Dreamscarred Press Introduces: Akashic Mysteries

[Ssalarn]

Several months ago we started playtesting on Dreamscarred Press' newest product, a re-imagining of the 3.5 sourcebook Magic of Incarnum, updated for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Initially dubbed Magic of Incarna (that was not my idea, Andreas wanted to make sure people got where the roots were for the product we were promoting) it has since been named Akashic Mysteries.

Featuring some themes drawing on Hindi and Arabic inspiration, Akashic Mysteries features new base classes, archetypes, and races that utilize a system called veilweaving, where they form crude magical constructs out of akashic energy and power them with their own magically enhanced life-force called essence. Akasha is old, heavy arcane magic that saturates the air of magic rich worlds where spellcasters are common place (though you can flavor it how you will!).

Due to various Dropbox and formatting issues, and the fact that an early thread merging left my first post somewhere in the middle of page 2 of the original thread, I'm creating a new thread with all of the links for all of the pieces of the product line right in the OP for easy reference. As updates and changes are mad to the materials, I'll update the links below so they always take you straight to the most recent version of the various materials. I've linked in all of the current playtest documents below and would love to hear what you have to say! Whether you're a playtester or forum-goer who's been with me since the product launched, or a newcomer who just stumbled across this thread, I hope you find something that interests you. Please feel free to let me know what you think about any and all of the below playtest documents.

The Vizier, a battlefield controller and master of Veils.

The Guru, a skillful combatant and problem-solver who harnesses akasha in unique ways thanks to his personal Philosophy.

The Daevic, a ferocious warrior who gains his powers by allowing himself to be possessed by a powerful akashic outsider known as a daeva.

Akashic Races: Presented here are the first 3 of 5 akashic races. The Gamla, a race of towering camelfolk; the sobek-khaliq, ferocious crocodilian warriors; and the suqur-kha, a race of nomadic falconoids.

Akashic Archetypes: Presented here is the list of akashic archetypes, including archetypes for the magus,monk, fighter, and more.

The Amplifier prestige class.

I will continue to update these links as changes are made to the materials and new materials are introduced. I'd intended to have the first cross-product archetype, a veilweaving archetype for the Warlord from Dreamscarred Press' Path of War, ready for release tonight, but unfortunately I discovered a little late in the evening that I'd drawn up the archetype off of a now out-of-date version of the Warlord, so I will try to have that ready for you within the next day or so after I incorporate the appropriate changes.

Thank you everyone!

**UPDATE**

As thanks to everyone who has helped contribute to this project, I'm providing live pre-alpha access to our upcoming akashic/initiator hybrid class, the Pharaoh. The pharaoh combines elements of the Path of War project and Akashic Mysteries to create something new and unique. Please note that this is an in development class, and as such may be missing substantial portions of information or mechanics. We just wanted to give you a look "under the hood" of some of what we've got coming up in the pipeline. Enjoy!

[Twilightwyrm]

I just hope they do a better job explaining the mechanic than Magic of Incarnum did. That mechanic took multiple re-readings to get a good idea of what was going on. If they do, I shall be very interested in this. It seems very flavorful, and very fun to work with.

[Ssalarn]

Please feel free to read through and let me know if you still have issues with the mechanics seeming ambiguous to you. We've certainly been working on brushing them up and clarifying things, but if you still have questions remaining I'd be more than happy to work on clarifying them and refining the rules information.

[stack]

Sorry I didn't catch his sooner, but how does duration work with the Cuirass of Confidence? If you shape it every day and someone keeps failing their save, do they become fanatical? If they fail once, then you make them mad at you, will repeated fails improve their attitude? Or does it not stack at all, one improvement once ever?

I think it's the later, but can see someone trying it the other way ( someone will try anything I suppose). I know it's too late for the initial release, it didn't occur to me until I shaped it in a game.

[Ssalarn]

Sorry I didn't catch his sooner, but how does duration work with the Cuirass of Confidence? If you shape it every day and someone keeps failing their save, do they become fanatical? If they fail once, then you make them mad at you, will repeated fails improve their attitude? Or does it not stack at all, one improvement once ever?

I think it's the later, but can see someone trying it the other way ( someone will try anything I suppose). I know it's too late for the initial release, it didn't occur to me until I shaped it in a game.

