Lords of the Earth [Epic Destinies][3.5]

[The Demented One]

Terrestrial Exalted



After years of adventuring, heroes find themselves faced with one last quest. As they pursue their final journey, they realize and achieve their epic destinies, and eventually attain immortality if they can succeed. Some are destined to be great mages or immortal warriors...and then there are those chosen to be exalted. The Terrestrial Exalted are not chosen by any deity or cosmic force, but instead by their own will. Through ceaseless effort and contemplative meditation, they align their own essence with that of one of the four elements, or with life itself, and in such unison are exalted. They are called Dragonblooded, for they, just as the noble dragons, are beings of living magic, avatars of the elements.

[The Demented One]

Air Aspect Exalted


Those Dragonblooded who become one with the essence of air become rogues, spies, and assassins beyond compare. The very air and wind that ceaselessly surrounds all things recognizes them as its friend, and bends to their will. An Air Dragonblooded can hear the fall of a leaf, pick a locked door with a gust of wind, and blind their foes to their attacks with a clinging, impenetrable mist.

Requirements: 21st level

{table=head]Level|Benefit
21st|Aura of Azure Wind, Feeling the Air
24th|Wind-Luring Song
27th|Whirlwind Shield
30th|Dragon Shroud
[/table]

Aura of Azure Wind (Su)
Your elemental anima manifests about you as a gust of wind, ceaselessly swirling about you. It allows you to fly at a speed of 60 ft., with perfect maneuverability. In addition, you gain immunity to electricity.

Feeling the Air (Su)
Your attenuation to the essence of air allows you to detect the slightest quivers in its currents. You gain blindsight out to 100 ft. This blindsight automatically overcomes any magical attempt at stealth, save for those provided by epic spells, artifacts, and other destiny features.

Wind-Luring Song (Su)
The wind is your constant servant and tool. At 24th level, your mastery over air grants you many special benefits. You may use telekinesis at will as a supernatural ability, and may also use gust of wind and wind wall at will as swift actions. When you do so, they have a caster level equal to your character level, and DC equal to 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier. In addition, your control of air allows you to make Disable Device, Open Lock, and Sleight of Hand checks at a range of up to 100 ft. Doing so imposes no penalty on the check, and you can manipulate objects that weigh up to 1 lb./character level. Finally, as a swift action, you may grant any weapon you wield the dancing special quality. You may use this ability at will, but you may only use it on one weapon at a time.

Whirlwind Shield (Su)
Your anima forms a mighty whirlwind that strikes down all attacks. At 24th level, your elemental aura becomes a defensive barrier. Any ranged attack made against you automatically misses, unless it is made with an artifact weapon, is enhanced in any way by an epic spell or destiny feature, or is made by a deity. In addition, whenever you are reduced to 0 hp, your elemental anima explodes with electric fury, dealing 20d6 electricity damage to all adjacent creatures. A Reflex save, DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier, halves the damage. You immediately assume gaseous form, and may fly up to 60 ft. immediately before rematerializing.

Dragon Shroud (Su)
At the pinnacle of your elemental apotheosis, the air itself is your fiercest weapon. As a swift action, you may create a 60 ft. cloud of mist, centered on yourself. The mist functions like a fog cloud spell, but with some differences. It cannot be disrupted by any normal wind–only those created by epic spells, artifacts, or deities can blow it away. The mist does not obscure your sight, but to your enemies, no form of sense–even blindsight–can perceive anything within the mist. Only epic spells, artifacts, senses granted by destiny features, and the senses of deities overcome this. Finally, all enemies within the mist are always treated as being flatfooted. You may suppress or resume this ability as a swift action.

Immortality: Leaf on the Wind
You become one with the wind, a spirit flitting through the currents of the air. In time, the people of your land come to worship you as a benevolent deity, sender of rain and stayer of storms, and such worship allows you to ascend to the ranks of the divine.

[The Demented One]

Earth Aspect Exalted



Those Dragonblooded who become one with the essence of earth gain inhuman strength and endurance. Their living flesh becomes as stone, unyielding to any attack. An Earth Dragonblooded can fling boulders, wield the weapons of giants, and shatter adamant with their bare hands.

