Soulcaster

as important and can be altered to suit your own campaign. If you’re willing to do some additional work, you could drop the class’s focus on law and build a general cleric/ meldshaper prestige class from its basic abilities. Since these two core classes work well together, you could also base the sapphire hierarch on another alignment—or even no alignment at all. In the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting, the Temple of the Sapphire Eidolon lies in the remote Uthangol Mountains, overlooking the dusty plains of the Shaar. In the EBERRON setting, it stands in the Endworld Mountains, beyond the Blade Desert.

Encounters

Sapphire hierarchs are naturally drawn to places where chaos requires opposition. Since evil-tainted chaos tends to be more virulent and destructive than the sort embraced by creatures such as fey and elves, the sapphire hierarchs tend to be proactive when dealing with situations such as demonic infestation or the depredations of chaotic evil monsters. Reckless adventuring bands whose members provoke outbreaks of supernatural chaos are considered just as bad, and the sapphire hierarchs might use force against such a group if its members can’t be dissuaded from their actions.

EL 9: Sister Tara of the Sapphire Hierarchs seeks out the heroes when they come into possession of a magic key that can unlock the prison of a powerful slaad lord. She is determined to take the key for safekeeping, but the heroes need it for another quest. (Perhaps one of the treasures in the slaad lord’s prison is the only magic sword that can defeat a powerful evil foe.) Backed up by two lumi crusaders (see Monster Manual III, page 98), Sister Tara confronts the heroes and demands that they turn the key over to her.

Sister Tara, Sapphire Hierarch CR 9

Female azurin cleric 3/incarnate 2/sapphire hierarch 4 LN Medium humanoid (human, incarnum) Init +1; Senses Listen +4, Spot +4 Languages Common AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 hp 56 (9 HD); DR 1/adamantine Resist evasion; +4 on saves against chaotic and transmutation effects Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +14 Speed 20 ft. (4 squares) Melee +1 heavy mace +7 (1d8+4) or Melee lightning gauntlets +6 (3d6 electricity) or Ranged mwk light crossbow +5 (1d8/19–20) Base Atk +5; Grp +6 Atk Options smite chaos 2/day (+1 attack, +4 damage) Special Actions consultation (three times before 5th level), spontaneous casting (cure spells), turn undead 4/day (+3, 2d6+4, 3rd), turn water creatures or command fire creatures 4/day (+3, 2d6+4, 3rd) Combat Gear potion of invisibility, potion of cure moderate wounds, scroll of neutralize poison, scroll of invisibility purge Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 7th; 1d20+7 to overcome

SR):

4th—air walk, order’s wrathD (DC 18, CL 8th), summon monster IV 3rd—dispel magic, magic circle against chaosD (CL 8th), searing light, summon monster III 2nd—hold person (DC 16), produce flameD , remove paralysis, lesser restoration, summon monster II 1st—bless, burning handsD (DC 15), command (DC 15), divine favor, obscuring mist, shield of faith 0—create water, detect magic (2), guidance, light, resistance D: Domain spell. Domains: Fire, Law Essentia Pool 9; Capacity 2; Chakra Binds 2;

Soulmelds 4 Soulmelds and Essentia Investment (CL 6th):

Bluesteel bracers 2 (+2 insight bonus on initiative checks; +2 insight bonus on weapon damage rolls)

Diadem of purelight 2 (bright illumination out to 40 ft.; negates concealment less than total concealment; bound to crown chakra)

Impulse boots 2 (uncanny dodge; +2 enhancement bonus on Reflex saves; evasion; bound to feet chakra)

Lightning gauntlets 2 (melee touch attack deals 3d6 electricity damage 1/round) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd):

At will—detect chaos Abilities Str 12, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 19, Cha 13 SQ chakra binds (crown, feet); moderate aura of law Feats Augment Summoning, Bonus Essentia,

Lightning Reflexes, Open Least Chakra (feet), Spell

Focus (conjuration) Skills Balance +0, Concentration +11, Intimidate +3,

Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (religion) +5,

Move Silently +0, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +2 Possessions combat gear plus +1 full plate armor, masterwork light steel shield, ring of protection +1, periapt of Wisdom +2, +1 heavy mace, masterwork light crossbow with 10 bolts Hook “Take heart, servants of Law! Chaos cannot prevail!”