It should be a non-stacking effect. Once they've been affected they're already under the Veil's influence and can't be affected by it again while the current effect is still ongoing.

[stack]

It should be a non-stacking effect. Once they've been affected they're already under the Veil's influence and can't be affected by it again while the current effect is still ongoing.

And the effect has duration permanent with no possibility of removal by any means?

[Ssalarn]

The effect should expire after 24 hours, or when the Veil is reshaped, whichever comes first. Any further improvements to the target's attitude (like if the enemy started as hostile, was affected by your veil, and then you made additional Diplomacy checks to shift him to helpful) stay in effect, so that a character who has actually spent the ranks and taken the time to improve the enemy's attitude has a chance of not being instantly murdered when the effect wears off. The Veil should also now have the mind-affecting descriptor as of about 2 updates ago, making it a little less all-encompassing. Not sure how this one slipped past all of us Stack, but I'll get it updated in all of the docs and tag it to be updated in the Vizier .pdf ASAP.

[Prime32]

Been a while since I looked at this - going over the Vizier document first.

The Vizier nears the pinacle of his craft and Chakra now infuses every item he wields, binding them to his very being

Should be "Essence" or "the energy of his chakras"?

Prerequisites: Con 13, ability to cast 1st-level spells
When you take this feat, choose one school of magic. You can invest Essence into this feat to increase the caster level of one spell you have known or prepared by 1. Prepared casters apply this benefit to all instances of the chosen spell (so if a wizard has prepared fireball twice, both instances gain the benefits). For each additional point of Essence invested in this ability you may choose an additional spell from the selected school to gain this benefit.

That's an odd place to emphasise schools of magic, and you don't directly say that the first spell must be from it. I'd say there's a risk of people skimming the feat and mistaking it for a school-wide boost. May I suggest...

Prerequisites: Con 13, Spell Focus
You can invest Essence into this feat. For each point so invested, choose one of your spells known: the caster level of that spell is increased by 1. Each of these spells must be from a school for which you have selected the Spell Focus feat. You may not choose the same spell multiple times for this effect.

This way is harder to qualify for, but provides a way to expand the range of spells it can effect. I don't see the need to specify "spells prepared", since any spell prepared is automatically a spell known.

I'm sure it's come up, but is there any reason Essence of the Immortal is the only feat to retain the "counts as X for prerequisites" clause? (in particular letting Focused Critical count as Critical Focus would be nice)

Finally, as a random idea, how would you feel about halving the hp gain from Akasha-Imbued Body (to 1hp per feat) but making it temporary hit points that reset between encounters? It's not how Psionic Body works, but it gives the feat more of its own niche - Essence is generally more of a "renewable resource" than psionics after all.

[Ssalarn]

@Prime32

I like those ideas!

Thanks for the catch on Akasha-Infused Spells and Essence Bond (Body). I like your fix for AIS and I'll add it to the playtest docs and see what the community thinks. Note that the Vizier is already pending .pdf release so that change may not be visible in the initial release, even if we decide that it is the best way to go.

Part of me is very happy for the renewed attention from releasing the new docs and project name, part of me is worried that Jeremy is going to roast me slowly over an open fire when I send him this list of changes to something that went into layout like two months ago.... But that's why DSP does the .pdf releases before anything goes to print, to make sure that everything has gotten as much exposure to as wide an audience as possible so errors don't make into the print run and everyone gets the highest quality product possible.

Essence of Movement should also have a "counts as X" clause to allow it to serve as Mobility, but the powers-that-be really wanted to avoid having a bunch of material that flat out replaced core material, so more of it now works side-by-side with its core counterparts. If we have a "counts as" dsiclaimer, the current general ruling is that the two don't stack, so we're creating a situation where we're hedging out materials instead of increasing the total material available. I know the "counts as" is a big legacy item of the original material that basically opened up traditionally mediocre feats and created the potential for them to be really good and give alternate paths for prereq qualification, but we've basically exchanged the alternate pre-reqs for increased compatibility. Notice that Essence of Movement actually works quite a bit differently than Mobility even though it kept the "counts as" notation, meaning there is the possibility that someone might choose to take both.

[deuxhero]

Gamla have reach like any other "tall" large creature, correct?

