6.12 Votive

Rank (Level)	Covenant Keeper ✨	Pact Magic ✨	Pact Spell Mastery ✨	Pactbound Warrior	Soulforged ✨
1 (1)	Sacrificial covenant	Pact spells, soulkeeper spheres, survival pact	Metamagic	Pact maneuvers, soulblade	Body and soul as one
2 (4)	Covenant of power	Pact spells+	Desperate pact	Augmented maneuvers	Soulforged spell, soulforged weaponry
3 (7)	Exchange soul fragment		Spell-trained mind	Pact maneuvers+	Soulbound resilience
4 (10)	Sacrificial covenant+	Survival pact+	Metamagic+	Augmented maneuvers+	Body and soul as one+
5 (13)	Covenant of power+	Pact spells+	Attunement point	Pact maneuvers+	Soulforged armory, soulforged spell+
6 (16)	Exchange vitality		Experienced spellcaster	Augmented maneuvers+	Soulbound resilience+
7 (19)	Sacrificial covenant++	Survival pact+	Metamagic+	Pact maneuvers+	Body and soul as one+

Votives are pact spellcasters who draw power from a powerful ally through a binding magical pact. In life, they gain great magical power. However, their soul passes to their soulkeeper on death, and the pact may have other costs as well.

Many people view votives with suspicion. Votives wield power that is not entirely their own, and may not have any great training or wisdom about how to apply it appropriately. Many are short-term thinkers, prioritizing their present needs over the long-term costs, just as they did when they made their pacts. In addition, votives may act as unknowing pawns in the cosmic games of their soulkeepers.

Votives are typically self-taught, or more accurately, educated by their soulkeeper in the use of their powers. It is not uncommon for votives to search for votive mentors so they can master their powers without completely trusting their soulkeeper. These relationships are typically based on contracts and expectations of future services from the apprentice once their training is complete, just like a soul pact. A certain level of mistrust is common, and apprentices sometimes successfully betray their mentors, just like they hope to escape their soulkeeper’s clutches. To minimize the danger of these relationships, votive mentors almost never take more than a single apprentice at a time.

Clerics and votives have a complicated relationship. From a certain perspective, they both gain power in exchange for their service to a powerful extraplanar entity. Votives often enjoy emphasizing the similarity, which can be a useful rhetorical tool to mitigate anti-votive prejudice. For their part, clerics tend to strongly disagree with this analogy.

Rogues tend to get along better with votives than most classes do. Many rogues have a “do whatever works” attitude that helps them understand why votives would make a soul pact, even if they might not make the same pact themselves. In addition, rogues are generally flexible about their companions, and wouldn’t begrudge having a votive in a group as long as the votive doesn’t cause problems.

Alignment: Any.

Archetypes: Votives have the Covenant Keeper, Pact Magic, Pact Spell Mastery, Pactbound Warrior, and Soulforged archetypes.

6.12.1 Base Class Effects

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

Attributes

You gain a +1 bonus to your Willpower. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to either your Intelligence or your Perception.

Hit Points

You have 8 hit points + your Constitution, plus 1 hit points per level beyond 1. This increases as your level increases, as indicated below.

• Level 7: 18 hit points + twice your Constitution, plus 2 hit points per level beyond 7.
• Level 13: 35 hit points + five times your Constitution, plus 5 hit points per level beyond 13.
• Level 19: 70 hit points + ten times your Constitution, plus 10 hit points per level beyond 19.

Defenses

You gain a +2 bonus to your Mental defense.

Resources

You learn three trained skills from among your class skills (see Skills). You also gain an additional attunement point.

Weapon Proficiencies

You are proficient with simple weapons and all non-exotic weapons.

Armor Proficiencies

You are proficient with light and medium armor.

Class Skills

You have the following class skills:

• Dexterity: Ride.

• Intelligence: Deduction, Disguise, Knowledge (arcana, items, planes, religion).

• Perception: Awareness, Deception, Persuasion, Social Insight.

• Other: Intimidate.

6.12.2 Special Class Abilities

Soul Pact ✨

To become a votive, you must make a pact with a creature capable of sharing its power with you. That creature is called your soulkeeper, and it will claim your soul for a period of time following your death. Your soulkeeper may gain other benefits after your death as well. In exchange, it will grant you power during your mortal life.

