Solar Ascendant
Fiana Llathel, a Human Solar Ascendant, combats a demon ravaging the Material Plane.
Class Skills
The Solar Ascendant's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (none), Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str)
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + int
Alignment: Any good.
Hit Dice: d8
| Level | BAB | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spell Level |
|---|
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Heavenly Bond, Turn Undead | 1 |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Bow of the Solar (masterwork) | 1 |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Bonus Feat, Divine Weapon (Called) | 1 |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Damage Reduction (2/evil), First Ascendancy | 2 |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Protective Aura (Lesser) | 2 |
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Flight (30ft., average) | 2 |
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Bow of the Solar (+1), Resistances | 3 |
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Divine Weapon (+1), Flight (60 ft.), Second Ascendancy | 3 |
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Damage Reduction (5/evil), Protective Aura (Major) | 3 |
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Flight (80 ft.) | 4 |
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Bonus Feat, Tongues | 4 |
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Bow of the Solar (+2, Force), Flight (Good), Third Ascendancy | 4 |
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Divine Weapon (Holy), Protective Aura (Complete) | 5 |
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +9 | Damage Reduction (10/evil), Flight (100 ft.) | 5 |
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +9 | Immunities | 5 |
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Flight (120 ft.), Fourth Ascendancy | 6 |
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Bow of the Solar (Slaying) | 6 |
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Divine Weapon (Dancing), Flight (150 ft.) | 6 |
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Bonus Feat, Damage Reduction (15/evil) | 7 |
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +12 | Final Ascendancy, Regeneration | 7 |
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Solar Ascendants are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all forms of armor, and with light and heavy shields (but not tower shields).
Spell-Like Abilities: Throughout a Solar Ascendant's journey to true ascendance, she gains a number of spell-like abilities. At each level, the Solar Ascendant gains a single spell-like ability from the cleric spell list, usable once per day. The spell level of the chosen spell-like ability cannot exceed the maximum spell level available to her, as shown on the table above.
The Solar Ascendant may select the same spell-like ability multiple times, gaining an additional daily use of that ability each time. If she selects a spell of a level lower than her maximum, she instead gains two daily uses of that spell-like ability. If she selects a spell of two or more levels lower than her maximum, she instead gains three daily uses of that spell-like ability.
To use a given spell-like ability, the Ascendant must have a Wisdom score of 10 + the effective spell level of the spell-like ability (Wis 11 for 1st level spell-like abilities, Wis 12 for 2nd, and so on). The saving throw, if any, for a Solar Ascendant's spell-like abilities are 10 + effective spell level + her Wisdom modifier.
The Solar Ascendant may ignore any materials or foci normally required for the spells she selects as spell-like abilities, provided they cost no more than 100 gp each. If the material or focal component for a spell exceeds this price, she must supply it or lose experience points equal to one-fifth the total gp cost of the missing foci and components to use the spell-like ability. The Solar Ascendant must pay any experience point cost a selected spell would normally have to use it as a spell-like ability.
Heavenly Bond: The first, and the most important, ability a Solar Ascendant gains is the bond between herself and a Solar. Only with complete devotion and fervent prayer to a god can a mortal hope to obtain the notice of a Solar, and even then they are often met first by lesser celestial creatures, to gauge their worth. Obtaining the bond with a Solar is often a long, arduous process, by necessity. Only the most devoted of mortals possess the requisite fervor needed for the bond to be successful. Once they obtain the bond however, the effects are immediate.
To maintain the bond, the Solar Ascendant must always have a good alignment. If her alignment slips to neutral, her bond with the Solar becomes tenuous - the Solar will no longer take any of the actions described in this ability, and the Solar Ascendant cannot take further levels in this class. If the Ascendant regains a good alignment, receives the effects of an
atonement spell, and undergoes an appropriate quest given by her bonded Solar as penance, these penalties go away. A Solar Ascendant who gains an evil alignment at any point immediately and irrevocably loses all class features of this class.
At 1st level, the Solar's stake in the Ascendant's future is minimal. It gauges her worth, not intervening directly, and borrowing her only a trickle of its power. Once per day, the Ascendant may treat the result of any natural 1 on a d20 or d100 as a natural 2 instead.
