Spirit Speaker - General Prestige Class
This is a general Prestige class that may be applicable to the Forgotten Realms Campaign
A realm exists outside the normal cosmology of the planes that few know of and fewer still can reach. In this hidden place exist myriad creatures known as spirits, guides and allies to those who can comprehend their inscrutable ways, and those few who can speak to them are called spirit speakers. Spirit speakers unlocked the secrets of breaking down the barriers between the spirit world and the natural world. They travel there without fear, entering trances that let their minds journey in both worlds simultaneously.
The spirit world echoes, in many ways, the natural world. Spirit speakers explain that a spirit exists not only for every individual creature, plant, river, or stone, but there also exist grandfather spirits that represent an entire race, species, or element. When a spirit speaker enters her first trance, she meets a spirit who bonds with her, as a familiar bonds with a sorcerer or wizard. The spirit speaker has no control over which spirit bonds with her, although the spirit typically has some connection to the spirit speaker's past, such as an ancestor's spirit or perhaps the spirit of the small stream that runs by her home village.
A spirit speaker has spellcasting abilities, but her true power lies in the special abilities granted to her by her spirit guide, both in and out of trance. From her connection to the spirit world, she can gain a tremendous amount of knowledge. Unlike the loremaster, who diligently pores through countless tomes, the spirit speaker gleans information from her forays into the spirit world as well as from her own experiences in the natural world. In a party, a spirit speaker works well as a fifth character, one who augments her base class with the spirit speaker's unique abilities. Typically, a spirit speaker shifts her focus to a support role in the party, providing her group with some of the abilities of bards and clerics, as well as her unique spellcasting abilities and peerless spiritual knowledge.
Because a spirit speaker casts so few spells, this class appeals mostly to the non-spellcasting classes. Barbarians and monks make up the majority of spirit speakers, each exploring the spirit world for different reasons. Barbarian spirit speakers seek to serve their tribes as advisors and wise men, whereas monk spirit speakers see their communes with the spirit world as an indication of the power of their meditations. Fighters and rogues also take up this class in great numbers, to gain flexibility (skills, spells, and special abilities) and overall survivability (saving throws). Of the spellcasting classes, rangers and bards most often take up the spirit speaker way.
Hit Die: d8
To qualify to become a Spirit Speaker, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Diplomacy 3 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 1 rank, Knowledge (nature) 1 rank
- Base Attack Bonus: +4 / Base Will Save: +2
From:
Dragon #323
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