Trinity:Esper

An esper

The concept of the Esper as presented here is (probably) the property of Square Enix. However, all Trinity-specific background and d20 mechanics are original.

Espers

In places where the land is saturated with magic, strange things happen. Spells flow easier, and the rules of the universe are sometimes broken by things that have no magical training at all. However, in some places, some children are born to the various races that are not wholly biological in nature. These children are suffused with magic, and as they grow older, magic overcomes their natural biological processes, turning them into a wholly new creature - these are known as espers.

Espers are not especially common in Trinity. They have a tendency to flock to lands where magic is common, and tend towards either fear of or hatred towards psionics and technology.

Personality: Erratic and prone to thinking outside the box, espers are not a race to be trifled with. Their innate ability to bend the world to their will tends to make them seem arrogant to others. Some espers grow to appreciate their abilities and not use them frivolously; however, most will use any excuse to make a show of their power.

Physical Description: As children, espers are largely unidentifiable, save that their hair may be an abnormal color. Upon reaching puberty (for the appropriate age of their original race), however, the esper's body undergoes massive transformations. They end up looking vaguely like humans or elves, though with features that are greatly exaggerated or strangely colored.

An esper about to undergo an arcane transformation (see below) literally glows with power, hair blown with an unseen wind and eyes pulsing with unbridled arcane energy.

Relations: Espers tend to despise races that use technology or psionics; however, they tend to have more kind feelings toward their parent race. Espers get along well with races that tend to practice magic, but are overall neutral towards races that have no particular affinity for a force or that use forces not in the Trinity of Reality.

Alignment: Concerned only with arcane power, espers rarely have opinions on ethical or moral matters. However, more mature espers will have probably spent some time considering these things, and may drift towards any alignment.

Espers on Adnez

Esper Lands: Espers have no lands to call home; there are not enough to even warrant a small city if they all gathered in one place, and they have no racial homeland. Espers settle where their parent race did; if that place is not acceptable, they will move on to a nation that at least tolerates the existence of magic.

Religion: Espers almost universally worship the Eidolons; however, they see them more as role models than as actual deities, and many espers aspire to be counted among the ranks of the Eidolons.

Language: With a natural understanding of magic comes a natural understanding of the language of magic - espers who have reached maturity suddenly gain the linguistic skills of a mage who has studied the Arcanic language for years. Beyond that, espers retain the languages they grew up learning.

Names: Espers will sometimes carry their original name, which is wholly dependent on their parent race. However, upon maturity, some espers choose a new name for themselves, that fits their new form.

Male Names: Alexander, Ark, Bahamut, Carbunkle, Ifrit, Kazahuya, Leviathan, Palidor, Ramuh, Terrato.

Female Names: Asura, Eden, Isis, Kirin, Maduin, Phoenix, Terra, Shiva, Sylph.

Adventurers: Espers - being a rarity in the world - often traverse Trinity to gather a more thorough understanding of themselves and of the power they wield. Only through attaining arcane power can they gain a more complete understanding of themselves, and so many espers become adventurers.

