Ancestral Katana (+2 greater striking ghost touch katana): This blade has been in Esh's family for over a thousand years. Though unadorned and plain-seeming, it is incredibly well crafted and sharp enough to cut through the spirit as well as the body. Gifted to Esh's great-great grandfather by a grateful Tian-Min blacksmith for some long-forgotten service, it was passed down to Esh when his mother (a paladin of Shizuru) retired from the clergy.
Boots and Cloak of Elvenkind: These items were given to Esh by his parents when he first left Jinin to seek out someone who could help him with his curse. Even with their enchantments and regular care, they're still old enough to clearly show their wear, and have faded from their dark green color to a lighter shade. The silver embroidery that once depicted celestial bodies and the mithral tree of Jinin is now almost impossible to discern.
Now that he finally has some money, he happily spent almost all of it on restoring his treasured items to their former glory.
Pendant of the Occult: This translucent jade orb seems to show the different phases of the moon when viewed from different angles. Inscribed in gold along its circumference is the divine code of Tsukiyo, written in almost impossibly small celestial script.
Phylactery of Faithfulness: Purchased in Goka after receiving the patronage of Empress Nai Yan Fei, this electrum amulet is in the shape of an eclipsed sun, representing Shizuru and Tsukiyo's love. The metal is generally pleasantly cool on Esh's normally warm brow, but will grow painfully hot if he contemplates committing one of their anathema.
*High Jump = You make a vertical Leap and attempt an Athletics check to increase the height of your jump. The DC of the Athletics check is equal to the total distance in feet you’re attempting to move during your Leap (so you’d need to succeed at a DC 20 check to Leap 20 feet). This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.
Success Increase the maximum vertical distance you Leap to the desired distance.
Failure You Leap normally.
Critical Failure You Leap normally, but then fall and land prone.
*Long Jump = You make a horizontal Leap and attempt an Athletics check to increase the length of your jump. The DC of the Athletics check is equal to one third the total distance in feet you’re attempting to move during your Leap (so you’d need to succeed at a DC 20 check to Leap 60 feet). You can jump a distance greater than your Speed by spending additional actions when you Long Jump. For each additional action spent, add your Speed to the limit on how far you can Leap. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.
Success Increase the maximum horizontal distance you Leap to the desired distance.
Failure You Leap normally.
Critical Failure You Leap normally, but then fall and land prone.
Class Features:
Level 1 = Rage: Requirements You aren’t fatigued or raging.
You tap into your inner fury and begin raging. You gain a number of temporary Hit Points equal to your level plus your Constitution modifier. This frenzy lasts for 1 minute, until there are no enemies you can perceive, or until you fall unconscious, whichever comes first. You can't voluntarily stop raging. While you are raging:
You deal 2 additional damage with melee Strikes. This additional damage is halved if your weapon or unarmed attack is agile.
You take a –1 penalty to AC.
You can't use actions with the concentrate trait unless they also have the rage trait. You can Seek while raging.
After you stop raging, you lose any remaining temporary Hit Points from Rage, and you can't Rage again for 1 minute.
Level 1 = Dragon Instinct: [Red, abhor] While raging, you can increase the additional damage from Rage from 2 to 4 and change its damage type to match that of your dragon's breath weapon instead of the damage type for your weapon or unarmed attack. If you do this, your Rage action gains the arcane and evocation traits, as well as the trait matching the damage type.
Level 3 = Deny Advantage: Your foes struggle to pass your defenses. You aren’t flat-footed to hidden, undetected, or flanking creatures of your level or lower, or creatures of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, they can still help their allies flank.
Level 5 = Brutality: Your fury makes your weapons lethal. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, martial weapons, and unarmed attacks increase to expert. While raging, you gain access to the critical specialization effects for melee weapons and unarmed attacks.
Level 7 = Juggernaut: Your body is accustomed to physical hardship and resistant to ailments. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.
