The Gaming Den

I think you want these guys to use their improvised weapons just once or twice before discarding them like Jackie Chan does in his movies instead of carrying them around with them.

My suggestions for adaptable assault:

Equipping weapons that aren't in inventory should be a free action. In addition to damage, you can enforce a status condition on an enemy at the cost of losing the weapon until the condition wears off (e.g. entangle somebody with a chain, pin someone to a wall with something pointy, etc.) As you level up you can inflict more debilitating conditions and can apply them to more people at a time.

My Bio class is making us use this "Active Reading" note format for reading in the class, which includes a silly bullshit "personal connection" section. In protest, I'm going to make D&D my personal connection for everything we read.

So have stats for a Goby Swarm.

Goby Swarm

"ah. fuck."

Fine Animal (Swarm, Aquatic)
Hit Die: 1d8-2 (2 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Swim 5’, Climb 1’
Armour Class: 21 (+3 dex, +8 size)
Base Attack/Grapple: +0/(+7 for purposes of Atttach)
Attack: Swarm (—)
Space/Reach: 10’/10’
Special Attack: Distraction, Attach, Low Light Vision
Special Qualities: Immune to Weapon Damage, Swarm Traits
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +0
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 1, Wis 10, Cha 1
Skills: Climb +6, Hide +21, Move Silently +5, Swim +6
Feat: Stealthy

Gobies are minuscule fish with the unusual ability to climb waterfalls through use of the sucker-like structures they typically use to feed on algae. Though harmless in size and biting (non-)ability, they can be quite distracting as thousands of thumb sized fish begin to climb up your legs.

Combat
Attach (ex): Gobies have specialized sucker structures on their heads and stomachs which allow them to stick to smooth surfaces. A goby swarm occupying the same space as a character may attempt a melee touch attack, if it succeeds, they stick to the character, losing dexterity to AC, and becoming impossible to move out of. To remove a goby swarm, the character must take a full round action and successfully pin the swarm.

Helbogi
Hell Bow
Magic Weapon- Bow
The Helbogi is a bow crafted from a human's ribcage. The magic that is put into the creation of the weapon also contorts the ribcage in size such that it fits the forearm of a typical medium creature like a bracer. The spine and shoulder blades of the ribcage serve quite aptly as a buckler, and provide the benefits of such, with the added protection of ribs wrapping around the forearm (no mechanical combat benefit, but will protect the arm from unusual trauma such as traps which target specific extremities).

The bow of Helbogi is composed of the collar bones. At rest, these bones are over-sized compared to the ribcage, only slightly smaller than normal collar bones, and lay mostly parallel to the forearm. When activated, however, the collar bones enlarge to form the arms of a bow (type may be any bow with which the user is proficient) and cord of sinew stretches between them. The bearer does not hold the bow, it is attached to the ribcage and sits at the wearer's wrist. The wearer must hold their bow-hand out of the way and become accustomed to this unusual wielding, taking a -1 penalty on attacks until they have had a chance to practice for at least 1 hour and succeeded at a DC 10 Int Check.

Typically, Helbogi are paired with a bizarre and gruesome hip quiver known as Hernagl (war-nails). Rather than the usual quiver form, Hernagl consists of severed left hands, petrified to lay flat and bound together with leather thongs to hang from the belt. The bearer of Helbogi may draw the nails and finger bones of these hands as arrows, and they will lengthen into appropriately sized arrows as they are drawn.

Hernagl are made from four left hands and allow 20 arrows to be drawn in any encounter. At the end of an encounter, the nails and bones will regenerate at a rate of 1/five rounds once five rounds have passed without an arrow being drawn (ie, after 30 seconds have passed without being used, Hernagl will regenerate one arrow per further 30 seconds), taking ten minutes to refill.

Helbogi is Magical, conferring a bonus to attacks and damage made with it equal to 1/3 the character level of the wielder, and possesses the Ghost Touch and Lifestealing abilities, allowing it to strike and be used by entities which are corporeal or incorporeal, and dealing 1 negative level to targets struck by it's arrows. Arrows created by Hernagl possess the Frost quality, but also may be turned into spell arrows. Hernagl arrows are enspelled individually as if creating a scroll, and may contain 20 different spell effects, one spell effect 20 times, or anything in between. Enspelling a Hernagl arrow involves etching runes into the dead flesh, revealing the spell stored within to creatures close enough to read who succeed on a DC 30 spellcraft check. Once an enspelled arrow has been used, the runes on the flesh disappear and the arrow which regenerates in it's place is only a Frost arrow. Enspelling a Hernagl arrow suppresses it's Frost effect.
Market Price- 20,000 gp for Helbogi, 16,000gp for Hernagl
Crafting- Helbogi require one medium ribcage with spine, shoulder blades and collar bones, and one of the following-- a CR 10 soul (or multiple souls totalling 10,000gp in value), two Negative Energy elemental gems, a Reality Pearl, or Raw Chaos.
Hernagl require four left hands, leather thong sufficient to tie them together, and one of the following-- a CR 9 soul (or multiple souls totalling 8,000gp in value), two Negative Energy gems, 40 doses of Liquid Pain, a Reality Pearl or Raw Chaos.

Walking Head
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 1
Component: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Duration: See Text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

As you finish the gestures and incantations, your head tears free from your neck sprouting spidery or crab-like legs--either from the stump or sides, and your body slumps back in stasis.

As a walking head, you are shrunken two size categories, have a base movement and climb speed of 5' and are prevented from taking most actions which are not mental or movement-- your spidery legs allow some measure of gesturing and pointing, but no manipulation or grasping. You take a -10 penalty to Str and a -6 penalty to Dex, and have hp equal to 1/10 your max (or your current if you are below 10% hp when you cast this). You may cast spells with somatic components if you succeed on a DC 25 Spellcraft check before casting (you may also spend a week in walking head form practicing casting eight hours each day to essentially learn how to adapt your gestures to the form and thereby forego future rolls for casting in it). You may use wands, staves and rods by clenching them in your teeth and succeeding on a DC 20 Concentration check to speak the command word around them.

This effect is instantaneous, but can be ended at any time. If you return to your body, you may reattach to it as a move action, dispelling the effects of the spell entirely. You may also elect to end the effect without returning to your body by willing your head to be destroyed and reformed on your body. If you destroy your head, it takes 1d10 minutes for your head to regrow attached to your body during which time you are unconscious and cannot be woken. If your caster level is 5 or higher, you may destroy your body and have it reform attached to your head over 1d10 hours, during which time you must rest as if you were healing. Your head or body will reform in the exact condition it was in when you ended this spell--if your body was poisoned, it will still be suffering the effects of the poison, if damaged, it will still be damaged, and so on, unless it has been cured, healed, or otherwise remedied, and the same for your head. If your body has been destroyed between your casting the spell and ending it, you cannot reform it.

If you prepare Walking Head as a third level spell, you may cast it as an immediate action when you would otherwise be killed. If you do so, your head immediately detaches and moves up to 10' away from your body, but has only a single hit point until you have a chance to heal, at which point you will heal to 10% of your normal maximum hp.

(Need something about creating bodies you can pilot...)

Feat: Totemic Power
You are linked to a sort of animal and able to use it's iconic abilities.
Benefit: Select one of the following animals. You gain the stated abilities. This choice is permanent and cannot be changed.

• Bat/Bird: You can turn your arms turn into large wings as a full round action at will. They grant you a 30 ft Fly speed with Average maneuverability, but you are limited to a light load, and cannot use spells, abilities, activated items, or attack. At 3rd level, the action limitation is lifted, and at 6th level your flight speed increases to 60 ft (Good). When your arms change, your feet also change into large opposable talons capable of lifting and holding objects and giving you a 1d6 Claw attack.
• Cat: Your lower arms and legs are covered in cat-like fur and you have retractable Claws that deal 1d4 damage. You also gain the Pounce and Rake abilities. Finally, starting at level 3, you have an enhancement bonus to Dexterity and your claw attacks equal to 1/3 your character level.
• Crocodile: You are a staggeringly large specimen of your race, standing around the upper bounds of your size category, and considered to be one size larger for all rolls. You also have thick scaly hide, which gives you natural armour equal to your Con mod, and a bite attack which deals 1d8 damage. Starting at 3rd level, you gain an enhancement bonus to Strength equal to 1/3 your character level.
• Lizard: You have scaly skin, a thick tail, and sharp teeth and claws, granting you a +1 natural armour, a 1d4 claw attack, 1d6 bite attack and a 1d6 tail slap attack. You also have remarkable regenerative ability, your natural healing occurring at double the normal rate and you are able to regrow lost limbs over a day.
• Rhinoceros: You are are both tall and quite stout for your race, pushing the upper bounds of your size category, and considered to be one size larger for all rolls. You also have a large horn emerging from your brow, which gives you a Gore attack dealing 1d8 damage, and the Powerful Charge ability, dealing 2d8 damage.
• Snake: You gain a pair of fangs which grant you a 1d6 Bite attack, as well as poison as a venomous snake (injury; save Fort DC 10+half your HD+Con Mod; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con; cure 1 save.)
• Spider: You gain the Web ability of a spider of your size. In addition to throwing nets with this ability, you may also, at will, as a swift action, create webbing ropes that are identical to silk rope, save that they disintegrate after a number of hours equal to your Con mod. These webbing ropes may be used like a grappling hook, except that you may make a ranged touch attack roll instead of Use Rope, and any failure indicates you missed entirely. You also gain a climb speed equal to your land speed.

Special: You may take this feat multiple times, each time choosing a new animal.

Am I missing any other major animal-super powers?

---

Feat: Cosmic Support
You are a conduit for the power of the cosmos, and it sustains you as one might maintain and protect a valuable tool.
Benefit: You are immune to disease and poison, as well as the effects of extreme environment such as extremely cold or hot temperatures (but not fire or cold damage from attacks), and drowning and suffocation. You may also fly in a vacuum at a speed equal to your land speed with perfect maneuverability.

