Terran-rah (Ardent Follower)

Posted by EarthDragon on 10th January 2017.

No two places in the multiverse are exactly alike. Creatures teem across a multitude of terrains, forming infinitely diverse ecologies. Despite the amazing variety displayed, however, some elements—or, as some call them, philosophies—persist. These fundamental concepts about the way things function have a basic truth to them that transcends any physical, emotional, or ideological boundary. Some enlightened individuals have found that by acknowledging these concepts, they can tap a reserve of great power. These ideas, they believe, are the only constants throughout the multiverse; as such, they hold the potential to empower anyone who tries to understand them. Through the strength of their minds, these individuals can master these constants, and the great power they offer. They are known as terran-rah. The philosophies terran-rah pursue include aspects such as life, death, annihilation, and fate, among others. Each terran-rah chooses a philosophy that seems the most powerful to her, personally, based on her experience and mental and emotional leanings. As a result, a terran-rah develops a unique understanding of her philosophy and approach to the pursuit of power. A terran-rah gravitates toward a set of philosophical concepts suitable to their heritage, upbringing, and life experiences. Many mistake a terran-rah for a cleric or paladin, because they are often as enthusiastic about their personal philosophies as any divine missionary could be. Unlike a divine spell-caster who gains their power through a deity, a terran-rah directly taps the concepts the deity represents, bypassing any connection to a conscious higher power. A terran-rah’s pursuit of these cosmic philosophies gives them access to psionic power in a unique way: through psionic mantles. Each mantle is tied to one of the universal true concepts that a terran-rah so admires, and is represented by a specific list of psionic powers and abilities. A terran-rah gains access to new mantles as they gain levels, representing their growing awareness of the interconnected nature of core truths and a growing understanding of how the multiverse works. All terran-rah focus on two mantles, known as their primary mantles. These concepts are those that a terran-rah finds most appealing or that possess the most potential power in their eyes. All other mantles are considered secondary mantles—philosophies certainly powerful and worthy of study, but not considered as central to the universe as the character's primary philosophies Terran-rah master universal philosophies, drawing their power and strength from their knowledge of these concepts They also gain unique powers from each mantle they learn to wield.

  Adventures

Terran-rah are passionate adventurers and often see their involvement in a particular enterprise as a way to spread the knowledge of their personal philosophies, and to enlighten those who rely on less universally true sources for inspiration and guidance.

  Alignment

A terran-rah can be of any alignment. Some terran-rah worship deities and choose mantles in line with their deities' portfolio and domains; these characters also share some component of their patrons' alignments. In most other cases, terran-rah tend toward alignments that match their philosophical outlooks (few terran-rah who pursue the death mantle are good, for example).

  Background

Terran-rah seek signs of their philosophies everywhere. As such, they make excellent adventurers. They seek support for their beliefs everywhere, and naturally gravitate toward groups willing to brave danger to bring the light of (their) truth to the world. Communities with a strong religious presence sometimes take exception to terran-rah, believing that members of the class encourage people to divorce themselves from the churches. This behaviour further encourages terran-rah to travel.

  Role

A terran-rah’s role in combat is defined by their choice of mantles. A terran-rah with the Conflict and Guardian mantles could easily use their powers and granted mantle abilities to wade into battle, mace swinging, while a terran-rah with the Energy or Mind mantle might be more comfortable manifesting devastating powers from the back ranks of their adventuring group. Most terran-rah find that focusing on a single approach makes them more effective in combat. Because terran-rah select mantles based on their philosophical approach to the multiverse, however, terran-rah of all walks can be found. No matter their approach to combat, terran-rah always face the same question other power wielders face: how many power points to spend in a given encounter. Unlike other psionics users, however, terran-rah can often tap their granted mantle abilities to supplement their power use, allowing them to conserve their energy when warranted. A terran-rah can select their mantles as they advance. Their career path, in some respects, is open until they select their final mantle at 15th level. A terran-rah’s experiences tend to dictate their choices—a character devoted to diplomacy or subterfuge is less likely to take the Force mantle, for example, but anything is possible. Feat choice varies wildly from terran-rah to terran-rah. Weapon oriented terran-rah might choose Power Attack or Psionic Weapon, while terran-rah focused on dealing damage from afar might choose a number of meta-psionic feats. Feats that modify a character's ability to use or expend her psionic focus, such as Psionic Meditation, are useful to any terran-rah with granted mantle abilities that deal with psionic focus.