Their bonus essense mentions "incarna".

[Ssalarn]

Gamla have reach like any other "tall" large creature, correct?

Their bonus essense mentions "incarna".

Yes, Gamla have reach just like any other tall creature, they just can't wield large size weapons.
Thanks for the terminology catch, I'll get that updated in the playtest docs.

[Prime32]

I'm having trouble copy-pasting content from the PDFs, but it's not a big issue.

Anyway, incarnum had a reputation for confusing people who didn't read it cover-to-cover. While I don't know how the final product will be edited, I'd like to raise a few concerns:

Every Veil is associated with a chakra, even if it is not bound to it.

I think this was one of the biggest points of confusion for newcomers. They occupy body slots, but only sometimes, and sometimes it's a special kind of body slot that stacks with everything except itself. How much sacred cow slaughtering would it be to allow shaping multiple types of hand-based veils at once (visually they'd manifest in a combined form?), and make the body slot restrictions strictly a part of chakra binding? Or would that introduce balance issues from how Veil bonuses are distributed between slots?

Veils can be bound to a slot to increase their power once a character has reached a certain level of experience in manipulating Akasha.

This too, since there's no implication that this is limited to certain classes. If someone read the veils before the classes then they could assume anyone can bind to chakras with no limits.
When I was playing around with the idea of an incarnum revision a few years ago I went as far as to excise all mention of binds and body slots from the introductory section, then give incarnates a class feature called "Chakra Binds" (other classes and feats received Chakra Binds "as an incarnate of X level"). I should point out that it's possible to create a heavily Akashic character who never uses chakra binds at all (using Akashic races, feats, archetypes and maybe items and spells), so at the very least this seems like something that should be brought up in the Veils chapter rather than in the section on universal mechanics.

Spoiler: Now on to the Guru

Show

The Guru can forge his Essence into a weapon capable of disrupting an enemy's chakra, causing non-lethal damage[...]

All Gurus learn to master the art of the Gentle Touch, a mystical martial art that involves dealing nonlethal damage with focused bursts of chakra.

his chakra flow is torn apart

the Guru's mastery of chakra

the Guru's ability to disrupt an opponent's chakra

the Guru's mastery of the flow of chakra

Chakras are spiritual organs, not a substance that can be measured, and they do not flow (but they influence energy that flows through them). I'd be okay with using "chakra" to refer to an energy, except that it's inconsistent - the intro says that the energy is called Essence and that chakras are points on the body. Not to mention that "chakra is an energy" will make people think of Naruto.
Also, inconsistent spelling of "nonlethal" in the first two quotes.

The Sineater also gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat as a bonus feat

As a full round action the Sineater can increase his melee reach by 5 feet as his body becomes shrouded in tainted Akashic energy and make a single unarmed strike against all enemies in reach.

Odd to word it in that order - generally it would "He makes an attack. His reach for this attack is increased.". Also does the reach increase last just for the attack, for 1 round, or forever?

1/day as a free action, the Guru can restore a single use of Stunning Fist by taking 3 points of Essence burn.

Only one extra use? A daily use limit and a cost? I'm wondering if you meant restore all uses of Stunning Fist or something, because even the Extra Stunning feat gave you +3 uses without hurting yourself, and hardly anyone took it.

[More chakra stuff]

"Flow of chakra energy" is fine, if a little odd. "The flow of chakra" at lv18 isn't.

At 2nd level and every three levels thereafter you gain the ability to bind Veils directly to your chakras, unlocking potent abilities.

[PsyBomb]

I spoke about it briefly in the other topic, but my main comment right now would be to watch carefully what level binds come online. Constant True Seeing from the Body bind of Eyes of the Archer Lord is decent at 20. Constant shareable Air Walk from Airborne Imbuement is not.

I'm also a big proponent of counts-as for as many feats as possible, even with non- stacking clauses, if only to open different paths to otherwise underused options

[Ssalarn]

I've been in touch with Jeremy and after some of the new feedback I've gotten since the renewed interest of the re-titled thread and some prior notes that have been corroborated a bit I'm thinking about pulling the Vizier out of layout and going back in to complete a terminology clean up and incorporate a few of the changes to minor issues or clarifications that have been caught. Instead of some of this "chakra energy" business, we focus the terminology as tightly as possible so it's very clear we've got a limited number of specific new terms.

