Eldritch Akasha: Obsessions of Flesh (Patreon)

These two new promethean obsessions focus around the alterations of ones own flesh to better alter oneself for battle.

New Promethean Obsessions

Swamflesh Obsession

Your research has hewn your mortal form into one made up of thousands of pieces that resemble insects or other vermin, allowing you to control each piece with a single mind.

Flesh of the Many (Ex)

Your corporeal form is actually made up of thousands of vermin that can combine to mimic your previous shape, or discorporate into a swarm of horrors.

At 1st level, your flesh is irreparably altered by your research, your original body discorporating into a swarm of horrific vermin that share a single mind. Your type changes to Vermin with the (augmented) subtype, you gain Darkvision 60 feet, and no longer need to sleep. You lose any natural armor you possess not granted by magical effects, but you gain an insight bonus to your AC and CMD equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum +2). This bonus increases by an additional +1 at 5th level, and every 4 levels thereafter.

With practice, you have learned to piece your swarm-body back together into a perfect replica of your original form. As a free action once per turn, you can change from your normal form into your swarm form, or vice versa. If you are in your combined form, you may also change into your swarm form as an immediate action, but if you do so you cannot change your form during your next turn.

If you are reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, or if you otherwise lose consciousness from anything other than sleep, you automatically discorporate into your swarm. As you take damage members of your swarm die, and as you heal you grow new members of your swarm. For the purposes of spells that return you to life, even a single corpse from among your swarm is considered a valid target if every member of your swarm has been slain.

While in your swarm form, your body grows to fill a space one size category wider than your own (a Medium creature would take up a 10-foot wide by 10-foot long by 5-foot high space), your reach becomes 0 feet, you may share spaces freely with other creatures, you can squeeze through spaces as if you were a Fine-sized creature (excluding any items you are holding that cannot fit through these spaces), you gain a climb speed equal to your base movement speed, you take 50% reduced damage from slashing, and piercing damage caused by weapon attacks (after being modified by damage reduction or hardness, minimum 1 point), and take 50% increased damage caused by effects that affect an area. While in your swarm form you are still treated as a single creature for the purposes of effects that target creatures. While in your swarm form you are susceptible to high winds and are treated as a creature three size categories smaller than your base size when affected by them (minimum Fine size). Your veils alter in size and shape to fit your swarm form, most often forming nebulous blobs of flowing akasha that vaguely resemble their original shape rather than concrete and definite constructions of magic.

While in this state you cannot make weapon attacks or provide somatic components for spells or abilities, but you may still use the abilities and spell-like abilities of your shaped veils freely. Any items you are holding, carrying, or wearing while you enter swarm form are pulled into and carried by the swarm. You lose the benefits of any worn armor or wielded shield while in swarm form,  but you still retain the benefit of any worn wondrous items. You may hold more items than you have free hands while in swarm form, spending actions to pick them up normally. You can still activate objects and items you are holding while in swarm form as well.

When you combine your swarm to form your normal body, you choose a single free space within your swarm to appear in. If there is no space to fit your normal body within your swarm, you cannot combine back to your normal form. If you are holding more items than you have hands when you combine your body, you drop any excess items within the formerly-held spaces of your swarm in locations of your choice. If you have armor or clothing held inside your swarm, you may don them as part of returning to your normal form.

Starting at 5th level, the nature of your horrific form has also improved your resistance to numerous factors that plague those forged of flesh and blood as well, granting you immunity to disease and poison.

At 13th level, your swarming body has altered to such a point that you are no longer treated as a single creature for the purposes of effects that target creatures. You gain immunity to any physical spell or effect, besides weapon attacks, that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of such spells and effects generated by you which treat you as a single creature if you so choose. Mind-affecting effects that target single creatures function normally against you, since your swarm shares a single mind.

Swarming Terror (Ex)

Your swarm can flow upon your foes, consuming their flesh and striking terror into their mortal minds.

At 1st level, while in your swarm or hybrid forms you gain the ability to make a special swarm attack as a standard action. This special swarm attack targets any number of creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you or that are within your swarm body. Those creatures take a number of points of piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Intelligence modifier, and must make a Will saving throw (10 + 1/2 your level + your Intelligence modifier) or become shaken and suffer a -5 penalty on concentration checks until the end of your next turn. Creatures immune to fear do not make a saving throw against this ability. The damage dealt by this ability increases by an additional 1d6 at 3rd level, and every 4 levels thereafter.

Hybrid Form (Ex)

You have better learn to control the swarm that makes up your body, allowing you to take on a form that is not-quite mortal and not-quite swarm.