Feat: Cosmic Awareness
The power of the cosmos awakens within you special sensory abilities. You can see auras that are given off by the energies which compose the multiverse.
Prerequisites:
Benefit: You gain the ability to use 1st level "Detect" spells as spell like abilities. These are usable at will, and you may maintain a number of them equal to your Int or Cha mod at once. However, while maintaining multiple Detections, you can only glean the information you would receive from 1 round of concentration, and must focus on a single one to gain more information.

Feat: Cosmic Control
You may channel the energies of the cosmos into a powerful blast.
Prerequisites: Cosmic Support, Cosmic Awareness
Benefit: As an attack action, you may fire a blast of untyped energy from your hand. These blasts deal 1d6 damage, plus 1d6 per three character levels.

Paragon

There are those who exhibit an iconic set of powers which renders them as unto gods. They are akin to mortals, but greater. The paragon is this sort of being, able to run faster than any man, withstand hails of arrows, toss wagons with ease and leap towers.

Some posit these beings come from alternate planes, either ones where these powers are common, or that there is some strange energy not present in their plane which unlocks these powers in them when they come to this plane. Some paragons claim divine parentage, or patronage, or to be the result of divine artifice. Still others have created their own power, constructing powerful magical enchantments and binding them to their own bodies.

Opinions of Paragons vary, largely depending on what they do with their power. Paragons who seek to use their power to subjugate and dominate lesser beings are hated, and considered to be even worse than those who use magic and other external abilities to do so. Those who take on the role of protectors and crusdaders for good are often hailed as heroes, but there are those who fear they will turn bad, whether due to temptation to misuse their power, or because they were acting better than they truly were so work towards domination.

Role: Paragons are highly focused on combat, physically mighty things that can cross large distances in short periods of time and withstand a large degree of physical punishment. They are also good for new players, as their abilities are largely innate and passive, with a few extra abilities that give options beyond hitting things with a weapon.
Alignment: Many of the best known paragons are Good, but nothing requires, or even encourages them to be.
Races: Though paragons often claim to be born of the gods, or interplanar immigrants, they usually display remarkable similarity to humans, elves and other races, even being able to mate with them with little concern. Paragons can be any race.

Starting Age and Wealth: As Fighter

Hit Die: d10
Full BAB
Good Fort and Ref saves

Class Skills:
The Paragon's class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Profession (Wis) and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 4+Int Mod

Level	Special]
1	Faster Than A Speeding Bolt (+10 ft), Super Senses, +2 Str, Damage Reduction (Adamantine, Starmetal or Magic), Longevity
2	Paragon Sphere, Tower Leaping, +2 Str
3	Limited Flight, +10 ft, +2 Str
4	Paragon Sphere, +2 Str
5	+10 ft, +2 Str, Damage Reduction (Adamantine and Magic, or Starmetal)
6	Paragon Sphere, +2 Str
7	True Flight, +10 ft, +2 Str
8	Paragon Sphere, +2 Str
9	+10 ft, +2 Str
10	Paragon Flight, Paragon Sphere, +2 Str, Damage Reduction (Starmetal and Magic)

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Paragons are proficient in all Simple and Martial Weapons, as well as all Armors and Shields. They may also select a single Exotic Weapon to be proficient in.

Faster Than A Speeding Bolt (Ex): Paragons base movement speed is increased by 10 ft. This increases by another 10 ft every two levels.

Super Senses (Ex): The paragon's senses are so finely tuned they can hear religious services from the tavern while they're doing something better. They receive a enhancement bonus to Perception rolls equal to their class level, minimum +2. They also gain Low Light Vision and Darkvision out to 30'. At 3rd level, their darkvision extends to 60' and at 6th to 120'.

Ability Increases: Paragons got their name largely from their tremendous strength. At every level, paragons strength increases by 2.

Damage Reduction: The Paragon is remarkably resilient, able to withstand barrages of arrows without flinching, and eventually the attacks of siege engines. The paragon has a Damage Reduction equal to their character level plus their con mod, overcome by any weapon which is adamantine, starmetal or magic. At fifth it is beaten by weapons which are enchanted adamantine or starmetal. At tenth level, this damage reduction can only be overcome by weapons which are starmetal and enchanted. When the paragon reaches 17 HD, their damage reduction can only be overcome by epic starmetal weapons.

Longevity: Paragons are broadly similar to their mundane cousins, but greater in every way. As part of that, they live truly incredible lengths of time. Multiply the years to enter each age category of the paragon's race by ten. An elven paragon, for example, enters middle age at 1750 years old and venerable age at 3500 years. Multiply maximum ages by ten as well, so the same elven paragon would roll 4d%x10 upon entering venerable age, with the potential to live 7500 years.

Paragon Sphere: Each Paragon has slightly different powers beyond strength, speed and invulnerability. One might demonstrate fiery rays from their eyes and cold breath weapons, while another might force people to tell the truth or have a suite of electrical abilities. At every even level, the paragon chooses a sphere. While technically they might choose any sphere, several particularly appropriate spheres are included after the class.

Tower Leaping (Ex): Paragons at second level gain the ability to leap great distances. They have a competence bonus to Acrobatics equal to their class level and may use their strength bonus for jumping.

Limited Flight (Ex): At third level, the paragon gains a limited form of flight. They may fly at a speed equal to their land speed with average maneuverability. They may not carry greater than a light load while flying. The paragon may have wings, but it is not necessary, nor is it necessary for the wings to be on their back or any particular proportion. A paragon may have wing-like ears, wings on their ankles, large feathered wings on their back, small bat wings, or anything of the sort, without affecting their ability to fly.

True Flight (Ex): At seventh level, the paragon's flight has improved. They now fly at twice their land speed with Good maneuverability and may fly with up to a heavy load.

Paragon Flight (Ex): At tenth level, the paragon's flight is flawless. Their flight speed increases to four times their land speed with Perfect maneuverability, and they may fly while carry any load lighter than their Push/Drag load.

Paragon Spheres
Paragons, while they display a certain variety of possible side powers, are decently limited compared to demons and celestials. The following are some of the more appropriate spheres for a Paragon to choose from.

Storm
Granted Power: You may channel the power of storms into your melee attacks. Any melee or thrown weapon you wield deals Sonic damage instead of bludgeoning/slashing/piercing.
1st: Shocking Grasp
3rd: Gust of Wind
5th: Lightning Bolt
7th: Ice Storm
9th: Call Lightning Storm
11th: Chain Lightning
13th: Control Weather
15th: Whirlwind
17th: Tsunami
19th: Winds of Vengeance

Prime
Granted Power: You have the ability to see through barriers. Any barrier that is less than 5' thick per hit die blocks line of effect but not line of sight, and for all visual purposes may as well be invisible to you. This ability cannot see through adamantine or starmetal of any thickness. You are also powered by the sun and immune to the harmful effects of any Light effect.
1st: Mage Armor
3rd: Gust of Wind
5th: Scorching Ray
7th: Stoneskin
9th: Cone of Cold
11th: Transformation
13th: Finger of Death
15th: Iron Body
17th: Firestorm
19th: Mage's Disjunction

Arbiter
Granted Power: You are immune to fear effects
1st: Remove Fear
3rd: Zone of Truth
5th: Heroism
7th: Discern Lies
9th: Mark of Justice
11th: True Seeing
13th: Dictum
15th: Shield of Law
17th: Heroic Invocation
19th: Overwhelming Presence

Sanctum
Granted Power: You may perform a 24 hour ritual to claim a place as your Sanctum. From that point on, until you claim a new sanctum, when you are in your sanctum you gain a +1 bonus to BAB, Saves, Caster Level, and benefit from abilities which scale to character level as if you were one level higher.
1st: Obscuring Mist
3rd: Consecrate/Desecrate
5th: Tiny Hut
7th: Secure Shelter
9th: Hallow/Unhallow
11th: Guards and Wards
13th: Permanent Magnificent Mansion*
15th: Mage's Private Sanctum*
17th: Greater Create Demiplane**
19th: Widened Dimensional Lock
*The paragon may create a permanent magnificent mansion in a fixed place. Using this spell like ability after the mansion has been established creates a portal to the mansion that lasts as long as the typical spell would. The size of the mansion automatically upgrades as the paragon increases in level. If the paragon uses Mage's Private Sanctum on their magnificent mansion, the effect is permanent.
** Like Magnificent Mansion, the paragon creates a single demiplane. Each use of this spell like ability thereafter allows them to travel to their demiplane as if using Planeshift.

Sea
Granted Power: You have the Aquatic subtype and the amphibious special quality, as well as a swim speed equal to twice your land speed. If you already have a swim speed, use the better of the two speeds and increase it by 30'. If you already have the Aquatic subtype, you are immune to pressure damage from deep water.
1st: Endure Elements
3rd: Form Small Water Elemental (as Summon Nature's Ally II, but water elemental only, and is a standard action with 7 gallons/1 cubic foot of water, or a full round action without)
5th: Water Walk
7th: Freedom of Movement
9th: Commune With Water (as Commune With Nature, but only works with aquatic settings)
11th: Form Huge Water Elemental (as Form Small Water Elemental, but requires 7.5k gallons/10 cubic feet of water)
13th: Form Greater Water Elemental (17.k gallons/13 cubic feet of water)
15th: Seamantle
17th: Tsunami
19th: Elemental Swarm (Water only)

Density
Granted Power: You can control your density to the extent that you can alter your weight by up to 25% up or down as an immediate action.
1st: Enlarge/Reduce Person
3rd: Levitate
5th: Gaseous Form
7th: Stoneskin
9th: Passwall (the Sp does not create a passage, but allows the user to move through stone with the same depth limitations.
11th: (need to find something)
13th: Etheral Jaunt
15th: Iron Body
17th: Etheralness
19th: Gate (Travel mode only, self only, transitive planes only)

Martian Manhunter's Shifting sphere is going to be very different between D&D and PF, and it's going to take some finagling for PF.

