Ward Spiritualist

While many spiritualists are bound to a departed spirit, a condition more likely to be the result of chance or tragedy than a career choice, there are some individuals who seek out this life. A ward spiritualist ventures into the wilderness and petitions a kami to help her in her travels, either taking an existing ward with her or becoming the kami’s new ward.

Kami Phantom (Su)

The ward spiritualist’s phantom is less powerful than most, but it has an innate connection to its ward. The ward spiritualist’s phantom is a kami phantom, functioning as normal for a phantom, except that its base attack bonus is equal to three-quarters its Hit Dice (as a rogue) and its Hit Dice are d8s instead of d10s. Additionally, a kami phantom cannot manifest as incorporeal, only ectoplasmic.

This alters phantom.

Ward Implement (Su)

The ward spiritualist gains a single implement school of her choice, as an occultist, along with its resonant focus power and base focus power. The ward spiritualist does not gain additional spells from her ward implement, and it always starts each day with mental focus invested equal to half her class level (minimum 1).

When she gains her ward implement, the ward spiritualist must choose either to have a physical implement or to be the implement herself. If she chooses to have a physical implement, her spiritualist spells include it as a focus component, and she can change what item is her implement when she regains her spells at the start of each day. Her implement must be an item that can be held in one hand, and it cannot be a manufactured weapon. If the ward spiritualist chooses to be her own ward implement, her spiritualist spells always have a somatic component in addition to their other components; this component does not become an emotion component.

She can remove the focus or somatic component of her spells, but this requires a concentration check with a DC equal to 15 + twice the spell level, which is increased for a thought component as normal.

She gains a focus power for her implement school at 2nd level, and again at 6th level and 12th level. She must meet the prerequisites of these focus powers, treating her spiritualist level as her occultist level for focus power prerequisites.

She also treats her spiritualist level as her occultist level for feat prerequisites.

This alters spellcasting and replaces bonded senses, phantom recall, and greater spiritual interference.

Merged Manifestation (Su)

At 3rd level, the ward spiritualist learns how to merge her kami phantom with her ward implement. This functions as bonded manifestation, except that she does not choose ectoplasmic or incorporeal. Instead, she gains different benefits depending on whether she has a physical implement or is her own implement.

If she has a physical implement, when using her merged manifestation, her implement functions as a one-handed improvised weapon of appropriate size, and she does not take the usual penalties associated with wielding an improvised weapon. Additionally, it is considered to have a +1 enhancement bonus for the duration of the merged manifestation. This enhancement bonus increases by 1 at 8th level, and again at 13th level and 18th level. At 8th level, and again at 18th level, it deals damage as a weapon one size category larger. At 13th level, her implement also gains the benefits of spirit-bound blade for the duration of the merged manifestation.

If she is her own implement, when using her merged manifestation, she gains the unarmed strike class feature as a 1st level unchained monk. At 8th level, her unarmed strike damage is that of a 4th-level unchained monk, and she gains flurry of blows as a 1st-level unchained monk. At 13th level, her unarmed damage is that of an 8th-level unchained monk, and her unarmed strikes gain the benefits of spirit-bound blade for the duration of the merged manifestation. At 18th level, her unarmed damage is that of a 12th level unchained monk, and she can use flurry of blows as an 11th-level unchained monk.