Tzivad, Beast Piper

This character HAD to be updated now that this archetype is out, even if the Spheres system wasn’t changed.

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Tzivad the Catrider

Piper bard 1 (Beast Piper)

CG Medium humanoid (elf, feyblood)

Init +3; Senses low-light vision, Perception +0

Defense

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)

hp 9 (1d8+1)

Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee dagger +3 (1d4, 19-20) or improvised weapon +3 (1d8)

Ranged dagger +3 (1d4, 19-20) or improvised weapon +3 (1d8)

Special Attacks bardic performance 7 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspired courage +1; DC 13) 

Magic

Caster Level 1; MSB +1, MSD 12, Concentration +4
Tradition Bardic Magic (Drawbacks: Skilled Casting [Perform/String, DC 16], Somatic Casting, Verbal Casting), Boon: +1 spell point per odd level in casting classes; CAM Cha
Spell Points 5

Fallen Fey Sphere - DC 14; Duration 1 minute/level; Range none; Talents Fairy Dust; Drawbacks none

- Fey-Link (nature-connection [forest])

- Fey-Blessing (fairy dust)

Life Sphere - DC 14; Duration none or 1 hour; Range Touch; Talents Instill Life; Drawbacks Medicinal

- Cure

- Invigorate

- Restore

- Instill Life

Martial
Tradition Chemist (Alchemy sphere (formulae package), Universal Alcohol; Barroom sphere, Charming Drunk; Equipment sphere: Fast Draw; PAM Cha
Alchemy sphere - DC 13, Packages formulae, Talents Universal Alcohol, Drawbacks none
- formulae (universal alcohol: create a number of alcoholic beverages with different effects)
Barroom sphere - DC 13, Talents Charming Drunk, Drawbacks none
- brutal breaker (don't suffer penalties w/improvised weapons)
- hard drinker (move action, retrieve and drink an elixir, potion, or beverage; if alcoholic gain drunk status for 2 rounds)

- charming drunk (bonus +1 on Bluff and Diplomacy when drunk, expend the drunk status to roll a check again)

Beastmastery sphere - DC 13, Talents none, Drawbacks none

- handle animal (tame: you can train animals to obey your orders)

Equipment sphere - DC 13, Talents Fast Draw
- fast draw (draw a weapon as part of the action used to make an attack with it)

Statistics

Str 10, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 16

Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 13

Traits Accelerated Drinker, Fortified Drinker

Feats Weapon Finesse

Skills Craft (alchemy) +10, Diplomacy +7, Handle Animal +8, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perform (string) +7, Profession (herbalist) +4, Ride +4, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +7/+9, Use Magic Device +7

Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Sylvan

SQ fey heart, forest slip, musical composition

Gear bard’s kit (41 gp), dagger (2 gp), leather armor (10 gp), rapier (20 gp), shortbow (30 gp) with 20 arrows (1 gp), spirit of wine (5 sp), tankard (2 cp), 4 sp, 2 cp

Special Abilities

Alchemy Sphere Training in the Alchemy combat sphere teaches you how to quickly and efficiently combine volatile chemicals for new or enhanced effects.

When you gain the Alchemy sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Craft (alchemy) skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Alchemy sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the Craft (alchemy) skill you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

In addition, choose one of the following packages: Formulae or Poison. (Chosen: Formulae)

Alchemy: Formulae Some Alchemy talents have the (formulae) descriptor; these are improved or original versions of alchemical items you can only create once you’ve learned the talent. All formulae have a base crafting DC as noted in their descriptor, and their saving throw DCs, if any, are determined using the normal formula for combat sphere talents, using the practitioner’s ranks in Craft (alchemy) in place of their base attack bonus. The necessary ingredients for creating formulae are gathered over the course of a given day; there is no monetary cost to creating a formulae. You may craft any item whose formulae you know in 30 minutes, or 15 minutes if you have access to an alchemist’s lab or alchemist’s crafting kit, but due to the volatile nature of the enhanced formulae you cannot prepare more formulae at one time than a number equal to 1/2 your ranks in Craft (alchemy) (minimum 1) + the number of formulae talents you possess. For every 4 ranks in Craft (alchemy) you possess, you may craft 1 additional formulae as part of the same 30/15 minute time period.

Any creature affected by splash damage from an improved formulae is entitled to a Reflex save to reduce the damage by half.

Because formulae are more unstable than standard alchemical items, they expire and no longer work after 24 hours; it is relatively easy (DC 10 Appraise) to recognize the unstable and impermanent nature of these items so typically they have no monetary value; a potential buyer who fails their Appraise check assumes they are a standard item of their type (if applicable), or as a mundane item worth no more than 10 gp. In addition, the overly refined and unstable nature of formulae means that they cannot be further refined or enhanced by items such as focusing flasks or hybridization funnels. You cannot fail to craft an alchemical item you know the formulae for; failure to meet the DC instead means you create the item but at its minimum potency, without additional effects or benefits for having additional Craft (alchemy) ranks or having increased the crafting DC. When you first gain this package, you may learn any one (formulae) talent you qualify for.

Alchemy: Universal Alcohol (formulae)

Craft DC: 10

You gain the knowledge of the creation of various minor types of beneficial alcohol. When you create this formulae, you create a set of drinks, with a number of drinks equal to your practitioner modifier, together counting as a single formulae slot.

All drinks created with one formulae slot must be of the same type, and the slot is considered to be used until no creature benefits from them any longer, and all the drinks have expired or have been consumed or destroyed.

You can create the following drinks:

Calming Cider: Creatures that drink this alcohol feel an incredible sense of calm, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus against emotion related effects for 1 hour. This bonus increases by 1 per 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

Invisible Ichor: Creatures that drink this alcohol cannot tell it is alcoholic, as it is entirely and purely tasteless, but is as potent as two alcoholic beverages. This drink also masks poisons mixed with it, foiling Perception checks entirely and even magic, unless the caster succeeds on a magic skill check against your Alchemy sphere DC.

Lullabying Lager: Creatures that drink this alcohol fall asleep after an hour of consuming it and experience a fully lucid and comforting dream, allowing them to regain twice the number of hit points or ability damage they regain from resting. This benefit stacks with the benefit provided by a Heal check made to provide long-term care, providing them with three times the benefits of resting.

Mindbending Mead: Creatures that drink this alcohol are subject to strange visual and sound-based hallucinations, which apply a -2 penalty to all Perception checks they attempt, but cause them to see past true illusions, granting them a +2 circumstance bonus against all illusion effects. The bonus and penalty both increase by 1 per 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

Painkilling Perry: Creatures that drink this alcohol are numbed to pain, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus against all pain-related effects for 1 hour. This bonus increases by 1 per 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

Revitalizing Rum: Creatures that drink this alcohol gain a +1 resistance bonus to the next saving throw they attempt within an hour. This bonus increases by 1 per 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

Sobering Schnapps: You create the perfect concoction; an alcoholic drink that wears away at hangovers. Creatures that drink this alcohol ignore the penalties for being drunk (and bonuses, if any) for 1 hour, and reduce the penalties from the sickened condition by half. Once you have 10 ranks in Craft (alchemy), the sickened condition is instead cured automatically, and creatures are immune to it for the duration.

Vitalizing Vodka: Creatures that drink this alcohol gain 1d4 temporary hit points for one hour. The amount of temporary hit points granted increases by 1d4 per 3 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

Wakeful Whisky: Creatures that drink this alcohol can remain awake for eight hours without feeling sleepy, granting them a +2 circumstance bonus against sleep effects. A creature can drink this drink to avoid needing to rest, but any vigorous activity such as fighting, traveling or similar ends the effect, and creatures must drink another or sleep for the remaining hours to avoid fatigue and to gain the benefits of a full night’s rest. The bonus increases by 1 per 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy) that you possess.

A creature can only benefit from one drink at a time, although a single drink may have multiple alcohol types mixed together by raising the Craft DC. You can increase the Craft DC of this formulae when creating a set of drinks in increments of 10 to apply the effects of an additional alcohol type for each increment to the set of drinks, allowing a creature to benefit from multiple alcohol types at the same time from those drinks.

Bardic Performance A bard is trained to use the Perform skill to create magical effects on those around him, including himself if desired. He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. At each level after 1st a bard can use bardic performance for 2 additional rounds per day. Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of bardic performance that he has mastered, as indicated by his level.

Starting a bardic performance is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. Changing a bardic performance from one effect to another requires the bard to stop the previous performance and start a new one as a standard action. A bardic performance cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the bard is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time.

Each bardic performance has audible components, visual components, or both.

If a bardic performance has audible components, the targets must be able to hear the bard for the performance to have any effect, and many such performances are language dependent (as noted in the description). A deaf bard has a 20% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with an audible component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Deaf creatures are immune to bardic performances with audible components.

If a bardic performance has a visual component, the targets must have line of sight to the bard for the performance to have any effect. A blind bard has a 50% chance to fail when attempting to use a bardic performance with a visual component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts against his daily limit. Blind creatures are immune to bardic performances with visual components.

List of Bardic Performances:

• Countersong (Su): At 1st level, a bard learns to counter magic effects that depend on sound (but not spells that have verbal components.) Each round of the countersong he makes a Perform (keyboard, percussion, wind, string, or sing) skill check. Any creature within 30 feet of the bard (including the bard himself) that is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use the bard’s Perform check result in place of its saving throw if, after the saving throw is rolled, the Perform check result proves to be higher. If a creature within range of the countersong is already under the effect of a non-instantaneous sonic or language-dependent magical attack, it gains another saving throw against the effect each round it hears the countersong, but it must use the bard’s Perform skill check result for the save. Countersong does not work on effects that don’t allow saves. Countersong relies on audible components.

• Distraction (Su): At 1st level, a bard can use his performance to counter magic effects that depend on sight. Each round of the Distraction, he makes a Perform (act, comedy, dance, or oratory) skill check. Any creature within 30 feet of the bard (including the bard himself) that is affected by an illusion (pattern) or illusion (figment) magical attack may use the bard’s Perform check result in place of its saving throw if, after the saving throw is rolled, the Perform check result proves to be higher. If a creature within range of the Distraction is already under the effect of a non-instantaneous illusion (pattern) or illusion (figment) magical attack, it gains another saving throw against the effect each round it sees the Distraction, but it must use the bard’s Perform check result for the save. Distraction does not work on effects that don’t allow saves. Distraction relies on visual components.

• Fascinate (Su): At 1st level, a bard can use his performance to cause one or more creatures to become fascinated with him. Each creature to be fascinated must be within 90 feet, able to see and hear the bard, and capable of paying attention to him. The bard must also be able to see the creatures affected. The Distraction of a nearby combat or other dangers prevents the ability from working. For every three levels a bard has attained beyond 1st, he can target one additional creature with this ability. Each creature within range receives a Will save (DC 10 + ½ the bard’s level + the bard’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect. If a creature’s saving throw succeeds, the bard cannot attempt to fascinate that creature again for 24 hours. If its saving throw fails, the creature sits quietly and observes the performance for as long as the bard continues to maintain it. While fascinated, a target takes a –4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Perception checks. Any potential threat to the target allows the target to make a new saving throw against the effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a weapon at the target, automatically breaks the effect. Fascinate is an enchantment (compulsion), mind-affecting ability. Fascinate relies on audible and visual components in order to function.

• Inspire Courage (Su): A 1st level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Barroom Sphere Barroom practitioners specialize in using whatever is available to them, willing to swing table legs, chairs, and anything else as they chug down a fresh brew.

Practitioners of the Barroom sphere gain the following ability:

Barroom: Brutal Breaker You do not suffer any penalty when using an improvised weapon, be it ranged or melee, and may treat improvised weapons you are wielding as manufactured weapons for the purpose of being able to be targeted by spells and other effects. You may grab an unattended object within your natural reach and make an attack action with it as part of the same standard action.

Additionally, you may treat any improvised weapon made of any material with a hardness of 5 or lower (wood, glass, etc.) as having the fragile weapon special feature for the purpose of any feats or talents you possess. This does not apply to magic items, nor to creatures being used as improvised weapons.

Some talents allow you to grant a fragile weapon the broken condition in exchange for a benefit. If you apply a second such benefit to a weapon, it is destroyed. You cannot apply more than 2 benefits that break a weapon to the same weapon attack.

Note: Talents which would allow you to add the broken condition or destroy an improvised weapon cannot be used while using a creature as an improvised weapon.

Barroom: Hard Drinker Whenever you imbibe an alcoholic drink (normally a standard action), you gain the drunk status for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier (creatures without a Constitution score cannot gain this status). As a move action, you may retrieve an alcoholic drink, elixir, or potion (but not extract) from your person or grab one within your natural reach and drink it, all without provoking an attack of opportunity. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, the drunk status last for one additional round.

Barroom: Charming Drunk As long as you have the drunk status when you make a Bluff or Diplomacy check, you gain a +1 competence bonus on it. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 base attack bonus you have. You may also expend your drunk status as a free action to reroll a Bluff or Diplomacy check, but you must take the new result, even if it is worse. If you do so, you take a -5 on Bluff and Diplomacy checks for the next 10 minutes.

Beastmastery The Beastmastery sphere focuses on all forms of animal handling.

Unlike most other spheres which rest squarely on the related core rules, talents and abilities granted by the Beastmastery sphere override certain skill functions (particularly Handle Animal and Ride). No additional checks are required outside of those listed in the associated ability. Some abilities call out joint actions. These actions require both the user and his animal ally to pay the requisite action cost.

Animal Allies: Some talents and abilities reference animal allies; your animal companions, familiars, tame creatures, and any creature actively serving as your mount with an Intelligence score of 2 or less are considered your animal allies. Animal allies always act on your initiative.

Special: Animal companions, Conjuration sphere companions, drake companions, eidolons, and familiars cannot gain this sphere or talents from this sphere.

When you first take the Beastmastery sphere, choose one of the following packages: Handle Animal or Ride. Talents possessing a tag or tags matching one of the Beastmastery packages cannot be taken unless you possess one of the tagged packages.

Beastmastery Package: Handle Animal You gain 5 ranks in the Handle Animal skill, plus 5 ranks per talent spent in the Beastmastery sphere (maximum equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in Handle Animal you may immediately retrain them. You do not get to retrain skill ranks when only gaining Beastmastery sphere talents as temporary talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature or the brawler’s martial flexibility ability. Talents with the (handle animal) tag grant new ways to tame and train your animal allies. Talents with the (handle animal) tag substitute your ranks in Handle Animal for your base attack bonus when determining the saving throw DC of those talents (10 + ½ your ranks in Handle Animal + your practitioner modifier) unless otherwise stated.

You also gain the following ability:

Beastmastery: Tame You may attempt to train an animal to readily obey your commands in and out of combat. This requires 8 hours and a creature of the animal type that has an attitude toward you of indifferent or better. This time may be divided as per the magic item crafting rules. You may only train one creature at a time with this ability. At the end of this period, make a Handle Animal check with a DC of 10 + the creature’s Hit Dice. If successful, the creature is now considered tame.

You may not tame a creature with more Hit Dice than you have ranks in Handle Animal. You may have multiple tame creatures under your control, but their total Hit Dice cannot exceed your ranks in Handle Animal. If you attempt to tame a creature that would exceed your Hit Dice cap, you must choose which other creatures to release. Animal companions and familiars, such as from class features, the Animal Companion talent, or the Pet talent, never count against this Hit Dice cap.

You may not use this ability on a creature with the swarm subtype. A creature with a template adds the challenge rating adjustment of the template to its HD (minimum increase +0) for determining if you may tame it and for how many creatures you can have tame. Variant creatures with increased challenge ratings (such as a pyrohydra compared to a normal hydra, if using the Broad Skills talent), treats the challenge rating increase of the variant as if it were a template for this purpose. A creature whose permanent Intelligence score is raised above 2 is no longer a valid target for this ability and is automatically released. This effect ends if you go two full days without spending at least 1 hour training your tame creatures.

This is treated as an extraordinary mind-affecting compulsion effect for the purposes of opposed control checks, such as another compulsion effect affecting your tame creature. Use your ranks in Handle Animal in place of your caster level for the opposed check.

Equipment: Fast Draw You can draw a weapon as part of the action used to make an attack with it. This can be used with splash weapons, but not with other items such as potions, scrolls, or wands. You can draw a hidden weapon (see the Sleight of Hand skill) as a move action. Associated Feat: Quick Draw.

Fallen Fey Sphere

Fallen Fey: Fey-Link As a swift action, you may change your creature type to Fey for 1 minute per caster level. You are treated as a Fey and no longer count as your previous creature type for all purposes including spells, magic items, etc. You still possesses any subtypes you previously possessed (thus, an elf using this ability would change from a humanoid with the elf subtype to a fey with the elf subtype).
Whenever fey-link is active, you may spend 1 spell point as a free action to gain the benefits of a fey-blessing until the end of the fey-link. There are no limit to the number of fey-blessings you may have active at a time, but each one must be activated separately, and all only endure until the end of the fey-link. Renewing a fey-link does not increase the duration of a fey-blessing, and ends all fey-blessings you currently possess.
When you gain the Fallen Fey sphere, you gain the following fey-blessing:

Fallen Fey: Nature-Connection (fey blessing) You gain a +1 bonus on Initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Survival, Stealth, and Perception skill checks made within one terrain of your choice. This bonus increases by +1 for every 5 caster levels you possess. Consult the Ranger list of favored terrains to see potential terrain types. You may gain this fey-blessing multiple times, gaining this bonus in a different terrain each time. Magic Talents marked as (fey-blessing) grant additional fey-blessings.

Fallen Fey: Fairy Dust (fey blessing) By activating this fey-blessing, you gain a pouch of fairy dust. This pouch has hardness 5 and 5 hit points per caster level. The pouch is weightless and may not be used to hold anything other than the fairy dust it contains. If the pouch is destroyed, this fey-blessing ends. Destroying the pouch fills a 10 ft. radius with the chosen fairy dust, affecting all creatures in the area, including the caster. A successful saving throw against any effect that allows it grants the affected creature immunity to that effect from that caster for 24 hrs. You gain knowledge of two types of fairy dust when you gain this talent; you may activate any one type of dust that you know when activating this fey-blessing. Choose from the following options:

Amnesia Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or forget the past minute. This otherwise functions as the Amnesia talent of the Mind sphere. You must spend an additional spell point for this option.

Charm Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or have its disposition toward you increase by 1 step to a maximum of friendly for 1 minute.

Bleed Affected creatures must succeed on a Fortitude save or bleed profusely when wounded. The next time the creature takes hit point damage, it begins taking bleed damage equal to your caster level. These bleed damage may be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or by receiving any amount of healing. If this dust is applied to a weapon, the weapon attack triggers the bleed damage.

Blind Affected creatures must succeed on a Reflex save or treat all other creatures as having concealment for 1 round per caster level.

Fear Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or be shaken for 1 round per caster level. You may spend an additional spell point as part of activating the fey-blessing to instead have affected creatures be frightened for 1 round per caster level on a failed save and shaken for 1 round on a successful save.

Glitter For 1 round per caster level, affected creatures take a penalty to Stealth equal to caster level and do not gain concealment from any effect that provides invisibility.

Poison Affected creatures must succeed on a Fortitude save or suffer from itching poison, being compelled to scratch at the wound for 1 round (treat this as being dazed) and taking 1d2 Strength damage per round for 1 minute or until they succeed on a Fortitude save. You must spend an additional spell point for this option.

Sleep Affected creatures must succeed on a Will save or fall asleep for 1 round per caster level. Slapping or wounding awakens an affected creature, but normal noise does not. Awakening a creature is a standard action (an application of the aid another action). You must spend an additional spell point for this option.

As a standard action, you may fill a 5 ft. cube within close range with the dust, affecting any creature in that space. As a move action, you may apply fairy dust to a weapon, natural weapon, or piece of ammunition, or to a number of weapons or pieces of ammunition equal to your casting ability modifier (minimum 2) as a standard action. A creature that is struck by the weapon within 1 round per caster level of it being so treated suffers from the effects of the dust. You may chose to end this fey-blessing early, drawing and throwing the pouch to create a 20 ft. radius spread of fairy dust within close range, affecting all creatures within the area.

The duration of multiple applications of dust stack. The pouch replenishes itself as a free action for the duration of the fey-blessing, then disappears when it ends. You may have multiple instances of this fey-blessing active at once; select a different option you know for each. Each instance creates a separate pouch. You may select this talent multiple times; each time you gain two more types of fairy dust. If the pouch is not in your possession at the start of your turn, you can summon it to yourself as a move action as long as you have line of sight to it.

Fey Heart: The power of the fey runs stronger in some faebloods, whether by practice of their innate skill, stronger traces of the blood of the upper echelons of the courts, or some other cause. They gain the Basic Magical Training feat for the Fallen Fey sphere as a bonus feat. For pipers, this replaces pipes of panic.

Forest Slip (Ex) A piper may move through any sort of undergrowth at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. Terrain magically manipulated to impede motion, however, still affects her. Pipers also gain a +2 racial bonus on Stealth checks in forests.

Life Sphere You wield the powers of life.

Medicinal You must select the Instill Life talent with the bonus talent granted by this drawback, and you can only use your Life sphere abilities through this talent.

Incompatible: Glorious, Sympathetic

Life: Cure As a standard action, you may spend a spell point to touch a target and heal it an amount of damage equal to 1d8 + your caster level. This is a positive energy effect, and as such may be used to harm undead (Will half).

Life: Invigorate As a standard action, you may invigorate a touched creature, granting them temporary hit points equal to your caster level (minimum: 1). Unlike normal temporary hit points, this ability can only be used on an injured target and cannot raise a target’s current hit points plus their temporary hit points to be higher than their total hit points. This benefit lasts for 1 hour. Temporary hit points, even from different sources, do not stack; only the highest bonus applies.

Life: Restore As a standard action, you may touch a target and spend a spell point to restore their physical and mental health.

This accomplishes all of the following:

• Heals 1d4 points of ability damage to one ability score of your choice.

• Removes the fatigued condition or lessens exhaustion to fatigued.

• Removes the sickened condition or lessens nauseated to sickened.

• Removes the shaken condition or lessens frightened to shaken, or panicked to frightened.

• Removes the staggered condition.

• Removes the dazzled condition.

• Removes the battered condition. (When using Spheres of Might.)

If the condition targeted is part of an on-going effect, this suppresses the effect for a number of rounds equal to your caster level. This cannot be used to remove curses or instantaneous effects.

Life: Instill Life [instill] As a standard action you may touch a small container of liquid and instill a cure, a restore, or an invigorate used in conjunction with the Greater Invigorate talent, or a use of the Affliction talent, which functions as a potion or oil. This cannot be augmented by the Empathic Healing talent.

An instilled liquid remains potent until you rest to regain spell points. If you have equipment on hand (such as an alchemy lab), the cost of bottles and water is considered negligible.

You may target food but not an already-magical item, such as a potion. All spell points must be spent and all variables of the sphere effect must be chosen at the time the instilled liquid is created. You cannot instill multiple effects in a single liquid, nor create multiple instilled liquids with a single action.

Musical Composition (Ex) Pipers who cast spells make music rather than speaking the normal incantations of a spell’s verbal component; they increase the Spellcraft DC to identify spells they cast by 5 and gain a +1 bonus to the save DC of bard spells they cast.

Skilled Casting You must create your magic through singing, drawing, or some other activity. Your magic is tied to a particular Perform, Profession, or Craft skill (although with GM permission another skill may be substituted). You must succeed at a skill check to use any sphere ability. The DC of this skill check is 15 + the ability’s caster level. For every 2 points by which this skill check falls short of this DC, the ability manifests at -1 caster level. If this reduces the ability to a caster level below 0, the manifested ability fails and any spell points used are lost.

A caster with Skilled Casting must be able to perform their skill to use their magic, which is similar to but not the same as possessing other drawbacks. For example, a caster who must draw to create magic must have at least one hand free, although unless he also possesses Somatic Casting he may do so while wearing heavy armor without a chance of arcane spell failure. Likewise, a caster who uses music to create magic must be able to speak, but unless he also possesses Verbal Casting he can do so quietly and not break stealth.

Somatic Casting You must gesture to cast spells—a process that requires you to have at least 1 hand unoccupied. When using magic, you cannot wear armor heavier than light without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure. You may select this drawback twice. If taken a second time, you cannot wear any armor or use a shield without incurring a chance of arcane spell failure.

Verbal Casting You must speak in a loud, clear voice to cast spells. Using magic alerts all nearby hearing creatures to your presence and location, effectively breaking stealth. You cannot cast in an area of magical silence, or in any other situation where you are unable to speak clearly.

Build

Tzivad is built with a 20-point buy and 105 gp starting wealth. Favored Class Bonus is +¼ level for bardic performance. If using a lower point buy, you can lower Strength and Wisdom. If using a higher point buy (or rolling really well), your most important attributes are Charisma and Dexterity. Charisma is your casting statistic and affects the save DCs of all your magic and martial talents and your spell pool; Dexterity makes you a great finesse warrior and archer, increases your initiative and bolsters AC. Constitution is important too, since it helps you hold your alcohol, and Intelligence helps in crafting alchemical items and reflects your dabbling and mingling into many fields, as well as your talent as a gossip-monger and skill monkey.

Playing a Merry Rider

The descendant of a satyr, Tzivad sports short horns, cloven feet, and a love for nature and alcohol. He is a cheerful drinker, a brewer, an artist, and a friend of animals. Few can imagine his agility and versatility in battle seeing him always staggering from his last drinking night. Tzivad usually fights with a rapier in melee or a shortbow from afar; two-weapon fighting with blade and tankard is favored when he has no spell points left. When his weapons are not at hand, Tzivad uses bottles, chair legs, and everything he can find, and he never says no to a good tavern brawl. Tzivad keeps his ears open for information, sings and plays for money, brews healing potions to sell or donate, protects his friends with hoaxes as well as with his rapier, and is a romantic at heart- always intent to winning the love of the stalwart dwarven mageknight Romita.

Future Abilities

Magic Talents Aelfwine, Enchanting Music

Martial Talents Animal Empathy*, Barroom Expert, Bottle Rocket, Coordinated Attack*, Defensive Teamwork*, Drunken Insight, Elixir, Everything Is A Drink, Extra Beastmastery Package*, Focusing Buzz, Good For What Ails Ya, Had A Few, Improved Pet*, Improved Alchemist Fire, Iron Liver, Leaping Rider*, Miracle Drink, Panacea, Pet*, Rogue Weapon Training, Skirmish Rider*, Two as One*

Feats Crescendo, Divine Fighting Technique (Blade and Tankard), Distill Compound, Drunkard’s Recovery, Enchanting Performance, Fairy Alchemy, Truth in Wine, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (rapier)

Skills Concentrate on your healing, performance and diplomacy abilities; Appraise and Disguise are useful too. Increase your companion’s Dexterity to make it a giant old soft ball of fur of unsuspected speed and agility.

Your familiar is a small cat, maybe the result of strange magic or alchemical experiments. You keep it on your shoulder while in cramped dungeons, and ride it in battle or in the forest. Occult Messenger could be a good archetype.