At 5th level, you gain the ability to take on a hybrid form in addition to your swarm and combined forms. This hybrid takes the size and shape of your base form, can make weapon attacks, perform somatic components, wield weapons and shields, and wear armor. It is otherwise treated as your swarm form for all purposes, save that you cannot freely share spaces with other creatures, your reach is not reduced to 0 feet, and you do not gain a climb speed while in hybrid form. Your hybrid form resembles your original form, other than that it is made up of thousands of miniscule horrors.

If you are in your combined form, you may change into your hybrid form as an immediate action, but if you do so you cannot change your form during your next turn.

Engulfing Swarm (Ex)

The swarm that makes up your flesh can flow like a wave, engulfing and consuming your foes.

At 9th level, you gain the engulf special ability while in your swarm form. The Reflex saving throw for this ability is 10 + 1/2 your level + your Intelligence modifier, and creatures who fail their saving throw against this ability suffer damage as per your special swarm attack. You may only engulf up to two creatures of your own size (two Medium creatures if you are Medium sized), one of a size larger than you, four of a size smaller than you, and so on. Engulfed creatures move with you and your movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from an engulfed creature. If you use this ability while already engulfing a creature, the engulfed creature takes damage as if struck by your special swarm attack. The engulfed creature is considered to be grappled by you for the purposes of your veils that affect targets you grapple, and damaging an engulfed creature with your swarm attack counts as a successful grapple against said creature for the purposes of those veils.

You gain a +4 insight bonus to your CMD against creatures attempting to break free of your engulf, increasing by an additional +1 at 13th and 17th level.

While in your combined or hybrid forms, once per turn whenever you successfully hit a creature within 5 feet of you with a melee attack or combat maneuver, you can cause part of the swarm making up your body to flow upon that creature. That creature takes damage as if struck by your special swarm attack, and you may make a grapple check against that creature as a free action. You gain a +4 insight bonus to your CMB for this grapple check, and a +4 bonus to your CMD for the purposes of defending this grapple. These bonuses increase by an additional +1 at 13th and 17th level. You do not maintain this grapple normally, you do not gain the grappled condition while grappling a creature using this ability, and it does not require you to have any free hands to maintain the grapple. At the end of your next turn, and if you move more than 5 feet away from the grappled creature, the grapple automatically ends. If you use this ability to grapple a creature you are already grappling with, the duration of this grapple is extended by an additional round.

Split Swarm (Ex)

You have learned to further divide the horrors that make up your body while still maintaining control of them.

At 13th level, when you enter your swarm form you can choose to divide your body into multiple swarms. You can choose to take the form of two swarms, rather than one, but your size is considered one size category smaller when determining your size bonuses and the size of your swarms. At 17th level, you can choose to take the form of four swarms, rather than one, but your size is considered two size categories smaller when determining your size bonuses and the size of your swarms. You cannot use this ability if it would reduce your effective size to smaller than Fine.

These swarms initially share a space when you take the shape of them, each swarm has a pool of hit points shared between all of your swarms, each swarm benefits from your worn wondrous items. Choose a single swarm to act as your primary swarm; it holds your wondrous items, and has your shaped veils. All of your swarms gain the benefits of wondrous items and effects that are affecting you as if you were a single creature, but any active or passive effect that originates from you that is caused by a wondrous item or veil instead originates from your primary swarm. When casting a spell or using a power not created by a veil, it may originate from one swarm of your choice.

If multiple of your swarms would be affected by a single effect that affects an area, you are only treated as if you had been affected once. Each swarm counts as an individual creature for the purposes of effects that target specific creatures.

Whenever you move, you can move all of your swarms up to the distance allowed by that movement. Whenever you use your engulf ability, you may do so with each of your swarms. Whenever you use your special swarm attack, you may use that attack with each of your swarms. A single creature cannot be engulfed by multiple of your swarms, or damaged by multiple of your swarms as part of a single action.

Your swarms share a single mind and share perceptions, but your swarms cannot safely move farther than Medium range from your primary swarm (100 feet + 10 feet per class level). If your swarms move farther than this range, after 1 minute if that swarm has not returned to within this safe range they are destroyed, and you lose a number of hit points equal to half your current hit points (if you created 2 swarms) or 1/4 your current hit points (if you created four swarms). You can only combine your swarms to form your normal or hybrid form while your swarms are sharing a space (excluding any destroyed swarms).

Divested Form (Ex)

Your research has allowed you to separate a small number of individuals from your swarm, granting them limited autonomy.

