Spirit Sentinel (Ranger/Shaman)

Bound by a deep love of their chosen terrains, spirit sentinels scout the border between the material plane and world of spirits. Seeing a soul in all the living and nonliving parts of their environment, these spirit sentinels firmly believe in a need for balance between all living things. Thus, they go to great lengths in order to help, heal, nurture, and protect them while employing spirits to act as intermediaries between the wild and civilization, enabling them to understand and learn from each other. (Original concept by Bardess)

Primary Class: Ranger.

Secondary Class: Shaman.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Dice: d10.

Bonus Skills and Ranks: The spirit sentinel may select three shaman skills to add to her class skills in addition to the normal ranger class skills. The spirit sentinel gains a number of ranks at each level equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The spirit sentinel is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, but not with shields.

Favored Terrain (Ex): This is exactly like the ranger’s ability of the same name, except that a spirit sentinel gains his first favored terrain at 1st level, and an additional favored terrain at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level. This ability replaces favored enemy.

Friend of Spirits (Su): Starting at 3rd level, a spirit sentinel becomes sensitive to the magic of spirits inhabiting different lands of the world. When a spirit sentinel is in a favored terrain other than his first favored terrain, he can choose to attune himself with one of the spirits of that terrain. The spirit sentinel gains access to all hexes and spirit magic spells of 1st to 4th level granted by that terrain’s chosen associated spirit. The choice must be each day and the effect lasts until he rests to regain his daily allotment of spells. The spirit sentinel continues to maintain the spirit abilities of his 1st favored terrain, but the hexes and spirit magic spells replace those of his first favored terrain for the duration of the ability.

In addition, when spirit sentinel is in his first favored terrain, he is treated as 1 level higher for the purpose of determining the effects of the terrain’s associated hexes and spirit magic spells. This ability replaces endurance.

Terrain Spirit (Su): At 3rd level, a spirit sentinel gains the shaman’s spirit ability, and must chosen one spirit from those listed according to his favored terrain chosen at 1st level as follows.

Table: Terrain Spirits

At 3rd level, a spirit sentinel gains the spirit ability granted by his terrain spirit. She adds the spells granted by that spirit to the list of spells that she can cast using spirit magic. At 9th level, the spirit sentinel gains the abilities listed in the greater version of his selected spirit. This ability and spirit magic replace 1st favored terrain and evasion.

Spellcasting: A spirit sentinel adds the following shaman spells to his spell list at the indicated spell levels: 1st level–guidance, hex vulnerability, hex ward, know direction, produce flame, purify food and drink, sense spirit magic, spirit call, wave shield; 2nd level–beastspeak, calm emotions, clairaudience/clairvoyance, create food and water, flame blade, font of spirit magic, imbue with elemental might, wood shape; 3rd level–air breathing, aura sight, bloody arrows, call lightning, control water, dominate animal, hex glyph, mantle of calm, nauseating trail, remove blindness/deafness, stone shape, thorn body, tongues, water breathing; 4th level–ancestral memory, awaken, baleful polymorph, bestow curse, blight, cone of cold, control winds, divination, earth glide, elemental swarm, giant vermin, hex glyph, ice storm, imbue hex, poison, remove curse, speak with haunt, spike stones, stoneskin, wall of fire, wall of stone, wall of thorns.

Spirit Magic: At 4th level, a spirit sentinel gains the shaman’s spirit magic ability and adds all spirit spells of 1st to 4th level to his spell list.

Spirit Bond (Su): This is exactly like the ranger’s hunter’s bond ability, except that a spirit sentinel must choose to bond with an animal companion. In addition, his animal companion gains the spirit animal abilities granted by his chosen spirit. This modifies hunter’s bond.

Hex: At 8th level, and again at 13th and 18th level, the spirit sentinel gains a hex granted by his chosen spirit. He cannot select a hex from the shaman’s general hex list. This ability replaces the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th favored terrain.

Wandering Terrain Spirit (Su): At 12th level, the spirit sentinel can temporarily bond with a spirit related to another of his favored terrains. He must make the selection each day when preparing his spells. While this ability is active, he gains the spirit ability granted by the spirit. He also adds the 1st–4th level spells granted by that spirit to his spell list. At 17th level, she gains the abilities listed in the greater version of her wandering spirit. This ability replaces camouflage and hide in plain sight.

Wandering Terrain Hex: At 16th level, a spirit sentinel can temporarily gain the use of one of the hexes possessed by either one of his spirits. He must make this selection each day when he prepares his spells. For the purposes of this ability, he can select any hex possessed by his terrain spirit or wandering spirit. If he selects it from his wandering spirit, he loses the hex immediately if he bonds with another spirit, although he can then select a different hex to gain using this ability, from either his spirit or his new wandering spirit. This replaces improved evasion.

Emissary of Spirits: At 20th level, a spirit sentinel gains the abilities listed for the true version of her selected spirit. If the spirit sentinel has chosen the Mammoth or Nature spirit, his spirit animal companion is granted all the abilities of a spirit familiar in addition to those of an animal companion, using the spirit sentinel’s level as his effective shaman level. Moreover, the spirit sentinel can always move at full speed while using Survival to follow tracks without penalty. This ability replaces master hunter.

Table: Spirit Sentinel