[Psionics] (ALL) Takara

[palcosmo]

“You’re being obtuse.” Janos was slumped into his chair, already drinking straight from a wine bottle.

“Obtuse?” Hirt spat the word, and removed his glasses with a swift and violent motion, so that Janos could better appreciate the rage and grief that now dominated his face.

Janos paid no intention. He merely tilted his bottle more, enjoying the wine in a single swill.

“This coming from a drunk.” Hirt backhanded the inverted bottle away from Janos’ hand, clean from his mouth. The bottle spun through the air, its dark red liquid spilling out in bulbous serpent trails. It fell to the ship’s floor with a muted ring, unbroken.

Janos cocked an eyebrow and, without reverence for Hirt’s rage, picked up the bottle, enjoyed the small remainder of its contents, and casually tossed the bottle overboard. He pulled his hat down over his face, so that its great plume filled Hirt’s vision, and brusquely added, “You pay me to be a drunk.”

Hirt’s rage was exhausted with his outburst, so he waited tactfully, letting the tension deflate with a moment. “Janos, we have the full skeletal remains of a betzer: a complete and perfect skeleton.” Hirt’s voice practically pleaded with Janos, begging for understanding. “Not just an elbow, or rib, or skull. We have everything.”

“Hurray.”
“Damn it, Janos. I know you care about this. I know you’re excited. Stop pretending.”
“Sorry. I’m just a little taken aback by the cost.”
It took Hirt a moment to understand Janos’ meaning of ‘cost’. “Do you mean Aster?”
“Yeah, Aster. Aster and your other goons. And the two dozen schrichee we had to off.” Janos now looked into Hirt’s eyes.
“Aster and his men knew what they were getting into. That’s why I had to pay them so well. That’s why their families will be paid so well.”
“And the schrichee? We flying back there to recompense their families?”
“They’re monsters, Janos!”
“They were monks!”
“Ah, come on!”
“We killed a bunch of monks! In their own temple!”
“It was us or them. Life or death.”
“Sure. Sure it was. It didn’t have to be, but you sure as hell made it that way.”
“How? They attacked us!”
“Because we were stealing from them!” Janos tried to regain control of himself, failed. “Why do you think they were protecting the skeleton? Why hide it in a temple?”
“I don’t know! I don’t even care. I don’t know what motivates a beholder… or a schrichee. They’re alien weapons.”
“They were still protecting it for a reason! We don’t have to understand it. They gave their lives for it.”
“Hrm.” Hirt turned his back on Janos.

There was a long silence.

“You knew before we entered the temple. Before we got the skeleton.”
“Knew what?” Hirt peered over his shoulder, his brow furrowed in mock interest.
“That the betzer evolved into the schrichee.” Janos sounded as if he was just realizing this for himself.
Hirt couldn’t muster the energy to feign disbelief; he merely stood with his mouth agape.
“How long have you known?”
Hirt swallowed hard, stared at his feet. “That ‘Y’ symbol? That was everywhere in the temple? I used to think it was a symbol for schrichee mating… but they only ever use it for the earliest of ancestors. It’s a symbol used to describe their origin.” Hirt paused before adding, “And they use the same symbol, only once or twice in anything I’ve read, to describe the Astral Giants.”
“Hm?”
“Their ‘Y’ symbol is a like pair of horns. Like a pair of Astral Giant horns. That was the connection that told me the Astral Giants manipulated the flesh of the betzer -- ‘evolved’ them -- made the schrichee.”
“Why?”
“The betzer used psionics. The Astral Giants probably didn’t understand it. Threatened by it.”

Hirt instinctively knew Janos’ next question, answered it before it could be asked: “I needed the skeleton to prove it. Prove that they’re the same race; that the betzer, in a way, still exist. A multi-contextual letter isn’t proof. It’s a hunch.” Hirt’s back still turned to Janos, begged, “How did you know?”
“You fireball’d enough shrichee that I got a pretty good look at their bones. When I saw the betzer skeleton… they look the same. Little differences, but anyone can tell. Even me.”
“Really?”
“No. I just read your journal.”
“You son of a --”

Hirt spun around, a conspirator’s smirk beginning to creep across his face; Janos’ lightblade bit against Hirt’s neck before he could finish his congratulation. Hirt was still grinning, confused, sheepish, despite the pressure of the sword. He could feel its lethal energy recoil throughout his entire body.

