Nihilicist

Sometimes a kineticist’s powers come from a source so obscure that they never find the very matter they were born to manipulate. Rather than waste their lives seeking out whatever impossibly rare substance they were meant to manipulate, they simply use… nothing. Some find this nothingness a place of calm in their minds, while for others this emptiness serves only to echo screams of psychological trauma.

Alignment: A nihilicist must be within one step of neutral.

A nihilicist who becomes an alignment two steps from neutral loses their nihilicist class features and must return to within one step of neutral, requiring an atonement spell to regain their lost class features.

Unfound Element: A nihilicist can never be forced to gain any element, kinetic blast, or wild talent. If the nihilicist ever willingly gains a primary element or any non-universal wild talent (with the exception of those associated with empty blast or zero blast), they permanently lose this archetype, becoming a normal kineticist and gaining any kineticist class features this archetype replaced. Only divine intervention can reverse this effect.

Null Element (Su)

A nihilicist does not gain a particular element to control, granting them an unusual ability to control nothingness, gaining unique kinetic blasts to this end. At 1st level, the nihilicist gains empty blast, and at 7th level they gain zero blast.

In addition, at 1st level the nihilicist gains empty infusion as a bonus infusion, and at 7th and 15th level they are granted a bonus feat, infusion, or utility wild talent of their choice for which they qualify.

The nihilicist can only learn universal utility wild talents, universal infusions, and infusions with which their empty blast or zero blast is associated.

This replaces the basic utility wild talent, elemental focus, and expanded element, and alters utility wild talents.

Empty Blast

Element(s): none; Type simple blast (Sp); Level –; Burn 0; Aura necromancy

Prerequisite(s): nihilicist 1st

Blast Type special; Damage untyped

You drain a small portion of your target’s existence away from it, dealing nihil damage. You can decide if this is an energy or physical blast each time you use this blast. This blast is only associated with universal infusions as well as the following: bowling, chain, cloud, cyclone, disintegrating, enervating, explosion, grappling, pulling, pushing, singularity, torrent, and unraveling. Physical empty blasts can benefit from the crushing blast or keen blast infusions despite not having a damage type (though only one at a time).

Zero Blast

Element(s): none; Type composite blast (Sp); Level –; Burn 2; Aura necromancy

Prerequisite(s): empty blast, nihilicist 7th

Blast Type special; Damage untyped

You leave those affected by your blast with gaping holes of nothingness within them, dealing nihil damage.

You can decide if this is an energy or physical blast each time you use this blast. This blast is only associated with universal infusions as well as the following: bowling, chain, cloud, cyclone, disintegrating, enervating, explosion, grappling, pulling, pushing, singularity, torrent, and unraveling. Physical empty blasts benefit from the crushing blast or keen blast infusions despite not having a damage type (though only one at a time).

Nihil Damage (Ex)

A nihilicist’s kinetic blast deals nihil damage; treat nihil damage as nonlethal damage for how it is cured, except it affects creatures normally immune to nonlethal damage. A creature normally immune to nonlethal damage which possess an amount of nihil damage equal to their current hit points becomes staggered, even if they would normally be unable to be staggered. Nihil damage ignores hardness, and if an object takes an amount of nihil damage equal to its hit points, it is destroyed as though it was affected by a disintegrate spell.

Nihilistic Curse (Su)

A nihilicist can select up to one creature up to 60 feet away plus an additional one creature per three nihilicist levels they possess, converting all nihil damage those creatures possess into lethal damage as a standard action. This can be done while gathering power as a full-round action by decreasing the burn reduction it provides by 1 (but cannot be done while gathering power as a move action).

When a nihilicist is converting damage to lethal damage, they can choose to convert an amount of that nihil damage into a condition instead, its duration being a number of rounds equal to their Constitution modifier (minimum 1). These effects can be avoided with a Fort save with DC equal to 10 + 1/2 their nihilicist level + their Constitution modifier: 5 damage: dazzled, deafened, fatigued, or sickened 10 damage: staggered or blinded 20 damage: dazed, exhausted, or silenced (as per respectful quiet) 30 damage: paralyzed or stunned

The nihilicist must convert all damage at once when using this ability, whether they apply a condition or not.