Level 7 = Weapon Specialization: Your rage helps you hit harder. You deal an additional 2 damage with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you have expert proficiency. This damage increases to 3 if you’re a master, and 4 if you’re legendary. You gain your instinct’s specialization ability. When you use draconic rage, you increase the additional damage from Rage from 4 to 8. If you have greater weapon specialization, instead increase the damage from Rage when using draconic rage from 8 to 16.
Level 9 = Lightning Reflexes: Your reflexes are lightning fast. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.
Level 9 = Raging Resistance: Repeated exposure and toughened skin allow you to fend off harm. While raging, you gain resistance equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier to damage types based on your instinct. You resist piercing damage and the damage type of your dragon’s breath weapon [fire].
Level 11 = Mighty Rage: Your rage intensifies and lets you burst into action. Your proficiency rank for your barbarian class DC increases to expert. You gain the Mighty Rage free action.
Level 13 = Greater Juggernaut: You have a stalwart physiology. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to legendary. When you roll a critical failure on a Fortitude save, you get a failure instead. When you roll a failure on a Fortitude save against an effect that deals damage, you halve the damage you take.
Level 13 = Medium Armor Expertise: You’ve learned to defend yourself better against attacks. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to expert.
Level 13 = Weapon Fury: Your rage makes you even more effective with the weapons you wield. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, martial weapons, and unarmed attacks increase to master.
Level 15 = Greater Weapon Specialization: The weapons you’ve mastered become truly fearsome in your hands. Your damage from weapon specialization increases to 4 with weapons and unarmed attacks in which you’re an expert, 6 if you’re a master, and 8 if you’re legendary. You gain a greater benefit from your instinct’s specialization ability (increase the damage from Rage when using draconic rage from 8 to 16).
Level 15 = Indomitable Will: Your rage makes it difficult to control you. Your proficiency rank for Will saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Will save, you get a critical success instead.
Level 17 = Heightened Senses: Your instinct heightens each of your senses further. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to master.
Class Feats:
Class Feat (1) = Moment of Clarity: You push back your rage for a moment in order to think clearly. Until the end of this turn, you can use actions with the concentrate trait even if those actions don’t have the rage trait.
Class Feat (2) = Shake It Off: You concentrate on your rage, overcoming fear and fighting back sickness. Reduce your frightened condition value by 1, and attempt a Fortitude save to recover from the sickened condition as if you had spent an action retching; you reduce your sickened condition value by 1 on a failure (but not on a critical failure), by 2 on a success, or by 3 on a critical success.
Class Feat (4) = First Revelation: You gain your mystery's initial revelation spell. Casting this spell progresses your curse. Use the minor curse from your mystery, but when you progress it again, instead of your mystery's moderate curse effect, you become flat-footed in addition to the effects of the minor curse.
If you don't have one, you gain a focus pool of 1 Focus Point. You can Refocus by reconciling the conflicting nature of your mystery, which also reduces your curse to minor.
Class Feat (6) = Dragon's Rage Breath: 30-foot cone of fire, 18d6 damage, DC 37 basic reflex save
Requirements You haven’t used this ability since you last Raged.
You breathe deeply and exhale powerful energy in a 30-foot cone or 60-foot line, dealing 1d6 damage per level. The area and damage type match those of your dragon (see Table 3–4). If you used this ability in the last hour, the area and the damage are halved (15-foot cone or 30-foot line; 1d6 damage for every 2 levels). Each creature in the area must attempt a basic Reflex save.
Class Feat (8) = Champion Dedication: Choose a deity and cause as you would if you were a champion. You become trained in light, medium, and heavy armor. You become trained in Religion and your deity’s associated skill; for each of these skills in which you were already trained, you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You become trained in champion class DC.
You are bound by your deity’s anathema and must follow the champion’s code and alignment requirements for your cause. You don’t gain any other abilities from your choice of deity or cause.
Special You cannot select another dedication feat until you have gained two other feats from the champion archetype.
Class Feat (10) = Champion's Reaction: You can use the champion’s reaction associated with your cause.