Esper Racial Traits

• -2 Con, +2 Int, +4 Cha. Espers are not hardy, but are intellectually quick, and often have a powerful and commanding presence.
• Medium-size.
• Elemental: Espers are elementals, not humanoids. As such, they are not affected by spells or effects that normally only affect humanoids. Unlike other elementals, however, they are subject to critical hits and flanking, and they eat, sleep, and breathe normally.
• Espers have a base move rate of 30 feet.
• Espers have darkvision with a base of 60 feet.
• Innate Spell (Sp): At 1st level, an esper chooses a single arcane spell or artificer infusion of 1st level. The esper can cast this spell at will, though doing so deals 1 point of damage to the esper; this damage cannot be prevented by any means. By drawing on their essence, an esper can effect change on the world.
• Resistances (Ex): Espers have PR and TR equal to their level. These resistances overlap (do not stack) with resistances gained due to class.
• Dispel Vulnerability (Ex): If an esper is the target of a targeted dispel magic or similar effect, she takes 2d6/caster level points of damage in addition to the spell's normal effects; if the effect allows a save, the esper suffers only half damage on a successful save. If she is within the radius of such an effect but is not specifically targeted by it, she instead takes 1d6/caster level points of damage (with a successful save against the effect halving the damage). An esper that is within the radius of a disjoining effect (such as mage's disjunction) must make the effect's saving throw or else die; if the effect does not allow a saving throw, the esper may make a Will save against what the spell's DC would be. Espers are partially magic, and effects that disrupt magic disrupt her very being.
• Living Arcana (Sp): Instead of using a spell slot to cast an arcane spell or artificer infusion, the esper may instead take an amount of damage equal to double the spell or infusion's level (0-level spells deal 1 point of damage); this damage cannot be prevented by any means. Espers are partially made of magic, and they can shape this into spells, though it requires some of their own life force. Casting an epic arcane spell in this manner deals an amount of damage equal to double the spell's Spellcraft DC to cast.
• Arcane Healing (Sp): As a standard action, an esper may expend a spell slot or artificer infusion to heal herself. Doing so heals 1d4+1/spell level points of damage (0-level spells heal 1d4 points).
• Arcane Transformation (Sp): Summoning all of their internal arcane power, an esper can temporarily transform into a living expression of arcane power - a living spell. When the esper uses this ability, she chooses a single arcane spell (or infusion, if she is an artificer; or invocation, if she is a warlock) she knows, which is the spell she turns into. This transformation lasts for 1 round per character level. An esper can use this ability a limited number of times per day, as noted in the table below.

LEVEL	TIMES/DAY
1-4	1
5-9	2
10-14	3
15-19	4
20+	5

• Automatic Languages: One Common language, one Trade language, Arcanic. Bonus Languages: Any.
• Favored Class: Choose one - artificer, sorcerer, warlock, wizard.
• LA: +1.

Esper Paragon

Some espers focus their learning on their own nature, rather than learning standard arcana. These espers become esper paragons.

ESPER PARAGON

Lvl	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special				Spells/Day
1	+0	+0	+1	+2	Detect Magic			+1 arcane spellcaster level
2	+1	+0	+2	+3	Special Ability			-
3	+1	+1	+2	+3	Ability Boost (Cha +2)		+1 arcane spellcaster level

Game Rule Information

Esper paragons have the following game statistics.

Force Alignment: Magic.

Force Resistances: PR 5 + level, TR 5 + level.

Abilities: Intelligence and Charisma are most important for an esper paragon, as these are the abilities that most arcane spellcasting classes uses.

Hit Die: d6.

Class Skills: The esper paragon's class skills are Concentration (Con), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points: 2 + Int.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Age: As per rogue.

Starting Gold: 4d4 x 10 gp.

Class Features

The following are the class features of the esper paragon class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Esper paragons are not proficient with any weapons or armor.

Spells per Day: At 1st and 3rd level, an esper paragon gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in a previous arcane spellcasting class (artificer, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard). She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic feats, and so on).

If an esper paragon has no levels in an appropriate class, this class feature has no effect.

Detect Magic (Su): At 1st level, an esper paragon can always see magical auras, as though she had cast detect magic.

Special Ability: At 2nd level, an esper paragon gains one of the following abilities.

• Arcane Bolt (Sp): The esper paragon gains the ability to emit her arcane power as a raw bolt of energy; to do so, she must expend a spell slot. Such a bolt is a ranged touch attack with a range of Medium (100 feet + 10 feet/character level) and deals 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6/level of the spell slot expended.
• Arcane Halo (Sp): The esper paragon gains the ability to call upon her inherent power and shield herself from attack; to do so, she must expend a spell slot. For one round per paragon level, she gains one of the following benefits: DR (/magic) equal to the spell level of the slot expended; fast healing equal to the spell level of the slot expended; or SR equal to 10 + the spell level of the slot expended.

Ability Boost (Ex): At 3rd level, an esper paragon's Charisma score increases by 2 points.