“What?”
“You knew the whole time. You never told me,” Janos rose from his chair, maintaining the pressure of his sword against Hirt’s skin.
“You knew too. You read my notes,” Hirt was astonished by how small his voice was.
“No. You knew I would kill for you. You knew I would have to kill to help you get that skeleton out of there.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I had to, like you said. It was life or death, us or them. I couldn’t let you die there.”
“But now you’ll… kill me?”
“Maybe,” Janos tilted his sword. “There’s still blood on my sword. One more body won’t make much of a difference.”
“Janos.”
“You made me kill so you could look smart. We didn’t even try to reason with the shrichee. You dropped that first fireball so fast… you murdered Aster, the sellswords, the monks. I helped, yeah, but I’m going to make up for it.”
Hirt coughed, his eyes inquiring.
“We’re taking the skeleton back.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You can’t make me. You don’t know how to fly this thing.”
Janos smiled. “I’m a quick learner.”

[palcosmo]

On the planet Takara, there are three singular events that are integral to psionics: the Godfall, the Betzer Exodus, and the Psionic Cascade.

Godfall
Takara’s pantheon is composed of rogue gods who fled the Godfall, a great divine war which, arguably, began with the dawn of time. The rogue gods, as all gods seem prone to do, populated their new world with races made in their various images. Of specific importance to this discussion are the betzer who were crafted by their patron deity of Ilers, Lord of Water, Life, and Death. The betzer were the only new race built that utilized what we now understand to be psionics, specifically utilizing the power of the mind to be in communion with the dead. Ilers gave his creations the innate ability to speak with the dead, illustrating that the barrier between life and death is a transition only made concrete and fatalist by the mind, but easily overcome. The betzer were meant to stand as an example of life’s dual-nature: both ephemeral and eternal.

(In game terms, before the Psionic Cascade, only betzer could gain levels in psionic classes, as no other race on Takara was naturally psionic at the time. Furthermore, the psionics-magic transparency rule is not in effect for this time period, meaning psionics and magic are totally independent of each other. The only exception is extraplanar beings with spell resistance: they would also have power resistance equal to their spell resistance, illustrating that their powers are beyond those of Takara.)

The Betzer Exodus
As it is one of Takara’s great mysteries, the total disappearance of the betzer race -- known as the Betzer Exodus -- is a point of historical debate. As the arrival of the Astral Giants (terrible outsiders of immense power) coincides chronologically with the Exodus, they are typically to blame for the disappearance. Whether the Giants forced the betzer onto another plane, merely destroyed them, or any number of hypotheses, it matters little: Takara, from the start of the Third Era onwards, is wholly without betzer. And thus it was, for nearly two millennia, a world devoid of psionics.

Psionic Cascade
The now dead demi-god Resu was born a human. The result of mundane and mystical manipulations that spread across generations, Resu was a genetic “fluke”: a wild talent human. Indeed, he was the first psionic being on Takara since the loss of the betzer.

His psionic gifts allowed Resu to penetrate the Astral Veil that separated Takara from the Divine Graveyard.(Though many magicians of arguably greater power had too attempted to pierce the Astral Veil, psionics were, at the time, so alien to the world of Takara that the veil was not constructed to withstand psionic manipulation.) There, Resu psionically merged with the dormant consciousnesses of Takara’s deceased divinities, gaining a shadow of the divine.

Resu’s reign of terror was blessedly brief: he was destroyed within a year of his ascension by common adventurers -- most famous of those being Spire Townsend -- who had originally sought to stop Resu before he pierced the Astral Veil. Nevertheless, Resu’s death caused a terrific but intangible shockwave of psionic energy. This Psionic Cascade has since allowed all races to follow psionic pursuits, whether they are naturally psionic or not. (In game terms, during the modern era, any player character race can gain levels in a psionic class. Furthermore, from the modern era onward, the psionics-magic transparency rule is in complete effect.)