Retributive Strike: Trigger An enemy damages your ally, and both are within 15 feet of you.
You protect your ally and strike your foe. The ally gains resistance to all damage against the triggering damage equal to 2 + your level. If the foe is within reach, make a melee Strike against it.
Class Feat (12) = Basic Oracle Spellcasting: You gain the basic spellcasting benefits. When you gain a spell slot of a new level from the oracle archetype, add a common divine spell or another divine spell you have learned or discovered to your repertoire, of that spell level.
Class Feat (16) = Mysterious Breadth: Your repertoire expands, and you can cast more divine spells each day. Increase the number of spells in your repertoire and the number of spell slots you gain from oracle archetype feats by 1 for each spell level other than your two highest oracle spell slots.
Heritage Feat (1) = Ancient Elf: In your long life, you've dabbled in many paths and many styles. A typical ancient elf is at least 100 years old, though you might be younger at the GM's discretion. Choose a class other than your own. You gain the multiclass dedication feat for that class, even though you don't meet its level prerequisite. You must still meet its other prerequisites to gain the feat.
From Ancient Elf = Oracle Dedication: Choose a mystery. You become trained in Religion and the mystery's skill; if you were already trained, you become trained in a skill of your choice. You gain the mild, constant effects of the mystery's curse described in its first paragraph, but not other effects the mystery usually grants. You cast spells like an oracle and gain the Cast a Spell activity. You gain a spell repertoire with two cantrips, either common divine cantrips or other divine cantrips you learn or discover. You're trained in divine spell attack rolls and divine spell DCs. Your key spellcasting ability for oracle archetype spells is Charisma, and they are divine oracle spells.
Special You can't select another dedication feat until you have gained two other feats from the oracle archetype.
Ancestry Feat (1) = Elven Lore: You've studied in traditional elven arts, learning about arcane magic and the world around you. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Arcana and Nature. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You also become trained in Elven Lore.
Ancestry Feat (5) = Elven Instincts: Your senses let you react rapidly. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks made as initiative rolls. Additionally, if your initiative roll result is tied with that of an opponent, you go first, regardless of whether you rolled Perception or not.
Ancestry Feat (9) = Ageless Patience: You work at a pace born from longevity that enhances your thoroughness. You can voluntarily spend twice as much time as normal on a Perception check or skill check to gain a +2 circumstance bonus to that check. You also don't treat a natural 1 as worse than usual on these checks; you get a critical failure only if your result is 10 lower than the DC. For example, you could get these benefits if you spent 2 actions to Seek, which normally takes 1 action. You can get these benefits during exploration by taking twice as long exploring as normal, or in downtime by spending twice as much downtime.
The GM might determine a situation doesn't grant you a benefit if a delay would be directly counterproductive to your success, such as a tense negotiation with an impatient creature.
Ancestry Feat (13) = Elf Step: You move in a graceful dance, and even your steps are broad. You Step 5 feet twice.
Ancestry Feat (17) = Magic Rider: Your people used powerful magic to travel between distant worlds, and the remnants of that magic make such transportation easier for you. When you are the target of a teleportation spell that transports more than one person, it can affect an additional person beyond the normal limit, chosen by the caster. Additionally, when you're the target of a teleport spell, you and the other targets arrive no farther than 1 mile off target, regardless of distance traveled.
Skill Feats:
Background Feat = Lengthy Diversion: When you critically succeed to Create a Diversion, you continue to remain hidden after the end of your turn. This effect lasts for an amount of time that depends on the diversion and situation, as determined by the GM (minimum 1 additional round).
Skill Feat (2) = Multilingual: You easily pick up new languages. You learn two new languages, chosen from common languages, uncommon languages, and any others you have access to. You learn an additional language if you are or become a master in Society and again if you are or become legendary.
Special You can select this feat multiple times. Each time, you learn additional languages.