Shifting
Granted Power: Nearly every level gives you multiple spell likes with shared uses. Shifting has no Granted Ability.
1st: Enlarge/Reduce Person
3rd: Alter Self
5th: Monstrous Physique I/Beast Shape I/Undead Anatomy I
7th: Beast Shape II/Elemental Body I/Monstrous Physique II/Vermin Shape I
9th: Beast Shape III/Elemental Body II/ Monstrous Physique III/Plant Shape I/Undead Anatomy II/Vermin Shape II
11th: Beast Shape IV/Elemental Body III/Form of the Dragon I/Monstrous Physique IV/Plant Shape II/Undead Anatomy III/
13th: Elemental Body IV/Form of the Dragon II/Giant Form I/Plant Shape III
15th: Form of the Dragon III/Giant Form II/Undead Anatomy IV
17th: Fiery Body/Iron Body/Ice Body
19th: Shapechange

Saving to C/P for other spheres

Granted Power:
1st:
3rd:
5th:
7th:
9th:
11th:
13th:
15th:
17th:
19th:

Tvtropes defines Flying Brick as: Flight + Super Strength + Nigh-Invulnerability + miscellaneous.

I don't think you should bake stuff like heat vision and deep breath into the class. Letting them choose from an assortment of level appropriate powers would make this work for Superman, Wonderwoman, (Not) Shazam, Martian Manhunter, Starfire, Darkseid, Orion or whatever.

Good point. That makes me more inclined to make it a prestige class, something you can add to anything to make them bricky.

Prestige class seem like a good idea. You might want to stat out some uber alien races (Kryptonian, Martian, New God, Asgardian, Saiyan, etc*). Koumei's approach to Space Marines, Battle Sisters and Assassins (see page 67) might work here, where they start off at higher levels.

*Loosely inspired by. Literally translating stuff like how much they can lift to ability scores would probably make them too high level to be playable at all.

I want to put in some races, yeah. I'll probably put in some manner of robot, not sure what else would be good. Could see a martian, but basically it'd just be at will Polymorph and some kind of fucked up density altering power, so that would be difficult to make it playable at any reasonable level.

If I do a Kryptonian or Asgardian, it basically obviates the point of the Paragon class. An Asgardian has the same power set as a Kryptonian, less the heat vision and super breath, and a Martian is the same as a Kryptonian just plus shapeshifting.

Could do an atlantian. Namor is a Paragon, but the whole aquatic power set is workable as a first level character. Then I guess Aquaman has a feat or something.

Hell, I suppose I could do a beastman race that goes a bit further than just having the Animal Totem feat.

Hmm.... I might be able to work out some kind of X-Men style mutant race using spell likes and a sphere or something.

Paragon is mid-rewrite. Suggestions and critiques are welcome.

I'm a little iffy on the strength increases and whether they're really enough at low level, but other than that, and writing another sphere or two, I think paragon is probably good at this point. Maybe I'll poach a Speedster ability or two to make use of speed, but that's it.

Race: Atlantean

The Atlantean empire was once the greatest power in the material plane, but a great cataclysm befell the sprawling kingdom, sinking it beneath the waves. The empire's wizards worked a mighty ritual that infused it's people--or at least the elite chosen of it's people--with the strength and fortitude to live in their new marine home. Deep within the sunken ruins of their once proud crystal spires the atlanteans continue to maintain their libraries of arcane might, carefully preserved with spellwork and added to with new methods of recording the written word.

Now the Atlanteans, millennia past since they sank, war with sea elves and sahuagin alike and jealously protect their aquatic realm, and treat all threats to the oceans as acts of war by the surface races--who often know nothing of the havoc they wreak on the fragile ecosystem on the sea floor.

On land, atlanteans are visually very similar to humans, broadly speaking. However, their feet are somewhere inbetween humanoid feet and fins, the toes long and clawed with webbing between which contracts when not swimming to give the feet the appearance of simply being long, slightly scaled and clawed. Their hands have more webbing between the digits than those of humans, but it stops short of the first knuckle. Most notable, however, are the dramatically arched eyebrows and their gills. Sitting just behind the jaw, the gills of atlanteans allow them to be truly amphibious, able to breath air and water with equal ease.

An atlantean in water shows even more dramatic differences, however. Large fins slide out of natural sheathes on their spines, the back of their calves and the edges of their forearms, and their skin changes in both texture and color, taking on a blue-grey tinge as small scales spread over them.

Atlanteans are powerful swimmers, but have lost no speed on land, and have taken advantage of this unsuspected fact to slaughter trespassers who thought themselves safe on dry land or the docks of their ships.

Atlantean Racial Traits

• +2 str, +2 Int, -2 cha. Atleantean society was, and remains, a lofty magocracy which exalts the natural high intellect of Atlanteans and which allowed their biomancers to work a ritual which strengthened their bodies to adapt them to their new sunken home, but have developed a staunchly xenophobic philosophy which makes them cold and forbidding to all other races, and even each other as they have never entirely ruled out the possibility that an internal saboteur sank their mighty kingdom.
• Atlanteans are Medium Humanoids with the Aquatic and Amphibious subtypes. This allows them to breath both water and air with equal ease.
• Base speed 30 ft, Swim 50 ft.
• Atlanteans swim speeds give them a +8 racial bonus to swim checks.
• Low Light Vision
• Pressurized Bodies: Atlanteans are magically adapted to the depths, able to dive far deeper than other races and quite resilient to the ravages of those depths. When diving, Atlanteans take damage for every 200' below the surface they are, and take half of the damage rolled beyond that (roll 1d6 per 200' as "normal," but divide in half). This adaptation also gives Atlanteans a +4 to all saves made against Water and Cold spells.
• The proud magocratic traditions of Atlantis make all Atlanteans familiar with magic, making Spellcraft and Knowledge (Arcane) class skills regardless of class and giving them a +2 racial bonus to both skills.
• Weapon Familiarity: Atlanteans have taken to the harpoon and nets as racially favoured weapons, and treat the weapons as martial for proficiency purposes.
• Favoured Class: Wizard and Barbarian

Feels like Atlanteans need a bit more.

Race: Constructoid
A surprisingly common phenomena in the world of magic is unique magical constructs made by mad wizards. Frequently driven to despair by their isolation, these artificial beings often destroy their creator in a rage. Some constructoids never move past their blind hatred of the men (it's almost always men) who created them and apply this more generally to all living creatures and carry a blind vendetta against natural life. Others either snap out of their rage before killing their creators or get over it once the man is dead, and go on to seek redemption or just try to do good.

Constructoids tend to individually be the only one of their kind, given their tendency to destroy their creators before the men can make more. Strangely, this uniqueness gives them a shared experience with one another that allows them to find common ground and come together to form a support network if not a society.

Many also search for what it means to be alive and intelligent. While there is a broad variety in appearances and abilities amongst Constructoids, these common quests bind them together enough to serve as an ad hoc society.

Constructoid Racial Traits

• +2 to any two ability scores, -2 to any other. Constructoids are built for a broad variety of purposes.
• Constructoids are Medium Constructs, and have all the traits of constructs (but see Construct Type Redux below)
• Base Land Speed 30'
• Power Source: Each Constructoid has something which powers their bodies and abilities. The nature of this power source confers different abilities:
  • Electricity: The Constructoid has an object in them which generates electricity, and can absorb electricity from external sources as well. They are immune to electricity. In addition, they may convert electricity damage they would take into extra uses of limited use abilities. Whenever the Constructoid would take electricity damage, they gain a number of Energy Points equal to the prevented damage. They may then use these points to gain extra uses of limited use class features by paying EP equal to the class level which gave the feature times 10. So a first level sorcerer spell would be 10 EP, while a ninth level spell would be 170. The Constructoid cannot use features they have not yet gained.
  • Starmetal: The Constructoid is powered by the energy radiated by a piece of starmetal. They may reveal this power source from behind it's shielding to emanate a cone of Starmetal radiation which deals 1 point of damage per turn to those caught within it, or 1d6 damage per turn to those caught within it who are vulnerable to starmetal, including characters with DR overcome by starmetal (including DR overcome by starmetal and something else).
  • Boiler: The Constructoid is powered by steam and has a boiler and fire. They effectively must "eat" by feeding their boiler flame, "drink" to refill their boiler tank, and are at risk of their flame being put out if they are submerged in water. If the Constructoid's flame is put out, they may continue to act normally for a number of rounds equal to half their hit die, and then take partial actions for a further number of rounds equal to half their hit die. If their boiler fire has not been relit at the end of that time, they "run out of steam" and are disabled until relit. However, steam-powered Constructoids can also vent hot steam. This is effectively a Cone of steam 5' long per 5 hit die or fraction thereof, which deals 1d6 fire damage per two hit die. The Constructoid may use this steam weapon once every 1d6 rounds, and may take metabreath feats to modify it.
• Gimmick: Every Constructoid has either a cantrip that can be used at will or a 1st level spell that can be used once per day as a spell like ability. This can be any Cantrip or 1st level Abjuration, Divination or Evocation spell from the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list.
• Favoured Class: Any.

(The Construct Redux is just going to be a suggestion to use the Tome construct rules)

Travel Sphere
Granted Ability: You are never forced to make a constitution check to continue traveling after eight hours. Traveling for any length of time never itself deals damage to you (you still suffer from environmental effects) and automatically succeed any concentration checks you would need to make from travel. You may also make double moves as move actions and have the Run feat.
1st: Endure Elements
3rd: Dark Way (SpC)
5th: Phantom Steed
7th: Freedom of Movement
9th: Planar Tolerance (SpC)
11th: City Stride (RoD), Plane Shift
13th: Greater Teleport
15th: Excavate (SpC)
17th: Word of Recall
19th: Gate

Mantle of Webs
(AKA: the Greater Cloak of Arachnida)

At first you mistake this item for a veil of cobwebs stretched over the rack it hangs from. With closer, magically aided inspection, you realize that while it looks like cobwebs, it is much stronger, a cloth of lace with the appearance and texture of cobwebs, but the resilience of steel.

The mantle of webs allows the user to use the web ability of a monstrous spider one size larger than them, including the 8/day limit and the ability to create sheet webs (this takes ten minutes of work and does not count against daily uses of the thrown net web). In addition, three times per day, the wearer may cast Spiderskin on themselves as a swift action with a caster level equal to their character level.

