SRD - Psibond Agent

Prestige Classes

PSIBOND AGENT

“Now I see you, now I see through you.”
—Dieste Karisa, psibond agent

A psibond agent sees through the eyes of others, gently guiding (or in some cases forcefully commanding) her puppet to go places she could never enter herself.

BECOMING A PSIBOND AGENT

Most psibond agents begin as rogues, though a few ninjas and bards also enter the prestige class. Such individuals commonly draw the needed psionic power from the Wild Talent feat, but some psibond agents belong to naturally psionic races (such as the kalashtar from the EbErron campaign setting), and others take some levels in a psionic class, usually lurk or telepath psion.

PLAYING A PSIBOND AGENT

Others exist to be your pawns. Strangers (and sometimes acquaintances) serve best as puppets through whom you can observe and manipulate the world. Even friends—if you have any—might benefit from the occasional nudge. Take care, however, not to use your abilities on your traveling companions too often, lest they lose their trust and leave you helpless.

Although you work well on your own and make no apologies for your actions, you appreciate the company of psions and rogues and tolerate the presence of others. Indeed, exploiting the skills of your companions keeps you protected in dangerous situations.

Combat

You serve two distinct roles in combat. You gather information before the actual outbreak of conflict, and in the early rounds of battle you try to manipulate your pawn into a position that is advantageous to you and your comrades. Once you have set up the battle to your liking, you try to deliver your sneak attack, as any rogue would.

Advancement

You’ve needed to take control from an early age. In your youth, you tried to manipulate friends into giving you gifts or acceding to your wishes. As you matured, your manipulations grew more deft, and you learned to tap more deeply into your psionic abilities.

You excel in subtly taking charge of a situation. As you advance in this prestige class, focus on enhancing the talents that make you most effective. Add ranks to Bluff, Hide, and Move Silently to help you get out of trouble should your psibond fail you. Consider picking up a psionic feat or two, such as Psionic Weapon or Speed of Thought (both from Expanded Psionics Handbook), to enhance your combat prowess. The new ambush feats in Chapter 3 also provide a variety of interesting twists on your normal sneak attack, especially Mind Drain for dealing with other psionic characters.

Resources

Outside of your very small circle of adventuring companions, you belong to no organization. In times of need, you can acquire resources from your pawns, although you rarely do so. You are self-sufficient and independent: Receiving aid from someone, even if you know it was not his own idea, gives him power over you.

PSIBOND AGENTS IN THE WORLD

“I don’t know how she knew that. It’s almost as if she was listening to my conversation.”
—Argus Coopson, bewildered pawn

Consummate loners and master manipulators, psibond agents fit smoothly into any campaign that includes psionics. You can easily introduce a psibond agent as the power behind the throne: a trusted advisor who actually controls a tribe, city, or nation through her puppet. Less sinister examples include a mysterious wanderer who always seems to get the best of any situation, a quiet tavern regular who receives every meal on the house, or an obnoxious tagalong who always seems to know what you’re up to.

Organization

Psibond agents do not form organizations and chafe at the notion of joining them, confident in their own abilities and the exploitation of others’. A psibond agent whose talents are known, even to only a few, is inundated with requests to join guilds, schools, or conclaves competing to put her talents to use. She acquiesces to such offers only to gain control of an organization through direct manipulation of its leaders, even as they believe she serves them.

NPC Reactions

Most people never realize they have met a psibond agent, nor do they know that they have been manipulated by one (even if they take actions that are out of character). Nobody likes to be controlled, so when a psibond agent is revealed she can expect violent hostility, regardless of whether she actually used her abilities on the people who uncover her. More enlightened and experienced members of society temper their fear with reason, but they are still unfriendly toward a known psibond agent. Other psionic characters (especially telepaths) treat a psibond agent with indifference, seeing her abilities as no more dangerous than their own. Only members of the criminal underground and those who wish to exploit her talents extend a friendly greeting—even if it is feigned.

PSIBOND AGENT LORE

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (psionics) can research psibond agents to learn more about them. When a character succeeds on a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC 10: Psibond agents combine psychic powers with stealth and secrecy.

DC 15: Psibond agents can hear what you hear and see what you see.

DC 20: Psibond agents can manipulate you with suggestions and hints. The most powerful ones can actually control your body.

DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about specific psibond agents in your campaign, including a notable individual, the area in which she operates, and the kinds of activities she undertakes.

As a rule, psibond agents don’t want to be found. Uncovering one requires following up on rumors of people acting strangely, as well as a successful Gather Information check (DC 20 + target’s psibond agent level).

PSIBOND AGENTS IN THE GAME

Since psibond agents are independent operators, introducing them does not require adding a new organization to your campaign or even a new character archetype. In a campaign featuring psionics, telepaths already manipulate the minds of others; the psibond agent merely adds some of those abilities to a rogue. Psibond agents could form an extremist faction of mind-controlling telepaths or work to hunt other psionic characters.

