Soul Binder (3.5e Class)

The act of stealing a creatures soul is generally an evil act. A soul binder has devoted his life to learning how to not only steal souls from creatures but also on how to warp the soul into a cage sealing the entire creature into the binders target. Soul binders are able to apply the natural abilities of creatures to weapons Armour and other creatures this way.

Soul binders often seek out powerful creatures to seal inside themselves and to make themselves stronger in turn. because of this mentality a good aligned soul binder is hard to come by. The act of sealing away a creature isn't an easy one either and most soul binders who go in haphazardly are often disposed of quickly.

Abilities: The Most important ability for a soul binder is his Wisdom, He must be wise and strong willed in order to properly control the creatures he has sealed. The second most important ability is a soul binders constitution for he uses his own health as costs for sealing away creatures. and third most would be dexterity for he must succeed in contact with the creature to properly seal it away. if he were to fail then he must escape swiftly

Races: Soul binders can be any race capable of magic.

Alignment: Usually Evil

Starting Gold: 4D8x10 gp

Starting Age: "Moderate"

All of the following are class features of the Soul Binder.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency:A Soul Binder is proficient in Both Simple and Martial Weapons. A soul Binder can only wear light or medium armor in order to properly apply arcane circles and seal creatures inside himself

Caster:For the purpose of using magic items and determining D.C's. A Soul Binder has a Caster level. The Soul Binder however cannot cast spells as a result of beginning his practice at a dangerously high level of magic. The warping of his soul has caused him to become unstable and if he were to attempt spells using his own power, rather then that of an item, could have terrible results. However should a soul binder begin study as a wizard or discover he has Sorcerers Blood in his veins this would stabilize his arcane abilities granting him access to arcane spells. This level is based off the research a soul binder must do in order to learn his Runes and arcane marks for sealing creatures. the caster level comes into play at level 9 of the soul binder class when the binder is able to use arcane symbols individually through the Glyph Scriber ability. When using his Soul bind ability to turn into a bound creature the soul binder will use his own spell caster level in place of the bound creatures, unless the creature treats it's magic as spell-like in which case the binder takes the creatures effective caster level as designated by the ability or his own, Whichever is higher. For example. A level 12 soul Binder has sealed away a blink dog and decides to activate his ability to turn into the creature. the blink dog has the ability to Blink as per the spell by an 8th level caster. the soul binders caster level is currently 6 and so you use the blink dogs caster level on the ability instead

Soul Bind(Self): The User seals creatures using arcane runes and magic circles to trap the physical creature inside a warped version of it's soul and seal it away inside another creature

-Henceforth trapped souls will be referred to as the "the Target"-

Creatures with the target in them are unable to draw on the abilities of the target unless they have soul binder knowledge ((At least 1 level in the class). otherwise they merely act as vessels for the target. A Soul Binder is always able to harness the feats of the target. The Binder can use special qualities of the target such as spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities, etc when in any form, as long as he is in control of himself.

A Soul binders most useful ability is that he can transform into any of the creatures he's sealed inside of him as though through polymorph. The new form is fully healed. If the form is defeated in combat the target is expelled from the binders body and the binders loses 50% of his total health Cons to this ability are that upon every use the seal binding the target weakens. the target also gains a chance to take over as host on a successful will save. For every 3 rounds the target rampages the seal binding it will take 1d4 damage. The Binder may roll a will save once every 3 rounds in order to take back control otherwise the creature will rampage for the duration of the ability, at which point the binder would return to his true form.

The binder can Hold his polymorphed form for 1 minute/level. If he needs to the binder may hold the form longer at the cost of the health to the seal being 1 point of damage to the seal per round. The binder can transform into the target as many times a day as needed, however this becomes harder to do in succession. The first time he transforms is the easiest and thus he takes no penalties, the second time he will become tired, the third time he will become fatigued, the fourth time he will become exhausted, etc.