At 5th level, the Solar takes a greater stake in the Ascendant's wellbeing. Once per day, the Ascendant may draw upon the Solar's power to use
augury as a spell-like ability. In addition, once per week the Solar will answer a single question, as per the
commune spell.
At 10th level, the Solar's investment in the Ascendant is great enough that it will intervene on her behalf, preventing an untimely death - but only rarely. Once per year, when the Ascendant would be reduced to -10 or fewer hitpoints, the Solar will appear at her location and cast a
revivify (SpC, p. 176) spell upon her, restoring life to her body. If the situation is too dangerous for this to be an effective means of restoring life, of if the Ascendant's body is completely destroyed (such as from a
disintegrate spell) the Solar will instead cast
resurrection upon her remains at the first safe opportunity. This method of raising the Ascendant from the dead is less favored, as she loses a small measure of the power bestowed upon her when she loses a level.
At 15th level, as the Ascendant's power truly begins to blossom, the Solar takes a more vested interest in her safety. Once per day, the Ascendant may reroll a single saving throw made to resist an incapacitating effect (such as any effect that nauseates, or a
flesh to stone spell). In addition, if the Ascendant should succumb to any permanently incapacitating effect, such as
feeblemind or
flesh to stone, once per month the Solar will use its
wish spell-like ability to cleanse the effect from the Ascendant (or a lesser spell or spell-like ability, if the effect could be purged by such).
At 20th level, as the Ascendant perches upon the cusp of true divinity, the Solar no longer restrains itself from interfering in her growth. Once per day, the Ascendant may, as a standard action, summon the Solar to fight alongside her for up to one minute. The Solar is not under the Ascendant's direct command, but it will aid her to the best of its ability and will generally ascede to requests, so long as they are not for personal gain (that is, the Solar will generally have no qualms about using its
heal spell-like ability on an ally of the Ascendant, but it will not use its
wish spell-like ability to create an item or gold for the Ascendant.) While fighting alongside the Ascendant, the Solar will do everything in its power to ensure her safety, including healing her or raising her from the dead, if necessary.
Turn Undead (Su): A Solar Ascendant can turn undead creatures, just as a cleric can. See the cleric class feature of the same name for more details.
Bow of the Solar: At 2nd level, the Solar bestows a gift upon the Ascendant: a composite longbow with the capability to rival its own. The bow may be called to hand as a move action, regardless of the distance between it and the Ascendant, and even across planes. The bow never requires ammunition, instead creating its own as it is drawn, though the Ascendant may use her own ammunition if she desires. The bow always has a strength rating exactly equaling the Ascendant's own strength modifier. Even if the bow is broken or utterly destroyed, the Ascendant may reform it as a move action.
In the hands of anyone else except the Solar that created it, the Ascendant's bow is simply an utterly mundane longbow.
When the Solar Ascendant first obtains the bow, aside from the above special abilities, it possesses no more than a masterwork bonus. However, as she gains levels in this class, the bow's abilities improve. The bonuses granted to the bow never count against the normal pre-epic limit of effective enhancement bonuses, and are not counted when determining whether the bow bypasses DR/epic.
At 7th level, the bow's enhancement bonus increases by 1.
At 12th level, the bow's enhancement bonus increases by an additional point, and any ammunition fired from it deals force damage (and, appropriately, is treated as a force effect) instead of its normal damage type.
At 17th level, the Ascendant may will the bow to create a
greater slaying arrow instead of its normal ammunition a number of times per day equal to 1 + her Wisdom modifier. The
slaying arrow is always attuned to the creature type of the Ascendant's target, even if she does not know its type.
Bonus Feats: At 3rd level, and again at 11th and 19th, the Solar Ascendant gains a bonus feat. These feats must come from the Fighter bonus feat list or be a [Divine] or [Domain] feat.
Divine Weapon (Su): At 3rd level, the Solar Ascendant gains the ability to place a small fragment of her own being into a melee weapon, granting it additional abilities. To do so, the Ascendant must meditate uninterrupted for eight hours, after which she becomes attuned to the weapon. Even if the weapon looks precisely the same as a hundred others in a pile, the Ascendant can always choose which is hers without a thought. The Ascendant may choose to attune herself to a different melee weapon by meditating for another eight hours, at which point she loses her bond with the first weapon and instead gains one with the new weapon.