Players who enjoy the role of the mysterious loner or who like taking control should enjoy playing psibond agents. Telepaths, obviously, are drawn to the prestige class, as are psionic characters who seek new ways to attacking other psionics-using creatures. Such independent characters can clash with a party’s group goals, however, so be sure to provide opportunities to encourage cooperation.

Adaptation

If your campaign doesn’t include psionics, you can readily adapt this prestige class to arcane magic. A group of enchanters can easily take the role of psibond agents, which requires only replacing the power point requirement with the ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells.

Hit Die: d6.

Requirements

To qualify to become a psibond agent, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Skills: Gather Information 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.

Languages: Any three.

Psionics: Power point reserve of at least 1.

Special: Sneak attack +1d6.

Class Skills

The psibond agent's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language (none), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Psionic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Table: The Psibond Agent

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Psibond (forced sense link)
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Psibond (nudge)
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Sneak attack +1d6
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Psibond (empathy)
5th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Lingering psibond
6th	+4	+2	+5	+2	Psibond (suggestion), sneak attack +2d6
7th	+5	+2	+5	+2	Double psibond
8th	+6	+2	+6	+2	Psibond (false sensory input)
9th	+6	+3	+6	+3	Sneak attack +3d6
10th	+7	+3	+7	+3	Psibond (dominate)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the psibond agent prestige class.

A psibond agent starts as an effective spy but eventually can influence or even control the minds of others through a powerful telepathic link.

Psibond (Su): As a member of this class, you know how to create a mental link between yourself and a subject. You must be psionically focused to forge the psibond, but afterward you can expend your focus as needed to use other abilities. Establishing a psibond requires a standard action, and an unwilling subject is allowed a Will save (DC 10 + your psibond agent level + your Cha modifier) to resist. Once established, a psibond lasts as long as you concentrate, up to a maximum of 1 minute per class level. The maximum range at which a psibond can be established is 100 feet, but once in place it persists even if the subject moves out of this range (the psibond is suppressed, but not broken, while the subject is on a different plane). A psibond grants you various options for gathering information or controlling the subject, based on your class level.

Forced Sense Link: At 1st level, you can use a swift action to perceive what the subject perceives using its sight, hearing, taste, or smell. This sense link lasts until you take another swift action to end it, or until the psibond’s duration ends. Only one sense is linked, and you cannot switch between senses with the same psibond. You make any skill checks involving senses, such as Spot or Listen, as if you were the subject (using that individual’s skill modifiers), and as if you were in the subject’s location. You lose your Dexterity bonus to AC while directly sensing what the subject senses. This ability otherwise works like the forced sense link power (Expanded Psionics Handbook 131).

Nudge: Beginning at 2nd level, you can subtly influence the subject of your psibond. As an immediate action, you can implant a subtle suggestion about which course of action the subject takes if presented with a choice. You cannot communicate any specific action to your subject; you can only nudge it toward a specific choice. For example, if your subject is offered a choice of shifts for the night watch, you can suggest which one to take. No saving throw applies against this effect, but if the suggested action presents any obvious danger to the subject, your nudge fails; the psibond isn’t broken. You can’t implant the same nonverbal suggestion more than once during the same psibond.

Empathy: At 4th level, you can detect the surface emotions of the subject of your psibond as a free action. You also gain a +2 insight bonus on any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Sense Motive check made against that subject as long as the psibond is in place.

Suggestion: Beginning at 6th level, you can use a swift action to use suggestion (as the spell) on the subject of your psibond. The subject is allowed a Will save (DC 13 + your Cha modifier) to resist the effect. You can’t use this ability more than once during the same psibond.

False Sensory Input: At 8th level, you gain a limited ability to falsify one of the senses of your psibond’s subject. This requires a swift action to activate or maintain each round, and otherwise works like the false sensory input power (Expanded Psionics Handbook 106), though no save is allowed.

Dominate: At 10th level, you gain the ability to fully control the subject of your psibond. This works like the dominate monster spell (PH 224) and requires a standard action to activate. The subject is allowed a Will save (DC 19 + your Cha modifier) to resist the effect. If you successfully dominate the subject, the effect lasts for 1 hour. Using this ability automatically ends your psibond with the subject, regardless of whether it succeeds on the save.

Sneak Attack (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage when flanking an opponent or any time the target would be denied its Dexterity bonus. See the rogue class feature, PH 50. The extra damage dealt increases to 2d6 at 6th level and to 3d6 at 9th level. If you get a sneak attack bonus from another source (such as rogue levels), the bonuses on damage stack.

Lingering Psibond (Su): When you attain 5th level, your psibond becomes more powerful. Your psibond remains in place for 1 round after you cease concentrating. If you resume concentration in the next round, you retain the psibond’s effect as if you had never stopped concentrating.

Double Psibond (Su): At 7th level, you learn the secret of maintaining two psibonds simultaneously. Each psibond must be established separately against a different subject, but your concentration maintains both links equally well. Using any special abilities through the links must be done separately (for example, establishing a forced sense link requires a separate swift action for each subject).