“Powered by energies you couldn’t possibly fathom, my spells will shake your very soul.”

—Edarril Larhastavil, elf soulcaster

From the arcane experiments of the wizards of the Last Watch arose the soulcasters, a cadre of arcane spellcasters who excel at incorporating soul energy into their magic. Those soulcasters still affi liated with the Last Watch dwell in crystal palaces on the Positive Energy Plane, where they work tirelessly to counter the machinations of the evil demon princes. Other members of this prestige class, however, have brought the knowledge of how to combine incarnum with arcane magic into the world and put it to more practical uses.

Wizards or sorcerers who have also learned the secrets of incarnum are the most common candidates for the soulcaster prestige class. Most choose the path of incarnate to acquire the necessary meldshaping ability, but occasionally a highlevel soulborn with levels in wizard or sorcerer also elects to pursue this path. Since a soulcaster is primarily an arcane spellcaster, a high Intelligence score is of paramount importance. A high Constitution score maximizes the number of soulmelds that can be shaped, and a high Wisdom score ensures high save DCs against the offensive effects of those melds.

Entry Requirements

Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks.

Feats: Incarnum Spellshaping.

Spellcasting: Ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells.

Meldshaping: Ability to shape three soulmelds; ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra.

CLASS FEATURES

Both your spellcasting and your meldshaping abilities continue to grow as you attain higher levels in the soulcaster prestige class. Your magic also becomes stronger because you gain more essentia to invest in your spells and in incarnum feats that affect your spells. Eventually, you learn to transform your arcane power into temporary essentia boosts, thereby maximizing the utility of your soulmelds. All of the following are class features of the soulcaster prestige class. Weapon and Armor Profi ciency: You gain no new profi ciencies with weapons, armor, or shields.

Meldshaping: At each soulcaster level, you increase your meldshaper level, the number of soulmelds you can shape, the number of chakra binds you can create, and your essentia pool as if you had gained a level in a meldshaping class to which you belonged prior to gaining the soulcaster level. You do not, however, gain any other abilities of that class, such as new tiers of chakra binds. If you had more than one meldshaping class before becoming a soulcaster, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining your essentia pool, meldshaper level, and the number of soulmelds and chakra binds available.

Spellcasting: At each soulcaster level, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefi t a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a soulcaster, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known. Arcane Investment (Su): Beginning at 1st level, you can invest essentia in your arcane spells to make them more powerful. At the same time that you shape your soulmelds, you can choose to invest 1 point of essentia in any single spell that you know (and have prepared, if you prepare spells). At any time in the next 24 hours, you can choose to use that invested essentia when you cast the chosen spell. Doing so requires no action, but both the caster level of the spell and its save DC increase by 1. Once so used, the essentia returns to your essentia pool and can be invested into soulmelds or other effects. As you attain higher levels, the number of spells you can invest with essentia in this manner increases. You can affect a number of spells equal to your soulcaster level, and you cannot invest essentia in the same spell more than once—that is, you can’t invest essentia in two lightning bolt spells, even if you can prepare or cast that spell more than once per day.

Table 6–6: The Soulcaster Hit Die: d4

Base Attack Fort Ref Will Level Bonus Save Save Save Special Spellcasting/Meldshaping

1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Arcane investment 1 +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class

2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 —

+1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Chakra binds +1 level of existing meldshaping class and (crown, feet, hands) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 4th +2 +1 +1 +4 — +1 level of existing meldshaping class and

5th +2 +1 +1 +4 —

+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 6th +3 +2 +2 +5 — +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 7th +3 +2 +2 +5 Arcane investment 2 +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 8th +4 +2 +2 +6 Chakra binds +1 level of existing meldshaping class and (arms, brow, shoulders) +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 9th +4 +3 +3 +6 — +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class 10th +5 +3 +3 +7 Magical distillation +1 level of existing meldshaping class and +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level): Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), Profession, Spellcraft

Illus. by A. Stokes

This process is not the same as investing essentia in a spell as part of its casting (see page 52). If you use your arcane investment ability to affect a given spell, you can also invest essentia in it as part of its casting if the spell allows it, but the two essentia investments are separate. At 7th level, you can invest up to 2 points of essentia in each spell rather than only 1. A 2-point investment boosts the spell’s caster level and save DC by 2 each for a single casting.