While wearing the mantle of webs, the wearer is unimpeded by webs of any sort, and may walk and crawl along webbing as if under the effects of the spell Spider Climb.

A caster may renew uses of the mantle's web ability or Spiderskin by expending spell slots. Each spell slot expended this way recharges half its level in uses of either the web ability or Spiderskin.
Faint Transmutation; CL 5; Craft Wondrous Item, web, spiderskin; Price 23,400 gp; Weight 5 lb.

Planeswalker [Template]
Planeswalker is an acquired template which may be added to any creature which could be subject to the spell Resurrection (but not True Resurrection) and which has an intelligence of 3 or higher.
A planeswalker retains all their original statistics and special abilities, gaining the following.
Size and Type: The creature's size and type are unchanged, but they gain the (planeswalker) subtype.
Hit Dice: The creature's hit dice are unchanged, but they do gain more hit points from their bonus feat Improved Toughness.
Special Abilities: The creature gains the following special abilities:
Planeswalk: The iconic ability of the planeswalker is their ability to enter the Blind Eternities and walk to another plane of existence. This takes hardly any time, up to a handful of minutes for particularly far away planes, but in general is fairly quick, taking only 1d6 rounds unless ruled otherwise. This functions as the spell Plane Shift, save that planeswalking to a well known location is possible, and planeswalkers are limited to moving themselves and whatever they are carrying. They cannot bring other people with them unless those other beings have their own planar travel ability, in which case a planeswalker can be "followed." Use the table from Teleport, but even an On Target result deposits the planeswalker 3d20*50' away from their precise intended location. The planeswalker never risks planeswalking into an occupied spot, as they are able to sense the area they will wind up in with a 10' radius of "vision," but can be trapped if the trap is not immediately obvious within that radius. Of course, unless extradimensional travel is blocked in some way, the planeswalker can leave again. This ability can be used at will.
Tap Mana: The other primary benefit of being a planeswalker is the ability to utilize magical energy from other planes. In essence, this allows the planeswalker to ignore Limited, Impeded and Dead magic zones provided they have spent at least an hour attuning to the magical energy of a plane which does not have such a trait (or with a different form of Impeded or Limited magic).
Detect Magic: Planeswalkers have an innate ability to detect and read magic to at least some extent. Certain planeswalkers may have greater ability, but all can at least use Detect Magic as a spell like ability with a caster level equal to their HD or Class level at will.
Abilities: When a planeswalker's spark ignites, they become a little better in all areas, but a planeswalker who isn't particularly strong won't be as strong as one who was a world class weight lifter before their own spark ignited, and they may still be outclassed by a mortal strongman. Increase the planeswalker's ability scores as follows, in order of highest to lowest score: +6, +4, +4, +2, +2.
Feats: Planeswalkers are all at least moderately more resilient than the average member of their race, gaining Improved Toughness as a bonus feat.
CR: No Modification. An enemy with the Planeswalker template is only moderately stronger in ability scores and hp, and has increased ability to flee danger.
Level Equivalency: At most 1. Ideally, all characters in a party should be planeswalkers, in which case, there will be no power discrepancy from this template.

---

I've been toying with this idea a bit. I think this covers planeswalking pretty well. Thoughts?

Kind of thinking about a D&D game with a premise of "Marvel, but in a Fantasy Iron Age." I've got a lot that I can use in that already, but I've been thinking about how to translate the symbiotes into D&D. This is surprisingly difficult, but I think I've figured something out, mostly. Might have some balance issue. Oh, and I edited the Totemic Power feat a bit, since I realized that some of the variations were weak options compared to the others.


Nethar Symbiote
Small Outsider (Xenotheric, Psionic, Darkforce)
Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 6
Ego 2
Bio-E: 5
Hit Dice: 1d8+2 (6 HP)
Initiative +2
Speed 20 ft, Climb 20 ft
BAB/Grapple: +1/+3
Attack: Tentacle +3m (1d3+2)
Fort +4 Ref +4 Will +2
Armour Class: 14 (+1 Size, +2 Dex, +1 Natural), flat 12, touch 13
Feats: Willing Deformity (B)
Skills:
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, low-light vision, Acid resistance and Electricity resistance 10, Telepathy 100 ft, Immune to poison, polymorphing, petrification and form-altering effects, DR (HD)/Adamantine, Fast Healing, Hive Mind, Spell-like abilities, Amorphous, Embodied Darkness, Codex and Former Host Abilities, Symbiote Weaknesses
Advancement: Special

Darkforce wrote:Marvel has this concept of "Darkforce," the opposite of "Lightforce." How this maps to D&D is... a bit ambiguous, depending on how deep into the lore you want to go. To some extent it maps to Negative Energy (with Lightforce mapping to Positive Energy), but then also the symbiotes are demonstrably not undead, as seen by the fact that they cannot use dead hosts. Darkforce seems to be a sort of "general badness" as it can be anything from corruptive, draining, controlling, or the like. It might be fair to give symbiotes the [evil] subtype instead of [darkforce] if you want to do that.
Symbiotes could probably have an Energy Drain ability to reflect the darkforce ability to drain life force, but rather than throwing it into their general abilities, I'll call it a host ability, even if it would technically be innate.
If nothing else, creatures with the [darkforce] subtype can take Vile feats regardless of their actual alignment, and Undead feats regardless of their actual type. They receive Willing Deformity as a bonus feat.

These strange lifeforms are easily, and often, confused for psychoactive skins, but are in fact sapient beings budded from Neth, the Living Plane. While they are sapient, they are unknown to communicate (mostly due to their communication being entirely telepathic). True to their name, they are symbiotic, needing a host to live. They feed on the host's adrenaline and rely on it for certain neurochemicals, while augmenting the host's capabilities.

In their dormant form, a Nethar symbiote appears to be a featureless goo of a mostly solid color, though streaks and marbling are somewhat common. When bonded to a host, the goo covers the host like a second skin, typically showing the same coloration over the host's form and adding long claws and a distending mouth full of sharp fangs. However, Nethar symbiotes possess amazing chameleonic abilities, and may change their appearance on the host as they or the host desires.

Symbiotes, unlike other outsiders, do need to eat, which they usually satisfy by feeding on their host, the adrenaline of their host produced during stressful situations, or simply consuming the creatures they kill. The primary nutritional need of symbiotes is phenethylamine, which is a common neurotransmitter in animals, but also readily found in basically any food that undergoes microbial fermentation. Symbiotes who are restrained from consuming brains will often displace their craving for such with alcohol, bread, processed chocolate, cheese, etc. They technically need to breath, but are able to do so in any environment, and so, effectively, do not need to breath and cannot be suffocated short of placing them in a perfect vacuum.

Symbiotes can speak verbally, whether in their own language (Nethar), or those they've learned from bonding with hosts, but usually communicate telepathically.

Combat
Symbiotic Empowerment: Nethar Symbiotes strongly rely on hosts for mobility and survival. Initial bonding to a host takes 2d20 hours, similar to attunement, although the host need not necessarily do anything particular or specific during this time. When worn by a host, the symbiote empowers the host in the following ways–

• The symbiote acts like armor with the glamoured armor ability, providing its host an armor bonus equal to the symbiote's natural armor bonus, with no max dex, no check penalty and no arcane spell failure. The armor bonus provided by the symbiote benefits from a magical enhancement bonus equal to 1/3 the host's HD or Character Level. Though the symbiote acts as armor, it is a "non-armor," and does not encumber the host or interfere with any ability which cares about wearing armor (such as a monk's abilities).
• The symbiote provides its host a bonus to Strength, Dexterity and Constitution equal to 1/4 the symbiote's HD, rounded up. The host uses the symbiote's strength to calculate carrying capacity if that would be better than its own strength after this bonus.
• The host benefits from the symbiote's fast healing, DR, and any movement modes the symbiote possesses (at the better of the symbiote's or host's speed).
• The host gains Powerful Build trait and claws and a bite attack which deal damage for their Powerful Build (ie, as if they were one size larger than they are). If the host has natural attacks of its own, these attacks benefit from Powerful Build, and any overlapping attacks use the higher damage.
• Nethar symbiotes gain feats as any other intelligent creature. However, these feats are only available to the symbiote itself. A symbiote who has a good relationship with its host may allow the host to use its feats, and the symbiote can always use its feats for itself while bonded. Any feats possessed by the symbiote, whether acquired through the normal level up process, or as former host abilities, always use the symbiote's HD for all purposes, but can use the better of the host's or the symbiote's ability scores.
• While bonded, host and symbiote are considered one being for the purposes of anything regarding "souls" or the like. They retain separate minds, though they may be so in tune that the distinction is largely academic, and their bodies are theoretically combined into one, but the host retains their own type, subtype, and so on, and is not itself vulnerable to heat and sonic attacks in the way that symbiotes are. While bonded, the symbiote is considered a magic item requiring attunement, meaning that a symbiote reduces the number of non-consumable magic items its host can use by 1.

Fast Healing (Ex): Nethar symbiotes possess fast healing at a rate equal to half their HD, minimum 1.

Hive Mind: Nethar symbiotes possess a hive mind, in that they are constantly in mental contact with other symbiotes and can communicate through this connection. This communication has no range limitation, but they seldom bother to communicate with particularly distant symbiotes unless they feel it is incredibly important. Further, rebellious, rogue, corrupted, or feral symbiotes are excised from the hive mind, rendering them unable to communicate with other symbiotes at large. Even if cut from the larger hive mind, symbiotes can form their own smaller hive mind with nearby symbiotes, if they wish.
As a consequence of this hive mind, symbiotes can always sense and track other symbiotes, as the spell locate creature, with no range limit, and not blocked by material or running water.

