Phrenic Slayer

Hatred and enmity are not emotions that those with psionic power are immune to experiencing. And for some psionic creatures, this enmity develops into a focus to kill a particular type of psionic creature. These phrenic slayers train rigorously to find and kill their quarry, learning techniques to protect themselves against their enemy, even learning to turn their enemies’ attacks back upon them.

Psionic races with levels in ranger are most commonly drawn to the phrenic slayer prestige class, as their tracking and combat abilities have synergy with the nature of the phrenic slayer. Manifesters may also become phrenic slayers, seeking to improve their combat prowess while hunting down their psionic creature of choice.

Role: Phrenic slayers excel at doing just what their name implies, killing, particularly the psionic creature type that has earned their focus. Their abilities allow them to go toe-to-toe with their favored enemy, often using their attacker’s abilities against them.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a phrenic slayer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Skill: Knowledge (psionics) 1 rank.

Feats: Skill Focus (Survival).

Psionics: Must have a power point reserve of at least 1 power point.

Special: Must have had a hostile encounter with a psionic creature of the type to be selected as the favored enemy (see below), either individually or as part of a group composed of fewer than seven members. A character with the Track class feature does not need to have the Skill Focus (Survival) feat to become a phrenic slayer.

Class Skills

The phrenic slayer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: Phrenic Slayer
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Powers Known
1st +1 +0 +0 +1 Favored Enemy +2, enemy sense
2nd +2 +0 +0 +1 Brain nausea (sickened) +1 level of existing class
3rd +3 +1 +1 +2 Lucid buffer (+2) +1 level of existing class
4th +4 +1 +1 +2 Favored enemy +4 +1 level of existing class
5th +5 +1 +1 +3 Power resistance +1 level of existing class
6th +6 +2 +2 +3 Brain nausea (nauseated), cerebral blind +1 level of existing class
7th +7 +2 +2 +4 Favored enemy +6 +1 level of existing class
8th +8 +2 +2 +4 Breach power resistance, lucid buffer (+4) +1 level of existing class
9th +9 +3 +3 +5 Cerebral immunity +1 level of existing class
10th +10 +3 +3 +5 Brain nausea (stunned), Favored enemy +8, rebound attack +1 level of existing class

Class Features

All the following are class features of the phrenic slayer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Phrenic slayers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all types of armor.

Powers Known

At each level indicated, a phrenic slayer gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of phrenic slayer to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly. If a character had more than one manifesting class before she became a phrenic slayer, she must decide to which class she adds the new level of phrenic slayer for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

If the character did not belong to a manifesting class before taking this prestige class, she does not gain manifesting levels.

Favored Enemy (Ex)

When she enters the class, a phrenic slayer formally declares a psionic creature type from the phrenic slayer favored enemies table as the enemy she detests above all others. Due to her extensive study of her foes and training in the proper techniques for combating them, she gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks when using these skills against her favored enemy.

Likewise, she gets a +2 bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls against creatures of this kind.

These bonuses for favored enemies only work if the creature has the psionic subtype.

At 4th level the bonuses increase to +4, at 7th level to +6, and at 10th level to +8.

Enemy Sense (Su)

A phrenic slayer can sense the presence of her favored enemy within 60 feet of herself, even if they are hidden by darkness or walls, but she cannot discern their exact location.

Brain Nausea (Su)

A phrenic slayer of 2nd level or higher has developed an innate backlash effect when her favored enemy targets her with mind-affecting effects. Any time the phrenic slayer makes a successful save against a mind-affecting effect from her favored enemy and has psionic focus, the favored enemy must make a successful Will save (DC 10 + ½ slayer level + Wisdom modifier) or be sickened for a number of rounds equal to the phrenic slayer’s Wisdom modifier. At 6th level, the source is instead nauseated on a failed save. At 10th level, the source is stunned for one round on a failed save.

Lucid Buffer (Ex)

At 3rd level, a phrenic slayer becomes especially skilled at resisting mental attacks. She gains a +2 competence bonus on saving throws against all compulsions and mind-affecting effects. This ability is active even if the phrenic slayer is unconscious, stunned, or otherwise helpless. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level.

Power Resistance (Su)

Upon achieving 5th level, a phrenic slayer’s mind has learned how to protect not only against mind-affecting effects, but against varied forms of psionic attacks from her favored enemy. The phrenic slayer gains power resistance equal to 13 + her class level against effects from her favored enemy.

Cerebral Blind (Su)

After reaching 6th level, a phrenic slayer is protected from all devices, powers, and spells that reveal location. This ability protects against information gathering by clairsentience powers or effects that reveal location.

The ability even foils bend reality, limited wish, miracle, reality revision, and wish when they are used to gain information about the phrenic slayer’s location (however, metafaculty can pierce this protective barrier). In the case of remote viewing or scrying that scans an area a phrenic slayer is in, the effect works, but the phrenic slayer simply isn’t detected. Remote viewing or scrying attempts that are targeted specifically at a phrenic slayer do not work. This ability is active as long as the phrenic slayer is psionically focused.

Breach Power Resistance (Su)

A phrenic slayer of 8th level or higher can enhance her weapon with psionic might. Each successful melee attack (or ranged attack if the target is within 30 feet) she makes with her weapon against her favored enemy temporarily reduces its power resistance (if any) by 1. This penalty stacks. Unless the creature is slain, its lost power resistance returns all at once 12 hours later. This ability is active as long as the phrenic slayer is psionically focused. If the target has no power resistance, this ability does not function.

Cerebral Immunity (Su)

On reaching 9th level, a phrenic slayer gains protection from all devices, powers, and spells that influence the mind. This ability grants her a +10 resistance bonus against almost all mind-affecting powers and effects (though the phrenic slayer can selectively allow powers or spells to affect her). The ability even foils bend reality, limited wish, miracle, reality revision, and wish when they are used to mentally influence a phrenic slayer. This ability is active as long as the phrenic slayer is psionically focused.

Rebound Attack (Su)

At 10th level, if a phrenic slayer is targeted by her favored enemy by an effect that is subject to power resistance, as an immediate action, she may expend her psionic focus to rebound the effect on the source as if using reddopsi. This effect may not be used on touch range effects (including ranged touch attacks), effects that target an area, or effects such as dispel psionics. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 plus her Wisdom modifier.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Psionics Unleashed. Copyright 2010, Dreamscarred Press.

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