Skill Feat (4) = Titan Wrestler: You can attempt to Disarm, Grapple, Shove, or Trip creatures up to two sizes larger than you, or up to three sizes larger than you if you’re legendary in Athletics.
Skill Feat (6) = Assurance [Athletics]: Even in the worst circumstances, you can perform basic tasks. Choose a skill you’re trained in. You can forgo rolling a skill check for that skill to instead receive a result of 10 + your proficiency bonus (do not apply any other bonuses, penalties, or modifiers).
Special You can select this feat multiple times. Each time, choose a different skill and gain the benefits for that skill.
Skill Feat (8) = Quick Jump: You can use High Jump and Long Jump as a single action instead of 2 actions. If you do, you don’t perform the initial Stride (nor do you fail if you don’t Stride 10 feet).
Skill Feat (10) = Wall Jump: You can use your momentum from a jump to propel yourself off a wall. If you’re adjacent to a wall at the end of a jump (whether performing a High Jump, Long Jump, or Leap), you don’t fall as long as your next action is another jump. Furthermore, since your previous jump gives you momentum, you can use High Jump or Long Jump as a single action, but you don’t get to Stride as part of the activity.
You can use Wall Jump only once in a turn, unless you’re legendary in Athletics, in which case you can use Wall Jump as many times as you can use consecutive jump actions in that turn.
Skill Feat (12) = Water Sprint: Experience and training have taught you that water has just enough surface tension for a master sprinter to traverse the surface. When you Stride in a straight line, if you move at least half your Speed over ground, you can move any amount of the remaining distance across a level body of water. If you don't end your Stride on solid ground, you fall into the water.
If you're legendary in Athletics, as long as you start on solid ground, any part of your Stride can cross the water's surface, even if you aren't moving a straight line, though you still fall into the water if you don't end your movement on solid ground.
Skill Feat (14) = Rapid Mantle: You easily pull yourself onto ledges. When you Grab an Edge, you can pull yourself onto that surface and stand. You can use Athletics instead of a Reflex save to Grab an Edge.
Skill Feat (16) = Cloud Jump: You unparalleled athletic skill allows you to jump impossible distances. Triple the distance you Long Jump (so you could jump 60 feet on a successful DC 20 check). When you High Jump, use the calculation for a Long Jump but don't triple the distance.
You can jump a distance greater than your Speed by spending additional actions when you Long Jump or High Jump. For each additional action spent, add your Speed to the limit on how far you can Leap.
Skill Feat (18) = Consult the Spirits [Religion]: You have learned rites or meditations that enable you to perceive minor, invisible spirits within a place. Choose Nature, Occultism, or Religion when you select this feat. Nature allows you to contact the spirits of nature that form leshies, who are born of pure life essence rather than spiritual energy and can answer questions about natural features like the location of nearby water or plant life. Religion reveals the presence of angelic, demonic, or other spirits in service to divine beings, who provide information about sources of powerful positive or negative energy, sacred or profane influences, or the presence of undead. Occultism allows you to contact lingering spirits, psychic echoes of the departed dead, and spirits from beyond reality, who tell you about things like strange auras, effects, or the presence of unnatural occult beings.
Spend 10 minutes and attempt a check to Recall Knowledge with the chosen skill; the DC is determined by the GM (usually a very high DC for the level of the highest-level creature you might encounter in the area). If you're legendary in the chosen skill, you can use this feat once per hour, instead of only once per day, but you can't use it again on any area that overlaps a previous area.
Special You can select this feat multiple times, each time picking a different skill in which you have the master proficiency rank. You can use this feat with each skill once per day (or once per hour, if you're legendary).
Critical Success The spirits reveal themselves to you and have a helpful attitude toward you. Only you can perceive these spirits. They answer three simple questions about the environment within 100 feet of you, depending on the skill you chose and thus the type of spirits you contact. Their answers are almost always a single word, and their knowledge is limited to within their area of interest.
Success As with a critical success, but the spirits are indifferent to you and answer only one question.
Failure You are unable to contact the spirits of this place.