When she first obtains this ability, a weapon to which the Ascendant is attuned may be called to hand as a move action, regardless of the distance between it and the Ascendant, and even across planes. However, as she gains levels, the Ascendant's attuned weapon gains additional bonus properties. In the hands of anyone but the Ascendant, the attuned weapon is nothing more than the base weapon. The bonuses granted to a weapon never count against the normal pre-epic limit of effective enhancement bonuses, and are not counted when determining whether a weapon bypasses DR/epic.
At 8th level, the Divine Weapon's enhancement bonus is treated in all respects as if it were 1 higher.
At 13th level, the Divine Weapon gains the
holy weapon property.
At 18th level, the Divine Weapon gains the
dancing weapon property.
Ascendancy (Ex): At 4th level, and again every four levels thereafter, the Solar Ascendant takes a step toward true divinity, gaining a deeper understanding of the universe and her place in it.
At 4th level, the Ascendant gains a +2 inherent bonus to Charisma.
At 8th level, the Ascendant gains a +2 inherent bonus to Wisdom.
At 12th level, the Ascendant gains a +2 inherent bonus to Strength.
At 16th level, the Ascendant gains a +2 inherent bonus to Constitution.
At 20th level, the Ascendant reaches a state of near-perfection, gaining an additional +2 inherent bonus to each of the above ability scores. In addition, she gains the outsider type. The Ascendant is considered native to the material plane, any good-aligned plane, and any neutral plane.
Damage Reduction (Su): Starting at 4th level, the Solar Ascendant's body becomes more resistant to physical attacks. She gains damage reduction 2/evil.
At 9th level, her damage reduction increases to 5/evil.
At 14th level, her damage reduction increases to 10/evil.
At 19th level, her damage reduction increases to 15/evil.
Protective Aura (Su): Starting at 5th level, the Solar Ascendant gains some measure of the protection inherent to all angels. The Ascendant gains a +2 deflection bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to saving throws against attacks and abilities used by evil creatures.
At 9th level, this protection increases, granting the Ascendant the effect of a continuous
protection from evil spell.
At 13th level, this protection increases again. The deflection and save bonuses increase to +4, they extend to allies of the Ascendant within 20 feet, and the Ascendant gains the effect of a continuous
magic circle against evil and
lesser globe of invulnerability, both with a radius of 20 feet.
Flight (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, the Solar Ascendant may sprout a pair of glorious, white feathered wings as a swift action. These wings allow her to fly with a speed of 30 feet and average maneueverability. The wings may be retracted as a second swift action.
At 8th level, the Ascendant's flight speed increases to 60 feet. At 10th, it increases to 80 feet. At 12th, her maneuverability improves to good. At 14th, her flight speed increases to 100 feet. At 16th, it increases to 120 feet. At 18th, it increases to 150 feet.
Resistances (Ex): At 7th level, the Ascendant gains some of the resistances inherent to angelic creatures. She gains resistance 10 to acid and cold damage, and resistance 5 to electric and fire damage.
At 15th level, these resistances improve. The Ascendant gains immunity to petrification, acid and cold damage, and her resistance to electric and fire damage increases to 10.
Tongues (Su): A Solar Ascendant of 11th level or higher can speak with any creature that has a language, as though using a
tongues spell (caster level equal to the Ascendant's class level). This ability is always active.
Regeneration (Ex): At 20th level, an Ascendant gains a tiny fragment of a Solar's divine durability. She gains regeneration 1. This regeneration is bypassed by evil-aligned weapons, profane and vile damage, and spells with the evil descriptor.
RSS Feeds: 
[3.5 Base Class] The Solar Ascendant [PEACH!]
Lightbringer Adison, Swordmage priestess of Pelor, by the very talented Darwin.
Bunny!Adison by Alarra!
Can you add additional magic effects to the Bow of the Solar as per MIC? I would assume yes, but I thought I'd still ask.
