Imago Quori (3.5e Prestige Class)

Imago Quori
"This is the stuff nightmares of made of..."

The quori had many years to plan their domination of the land of Sarlona through the use of the inspired and the quorbound, but while these breeds were successful, so too were their failures, such as the imago quori. Instead of creatures which hosted the mental quori in the physical body of a mortal host, the creatures became entanged, fused into a single body of spirit and flesh, and yet neither. Although it allowed a quori to reach the material plane, they were not in control and they were trapped in their bodies, and so the project was deemed a failure. Yet some who would seek such a fusion of nightmare and man rediscovered the ancient ritual to perform such an act, and in doing so gave a rebirth to the species of quori known as the imago quori, the "imitation quori".

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the imago quori.

The power Primal Fear gains the following augmentations:
 * For each additional power point you spend, the duration of this power extends by 1 round, but the manifestation becomes a standard action.
 * For 6 additional power points, the shaken ability of this power stacks with other fear effects.

Doing so involves scribing runes into the ground at night with a crystal focus worth 1000 gold. After 1 hour of meditation, you and any party members which participate in your ritual are mentally drawn into the crystal where you must defeat a quori spirit in battle (typically a tsucora quoriECS). If anyone in the ritual perishs in battle, they immediately fall out of trance and their mental ability scores take enough damage to reduce them to 1 point, which heals normally. If the manifester dies, all party members are expelled and the trance ends, but only those who were "killed" take the ability damage. Victory binds the quori spirit into your crystal shard, which you use as your focus for your Frightful Manifestations.

At each level, you must continue to imbue your crystal shard with your energy and with expensive psychoactive materials worth 1000 gold each level, until a final cost of 10,000 gold spent overall at level 10. You do not gain the class level benefits until you have spent the pre-requisite gold value upon your crystal. You qualify for host feats and magic items requiring a connection to quori influence through the act of possessing this class feature. At 10th level, you pull the heart of terror into your own body, completing your transformation.

If at any point you lose the heart of terror, you may create a new one by repeating the process of capturing a quori spirit and defeating it, and paying half the value of a heart of terror for your level (a level 8 imago quori would have an 8000g value crystal, so you would pay 4000g).

 (Ex): An imago quori draws upon the power of your trapped nightmare, gaining a fragment of its resistances. You have +1 resistance to fear, charm, and sleep effects for every class level you possess. At 10th level, your resistances become immunities.

 (Ex): An imago quori can briefly manifest some of the quori's natural weapons, using them as if they were her own. As a free action an imago quori can gain two natural weapon attacks on their arms, typically claws, but they may take on any form, from gashing teeth spouting from their palms, to tentacles, to bludgeoning surfaces. Regardless of the shape of the weapon or damage type they deal, they deal 1d6 + your Strength modifier in damage (for Medium creatures), and have the ghost touch enhancement which allows the weapons to strike incorporeal and ethereal beings. You may use your weapons up to 1 round per class level per day. The duration of the natural weapons need not be consecutive rounds. At 10th level, your natural weapons may be formed at will, once per round, with no limit to the number of rounds per day..

 (Su): Starting at 2nd level, once per day you can add the fear discriptor to any power you manifest that has some sort of visual manifestation. For example, you could apply it to an energy ray, to a astral construct, or to any effect which creates visible illusions, but not to psionic charm, since that power does not directly create any visual effect. Creatures targeted by the power modified by fearful manifestation must make a Will save (DC 10 + your class level + Charisma modifier), or become shaken for 1d4 rounds; this is in addition to any other effects the spell might have. At 4th level and every two levels afterward, you may use this power an additional time per day.

 (Ex): At 2nd level, your very presence seems to unnerve even the strongest souls. You gain 1/2 your class level as a bonus to Intimidate checks.

 (Ex): At 3rd level you need not even be near your opponent to demoralize them in combat. You may make an intimidate check to any target within 30 feet.

 (Su): At 3rd level your mind can communicate with others nearby. As long as you are psionically focused, you gain telepathy out to 30 feet. At level 6, your telepathy expands out to 60 feet, and at 10th level your telepathy expands out to 100 feet.