Your pact forges a deep connection between you and your soulkeeper. This grants your soulkeeper the ability to observe your actions and communicate with you in limited ways. Communication from your soulkeeper typically manifests as unnatural emotional urges, whispered voices audible only to you, or intrusive thoughts you can recognize as not your own. Each soulkeeper will have its own goals and communication style.

As part of the terms of a typical pact, your soulkeeper cannot prevent you from being resurrected after death. However, if your pact imposes a time limit on how long your soulkeeper can retain your soul after death, resurrection restarts that time from zero.

Soulkeepers

There are four common types of soulkeeper: devils, fae, moirai, and precursors. Each type of soulkeeper has different terms for its pacts and offers different rewards.

Devils: Devils are lawful evil creatures native to the Abyss, the Aligned Plane of evil. Their pacts offer the most generous terms of all soulkeepers, in theory. They impose no restrictions on your actions in life, and only affect your soul after death. A typical devil will keep your soul in the Abyss for one year for each year that you live after making the pact, to a minimum of ten years. Particularly long-lived species like elves can often negotiate better terms than this. If your soul survives this period intact, it will proceed to its normal afterlife with no permanent cost. Devils offer this bargain because they are experts in torture. They can reliably break the will of their votives during that time period, allowing them to permanently gain the power of a full soul.

Power struggles in the Abyss are common, and mortal souls are an important currency there. It is possible for one devil to assume control over another devil’s souls, becoming the new soulkeeper for their votives.

Devil soulkeepers tend to be engaged and communicative. They try tempt their votives into greater evil, and encourage acquiring power by any means necessary.

Fae: Fae are chaotic neutral creatures native to Discord, the Aligned Plane of chaos. Their pacts can be idiosyncratic, and often come with seemingly arbitrary restrictions on how you must act in life. They are also more likely to renegotiate pact details than other soul keepers, often seeking to change the restrictions that the votive must obey in life to suit their whims. After death, they will typically keep your soul in Discord until you become boring to them, with a guarantee that you will eventually reach your proper afterlife.

Fae soulkeepers will periodically pay great attention to their votives. When they do, they may send a distracting flurry of thoughts and urges that may or may not be relevant to the situation at hand. Eventually, they will get bored and disappear entirely until their attention is caught again.

Moirai: Moirai are lawful neutral creatures native to Ordus, the Aligned Plane of law. Each moirai is an impartial arbiter of some fundamental concept. Their pacts always impose one restriction on you in life, and retain your soul in Ordus for a hundred years after your death. The restriction is always relevant to the moirai’s identity, and is focused on you as an individual rather than the world you inhabit. For example, a moirai of cleanliness may require you to remain personally clean, but would not require you to clean everywhere you go.

Moirai soulkeepers typically remain aloof from their votives. They only rarely bother to directly observe their votives’ current circumstances. They will send periodic reminders to maintain the terms of the pact and similar generic urges.

Precursors: The precursors are ancient aberrations that now live in the Eternal Void. They generally despite the mortals and deities that replaced them, though their current goals are inscrutable. Precursor pacts impose no restrictions on you in life, but they are the only pacts which are guaranteed to claim your soul. While you are dead, your soul will be constantly pulled away from your afterlife towards the Eternal Void. You can fight this pull to remain in your afterlife for a time. As your will and sense of self deteriorates over the years, your concentration will slip and you will drift away. There is no return from the Eternal Void.

Precursor pacts are attractive to votives because they do not constrain you in life or significantly interfere with your normal afterlife experience. However, deities universally revile votives who make precusor pacts. Stealing souls from deities and feeding them to the precursors threatens to upend the balance of the cosmos and undo the ancient wars that established mortal life.

6.12.3 Covenant Keeper ✨

This archetype grants you access to powerful covenants you can forge with your soulkeeper, building on your basic pact. All abilities from this archetype are magical ✨.

Rank 1 – Sacrificial Covenant ✨

You make one covenant of your choice from the following list. Each covenant grants great power at a cost.

Covenant of Bloodforging: While you are not wearing other body armor, your blood flows to the surface of your skin, manifesting a carapace around you. This functions like light body armor that provides a +4 bonus to your Armor defense and has no encumbrance. It also provides a +1 bonus to your vital rolls and a bonus equal to five times your rank in this archetype to your damage resistance. In exchange, the recover ability no longer causes you to recover hit points or damage resistance (see Recover).

