Feats

Metamagic Feats

Applying a metamagic feat to a sphere effect is similar to, but slightly different from, how a spontaneous caster applies a metamagic feat to a spell. A caster may choose to augment their sphere effect with an appropriate metamagic feat at the time of casting. To use a metamagic feat, the caster must spend a number of additional spell points equal to the level increase of the metamagic feat. In addition, the sphere effect’s casting time increases by 1 step. These effects are cumulative for every metamagic feat applied.

Example: Soren the Thaumaturge uses a powerful destructive blast with the explosive orb talent (2 spell points) augmented by the Maximize Spell (3 spell points), and Silent Spell (1 spell point) metamagic talents. This costs 6 spell points and takes 1 round to cast (+2 time increases).

The only exception to this is Quicken Spell which, instead of increasing the casting time, decreases the casting time by 2 steps to a minimum of one swift action. Like all metamagic feats, a caster cannot apply Quicken Spell multiple times to the same effect.

The following metamagic feats may all be applied to an appropriate sphere effect: Bouncing Spell, Coaxing Spell, Consecrate Spell, Widen Spell, Disruptive Spell, Ectoplasmic Spell, Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Reach Spell, Extend Spell, Focused Spell, Jinxed Spell [Metamagic], Lingering Spell, Maximize Spell, Merciful Spell, Persistent Spell, Piercing Spell, Quicken Spell, Selective Spell, Silent Spell (if the caster possesses the Verbal Casting drawback), Still Spell (if the caster possesses the Somatic Casting drawback), Thanatopic Spell, and Threnodic Spell.

If the effect of a metamagic feat is determined by spell level, treat the sphere effect’s caster level/2 as its effective spell level.

Advanced Magical Training

Prerequisite(s): Basic Magical Training or 1 level in a casting class.

Benefit(s): Treat your levels in non-casting classes as low-casting classes when determining your total caster level. If you do not possess levels in a casting class, increase your spell point pool to equal your casting ability modifier. With GM permission, you may also select a casting tradition when you gain this feat.

Arcane Empowerment

Prerequisite(s): Spell pool, the ability to cast arcane or divine spells.

Benefit(s): When casting a spell, you may spend 1 spell point as a free action to either increase the caster level by 2 or increase the spell’s DC by 2. You cannot spend more than 1 spell point in this manner. This does not stack with an arcanist’s ability to increase a spell’s caster level or DC through the expenditure of points from their arcane reservoir.

Artificery

Prerequisite(s): Any Craft or Profession skill (5 ranks).

Benefit(s): Select one Craft or Profession skill in which you have at least 5 ranks. You gain a +2 bonus on your chosen Craft or Profession skill. You may use your ranks in this Craft or Profession skill as if it were your caster level when qualifying for Item Creation feats, and when determining how powerful of an enchantment you may place upon an item. Possessing this feat does not, however, grant you access to any magic spheres when determining which enchantments you may place upon an item. You must use your chosen Craft or Profession skill when creating a magic item, and cannot work with any item or material not related to your chosen skill.

Artificery, Improved

Prerequisite(s): Any Craft or Profession skill (10 ranks), Artificery

Benefit(s): When using the skill chosen with the Artificery feat to create a magic item, you may craft that magic item whether or not you possess its prerequisite base sphere. Crafting a magic item in this fashion increases the skill check required to make the item by +5.

Basic Magical Training

Prerequisite(s): No levels in any spellcasting class.

Benefit(s): Choose a sphere of magic. You gain access to this basic sphere. You gain an effective caster level of 1 and a spell pool of 1. Use your highest mental ability as your casting ability score.

If you later gain levels in a spellcasting class, exchange this feat for the Extra Magical Talent feat.

Blessing/Blight Mastery

Prerequisite(s): Blessing/Blight class feature, Channel Energy class feature

Benefit(s): When you channel energy, you may spend an additional use of channel energy to apply a blessing or blight to one creature that was affected by your channeling. This creature is allowed a saving throw as usual, if they would normally be granted one.

Blessing/Blight Versatility

Prerequisite(s): Blessing/Blight class feature, Channel Energy class feature, Versatile Channeler.

Benefit(s): If you can apply Blessings to targets, you may now also apply Blights, treating your soul weaver level as being effectively 2 levels lower for this purpose.

If you can apply Blights to targets, you may now also apply Blessings, treating your soul weaver level as being effectively 2 levels lower for this purpose.

Cantrips

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature or Basic Magic Training.

Benefit(s): You can create a variety of small magical effects. These effects are not powerful and are treated as sphere effects in all ways. They require a standard action to use, have a range of Close, and are either instantaneous or have a duration of 1 hour depending on the effect created.