Chakra Binds: As you attain higher levels, you can bind your soulmelds and magic items to your chakras, gaining new powers based on the combination chosen. At 3rd level, you can bind your soulmelds or magic items to your least chakras (crown, feet, and hands), in addition to any other chakras you have available. When you attain 8th level, your lesser chakras (arms, brow, and shoulders) become available for chakra binds. Magical Distillation (Su): At 10th level, you can use the magical energy of your spells to augment your essentia pool. By sacrifi cing one arcane spell slot (or one

A soulcaster prepared arcane spell, if you prepare spells) of the highest level you can currently cast, you gain points of essentia equal to that spell’s level for 1 round. This essentia can be invested or otherwise used as normal, but it disappears at the start of your next turn. This ability is usable once per round as a free action.

PLAYING A SOULCASTER

As a soulcaster, you retain the same convictions that you had when you fi rst began to wield incarnum. You are an evangelist for your cause, and you enjoy demonstrating the power of incarnum as manifested through your spells. However, you also seek a balance between the power of your spellcasting and that of your meldshaping. You know that the fi rst soulcasters were born through the efforts of the Last Watch, an organization devoted to fi ghting the demon lords of the Abyss, and that the art of infusing soul energy into arcane magic has since spread well beyond that group. Even if you are not directly involved in the continuing efforts of the Last Watch, you are aware of its clandestine fi ght against the demon princes and the danger allowing that war to spill out into the open represents. Your philosophical viewpoint dictates your position on the war. If you are inclined toward good, you favor working against the demon lords at all costs; if you are inclined toward evil, you prefer to curry the favor of the evil princes in hopes of gaining a reward in this life or the next. If law is your cause, you strive to prevent the chaotic demons from gaining a foothold in the bastions of soul energy; if you lean toward chaos, you oppose the mindless destruction that the demons represent while remaining sympathetic to the cause of chaos. As your power and infl uence grow and you become more aware of the demonic threat, you can more actively counter (or take part in) the schemes of the demon princes. If you wish, you can try to contact the Last Watch and offer to work with its members to battle the demon lords; they will direct your power to where it is most needed. If you are inclined to join the battle on the other side, the demon princes will be more than happy to accept your aid as well.

Combat

Your best combat tactic is to use your incarnum-infused spells fi rst. When you do so, the invested essentia is freed for other uses, and you can channel it into your shaped soulmelds. Thus, your tactics change throughout an encounter to refl ect the shift of power from your spells to your soulmelds. Your ability to bind your soulmelds to your chakras significantly increases your versatility. Some soulmelds might become constant companions for you. In such cases, you must strike a balance between your favorite soulmelds and your spells with respect to essentia investment, and that balance might change throughout the day. As a high-level soulcaster, you need never lack for essentia since you can sacrifi ce your spell slots to power your soulmelds on a temporary basis. Though the levels of the spells you can cast might be slightly lower than those of a straight spellcaster, your arcane investment ability ensures that the saving throw DCs remain competitive.

While dabbling with combining incarnum and arcane magic, you inevitably stumble upon others who are doing likewise; through them, you learn of the soulcasters. If you seek them out and prove yourself worthy, a soulcaster might adopt you as an apprentice. During your apprenticeship, your soulcaster mentor teaches you how each spell becomes more powerful when infused with the soul energy of great spellcasters from other ages. While instructing you in how the magic of your spells and the power of incarnum can interact, he tells you how the first soulcasters evolved from the wizards of the Last Watch. As you learn more about the ways of the soulcaster, you begin to understand that the Last Watch is not just some ancient organization lost to history. It still exists and is constantly looking for brave heroes who are capable of fi ghting the demon lords. You might even receive an invitation to join the Last Watch on a crusade against the fi ends, or be asked to fulfi ll some minor quest that helps to interrupt their schemes. As long as you have no offi cial ties to the Last Watch, however, you are free to undertake whatever adventures suit your fancy. As your power increases, consider taking feats that further enhance your spellcasting through the investment of essentia. Midnight Metamagic, for instance, lets you apply your metamagic feats to even your highest-level spells by investing essentia instead of increasing the spell’s level. Soultouched Spellcasting helps you overcome the fact that your caster level is lower than that of a straight spellcaster by granting you a bonus on dispel checks and caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance. Improved Essentia Capacity increases the versatility of your incarnum feats by allowing you to invest more essentia in each one.