Spell-like abilities: at-will: detect thoughts, detect magic, detect light and darkforce (as detect undead, but also living creatures), spiderclimb (at full base landspeed)

Amorphous (Ex): A symbiote in its natural form has immunity to poison, sleep, paralysis, polymorph, and stunning effects. It is not subject to critical hits and, having no clear front or back, cannot be flanked. They can spread out to cover objects and creatures of virtually any size, though not truly immense ones (such as anything larger than 128 ft in its largest dimension).

Embodied Darkness (Ex): Symbiotes are the essence of darkforce given life and form. They are immune to Death affects unless they choose to allow such to affect them, and if reduced to 0 or fewer hp gain the Disabled condition and go dormant, rather than dying. While dormant, the symbiote regains 1 hp per hour until it reaches half hit points, at which point it awakens and begins healing normally. Symbiotes are healed by both Negative and Positive energy from effects with a caster level equal to or below their HD. Positive energy from effects with a caster level greater than the symbiote's HD acts as Turning, while Negative energy effects with a caster level greater than the symbiote's HD act as Rebuking.

Codex (Ex): Nethar symbiotes display an interesting ability to "record" the abilities of former hosts, creating a genetic codex in the host and their own bodies. This codex acts as a permanent reference to all past hosts (which can explain how a symbiote acquires new abilities on advancement), but also as a sort of "marker" in the bodies of former hosts. Former hosts are considered symbiotes for the purposes of communication and tracking by symbiotes. The codex within a host can also be "reactivated" through either introduction/contact with new symbiote biomass, or through Lightforce (ie, positive energy, akin to using raise/resurrection magic).
Symbiotes possess a number of Former Host Abilities equal to their HD.

Symbiote Weaknesses (Ex): Symbiotes are innately vulnerable to intense heat and sound. They suffer a -4 penalty to any saves made against such effects, and take 1 additional damage for each die of damage the effect inflicts (ie, a 4d6 fireball deals 4d6+4 damage to a symbiote). Finally, symbiotes must make a Will save (DC 10+caster level of effect, or HD of creature generating it) when subject to such an attack, with failure inflicting the Panicked condition on the symbiote (not its host!) for the duration of the effect (or a number of rounds equal to the caster level of the effect for instantaneous effects). A Panicked symbiote will try to get away from the source of the effect, and often the closest refuge is within a host body, rendering the symbiote dormant for as long as they remain panicked.
Symbiotes can grow resistant to these effects, either through repeated exposure, or taking on the resistance of a former or current host. A symbiote who gains resistance to fire or sonic energy greater than its HD is no longer panicked by that energy type.

Advancement: Nethar Symbiotes primarily advance through acquiring hosts, either by growing with a host, or consecutive bonding with separate hosts.

Obtaining a Symbiote
Obtaining a symbiote involves encountering one that needs or wants a new host. This might involve a diplomacy check, or killing its current host, or finding it in place of treasure. If you don't have a cohort, you may treat your symbiote as such, in which case, whatever the hit die of the symbiote, you can access a maximum of your character level-2 HD of its traits. If you do have a cohort, you may still have a symbiote, mechanically gaining it through either the feat Nethar Symbiote Bond (see below) or as a magical item (see below), but its abilities are limited to a maximum of your character level-3 HD. Either way, the symbiote advances as you do, gaining a HD whenever you level up, and it always confers its maximum abilities for what you are limited to.

Symbiotes and Fiery or Screamy Hosts
Nethar symbiotes are inherently vulnerable to fire and sonic attacks. This can cause issues for a host who is fiery or frequently uses sonic energy that their body would be subjected to. In this case, so long as you can suppress any ability which produces fire or sonic damage (or if such effects are not always active), you may bond to a Nethar symbiote. The symbiote will quickly gain an immunity to the relevant energy, and in fact it must have such immunity in its ability purview. If you have the (fire) subtype and bond with a symbiote, the symbiote loses its susceptibility to fire.

Symbiotes and Feats
Nethar symbiotes gain feats as any other intelligent creature. However, these feats are only available to the symbiote itself, and generally inactive when the symbiote is bonded to the host. Purely mental effects of feats remain active, but are at the control of the symbiote, not the host. Feats may be gained as special abilities, in which case they are usable by the symbiote's host, but all feats the symbiote has, whether normal HD-attained feats or special abilities, use the symbiote's HD for all purposes, not the host's. The symbiote can allow their host to use and benefit from their feats, but this generally requires at least a good relationship between them.

Symbiotes as Treasure
As effectively intelligent items, Nethar symbiotes can be gained in place of magic items. A Nethar symbiote of up to 5 HD counts as a Lesser item, one of 6-11 HD counts as a Moderate item, and one of 12 or more HD counts as a Greater item. A Nethar symbiote gained as a magical item must be attuned and counts against your limit for attuning items.

Symbiote Abilities by HD

HD	HP	NA	Ability Scores	Special Abilities	Ego
1	10 hp	+1	Str 15, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 6	1	2
2	16 hp	+2	Str 17, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 6	2	3
3	28 hp	+3	Str 21, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8	3	4
5	46 hp	+4	Str 25, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10	5	6
7	70 hp	+5	Str 29, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 12	7	11
10	118 hp	+6	Str 33, Dex 13, Con 24, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 15	10	17
13	179 hp	+7	Str 35, Dex 13, Con 28, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 16	13	20
16	235 hp	+8	Str 39, Dex 13, Con 30, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 20	16	28
19	317 hp	+10	Str 43, Dex 11, Con 34, Int 24, Wis 24, Cha 30	19	42

Former Host Special Abilities
Symbiotes have a number of Former Host abilities equal to their HD.
[spoiler]
Armor and Weapon Abilities The symbiote has a magical ability from a former host akin to an armor or weapon ability. The symbiote can have abilities limited by their HD- A symbiote with 5 HD or less can have any ability (Tome or normal) which would be appropriate to a lesser item, a symbiote with 6-11 HD can have abilities appropriate to medium/moderate items, and symbiotes with 12 or more HD can have abilities appropriate to greater/major items. Each armor or weapon ability is a separate Former Host Special Ability.

Breath Weapon The symbiote has taken on a former host's ability to breath out an attack. This attack is a cone or line and deals a type of damage depending on the former host (this is determined at the time the ability is taken). The damage die is the same as the former host, but the damage is 1 die per two hit die of the symbiote.

Burrowing The symbiote has taken on a former host's ability to burrow, granting future hosts a Burrow speed of 40'. This symbiote's host's claws deal damage as if they were another size larger.

Elemental Infusion The symbiote has been infused with elemental energy, as the feat Infusion of Elemental Essence.

Energy Drain The symbiote can drain the life force of targets it strikes with its natural weapons, conferring one negative level on the target and gaining 5 temporary hit points. The DC for removing negative levels is Constitution based.

Enhanced Ability The symbiote has taken on a former host's greater strength or agility or the like. The symbiote and its host benefit from a scaling enhancement bonus to the chosen ability score.

Feat The symbiote gains the benefits of a suitable feat, which is only active when the symbiote is. Typically these feats are from the Monstrous, Fiend or Undead categories, but others may be possible if they make sense. The symbiote can have [Symbiote] feats, but not [Symbiote- Host] feats. Symbiotes can take feats that require a particular race or type as if they were actually that race or type, as they incorporate the essence of their former host into themselves.

Flight The symbiote has taken on the ability to fly from a former host, allowing future hosts to sprout wings and fly at 20' (Average). The speed allowed by the symbiote is increased by 10' for every 3 HD it has, and the maneuverability increases by one step for every +2 modifier of the host's Dexterity.

Racial Trait The symbiote gains a trait from a race with equivalent character level no greater than its HD.

Resistance The symbiote has taken on the energy resistance of a former host, conferring a resistance of 5x(half the symbiote's HD) to one energy type.

Shield The symbiote acts as a shield, having the Shield special ability with hit points equal to the symbiote's own hp. Energy which the symbiote is susceptible to (typically fire and sonic) are not stopped by this ability).

Speed The symbiote has taken on the speed of a former host, increasing the land speed of future hosts by 20'.

Spell like Ability The symbiote has taken on the ability to use a single spell like ability from a former host, chosen when this ability is taken. This spell like ability mimics a spell of a level equal to 1/2 the symbiote's HD, with a caster level equal to the symbiote's HD. The casting ability for the spell is Cha, and it may be 1/day if the spell level=1/2 HD, 3/day if ([1/2HD]-2), or at will if ([1/2 HD-3]).

Swim The symbiote has taken on the ability to swim of a former host, granting it's host a swim speed of 40'.

Tendrils The symbiote can sprout an array of psuedopods not quite suitable for wielding weapons, but perfectly serviceable as weapons on their own. The host gains two Tentacle attacks which deal damage as if they were a size larger, and can attempt to trip an opponent they hit with a tendril as a free action. If the host fails to trip their opponent, there is no danger of being tripped themselves.

Webbing The symbiote has taken on a former host's ability to create webs. Future hosts gain Spider variation of the Totemic Power feat (see above).
[/spoiler]

Symbiote Feats
Broadly, possession and use of a Nethar Symbiote beyond the menu abilities is best represented by feats, similar to fiendish feats from the Tome of Fiends.

Nethar Symbiote Bond
You are bonded to a Nethar Symbiote.
Benefit: You have and are bonded to a Nethar Symbiote. You gain the benefits of the symbiote when wearing it- you have an armor bonus equal to the symbiote's natural armor bonus, have a bite and claw attack which deal damage as if you were a size larger, DR (Symbiote HD)/Adamantine, and the symbiote's Former Host special abilities. You may use Chameleon and Disguise Self at will as Psi-Like Abilities.
Being bonded with the symbiote, it is easier for you to work with your symbiote and resist its control, gaining a bonus to your Will save against it's Ego equal to the better of your Charisma or Wisdom modifier. If you do not have a cohort, your symbiote becomes a cohort, with maximum HD equal to your character level-2. If you already have a cohort, its maximum HD are your character level-3.
Finally, this feat allows you to take Symbiote feats.
Special: You may have a Nethar symbiote without this feat, but you can't take Symbiote feats without it.

