Time Bender (3.5e Class)

Time Bender
Time benders are rare beings who have discovered the way to manipulate one of the most basic elements of reality itself, time. Time benders have it within their power to extort time to their own ends, whatever they may be. In order for a time bender to survive the strain placed upon their mind from distorting time, they need a specially crafted homunculus, designed to clean out the thoughts in their mind that would lead to madness, also known as a fetch. Few time benders live for more than a few years without having one.

Making a Time Bender
Time benders are powerful manipulators of the battlefield, who can alter the flow of time by simply focusing. Time benders usually stay in the background, devastating the world from a distance to avoid death. A time bender's fetch is also a potentially useful tool in battle, though they are not recommended to involve themselves in close combat fighting.

Abilities: First and foremost, Wisdom is important to a time bender, seeing as it is the ability that their power DCs and bonus power points are derived from. Secondly, Constitution and Dexterity are important in a time bender's defense, increase their health to compensate for their low HD, and increasing their AC to compensate for their lack of proficiency in armor, these ability scores also help to raise their saving throw bonuses. Charisma and Intelligence can be useful to a skill-based time bender. Strength is not recommended for a time bender to invest in.

Races: A member of any race can become a time bender, though inherently intelligent or wise races are more inclined to become time benders than others.

Alignment: Any, while time benders are people who tamper with time itself, their intentions could be purely good at heart.

Starting Gold: 4d10&times;10 gp (220 gp).

Starting Age: Complex.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the time bender.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Time benders are proficient with all simple weapons, the light pick, and the rapier. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor does not, however, interfere with the manifestation of powers.

A fetch usually rides on its master's shoulder, remaining close to her mind, though they can be up to 150 feet away from the time bender while still cleaning her mind. If a time benders fetch dies or travels more than 150 feet away from the time bender for an extended period of time, then the following effects take hold of the time bender:


 * : After being away from her fetch for one day, the insane thought fragments that the fetch had been holding at bay start to spark into existence under her surface thoughts. At this point the time bender becomes confused and frightened, seeming to be afraid of the world, babbling about how the world shouldn't be moving forward and that it has to stop.


 * : After being away from her fetch for five days, the madness that eats away at the time bender's mind begins to leak into her subconscious mind, altering her control over time, forcing time to almost congeal in concern to her. At this point the time bender progresses one age category and can no longer take full-round actions. If the time bender attempts to take a full-round action, then she screams in the middle, and begins raving about how it just takes too long to do, comparing it to thousands of lifetimes worth of effort.


 * : After being away from her fetch for two weeks, the time bender's timeline in and of itself seems to contort, pushing reality to a breaking point. At this point, the time bender is considered actually three times her maximum age for all intents and purposes. Additionally, the time bender's Intelligence and Charisma scores both drop to 8 as she begins to merely break down and start weeping about the horror of time at the most inadvertent times.


 * : After being away from her fetch for a month, the time bender's body starts to turn to dust, as millenia worth of temporal stress exerts itself upon her very physical being. At this point, the time bender no longer has an age. Additionally, if she remains in this state for a single day, her body will turn to dust, effectively killing her and utterly destroying her body.

A restoration spell can suppress any of the first 3 effects for a single day, though in order to suppress From Dust to Dust, a greater restoration is required. Greater restoration can suppress any of the first 3 effects for a week, though it can only suppress From Dust to Dust for a single day. If at any point during these events the time benders old fetch returns to be within 150 feet of the time bender, or a new fetch is made for her, after 5 hours of uninterrupted physical contact between the time bender and the fetch, all 4 effects are reversed and are treated as having never happened, the time bender will not even remember the time that her fetch was gone. A fetch cost 4 times as much to create as a normal homunculus does, unless it was gained at first level, in which case it is free. A time bender can only have one fetch at any given point in time. If the time bender does in fact have more than one fetch at any given point in time, then the one farthest away from the time bender becomes either a fetch for another time bender (if it is within 150 feet of the new time bender) or it becomes a normal homunculus.

 (Ex): In order to use this class ability, the time bender must expend her psionic focus. As a move action the time bender may bend all of her thought upon the passage of time, forcing it to stop completely in relation to her, this does not function as a time stop spell does, seeing as the time bender is actually stopping the flow of time for an instant (as paradoxical as this may be), not merely slowing it down. After taking this move action the time bender is purged of any effect, good or bad, that targets her and her alone and that has a duration equal to or less than a number of hours equal to her time bender level, as reality seems to forget that time exists, and facts slip into non existence.

