Samsarans

Mysterious humanoids with pale blue flesh and transparent blood like the waters of a trickling brook, samsarans are ancient creatures even in their youth. A samsaran's life is not a linear progression from birth to death, but rather a circle of birth to death to rebirth. Whenever a samsaran dies, it reincarnates anew as a young samsaran to live a new life. Her past memories remain vague and indistinct—and each new incarnation is as different a creature and personality as a child is to a parent.

Samsarans appear similar to humans, with dark hair and solid white eyes with no pupils or irises. Skin tones are generally shades of light blue.

Samsaran Racial Traits

All samsarans are humanoids with the samsaran subtype. They have the following racial traits.

+2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, –2 Constitution: Samsarans are insightful and strong-minded, but their bodies tend to be frail.

Medium: Samsarans are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Normal Speed: Samsarans have a base speed of 30 feet.

Low-Light Vision (Ex): Samsarans can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.

Lifebound (Ex): Samsarans gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws made to resist death effects, saving throws against negative energy effects, Fortitude saves made to remove negative levels, and Constitution checks made to stabilize if reduced to negative hit points.

Samsaran Magic (Sp): Samsarans with a Charisma score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—comprehend languages, deathwatch, and stabilize. The caster level for these effects is equal to the samsaran's level.

Shards of the Past (Ex): A samsaran's past lives grant her bonuses on two particular skills. A samsaran chooses two skills—she gains a +2 racial bonus on both of these skills, and they are treated as class skills regardless of what class she actually takes.

Languages: Samsarans begin play speaking Common and Samsaran. Samsarans with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: any human language, Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Draconic, Giant, Ignan, Infernal, Nagaji, Tengu, and Terran.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following racial trait may be selected instead of existing samsaran racial traits. Consult your GM before selecting this new options.

Mystic Past Life (Su): You can add spells from another spellcasting class to the spell list of your current spellcasting class. You add a number of spells equal to 1 + your spellcasting class's key ability score bonus (Wisdom for clerics, and so on). The spells must be the same type (arcane or divine) as the spellcasting class you're adding them to. For example, you could add divine power to your druid class spell list, but not to your wizard class spell list because divine power is a divine spell. These spells do not have to be spells you can cast as a 1st-level character. The number of spells granted by this ability is set at 1st level. Changes to your ability score do not change the number of spells gained. This racial trait replaces shards of the past.

Favored Class Options

The following options are available to all samsarans who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Monk: Add a +1/2 bonus on the monk's saving throws to resist death attacks.

Oracle: Add one spell known from the oracle spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the oracle can cast.

Rogue: The rogue gains 1/6 of a new rogue talent.

Wizard: Add one spell from the wizard spell list to the wizard's spellbook. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the wizard can cast.

Racial Archetypes

The following racial archetype is available to samsarans.

Reincarnated Oracle (Oracle)

A reincarnated oracle draws her knowledge and power from the experiences of her previous lives. Her memories guide her through a spiritual ascension leading the way to her ultimate incarnation. A reincarnated oracle has the following class features.

Recommended Mysteries: ancestor, lore, time.

Oracle's Curse: A reincarnated oracle must choose the haunted or tongues curse at 1st level.

Bonus Spells: see alignment (2nd), detect thoughts (4th), contact other plane (10th), moment of prescience (16th), overwhelming presence (18th). These spells replace the oracle's mystery bonus spells at these levels.

Revelations: A reincarnated oracle must take the following revelations at one of the listed levels.

Location Memories (Su): As a swift action, you may search your past lives for memories of or insight about your current location. This grants you the scent ability, low-light vision, and a +2 insight bonus on Perception and Survival checks for 1 minute. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You must take this revelation at 1st level or 3rd level.

Spirit Memories (Su): Once per day, you call upon the unfulfilled desires and goals of your past lives and project their frustration and despair through your eyes at a target. This is a gaze attack affecting one creature. The target must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your oracle level + your Charisma modifier) or be sickened and staggered for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. You must take this revelation at 1st, 3rd, or 7th level.

New Racial Rules

The following options are available to samsarans. At the GM's discretion, other appropriate races may also make use of some of these.

Samsaran Equipment

Samsarans have access to the following equipment.

Samsaran Life Wheel: This handheld wooden spool spins freely within a boxlike housing. Inscribed upon the exterior of the spool are dozens of samsaran prayers along with names or symbols associated with a samsaran's past lives. Samsarans believe that spinning the wheel during meditation strengthens the spiritual connections between their former lives. If a samsaran meditates with her wheel for at least 10 minutes about a Knowledge (history) question relating to her own history or the histories of her past lives, she gains a +1 insight bonus on the check.

Samsaran Equipment

Item	Cost	Weight
Samsaran life wheel	25 gp	1/2 lb.

Samsaran Feats

Samsaran have access to the following feat.

Life's Blood

Your blood flows with eternal life, and its healing powers allow you use your blood to heal others.

Prerequisite: Samsaran.

Benefit: At will as a full-round action, you may perform a special bloodletting ritual through which you sacrifice some of your own vitality to heal another creature. When using this feat, you take 1d4 points of damage and apply your blood to the wounds of a living creature, healing it for a number of hit points equal to the amount of damage you took from the ritual. This is a supernatural ability. Only you can perform this bloodletting. A creature cannot be healed by this ability more than once per day.

Samsaran Magic Items

Samsarans have access to the following magic item.

Incense of Many Fates

Aura moderate divination; CL 11th

Slot none; Price 3,300 gp; Weight 1 lb.

Description

When used during meditation, this incense allows a samsaran's consciousness to pass through past or future lives to learn more about an important person, place, or thing. This functions like legend lore, but only works if the subject is at hand. The transcendental state lasts 1 hour, during which she can take no other actions. If she is disrupted during the meditation, the incense's effect is lost. Creatures other than samsarans can use this incense, but the connections to other lives are weaker and require a deeper meditation that takes 24 hours. Each block of incense lasts for 1 use.

Construction

Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, legend lore; Cost 1,650 gp

Samsaran Spells

Samsarans have access to the following spell.

Karmic Blessing

School divination [good]; Level cleric 1, witch 1

Casting Time 1 standard action

Components V, S

Range touch

Target creature touched

Duration 1 round/level

Save Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)

The target treats one skill of your choice as a class skill.