Aggressive Protoplasm[Symbiote]
The very nature of your symbiote's protoplasm has altered to become anathemic to other life, either corrosive or toxic.
Benefit: When you gain this feat, choose Poison or Acid. If you choose Poison, choose any poison in D&D with a DC equal to or less than (10+half your HD+the better of your symbiote's con mod or your own). You may create a poison from your symbiote's protoplasm that mimics that poison, save that it uses your own DC (increasing as your HD and con mod does). Doing so deals 1 point of subdual damage to your symbiote. If you choose Acid, your symbiote's protoplasm becomes corrosive, dealing dealing acid damage to creatures touched by it equal to (symbiote's HD)d6. You may throw, drip, or otherwise separate a small amount of protoplasm from your symbiote to deal this acid damage at range or similar, but doing so deals 1 point of subdual damage to your symbiote each time you do. Protoplasm separated from your symbiote continues to deal damage each round equal to half the damage dealt the round before for a number of rounds equal to the better your symbiote's or your own con mod.

Constricting Symbiote[Symbiote]
You have learned to shape your symbiote, altering your own cellular structure as you do, to create a powerful constricting tail in place of your legs.
As the Fiend feat Constricting Fiend. The host may switch between legs and a constricting tail at will as a full-round action. If the host already has a tail, or can use Limb shaping, the constricting tail need not replace their legs.

Enhanced Chameleonic Ability[Symbiote- Host]
You have learned to compress your symbiote in such a way that you can disguise it while maintaining it's enhanced size.
Prerequisites: Extra Biomass
Benefit: You may Change Shape into an appearance that you would be able to take with Disguise Self, your symbiote mimicking attire of your choice, while still benefiting from the effects of Extra Biomass.
Normal: A host with Extra Biomass who wishes to disguise their symbiote's size must force the symbiote into dormancy, gaining no benefit from their Symbiote feats while it is inactive.

Extra Biomass[Symbiote]
You have increased the biomass of your symbiote such that when active, you are larger than normal.
As the Fiend feats Large and Huge size.

Greasy Protoplasm[Symbiote]
You have learned to secrete a slick byproduct from your protoplasm which makes it very hard to stand where you have or hold onto you.
As the Fiend feat Slime Trail

Limb Shaping[Symbiote]
Your ability to shape your symbiote's protoplasm has improved to the point that you can create entirely new limbs.
Prerequisites: Weapon Shaping, Character Level 6
Benefit: As a full-round action, you may create one pair of arms or legs, or a powerful tail. Extra arms allow the use of more weapons or shields and grant additional claw attacks. Extra legs grant the wearer the Stability trait of dwarves, save that it functions while climbing if the symbiote has a climb speed, as well as increasing the host's land speed by 10'. If the symbiote has a climb, burrow or swim speed, either form of limb increases that speed by 10'. A tail grants a Tail Slap attack, and may, at the host's option, include a stinger. If your have Aggressive Protoplasm, such a stinger may inject the poison or acid granted by that feat.

Pincers[Symbiote]
You can form your symbiote's protoplasm into a pair of large pincers over two of your hands.
As the Fiend feat Pincers.

Shards of the Symbiote[Symbiote]
You can throw razor sharp shards from your symbiote.
As the Fiend feat Spines of Fury

Share Symbiote[Symbiote- Host]
You have learned to create a small servitor symbiote that can be worn by another.
Prerequisites: Symbiote Domination, Character Level 10
Benefit: You may create a lesser symbiote from your own, ie, a symbiote with less HD, and allow it to engulf another host. Your own symbiote basically takes a number of negative levels equal to one less than the HD of the created symbiote and can only access a number of special abilities equal to that allowed by symbiote HD equal to (Symbiote's HD-negative levels). You cannot create a symbiote with more HD than one less than half your symbiote's HD. The host of your shared symbiote gains the usual benefits of having a symbiote, and the symbiote has whatever abilities you lost access to. You cannot create more symbiotes than your symbiote's Con Mod, and you do not control a host unless you also use Symbiote Domination on the host who receives your shared symbiote.

Symbiote Domination[Symbiote]
You have learned to use your symbiote to control others.
Prerequisites: Character Level 5
Benefit: You may use a small piece of your symbiote to establish control of another creature. This acts as the possession ability of a geist, save for as specified--Once per round as a standard action, the symbiote is able to possess a corporeal creature much like magic jar, except that it does not require a receptacle. The symbiote removes a piece of itself, dealing subdual damage equal to the HD of the creature to be possessed, and then must hit the target with this bit of protoplasm, either with a melee or ranged touch attack. The creature is allowed a will save as normal. If the possession fails the protoplasm returns to the symbiote, restoring half the subdual damage it suffered (it does not suffer the inability to act a geist does). The creature it attempted to possess is immune to further possession attempts for 24 hours. This counts as the Possession ability for prerequisites, and it is Extraordinary instead of Supernatural.

Weapon Shaping[Symbiote]
You have learned to form weapons from your symbiote's protoplasm.
Benefit: You may create weapons from your symbiote as a swift action. You can form natural or manufactured weapons with equal ease, and creating one takes a swift action. Weapons you create may be any size, and you are considered to be proficient in weapons you create from your symbiote. If you create a weapon above the size you could normally wield (taking the powerful build from the symbiote into account), it takes longer than normal to form--a move action for 1 size, a standard for 2 sizes, and a full round action for 3 sizes. You may also form multiple weapons at once, but two weapons of one size are treated as one weapon of the next size up for action purposes (ie, a medium host may form a huge weapon or two large weapons as a move action).
Your weapons may be sundered as normal. If this happens, it deals damage to the symbiote equal to the damage taken to sunder the weapon. A symbiote at reduced hp has a reduced mass from which to create weapons- at 3/4 hp, it cannot create weapons three sizes above normal; at 1/2 hp, it cannot create weapons two sizes above normal; at 1/4 hp, it cannot create weapons one size above normal. If the symbiote has less than 1/4 hp, it cannot create weapons until it has healed above 1/4 hp.
Special: This feat also allows the creation of Shields.

Thoughts rummaging around in my head for a shapeshifter class...

Beastshaper (Sphere)
Granted Power: As a swift action, you may gain a natural attack of any type (Bite, 2 Claws, Gore, Sting, Slam, Tail Slap) which deals damage appropriate to your size.
As a Full Round Action, you may gain one movement mode of a creature of your CR and no more than 1 size category smaller or larger than you.
You may only have one type of attack and one movement mode gained this way at a time.
1st: Winged Watcher/Aquatic Escape (CSc)
3rd: Vermin Form (see below)
5th: Lycanthropy
7th: Monstrous Form
9th: Aspect of the Stag/Aspect of the Wolf(Pf)*
11th: Greater Lycanthropy (see below)
13th: Greater Monstrous Form (see below)
15th: Megalodon Empowerment (Strw)
17th: Nature's Avatar (SpC, can target self when in a beast form)
19th: Shapechange

Vermin Form
As Lesser Spider Form (DotU) but allows any vermin of CR equal to or less than your level minus 1. Level 1 characters are allowed to take CR 1 forms.

Greater Lycanthropy
As Lycanthropy, but allows you to take Tiny and Huge forms, as well.

• Tiny, Flying - 60' flight speed (good), +6 Dex, -4 Strength)
• Tiny, Land - 20' climb speed, +4 Dex, -6 Str, +8 Balance
• Tiny, Swimming - 20' swim speed, +4 Dex, +4 Hide, +4 Move Silently
• Huge, Flying - 100' flight speed (poor), +16 Strength, Swallow Whole
• Huge, Land - 40' speed, +20 Str, Trample 2d8
• Huge, Swimming - 70' Swim speed, +12 Str, Improved Grab

Greater Monstrous Form
As Monstrous Form, but allows for Tiny to Huge forms.

• Displacer Beast Pack Lord (Huge) - 40 ft speed, +16 Str, +10 Con, 2 tentacles, displacement
• Frost Worm (Huge) - 30 ft speed, 10 ft burrow, +16 Str, +10 Con, Bite, Aura of Cold (1d8, 10' radius)
• Cryohydra (Huge) - 20 ft speed, 20 ft swim, +12 Str, +10 Con, 11 Heads, 20' Line of Cold (3d6 cold) per head (1d4 rnd cool down)
• Phase Wasp (Tiny) - 5 ft speed, 60 ft Fly speed (perfect), +10 Dex, Magic Missile (at will), See Invisibility (constant)
• Shadow Asp (Tiny) - 30 ft speed, 10 ft Climb speed, +10 Dex, Poison (1d6 Str init/sec), Create Spawn (lasts only until you change forms again), Gaseous Form (at will)
• Deathraven (Tiny) - 10 ft speed, 120 ft fly speed, +6 Dex, Touch of Death (1/1d6 rounds)

*To the best of my knowledge, these spells can be layered on top of other polymorph effects.


I would make other spheres for other kinds of shapeshifting, and then there could be a class that could take various shifting spheres and get Enhanced Sphere Access, like Conduit.

I have a friend who's one of those denim/jeans fanatics, and a profile pic of his gave off very "fantasy cultist" vibes. So.... Denim domain. The various spells that I don't outright rename for the domain are fluffed as appearing as denim. So, the Jleric's mage armor looks like a canadian tuxedo-

Denim Domain
Granted Power: When wearing denim and no (other) armour, you add your Wisdom modifier to your AC as an Armor bonus.
1 Mage Armor
2 Protection from Arrows
3 Freedom of Movement*
4 Denimskin (as stoneskin)
5 Animate Denim
6 Energy Immunity
7 Irondenim (as ironwood, but affecting denim)
8 Denim Body (as iron body)
9 Absorption


*Freedom of Movement has very specific effects, but the description is pretty broad. It says it allows you to "move and attack normally for the duration of the spell," which... in my opinion should negate armor penalties.

