Cinnamon Bird (Spheres)

Cinnamon Bird CR 3

XP 800
N Tiny magical beast
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15

Defense

AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +2 size)
hp 24 (4d10+4)
Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +4
DR 5/magic

Offense

Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (good)
Melee Bite +4 (1d3-3)
Space 2.5 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Sphere-Like Abilities (CL 4; MSB +3; MSD 14; concentration +6; CAM Cha)

At will:

Creation Sphere – Talents Divided Creation, Distant Creation; Special: can only have one create effect at a time; if create is used again, any previous objects are immediately dismissed

• create, close range (35 ft.), DC 15; create one object up to Large size (4 Small objects; vegetable matter only, 4 minutes)
  • Divided Creation: can create multiple objects (total less than largest size possible)
  • Spice Maker: 1/day, can permanently create 1 pound of rare spices worth up to 20 gp

Statistics

Str 6, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 15
Base Atk +4; CMB +0; CMD +14
Feats: Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Sphere Focus (Creation)
Skills Appraise +5, Fly +15, Perception +15, +12 Stealth; Racial Modifiers +4 Appraise, +8 Perception
SQ crafter’s companion, spice maker

Special Abilities

Crafter’s Companion (Ex)

A cinnamon bird can assist others (usually its master, if a familiar) in creating formulae, alchemical items, and potions. Formulae, alchemical items, or potions crafted this way have a distinct scent from the rare spices a cinnamon bird will collect to assist the craftsman. A cinnamon bird can assist with the following crafting: Alchemy sphere formulae. Increase the effective ranks of Craft (alchemy) by 1 and the results of your Craft (alchemy) check by 4 when determining the effects of that formulae.

Potions, either with the Brew Potion feat or by using a talent with the instill descriptor. Increase the caster level of the potion or instilled liquid by 1.

Mundane alchemical items. Increase any alchemical bonus granted by the crafted item by 1 (such as the bonus granted by antitoxin on a saving throw against poison).

Sphere-Like Abilities (Sp)

A cinnamon bird possesses sphere-like abilities, as indicated in its stat block. The cinnamon bird’s caster level for these sphere-like abilities is equal to its CR. If a cinnamon bird is serving as a familiar, it uses its master’s level to calculate its caster level, MSB, and MSD for its sphere-like abilities as if it were a Mid-Caster.

Spice Maker (Ex)

A cinnamon bird gains a +1 bonus to its caster level with its Creation sphere sphere-like ability.

In addition, the cinnamon bird can create rare and fragrant spices when using its Creation sphere create sphere-like ability. Once per day, the cinnamon bird may augment its create sphere-like ability with the Create Materials advanced talent to permanently create up to 1 pound of rare spices worth up to 5 gp per caster level.

About

Environment any temperate or warm
Organization solitary, nestmates (2), flock (3-12)
Treasure incidental, rare spices (10-100 gp)

Visually indistinguishable from an average songbird, save for its soft orange-brown colored plumage and the distinct smell of rare spices, this golden-brown plumed songbird cheerfully works at arranging its nest.

Often rumored to live on the outskirts of small villages and trading outposts, cinnamon birds are prized as companions to traders, craftsmen, and alchemists. Noted by their unique smell, brought on by their nesting habits, cinnamon birds are prized and revered for their appraisal skills in evaluating rare spices, herbs, and reagents. Usually nonviolent, cinnamon birds protect themselves by using their potent Creation sphere magics to entrap or entangle would-be predators.

Cinnamon birds are known to assemble their nests from assortments of rare spices, most famous for using whole cinnamon sticks, and will dry and cure them to assemble nests. In older civilizations, cinnamon was a valuable spice in the early ages of trade caravans, and a cinnamon bird’s sighting near a town was seen as a symbol of prosperity.

Familiar

A 7th-level spellcaster of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a cinnamon bird as a familiar.

Variants

Other species of magical birds similar to the cinnamon bird have been sighted, and have shaped local folklore.

