 Harrower
Source Inner Sea World Guide pg. 276, Pathfinder Campaign Setting pg. 224
One of the most mysterious and mystical Varisian traditions, and certainly one that has captured the imaginations and curiosity of many of the Inner Sea’s peoples, is the harrowing. Using a special deck of cards known as a Harrow deck, one can perform a harrowing by laying the cards out in a three-by-three grid that reveals secrets of the target’s past, present, and future.
Whether or not the revelations and divinations of a typical harrowing are trustworthy, none can deny that the strange powers wielded by the harrower are real. The harrower uses the ancient art of fortune-telling to harness destiny and thus augment her spellcasting abilities, infusing them with power by drawing cards from her Harrow deck and letting fate decide what elements of her magic need augmentation.
Several of the harrower’s powers require the drawing of cards from a Harrow deck. You can use an actual Harrow deck for this act (Harrow decks are available at paizo.com or at many gaming stores), but you can also simulate a draw from such a deck of cards as detailed on page 293, under the equipment entry for Harrow decks. For most of the harrower’s class features, you need only roll 1d6 to determine the suit of each card drawn for a Harrow casting. Only the blessing of the Harrow and spirit deck class features pay attention to a card’s alignment.RequirementsTo qualify to become a harrower, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Must be chaotic, evil, good, or lawful (cannot be true neutral). Most harrowers represent alignment extremes: lawful good, chaotic good, lawful evil, or chaotic evil.
Feats: Harrowed.
Skills: Knowledge (arcana or religion) 5 ranks, Perform (any) 5 ranks.
Special: Ability to cast 3rd-level spells. Must be able to cast at least three divination spells.
Special: Must own a Harrow deck.Class SkillsThe Harrower's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Hit Die: d6.Class Features| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells Per Day | | 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +1 | Blessing of the Harrow | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 2nd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | Harrow casting, Tower of Intelligence | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | Tower of Strength | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +2 | Tower of Charisma | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 5th | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | Spirit deck | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +3 | Divination | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +4 | Tower of Constitution | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 8th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +4 | Tower of Dexterity | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +5 | Tower of Wisdom | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +5 | Reading the signs | +1 level of spellcasting class |
The following are class features of the harrower.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A harrower gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.
Spells: When a harrower gains a level, she gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefits a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of harrower to the level of whatever other spellcasting class she has. If the character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a harrower, she must choose which class she adds each harrower level to for the purposes of determining spells per day.
A harrower adds the harrowing spell (see page 295) to all of her spell lists as a 3rd-level spell if it is not already on a spell list.
Blessing of the Harrow (Su): Once per day, a harrower may perform a harrowing for herself and all allies within 20 feet of her. This harrowing takes 10 minutes, and allies to be affected by it must remain within 20 feet of the harrower for the entire time. At the conclusion of the harrowing, count up the number of cards from each suit that were used in the reading. This harrowing provides a bonus based upon the suit with the most cards showing. In case of a tie, choose one suit. The bonus lasts for 24 hours. The suits grant insight bonuses as follows. Strength: +1 on attack rolls; Dexterity: +1 to AC; Constitution: +1 on weapon damage rolls; Intelligence: +1 on all skill checks; Wisdom: +1 on all saving throws; Charisma: +1 on caster level and concentration checks.
Harrow Casting (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a harrower may, as she casts a spell, draw three cards from her Harrow deck. This adds both a somatic component (if the spell does not already have one) and a focus component (the Harrow deck) to the spell, but does not increase the spell’s casting time. Depending on the harrower’s level, the cards she draws might change the parameters of her spell or grant her some other benefit, as described in each tower ability. The harrower gains all of the different tower abilities available to her. If she draws cards that she has not yet gained the use of, those cards provide no benefit. Each card the harrower draws that exactly matches her alignment counts as two cards of that suit. A spell may not be affected by both Harrow casting and a metamagic feat. The harrower may use this ability a number of times per day equal to her class level.| Alignment | Opposite | Partial Matches | | LG | CE | CG, LE, LN, NG | | NG | NE | CG, LG, N | | CG | LE | CE, CN, LG, NG | | LN | CN | LE, LG, N | | N | — | — | | CN | LN | CE, CG, N | | LE | CG | CE, LG, LN, NE | | NE | NG | CE, LE, N | | CE | LG | CG, CN, LE, NE |
Tower of Intelligence (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Intelligence, she gains a +1 bonus on caster level checks made to penetrate Spell Resistance.
Tower of Strength (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability to augment a spell that deals damage to hit points, the spell deals +1 point of damage per die for each card from the suit of Strength she draws.
Tower of Charisma (Su): Beginning at 4th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Charisma, the save DC of the spell increases by +1.
Spirit Deck (Su): A 5th-level harrower may, as a standard action, summon a shimmering, translucent Harrow deck made of force that flies through the air and engulfs a target within 30 feet in a whirling cloud of knife-edged cards. The harrower then draws a number of Harrow cards equal to her harrower level from her personal Harrow deck, and the spirit deck deals damage based on the number of drawn cards that match her alignment, as shown on the chart to the right. Each exact match deals 5 points of damage, each partial match deals 3 points, each non-matched card deals 1 point, and each opposite match deals 0 points. The harrower may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + her Charisma modifier (minimum 1/day).
Divination (Sp): A 6th-level harrower gains the ability to cast divination once per day as a spell-like ability. Her caster level equals her character level.
Tower of Constitution (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Constitution, she heals 1d6 points of damage.
Tower of Dexterity (Su): At 8th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Dexterity, she gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves and to AC until the beginning of her next turn.
Tower of Wisdom (Su): At 9th level, whenever a harrower uses her Harrow casting ability, for each card she draws from the suit of Wisdom, she increases the spell’s effective caster level by +1.
Reading the Signs (Ex): When a 10th-level harrower draws cards from any deck of cards in order to either activate a class ability (such as Harrow casting) or to activate a magic item function, she may draw an extra card and choose one to ignore and shuffle back into the deck. The harrower may not use this ability when performing a harrowing, but may use it when performing her Harrow casting or spirit deck abilities. She can also use this ability when drawing cards from magical decks, such as a deck of many things. She may use this ability at will, but must wait 1d4 rounds between each use.
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