 (Ex): At third level and higher, a time bender becomes aware of even the smallest unit of time, eventually starting to think of the world as merely a compilations of nows that are eternally disappearing and being born anew. This state of awareness allows her to notice fractions of seconds during which reality is weaker, allowing her to exploit these moments to her advantage. If she makes a successful Will throw against an attack that normally deals half or partial damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Time Strobe can be used only if the time bender is psionically focused. A helpless time bender does not gain the benefit of time strobe.

At fourth level, a time bender gains a +1 insight bonus to AC and manifester level checks made to overcome psi-resistance as she begins to become able to draw time out and see motions with exceeding clarity. This insight bonus increases by +1 every 4 levels after fourth.

This feat must be a metapsionic feat or a psionic item creation feat. These bonus feats are in addition to the feats that a character of any class gains every three levels. A time bender is not limited to metapsionic feat and psionic item creation feats when choosing these other feats.

At eighth level a time bender gains a temporal extortion of her chioce from the following list:

If a time bender selects this temporal extortion, she gains an inherent +4 bonus to her Wisdom, and an inherent +2 bonus to both Charisma and Intelligence.

If a time bender selects this temporal extortion, she no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and she still dies of old age when her time is up. Additionally, the time bender who selects this temporal extortion only needs 4 hours of rest in order to regain lost power points, instead of 8 hours.

If the time bender selects this temporal extortion, she gains a +1 enhancement to manifester level and 25 bonus power points.

These bonus feats must be either metapsionic feats or a psionic item creation feats.

 (Ex): If a time bender survives the hundreds of mental strains that the path of the time bender exerts upon her, she grows aware of reality upon a new level, seeing things not only in the forms of space and motion, but in the form of time itself, becoming able to see the ways time could fork, the ways time could be twisted, or the ways time blossoms into being. At eighteenth level a time bender may act normally in a surprise round, no matter the circumstances, the time bender is also never caught flat-footed. If the time bender is psionically focused, she gains a +4 insight bonus to all of her saving throws, attack rolls, and skill checks.

Epic Time Bender
Time Stretch: The insight bonus to AC and manifester level checks made to overcome psi-resistance the time bender receives from the time stretch ability increases by +1 every 4 levels after 20th.

At this point the time bender gains a +4 inherent bonus to Wisdom and no longer ages, becoming effectively immortal. Additionally, the time bender gains the psionic subtype and gains the ability to cast 3 powers of 5th level or lower that she knows as psi-like abilities.



Epic Time Bender Bonus Feat List: Energy Resistance, Epic Dodge, Epic Psionic Focus, Fast Healing, Improved Metapsionics, Perfect Health, Power Knowledge, Psicrystal Power.

Xeph Time Bender Starting Package
Weapons: Light Pick.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Feat: Unconditional Power.

Gear: Bedroll, 10 Candles, Ink (5 oz.), Inkpen, Hooded Lantern, Oil (2 pint flask), Paper (40 sheets), Belt Pouch, Sealing Wax, Signet Ring, Small Steel Mirror, Waterskin, Winter Blanket.

Gold: 150 gp.

Playing a Time Bender
Religion: Time benders are not usually inclined to worship a diety, choosing to rely on reason and logic instead of on faith and hope. Despite this, sometimes a time bender does choose to follow a religon, though more often that not it is merely the attraction to the unknown that entices them to the religous path they walk. Rarely, a time bender will actually choose to follow a religon merely because they believe it ought to be done.

Other Classes: Time benders are very reclusive characters, usually keeping to themselves and researching the depths of reality. It is not uncommon for there to be outgoing time benders, but they usually act this way in order to gain contacts that could possibly further their understanding of time. Time benders most likely will enjoy the company of other manifesters such as the psion, or possibly casters like the cleric or the wizard. Time benders may also take interest in melee classes, even if for the simple matter of being able to see them in a different light due to their ability to see the passage of time. Secretive or shadowy characters such as rogues are usually not warmly invited by time benders.

Combat: Time benders are most commonly support characters who can offer extra versatility to any situation. They are capable of increasing the strengths of their allies before a battle and devastating the battlefield with impressive displays of power while slipping between the cracks in the enemies attacks. A time benders fetch is not usually meant to be relied upon for battle, though they are incredibly adept at avoiding damage and can even affect the battlefield on some small scale by manifesting its own psi-like abilities at later levels.

Advancement: Time benders are often attracted to any possible avenue that could further their understanding of time and the underlying matters of reality. Thusly, a time bender is often inclined to take levels in psion uncarnate to free themselves from the restrictions that a physical body forces upon them, or possibly metamind for the sheer power that they would be capable of bringing forth. Evil time benders may seek to also take levels in thrallherd so that they may attract subjects for tests upon their timelines.

Time Benders in the World
"You talk of killing time, while time quietly kills you."

