Tome of Radiance: Mastering the Power of Love and Justice

[Snowfire]

So, I've been working on this on and off for a while now, and with it fully finished and checked over a few times I thought it might be a good idea at this point to throw it up here where it can be checked over by everyone involved in this project. So, this is - I think - the first fully completed ToR PrC. It's had...mixed reactions in all honesty, hence why I'm putting it here so that you all can have a look at it. Anyways. Here it is.

Listener to Light

The Light says many things. It whispers secrets long lost, from worlds that have passed from the pages of history. And I remember for them.
- Sara, Listener to Light

If one thing could ever be said of the Light, it would be that it is truly, utterly, eternal. Light existed before the heavens formed, before gods and demons played, before it all. And it will still be there, underneath it all, when the universe has fallen once more to dust. So Light is eternal. But what, then, might it know? What secrets of worlds fallen and times lost might it whisper, if only one could hear it speak?

Listeners to Light learn to sharpen their internal senses, using the Light they wield to amplify their 'hearing' to tap into the eternal, all-encompassing knowledge of the Light. To a lost world, a Listener stands as a furious beacon of enlightenment to all seeking it. And to so-called ‘enlightened’ cultures, Listeners are sages without peer. For none but them can tap the eternal memory of the universe in their search for truth. Their Light sees through lies, casts aside the shadows of subterfuge, and in the end makes them something rather more than a simple scholar.

Requirements
To become a Listener to Light, you must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Knowledge (Any three) 8 ranks
Special: Merciful class feature

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Skill Focus (Any Knowledge) had been suggested as a pseudotax for this class, but I decided against it as it didn't really fit the nature of what the Listener is. Merciful is there to make it at least marginally locked to MGs - although I am considering changing that pre-req to Power of Friendship.

Class Skill List: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Forgery (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge [All skills, taken separately] (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Use Magic Device (Cha)

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.

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Now here's one of the interesting things - that'll show up later on. Yes, you have access to a lot of skills, but in all honesty, Int isn't actually as huge a required stat for this class as you might suspect. Hence the reasonably generous skill points for a list that large considering that they'll be using them a lot.

Listener to Light
Hit Dice: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Illuminations
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Listener to Light (Words), Inner Voice, Remembered Weaving	---
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Light Guides	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+1	+1	+3	+3	Piercing Memory	+1 level of existing class
4th	+2	+1	+4	+4	Listener to Light (Whispers)	+1 level of existing class
5th	+2	+1	+4	+4	The Present is Eternity	---
6th	+3	+2	+5	+5	Guiding Voice	+1 level of existing class
7th	+3	+2	+5	+5	Listener to Light (Secrets)	+1 level of existing class
8th	+4	+2	+6	+6	No Shadows	+1 level of existing class
9th	+4	+3	+6	+6	Word-Forged Weapons	---
10th	+5	+3	+7	+7	Listener to Light (Truths)	+1 level of existing class

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It's a good chassis, despite the low BaB, mainly as it gives generous extension on EL and Illuminations, with good saves and some very nice abilities that kick in later on in the class that help cancel out the negatives of the low BaB. This is, arguably, something that a Champion could take and be a reasonable fighter after doing so.

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: A Listener to Light gains no additional proficiencies.

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Pretty obvious, but needs to be said I think.

Illuminations: A Listener to Light, whilst still a potent Evoker, loses some of her power in exchange for her uniquely close bond to the Light that speaks to her from within. Her access to Illuminations from her Evoking Class, as well as her Evoker Level, progresses at the listed rate. If she has more than one Evoking Class, then she must choose one of them when she takes her first level in Listener to Light. Once made, this choice cannot be changed.

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Seven tenths progression for EL and Illuminations is very generous considering how strong this class is on its own, but considering you're probably going to be much more a ranged fighter than anything else until you hit later levels, it makes sense to keep them strong.

Remembered Weaving (Ex): A Listener still remembers the bits and pieces of power that her old vocation gave her, and remains fully capable of tapping into their strength. But as with anything, her focus on something beyond the physicality of the universe weakens her.

A Listener to Light gains additional costume elements as her Evoker Level and Illuminations progress. As such, a Champion 10/Listener to Light 10, would have access to four costume elements.

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You lose a bit here, slowing down your costume progression, but in the end you level out at either your maximum or just one below it.

Listener to Light (Su): The Light sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything. But to most, even those able to tap its power, that memory is beyond them. To most Champions, Empaths, and even Stargazers, the ancient knowledge held within the Light is never known, the whispers faded beneath the trials of each passing day. A Listener however, is one of the rare few who, one day, finds themselves sensing the Light within them. To many this is a frightening experience, thoughts not of one’s own is rarely a sign of mental stability – but in the end most realise that it is not psychosis they are hearing, but the rarely heard calls of the Light that pulses within them.

At first level, a Listener gains an innate ability to ‘hear’ those memories, reaching within to ask the Light what it knows of the world around them, or those before them. The Listener gains the Bardic Knowledge ability as a bard of twice her class level - this stacks with other sources of bardic knowledge. In addition, she gains the ability to manifest Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions with an effective Manifester Level equal to her Evoker Level. For every three class levels, half the time required to sense a distinct event.

At level 4, the Listener’s inner senses sharpen further, her mind opening to hear the whispers of Light that permeate the world around her and flow from the thoughts of all. She gains a permanent effect as Detect Thoughts. At level 6, this effect bypasses any immunity to mind-affecting effects other than those granted by mindlessness, although it grants any with such immunity a +5 bonus on their saving throw. At level 10, the effect is enhanced to the degree that it permanently acts as the third stage of Detect Thoughts that the Listener may focus on any number of targets up to equal to her Evoker Stat Modifier - these targets need only be within the Listener's line of sight. The save for this effect is based off of her Evoker Stat and gains a +5 bonus to DC at level 10.