[palcosmo]

Shard of Resu
Size/Type: Medium Elemental (incorporeal, psionic)
Hit Dice: 8d8+72 (108 hp)
Initiative: +12
Speed: Fly 80ft. (perfect) (16 squares)
Armor Class: 26 (+8 Dex, +8 Deflection), touch 18, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+11
Attack: Dissipating Touch +20 melee touch (4d6)
Full Attack: Dissipating Touch +20 melee touch (4d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Dissipating Touch, death throes
Special Qualities: Lore +17, Darkvision 60 ft., elemental traits, damage reduction 5/lawful, power resistance 18, variable psi-like abilities, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +15
Abilities: Str 28, Dex 28, Con 28, Int 28, Wis 28, Cha 28
Skills: Bluff +20, Concentration +20, Diplomacy +20, Hide +20, Listen +20, Search +20, Sense Motive +20, Spot +20
Feats: Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: Special (see Resuite)
Alignment: Always chaotic neutral
Advancement: 9+ HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

This humanoid-shaped figure is composed entirely of an ever-shifting and lustrous substance. It is a being of contradiction: nauseatingly beautiful, compellingly vile, and angular but featureless. Its outline suggests a head adorned with a tall barbed crown that lends it an air of authority.

A Shard of Resu is just that: a fragment of the short-lived demi-god. These rare beings of pure thought are echoes of Resu’s divine power, left in the wake of the Psionic Cascade that awakened psionics on Takara.

Though a Shard’s humanoid figure shines with erratic gasoline hues, it still retains the shape of Resu the man. Indeed, each Shard is essentially a duplicate Resu, with complete knowledge of his life as a mortal. Furthermore, each is troubled by its brief life as a divinity, its omniscience now replaced with vague, irrevocably damaged memories. The intangibility of its divine life is perhaps what fuels its madness.

More than anything, Shards seek solitude with a relentless focus: it is not unknown for a single Shard to reduce once thriving provinces into blighted landscapes, seemingly only so it could extend the radius of its personal wasteland. Some sages suggest that a Shard’s wanton destruction is intentionally self-defeating, as their work often summons soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers alike. That is, it is theorized that Shards are so ashamed by their dizzying fall from divinity that they secretly invite their own destruction.

Each Shard is approximately 6 feet tall. They can communicate telepathically with any intelligent creature.

COMBAT
A Shard’s touch rends matter apart, separating whatever it touches via a grotesque use of teleportation. Shards seem to have no self-preservation instinct, and, almost without fail, choose to fight to the death. They still fight to the full extent of their abilities, but rarely choose retreat.

Death Throes (Su): When killed, a Shard gives off a wake of psionic energy that deals 4d6 points of damage to anything within 80 feet (Reflex 23 half). The save DC is Constitution-based. After its death, a Resuite Crystal is left behind (see item description below).

Dissipating Touch (Su): A Shard of Resu attacks with its Dissipating Touch psi-like ability. It can use this ability at will, ignoring the limitations for its other psi-like abilities.

Lore (Su): Shards of Resu can make bardic knowledge checks as an 8th level bard.

Variable Psi-Like Abilities:
A Shard has access to all 1st or 2nd Level Psion/Wilder and Nomad Powers. They can use any of these powers with a Manifester Level of 4 as a psi-like ability, but is restricted to 8 total uses of its psi-like abilities a day. These 8 daily uses of psi-like abilities can be split up in any manner the Shard sees fit, and any single power can be used multiple times. Essentially, a Shard has 8 daily charges with which to manifest any power on the 1st or 2nd Level Psion/Wilder or Nomad Power lists. For example, a Shard could manifest four uses of Recall Agony, one use of Ego Whip, and still have three uses of its psi-like abilities with which to manifest any available power(s).

ADVANCEMENT
As a Shard of Resu gains Hit Dice, its abilities change as follow:

Speed: Fly speed equal to HD x 10 ft.
Armor Class: Improves by 2 every 2 HD (as its Dexterity and Charisma bonuses improve).
Attack: A Shard of Resu’s Dissipating Touch ability has a manifester level equal to ½ its HD, dealing 1d6 for every 2 HD.
Damage Reduction:
8-9 HD: 5/lawful
10-14 HD: 10/lawful
15-19 HD: 15/lawful
20+ HD: 20/lawful
Power Resistance: 10 + HD.
Saves: Good Will save.
Abilities: All abilities are equivalent to 20 + HD.

Death Throes: Damage is equivalent to Dissipating Touch attack; range is HD x 10 ft.

Lore: For its lore checks, a Shard’s equivalent bard level is equal to its Hit Dice.

Psi-Like Abilities: Access to Psion/Wilder and Nomad Powers lists increases with Hit Dice: a Shard can access 3rd Level abilities at 10 HD, 4th Level abilities at 14 HD, and so on for every four Hit Dice. Manifester Level is equal to ½ Hit Dice. A Shard can also use a number of psi-like abilities a day equal to its Hit Dice.