Table 1-1: Denim

Denim	Cost	Armor Bonus	Max Dex	ACP	ASF	Speed	Weight
Light
Standard Denim	5 gp	1	8	0	5%	30'/20'	5 lbs
Medium
Selvage Denim	50 gp	4	3	-4	25%	20'/15'	10 lbs
Heavy
"Stone Denim"	250 gp	6	1	-6	35%	20'/30'	25 lbs

Chitin Creator [Vermincrafting]
You know the ancient aberration secrets of creating living war machines.
Prerequisite: Caster level 1 and ability to cast 1st level spells of the Transmutation, Necromancy or Conjuration schools, or Craft (Alchemy) 4 ranks (3 ranks if you use Pathfinder's skill system)
Benefit: You may create monstrous vermin that will serve you, using processes that are mechanically broadly similar to Necromantic Creation feats (ie, 25gp of raw materials per hit die, and it generally takes at least an hour to make one vermin). You automatically control up to your unmodified Int or Cha modifier (choose one when taking this feat) of vermin created by this feat, but no one vermin can have a CR higher than your Character Level-2.
Finally, you may set the "program" of vermin you create using this feat, including conditions under which they will attack creatures (but, of course, if you control them, their program doesn't matter), and you gain a +3 bonus on any Kn-Nature, Craft-Alchemy or Perform checks made in regards to monstrous vermin, whether you've created them or not.
Special: A first or second level character may create vermin less than their CR but any vermin that has a higher CR that 1/3 (for first) or 1/2 (for second) counts as two for control purposes.

Stuff I've written for an online game-

Forged in the Blood War (Fiend, Skill: K.Planes)
Your fiendish form has been reshaped by and for the blood war. Your heart beats the march of the war drums, your skin tallies victories and losses.
Benefit: Bulwark of the Fallen: Your body is protected by the spiritual echo of the armor that is strewn across the battlefields on which the Blood War is fought. When not wearing armor, you may (as a non-action) manifest shadowy armor that provides an armor bonus of 4+half your HD. This armor is composed of shadow and force, and you retain half its bonus against touch and incorporeal attacks. You may choose the appearance of this armor, based on the bonus it provides, but whatever its form it has no check penalty, spell failure or max dex.
4 ranks: Armory of Ages: You may conjure weapons from the infernal battlefields. Conjuring a weapon is a free action, and if you have the ability to wield multiple weapons with equal skill (TWF, etc) you may conjure that many weapons at once. If you conjure a weapon you can wield one-handed, you may conjure a shield at the same time. You are not inherently proficient in conjured weapons/shields, and if you conjure a weapon in which you are not already otherwise proficient, you still take penalties.
If the weapon conjured requires ammunition, you create shadow-ammunition as part of reloading/drawing it.
As a side benefit, you may likewise conjure any utterly mundane trivial item that might be found on a battlefield, though it will only last a number of minutes equal to your ranks in K.Planes.
You can have a number of items conjured this way equal to your Charisma modifier at once.
9 ranks: Fiendish Engine: A number of times per day equal to your charisma modifier, you can conjure a spectral siege engine and crew, which appears loaded and readied. You can conjure two crew members per four ranks in K.Planes. If you cannot conjure sufficient crew to man the siege engine you conjure, you will need to supply additional crew members of real people. The crew members conjured with this ability can only man the siege engine, and are unable to perform any other tasks.
14 ranks: Ranks of the Dead: You gain a leadership score equal to your ranks in K.Planes plus your charisma modifier, but do not attract followers or a cohort. Instead, you are able to manifest ghostly soldiers equal to the number of followers your leadership score would provide. You may conjure a number of soldiers at once equal to your ranks in K.Planes as a full round action. These soldiers are statted as if they were fiendish swordwraith human warriors with a relevant fiendish subtype, but may appear to be various forms of fiends. Your leadership score is not subject to the various situational modifiers which might otherwise increase or decrease it. When followers die, they disappear in a greasy cloud of infernal smoke. You recover a number of followers per day equal to your ranks in K.Planes, starting at the lowest level of followers (ie, if you have lost 10 first level, 4 second level, and 5 third level followers, and have 14 ranks, you will recover the first and second level followers, and then the third level followers will be recovered the next day, assuming you have not lost more lower level followers by then).
19 ranks: (fuck if I know)
Note: If you attune a magical armor or weapon, you may ritually sacrifice it as part of the attunement. If you do so, the magical properties of that item are conferred to the armor and weapons you conjure with this feat. This is still attunement, and you still spend the attunement slot. For example, if you sacrifice a magical keen greatsword while attuning to it, any weapon you conjure will be magical and keen, and you are attuned to “Magical Keen Weapon.” You may unattune as normal, and may replace attunements as normal.

Crow Sphere
Benefit: You gain a crow (raven) familiar as a wizard of your level/hd
1st: Arcane Sight
3rd: Summon Swarm (summons a murder of crows, ToM)
5th: Ring of Blades (blades manifest as ravens, SpC)
7th: Conjure Ice Crow (as SM4, but conjures an Ice Beast Giant Raven with HD equal to half CL, rounded up)
9th: Prying Eyes (manifests as crows, upgrades to Gtr at 15th)
11th: Murder of Crows (as Spider Plague, SpC, but summons Shadow Creature Giant Ravens)
13th: Whirlwind of Teeth (manifests as a whirling mass of crows, BoVD)
15th: Create Greater Undead
17th: Weird (manifests as murders of crows)
19th: Shadow Landscape (SpC)

Background: Animal Form
Through some experiment, accident, or curse, you are able to take the form of an animal (chosen from those appropriate for a normal, unimproved familiar).
Effect: You gain the Alternate Form ability of a natural lycanthrope (allowing you to take the animal form at will, but not a hybrid form), and are able to speak with animals at will (unlike Raised by Owlbears, this only applies to animals, not magical beasts). However, magic sees you as an animal as much as whatever else you are, and any spell which could affect an animal can also affect you.

Shadow-Stuff [A Feat Per Level]
Your body is vaguely shadow-y, making you a little harder to see in less than ideal lighting conditions and allowing you to slowly float.
Prerequisite: Some reason your body is infused with shadow stuff, such as being a pseudo-elemental being, undead, or writing in your backstory “I was fused with shadow stuff.”
Benefit: In less than bright light, you gain a +2 bonus on hide and move silently checks. You also gain a fly speed of 10 ft (perfect), but cannot move faster than a double move with this flight.

Just saw Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and decided to do a bit of work on this class, along with moving it here.

Hell Rider Revised Revised
[Base Class]

Once in a while, fiends will make a faustian pact with a mortal. In this pact the mortal may be turned into a Hell Rider, a sort of Infernal bounty hunter weilding pure Hellfire. In return, the mortal will get whatever it is mortal's want, money, love, the life of a love one saved from some horrible disease, or some other thing that could just as easily be obtained with the proper spell from a cleric or wizard. Though other times, they get what they really want, or nothing at all. Such is the nature of deals with fiends.

Alignment: There's nothing particularly preventing a Hell Rider from being Good aligned, but the bond of hell rider, demonic steed, and patron does put definite strain on the Hell Rider's moral center, so generally they are Neutral or Evil.
Races: While, hypothetically, a fiend could become a Hell Rider, it generally makes more sense for them to focus on their own planar power rather than accepting power from a patron. In general, non-outsiders, and people who are outsiders due to some form of infusion of planar essence (rather than being a natural outsider) may become hell riders, while naturally "born" outsiders probably shouldn't.
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp (100 gold)
Starting Age: Literally any. Fiends care not for age when making pacts.

Game Info
HD: d8
Good Ref and Will
Good BAB
Skills (6+int): Bluff, Control Shape, Diplomacy, [Drive], Handle Animal, Intimidate, Kn. Arcana, Kn. Religion, Kn. the Planes, Move Silently, Ride, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Use Magic Device
Power Source: Infernal

Lv Special
1st Fiendish Patron, Wicked Tracker, Alternate Form, Hell's Mount, Hellfire Sphere (Basic)
2nd Bonus Feat, Fiendish Weaponry
3rd Piercing Flames, Mettle
4th Hellfire Sphere (Advanced), Bonus Feat
5th The Long Ride
6th Bonus Feat
7th Hellfire Sphere (Expert)
8th Bonus Feat, Improved Fiendish Weaponry

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: The Hell Rider is proficient in all simple and martial weapons, as well as chain weapons. They are also proficient in light armor and lamellar (and if you're not using Tome armors, they are also proficient in brigandine, whatever category it is). As a side benefit, they are also proficient in any armor primarily made of leather, or that is made from leather-like materials (including magic leaves and shit. If it looks like something a fantasy biker might wear, the hell rider is proficient in it).

Fiendish Patron: The hell rider's formative experience is making a pact with some form of fiend, usually an archdevil, but, honestly, whatever. If it's a fiend or evil-aligned outsider, it works. At some point in their natural life, the Hell Rider's patron will require them to perform some task, usually one which involves tracking down a creature or object, but beyond that basic "this will involve using the gifts I've given you" component, it may well be anything.

To represent this bond, the Hell Rider gains the appropriate Dark Brand/Diabolic Disciple/Thrall to Demons/Black Disciple feat (depending on patron), as well as an appropriate [Minion], [Vile] or feat requiring that as a prerequisite which actually does something (no, allowing you to reroll a d20 once per day if it can be said to fit an arbitrary categorization is not "doing something.")

Wicked Tracker: The Hell Rider may track a target "through Hell and high water" as it were. With a connection--a personal item, a picture, a lock of hair, or the like--the Rider will unerringly know the direction of their target if they are on the same plane. If the target is on another plane, they can make a K.Planes check (DC 10+target's HD or CL for an item) to determine which plane. The Rider may only track a single target at a time, and anything that would block the target from detection of any kind blocks the Rider's tracking ability. They also gain the Track feat, and have a bonus on Survival checks made to track equal to half their character level.

Alternate Form (Ex): At night, the Hell Rider is affected by a terrifying transformation into an image of hellish death. Generally, this transformation involves the skin of their head and hands burning away to reveal bone wreathed in hellfire, and their clothes take on a more menacing appearance (metal studs become spikes, the clothing becomes darker and burned, etc.), but honestly, whatever makes them scary and fiendish looking is fine. However the Hell Rider's body is transformed, it has no mechanical effect, except that any armor worn can gain armor spikes while they are so transformed.