Chakra Slots- areas on the body that control the outward flow of Essence.

Essence- the mystical embodiment of your own spirit and life energy. This is the stuff that is coursing through your body 24/7 and which can be accessed/controlled via your chakra slots. Everyone has it, but few people have it in great enough quantities to utilize it for any purpose beyond sustaining life.

Chakra Binding- a technique experienced veilweavers use to amplify the power of their veils and akashic abilities, often creating additional and spectaular effects.

Veils and Akasha- Akasha is essentially "heavy" arcane magic that gathers around large sources of Essence. Beings who are strong of will or properly trained can shape akasha into veils, which are basically crude arcane constructs designed to serve a specific purpose. Akasha's natural ability to act as a conduit makes it highly compatible with other power sources, often serving as an amplifier for more refined arcane, divine, or psionic energy.

I'll codify the segments discussing this terminology a little more tightly and bring everything in the playtest docs and the Vizier final draft "up to code".

This will also give me a chance to expand the Vizier's veil list a bit for his initial release, adding in veils designed to complement psionic and Path of War initiator classes that were originally slated for the archetype and final product releases.

The good news: they just added like 30 additional pages to the Path of War final compiled release, so odds are good that I can get this busted out by the end of the week and the first release and the subscription for Akashic Mysteries doesn't get delayed any more than it already would have due to the additional Path of War materials.

@Prime32

I think that touches on several of your general notes and some of your Guru notes as well. Currently we're not going to be going "slotless" with the veils, for balance, flavor, and compatibility reasons. I will, however, talk to Jeremy and Andreas and see if we can put in a sidebar for an alternate system where players can remove the slot reqs and bind by level since there have been one or two other people interested in something like that.

On the Guru-
Thanks for the spell check on IUS. I'll get that fixed.

Stunning Fist- So, you get the ability to restore a use of Stunning Fist by taking 3 minutes worth of Essence Burn (it takes 1 minute to recover a point of Essence Burn). Considering that Stunning Fist uses are basically currency for other abilities the Guru has access to, and can be pretty gnarly when it works in its own right, it's not a bad trade. Originally there was not a per day limitation on this ability, but I had more conservative segments of the gaming population ready to burn me at the stake for introducing effectively unlimited Stunning Fist attempts. The Guru gets up to 20 uses of Stunning Fist just like a monk and one more he can pull out of his hat at a free action in a pinch. What if we scaled the ability a bit so that you get an additional use every 5 levels?

Maelstrom of Sin- I'll tighten up the verbage a bit to clarify that your reach increases by feet for the duration of the ability only. Probably "As a full round action the Sineater's body becomes shrouded in tainted Akashic energy and he make a single unarmed strike against all enemies in reach. The shroud of energy surrounding him allows him to treat his reach as 5 feet greater when determining who he can target with this ability." Sound good?

I spoke about it briefly in the other topic, but my main comment right now would be to watch carefully what level binds come online. Constant True Seeing from the Body bind of Eyes of the Archer Lord is decent at 20. Constant shareable Air Walk from Airborne Imbuement is not.

I'm also a big proponent of counts-as for as many feats as possible, even with non- stacking clauses, if only to open different paths to otherwise underused options

To be fair, the background mechanics behind determing spell power says that the constant communal air walk effect is equal to or better than the constant true seeing effect.

That being said, you are absolutely right that in practice those two abilities have a substantial gulf in how useful they actually are to the party, and as such I'm rewriting the bind ability of Airborne Imbuement so that it instead gives the Guru a certain amount of environmental mastery while airborne. I'm toying with the idea of giving him SLA's scaled on Essence investment with a universal duration... Anyways, you should get to see it soon.

[Prime32]

Currently we're not going to be going "slotless" with the veils, for balance, flavor, and compatibility reasons. I will, however, talk to Jeremy and Andreas and see if we can put in a sidebar for an alternate system where players can remove the slot reqs and bind by level since there have been one or two other people interested in something like that.