[palcosmo]

Betzerian Focus [psionic, racial]
The ease with which you maintain focus makes you a paragon of the betzer race.
Prerequisites: Betzer, Con 15
Benefit: When you are psionically focused, you can expend your focus on any single Concentration check you make thereafter. When you expend your focus in this manner, your Concentration check receives a +4 bonus, making it as if you rolled a 19.
Normal: When you expend your psionic focus, your Concentration check is treated as if you rolled a 15.

Friend of the Dead [psionic, racial]
You can use your Psionic Speak With Dead ability more often.
Prerequisites: Betzer
Benefit: Your affinity for communing with the dead allows you to use your Psionic Speak With Dead ability a total of two times a day.
Normal: A betzer’s Psionic Speak With Dead psi-like ability can be used once a day.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time you take this feat, you gain an additional daily use of your Psionic Speak With Dead ability.

Bane of the Undead [psionic, racial]
You are a dedicated foe of the undead.
Prerequisites: Betzer, BAB +5
Benefit: To use this feat, you must expend your psionic focus. When you make a successful unarmed attack, you deal an extra 2d6 points of damage against undead only. You must decide whether or not to use this feat prior to making an attack. If your attack misses, you still expend your psionic focus.

[palcosmo]

Resuite
When a Shard of Resu dies, it leaves behind a single Resuite crystal. Firstly, a Resuite crystal functions exactly as a Cognizance Crystal with a maximum power point storage capability proportional to the power of the Shard of Resu that formed it. It is treated as a Cognizance Crystal formed by a Manifester with a level equivalent to ½ the Shard’s Hit Dice. For example, an 8 HD Shard forms a Crystal with 3 Power Points of Storage; a 10 HD Shard’s Crystal has 5 Power Points of Storage; a 14 HD Shard’s Crystal has 7 Power Points of Storage; and so on, with 2 additional Power Points for every additional 4 Hit Dice (maximum 17 Power Points from a 34 HD Shard).

For every power point currently invested in the Resuite crystal, the user also receives an equivalent insight bonus to a specific knowledge check. (Using this ability of the Resuite does not expend the stored power points.) When found, all Resuite crystals are keyed to apply this bonus to knowledge (psionics) checks, but the bonus can be applied to any other knowledge skill. The Resuite can be re-keyed to apply this bonus to any other knowledge skill with an hour of meditation. Thereafter, the Resuite cannot be re-keyed for another 24 hours.

Faint to strong psychokinesis; ML equal to maximum power point storage; cannot be made; Price 2350 (3 PP), 7750 (5 PP), 16350 (7 PP), 28150 (9 PP), 43000 (11 PP), 73900 (13 PP), 97000 (15 PP), 123300 (17 PP); Weight 1 lb.

[palcosmo]

A Quick Undeath
Psychometabolism
Level: Psion/Wilder 4, Psychic Warrior 4
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 full round
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Power Points: 7

There is a nearly inaudible hiss as your flesh slowly peels, cracks, and is finally sloughed off in a brilliant black blaze of negative energy. As the final lick of intangible fire dies away, it is clear that the flames have left you but a withered husk.

You temporarily become a mostly skeletal creature, gaining most of the benefits of the Undead type. You retain all your special qualities, and gain the following benefits:

o Darkvision out to 60 feet.
o Not immune to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
o Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
o Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Unlike standard undead, you are not immune to damage to physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), but are still immune to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
o Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal you while this power is activated; positive energy now damages you.
o Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
o Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, you are immediately destroyed.
o While this power is active, you need not breathe.

Furthermore, you gain DR 5/slashing.

If you die while using this power, you can only be brought back to life via Resurrection or True Resurrection. Finally, for all intents and purposes, you are treated as an undead creature: you are effected by undead bane weapons, turning, undead favored enemy bonuses, etc..

[palcosmo]

DISCIPLE OF RESU
Most Disciples of Resu were fervent worshippers of the now dead demi-god. With their object of worship destroyed, they have tried numerous means to regain their connection to their deity. Their greatest successes are with Resuite crystals, using clandestine methods that manipulate the chaotic energies within the crystal to gift them with superior insight and intellects.

Nowadays, as the old guard of Resu’s worshippers pass on, new disciples seem to have little care for the actual demi-god. New disciples come in a variety of types, most merely seeming to be talented manifesters with a penchant for knowledge.

