About Rising DawnFemale dwarf animist 1 Senses: Perception +7 (+3 proficiency, +4 Wis); darkvision DEFENSE
Fort +6 (+3 proficiency, +3 Con)
OFFENSE SPELLS
Spd 20 ft STATISTICS
CLASS FEATURES Apparition Attunement:
Animists have a gift for divine magic that allows them to serve as conduits or bridges for otherworldly spiritual entities known collectively as apparitions; through them, these entities can commune and interact with the physical world in a process called attunement. Apparitions are myriad and diverse: they may be human spirits lingering on the border between becoming phantoms or ghosts, animal spirits with particularly strong connections to the physical world but lacking the malice that would spur a transition into true undeath, manifestations of natural locations that have grown thought and purpose over time, or they may be a different variation altogether. Some animists attune to one or more specific apparitions that accompany them in their travels, forming deep partnerships over time, while others adapt to their surroundings by befriending the local apparitions who dwell wherever the animist's journey takes them.
Each day during your daily preparations, choose two apparitions to attune to. Of these, choose one to be your primary apparition. Your attuned apparitions each grant you knowledge in the form of Lore skills and a repertoire of additional spells you can cast using apparition spellcasting (see below), and your primary apparition grants you even further power in the form a unique vessel focus spell and, when you are higher level, a unique avatar form. When you Refocus, you can change which of your currently attuned apparitions is your primary apparition, selecting from any of the apparitions you attuned to during your daily preparations. All your apparitions typically remain attuned to you until your next daily preparations, but some animist abilities can temporarily disperse them, usually in exchange for a powerful boon. If an apparition is dispersed, you lose access to its gifts—you forget its apparition skills, its spells are removed from your apparition spell repertoire, and you can't use its vessel spell or avatar form—until you attune to it again. When you disperse your primary apparition, one of your remaining apparitions becomes your primary apparition, chosen by you at the time of dispersal. Animist Practice: Liturgist: You draw forth your apparitions through the power of song and dance, connecting the spiritual to the physical. These performances can be of your own creation or follow the specific rites of your religion. You can sing out to the spirits to have them spin and twirl around you. You gain the Circle of Spirits feat. HERITAGE Unburdened Iron: You've learned techniques first devised by your ancestors during their ancient wars, allowing you to comfortably wear massive suits of armor. Ignore the reduction to your Speed from any armor you wear. In addition, any time you're taking a penalty to your Speed for some other reason (such as from the encumbered condition or from a spell), deduct 5 feet from the penalty. For example, the encumbered condition normally gives a –10-foot penalty to Speed, but this feat would reduce it to a –5-foot penalty. If your Speed is taking multiple penalties, pick only one penalty to reduce. BACKGROUND Aspiring Pathfinder: You have long wished to join the ranks of the Pathfinder Society, the globe spanning organization of adventurers, explorers, and archaeologists, but their organization, and the years-long training that permits entry have been a continent away for most of your life. You've scraped together some kind of education, even if it's just poring over their Chronicles, but your only real chance? To find and impress a veteran agent of the Society and earn yourself a Field Commission – and you've heard that the Lodge in Nerosyan is looking for volunteers... Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Intelligence or Wisdom, and one is a free attribute boost. You're trained in your choice of either the Arcana or Occultism skill, as well as the Library Lore skill. You gain the Recognize Spell skill feat. FEATS Ancestry: 1st: Stonemason's Eye: You understand the intricacies of stonework. You become trained in Crafting. If you're already trained in Crafting, you instead gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat for stonemasonry. You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to notice unusual stonework. This bonus applies to checks to discover mechanical traps made of stone or hidden within stone. If you aren't using the Seek action or searching, the GM automatically rolls a secret check for you to notice unusual stonework anyway. This check doesn't gain your normal circumstance bonus. Class Feats Circle of Spirits [one-action]
With a thought, word, or gesture, you reach your mind out to another spirit. Choose another apparition from among those you’ve attuned to; it becomes your primary apparition, replacing your current one. Skill Feats Background: Recognize Spell SKILLS
LANGUAGES
EQUIPMENT
Backstory:
Vjaerz Stjorn was born into a noble household in the Five Kings Mountains. Even at birth, his parents had mapped out his whole life for him. He would stay in his home city, marry a girl they had pre-arranged for him, and continue the family legacy. The thought of having no say in his own destiny made Vjaerz sick with worry, not to mention the fact that he had always felt uncomfortable in his own skin. He did not want to be the son his parents wanted him to be. He knew he had to leave and find his true self.
Having heard of the Rivethun, he sought them out and asked for their aid. The spiritual dwarves welcomed Vjaerz with open arms. They taught him to find peace within his soul and provided magical assistance in making his outside body match who he saw himself as on the inside. And thus, Vjaerz transitioned to the woman she had always been. With her true gender revealed, she cast her old name aside and chose a new name for herself, symbolic of her rebirth: Rising Dawn. Dawn ventured out into the surface world to further discover who she was... The Rivethun:
Golarion’s dwarves have faced countless existential threats throughout the ages, but they have always persevered—sometimes by embracing new ways, and other times by cleaving to the old. In the chaos spawned by Aroden’s death, many dwarves found succor in the spirit- and ancestor-worshiping faith of their ancient forbearers, from times before the dwarven Quest for Sky brought them into contact with the surface world and humanity. The Rivethun are the most populous of these enduring, animist cults from long ago, having persisted for well over 10,000 years. They seek contact with various spirits—departed souls, elementals, fey, outsiders, and the undead—and negotiate for knowledge and favors, often serving as intermediaries between dwarven civilization and otherwise dangerous, “wild” forces of the world. The Rivethun approach their spiritualism as archivists, diplomats, and entrepreneurs rather than as obedient sycophants. Most dwarves see them as valuable for the power, knowledge, and favors they collect, but also as potentially untrustworthy because of their divided loyalties between mortal and spiritual interests.
Just as a hand worn raw is more sensitive to the grain in a vein of stone, so too is a soul worn raw more open to the subtleties of the spirit world. This sensitivity helps adherents cultivate a well of inner power to draw upon, sometimes in the form of magic, but in other cases the rage of inner strength or the focus of martial ki. The Rivethun teach adherents to draw strength from their most difficult experiences, and those most fully embracing the sect are often those who have dealt with chronic difficulties from a young age. Those who transition between genders are heavily represented among the tradition, so much so that in many dwarven cities the word “Rivethun” has become an informal term for anyone who transitions their gender. The Rivethun pass on a number of recipes, rituals, and formulae that ease such transitions, and even encourage members with no need to transition to do so on a temporary basis to broaden their perspective, mirroring the cult of the empyreal lord Arshea. |