That wasn't my concern. I'm fine with chakra binds being based on slots, I just don't like unbound veils having them. When most veils could be associated with multiple slots anyway, it barely feels worth keeping track of. And since you have to reference the list of chakra binds to figure out where they can go (or at least, the list of chakra binds for each veil is the same as its list of slots), a player could easily get confused into thinking that assigning a veil to a slot is a chakra bind (leading to the conclusion either "unbound veils are slotless" or "all veils are bound to a chakra for free").
Putting this stuff in an alternate rule wouldn't do anything to make it less confusing. If anything it could make it more confusing - see magic-psionics transparency.

Stunning Fist- So, you get the ability to restore a use of Stunning Fist by taking 3 minutes worth of Essence Burn (it takes 1 minute to recover a point of Essence Burn). Considering that Stunning Fist uses are basically currency for other abilities the Guru has access to, and can be pretty gnarly when it works in its own right, it's not a bad trade. Originally there was not a per day limitation on this ability, but I had more conservative segments of the gaming population ready to burn me at the stake for introducing effectively unlimited Stunning Fist attempts. The Guru gets up to 20 uses of Stunning Fist just like a monk and one more he can pull out of his hat at a free action in a pinch. What if we scaled the ability a bit so that you get an additional use every 5 levels?

Well right now it's a really, really weak option. What if the Guru didn't count as a monk for uses per day and thus had to rely mostly on Essence Burn to power it? (meaning he can't afford to spam it)

Maelstrom of Sin- I'll tighten up the verbage a bit to clarify that your reach increases by feet for the duration of the ability only. Probably "As a full round action the Sineater's body becomes shrouded in tainted Akashic energy and he make a single unarmed strike against all enemies in reach. The shroud of energy surrounding him allows him to treat his reach as 5 feet greater when determining who he can target with this ability." Sound good?

Maybe "As a full-round action the Sineater can make a single unarmed attack against each enemy within reach. His reach for these attacks is increased by +5ft as a shroud of tainted Akashic energy surrounds him." Or "As a full-round action the Sineater can unleash a vortex of tainted Akashic energy through which he can make a single attack against each enemy in reach. Treat these attacks as unarmed strikes, except that their reach is +5ft greater than normal."
(If you're making multiple attack rolls then it's "each enemy"; "all enemies" implies it's a single attack roll compared to each target's AC, but that would need to be said explicitly)

[Ssalarn]

That wasn't my concern. I'm fine with chakra binds being based on slots, I just don't like unbound veils having them. When most veils could be associated with multiple slots anyway, it barely feels worth keeping track of. And since you have to reference the list of chakra binds to figure out where they can go, a player could easily get confused into thinking that assigning a veil to a slot is a chakra bind (leading to the conclusion either "unbound veils are slotless" or "all veils are bound to a chakra for free").
Putting this stuff in an alternate rule wouldn't do anything to make it less confusing. If anything it could make it more confusing - see magic-psionics transparency.

I think that clear definitions of the terminology is going to be a better way of going forward than trying to implement a system where Veils are slotless until you bind them, at which point they aren't.... It also conflicts with the flavor of the system (I'm wearing 4 pairs of magic boots!) and creates issues with other pieces of the design, including Daevic class balance, veils created in complementary sets, etc.

Maybe "As a full-round action the Sineater can make a single unarmed attack against each enemy within reach. His reach for these attacks is increased by +5ft by a shroud of tainted Akashic energy that surrounds him."
(If you're making multiple attack rolls then it's "each enemy"; "all enemies" implies it's a single attack roll compared to each target's AC, but that would need to be said explicitly) .

I'll get this cleaned up and post a changelog so everyone can review the end result. Thanks for the help hammering this one into shape!

Well right now it's a really, really weak option. What if the Guru didn't count as a monk for uses per day and thus had to rely mostly on Essence Burn to power it? (meaning he can't afford to spam it)

At low levels it can be pretty strong. For a 1st-5th level character, having an extra "win button" can be a pretty big deal. I'd prefer to either look at a scaling option like I mentioned earlier, or maybe change the formula for number of Stunning Fist uses recovered to "1/2 class level (minimum 1)".

[Prime32]

I think that clear definitions of the terminology is going to be a better way of going forward than trying to implement a system where Veils are slotless until you bind them, at which point they aren't.... It also conflicts with the flavor of the system (I'm wearing 4 pairs of magic boots!) and creates issues with other pieces of the design, including Daevic class balance, veils created in complementary sets, etc.