  • You may make a ranged touch attack, dealing 1d3 acid, electricity, fire, or cold damage to a target.
  • You may clean, soil, or color up to 1 cubic ft. of material per round.
  • You may create floating lights the size of candle flames and move them up to 20 ft. per round as a free action.
  • You may create a spark such as with flint and steel, which may ignite flammable, unattended Fine objects.
  • You may open or close a door or container weighing no more than 30 lbs.
  • You may chill, warm, or flavor 1 lbs. of nonliving material.
  • You may create a small breeze from whichever direction you choose, strong enough to rustle clothing and flicker candles.
  • You may lift objects weighing up to 1 lbs. and move them up to 10 ft. per round.
  • You may create small non-speech sounds, such as that of a mouse screeching, soft simple harp music, or the hubbub of a whispered conversation.

You can make up new effects, but they should not be more powerful than those listed above. The GM is the final arbiter of what is or is not a cantrip.

Circle Casting

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, 10th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): You may aid another spellcaster who also possesses this feat, granting them a temporary +1 bonus to their caster level, as well as granting them access to your spell points and talents as if they possessed them. You must spend a standard action every round to maintain this ability, and you must be within 30 ft. of the caster you are aiding in this manner.

A target may be aided by multiple casters at once in this manner, but all involved casters must remain within 30 ft. of each other, and the effects are not strictly cumulative. It takes one aiding caster to add a +1 enhancement bonus, three to add a +2 bonus, six to add a +3 bonus, ten to add a +4 bonus, and fifteen to add a +5 bonus. No caster may receive more than a +5 bonus in this manner.

Contingency

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, 10th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): You may spend a spell point and ten minutes of preparation to use a sphere effect in such a way that it comes into effect under some later condition you have previously dictated. You must pay any spell point costs associated with the desired effect and must place the effect on yourself or onto a creature or location within Close range. The creature or area selected must be the target of the Sphere effect.

The conditions needed to activate the effect must be clear, but they can be general. (If the caster is dropped below half hit points, if an elf enters the room, or if Madame Deflour comes within Close range are all examples of contingency conditions.) In all cases, the contingency causes the sphere effect to manifest instantly when the prescribed circumstances occur. If complicated or convoluted conditions are prescribed, the effect may fail when triggered. The effect occurs based solely on the stated conditions, regardless of whether you want it to.

You may only have one contingency active at a time; any previous unused contingency effect is dispelled when a new one is created. A caster always knows when their contingency is triggered, even if they aren’t present. If a contingency is placed on a creature or location, it can be detected and dispelled like any other sphere effect. For this purpose, a contingency is considered a magical trap with a Perception and Disable Device DC equal to 25 + 1/2 the caster level.

If a contingency remains unused when a caster rests to regain spell points, they may choose to dispel the contingency or sustain it, in which case they do not recover the spell points used to create the contingency.

Counterspell

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, 5th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): You may spend a spell point as a standard action to dispel an existing magical effect on a creature, item, or location within Medium range. You may target a specific effect if you have identified it, otherwise the effect with the highest caster level on the target is automatically targeted.

Alternatively, you may ready an action to use this ability to counter a spell or magical effect cast by another. In both cases, you must succeed at a magic skill check against the caster or magical effect in question. If you succeed then the targeted effect is destroyed.

If you target a magic item, the item is not destroyed; instead the item’s magical properties are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, after which the item recovers its magical properties. A suppressed item becomes non-magical for the duration of the effect. An interdimensional opening (such as a bag of holding) is temporarily closed. A magic item’s physical properties are unchanged; a suppressed magic sword is still a sword (a masterwork sword, in fact). Artifacts and deities are unaffected by mortal magic such as this.

This is treated as a sphere effect, and it is subject to all rules as a sphere ability, is affected by the caster’s casting tradition, and can itself be countered by another caster.

Counterspell, Improved

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, Counterspell, 10th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): When using the Counterspell feat against a creature or object, you may spend an additional spell point to target an additional 1 magical effect on the target per 5 caster levels.

Alternatively, you may spend an additional spell point to affect multiple effects in a 20-ft burst. Roll one MSB check and apply that check to each creature in the area, as if targeted by the basic Counterspell feat. Objects that are the target of magical effects are also targeted by this ability, but magic items are not.

For each ongoing effect that targets an area and whose point of origin is within the counterspell area, apply your MSB check to end that effect. If a magical effect overlaps the counterspell area but is not centered within it, apply your MSB check to end that effect, but only within the overlapping area.

If an object or creature within the area of effect is the result of ongoing magic (such as a summoned monster or companion, or an object created through the Creation sphere), apply the MSB check against the spell or effect that summoned them, causing them to disappear (or return to their home plane) if successful.