The Cost for a seal is 1d8/+1 per level of the characters hit point. These points can not be healed and the Binder must spend 8 hours to get those hit points back. Hit points on the seal itself are 10+player level+Craft Check- target creatures Current Hit Die. with a minimum of 5 hit points. The Craft D.C For a seal is 10+creatures hit dice. The seal takes 1d4 damage upon every use otherwise a seal can only be damaged by 1 point for every year or by direct fire damage ((must target the seal)) Seals can be repaired, however not to the original full health. on a successful craft check it can be healed up to 75% of it's original health. this Number becomes the New max total and as such the next repair will heal 75% of that, rinse and repeat.

A Soul binder can only hold so much energy and as such must carefully choose what creatures he seals away. In Order to do this a binder has learned to gauge people's fighting abilities with an appraise check. He can hold up to 8 hit die/level not including his own, and only so many creatures per levels. The number of creatures is indicated by the number next to the ability under the special list.

Creatures being sealed must succeed a will save or be trapped. D.C = player will save+ 10 for successful appraise+10 for successful craft/ player will save +0 for failed appraise+1 for failed craft. appraise d.c can be found here Appraising creatures and players (3.5e Variant Rule).

Seals must be made for specific creatures, and as such you cannot pre-prepare them. A Binder can only seal a creature if he can access their soul. To use this ability the binder must succeed a touch attack with a completed seal against the target. It takes 1 craft((arcane sealing circles)) check and 2 full rounds to complete this kind of seal there fore he can act the 3rd round after completion. If the binder is interrupted while making the seal he must start over. every time a creature goes on a rampage the creature has a chance to impose himself upon the binder. if the binder fails a will save of 15 his alignment will shift 1 degree towards the bound creatures alignment.

At any time a binder may release a creature. This inflicts 1d6 temporary con damage to both the binder and the target creature and stuns both for 1d4 rounds. if a seal is broken without the binders influence assume the same effects as if it was the binders choice.

((Please note that when a binder seals away a creature he has full control over what abilities manifest, he can keep the creature sentient and aware of it's situation or put it into a state of stasis where it won't have any idea how much time has passed. the target does not age unless hit with aging effects from spells or abilities. with this in mind the binder can seal any creature with a soul and turn into said creature. but if he doesn't have access to the creatures mind ((as leaving this connection open is dangerous and could let the target creature take you over)) he might not access prepared abilities, for example. a wizard must prepare his spells. as such the binder doesn't know what spells to prepare. sorcerers on the other hand have their magic inborn and therefore the binder can properly cast the spells that come with the creature.))

Soul Bind(Items)(Weapons/Armor)(Weapons/Armor enchanted):The User seals creatures using arcane runes and magic circles to trap the physical creature inside a warped version of it's soul and seal it away inside an object. an Object that has a creature sealed inside of it will gain the natural and or spell -like abilities of said creature. These bonuses act as enchantments. this can somtimes create sentient items, armor and weapons.

At 7th level a soul binder can begin sealing creatures into items, possibly storing them for something else later. the item must succeed a stability check to see if it breaks. If the item does break the Creature is released and is stunned for 1d4, if not the target is sealed inside until the seal is broken or destroyed. When a creature is sealed inside an item or piece of equipment the hit points on the item are replaced by the seals' hit points. this does not change the hardness on the item. Some attributes of the target leak out giving the item qualities from the target. at 8th level a soul binder can do this more effectively for weapons and armor in such a way that it becomes enchanted with the creatures abilities, granting him access to special qualities or spell like abilities without needing to transform into them. At the end of combat the item requires a stability check. if it fails the seal takes 1d6 damage. At 9th level a soul binder can seal away creatures into already enchanted items and equipment.

Iron Will:The soul Binder has practiced keeping his mind locked away from outside forces giving a +2 bonus on all Will saving throws.

Sense Alignment:At 4th level a a soul binder has manipulated his soul so much that he can sense alignments at will. This ability is so that he can see just how a target creatures soul will effect his.

Perfectionist (3.5e Feat): A binder may spend extra rounds to succeed craft checks on his seal equal to the number of ranks in concentration (Max of 5) if he is interrupted while spending this time he must start over.

