Eclipse d20: The Spirit Binder Package

   Spirit Binding is a popular, if rather limited, branch of magic that allows the user to see and communicate with a variety of spirits (typically outsiders and incorporeal undead), to obtain favors from such beings, and to manipulate and command them in several ways – even channeling their power through the user.

   Due to that rather limited range of effects, it’s also a fairly easy package to build. In fact, the basics – the ability to sense, communicate with, and obtain favors from, spirits – can be built on a mere thirty character points, and so are potentially available to a first level character. The advanced abilities, however, include access to some fairly potent level six spell effects. While the game master may wish to allow low-level characters access to those powers (especially appropriate in an all Spirit Binder or anime-style game), he or she may also wish to reduce their effectiveness, make them a great strain on the user, make them unreliable, or otherwise limit their usefulness until the characters employing them are of appropriate levels.

   On the other hand, if the game master wishes, the Spirit Binder abilities can be an inborn and/or an acquired template, allowing even low-level youngsters access to some fairly powerful abilities. This sort of thing can be quite entertaining and works especially well for less-experienced players, who can be readily given a limited and easy-to-understand package of straightforward abilities. A party consisting of a youthful Spirit Binders and kids with Dreamspawn Companions can be quite a lot of fun for a change of pace.

   The Spirit Binding package has a net cost of 62 CP, and will probably require three or four levels to acquire through normal level advancement – although it can also be applied as a +2 ECL acquired template.

• Occult Sense/Spirit Sight (6 CP).
• Mindspeech with Outreach and Spirit Speech, Corrupted/only to allow communications with spirits (12 CP).
• Major Favors/Spirits with +4 Bonus Uses (12 CP).
• Most Spirit Binders collect allies – whether spirits, outsiders, or simply friends – who can help them out (and will also frequently need rescue). That’s Leadership with the Exotic modifier (for some type of spirits, revenants, or outsiders in addition to normal people, 9 CP).
• (1 + 2 x Cha Mod) uses of Channeling, Corrupted/only for Conversion (8 CP).
• Conversion to a set of four level six spells (15 CP). The spells are:
  • Banishment.
  • Greater Invocation/Spirit Mastery: The user may create spirit-related effects of level five or less but – to gain the very limited list modifier – can only produce (Cha Mod +2 x Level) specific effects from the following list and must know at least as many spells of any given lower level as he or she has of any higher level. The available effects include:
    • L1) Detect Spirits, Lay to Rest, Spirit Call*, and Summon Fetch*.
    • L2) Ghost Touch, Speak with Animals, Spirit of Place*, and Warlock Pact*.
    • L3) Magic Circle, Speak with Dead, Forest Pact*, and Great Oathbinding*.
    • L4) Death Ward, Tongues, Greater Pact*, and Spirit Quest*.
    • L5) Atonement, Spirit Walk (as per Astral Projection, but caster only), Spirit Binding (traps a spirit or outsider in a physical object if it fails a will save, although it may attempt a new save every (caster’s Cha Mod) days. It also goes free if the object is broken), and Spirit Command (as per Geas, but only works on spirits and no more than (Cha Mod) spirits can be affected at any one time).
      • * From Paths of Power II (PDF) or The Complete Paths of Power (Print).
  • Spirit Summoning: The user may bond with up to seven spirits (2x CR 5, 4x CR 6, and 1x CR 7 entities) and channel their powers – albeit only one at a time. Use the Summoning spell Template (from The Practical Enchanter), with the Channeling, Limited Creature Type (typically spirits of the dead, animals and dire animals, elementals and nature spirits, or fey), a duration of one minute per caster level, the “summon specific creatures” variant, and an ad hoc -1 spell level limitation; the user must actually contact the entities to be channeled and establish a link with them.
  • True Seeing.

   Eclipse: The Codex Persona is available in a Freeware PDF Version, in Print, and in a Paid PDF Version that includes Eclipse II (245 pages of Eclipse races, character and power builds, items, relics, martial arts, and other material) and the web expansion. It will be updated with Eclipse III when that’s done as well