Critical Failure You contact one or more malevolent spirits. They are hostile toward you, though they may not immediately appear so. They answer up to three questions but give you information that is harmful to you in some way, as determined by the GM.
General Feats:
General Feat (3) = Toughness: You can withstand more punishment than most before succumbing. Increase your maximum Hit Points by your level. The DC of recovery checks is equal to 9 + your dying condition value.
General Feat (7) = Powerful Leap: When you Leap, you can jump 5 feet up with a vertical Leap, and you increase the distance you can jump horizontally by 5 feet.
General Feat (11) = Fleet: You move more quickly on foot. Your Speed increases by 5 feet.
General Feat (15) = Thorough Search: You take your time searching to ensure you find everything. When Searching, you can take twice as long to search. Normally this means you Search at up to one quarter of your Speed, to a maximum of 150 feet per minute to check everything, or 75 feet per minute to check everything before you walk into it. If you do, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your Perception checks to Seek.
Religion:
Shizuru
Obedience: Spend an hour practicing sword forms beneath the sun. Meditate in silence as you practice, focusing on executing each form more perfectly with each repetition. At the end of your practice, make an offering to your ancestors, and vow that your deeds in the day to come will honor their memory. Gain a +2 sacred bonus to confirm critical hits with any one sword for the next 24 hours. You can use this chosen sword as your divine focus to cast divine spells.
Edicts: practice with a weapon every day, honor your ancestors, protect nature and society from corruption and destruction
Anathema: abandon a companion in need, dishonor yourself, parlay with truce breakers, separate lovers
Areas of Concern: ancestors, honor, the sun, and swordplay
Fifteen Wisdoms: The Empress of Heaven’s primary holy text, this scroll lists 15 short aphorisms, each one followed by a brief paragraph that elaborates upon it. The aphorisms advocate restraint, self-discipline, and the need for certainty before committing oneself to action—but require total devotion to the cause once the decision to act has been made. Most scholars believe that the Wisdoms themselves are the direct word of Shizuru, and the interpretive paragraphs have been added by the wisest and most learned of her priests.
All Under Heaven’s Gaze Is Beauty: Shizurans appreciate both the crowning arts of civilization and the wonders of the natural world, valuing neither above the other, for both represent Shizuru’s glory. This can also be used as an admonition against those who judge others by their appearance or trade, as mortal beings of all kinds are necessary to keep the earth in harmony.
The Sun Is Crying: Often used to save face by attributing the speaker’s own tears on a sunlit day to Shizuru, this phrase is used for situations that involve complex emotions that aren’t easy to express, such as feeling both happy and sad at the same time. Sun showers are considered a sign that the goddess herself is both happy and sad; sun showers during a wedding are considered a sign of a love so powerful that it reminds Shizuru of Tsukiyo.
Much of Shizuru’s paladin code overlaps with the warrior code of ichimeiyo, which is so closely aligned with the goddess’s tenets that those outside the faith may perceive no distinction between them. In addition to the tenets of ichimeiyo, the Empress of Heaven’s paladins are expected to obey the following precepts.
Both my sword and my swordplay have been entrusted to me by those who have mastered their craft, and both deserve to be wielded by a skilled hand. My training will be consistent, and I will impart my training to others, as others passed my training down to me.
I will honor the ancestors who have come before me and provided for my life.
Though the bonds of love extend across any distance, I will not stretch them further by separating lovers.
The Empress rules all under Heaven. I am a guardian of the land and its health, as well as of civilized empires that live upon it. I will defend nature from the twisted influence of undead and aberrations, and seek mutual peace with creatures that defend nature from humanity.
My personal conduct reflects on my family and my god; I will conscientiously maintain my reputation for the sake of theirs, even on the battlefield.
The strategy of war involves deception by nature, but the flag of peace is sacrosanct. I accept no negotiations from those who have attacked a foe under the pretense of arbitration or truce for their own gain; they have destroyed the trust that reconciliation requires.