At 13th level, you gain the ability to divest an individual member of your swarm as a standard action. This individual horror is a Fine-sized Vermin with a Strength score of 1, a Dexterity score of 18, a Constitution score of 10, and 1 hit point per each of your class levels. It has a base movement speed equal to your base movement speed, and a climb speed equal to that speed. It has a bite natural attack appropriate for its size. It shares all of your skill ranks, languages, mental ability scores, personality, memories, and modes of vision. It does not gain the benefits of any veils you have shaped, or gain the benefits of any other abilities, feats, features, or class features you possess, such as your ability to cast spells or shape veils, but it does gain the benefit of any feats, traits, or racial features you possess that would alter or improve your skills (such as Skill Focus).

Divested members of your swarm must consume food and water as normal for a creature of their size, and they have a maximum lifespan identical to your own. You do not share senses or memories with a divested member of your swarm; it is considered its own creature for all purposes, with an exact copy of your mind. As a standard action, you can touch a divested member of your swarm, returning it to the swarm and adding any memories it acquired after being divested to your own.

You may only have a number of divested members of your swarm at any one time equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 2). You and the divested members of your swarm can always sense the exact distance and direction you and they are apart from each other as long as you and they share a plane, and you and your divested members of your swarm share an empathic connection. This empathic connection cannot be used to deliver any complex thoughts or to share information, but it can be used to determine the general wellbeing of each other, and to command a divested member to return to you. If one of your divested members is slain, you know immediately.

Horrific Swarm (Ex)

Your swarm has become particularly horrific, striking true terror into any who are embraced by its flowing mass.

At 17th level, any creature who fails their saving throw against your special swarm attack is frightened instead of shaken for 1 round, and then shaken for 1 minute thereafter. If the frightened creature is grappled or engulfed by you, it must use its actions to attempt to escape the grapple or engulfment.

Eternal Swarm (Ex)

The you that was before has long been subsumed by the swarm; not a single scrap remains. Your sense of self has diminished, becoming one with the swarm that will live on eternally.

At 20th level, your swarm has reached the peak of its potential. You no longer suffer penalties from old age, and cannot die from old age. If you had already accrued penalties from old age, you lose them. The alterations to your body and mind by these changes have also further warped your sense of self; granting you immunity to mind-affecting effects.

You may divest a number of members of your swarm equal to twice your Intelligence modifier (minimum 4), and you and divested members of your swarm share a mind, perceptions, and memories.

If you are killed, a divested member of your swarm of your choice carries on as “you” in your place. After one day, that divested member of your swarm grows a new swarm that becomes you, able to use all of your abilities.

You can also choose to divest yourself from your current swarm in a process that takes 1 hour; doing so kills all but one member of the swarm, which becomes a divested member of your swarm, and your swarm begins to regrow in a process that takes an additional hour around a different divested member of your swarm.

When using either of these abilities, any objects or equipment you were holding or carrying are left in the location of the first swarm.

Living Weapon Obsession

You have learned to weave essence with flesh to turn yourself into a living weapon, an engine of destruction powered by profane rituals and horrifying experimentation.

Weapon’s Training (Ex)

Your experimentation involves martial prowess as well as magical.

At 1st level, you gain proficiency with martial weapons, medium and heavy armor, and shields (excluding tower shields).

Bodily Enhancements (Ex)

Constant experimentation has rendered your body more durable and better able to survive injuries that would otherwise kill or maim another mortal.

At 1st level, you gain a +1 bonus to your natural armor. This stacks with other sources of natural armor. In addition, you gain +2 Hit Points at every promethean level. At 3rd level, and every 4 levels thereafter, your bonus to natural armor increases by +1.

Living Armory (Ex)

Experimentation has changed your body, changing your very being into a weapon forged of flesh and askasha.

At 1st level, when you shape your veils for the day (or by spending 1 hour in meditation after resting for 8 hours, if you do not shape veils), you may choose three total veils from both the soulforge veil list that have the [Enhanced] descriptor and the promethean veil list that have the [Fleshwarp] descriptor. Select one of these veils as your primary veil, and the others as your reserved veils.

You immediately shape the selected primary veil, and it does not count as being shaped in the chakra slot it is shaped in, or against the number of veils you may have shaped each day. If you have the ability to bind veils to the slot the veil is shaped into, you may bind it as part of this ability. If the veil could be shaped in multiple slots, you choose which slot it is shaped in when you shape it.

As a move action once per turn, you may unshape your selected primary veil and shape a selected reserve veil in its place, as above, binding it as part of this process if you have the ability to do so. Your unshaped veil becomes a reserved veil, and the newly shaped veil becomes a primary veil.

You may also choose to unshape your primary veil and shape no reserved veil in its place using this ability. In such a case, the unshaped veil becomes a reserved veil and using this ability again allows you to choose a reserved veil and shape it.