 (Su): At 4th level, no darkness, magical or mundane, stops your vision. As long as you are psionically focused, you may see in any darkness, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.

The imago quori gains acid, cold, and fire resistance 5, and power resistance 5 + your HD. The imago gains the planetouched subtype, and may be affected by spells that affect extraplanar outsiders as well as their original type, including banishment. The change usually comes with a physical alteration, some abnormality such as disturbing eyes, multiple fingers, discolored skin, or other terrible aspects. They have no in game effect, though may disturb others if not hidden from view.

 (Ps): At 6th level, an imago quori may haunt the dreams of others. Once per day they may send either a dream or nightmare (as the spell) to a specified creature elsewhere. When appearing in a dream, an imago quori can assume an alternate form, as if using alter self. The caster level for this ability equals the character's HD, and the save DC for the nightmare version of this ability is Charisma-based.

 (Ps): At 7th level, an imago quori may manifest dream travel as a psi-like ability once per charisma modifier per day (minimum 1).

 (Su): At 8th level an imago quori's very substance has become as amorphous as the stuff dreams are made of. She gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the disguise self spell, but only while in her normal form. This affects the imago quori's body but not her possessions. It is not an illusory effect, but a minor physical alteration of the imago quori's appearance, within the limits described for the spell.

 (Ex): At 8th level you only need send a fierce glare or a sharp word of rebuke to frighten others. You may make an intimidate check to demoralize as a move action.

As you complete your Heart of Terror, you absorb the crystal into your own body and become as if a quori made flesh. Your acid, cold, and fire resistance raise to 10, your power resistance raises to 10 + your HD, she no longer has a maximum age, and your type becomes an outsider native to both the material plane and the plane of Dal Quor, with the evil and quori subtypes. While on the plane of Dal Quor she gains the supernatural ability to use greater teleport at will, but only on Dal Quor. At will as a supernatural ability, an imago quori creature can take the form of a grotesque, tentacled mass (or another appropriately gruesome form), but all her abilities remain unchanged despite the alien appearance. Changing shape is a standard action. Other creatures receive a -1 morale penalty on their attack rolls against the imago quori in this alternate form. Unlike other outsiders, the imago quori can still be brought back from the dead as if she were a member of her previous creature type.

The epic imago quori gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic imago quori feats) every three levels after 23rd.

Epic Imago Quori Bonus Feat List: She may select any pre-epic or epic psionic feat, metapsionic feat, or item creation feat.

Playing an Imago Quori
Combat: Imago Quoris are psychics who employ fear in battle, with their skill in intimidation, and frightful powers that evoke dread and terror. They may simultaneously debuff and blast their opponents, or provide other combat options through their power selection.

Advancement: Classes suitable for psions and wilders, the typical adherents to this class, are fine for the imago quori. If psionic/magical transparency allows, the Dread Witch from Heroes of Horror does well, and the frightful empowerment class feature stacks with the functionally identical frightful manifestation.

Resources: Imago quoris are loners, and for good reason. Not only do their appearance often become horrible to behold, but the process is abhorant to kalasthar and inspired alike. For the kalasthar, it represents taking over and effectively destroying a quori spirit's personality, only to absorb its evil into yourself. For the inspired, it is a permenant loss of one of their own, as well as a mark of past failure. Imago quori make few friends, and do well to keep their true nature hidden.

Imago Quoris in the World
"There is a reason why your mind forgets what happens when it dreams."

NPC Reactions: Imago Quori are frightening lot, and many commoners would just avoid them, they seem to give off a bad vibe in the air. If they have achieved final apothesis and their true nature is shown, they would surely be hunted down as a monster.

Imago Quori Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge The Planes can research imago quoris to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Imago Quoris in the Game
Adaptation: If you are not playing in Eberron, any nightmarish spirit may do, even fiends. Change the native plane accordingly.

Sample Encounter: A rogue kalashtar imago quori is quietly convincing psychics all over the region to become imago quoris themselves and join his cause, ultimately a direct war against Dal Quor itself. But doing so may open the gates to Dal Quor once more and turn the war between inspired and kalashtar hot. Prevent this from occuring!

EL 15: PENDING