Covenant of Bloodsharing: At the end of each round, if you dealt damage to a creature that caused it to lose hit points during that round, you regain hit points equal to 1d4 +1 per two power. You cannot regain more hit points in this way than the target lost from your attack. In exchange, whenever you take damage, half of that damage is applied to your hit points directly, ignoring your damage resistance.

Covenant of Soulcursing: Whenever you would inflict a condition on a creature that is not already under the effects of a Curse, that effect becomes a Curse on it instead of a condition. It is removed when the creature finishes a short rest. If the condition would normally have a special way to remove it, such as the ignition spell, that also removes the curse.

In exchange, whenever you would gain a condition that you are not immune to, that effect becomes a Curse on you instead of a condition. If you were already affected by a Curse from this ability, the old Curse becomes a condition instead. Whenever you finish a short rest, you remove any Curse affecting you as a result of this ability.

Rank 2 – Covenant of Power ✨

You can choose to gain a +2 bonus to your magical power and mundane power. If you do, you take a -1 penalty to your fatigue tolerance. Otherwise, you gain a +2 bonus to your fatigue tolerance.

Rank 3 – Exchange Soul Fragment ✨

Your connection to your soulkeeper deepens, allowing you to send a fragment of your soul through the link in exchange for aid.

Rank 4 – Sacrificial Covenant+ ✨

The effect of your chosen covenant improves.

Covenant of Bloodforging: The bonus to damage resistance from the armor increases to seven times your rank in this archetype.

Covenant of Bloodsharing: The healing increases to 1d6 +1 per power.

Covenant of Soulcursing: You can convert conditions into Curse effects against creatures that already have a single Curse effect active on them.

Rank 5 – Covenant of Power+ ✨

The bonus you chose increases to +4.

Rank 6 – Exchange Vitality ✨

Your connection to your soulkeeper deepens, allowing you to send a larger fragment of your soul through the link fragment in exchange for greater aid.

Rank 7 – Sacrificial Covenant++ ✨

Your understanding of your chosen covenant reaches its full potential.

Covenant of Bloodforging: The bonus to damage resistance from the armor increases to ten times your rank in this archetype. In addition, the defense bonus increases to +5.

Covenant of Bloodsharing: The healing increases to 1d6 plus 1d6 per 2 power.

Covenant of Soulcursing: You can convert conditions into Curse effects with this ability regardless of the number of Curse effects active on the target.

6.12.4 Pact Magic ✨

This archetype grants you the ability to cast pact spells. All abilities from this archetype are magical ✨.

Rank 1 – Pact Spells ✨

Your soulkeeper grants you the ability to use pact magic. You gain access to two pact mystic spheres, plus the universal mystic sphere (see Pact Mystic Spheres). At least one of those mystic spheres must be from your soulkeeper (see Soulkeeper Spheres, below). You can only learn pact spells from pact mystic spheres that you have access to.

You automatically learn all cantrips from each of your mystic spheres. In addition, you learn two rank 1 pact spells. You can also spend insight points to learn one additional rank 1 spell per two insight points.

Pact spells require verbal components and somatic components to cast (see Ability Usage Components). For details about mystic spheres and casting spells, see Spell and Ritual Mechanics.

When you gain access to a new mystic sphere or spell rank, you can forget any number of spells you know to learn that many new spells in exchange, including spells of the higher rank.

Advancement: The maximum rank of pact spells that you can learn is equal to your rank in this archetype. Pact spells also increase in power in unique ways based on your rank in this archetype, as indicated in their descriptions.

Rank 1 – Soulkeeper Spheres ✨

Your soulkeeper has a particular affinity for two mystic spheres. You add them to your list of pact mystic spheres if they are not already present. In addition, you must always know least one of your soulkeeper spheres.

• Devil: Astromancy, Pyromancy
• Fae: Enchantment, Photomancy
• Moirai: Fabrication, Revelation
• Precursor: Chronomancy, Polymorph

Rank 1 – Survival Pact ✨

You gain a bonus to your damage resistance equal to your rank in this archetype.

Rank 2 – Pact Spells+ ✨

You learn an additional pact spell.

Rank 4 – Survival Pact+ ✨

The bonus increases to twice your rank in this archetype.

Rank 5 – Pact Spells+ ✨

You learn an additional pact spell.