Counterspell, Greater

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, Counterspell, Improved Counterspell, 15th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): When using the Counterspell feat, you may spend 2 additional spell points to target all magic within a 40-ft radius burst, whether it be magical effects or magic items. If your check succeeds against a magic item, that item’s magic is suppressed for 1 minute per caster level. If your check succeeds against a magical effect, the effect is destroyed.

You also have a 1% chance per caster level of destroying an antimagic field. If the antimagic field survives the greater counterspell, no items within it are affected.

You may also spend the 2 additional spell points, but only target a single item. Make your MSB check with a +5 bonus against this item. If you succeed, the item is permanently destroyed. Even artifacts are subject to this effect, though there is only a 1% chance per caster level of actually affecting such powerful items. If successful, the artifact’s power unravels, and it is destroyed. If an artifact is destroyed, you must make a DC 25 Will save or permanently lose all spellcasting abilities. These abilities cannot be recovered by mortal magic, not even miracle or wish. Destroying artifacts is a dangerous business, and it is 95% likely to attract the attention of some powerful being who has an interest in or connection with the device.

Counterspell Mastery

Prerequisite(s): Counterspell, 7th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): You may perform a counterspell as an immediate action by spending an additional spell point. You may only use a counterspell in this fashion when using it to counter an effect while it is being cast i.e., you cannot use this ability to dispel effects already in place or suppress magic items. You gain a +2 bonus to MSB checks made when using the Counterspell feat.

Craft Rituals (Item Creation feat)

Prerequisite(s): 3rd caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): You may research rituals. See Advanced Magic for more information on researching rituals.

Create Spell Book

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, Spellcrafting.

Benefit(s): You may write down your spells in a magic book, allowing you access to more spells than the usual limit. See Advanced Magic for more information on spellcrafting and spellbooks.

Delayed Magic (Metamagic feat)

Prerequisite(s): Spell pool class feature.

Benefit(s): You delay the effect of a sphere ability for up to 5 rounds after you use it. You must select the amount of delay when using the effect. The area or target to be affected must be within range when the ability is used, but need not remain in your range (you or it may move) before the effect activates.

Cost: +1 spell point.

Elicit Strike

Prerequisite(s): Improved Unarmed Strike, Emotion class feature.

Benefit(s): If you make a successful unarmed strike against an opponent, in addition to dealing your unarmed strike damage, you can spend a swift action to deliver the effects of an emotion power with ‘touch’ in its name. Doing so provokes no attacks of opportunity.

Extra Arsenal Trick

Prerequisite(s): Arsenal Trick class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain an arsenal trick for which you meet the prerequisites. You may take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Bestial Trait

Prerequisite(s): Bestial Trait class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain an additional bestial trait for which you meet the prerequisites. You may take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Emotion

Prerequisite(s): Emotion class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain the minor power of a new emotion or the next level of an emotion you already possess. You may take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Invocations

Prerequisite(s): Invocations class feature.

Benefit(s): Increase the number of times per day you may use Invocations by 2. You may take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Magic Talent

Prerequisite(s): Basic Magic Training or Casting class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain an additional sphere or a talent from a sphere you possess. You may take this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Mystic Combat

Prerequisite(s): Mystic Combat class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain an extra mystic combat ability for which you qualify. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Nexus Powers

Prerequisite(s): Bound Nexus class feature.

Benefit(s): Increase the number of souls in your bound nexus by 2. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Psionics

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature.

Benefit(s): You may use psionics an extra 6 rounds per day. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Secret

Prerequisite(s): Secrets class feature.

Benefit(s): Gain an extra secret for which you qualify. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Shadowstuff

Prerequisite(s): Shadowstuff class feature.

Benefit(s): Increase the number of shadow points you possess by 2. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Extra Spell Points

Prerequisite(s): Spell Pool.

Benefit(s): Your spell pool total increases by 2. You may gain this feat multiple times. The effects stack.

Fool Magic

Prerequisite(s): Deceitful, Iron Will, Bluff 7 ranks, Disguise 7 ranks

Benefit(s): When you succeed at a Will saving throw made against any magical effect, the caster of that effect does not automatically know you have succeeded at your saving throw. This allows you to attempt a Bluff check against their Sense Motive check to convince them that you failed your saving throw and are under the effects of the magic. You can choose to allow supplementary effects of the magic (such as the telepathic link provided by the dominate person spell or the Dominate advanced Mind talent) to function as if you had failed your saving throw, to aid in the deception. You may dismiss the supplementary effect early as a standard action.

Greater Hypnosis

Prerequisite(s): Hypnotism class feature.

Benefit(s): The range at which you may affect targets with your hypnotism increases to Medium range.

Normal: You may only affect targets with your hypnotism at Close range.

Greater Shadowmark

Prerequisite(s): Shadowmark class feature.