Minka Bird (CR +0)

This owl-like bird stares with empty, blue-hazed eyes. Rumored as heralds to the whims of fate, the minka bird is revered as a guardian of the afterlife and a prized companion to fortune tellers, soothsayers, and those who would tempt fate. The sighting of a minka bird is said to be an omen of certain and impending death.

A minka bird is a variant cinnamon bird which exchanges abilities (Creation sphere sphere-like ability, crafter’s companion, spice maker), the Sphere Focus (Creation) feat, and the +4 Appraise racial skill bonus for the following:

Sphere-Like Abilities (CL 3; MSB +3; MSD 14; concentration +5; CAM Cha)

1/day: Divination Sphere: (divine) Augury

• divine, 1 minute, DC 14; (gain information)
  • Augury (divine); ask whether an action will bring good or bad results within the next 4 hours, 90% chance for a meaningful reply

Magic

Caster Level 3; MSB +4; MSD 15; Concentration +6
Tradition Fortune’s Conduit (Verbal Casting, Witchmarked [glowing eyes]); CAM Cha
Spell Points 8

Fate Sphere – Talents Resounding Word; (word) Borrow Luck, Borrow Trouble, Mercy, Pain; Drawbacks (Neutrality, Tongue of Ages)

• word, medium range (130 ft.), DC 14; (effects of a (word) talent)
• Borrow Luck (word); immediate action, 1 sp, target rerolls a failed check and takes a -4 on that type of roll until they fail
• Borrow Trouble (word); immediate action, 1 sp, target rerolls a successful check and takes a +4 on that type of roll until they succeed.
• Mercy (word); standard action, 1 sp, target deals nonlethal with all weapon attacks for 3 rounds
• Pain (word); standard action, 0 sp, target suffers 1d4 + 1 nonlethal damage, takes penalties on mental skill checks, and must succeed at concentration checks to cast, +1 sp to continue without concentration (3 rounds)

Feats: Sphere Focus (Fate)

Languages Common (cannot speak; except to provide verbal components for sphere effects)

Special Abilities

Diviner’s Companion (Su)

If the master of a minka bird familiar is a spherecaster, the minka bird can infuse its master with a portion of its mystical capacity. Each time the minka bird’s master rests and regains spell points, the minka bird’s master chooses either fate or portents: If the minka bird’s master chooses fate, the minka bird grants its master one Fate sphere (word) talent of the master’s choice as a temporary bonus talent.

If the minka bird’s master chooses portents, the minka bird grants its master one Divination sphere (divine) talent of the master’s choice as a temporary bonus talent.

The minka bird must be with its master when granting a temporary bonus talent to its master, and the master must possess that talent’s base sphere and meet any prerequisites (if an advanced talent). The minka bird’s master immediately loses the chosen benefits if the minka bird is killed or dismissed.

Fortune’s Herald (Ex)

A minka bird has a 90% chance to receive a meaningful reply when using its augury sphere-like ability and can communicate the results of this reply, even though it cannot speak normally.

In addition, the first time a minka bird targets an individual creature with either the Borrow Luck or Borrow Fortune talent each day, a minka bird may reduce the spell point cost of that effect by 1 (minimum 0).

Spherecaster: A minka bird is a Mid-Caster and gains one magic talent for every 4 Hit Dice it possesses. A minka bird uses the Fortune’s Conduit casting tradition and can only select magic talents from the Divination or Fate sphere. If a minka bird is serving as a familiar, it uses its master’s level to calculate its caster level, MSB, MSD, and spell points as if it were a Mid-Caster and gains new magic talents using its master’s level as if it were its own Hit Dice.

All minka birds always possess the Borrow Luck and Borrow Trouble (word) talents. The average minka bird has the Fate sphere (word) talents presented in its stat block, although some may possess other talents, such as a minka bird with the Harm (word) instead of the Pain (word).

Familiar

A 7th-level spellcaster of any alignment with the Improved Familiar feat can gain a minka bird as a familiar.