Hit Dice
d4

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Knowledge (any two) 10 ranks in each
Feats: Skill Focus (Knowledge [any individual Knowledge skill])
Psionics: Manifester Level 3rd
Special: Must own a Resuite crystal; must have the crystal affixed by another disciple of Resu; must pay for the affixation ritual, costing 1,000 (the ritual takes one full day).

Class Skills
The disciple of Resu's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Psicraft (Int), Speak Language (None), and Use Psionic Device (Cha).

Skill Points at Each Level
4 + Int modifier.


http://www.clever-name.com/andy/nerd/resu.gif

CLASS FEATURES

Powers Known
For the first three levels, a disciple gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of disciple to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.

If a character had more than one manifesting class before she became a disciple, she must decide to which class she adds the new level of disciple for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

Resuite Eye
Through guarded psionic processes, a Resuite crystal is affixed onto the Disciple of Resu’s forehead. The eye essentially permanently fills a character’s Third Eye magic item slot, and awards the disciple with a +2 bonus to Search and Spot checks.

A disciple may switch its current Resuite eye with another, possibly more powerful Resuite crystal, but the process costs 1,000 gp in reagents and takes a day to perform. (The disciple may now perform this ritual on herself or even others wishing to enter the prestige class.) While the eye is removed, the disciple temporarily loses all class features, save for hit dice, and base attack and save bonuses.

Shadow Insight
A Disciple of Resu can tap into the divine energies latent within its Resuite eye and summon forth vague but visionary shadows of Resu’s divine knowledge. Once a day per class level, the disciple can roll twice on a single knowledge check of her choice, (but not bardic knowledge or lore checks) and use the higher result.

Erudite
At 2nd level, a disciple adds +1 to all knowledge checks.

Speed of Thought
At 3rd level, a disciple gains Speed of Thought as a bonus feat, even is she doesn’t meet the prerequisites.

Versatile Skill Focus
At 4th level, a disciple gains a +3 bonus to any skill check. At the start of a new day, the disciple can elect to transfer this bonus to another skill. Furthermore, a disciple can take 10 on any skill check currently affected by its versatile skill focus class feature, even if distracted or while under adverse conditions.

Precognition
At 5th level, a disciple’s insight begins to bleed into the future, gifting her with a form of prescience. Much like the Seer's Precognition power, the disciple acts as if under an almost permanent "precognitive edge". Once a round, and up to three times a day, a disciple may add an insight bonus to any attack roll, damage roll, saving throw, or skill check. This insight bonus is equivalent to 1/2 the disciple's Manifester Level. The disciple can even elect to apply the bonus to the roll after it has been determined that the unmodified roll is lower than desired.

[palcosmo]

Betzer is both the singular and plural term that describes Takara’s original psionic race. With a gift for communicating and interacting with the dead, the betzer are keen philosophers of the various phases of mortal life. When they are psionically focused, their arms can extend with psionically charged ether, making them surprisingly potent foes.


http://www.clever-name.com/andy/nerd/betzer.swf

Personality: The betzer are intellectual, reserved, and slow to anger. They place a great deal of thought into every word and action. Some mistake this attitude as dourness, but they are merely thoughtful and introspective. Nevertheless, they perhaps give too much thought to their actions, often being viewed as unresponsive or haughty.

Physical Description: Betzer are vaguely ursine humanoids with prominent round noses, cavernous black eyes, and a thin coat of white fur. They are lean and long of limb, usually standing 7 feet tall but weighing little more than 100 pounds. A betzer’s ears are small, pressed flat against its bulbous head, and the edges of its mouth end in small curls, giving the creature an appearance of constant contentment.

Betzer have somewhat disproportionately large hands and feet that contrast their frail frames. Their hands have two large fingers and one thumb, and their feet have but two great toes.

Relations: Betzer have good relations with the majority of other races. Their insight into death makes them both valuable friends to many, and also understanding of most races.

Alignment: The vast majority of betzer are good, their entire worldview tempered by their insight into the “phase of death.” As they are often sought out so they can use their ability to speak with the dead, (giving closure to a friend, lover, or family member) their exposure to grief is consistent and profound. In this way, they are painfully empathic, typically unwilling to commit evil. Some say they are peaceful to a fault.