SRD:Erase: Erase removes writings of either magical or mundane nature from a scroll or from one or two pages of paper, parchment, Flesh, Stone, or similar surfaces. With this spell, you can remove explosive runes, a glyph of warding, a sepia snake sigil, or an arcane mark, The Soul binder Can use this to erase illusory writings or symbol spells unlike the normal form of the spell. Nonmagical writing is automatically erased if you touch it and no one else is holding it. Otherwise, the chance of erasing nonmagical writing is 90%. A soul Binder can use this ability once a day per caster level. as if it were a spell like ability.

Glyph Scriber:You have studied the art of using and inscribing magical symbols. You have found a way to use your arcane runes to lay traps to affect creatures who may stumble past them. ((If you already have the feat Glyph Scriber, You instead gain the Glyph scriber adept Class feat)) You learn 2 glyphs and can learn more as described below, any spell that is described as a rune, sigil, or symbol also counts towards known glyphs. You also gain the ability to scribe and empower glyphs. To determine if your level is high enough to inscribe the glyph, subtract two levels from the wizards required level to cast the symbol spell. For example. [Symbol of death] is an 8th level spell for a wizard, so for a soul binder it is a 6th level spell. This is because of the binders strict research into magical symbols. You must spend long hours in research at a library, wizardly conclave, sorcerer's union, or similar institution. Each day, you must make a special Knowledge (arcana) check, with your caster level as a competence bonus. The DC of this check depends on the resources available to you. This check represents both your ability to uncover the information you need and your ability to comprehend it. You either select the glyph you want to learn or you learn one at random. You can know up to one glyph per arcane and divine spellcaster level you posses. Once you "know" a Glyph, you cannot lose it's knowledge to learn a new one. To use a glyph, you must scribe the glyph and invest it with arcane or divine power. A divine caster can also simply cast glyph of warding and use any of the glyphs he knows to replace that spell's standard options. In this case, the caster simple uses the spell and ignores the following rules. Scribing a glyph requires 10 minutes of work and a Craft (runes) skill check. The DC of this check depends on the spell energy used at the time of the glyph's creation. When you scribe a glyph, you must spend a spell slot of at least 3rd level to grant it power. The Craft DC equals 20 + spell level used. You may take 10 on this check as normal. If you fail, you do not spend the spell slot and can try again. Inserting the energy into the glyph is the last step in the process of its creation. A glyph created in this manner is weaker than one created using glyph of warding. It can be set to discharge when the first creature touches it or enters its square, and it remains in place for 1 hour per level of the spell slot spent to power it. When you create a glyph in this manner, its caster level equals double the level of the spell slot used to create it. Its save DC equals 10 + your spellcasting ability modifier + the spell slot's level. A glyph occupies a single 5-foot by 5-foot square. The first creature to touch the glyph or enter its space triggers the glyph and takes its effects. If a glyph is scribed using finely powdered gems worth 100 gp per spell level used to create it, the glyph is permanent until discharged. Aside from the changes noted above, a glyph scribed in this manner acts as one created with glyph of warding. ((note: when using the Spell Glyph (as a soul binder) you can use scrolls or other magic devices to store the spell in the glyph so long as it follows the glyph rules aswell))

In terms of the campaign, you can also use these glyphs as various symbols and to describe the specific effects of the options described under the standard glyph of warding spell. A glyph of warding cast to deal electrical damage might appear as the symbol beel. In some cases, the glyphs given here are weaker than the effects provided for by the spell. This is intentional, as glyphs scribed by spending spell slots are more flexible and easier to access than those created through the spell. A glyph can be placed to conform to any shape up to the limitations of your total square footage. When the spell is completed, the glyph and tracery become nearly invisible. Glyphs cannot be affected or bypassed by such means as physical or magical probing, though they can be dispelled. Mislead, polymorph, and nondetection (and similar magical effects) can fool a glyph, though nonmagical disguises and the like can’t. Read magic allows you to identify a glyph of warding with a DC 13 Spellcraft check. Identifying the glyph does not discharge it and allows you to know the basic nature of the glyph. A rogue (only) can use the Search skill to find the glyph and Disable Device to thwart it. The DC in each case is 25 + spell level

Glyph Scriber Adept: Your research and understanding of Glyphs and arcane runes have granted you the ability to inscribe glyphs onto weapons or even your own fists. Upon a successful touch attack to an enemy with a glyphed weapon the glyph activates releasing the effect to the target creature. This effect cannot damage the user. Some glyphs cannot be inscribed onto weapons such as the symbol of death

Hold Form A soul binder is able to appear as his true form while using his ability to use bound souls abilities. he can also use this ability to keep the form of a creature for as long as he needs provided he isn't being attacked or doing anything strenuous. Upon taking damage the duration of the form must be rolled.

The Amalgamation:At 10th level a soul binder is able to call upon 3 of the souls sealed inside of him. He chooses a special ability or trait from the sealed creatures creatures/+1 per two levels. physical stats are taken from the highest scores of the creatures. the time this form can be held for is 1 minute per level cut in half (1+player level. At 20th level the Binder can use 6 of the creatures he has sealed inside of himself for this ability.

Unbending Will:At 20th level a soul binder has near perfect control over sealed creatures and upon failing a will save there is only a 10% chance of the sealed creature going on a rampage he also gains a +4 bonus to all will saves and wisdom checks.

Bound Combatant:At 15th level a soul binder can let out a bound creature in a way that the creature is still tied to the binder. The creature will get a chance to rampage as through soul bind condition. however summoning the creature this way does not harm the binder unless the creature is defeated. If the creature is defeated under these conditions the binder loses the soul and takes 1d4 temporary constitution damage. The creature is under the full control of the binder and acts to his will, it takes one full round to recall the creature. the creature cannot exceed 200 ft from the binder or it is automatically recalled. A binder Cannot take on the form of a Bound Combatant as it's soul is currently in use. at 18th level the binder can summon 1 extra bound combatant.

A soul binder whose wisdom falls below 4 is unable to call upon his sealed souls and can no longer seal away creatures until he gains at least a +1 modifier in his wisdom stat. if a soul binders wisdom hits 1 all souls sealed within him are released against his will and he takes the full effects of releasing a soul per each creature.

Epic Soul Binder Bonus Feat List: Bound Amalgamation: The soul binder can now summon bound combatants that he has amalgamated together. use the basic rules for both bound combatant and amalgamtion

Religion: This class doesn't often align themselves to deities for fear that some deities might think they are working towards usurping them and taking their power.

Other Classes: A Soul Binder often looks out for talented people in order to add their abilities to his own, the most useful being the sorcerers magic, the most unhelpful being wizards, Bards, clerics, and paladins as their powers come from external forces or their own minds..

Combat: A soul binders typical role in combat depends on the creatures he can turn into and therefore ranges him from frontline tank so sidelines support.

Advancement: advancement is entirely up to the player as they need to choose whats best with the creatures they have.

Daily Life: A soul binder could be either out in the world looking for rare and or dangerous creatures to seal away, Or at the arena testing out new abilities and finding new targets to trap.

Notables: Schneider Von Drugel, the eerily friendly soul binder who honestly just wants to help. but sometimes people just don't trust him because of his accent and upfront kindness.

NPC Reactions: A Soul binder is a fairly rare class and as such npc's might have the wrong impressions such as the player being the other creature trying to infiltrate their town.

Characters with ranks in Knowledge history, religion, or nobility can research Soul Binders to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

As a Pc a soul binder could have a goal of revenge on an individual however he himself was weak and so he uses the strengths of other creatures to fight, as for npc the possibility of a great beast needing to be sealed away because it's much to powerful for the hero's to take on and destroy.

Adaptation: <-Possible variant conceptions of this class.->.

Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPCs of this class.->.

EL : <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter.->.

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