Ichimeiyo is a code for all warriors, one that stresses honor, loyalty to a cause or master, and an absolutely unbreakable will. Ichimeiyo represents the fundamental philosophical foundation for the samurai order of the warrior, but even applies to ronin who no longer serve a master. This code demands its adherents work constantly to improve themselves—and not merely through the study and constant honing of swordplay. A warrior who is mighty with the sword is still less than one who also devotes study to perfecting a garden or another who spends part of her day in meditation. Three great precepts dominate ichimeiyo. The first is “One Body, One Soul,” a directive that the initiates should strive to align their intentions with their actions. The second is “Honor Is All,” for without honor, a warrior is nothing more than a savage with technique. The third is, “Without Service, Nothing”: The way of the true warrior is not the way of the noble, and though nobles may walk alongside ichimeiyo, they are permitted actions that would dishonor their servants. To succeed in their study, warriors must align themselves with a master and swear loyalty. If their master dies, they must seek vengeance. If their master dishonors himself or would bring dishonor
on the warriors, those sworn to that master may renounce him—and if they do not, they accept the same judgment of fate that awaits their lord.
Tsukiyo
Obedience: Find a quiet place from which to study the moon. Contemplate its transition from full to half to crescent to nothing at all, then back again, comparing its transformation to your own accomplishments. If unable to study the moon clearly, seek a quiet place and spend 1 hour studying a jade trinket while mentally retelling one of Tsukiyo’s parables that pertains to your recent experiences. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against effects that cause the confused or fascinated condition or that deal either Wisdom damage or Wisdom drain.
Edicts: provide aid and counsel without judgment to those who seek help, help the dead find their rest, amplify or help speak for the powerless and demonized
Anathema: harm another out of envy, force aid on those who do not want it, inflict harmful mental effects on others as punishment
Areas of Concern: jade, the moon, spirits
Tears of Jade: The most common 28 parables told by the faith make up Tears of Jade, the canonical holy text, which provides a different story for each day in the lunar cycle. Priests regularly produce illustrated or reinterpreted versions of these stories to ensure they are as accessible as possible in both language and medium.
No Matter Its Phase, the Moon Is Whole: A community might be quick to judge someone who looks or acts differently than the majority of its members do, even assuming these differences make that person inferior. This saying is a reminder that perspective changes with time, and that regardless of idiosyncrasies or appearance, everyone is a whole person and worthy of respect.
Even Hares Are Heroes: Although normally skittish, a hare guarded Tsukiyo when he was most defenseless. Tsukiyans use this phrase to encourage bravery in each
other; but it can just as readily convey that, for a vulnerable or scared person, completing a seemingly minor task requires courage or energy that’s too rarely celebrated.
The paladins of Tsukiyo are patient teachers and wardens. They tend not to settle in any one community, either wandering from town to town or living a reclusive existence away from noteworthy settlements. However, these paladins are rarely far from communities in need, and they readily answer the call to shield a victim or destroy an undead menace. Their tenets include the following affirmations.
I am the voice for those who go unheard, be they spirits who cannot speak or those whom society has judged as broken or insane. I shall open the doors for others to listen to the voiceless when I can, and when I cannot, I will speak in the words of the voiceless, not my own.
I am the eyes for those who cannot understand the truths of others who are not like them. I shall teach others how to accept, support, and celebrate those who think and speak differently than they do.
I am the guide for mortal minds and souls. I shall offer kindness and aid to the lost, the frightened, the confused, and the dead. I shall calm restless spirits, and I shall banish violent ones with what compassion I can provide without endangering others.
A different perspective can bring both fulfillment and pain. I do not judge those who wish to remain as they are, no matter what disadvantages it may bring them, nor do I judge those who suffer and wish to be changed.
There is no shame in madness, and so I do not make madness shameful by imposing it on my enemies as a punishment. Though darkness and attacks on the mind are tools I may use to vanquish the unjust, my actions will never force lasting insanity upon my foes.
