extend their magical senses or gather more information about the elements they have detected. Each additional round spent in concentration allows the shokatsu to add 5 feet to the radius of their sense ability, to a maximum of 5 additional feet per shokatsu level. Alternatively, the shokatsu can focus on one source of the sensed element per round, attempting a Spellcraft check to determine more about that single item. The amount of information they learn depends on the Spellcraft check result: In subsequent rounds, a shokatsu can retry their Spellcraft check on the same item, shift their attention to a different item, or extend the range of their senses. A 1st-level shokatsu can use this ability three times per day. Every five levels they advance as a shokatsu allows them to use the ability an additional time per day (four times at 5th level, five times at loth level, and so on). Like many divination spells, a shokatsu's sense elements ability is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

  Ex-Members

There are no special rules for leaving the shokatsu class.

* Base attack bonuses are handled differently for epic characters.

** Save bonuses are handled differently for epic characters.

*** Number of Spell Points per day, numbers of spells known, and maximum spell level does not increase past 20th level. Spell casters above 20th level gain access to Epic Level spells.