Predator

Predators revel in the hunt and wild abandon of combat. Once bonded with their fell companion they are dangerous combatants, much sought after as bounty hunters and reavers.

The following abilities change or replace the class features of the direlock base class:

Altered Skillset

The predator adds Handle Animal to her list of class skills.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies

A banelock adds medium armor to the proficiencies normally gained by a direlock. A multiclass predator still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes while light or medium armor.

This alters weapon and armor proficiencies.

Altered Dire Pool

This ability functions exactly as the direlock’s dire pool except that the predator may also grant her dire pool expenditure capabilities(except that gained at 10th level) to her fell companion (see below). Granting a bonus to the fell companion costs an extra, equal amount, though both are granted with the one swift action. Any bonuses gained by the fell companion only remain in effect while the fell companion remains within the dire zone.

Not that the 1st level bonus capability applies to only one of the fell companion’s natural attacks.

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces dire pool.

Shared Dire Zone

While the fell companion remains within the dire zone it gains all the benefits of the predator’s dire zone, including the following inimica if in effect: blood zone, dire magic, distracted magic, penetration, seed of doubt and unlucky. The fell companion may take advantage of the stricken inimica, but the effects only provide a bonus to one of the fell companion’s natural attacks .

The predator can use the fell companion with the viral slough major inimica, but no other major inimica.

The fell companion may take advantage of any of the predator’s enacted incunabula if the predator spends an extra, equal amount of dire pool points to include it.

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces dire zone.

Wild Raiment

A predator is recognized by beasts as a wild creature. She does not incur a penalty to Handle Animal checks.

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces fell regalia.

Shared Slough

A predator can choose to remove conditions from her fell companion using fearsome slough as long as it is within her dire zone. Not that the fell companion, not the predator, must make the new save, though still with the +10 morale bonus.

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces fearsome slough.

Wild Mantle

As a swift action, as long as the fell companion remains within the dire zone, the predator can apply bonuses gained from absorbed and stored spell energy to herself (as in the direlock’s dire mantle ability, disregarding any spell-related bonuses) or her fell companion. For every spell-level of energy stored, the predator can grant the fell companion a:

Once per day (2/day at 8th level, 3/day at 14th level), the predator may expend three stored spell energy levels to grant the fell companion:

  • 10 temporary hit points (duration equal to 1 round per predator level).
  • DR 5/magic (duration equal to a number of rounds equal to the predator’s Charisma modifier).

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces dire mantle.

Incunabula

Note that the predator may grant the effects of her incunabula to her fell companion by expending an equal, extra amount from her dire pool. The predator may not choose the familiar incunabula.

Fell Companion (Su)

At 4th level the predator bonds with a fierce creature that shares her dire zone. This ability functions like the druid animal companion ability (which is part of the nature bond class feature), except that the fell companion does not gains the share spells ability, and the predator’s effective druid level is equal to her predator level –3.

A predator may not have an animal companion or familiar from any other class.

This ability replaces the incunabula gained at 3rd level, spellcasting and grimoire.

Eldritch Tendrils

Note that the fell companion is considered an ally for the purposes of this ability.

Dire Companion (Su)

At 9th level, the predator’s fell companion gains the dire creature template.

This ability replaces the incunabula gained at 9th level, heavy armor and spell-based capabilities lost from improved wild mantle.

Improved Wild Mantle

This functions exactly as the direlock’s improved dire mantle except that the predator cannot cast spells, and so may not used stored spell-energy to cast spells of her own.

This ability alters improved dire mantle.

Feral Ravening (Su)

At 11th level, the predator’s fell companion may make a ravening strike. The predator must expend the dire pool point as an immediate action – if the ravening strike is successful the spell energy is not stored in the predator’s wild mantle – rather the fell companion may gain a bonus (by siphoned spell energy) as if granted by the predator’s wild mantle ability.

This ability replaces spell capabilities lost from wild conduit.

Wild Conduit

This functions exactly as the direlock’s dire conduit except that the predator cannot target connected creatures with spells.

This ability otherwise functions as and replaces dire conduit.

Bestial Onslaught

This functions exactly as true direlock except that the fell companion also gains an increase to its feral ravening, from 1d4 to 1d6.

This ability alters but is otherwise the same as true direlock.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

The Direlock Base Class © 2013 Forest Guardian Press. Authors: Morgan Boehringer and Jim Wettstein.

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