Resources

Initially, your best resource is your soulcaster mentor, who provides you with plenty of sage advice when you need it. If you accept a mission from the Last Watch, its members do what they can to outfi t you for taking the fi ght to the demon lords. They can provide survival gear to help you withstand the rigors of any plane to which you might be sent, or weapons and other equipment that are particularly suited to doing battle with fi ends.

SOULCASTERS IN THE WORLD

“The purity of their spell power is intriguing. If the demons don’t kill them first, I shall have to perform an inquiry into these soulcasters.”

—Cornered unnamed wizard

The soulcaster prestige class provides players with an opportunity to use the incarnum magic system in conjunction with the more familiar spell system. The soulcasters’ organization, the Last Watch, fits easily into almost any campaign because of its extraplanar headquarters, and it can become the starting point for numerous demonslaying adventures. Daily Life

Unless she joins the Last Watch on the Positive Energy Plane, a soulcaster’s life is much like that of any other arcane spellcaster. She is free to adventure at will and choose her own companions, or to seclude herself for extended research. Soulcasters maintain lifelong relationships with their mentors, keeping in contact and trading news on a regular basis. In addition, soulcasters who maintain working relationships with the Last Watch frequently accept missions relating to the organization’s ongoing battle with demonkind.

Notables

Unlike most arcane societies, the Last Watch has no organized leadership, and none of its members rank above the others. Its members prefer to work as a cooperative, each contributing his or her particular expertise to ensure the success of every enterprise. However, a few independent soulcasters operating on the Material Plane have managed to make names for themselves. Chief among these is Rorghas the Dark, an evil soulcaster who works to further the designs of the demon lord Graz’zt.

Organization

A signifi cant contingent of soulcasters still resides within the crystal palaces of the Last Watch on the Positive Energy Plane, though these arcane spellcasters make up only a small segment of the organization. The Last Watch is dedicated to defeating the demon lords, and its membership includes paladins, warriors, clerics, and various other characters who stand against evil and chaos in the cosmos. Since the crystal fortresses give ready access to the fonts of pure soul energy on the Positive Energy Plane, soulcasters with a penchant for experimentation choose to perform their research there. In fact, it was the wizards of the Last Watch who fi rst discovered the secrets of combining incarnum with arcane magic. While pursuing some minions of the demon prince Demogorgon, they discovered a font of soul energy deep within the Positive Energy Plane that had beneficial effects upon their spellcasting. After defeating the fi ends and dealing a critical blow to Demogorgon’s plans, a few of the wizards stayed behind to document their fi ndings and conduct further research into the energy of incarnum. These intrepid experimenters learned to weave incarnum into their spells, thereby becoming the fi rst soulcasters. Though these fi rst soulcasters remained allied with the Last Watch, their students carried the knowledge into the world. Now, although many soulcasters still choose to take up the fi ght against the demon lords, others have moved on to safer environs. The soulcasters who operate independently on the Material Plane are loosely organized through a network of couriers and contacts that they personally maintain. Through this linkage, they trade news, information, and techniques on a regular basis. New soulcasters are no longer expected to stand against the demons, but each character who takes up the prestige class is informed of the ongoing struggle and given the option of assisting the Last Watch. Some choose to do so, while others are content to keep abreast of the news while

staying out of the fiends’ path. Periodically, however, when times are particularly dire, the Last Watch sends out a call for aid that reaches the ears of every soulcaster not of evil bent. Not all soulcasters are inclined to work against the demons, and a few have actually fallen in with the evil horde. Although the Last Watch does not have the resources to destroy all the evil soulcasters across the planes, they consider each one a threat and do what they can to prevent them from spreading the secrets of soulcasting to other, less noble spellcasters.