In this form, the Hell Rider gains enhancement bonuses to Str and Con equal to 1/3 character level, DR X/(patron's DR conditions), the (Fire) subtype (granting Fire immunity and vulnerability to Cold), and the Burn ability of a fire elemental with HD equal to (or closest to without going over) the Hell Rider's character level. The DR of the Hell Rider in Alternate Form is equal to their class level+Con Mod, and every two levels taken outside of the Hell Rider class improve it by 1 point (ie, it stops 1/2 Character Level+1/2 Class Level+Con Mod damage). If the Hell Rider's patron's DR is overcome by Epic weapons, then the Hell Rider's DR is instead overcome by the material that similar beings' DR is overcome by. Follow the True Fiend's Fiendish DR for progression, but the DR progresses by character level (with the aforementioned amount caveat).

The Hell Rider cannot maintain this alternate form in direct sunlight, and reverts to his normal form at daybreak. He may still assume the form in shadow (or otherwise outside of direct sunlight) during the day with a successful Control Shape check (DC 20). Control Shape can also affect this ability in all ways as it does the lycanthrope ability of the same name, treat this form as an 'animal' form, and use the delineation of night and day rather than moon phase.

At character level 10, a Hell Rider may maintain their alternate form even in sunlight, but resisting the change at dawn or assuming it in sunlight requires a Control Shape 25 check.

Hellriders of Levistus, Juiblex, and so on wrote:Ok, look- The Hell Rider is Ghost Rider. Hence the Hell specific terms and fire stuff. But the class can be associated with pretty much any evil power that is willing to make deals with mortals. If your specific patron is not tied to fire, then use the appropriate elemental/energy stuff (it should probably still be on par with fire, so while technically negative energy could fit... check with the person running the game). If your patron isn't a Devil or from Hell, then just call your abilities whatever makes the most sense, if you actually care that much.

Hell's Mount (Ex): Any vehicle piloted by or mount rode by a Hell Rider is possessed by a fiendish steed spirit that is loyal to that Hell Rider. Once possessed, it is affected by a transformation similar to the Hell Rider's alternate form, taking on an appearance similar to the Hell Rider's alternate form. In this form, the steed (or vehicle) gains the damage reduction, fire immunity and Burn abilities of the Hell Rider's alternate form, if the spirit possesses an inanimate vehicle, that vehicle is animated as an animated object. While this spirit is bound to the Hell Rider and can possess any steed or vehicle they ride or drive, the Hell Rider can also form a bond with a specific steed or vehicle, which then improves as if an animal companion and familiar, but uses the table below instead of the tables for those specific creatures. Strictly, these bonuses apply to the fiendish spirit (for the purposes of intelligence, communication, etc), but the benefits only apply to the specific bonded steed or vehicle. The mount can travel indefinitely without need for rest, food/fuel, or healing/repair so long as it is taking at least a double move action, and does not suffer non-lethal damage from extended hustling, running or forced march.

The Hell Rider's fiendish steed spirit can possess any mount or vehicle, regardless of size, but larger vessels take longer to possess. A Hell Rider must make a move action to have this spirit possess a Large or smaller vessel. A Huge vessel requires a full round action, and each size category above Huge requires an additional full round action.

Rider Character Level	Bonus HD	Natural Armor Increase	Str/Dex Adj	Int	Special
1-2	+0	+1	+0	6	Mounted Combat, Empathic Link, Phantom's Speed
3-4	+2	+2	+1	7	Evasion, Firm Stride
5-6	+2	+3	+2	8	Devotion, Speak with Master, Ride the Web
7-8	+4	+4	+3	9	Spell Resistance, Stride the Styx
9-10	+6	+5	+4	10	Command Fiends, Multiattack
11+	+2/3 levels above 9th	+1/2 levels above 9th	+1/3 levels above 9th	+1/2 levels above 9th	--

Mounted Combat: The Hell Rider gains the benefits of Mounted Combat while riding the specific steed or vehicle they have bonded their fiendish spirit to. If the Rider already has the Mounted Combat feat, they instead gain the benefits of Spirited Charge while riding their bound steed or vehicle.
Phantom's Speed: The mount has a base land speed of 20 ft per master's character level, to a maximum of 240 ft., or its own normal speed, whichever is higher.
Firm Stride: The mount can ride over sandy, muddy, or even swampy ground without difficulty or decrease in speed.
Ride the Web: The mount can move along surfaces that it could normally ride on at any angle, even upside down.
Spell Resistance: The mount gains Spell Resistance equal to its master's level+5.
Stride the Styx: The mount can use water walk at will (as the spell, no action required to activate this ability).
Command Fiends: The mount can command fiends as a paladin's mount commands creatures of its kind.

Hellfire Sphere: The Hell Rider gains basic access to the Hellfire Sphere. It's mental trait is automatically a gleeful lust to punish the wicked.

Bonus Feat: At every second level, the Hell Rider gains a bonus [Combat], [Elemental], [Fiendish], [Monstrous], or [Undead] feat they qualify for. Being a Hell Rider covers the basic "you must be this kind of creature" requirement of these feats.

Fiendish Weaponry: At second level, the Hell Rider gains the ability to conjure a weapon from the deepest pits of the lower planes. Well, ok, they can conjure a weapon, and it's kind of fiendish-y. Conjuring the weapon is a swift action and it exists until the Hell Rider dismisses it. Usually this weapon is some form of chain, but it can take the form of any weapon the Hell Rider is proficient in, and it is a Magical weapon with the Flame ability (or, if more appropriate to the patron, Acid, Poison or Thundering). At the Rider's option, if they have Two-Weapon Fighting feat, or similar, they may conjure as many Fiendish Weaponry as they can wield with the Linked quality instead of an appropriate elemental quality. Each time the weapon is conjured, the rider may choose whether it has an elemental quality, or they conjure multiple Linked weapons.
Instead of Tome abilities (because they're kind of limited...), the weapon can instead be handled as normal magic weapon that always has a total value (not including the base masterwork weapon cost) of 2,000gp per character level.
Either way, the Hell Rider's fiendish weapon is considered to be an attuned item (ie, they are able to attune one less item).

Piercing Flames (Ex): From 3rd level on, a Hell Rider's flames cut through Fire Resistance, hardness, and Immunity. No more than 1/2 of the damage inflicted by his fire damage can be negated by hardness or immunity or resistance to Fire. In addition, the Hell Rider ignores the first 5 points of Fire Resistance that a target has.

The Long Ride(Ex.): A Hell Rider traveling on his Hell's Mount ability has no need to eat, drink, or sleep. This ability functions even in direct sunlight so long as the journey began in shadow or at night. Their mount, if otherwise living, can run tirelessly as if it were a creature with no constitution score, suffering no damager (nonlethal or lethal) for forced march or moving at a rate faster than their base speed for more than an hour.

Improved Fiendish Weaponry: At 8th level, the Hell Rider's fiendish weaponry becomes a moderate weapon if you're using Tome weapons. If you're using normal magical weapon rules, it always has a magical enhancement bonus equal to 1/3 the character's level and the value can be used entirely for special abilities. At 14th character level, a Tome fiendish weapon can be a Greater item if the character has at least 8 levels in the Hell Rider class.

Hellfire [Fiendish Sphere]
Granted Ability: Hellfire Infusion (Su): Any weapon, damaging spell, spell like ability or magic item wielded by a Hell Rider in Alternate Form can be infused with Hellfire. This requires a swift action (but can be done as a move action instead), and causes all damage dealt by the infused thing to be Hellfire damage (overcoming resistance and immunity to Fire and dealing full damage to objects) for a number of rounds equal to the half the creature's hit die plus Charisma modifier. Additionally, the Hell Rider can burn a use of a spell-like ability from this sphere to increase the damage dealt by the infused effect/weapon by (half level required for spell-like, round up)d6 for that round. If the Hell Rider has Expert Access to this sphere, they can only burn 4 uses of a given spell-like per day.
1-2 HD Produce flame
3-4 Greater Burning Hands (as burning hands, but the damage is 1d6/CL, to a max of 20d6, and the creature may choose to have the fire originate from any part of their body)
5-6 Penance Stare (as Spectral Touch^LM, but it's duration is 1 rnd/level or until you break contact with the first creature touched, whichever happens first. Ie, Spectral Touch, but you don't get to keep touching people after the first. A blind target, or target whose eyes you cannot look into, is immune to the Penance Stare)
7-8 Flame Whips^SpC (The whips are actually chains, and any abilities, modifications, etc you have that apply to whips or chains you wield apply to the flaming chains created by this spell-like ability. Also, your hands don't become chains, and during the duration, you can drop a chain to use your hand, and then re-conjure it as if drawing a weapon after. If you drop both, the effect ends.)
9-10 Greater Fireburst (SpC)
11-12 Howling Chain^SpC (damage dealt by the chain is fire damage)
13-14 Emerald Flame Fist (SpC)
15-16 Incendiary Cloud
17-18 Investiture of the Hellfire Engine (FC2)
19-20 Storm of Vengeance (all damage is hellfire damage)

Background: Beast Botherer
"Croikey, that's a greater gargodon, that is! Isn't she a beaut... Look at those jaws, could snap up a whole squad at once! ...I'mma ride her!"
Benefit: For whatever reason, you see some giant terrifying beast and you just gotta go up to it and bug the shit out of it. While other people shy back or outright run, you're working out how to get up in its face, preferably without getting eaten. Your years of experience doing this, and somehow not dying, have taught you a lot about how to interact with various animals and monsters. You gain a +2 competence bonus to Handle Animal and Ride checks, which are always class skills for you, and you can handle any creature with an Intelligence less than 3 as if it were an animal (ie, there is no penalty for Handling non-animals with an Int of less than 3). You may also use Handle Animal with some creatures* that have an Intelligence of 3 to 7, but in this case you do suffer a -5 penalty. Finally, animals have an initial attitude one level better towards you.
*Aberrations, dragons, elementals, fae, magical beasts, oozes, outsiders, plants, undead and vermin.