Time Benders are often reclusive characters who retreat into the dark, still rooms to conduct their exhuastive research of time. Though this is far from the only way they are capable of behaving, some actively seek friends out on the road, believing that through the minds others knowledge can be gained in even greater quantities. Others can find themselves in seats of power, being the trusted advisor to an aging king, or the leader of an ancient and great academy. Though, no matter where a time bender finds themself, they will always have a single trait in common: the hunger for knowledge about reality.

Daily Life: Time benders spend most of their time watching the world around them and comtemplating the flow of time as it slips through them, or taking part in complex discussion about the nature of time and how it can be altered or further understood. Some time benders (those who take the timekeeper temporal extortion) seem to never tire, no matter how long they work or travel, and can usually be seen in the middle of the night watching droplets of water fall or wind throw gusts of sand through the air.

Notables: Armull Tagge, Male Human Time Bender: lived for 10 years, experiencing every second as a century, is now considered wisest human to ever live.

Olivander Hetlim, Male Svirfneblin Time Bender: correctly predicted hundreds of events centuries before they occurred.

Itea Whyte, Female Unbodied Time Bender: effectively ascended to another tier of existance after meditating for 250 years straight.

Organizations: Time benders usually seek solitude for themselves, finding quite places where they can exact their experiments upon the flow of eternity, and tending not to organize themselves with other time benders. Although, on occasion, there are paticular temporal anomalies in certain areas that attract multiple time benders to the location. In these instances, a single time bender is not usually enough to discover the cause of the anomaly, and therefore, several time benders often band together to approach the paradox. If there are any organizations of time benders, then this is how they are formed.

NPC Reactions: Time Benders are usually greeted by those who recognize them for what they are with a mixture of respect and fascination, people becoming awe struck with the concepts that the time bender directly deals with, and slightly fearful of the power that they are capable of controlling. People who do not realize a person is a time bender may glean that the person has skill, power, or connections when they see that they have a homunculus with them.

Time Bender Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Psionics) can research time benders to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Time Benders in the Game
Time benders can be found in a multitude of different places, from the highest mountain tops to the darkest caves. Though, most commonly, a time bender may be found in a city, usually scouring the oldest library in the place to try and find imformation on some paticular phenomenom that they haven't been able to classify themselves yet. One may also come across a time bender out in the world, in a location where time seems to flow at an odd rate, trying to pick apart the mysteries of that location. Time benders may be found anywhere, for their search for knowledge lead them through all walks of life.

Adaptation: Time benders may take on any role, no matter how far fetched it may be. Time benders could be the members of a dark organization that has mastered the art of controlling time, and rules the world with the threat of temporal disaster. There could be the case that only a single time bender exists, an old man who lives in a tiny town on the coast, and even he came across his ability by accident. It could even be that only people who have travelled through time could become time benders.

Sample NPC: Osahar Ini-herit grew up in a strange world, one where the only way of living was through lies, and where everyone was fighting for themselves. During his life he saw the strongest men cry, works of art burn, and temples flow with blood. There wasn't a single moment that Osahar didn't wish he could control time, go back and warn those who had no warning, or at least stop time from going forward, so that he wouldn't have to see any more horrible things happen. Then the worst thing happened, his mother was gone, the thing that had taught him how to hide, how to change shape, who had protected him, was gone. Osahar was alone in the world. He had to hide after that for many years. Until one day, he found a job, and a warm place to sleep, as the delivery boy for a construct maker named Daniel Maske. Osahar had to stay changed all the time while he worked, since people were afriad of what he was, and would kill him just as soon as look at him, but he didn't mind, he was safe. Over the years as Osahar worked, the slowly learned how to make small constructs from his master, who was a strangely friendly man. Eventually, Osahar learned enough to make his own, personal homunculus, and Daniel even gave him the tools and materials to make it without asking anything of him. So, Osahar made himself a humunculus, and had it follow him around wherever he went. Osahar's life had finally begun to take a turn for the better. When he was 13 years of age, Daniel gave him a raise, enough of one for Osahar to go to the library after work and read things, which he did, every day, bringing his humunculus with him for company. Osahar read many books, about ways to build towers, about disasters in far away places, and most all, about time. Osahar slowly learned how time flowed, how it could be changed, and what things were entailed with time. Osahar was slowly becoming a time bender. Then the war came, and there was fire everywhere. Daniel woke him up and told him to get out of the city, and to meet him in a tavern to the west, and so Osahar did this, but then Daniel never came to the tavern. Soon people were asking him to leave, Daniel slept outside then, still Daniel never came. Osahar left after a month, finally admitting to himself that Daniel wouldn't come. Now he wanders the world, looking for people to help, or to save from his sad fate.

EL 17: