D.12 Incarnation

An incarnation is a physical embodiment of an element or form of energy, like an elemental. Unlike elementals, incarnations are alive and have souls. Most incarnations are created on the plane associated with their element or energy and never leave that plane. However, in rare circumstances involving powerful magic, incarnations can sometimes be created in other planes.

Creature Type: Unlike most other playable species, an incarnation is a artificial humanoid indwelt instead of a natural humanoid.

Size: Medium.

Attributes: One attribute gains a +1 bonus and another takes a -1 penalty, depending on the chosen element or energy.

Special Abilities:

• Essence Infusion ✨: Each incarnation chooses one of the following tags as its essence infusion: Acid, Air, Auditory, Cold, Compulsion, Earth, Emotion, Electricity, Fire, Visual, or Water. All of the incarnation’s strikes gain that tag, and it is resistant (+4 defenses) to attacks with that tag.
• Essence Vulnerability ✨: Each incarnation chooses a tag to be vulnerable (-4 defenses) to. It can choose any of the valid tags for an essence infusion, including the tag it chose as its essence infusion.
• Glowing: If appropriate to an incarnation’s essence, it may naturally shed light as a torch. An incarnation cannot willingly disable this light, though the light can be covered by thick clothing.
• Incarnation Archetype: Incarnations only gain two class archetypes instead of three. Instead, they treat the Incarnation archetype as one of their archetypes, and they gain ranks in it just like they gain ranks in class archetypes.
• Poison Resistance: An incarnation is resistant (+4 defenses) to Poison attacks.
• Unusual Body: An incarnation’s body can be unusually light or heavy compared to an ordinary creature’s body. It can be lightweight or heavyweight, depending on its essence.

Automatic Languages: Common.

Incarnations can come in two forms: tethered or untethered. Tethered incarnations are bipedal, with two legs and two arms. They have the same basic body shape and functionality as a human, though they may have unusual proportions.

Untethered incarnations have no arms or legs, and are not humanoid. They may appear as a perfect sphere, as intricate shifting arcane glyphs, or any other appearance depending on their nature. The appearance of any individual untethered incarnation is consistent. They are not shapeshifters or masters of disguise, simply unbound by ordinary conceptions of a “normal” body shape. Most untethered incarnations have some sort of face, as they can speak and see normally, but the appearance of that face can be highly unusual. An untethered incarnation has the following special abilities:

• Esoteric Body: The incarnation has no arms, legs, or free hands. This means it is unable to use manufactured weapons or somatic components. It can wear armor, but the armor is treated as barding instead of normal armor, reducing its effectiveness (see Barding). It has no walk speed. Since it has no legs, it is immune to being prone (half speed, -2 Armor and Ref), but it also cannot jump.
• Flight ✨: The incarnation’s only movement mode is an average fly speed with a 5 foot height limit (see Aerial Movement). Since it is native to the air, flying does not penalize its Armor or Reflex defenses. It is also floating, so it does not need to fly every turn to avoid falling.
• Ram: The incarnation gains a ram natural weapon. It deals 1d6 damage and has the Resonating weapon tag (see Weapon Tags).
• Uniform Composition: The incarnation is immune to critical hits from strikes.

D.12.1 Incarnation Archetype

Rank 1 – Essence Spike ✨

Rank 2 – Essence Flare ✨

Once per long rest, you can use the desperate exertion ability without spending stamina. You can only use this to reroll an attack roll for an ability with your essence infusion tag.

Rank 3 – Deep Tether

You gain a special ability depending on whether you are tethered or untethered.

• Tethered: Choose an Attune spell of rank 2 or lower from any mystic sphere. The spell must have your essence infusion tag, and it must not be a deep attunement. You gain the effect of that spell on you permanently. If the spell disables itself, you gain its benefit again after 10 minutes.
• Untethered: The height limit of your fly speed increases to 10 feet. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to your mundane power and magical power.

Rank 4 – Essence Exemplar

The bonus to an attribute that you gain from being an incarnate increases to +2.

Rank 5 – Essence Infusion+ ✨

You become immune instead of resistant to attacks with your essence infusion tag. In addition, you gain a +1 accuracy bonus with all abilities which have that tag.

Rank 6 – Deep Tether+

You gain a special ability depending on whether you are tethered or untethered.

• Tethered: You can use your essence flare ability once per short rest instead of once per long rest.
• Untethered: The height limit of your fly speed increases to 20 feet. In addition, the power bonus increases to +2.

Rank 7 – Intrinsic Essence ✨

Choose an Attune spell from any mystic sphere. The spell must have your essence infusion tag, and it must not be a deep attunement. You gain the effect of that spell on you permanently. If the spell disables itself, you gain its benefit again after 10 minutes.

D.12.2 Base Class Effects

If you choose incarnation as your base class, you gain the following benefits.

Level	Rank	Durability	Bonus1	Special
1	1	+0	+0	—
2	1	+1	+1	—
3	1	+2	+1	+1 to two attributes
4	2	+2	+2	—
5	2	+3	+2	—
6	2	+4	+3	—
7	3	+4	+3	—
8	3	+5	+4	—
9	3	+6	+4	+1 to two attributes
10	4	+6	+5	—
11	4	+7	+5	—
12	4	+8	+6	—
13	5	+8	+6	—
14	5	+9	+7	—
15	5	+10	+7	+1 to two attributes
16	6	+10	+8	—
17	6	+11	+8	—
18	6	+12	+9	—
19	7	+12	+9	—
20	7	+13	+10	—
21	7	+14	+10	+2 to two attributes

1. This bonus applies to your accuracy, magical ✨ power, mundane power, trained skills, and defenses.  

Defenses

You gain a +3 bonus to your Brawn, Fortitude, Mental, and Reflex defenses. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to your vital rolls.

Resources

• Attunement points: 5 (see Attunement Points).
• Maximum stamina: 2 + your Constitution (see Stamina).
• Insight points: 1 + your Intelligence (see Insight Points).
• Trained skills: 4 from among your class skills, plus additional trained skills equal to your Intelligence if it is positive (see Skills).

Weapon Proficiencies

You are proficient with simple weapons.

Armor Proficiencies

You are proficient with light armor.

Starting Items and Equipment

You can start with the following items and equipment:

• Buff leather
• A club or dagger (see Table 9.4: Weapons).
• A buckler.
• A standard adventuring kit (see Standard Adventuring Kit).
• A rank 0 wealth item (1 gp).

Class Skills

You have the following class skills:

• Strength: Athletics.

• Dexterity: Flexibility, Poise.

• Constitution: Endurance.

• Intelligence: Craft, Knowledge (arcana, nature, planes).

• Perception: Awareness.

• Other: Intimidate.