  Game Rule Information

  Abilities

Wisdom helps a terran-rah manifest the powers to which they will eventually have access, but they also value Intelligence, since it helps them learn more about the philosophical concepts with which they are enamoured. Constitution is also important, giving the stamina to travel and survive wherever their studies take them.

  Alignment

Any.

  Vitality Points

d6.

  Class Skills

The terran-rah’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Psicraft (Int).

  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 terran-rah.

  Weapon and Armour Proficiency

Terran-rah are proficient with all simple weapons, with all types of armour (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

  Power Points/Day

A terran-rah’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 Wisdom score. Their race might also provide bonus power points per day, as might certain feats and items.

  Powers Known

A terran-rah begins play knowing two of the first powers available to them based on their choice of mantles. Each mantle features at least one power or ability with a cost of 1 power point. A terran-rah selects two of these powers from their two known mantles at 1st level. At each additional level, a terran-rah learns one new power from their available mantles. They must be able to manifest the new power at the level at which they learn it, however. For example, an terran-rah who attains 5th level can learn any power from one of their mantles that costs 5 power points or less to manifest; they cannot learn a power from a mantle that costs more than 5 power points to manifest until they attain a level capable of manifesting a power with that cost. To learn or manifest a power, a terran-rah must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the power's level. For example, a terran-rah with a Wisdom score of 13 can manifest powers of 3rd level or lower. The total number of powers a terran-rah can manifest in a day is limited only by their daily power points. A terran-rah 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 terran-rah powers is 10 + the power's level + the terran-rah’s Wis modifier.

  Mantles

The first two mantles a terran-rah selects are their primary mantles. All others gained are secondary mantles. Primary mantles represent the two philosophies the terran-rah feels most strongly about and champions above all others. A terran-rah must maintain at least as many powers in their primary mantles as they take in their secondary mantles, reflecting that personal allegiance. An terran-rah cannot choose a power from a secondary mantle if doing so would give them more powers known from that secondary mantle than they know from either of their primary mantles. The exception to this rule is that if the only choice a terran-rah can make at a given level would give them more powers in a secondary mantle than in a primary mantle. Under those conditions, that choice is allowed. A terran-rah can choose to swap the priority of two mantles—making one primary and one secondary—at 8th level, and again at 15th level. As a terran-rah gains experience, their world-view changes. Many find themselves more devoted to different concepts later in their careers. If a terran-rah knows fewer powers from a newly designated primary mantle, they must take powers known exclusively from that mantle at each of the next few levels until they have learned more powers from that mantle than the rest of the mantles they have.

  Assume Psionic Mantle

A terran-rah chooses a pair of psionic mantles at 1st level and assumes one additional mantle at 2nd, 5th, 10th, and 15th level. Each mantle provides a list of powers (usually six or more) that a terran-rah can learn as they increase in level. Each mantle also provides a terran-rah with a special granted power. Mantles represent a psionic distillation of a universal concept or philosophical idea that the terran-rah believe transcends the multiverse. These concepts exist beyond deities or any creation of a creature, whether mortal or immortal. A terran-rah can select any mantle they want over the course of their advancement, even choosing two that seem diametrically opposed to one another, such as Good and Evil. Such terran-rah might seem to embody a series of contradictions, constantly seeking ways to balance (or not) the conflicting philosophies they endorse. Other terran-rah who pursue this approach are merely scholars seeking to understand these powerful universal truths. A terran-rah with both the Good and Evil (or Law and Chaos) mantles might share one or none of those alignment factors. For example, some good terran-rah seek to better understand the evil they combat by taking up the mantle of Evil, and the reverse is also true. Manifesting a power from an aligned mantle is considered an act of that alignment, however, so most terran-rah who take two opposed mantles are neutral. Most of the powers provided by a mantle are psionic in nature. Some mantles feature new abilities unlike any psionic power in existence. These abilities are still treated as psionic powers in every respect, and always have a power point cost to manifest.

  Ex-Members

There are no special rules for characters 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 and numbers of powers known does not increase past 20th level.