Benefit(s): Your shadowmark deals d8s for damage instead of d6s.

Lingering Link

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature, mind link psionic effect.

Benefit(s): When affecting targets with your mind link psionic effect, you only need to spend 1 round of psionic power per minute the effect is maintained, rather than every round.

Lingering Link, Greater

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature, mind link psionic effect, Lingering Link.

Benefit(s): You may use your mind link psionic effect jointly with other psionic effects. You must start each psionic effects individually and must spend the cost for each effect while maintaining them. Ending one effect does not necessitate ending the other.

Lingering Psionics

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature.

Benefit(s): The bonuses and penalties from your psionics continue for 2 rounds after you cease using it. Any other requirement, such as range or specific conditions, must still be met for the effect to continue. If you begin a new psionic effect during this time, the bonuses and penalties of the previous psionic effect immediately cease.

Master Artisan

Prerequisite(s): Forbidden lore class feature, at least 1 item creation feat.

Benefit(s): Choose one item creation feat that you possess. Add your forbidden lore bonus to your caster level when determining how powerful of an enchantment you may place upon an item.

Master of Cosmos

Prerequisite(s): Forbidden lore class feature, Conjuration sphere.

Benefit(s): Add your forbidden lore bonus to your caster level when determining the strength of your companions from the Conjuration sphere.

Master of Death

Prerequisite(s): Forbidden lore class feature, Death sphere.

Benefit(s): Add your forbidden lore bonus to your caster level when determining the number of undead creatures you may control at any one time through the Death sphere.

Mind Opener

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature, battlefield relay psionic effect.

Benefit(s): Increase the save DC of your battlefield relay psionic effect by +2.

Mounted Magician

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, Enhancement sphere, Handle Animal 3 ranks, Ride 3 ranks.

Benefit(s): When targeting yourself with an enhancement, your mount also gains the benefits of that enhancement. This lasts as long as you are both enhanced and mounted. If you dismount or are unseated, your mount loses the benefit of your enhancement.

Occult Savant

Prerequisite(s): Occult Knowledge class feature, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, or any Knowledge skill 10 ranks.

Benefit(s): You may take 10 with any Knowledge, Spellcraft, or Use Magic Device check, regardless of stress or other situations where taking 10 would otherwise be impossible.

Perceptive Psionics

Prerequisite(s): Psionics class feature, battlefield relay psionic effect, Perception 7 ranks, Sense Motive 7 ranks.

Benefit(s): You may read a target’s subtle movements, even if you cannot read their mind. If a target makes their saving throw against your battlefield relay, you may still activate the effect against them. When using battlefield relay in this fashion, the bonuses granted are divided by 2.

Your battlefield relay persists at half strength for as long as it is maintained. If you wish to attempt your battlefield relay again, you must cease your battlefield relay and use it again.

You may even target creatures with your battlefield relay that are usually immune to mind-affecting abilities. These targets needn’t make a Will save, and the bonuses are always divided by 2 against them.

Ritual Caster

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature.

Benefit(s): You may use a ritual, even if you do not possess that ritual’s base sphere (see Advanced Magic). If you also possess the Craft Rituals item creation feat, you still cannot research a ritual unless you meet all of its prerequisites.

Ritual Master

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature, Ritual Caster.

Benefit(s): You may use your MSB in place of your caster level when using rituals.

Shadowblast

Prerequisite(s): Shadowmark class feature.

Benefit(s): When using your shadowmark, you may spend an extra shadow point to change the effect from a ranged touch attack into a Close-ranged cone. All creatures within this area are allowed a Reflex save for half damage. If they succeed at this Reflex save, they do not suffer the penalty to Will saves.

Superior Rebuff

Prerequisite(s): Destruction sphere, Rebuff, Improved Evasion.

Benefit(s): When using the Rebuff talent to provide cover to allies, you also grant them the benefits of Improved Evasion.

Spellcrafting

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature.

Benefit(s): You may mix and match powers from various spheres into spells of your own creation. See Advanced Magic for more information on spellcrafting.

Sphere Focus

Prerequisite(s): Casting class feature.

Benefit(s): Choose a sphere. You gain a +1 bonus to saving throw DCs for all abilities from that sphere.

You may take this feat multiple times. The effects do not stack. each time it is gained, apply this benefit to a different sphere.

Trance

Prerequisite(s): Emotion class feature.

Benefit(s): You may apply any emotion power with ‘touch’ in the name to yourself as a move action instead of a standard action. Doing so does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

Wand Wielder

Prerequisite(s): 10th caster level or higher.

Benefit(s): When wielding a wand, use your caster level in place of the wand’s caster level (if it is higher) when calculating its abilities.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Spheres of Power © 2014 Drop Dead Studios LLC, Author Adam Meyers

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