General Prestige Class : Flux Adept
by Andrew M. Scott, Dragon #317
Make no mistake: The path of the flux adept is far more physical and bloody than most mages would ever want to experience. The creed of the adept is that the body is in constant turmoil, and that turmoil should be embraced and empowered, not overcome. Arcane magic opens the door to the true potential of what is usually thought as mere scaffolding for the brain: muscles, glands, organs. However, these systems, given their due, can turn any creature - mage or not - into an awesome force.
Gil Vakaroth was not the most intelligent of Joskovi's apprentices. He was certainly not the most introspective. Even the name of his vocation was not thought of by him; it was actually a title of derision supplied by Chirain. Vakaroth had vision, though, and he had confidence in the song of blood in his veins. Long before he had perfected his craft, dozens of his enemies paid the ultimate price for underestimating him.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Flux Adept, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Heal 5 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks.
- Feats: At least one metamagic feat, Endurance, Great Fortitude,
- Spellcasting: the ability to cast at 2nd-level spells.
Class Skills
The flux adept's class skills are Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Escape Artist, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (all), Move Silently, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Tumble, and Use Magic Device.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the flux adept prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Flux adepts gain no additional proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells Per Day: At every odd-numbered level, a flux adept gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before adding this prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of rebuking or controlling undead, metamagic or item creation feats, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a flux adept, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.
Grace Through Will (Ex): The simplest lesson of the path of the flux adept is the means to precisely control all of the body's muscles. While this is by no means something that can be mastered immediately, the mind and body can be made, in time, to work as one. The character adds half her flux adept level to all Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, and Tumble skill checks.
Pheromonic Control (Ex): At 2nd level, the flux adept learns that beauty is more than skin deep - it lies at least as deep as the glands. Three times per day, the flux adept may create an affect that functions like eagle's splendor, as cast by a sorcerer of the flux adept's class level. In addition, the flux adept gains an additional +2 bonus on any Charisma- based skill check made against a creature with the scent ability.
Thermoregulation (Su): A 2nd-level flux adept can, at will, vary her skin and blood to cope with extremes of temperature, even when these extremes have magical origins. The flux adept gains a +2 bonus to all saves against fire or cold effects, as well as Fortitude saves made in cold or very hot conditions. At 7th level, the bonus increases to +4, and the flux adept is immune to the effects of cold and hot conditions.
Iron Stomach (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, the flux adept may draw nutrients out of literally any substance: bark, grass, stone, gold, and even ash. The adept gains no benefit from substances that are actively poisonous, but becomes immune to all ingested poisons.
Bitter Tides (Ex): The 4th-level flux adept now commands the composition of all fluids produced by glands or ducts of the body, such as tears, sweat, and saliva. She gains the ability to make such fluids acidic, and can do so a number of times per day equal to 3 plus her Constitution modifier (minimum 1). With this ability, the flux adept may either spit a single concentrated bolus of acidic saliva or sweat acid for 10 minutes. The acidic spittle deals 3d6 points of acid damage on a successful ranged touch attack (range increment 10 feet). Her acidic sweat deals 1 point of acid damage per round to any object she touches and wishes to affect. For each minute that she touches an item (such as ropes or shackles binding her, or a wooden door that blocks her path), her acidic sweat ignores 1 point of the object's hardness.
Feign Death (Ex): The 5th-level flux adept is able to turn off her metabolism (requiring no food, water, or even air) by entering a deep trance that resembles death. She can remain in this dormant state for up to 24 hours, and shows all the physical signs of death, including the bloating of gas in the stomach and the settling of blood. She may enter this trance as a standard action. Awakening from the trance takes a full round. Upon entering a trance, the flux adept must designate up to three triggers that will awaken her prematurely. A trigger can only be an event that somehow affects the character (such as being touched, slapped, or damaged), and cannot be something tied to the time of day (such as the sun rising or setting). Triggers cannot depend on the character perceiving her surroundings, such as hearing a sound.
If none of her triggers are set off during her trance, the flux adept remains in this state for the full 24 hours. Upon awakening from a trance, the flux adept must make a Fortitude save (DC 15 + number of previous feign death trances in the past month) or take 1d6 points of Constitution damage, as this ability is extremely taxing on the body.
Taste of Truth (Ex): At 6th level, the hormones of the body are now so familiar to the flux adept that she can actually read a creature's emotions by tasting its infinitesimal hormonal secretions in the air. Against living creatures, the flux adept receives a bonus to all Bluff and Sense Motive checks equal to her flux adept class level. Conditions that would prevent a creature from using the scent ability prevent a flux adept from using this ability.
Haste (Ex): Twice per day as a free action, the 7th-level flux adept may control her adrenaline and muscles to the extent she can act as if she was under the effect of a haste spell, as cast by a sorcerer of her flux adept level.
Boiling Blood (Ex): At 8th level, the flux adept has such mastery over her body chemistry that she can cause her hands to bloat with her body's primal power. Her hands become over-sized claws that grant her a natural attack. This grants the flux adept two claw attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage plus her Strength modifier.
If the flux adept also chooses to use her bitter tides ability, she deals +1 point of acid damage per claw attack.
The flux adept can maintain this effect for up to i round per level as a free action and may use it a number of times per day equal to 1 plus her Constitution modifier (minimum 1 per day).
Polyhaemia (Su): This ability allows the 9th-level flux adept to resynthesize potions in her own blood from those that she has consumed in the last 24 hours. Once synthesized, the potion immediately affects the flux adept as if she had just drunk it. This ability requires a Craft (alchemy) check with a DC equal to 1/25th the market price. For example, a flux adept attempting to duplicate a potion of blur would need to succeed at DC 12 Craft (alchemy) check. The flux adept may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 plus her Constitution modifier (minimum 1 per day). A failed Craft (alchemy) check still results in a use of the ability. Each use requires a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity.
Regeneration (Ex): At 10th level, a flux adept's mastery of the immune and repair systems of the body is such that she gains regeneration 1. Cold, electricity fire, and sonic deal normal damage to a flux adept. A flux adept can regrow a lost limb or body part in 4d6 days, but cannot reattach the severed member by holding it to the stump.
| Flux Adept | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1 | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Grace through will | +1 level of existing class |
| 2 | +1 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Pheromonic control, thermoregulation +2 | - |
| 3 | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Iron stomach | +1 level of existing class |
| 4 | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Bitter tides | - |
| 5 | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Feign death | +1 level of existing class |
| 6 | +4 | +2 | +5 | +1 | Taste of truth | - |
| 7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Thermoregulation +4, haste | +1 level of existing class |
| 8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | +2 | Boiling blood | - |
| 9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +2 | Polyhaemia | +1 level of existing class |
| 10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | +3 | Regeneration 1 | - |
Source: Dragon #317
Dragon Compendium Vol. 1