At 7th level, the Listener’s senses becomes attuned even to those things that the Light does not say, reaching beyond the said to the realm of the not-said. She innately knows if someone she is conversing with is mundanely disguised – although she cannot tell the person’s true identity. Furthermore, her ability to listen through the screen of words crafted by cons and liars makes the truth they wish to hide ring in her mind with near-perfect clarity. A Listener gains an Insight bonus to Sense Motive equal to her class level, may always roll to detect a lie, and is automatically aware of any magical bonuses to Bluff her target is benefiting from.

And at 10th level, having tapped so far into the very nature of the universe's Light, a Listener may once a week commune fully with the eternal memory of reality and ask questions of it.

Once per week, she may cast a modified Commune, with a caster level equal to her class level. The spell functions as normal except for a few principal differences. The Listener will automatically commune with the Light, regardless of alignment or faith. The Light is always helpful in its answers, and it is always in the Light's interest to answer as fully as possible.

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And this feature is basically the meat of the class. You hear, or see or know (or whatever) the Light around you and you can use that to ask questions and know things that you really shouldn't.

Inner Voice (Su): A Listener speaks not only from her own knowledge, but from the knowledge of the eternal Light, the memory that is beyond time acting as a guide for her words, gently steering her – or does she steer it? – towards a greater understanding of the universe.

At 1st level, a Listener to Light may, as a standard action, gain an untyped bonus to a single Intelligence based skill check equal to [Evoker Stat Modifier (to a maximum of Class level) + Class level].

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So this is basically Tome of Worldly Knowledge but considerably more powerful - as fits a PrC of this type. Thanks to Selinia for suggesting the change to make it action activated.

Light Guides (Su): The Light remembers everything, when and where it happened is of no consequence to a memory that spans all of time. And a Listener quickly finds that, to their mind, time seems little more than an easily adjustable variable when searching for knowledge that will aid in choosing their path.

Through one minute of meditation, a Listener may connect themselves close enough to the Light for them to hear a whisper of answer when they ask of it if a path is wise. This functions as the spell Augury, cast as if the Listener had a CL equal to her EL. She may use this ability (class level) times per day.

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Basic Divination capability. Not much else to say on this.

Piercing Memory (Ex): And as with choosing a path, so too with knowing where to strike upon a being that arrays itself against the power of Light. The Listener gains Knowledge Devotion as a bonus feat, with a single difference. There is no limit to the knowledge of the Light, as there is for any mortal. As such, a Listener to Light doubles the bonus damage granted by Knowledge Devotion up to five or your current Class Level, whichever is more advantageous. This feature may explicitly bypass Knowledge Devotion's normal limitations.

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This one took a whole load of time to get the wording right, but I think this current one is pretty solid. It originally scaled up into the 80s, granting +10 to hit and damage at that point, but that was modified to the current version due to what it combined with Inner Voice and Word-Forged Weapons would do to required AC to not get hit.

The Present is Eternity (Su): The whole universe turns in the flickering of a single flame, and in each spark there lies the memory of it all. Connecting deeper into the flow of Light through them, a Listener may search for more than a simple feeling as to an action – but a simple message as to where it might lead if taken (or not taken) now. She gains the ability to cast Divination with a CL of her EL a number of times per day equal to her class level.

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More Divination, this time the spell of the same name. This is all the Divination capability that Listeners get access to, although the next class feature gives them a nice boost on them.

Guiding Voice (Ex): All Evokers could be said to hear, or see, or in some way understand the Light that flows through them. But for Listeners, at some point, that ethereal sense becomes something…more. When casting any Divination school spell like Augury or Divination, a Listener my roll twice and take the better result for the validity of the information found by the spell. In addition, the Listener can spend a move action to trigger Inner Voice instead of a standard action.

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There's at least one other class that does this, although I cannot for the life of me remember its name. The addition of lowering action cost for Inner Voice was a late one, made after Inner Voice was made an action activated feature.

No Shadows (Su): Light burns away darkness, but in most cases leaves shadow in between. But for Listeners, where it comes to facts? Their radiance burns any traces of shadow and dark out of existence within their sight, letting them see all as it truly is. The Listener gains the effects of a permanent True Seeing effect.

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At this point, your Cleric friend has been walking around with this spell for four levels and your arcane buddies have had it for at least one - and that's if you took this for level 6. True Seeing is powerful, no denying that. But it's also reasonable at this level.

Word-Forged Weapons (Su): The words of the Light ring greater than almost any force in the multiverse with their innate truth, weaving through the lies and assumptions created by a reality where almost all is suspect to most. But a Listener, when faced by such, wields those truths of hers as weapons, breaking through the defences of her foes with the backing of multiversal Truth behind her.

At 9th level, a Listener ignores all miss chance, damage reduction (including DR/-) and reduces her target's Deflection bonus to Armor class by up to her class level (max 10).

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And this is the class feature that arguably gave me the most trouble. I wanted something that would make Listeners dangerous combatants as, even with Illuminations, at this point Touch AC is going to start getting high and miss chance will have been around for a long while. Negating that goes a long way to helping them, as does nixing a good bit of Deflection boni for AC. The DR bit only really helps melee focused Evokers, but it's a nice thing to give them and not, in my opinion, something too overpowered.