"Four pairs of magic boots" is simple. If one veil would create glowy boots made out of fire, and another would create glowy boots with spikes on them, you get glowy boots with spikes made out of fire.

I'll get this cleaned up and post a changelog so everyone can review the end result. Thanks for the help hammering this one into shape!

Edited in an alternate wording just as you were posting. It seems fluffier.

At low levels it can be pretty strong. For a 1st-5th level character, having an extra "win button" can be a pretty big deal. I'd prefer to either look at a scaling option like I mentioned earlier, or maybe change the formula for number of Stunning Fist uses recovered to "1/2 class level (minimum 1)".

Hmm... the dual cost thing would be less weird if it was worded as a side effect. That is, instead of "1/day you can use this ability by taking 3 points of Essence Burn", say "1/day you can use this ability. When you use this ability you take 3 points of Essence Burn".

[Ssalarn]

The Veil Lord archetype, for the Warlord from Path of War, has been added to the Akashic Archetypes document. Let me know what you think.

[StreamOfTheSky]

*Came into thread excited to find some newly updated version of the Arcane Evolved class Akashic, or classes related to the same thematic concepts. Sees it's actually about one of my least favorite/understood subsystems from 3E, using "Akashic" as just another term for arcane magic. Leaves thread disappointed.*

[deuxhero]

Where are the basic rules located? Not really that well acquainted with Incarnum.

Still, a number of things I noticed that don't really depend on knowing anything from a quick skim of Vizier.

Having to "hit" your allies with the Bangles of the Jealous Seductress at the start of each day till they beat the will save seems silly.

"As Enlarge Person" on Dark Lords isn't really helpful given the target is undead, not humanoid.

Does additional attacks fall under "additional abilities" related to BAB for hand cannons?

Heart of the Wright stops the mystic spell Borrowed Time (You have to get it via an infusion alchemists), even though that has a backup clause for characters that are immune to such damage already. Wording should be tweaked a bit.

The feet ability of Horselord's Greaves is marked V4 (which I assume means vizer 4 as a requirement), but the belt is unnumbered. I know next to nothing about the subsystem, but isn't Phantom Steed the higher level spell, not mount? At will Mount has its uses Phantom Steed doesn't cover (send it down the trapped hallway, you can always get another), but...

Do Bralani's Borch (Shoulders) and pestilence cloak stack?

Do Storm Gauntlets (Wrists) stack with non ice/elec/sonic properties (like flaming)?

[PsyBomb]

On the Warlord archetype:

Haven't done much looking, but two notes so far. First, there is no listed duration to the bonus Essence from Essence Eruption. Second, the weapon-like veils are not treated as being in certain weapon groups, which makes their use with certain Maneuvers problematic unless your DM is permissive.

EDIT: once last thing, the class doesn't have any permanent Essence of its own, only the Veils it learns to shape... which makes its supply/demand game really strange in that it goes straight from 1 maximum used at level 5 all the way to four once you hit 6 (or higher if you took a Feat). A Sobek in the class would be unconcerned with any temporary generation until he hit level 6, at which point he has a severe deficit until he takes Extra Essence at 7 (the feat is completely wasted at 5).

I dunno, need someone with more Warlord experience to comment here.

[avr]

I'm looking at the Daevic and I'm not really seeing how its veils and most of the class features are useful for a martial character. With a d10 HD and full BAB it's clearly intended as a frontliner, but aside from a few veils which might give minor DR or damage boosts, and minor bonuses to CMB it doesn't seem to have anything related. What am I missing?

(I'm not especially familiar with incarnum.)

[Ssalarn]

For simplicity's sake, assume Essence Eruption has the same duration as Essence Gamble.
I'll get that added to the doc this evening.

@Deuxhero
Your question is actually a bit of an answer for one of my own questions. The rules are located just before the Veil list in the Vizier doc, but if they weren't easy to locate or comprehensive enough to convey the system to someone unfamiliar with it, than I obviously still have work to do.

Players like you and AVR are some of the people I most want to hear from; since you never really got into Incarnum you don't have preconceptions about what it is or how it works, so if you don't get something just by reading the playtest doc, I know I've got to do more to lay it out more simply and effectively for you.