Requirements: 21st level

{table=head]Level|Benefit
21st|Aura of Ivory Pillars, Strength of Stone
24th|Earth Reclaims Her Bounty
27th|Perfected Scales of the Dragon
30th|Mountain-Toppling Might
[/table]

Aura of Ivory Pillars (Su)
Your elemental anima manifests about you in the rumbling of the earth at your feet, as stone leaps up from the ground to meet its master. You gain the powerful build ability, and are treated as being one size category larger whenever it is advantageous to you (for example, when gaining a size modifier or determining whether special attacks such as swallow whole can effect you). You can wield weapons made for creatures one size larger than you are. In addition, you gain immunity to sonic.

Strength of Stone (Ex)
You draw strength from the earth beneath your feet. As long as you stand upon the ground, you gain a +8 bonus to Strength and Constitution. You automatically succeed on any opposed Strength check, except against creatures whose Strength exceeds yours by 10 or more and against deities. In addition, any melee attack you make overcomes hardness and any form of damage reduction that can be overcome by special materials.

Earth Reclaims Her Bounty (Ex)
The earth itself yields to your commands, serving you as a loyal weapon. Whenever you make a melee attack, you may choose to strike at the earth, instead of any foe. Doing so allows you to make that attack against any foe you can see regardless of the distance between you, as long as both they and you are standing on solid ground.

Perfected Scales of the Dragon (Ex)
As your elemental apotheosis nears its conclusion, you internalize the essence of earth, becoming a being of living stone flesh. You gain damage reduction 10/–. In addition, you no longer need to sleep, breathe, eat, or drink, although you may still do so, and must still rest for 8 hours to regain spells. You gain immunity to ability score damage, critical hits, disease, poison, stunning, and any effect that targets your physiology or respiration.

Mountain-Toppling Might (Ex)
Becoming one with the earth, you become truly mighty. The ability score bonuses from your strength of stone destiny feature rise to +20, and any attack you make overcomes all forms of damage reduction, save for epic damage reduction and that which cannot be overcome by any form of damage. Your mountain-like stature, stone flesh, and superhuman strength cause you to always be treated as Colossal sized when it is advantages for you (for example, when gaining a size modifier or determining whether special attacks such as swallow whole can effect you), and you can wield weapons sized for Colossal creatures (typically, Earth Aspect Exalts with this ability do not wield weapons that are Colossal in size, but in mass–a superheavy weapon that would be treated just as a Colossal-sized weapon, but without being awkwardly huge).

Immortality: Slumbering Mountain Dragon
Your flesh becomes one with the mountains, as you descend into the heart of the earth to slumber. Your happy dreams bless fields with fertility, and your nightmares rend the earth asunder with horrible earthquakes. People throughout the world revere you as either a noble earth-god or a horrific demon, trapped beneath the earth, and in time, you awake to divinity.

[The Demented One]

Fire Aspect Exalted



Those Dragonblooded who become one with the essence of fire become cunning, hot-blooded swordsmen and warlords. Their blood burns hot, and leaps forth from their blade to strike their foes. A Fire Dragonblooded can strike with a blade of flames, set an enemy’s heart aflame with burning, blinding rage, or rout armies with a soul-shattering roar.

Requirements: 21st level

{table=head]Level|Benefit
21st|Aura of Crimson Flames, Refining the Inner Blade
24th|Unbearable Taunt
27th|Safety Among Enemies
30th|Terrifying Dragon Roar
[/table]

Aura of Crimson Flames (Su)
Your elemental anima manifests about you as a wreath of ephemeral flames that harmlessly caress your flesh. Any fire damage you deal–whether with a martial maneuver, a spell, a magic weapon, or any other ability–ignores all fire resistance. In addition, when you deal fire damage to a creature immune to fire, only half of the damage, not all of it is negated. Resistance and immunity granted by epic spells, artifacts, and other destiny features is not overcome by this ability, nor is that of deities. In addition, you gain immunity to fire.

Refining the Inner Blade (Su)
Your most loyal sword is the fire that burns within you, a flame that embraces your weapons. Any attack you make deals an additional amount of fire damage equal to your character level. In addition, the flames lash out, extending from your weapons and granting a +10 ft. increase to their reach at all times.

