The Chained Man's page

A figure rises, writhing, twisting contorting from a man’s shadow. Chains clang as it lets out a howl, equally pained and pleasured. The dark shroud it wears fades, revealing white, ashen, muscular skin, bound and tethered with black iron chains. Two arms stretch out, draping against the floor while countless others are bent, shackled to it’s back by the metal manacles. Agonizing piercings protrude from its body, cutting through its arms, dancing across it’s body, boring it’s eyelids and grazing its eyes. It takes a step forward, cracking a gleeful grin across its stitched-together mouth. It forces its eyes open and imagines the pain it will weather and return to all who stand before it...

A servant of the Plane of Shadows, but once a man of Golarion. Ironically, he was a summoner of some renown, and in a moment of desperation, bound a devil to his servitude under the promise of power and to save his loved ones. And for a while, the infernal forces worked with him, conquering the foes in his way, giving him insight to the mysteries of the world, and power to claim all he deserved. But the powers promised were not to come in life. On his death, the infernal reclaimed what was theirs. In servitude and binds, the Chained Man was born.

The Chained Man was unlike the devils that he had in his services in life, and his surroundings were different than his knowledge of hell. The world was a twisted reflection of his own, dark and filled with misery, and he was unmoving and bound, an abomination of flesh and shackles. Over the course of a thousand of years, he would slowly free himself, eventually able to walk amidst his brothers in chains. In the next hundred years, he would mutilate his body, letting go of his mortal form and stitching together one of perceived perfection.

The Chained Man felt something one day, unlike anything he had felt before. A link, a connection, a calling. The summoner became the summoned, and he awaited his master’s call. For the first eight years he pondered, wondering how the mortal world has changed, and how he could bring the world to ruin. For the next eight years he thought of his master, and how he would twist them, break them, strengthen them. For the final eight years he waited in torturous solitude. And as his master grew in power, the Chained Man too grew. He realized that this was his destiny, to guide his summoner along the twisted path of pain and shadows, and to corrupt the man in his image. And so the Chained Man waits for his call.

Justimar stood at the red clothed table, idly twisting the ring at his finger. In front of him lay a long scroll, unrolled, revealing a longer lineage of powerful names. In front of him, an older woman, stone faced as she looked at the scroll, and back up to Justicar. “It is real,” he began, pointing his finger to his name. “This is me. And that is my father, Marcellano the Pure, and my mother, Imperia the Unyielding. And this...” he says, tracing his finger across the lines, “is you, Lady Giga. Were you aware you had a nephew?”

The woman looks over the scroll, peers at the ring on Justimar’s finger, and dances over several notarized papers. Her voice was tired, wavering from the conversation from the persistent heir. “My brother was baron, boy.”

“Which actually would make me Baron. Which means by the law, this is my land. I don’t intend to take it quite yet, mind you.” Justimar spoke matter-a-factly. He had recited this a hundred times, he had accounted for every response. All that he didn’t know was if it was to believed.

Lady Giga glared at him. “He couldn’t have children. His blood ended with him, every fool sung tales on the matter, and now a fool sits in front of me, claiming to be a child that doesn’t exist.”

He prepared for this. He thought it funny that he was to attempt to redeem a father that was never his, but he spoke calmly. “And it is a fool who listens to such tales, and an idiot who believes them. Woven by the many families who would benefit to see us toppled. My mother disappeared for a year before her death. She hid me from her enemies, our enemies.” He takes the ring off from his finger, passing it to Lady Giga. “This was her ring, left to me as a child so I could return.”

Lady Giga inspects the ring. “So I’ve been told. She hid you, you said?”

She took the bait. Justimar tried not to smile. “They knew of assassination it seems. In Nidal I would be safe from harm. A tragic story, to abandon your only heir in such a dark place. I didn’t see the sun until I was fifteen, and they never saw their son at all. But I was not born to be hidden away, and I did not trek here to be doubted.”

“Yet doubt remains. It all seems too...” She searched for the words, and Justimar tried to find them for her.

“Fortunate?”

“Convenient, boy.” She stares him down. It wasn’t the first time one had attempted to fake entrance to the esteemed Leroung House, but it was her first direct encounter with such a charlatan. Politics had never been a family skill, but Justimar would fit amongst its academics and mages.“But this isn’t my matter to settle.” She rolled the scroll up, took the ring and piled the documents into a neat stack. “It shall be settled by Lady Eliasia Leroung. I don’t like you, boy, but I wasn’t fond of my brother either.”

Family gathering will be fun… the summoner thought. A night passes, and Justimar grew anxious. Without direct control of the situation, he knew his chances dwindled. He stayed in the guest room of a Leroung estate, a manor that could be his in time. Did he come off too cocky during his meeting? Should he have acted more humble? Or maybe he should have solidified his claim with more fervor, more adamant that this is his destiny. As dread began to dawn, he summoned a creature, a white dog to soothe his nerves. The dog faded away after a minute, just as a knock sounded at the door. Justimar rose.

Lady Giga entered the room, two decorated magi at her side, with Justimar’s forged family tree, stolen ring and crafted documents. Atop them all stood a letter, stamped with the Leroung family crest. “Welcome to the family,” she began, “let us talk of what is expected of you.”

Eidolon of Law:
An unwavering conduit's eidolon must be of a lawful alignment (if using the Unchained Summoner, theeidolon must be of the archon, devil, or inevitable subtype). Once selected, the evolutions of the unwavering conduit's eidolon cannot be changed when a new class level is gained (though they can be altered normally with the transmogrify spell). At least half the eidolon's skill points must be spent on skills in which the unwavering conduit also has ranks. The eidolon gains a +1 resistance bonus on saving throws against spells and abilities of the conjuration, enchantment, and transmutation schools. This bonus increases to +2 at 3rd level, and by an additional 1 for every 3 levels thereafter. The eidolon has 1 fewer evolution point than normal for an eidolon of the unwavering conduit's summoner level.
This ability alters eidolon.

Unwavering Monsters:
Since an unwavering conduit's power is drawn from planar energies aligned with law, all the creatures he summons must be of a lawful alignment.
If a creature would normally be celestial or fiendish, it is instead a resolute creature.
This also causes the unwavering conduit's summoning power to be more set than a standard summoner's. Beginning at 3rd level, each time he uses summon monster to summon multiple monsters, rather than rolling a die to see how many creatures he summons, he receives a specific number (two creatures for 1d3, or four creatures for 1d4+1). If an item, spell, or ability would increase the number of creatures summoned, the set number increases by that amount.
Also, starting at 2nd level, creatures summoned by the unwavering conduit receive a +1 resistance bonuson saving throws against spells and abilities of the conjuration, enchantment, and transmutation schools. This bonus increases to +2 at 6th level, and by an additional 1 every 4 class levels thereafter.
This ability alters summon monster.

Law Magic:
The unwavering conduit gains the following bonus spells known at the listed spell level: 1st—protection from chaos, 2nd—arrow of law, 3rd—magic circle against chaos, 4th—order's wrath, 5th—dispel chaos, 6th—dictum.
The unwavering conduit gains one fewer spell known per spell level for spell levels 1–6.
This ability alters the summoner's spells known.

Skills:
A blood summoner adds Heal to his list of class skills.