[Ssalarn]

I'm looking at the Daevic and I'm not really seeing how its veils and most of the class features are useful for a martial character. With a d10 HD and full BAB it's clearly intended as a frontliner, but aside from a few veils which might give minor DR or damage boosts, and minor bonuses to CMB it doesn't seem to have anything related. What am I missing?

(I'm not especially familiar with incarnum.)

It's Veils primarily facilitate combat styles, grant DR, give natural attacks, or enhance CHA-based abilities. You can play an effective natural attack combatant or more of a lead-from-the-front charismatic type.
I'm on my phone right now, but I'll try and elaborate a bit on ways the Daevic's Veils can and should work a little bit later today.

[deuxhero]

I only see a veil/essense/binds by level there (unless it has been moved in response). I saw it and the vielshaping class feature, but I figured there has to be more to it than that.

[Ssalarn]

You've got me worried now that I cut something and forgot to paste....

Ok, apparently at some point I thought it was a genius idea to chop up the rules and put the Essence table at the top and then stick everything else important down towards the bottom right above the feats in the two sections titled "Chakras and Veils" and "Akasha and Magic Interactions".

I'm going to break those rules up and lay them out a little bit differently, as well as adding a terminology guide.

I'll get the layout fixed hopefully this evening and the flow will be

Class
Feats
Rules
Veils

[Prime32]

Dunno if you're still looking for ideas for new material, but:

Spoiler

Show

Dromite racial archetype for one of the akashic classes: Instead of shaping veils normally, they moult into a new form that integrates features of the chosen veils into their bodies (possibly making them harder to destroy?).
If DSP doesn't want to take dromites in that direction then create a new insectoid race that uses that mechanic for all akashicness. I figure this route would have room for feats and PrCs that transform them into different castes, like workers/soldiers/queens.

A race of bald people with ash-like skin. They have the ability to invest Essence in their bodies, causing flames to burst from their scalp, wrists and ankles that shed light (starting as a candle, doubling with each added point). For each point of Essence their attacks deal bonus "brightflame" damage (as fire damage but ignores resistance/immunity), and 20% of any special attack (spells/veils, etc.) that deals fire damage is converted to brightflame damage. They have a racial slam attack, and possibly some easy way to convert spells/veils to fire-based.

A daevic veil which creates ghostly images of your daeva's limbs or body parts that deliver your attacks for you, giving them increased reach and the ghost touch property. Binding it to the right chakra causes an image of the whole daeva to float around and defend you, granting you the defensive benefits of the incorporeal subtype.

Daevic doc:

At 11th level the Daevic has become so good at getting what she wants that her words are nearly impossible to resist.

The spells mentioned in the 20th-level Dominion ability should be lowercase italic.

The Bloody Shroud veil grants bonus Essence for 1 round, but it's not that useful unless you can invest the Essence immediately.

[Ssalarn]

Question for the community-
Does the Vizier's Essence Bond ability just seem to cumbersome? Would it be better to drop the class ability, give him standard Binds at the appropriate level, and then maybe just expand his path abilities a bit to include some auras?

For example, the Crafter could have an aura that increases the DC and/or caster level of all spells cast from wands, staves, and wondrous items, and then a later ability where allies in the aura maybe have a small chance to activate an item without spending a charge, and we could shift the Seer's Path abilities so that instead of applying to allies based on Essence, it's instead an aura with a radius that increases based on Essence investment, and later he gets a secondary effect that gives all allies in the aura some kind of bonus to saves?

[Sewercop]

I am still surprised wotc havent sued you guys for ip theft. You say it yourself, you even mention the source many times,even the words itself. How is this not plagiarism at it worst?

[stack]

The bonuses are a bit fiddly in some cases, like the hand bind. Rarely worth the standard action at low levels due to the short duration. The foot bind bonus is nice though, the extra speed makes pestilence-based flight much faster. Also helps with overland travel. I could get behind expanding the paths instead, though that would be more for future paths to have to fill in as well. I guess that could be a positive, actually, granting more design space for future paths.

The gamla actually strikes me as a great chassis for a wrath daevic. The smaller weapons shouldn't apply to natural attacks (powerful build doesn't), and the extra reach is great. Dex penalty doesn't matter in heavy armor and Con is nice.