If one of your veils shaped using this ability is suppressed, you may unshape it using this ability and shape a reserved veil in its place. The duration of the suppression continues while it is unshaped in this way, and it cannot be reshaped until that duration has expired.

Veils you shape using this ability are always treated as if they were invested with their maximum amount of invested essence, and cannot be invested with essence normally. While wielding weapons created by veils shaped using this ability, you treat your base attack bonus gained from promethean levels as if it were equal to your class level. If you attack with multiple weapons and not all of them are produced by such a veil, this bonus only applies to the attacks using weapons produced by such a veil.

Additionally, each veil you shape using this ability that does not already have the [Fleshwarp] descriptor gains that descriptor. Any shield, suit of armor, or weapon produced by one of these veils is instead produced directly from your flesh, blood and bone, and any enhancements applied to these veils are still considered to be magical effects. Armor produced by an [Enhanced (armor)] fleshwarp veil merges with your body while polymorphed and does not provide its benefits. Weapons and shields produced by an [Enhanced] fleshwarp veil cannot be disarmed. Spell-like abilities produced by a fleshwarp veil are still supernatural effects, and follow the normal rules for spell-like abilities. If a fleshwarp veil emulates a spell effect, that effect is supernatural as well.

Enhanced Armory (Su)

Rituals and experimentations have allowed you to directly imbue your flesh with magic that alters and empowers your living armory.

At 5th level, you have learned to enhance your body with potent magical effects that alter your veils shaped through your living armory. You may enhance your own body as if it were an unlimited number of masterwork suits of armor, shields, or weapons. This ability also functions as the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat, save that you can only use it to enhance their own body. When using this ability, they may use their class level in place of their caster level when enhancing their own body, and may use the higher of your Craft (Alchemy), Heal, or Spellcraft when making checks to craft these enhancements.

These enhancements remain inert and stored within your body until you shape a veil using your living armor ability, doing so allows you to transfer one of these enhancements to that veil, and then back to your body when the veil is unshaped. If the enhancement applies a property that normally can’t be applied to the armor, shield, or weapon the veil is enhancing (such as a ranged weapon property being applied to a melee weapon) that property has no effect. If you have one of your veils shaped using living armory enhanced through a different source, you can transfer that enhancement to your body when you unshape the veil as well.

Whenever you shape a veil with your living armory ability that grants you natural attacks and don’t already have the [Enhanced (weapon)] descriptor, you can choose to apply one of these enhancements to that veil as if it has the [Enhanced (weapon)] descriptor and apply those enhancements to the natural weapons created by that veil. When doing so, the natural weapons created by that veil do not benefit from any other sources of enhancements that may be applied to them. If that veil produces multiple natural weapons, the penalties to enhanced veils that create multiple weapons do not apply.

Whenever you shape a fleshwarp veil with your living armory that functions as a suit of armor or as a shield but doesn’t already have the [Enhanced (armor)] or [Enhanced (shield)] descriptors, such as the Chitinplate veil, you can choose to apply armor enhancements to that veil (if it is treated as armor) or shield enhancements to that veil (if it is treated as a shield) as if it had the [Enhanced] descriptor. Any enhancement bonuses to your AC granted by these enhancements are armor AC for armor and shield AC for shields, even if the base veil does not grant those AC types.

Incorporate within Flesh (Ex)

Your studies have allowed you to incorporate manufactured objects with your flesh, empowering the variety of your living arsenal.

At 5th level, you have learned to incorporate objects into your flesh and utilize them much like you would your living arsenal. Incorporating a single object takes 1 minute, and you may have a total weight of incorporated objects equal to your Light Load. Incorporated objects are drawn into your flesh and stored safely within you; while incorporated they cannot be detected by magical effects, cannot be targeted or damaged, and cannot be seen. Incorporated objects count as carried by you and count against your carrying capacity. You may also incorporate worn wondrous items; these items still count against the slot they would be worn in, and grant you their benefits while incorporated. Removing an incorporated object from your body takes 1 minute.

You can partially draw forth an incorporated object as a move action; if it is an object you would hold or wield, you need a free hand to draw it forth. Objects that are partially drawn forth are still connected to your flesh, they cannot be disarmed, thrown, or dropped but can otherwise be used normally. You can reincorporate a partially-incorporated object as a free action. If you incorporate armor into your flesh, you can don it or doff it as a move action as long as you are wearing no other armor.

If you incorporate an object capable of storing other objects, such as a backpack, it can still be used to store objects but any objects stored within it count against the total weight of objects you have incorporated. This does not apply for objects that possess an extradimensional space that stores items that do not count against the items weight, such as a bag of holding.