Climate creatures are Weather sphere-infused magical beasts (or other creatures) which exemplify the traits and qualities of their habitats and origins. A creature with the climate subtype (“climate creature”) has the following traits (in addition to their base type):

• Damage Reduction: If the climate creature’s attuned weathers grant damage reduction, the climate creature gains damage reduction 5 for each attuned weather, +5 for every 10 Hit Dice the climate creature possesses. Multiple sources of damage reduction from this ability do not stack and are applied separately.
• Energy Resistance: If the climate creature’s attuned weathers grant energy resistance, the climate creature gains resistance 10 for each attuned weather, +5 for every 5 Hit Dice the climate creature possesses. At 15 Hit Dice, this instead grants immunity to that damage type.

Attuned Mantles (Su)

A climate creature is under the effects of each Weather sphere (mantle) effect belonging to their attuned weather as a constant supernatural effect with a caster level equal to the climate creature’s Hit Dice. The climate creature can suppress or resume each (mantle) effect as a free action. The save DC of a (mantle) talent from this ability is Constitution-based (10 + 1/2 the climate creature’s Hit Dice + the climate creature’s Constitution modifier), and the climate creature uses their Constitution modifier as their casting ability modifier for any other (mantle) effects.

If a (mantle) requires specific circumstances or equipment to grant their benefits, the climate creature is presumed to possess some way to use that (mantle) effect (such as a creature’s natural attacks qualifying for the Lightning Rod (mantle) talent despite not being made of metal).

Unlike a regular (mantle) sphere effect, a climate creature benefits from (mantle) effects as though it were always in an area of its attuned weather with a severity of 3 + 1 per 5 Hit Dice. If the environment’s current weather conditions would be a higher severity than what the climate creature benefits from constantly, the climate creature benefits from that higher severity normally.

Weather Attunement (Ex)

All climate creatures are attuned to one or more Weather sphere weather conditions (“attuned weather”), gaining damage reduction, resistance, and (mantle) effects as appropriate. Table: Climate Creature Weather Attunements details what damage reduction or energy resistance is associated with a weather condition.In addition, a climate creature is immune to and suffers no negative effects or penalties associated with their attuned weather (such as a wind climate creature being immune to all effects associated with high Wind severity).

Table: Climate Creature Weather Attunements

Weather Condition	Associated Damage Reduction or Resistance
Wind	DR/bludgeoning
Cold	Cold resistance
Heat	Fire resistance
Precipitation	N/A
Aridity	DR/– vs. nonlethal
Storm1	Electricity resistance
Ash2	DR/slashing
Vog2	Acid resistance
Fallout3	N/A

¹ Storm weather conditions are a combination of Wind and Precipitation at severity 4 and higher. A Wind and Precipitation climate creature with 5 or more Hit Dice automatically gains storm as an attuned weather condition.

² Ash and Vog weather conditions are created using the Weather sphere Volcano Lord advanced talent. A climate creature attuned to Ash or Vog is generally also attuned to Heat, due to Ash and Vog being most common in volcanic environments or areas with hot, gaseous geysers, but may be individually attuned to Ash or Vog.

³ Fallout weather conditions were originally printed for the Weather sphere in the Cataclysm Handbook and are only created using the Weather sphere Radiation Lord advanced talent. Fallout climate creatures are exceedingly rare and immune to the effects of radiation.

Note – Future Proofing the Climate Creature Subtype: As of this bestiary, there are approximately 3 or 4 mantles for each weather condition. This subtype is left generously open and is intended for creatures built “from the ground up” with this subtype. As such, it is important to consider, and balance, the attuned (mantles) as part of their “power budget”. Many (mantle) effects are relatively minor passive abilities, but when a creature has 6 or more, they start to stack up.

A climate creature should not have more (mantle) effects than twice its Hit Dice, and should generally not be attuned to more than 2 weather conditions that have associated (mantles).