Betzer Lands: Betzer typically reside in northern climes on wintry plains. Their close-knit communities use the natural dangers of their native polar regions to protect them, tending to settle as far as possible from other intelligent races. Each community is typically led by a single matriarch who holds no official power, but instead leads the people through example and charisma. Each matriarch also keeps a retinue of every deceased elder that came before her, their corpses preserved by the winter climate. In this way, she can use her ability to speak with the dead to receive guidance and leadership from past leaders. When she passes, she will join the retinue of dead.

Religion: Betzer worship Ilers, their patron god and creator. Ilers is neutral and its domains are Death, Life, and Water. Its favored weapon is the spear.

Language: Betzer speak their own language. Their native tongue is punctuated mostly by long, whispered vowel sounds, and is typically delivered with a very sing-song quality. The language is devoid of past of future tenses, making it easy to learn but challenging to understand. This lack of tense further stresses the betzer’s disregard for death as even a long dead elder’s actions are still presented in the present tense.

Adventurers: Betzer adventurers are rare, as they generally prefer the safety of quiet community life. It is typically young adults who leave the tranquility of their home, seeking to sharpen their understanding of other races.

Betzer Racial Traits
+2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma, -4 Strength, - 2 Constitution: A betzer’s natural mental acuity seems to come at the expense of its physical abilities.

Medium: As Medium creatures, betzer have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Betzer base land speed is 30 feet.

Racial Hit Dice: A betzer begins with two levels of humanoid, which provide 2d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +1, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +0, Ref +0, and Will +3.

Racial Skills: A betzer’s humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 5 × (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1). Its class skills are Concentration, Survival and Swim.

Racial Feats: A betzer’s humanoid levels give it one feat. A betzer receives Cold Endurance (from Frostburn) as a bonus feat.

Naturally Psionic: Betzer gain 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.

Ghostly Reach (Su): When psionically focused, a betzer can elect to transform her arms into serpentine pseudo-ethereal matter, granting the following bonuses:

Elongated Reach: Reach becomes 10 ft.. Aberrant feats, size changes, or any other abilities have no effect on a betzer’s ghostly reach; such changes will only affect their natural reach for when they are not psionically focused.

Intangible Force: A betzer’s ghostly reach ability grants temporary access to the Unavoidable Strike psionic feat, even if the betzer does not meet the requirements. This ability allows a betzer to resolve unarmed strikes or attacks with natural weapons as a touch attack. To use this ability, you must expend your psionic focus. You must decide whether or not to use this ability prior to making an attack. If your attack misses, you still expend your psionic focus. After the psionic focus is expended, a betzer will lose all benefits of her Ghostly Reach ability. Furthermore, until a betzer meets the requirements for the Unavoidable Strike feat (Str 13, Psionic Fist feat, +5 BAB), this ability may only be used a number of times a day equal to ½ the betzer’s Hit Dice. (This ability does not confer the additional 2d6 points of damage that come with the prerequisite for Unavoidable Strike, Psionic Fist. If a betzer later gains the Psionic Fist or Greater Psionic Fist feats, she may apply that additional damage as normal.)

Ghost Attack: A betzer’s ghostly reach ability grants access to the Ghost Attack psionic feat, even if the betzer does not meet the requirements. You must be psionically focused to use this feat. When you make a melee attack, but not ranged attacks (unlike the feat), against an incorporeal creature, you can make two rolls to check for the miss chance. If either is successful, the attack is treated as if it were made with a ghost touch weapon for the purpose of affecting the creature. Your weapon or natural weapon actually appears to become briefly incorporeal as the attack is made. Furthermore, until a betzer meets the requirements for the Ghost Attack feat (+3 BAB), using this ability expends her psionic focus. In this way, you must decide whether or not to use this ability prior to making an attack. If your attack misses, you still expend your psionic focus. After the psionic focus is expended, a betzer will lose all benefits of her Ghostly Reach ability.

Psi-Like Abilities:
1/day – Speak with dead, psionic (from Complete Psionic). Manifester level is 5th. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Automatic Languages: Common, Betzer. Bonus Languages: None.

Favored Class: Psion.

Level Adjustment: +2.

[palcosmo]

Phew.

This took me a long while, so I hope it's worth your time and consideration. I would love comments, please... I can't really see the forest for the trees on this one. Your help is pretty much required. :)

Does any of this make sense? Is any of it balanced? I sure hope so, because I can't tell. Psionics is still a brave new world...

Thanks.