NPC Reactions

Ordinary people assume that a soulcaster is just another sort of wizard. After all, arcane magic is strange and mystical anyway, and few understand that soulcasting any different. Thus, soulcasters are treated in the same way as wizards are in any given location. Clerics, wizards, and other spellcasters recognize that an otherworldly force enhances a soulcaster’s magic, so they are either cordially inquisitive or jealous of the new type of power, according to their individual natures and goals. Membership in the Last Watch means little outside that organization, since its operatives do their best to keep their activities secret. Whether or not a nonevil soulcaster belongs to the Last Watch, her most important enemies are the demon lords and their minions. The princes of evil have long memories, and they associate the practice of soulcasting with the wizards of the Last Watch who handed them their defeat so many years ago. Though the lesser demons would not recognize the difference between soulcasting and regular spellcasting, greater demons are much more informed. Balors and mariliths, for example, can identify the nuances of soulcasting, and they mark casters who utilize those techniques as targets. Evil soulcasters who do not actively work with the demon lords are likewise targeted as their enemies. Those who accept alliances with the princes of evil, however, can expect to be treated with respect by demonkind.

SOULCASTER LORE

Characters with the bardic knowledge ability or ranks in the Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes) skill can research the soulcasters to learn more about them and their organization. A character gains the information corresponding to all DCs equal to or below his bardic knowledge, Knowledge (arcana) or Knowledge (the planes) check result.

DC 10: Some wizards and sorcerers can enhance their spells with a strange, extraplanar energy known as incarnum. Their spell effects appear blue-tinged or have wispy tendrils of magical energy trailing from them.

DC 15: Those who augment their spells with incarnum are called soulcasters, and some of them belong to an organization known as the Last Watch.

DC 20: Soulcasters augment their spells by weaving pure soul energy together with arcane magic. They learn the technique from mentors, who tell them of the Last Watch, an organization of heroes that stands quietly against evil.

DC 30: The fi rst soulcasters were wizards of the Last Watch who discovered a font of soul energy on the Positive Energy Plane. The Last Watch is an organization dedicated to battling the demon lords, and it maintains several crystalline fortresses on the Positive Energy Plane. Characters wishing to contact a soulcaster or the Last Watch can fi nd an appropriate person with a DC 25 Gather Information check.

SOULCASTERS IN THE GAME

Introducing soulcasters into your campaign is a relatively easy task. NPC soulcasters can serve as mentors to characters who wish to pursue both meldshaping and spellcasting, and the Last Watch can actively assist the PCs when they encounter demonic forces. A soulcaster can also be an effective member of an adventuring party. Even though her overall spellcasting ability is not as good as that of a single-classed spellcaster, she can augment a few of her spells to great effect. Furthermore, once she’s out of spells, she can fall back on her not-insignificant array of soulmelds and continue to hold her own in encounters. A party soulcaster need not be aligned with the Last Watch, but she can easily fit into that organization if desired. As a hybrid character, a soulcaster is not as good at any given task as a single-classed meldshaper or spellcaster of equivalent character level, and that weakness becomes evident in encounters with creatures that have particularly high saving throw modifiers or spell resistance. Although the rest of the party might be capable of handling such foes, make sure you also include encounters with lowerlevel creatures that are more likely to succumb to the soulcaster’s powers.

Adaptation

If a focus on war with the demon lords does not fi t your campaign, the Last Watch could easily be adapted to oppose some other evil (or even good) organization or foe. Instead of tapping fonts of soul energy on the Positive Energy Plane, soulcasters could perform their magic by focusing the energies of past spellcasters’ souls. The research for that kind of soulcasting might involve macabre practices, such as locating and retrieving the bodies of archwizards from their trap- and horror-laden tombs.

Encounters

Not all soulcasters need to be allies of the PCs. Those who plan to oppose the party should focus on spells and soulmelds that synergize with each other, such as arcane focus. Investing essentia in two or three big spells before a fi ght can make the soulcaster’s fi rst few actions especially devastating, and thereafter, he can reallocate that essentia into his soulmelds. An evil soulcaster working against the Last Watch might also be in league with the demon lords and thus have fi endish allies.

EL 9: Rorghas the Dark is an evil soulcaster who has been a thorn in the side of the Last Watch for some time. The organization has decided that he must be eliminated before he can spread his knowledge of soulcasting to more of his evil acolytes. Rorghas appears to be alone when the PCs confront him, but his demonic protector—a babau