While wielding manufactured weapons you have incorporated within your body, you also treat your base attack bonus gained from promethean levels as if it were equal to your class level, as per your living armory feature. 

Expanded Armory (Ex)

As your mastery over your armory grows, you have learned to further alter your body and call forth an even greater number of living armaments.

At 9th level, you choose an additional 2 veils as part of using your living armory ability each day (following the same restrictions as that ability), and select an additional veil to treat as a primary veil. You shape both primary veils, as per your living armory ability.

Additionally, you may use the abilities of your living armory as a swift action to unshape one primary veil and shape a reserved veil in its place, or as a move action to unshape both primary veils and shape two reserved veils in their place. You may only use one of these abilities each turn.

Adaptable Enhancements (Su)

Your studies and practice in enhancing your own flesh has unlocked greater secrets in the art, allowing you to adapt your already existing enhancements to your needs.

At 13th level, when you meditate to shape your veils as part of your living armory ability, you may adapt any enhancements you have placed on yourself using your enhanced armory ability. Select any number of such enhancements; you may reselect any enhancement bonus and enhancement bonus-equivalent special abilities applied to them. You cannot reconfigure any enhancements that are not equivalent to enhancement bonuses.

For example; if you have a +3 flaming keen weapon enhancement applied to your body, you could reconfigure it to a +5 weapon enhancement, a +4 human-bane weapon enhancement, or any combination of enhancements that reach a total combined bonus of +5.

Master of Incorporation (Ex and Su)

Further practice with incorporating objects has improved the volume of objects you can incorporate, and has allowed you to further master your incorporating abilities.

At 13th level, the maximum weight of objects you can incorporate is equal to your Medium Load. You may also partially draw forth an incorporated object once per round as a free action in addition to doing so as a move action. When determining the amount of weight you are carrying, you ignore an amount of weight of objects you have incorporated equal to your Light Load (minimum 0 lbs).

Additionally; you have learned to incorporate and encapsulate your veils and other magical effects within your body, making it difficult for them to be detected. Incorporating a veil or ongoing magical effect that is affecting you takes 1 minute per veil or effect; after which, it becomes much more difficult to detect.

Incorporated veils are not outwardly visible, even when invested with essence, and creatures may only make checks to identify them after you visibly use their effects. If an incorporated veil would grant you natural attacks, you can stow or reveal these natural attacks as a free action once per round. You cannot attack using stowed natural attacks. If a veil grants you an armor, shield, or weapon, you are considered to be visually using the effects of the veil while wielding or wearing the granted object.

Incorporated ongoing magical effects become particularly difficult to detect; if a creature attempts to view your aura using detect magic or arcane sight, they must make a cast level check against a DC of 11 + your class level. If they fail, they do not detect the auras of any magical effects you have incorporated within you, and cannot attempt to again with that spell for 1 hour.

Incorporating veils and ongoing magical effects is a supernatural ability.

Unlimited Armory (Ex)

Experimentation and study has unlocked the true potential of your armor, allowing you to freely alter your body into numerous forms of living armaments.

At 17th level, you choose an additional 2 veils as part of using your living armory ability each day (following the same restrictions as that ability), and select an additional veil to treat as a primary veil. You shape all three of the selected primary veils, as per your living armory ability.

Additionally, you may use the abilities of your living armory as a free action to unshape one primary veil and shape a reserved veil in its place, as a swift action to unshape two primary veils and shape two reserved veils in their place, or as a move action to unshape all three primary veils and shape three reserved veils in their place. You may only use one of these abilities each turn.

Ultimate Weapon (Ex)

The pinnacle of your research has resulted in you becoming a being that is more of a weapon than a living thing.

At 20th level, your body has been so heavily altered by your experimentation that you are more weapon than creature; you gain the augmented subtype, and you are treated as both your original type and a construct for the purposes of effects, whichever is more beneficial for you. You no longer age, do not die from old age, and you no longer accrue penalties for aging. If you already have penalties from aging, you lose them. You gain immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms), disease, death effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning. You are no longer subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage. You no longer need to breathe, eat, drink or sleep, and you can exist safely in areas of no or extreme pressure (such as the bottom of the ocean, or in space) without penalty. Finally, you gain immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). You can choose to allow an effect to bypass any or all of the immunities granted by this ability if it would benefit you.

Additionally; the maximum weight of objects you can incorporate is equal to your Heavy Load, objects you have incorporated don’t count against your carrying capacity, and you may draw forth incorporated objects as a free action as many times per round as you wish.