Unbearable Taunt (Su)
The foes of a Fire Aspect Dragonblood find themselves undone by their own arrogance. At 24th level, once per encounter, when you deal fire damage to a creature, you may leave a brand on them, scarring them with your anima as a swift action. The brand compels them to seek you down and destroy you. They must make a Will save, DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier, or succumb to the brand’s influence, becoming incapable of attacking any creature other than you for the duration of the encounter. However, their maddened rage makes them easier to defeat–they are treated as flatfooted against any attack you make, as they cannot even dodge your blows, and you add your Strength modifier to your AC against any attack they make, able to parry their clumsy blows with great force.

Safety Among Enemies (Ex)
Just as fire draws sustenance from that which it burns, your greatest strength lies in your foes. Whenever a melee attack misses you, you may redirect it as an attack of opportunity, causing it to target any enemy of your choice that is in the reach of the creature making the attack. The attack uses the same attack roll to determine if it hits. The foes blade is momentarily consumed by your anima flames, dealing an additional amount of fire damage equal to your character level.

Terrifying Dragon Roar (Su)
The wrath of the Fire Aspect Dragonblooded is terrible to behold. Once per encounter, you can unleash a terrifying dragon roar as a standard action. All enemies within 100 ft. of you take 100 sonic damage, and must make a Will save, DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Charisma modifier. Enemies with less HD than you that fail their save are panicked for as long as they remain within 100 ft. of you. Enemies with HD greater than or equal to yours that fail their save are treated as if they had been branded with your unbearable taunt destiny feature.

Immortality: Crimson Dragon's Army
At the height of your greatest victory, your mortal flesh can no longer contain the burning flame of your soul. You are immolated in a glorious pyre of flames, and the burning shards of your soul fly throughout the world and endow great warriors with your blessing. In time, a great army of warriors touched by your soul comes together, commanded by the voice of your burning spirit to victory.

[The Demented One]

Water Aspect Exalted



Those Dragonblooded who become one with the essence of water discover a perfect clarity, becoming the most skilled of martial artists and monks. All things become as water to them–each strike a wave, each foe a current to be fought. A Water Dragonblooded can hear send his foes flying back with every blow, parry sword-strokes with his bare hands, and still even magic with their meditative focus.

Requirements: 21st level

{table=head]Level|Benefit
21st|Aura of Sable Tides, Become the Hammer
24th|Dragon Claw Strike
27th|Blade-Deflecting Palm
30th|Clear Water Prana
[/table]

Aura of Sable Tides (Su)
Your elemental anima manifests about you as a dancing flow of water that twines about you, flitting around you like a coiling ribbon. It grants you a deflection bonus to AC equal to your Wisdom modifier, and allows you to breathe both water and air equally. You gain a swim speed of 60 ft. In addition, you gain immunity to cold.

Become the Hammer (Ex)
Just as the crashing waves can wear down rocks, your blows can shatter the strongest of defenses. Whenever you damage an enemy with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon, you may choose to knock them back as a swift action. They are pushed by 5 ft. per point of Strength modifier you have. If an obstacle prevents them from being pushed back further, they stop and take 1d6 damage for every 5 ft. of movement they were unable to complete. After they are pushed back, they must make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + 1/2 your character level, or fall prone.

Dragon Claw Stride (Ex)
The enraged sea can shatter even the mightiest of battleships. At 24th level, each round, any creature you damaged with an unarmed strike or monk weapon must make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Strength modifier, or be stunned for one round. No matter how many attacks you damage with it, it only makes one save per round. It need not make this save if it was already stunned when you attacked it.

Blade-Deflecting Palm (Ex)
A Water Aspect Dragonblooded’s bare hand is as the sea itself, yielding to no force, no matter how mighty it may be. At 27th level, whenever an enemy makes a melee attack against you, you may make an attack roll as an immediate action. You user the higher of your AC or the result of the attack roll to determine if the attack hits. If the attack misses, you automatically disarm the creature that attacked you of their weapon. If the attack was made by a creature with a Strength at least 10 greater than your own or a deity, you do not automatically disarm them, but may instead immediately make a disarm attempt without provoking attacks of opportunity. You must have at least one hand free to use this ability.

Clear Water Prana (Su)
Water purifies all things. Becoming an elemental avatar of water, you wash away the unnatural and supernatural, purifying the world. At 30th level, you radiate an antimagic field out to 60 ft., with caster level equal to your class level. However, it does not include the space you occupy. Epic spells, artifacts, supernatural or spell-like destiny features, and spells or supernatural abilities of deities are not affected by the clear water prana destiny feature.

