Chapter Two
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Prestige Classes Within this chapter, you will find a veritable cornucopia of new psionic prestige classes. From the astral zealot, who studies ectoplasm and uses it quite effectively in a variety of situations, to the voce warrior, whose very vocalization can strike a foe down, each prestige class offered here makes use of the mindscape psionic combat system.
ach of the dozen descriptions in this chapter contains some general information about the prestige class, delves into the requirements to add it to your character, provides you with its features (including abilities and proficiencies), and includes all the information relevant to advancing the character in the prestige class.
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Astral Zealot The medium of the Astral Plane, when drawn into a corporeal plane, is ectoplasm; every psionic student of Metacreativity knows this. Shapers daily draw that astral substance into the plane of the real to work wonders. But the astral zealot goes further, becoming a lifelong student in the study of the form, substance, and nature of ectoplasm itself to fabricate reality according to her will. To the astral zealot, ectoplasm acts as a medium in which she can forge any creation, including semiliving versions of herself, and warp and bend to her will the ectoplasmic creations of others. Ectoplasmic constructs look with envy on the permutations and powers of the astral zealot. Psions whose primary discipline is Metacreativity (often called shapers) most often pick up the astral zealot prestige class; however, anyone with a psionic bent could eventually meet the prerequisites to manipulate astral matter. Astral zealots who grow in power frequently clothe themselves only in skins of living ectoplasm, which become far better than simple clothing in providing protection against the extremes of the environment and the travails of adventure. Thus, NPC astral zealots stand out vividly with their swirling, skin-tight garments of conjoined ectoforms. However, some who become particularly adept at manipulating astral matter can make their protective layer appear as if simple clothing. Many PC astral zealots choose to blend in—at least, until they need to display their power. Hit Die: d4
Requirements To qualify to become an astral zealot, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alchemy: 2 ranks Craft (any): 2 ranks Knowledge (psionics): 8 ranks Manifesting: Ability to manifest two or more 2nd-level psionic powers, one of which must be astral construct II
Class Skills The astral zealot class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Appraise (Int), Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Disguise (Cha), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Perform (Cha), Psicraft (Int), and Remote View (Int, exclusive skill). See Chapter Four: Skills in the Player’s Handbook and Chapter Two: Skills in the Psionics Handbook for skill descriptions. Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier
Class Features All of the following are class features of the astral zealot prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Astral zealots gain no additional proficiency in any weapon or armor. Effective Manifester Level: At every level indicated on the table for the prestige class, the character gains new power points per day and access to discovered powers as if she had also gained a level in the psionic class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (such as bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, mode check bonuses, hit points beyond those she receives from the prestige class, and so on). She does gain the following benefits: an increased effective level of psionic manifestation, additional power points, effective additional levels for psicrystal powers, and additional free manifestations of 0level powers. If a character had more than one psionic class before becoming a member of this prestige class, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining effective manifester level. For example, a 7th-level psion/6th-level astral zealot has a character level of 13 and a manifester level of 12. So, powers she manifests that have level-dependent parameters are manifested as if the character were 12th level. Ectopic Suit (Su): As a free action, the character can clothe herself in custom clothing of solidified astral material. The suit’s color, cut, design, and consistency varies at the whim of the wearer (it could appear as intimidating body armor, or even as a specific creature*), but it provides as much or as little protection as standard clothing. For instance, the full body suit could provide as much protection from the rigors of a frigid environment as a parka and furs, or provide as little protection as a skirt and a tunic. Even when wearing a completely enclosing full body suit, the wearer doesn’t lose any * Attempts to appear as a creature provide a +4 bonus on Disguise checks.
