Mastermind

Although some investigators use their honed senses and cunning insight for personal gain, no one excels at such endeavors like the mastermind. Typically, these investigators dwell at the centers of complex networks of lies, minions, or simply precious information, from which they dispense commands, threats, and rumors, all carefully crafted to increase the power of their peculiar empires. While masterminds often act as the heads of illicit organizations like criminal families, thieves’ guilds, or corruption-riddled bureaucracies, they aren’t always evil.

Mastermind’s Inspiration (Ex)

A mastermind can use inspiration on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks without expending a use of inspiration, but can’t do so for Linguistics or Spellcraft checks.

A mastermind can use inspiration on any Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge, or skill checks without spending a use of inspiration.

This ability alters inspiration.

A Quiet Word (Ex)

A mastermind’s reputation precedes him. At 1st level, once per day a mastermind can spend 10 minutes preparing an ally to make a single Diplomacy or Intimidate check (mastermind’s choice when preparing the ally) within the next 24-hour period at the mastermind’s behest. This skill check uses the mastermind’s skill ranks instead of the ally’s. The mastermind’s affected ally still uses its own ability bonus for the check.

Furthermore, when a mastermind uses this ability, he can expend one use of inspiration to give the ally use of the inspiration die when making the check.

At 3rd level, a mastermind can use this ability an additional time each day, and the number of times he can use this ability per day increases by 1 for every third level thereafter. Multiple uses of this ability on the same ally grant that ally the benefit on additional Diplomacy or Intimidate checks.

At 12th level, a mastermind can use this ability to bestow on his ally the use of his skill ranks, similar to the 1st-level effects of this ability but with a wider range of skills to choose from. The mastermind can only bestow this for a skill check that he can use inspiration on without expending uses of inspiration. For instance, a mastermind with the underworld inspiration talent can bolster his ally’s Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, or Sleight of Hand skill checks, selecting a single skill for each use of the ability.

This ability replaces trapfinding and trap sense.

Mastermind Defense (Ex)

At 4th level, a mastermind can, as an immediate action, expend two uses of inspiration to make an inspired defense. He rolls his inspiration die and applies the result as a penalty on an attack roll made against him. If the mastermind has the combat inspiration talent, he can expend one use of inspiration instead of two.

This ability replaces swift alchemy.

Impregnable Mind (Su)

At 9th level, a mastermind’s secrecy, obscurity, and mental conditioning reach superhuman levels. He becomes immune to any divination spell, spell-like ability, or effect that allows a saving throw (though he can still allow a divination effect to affect him if he wishes). Even divination effects that do not allow a saving throw have difficulty piercing a mastermind’s barriers, as a mastermind can now choose to think in any language he speaks. Unless the opponent reading a mastermind’s thoughts speaks all of the mastermind’s languages, attempts at thought reading automatically fail.

This ability replaces the investigator talent gained at 9th level.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Class Guide © 2014, Paizo Inc.; Authors: Dennis Baker, Ross Byers, Jesse Benner, Savannah Broadway, Jason Bulmahn, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Tracy Hurley, Jonathan H. Keith, Will McCardell, Dale C. McCoy, Jr., Tom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Thomas M. Reid, Sean K Reynolds, Tork Shaw, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.

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