Immortality: Black Water’s Depths
You retreat to the depths of the ocean to meditate, your perfect sanctum. In time, your spirit grows more enlightened, and your body begins to change, flowing like the tide, to adapt to the darkest oceanic depths. Brave mortals might seek you out to ask your wisdom or blessing, but by that time, few would recognize you as something that had ever been mortal, instead revering you as an ancient and terrifying deity.

[The Demented One]

Wood Aspect Exalted



Those Exalted of the Wood Aspect become one with not an element, but with life itself. The essence of growing trees and sprouting ivy becomes one with their soul, and they become master archers, their arrows tearing into flesh like seeds being planted in soil. A Wood Dragonblooded can shoot from mountaintop to mountaintop, heal their wounds with the light of the sun, and fire arrows that explode into entangling brambles.

Requirements: 21st level

{table=head]Level|Benefit
21st|Aura of Emerald Ivy, Hunter’s Aim
24th|Jade Crucible
27th|Well-Tended Garden of the Soul
30th|Ravenous Thorns
[/table]

Aura of Emerald Ivy (Su)
Your elemental anima manifests as living ivy that wraps about your flesh, blossoming with flagrant flowers. Your flesh exudes poison, which is treated as black lotus extract. You may deliver it with a touch attack, or you can apply it to any weapon you wield as a swift action (you never risk poisoning yourself). The DC of the poison is equal to 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Constitution modifier. In addition, you gain immunity to acid, as well as to all mundane poisons and diseases.

Hunter’s Aim (Su)
You have mastered the art of the bow, striking your foes down with an unerring rain of arrows. Any ranged or thrown attack you make ignores range penalties and concealment, except for that granted by artifacts, epic spells, and destiny features. In addition, the critical threat range of any ranged or thrown attack you make is doubled (this does not stack with other abilities that increase a weapon’s threat range, such as keen edge or the Improved Critical feat), and any ranged or thrown attack you make deals an additional amount of damage equal to twice your character level on a critical hit.

Jade Crucible (Ex)
Like a flower that blossoms all at once, you can move with supernal speed, but at the cost of great pain to yourself. At 24th level, whenever you make a full attack with a ranged or thrown weapon, you may take an amount of damage up to your character level. For every 5 damage you take, you may make an additional attack at your highest base attack bonus. All attacks you make as part of the full attack deal an additional amount of damage equal to the amount of damage you took.

Well-Tended Garden of the Soul (Ex)
Becoming one with the forests of the world, your flesh becomes like that of a mighty oak. At 27th level, your type changes to plant, although you remain mortal enough to not be considered a plant whenever it would detrimental to you (for example, when targeted by spells that deal extra damage to plants). In addition, whenever you are in natural sunlight, or in contact with water, you gain fast healing 10. You must be able to breathe in order to gain this fast healing.

Ravenous Thorns (Su)
Just as a gardener sows his flower beds with seeds, you sow battlefields with your dead foes. At 30th level, you gain the ability to shoot ravenous thorns. Once per round, when you make a ranged attack, you may use this ability. If the attack hits, your projectile sprouts brambles that wrap around your foe, causing them to take a -4 penalty to Dexterity and a -10 ft. penalty to their base land speed until the end of the encounter. At the beginning of their next round, that enemy takes an amount of damage equal to the amount the ravenous thorn initially deal them. The penalties from multiple ravenous thorns stack, although they cannot reduce a creature’s Dexterity below 1 or a creature’s base land speed below 5 ft.

Immortality: Ancestor’s Legacy
Unlike other Dragonblooded who embody eternal elements, you embody life–and thus, you must die. But as your corpse decays to little more than dust, it blesses the land with life, and from the earth of your grave springs forth a new race of life, worthy heirs to your spirit and an eternal legacy.

[dyslexicfaser]

Well, we're certainly going to have lots of choices when it comes to Epic Destinies. I particularly like Wood Aspect - but then, I've always had a thing for archers.

Just a spell check - in Earth Dragon's last ability, 'might' should probably be 'mighty'?

[The Demented One]

Just a spell check - in Earth Dragon's last ability, 'might' should probably be 'mighty'?

Gaaah, typo. I'll go fix that.

[Stycotl]

nice stuff. i particularly like the earth and wood aspects. nothing that i can see that strikes me as needing to be fixed.

[readsaboutd&d]

You have done it again. Whirlwind shield is at 27th level.