They can only apply a condition if their nihilicist level is at least half the amount of nihil damage they’d need to convert.

This replaces the 1st, 9th, and 17th-level infusions.

Nullify Wounds (Sp)

At 2nd level a nihilicist can convert an amount of lethal damage they’ve sustained equal to their Constitution modifier into nonlethal damage once per day as a full-round action. They can use this ability an additional time per day at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter (up to 7 times at 20th).

Whenever they accept burn to use a wild talent, they gain DR equal to their nihilicist level + their Constitution modifier against nonlethal damage for 1 round; this DR does not prevent damage from burn, nor does it affect nonlethal damage converted from lethal damage by this ability.

This replaces elemental defense.

Reduced Existence (Ex)

At 2nd level a nihilicist is constantly under the effects of negate aroma, only needs to consume 1/4 as much food and water to survive, and only needs to sleep 2 hours per day. At 6th level they are constantly under the effects of nondetection with a caster level equal to their nihilicist level and no longer need to breath or sleep, gaining immunity to sleep effects (though they still must rest 2 hours to recover from burn).

At 12th level, the nihilcist is also constantly under the effects of mind blank. In addition, anyone whom the nihilicist has met will slowly forget them; one will forget their name after 1 day, finer details of their interactions and appearance after 3 days, general details of their interactions and appearance after 5 days, and will completely forget their existence after 1 week. At will, the nihilicist can, with a touch, cause a creature to be permanently immune to this effect (though this does not restore any memories lost regarding the nihilicist); they can accept 1 point of burn to attempt a touch attack as a standard action to remove this immunity (subject to a Will save against DC 10 + the nihilicist’s class level; this save even applies to willing and unconscious targets).

This replaces the 2nd, 6th, and 12th-level utility wild talents.

Nihilistic Infusion (Su)

At 3rd level, the nihilicist gains nihilistic infusion as a bonus infusion.

This replaces the 3rd-level infusion.

Nihilistic Infusion

Element(s): universal; Type substance infusion; Level 2; Burn 1

Prerequisite(s): nihilicist 3rd

Associated Blasts: empty, zero

Saving Throw: Fort partial

You immediately apply the effects of your nihilistic curse on creatures damaged by your blast; however, this effect only allows you to convert the damage this blast would have normally dealt, not any nihil damage the target is currently suffering from, and reduces any lethal damage converted to 1/2. At 7th level you can instead increase this infusion’s burn cost to 2 to have it convert nihil damage into lethal damage as normal, and at 15th you can increase the burn cost to 3 to also be able to convert nihil damage the affected foe is currently suffering from.

Terminus (Sp)

At 20th level, the amount of nihil damage which must be converted to apply a condition to a creature is reduced by 1/5.

As a full-round action, a nihilicist can accept 6 points of burn to create an area of all-consuming nothingness.

This first affects a sphere with a 15-foot radius centered on them and everything within it (including themselves), and the area increases exponentially each round to 30 feet on the second round, 60 feet on the third, 120 feet on the fourth, and 240 feet on the fifth and final round. Everything in this space is consumed into oblivion, leaving nothing behind except for a sphere of annihilation where the nihilicist once stood.

All memory of the nihilicist’s existence is lost (even to those made immune to the effects of reduced dependence), though those who knew them will feel as if they’ve forgotten something vital. Those the nihilicist was especially close to in life can control the remaining sphere of annihilation as if they were an arcane spellcaster in possession of a talisman of the sphere regardless of actual spellcasting ability. A miracle or wish can revive any one other creature that was within this area or reverse the effects of this ability on a 10-foot cube of the space it left behind, but its effects are otherwise permanent.

This replaces omnikinesis.