Psion Prestige Class : Ballisteer
By Scott Brocius and Mark A. Jindra
"It's what you can't see that can hurt you . . ."
The psychic warrior has turned his mind's potential to the warrior arts. By focusing on the union of mind and body, he works towards martial perfection. This is the path of every psychic warrior. This path does not follow a straight line, however. It has many twists and turns and side branches. Some psychic warriors feel unarmed combat is the true path, and others feel the mastery of a single weapon is the ultimate goal.
Then, there is the ballisteer.
The ballisteer holds true to the union of mind and body, but he believes the road to this follows the art of ranged combat. For him, distance is the key. The ability to deal lethal damage from afar is his journey to perfection. All his energies are focused on how to hit his target from a nice, safe distance.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Ballisteer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Tumble 6 ranks
- Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, and Psionic Shot,
- Base Attack Bonus: +3
- Manifesting: Ability to manifest a 2nd-level power.
Class Skills
The ballisteer's class skills are Autohypnosis, Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Jump, Profession, Spot, Swim, Tumble, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the ballisteer prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Ballisteers gain no proficiency in any armor or weapons, though they retain any knowledge gained from former classes.
Power Points: Ballisteers gain power points every level as though they gained a level of psychic warrior. They do not gain bonus power points.
Powers Discovered: With the exception of 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th levels, ballisteers discover powers as though they gained a level of psychic warrior. Powers are chosen from the psychic warrior power list. Their effective manifester level is increased by one for each level of the prestige class.
Psionic Combat: Ballisteers do not gain any psionic attack or defense modes. (Characters do not forget previously discovered attack and defense modes.)
0-Level Powers: Ballisteer levels count toward the level of psychic warrior for determining the number of free manifestations per day of 0-level powers.
Psionic Sidestep (Ex): The ballisteer gains this feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. To use this feat he must maintain a power point reserve of 5+ power points. (See the article "New Psychic Warrior Feats, Powers, and Ranged Weapon Enhancements.")
Throw Anything (Ex): The ballisteer gains this feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
Invisible Shot (Sp): By expending 1 power point per shot, the ballisteer makes his fired ammo invisible. This provides the ballisteer a bonus of +2 to hit and denies the target the ability to deflect the attack through normal means, unless it has the ability to detect invisible objects. This ability is applied as the attack is made.
Ethereal Shot (Sp): By expending 1 power point per shot, the ballisteer makes his fired ammo ethereal. Ethereal ammo has no affect on normal targets, but it affects ethereal targets normally. This ability is applied as the attack roll is made.
Energy Shot (Sp): The ballisteer can expend power points to add energy damage to his ranged attacks. For each power point spent this way he increases the damage by +1d4. He can spend a number of points equal to his level of ballisteer (maximum damage is 10d4). This ability is applied as the attack is made, but the cost must be paid before the attack roll. This ability can be used only once per shot.
Incorporeal Shot (Sp): By expending 1 power point per shot, the ballisteer makes his fired ammo incorporeal. Incorporeal ammo has no effect on normal targets, but it affects incorporeal targets normally. This ability is applied as the attack roll is made.
Pinpoint Shot (Ex): The ballisteer gains this feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. (See the article "New Psychic Warrior Feats, Powers, and Ranged Weapon Enhancements.")
Explosive Shot (Sp): The ballisteer can now make his Energy Shots explode with a 10-ft.-radius burst with the expenditure of 2 additional power points. This ability is applied as the attack is made, but the cost must be paid before the attack roll. Explosive shots that miss their target do not explode and the energy dissipates harmlessly. Creatures other than the initial target in the affected area may attempt a Reflex save (DC 20) for half damage.
Improved Psionic Sidestep (Ex): The ballisteer gains this feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. To use this feat he must maintain a power point reserve of 9+ power points. (See the article "New Psychic Warrior Feats, Powers, and Ranged Weapon Enhancements.")
Phase Shot (Sp): By expending 3 power points per shot, the ballisteer causes his ammo to phase and move through the Astral Plane. His shots ignore most natural and magical barriers, and his target is denied any armor bonuses it may have had. The target also loses any Dexterity and dodge bonuses if the ballisteer is attacking from a concealed position. This power also allows you to shoot targets through opaque walls, but the target gets total concealment against these attacks. Phase shot does not allow for sneak attacks unless the ballisteer could make a sneak attack without using phase shot. This is considered a teleportation effect and can be blocked by powers and spells that affect those. There is also a chance something occurs to the shot while it is on the Astral Plane: Any attack roll of a natural "1" or "2" is an automatic miss, and the shot is lost. This ability is applied as the attack is made.
Infused Shot (Su): The ballisteer's ammo becomes infused with psionic energy as it is used in a ranged attack. His ranged attacks now do additional energy damage equal to that of the ammo used. For example, a thrown dagger now does 1d4 points of damage + 1d4 points of psionic energy damage + any other bonuses. Infused shots can be enhanced with energy shot or explosive shot.
| Ballisteer | Hit Die: d8 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | PP/day |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Psionic Sidestep, Throw Anything | -- |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Invisible shot | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Ethereal shot | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Energy shot | -- |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Incorporeal shot | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Pinpoint Shot | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Explosive shot | -- |
| 8th | +6 | +2 | +6 | +2 | Improved Psionic Sidestep | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 9th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +3 | Phased shot | + 1 psychic warrior level |
| 10th | +7 | +3 | +7 | +3 | Infused shot | -- |
Source: Web