Rank 7 – Survival Pact+ ✨

The bonus increases to three times your rank in this archetype.

6.12.5 Pact Spell Mastery ✨

This archetype improves your ability to cast spells with the power of your dark pact. You must have the Pact Magic archetype to gain the abilities from this archetype. All abilities from this archetype are magical ✨.

Rank 1 – Metamagic ✨

You learn how to further refine your spellcasting abilities. Choose two metamagic abilities from the list below.

Some metamagic abilities affect specific spells. You cannot choose the same spell with more than two metamagic abilities. Whenever you learn a new spell, you may change which specific spells your metamagic abilities affect.

Desperate Spell: Choose a pact spell you know. When you cast the spell, you may choose to increase your fatigue level by one. If you do, you gain a +2 accuracy bonus with the spell that round and roll accuracy twice, keeping the higher result. However, you cannot use the desperate exertion ability to affect the spell that round. You can choose this ability multiple times, choosing a different spell each time.

Distant Spell: Choose a pact spell you know with a standard range: Short (30 ft.), Medium (60 ft.), Long (90 ft.), Distant (120 ft.), or Extreme (180 ft.). You increase that spell’s range to the next standard range category, to a maximum of Extreme range. You can choose this ability multiple times, choosing a different spell each time.

Powerful Spell: Choose a damaging pact spell you know. It deals extra damage equal to half your magical power. You can choose this ability multiple times, choosing a different spell each time.

Rituals: You gain the ability to perform pact rituals to create unique magical effects (see Spell and Ritual Mechanics). The maximum rank of pact ritual you can learn or perform is equal to the maximum rank of pact spell that you can cast. When you gain this ability, you can memorize a rank 1 pact ritual from any pact mystic sphere you have access to. Whenever you gain access to a new spellcasting rank, you can memorize an additional ritual of that rank or lower. You cannot choose this ability multiple times.

Widened Spell: Choose a pact spell you know with a standard area: Small (15 ft.), Medium (30 ft.), Large (60 ft.), Huge (90 ft.), or Gargantuan (120 ft.). You increase that spell’s area to the next standard area category, to a maximum of a Gargantuan area. You can choose this ability multiple times, choosing a different spell each time.

Rank 2 – Desperate Pact ✨

You can use the desperate exertion ability without increasing your fatigue level (see Desperate Exertion). When you do, you suffer no immediate negative consequences. After 10 minutes, your maximum hit points are reduced to three-quarters of normal until you complete a long rest. Each time this penalty takes effect, your hit points are reduced by an additional quarter, so using it three times would reduce your maximum hit points to a quarter of their normal value. If your hit points would be reduced below 1 in this way, your body is ripped through the planes directly into your soulkeeper’s realm. This is invariably lethal, and leaves no corpse behind.

Rank 3 – Spell-Trained Mind ✨

You gain a +1 bonus to your Willpower.

Rank 4 – Metamagic+ ✨

You gain an additional metamagic ability.

Rank 5 – Attunement Point ✨

You gain an additional attunement point.

Rank 6 – Experienced Spellcaster ✨

You gain a +1 accuracy bonus.

Rank 7 – Metamagic+ ✨

You gain two additional metamagic abilities. In addition, the extra damage from Powerful Spell increases to be equal to your magical power.

6.12.6 Pactbound Warrior

This archetype grants you martial prowess through your pact.

Rank 1 – Pact Maneuvers

You can use magically enhanced weaponry to overwhelm your foes in combat. You gain access to one combat style based on your soulkeeper:

• Devil: Herald of War or Rip and Tear
• Fae: Flurry of Blows or Mobile Hunter
• Moirai: Ebb and Flow or Perfect Precision
• Precursor: Brute Force or Unbreakable Defense

In addition, you gain access to any combat style of your choice (see Combat Styles). You may spend insight points to gain access to one additional combat style per insight point. You can only learn pact maneuvers from pact combat styles that you have access to.

You learn two rank 1 pact maneuvers. You may spend insight points to learn one additional maneuver per insight point.

When you gain access to a new rank in this archetype, you can exchange any number of maneuvers you know for other maneuvers, including maneuvers of a higher rank.

Advancement: Some pact maneuvers also increase in power in unique ways based on your rank in this archetype, as indicated in their descriptions.

Rank 1 – Soulblade

The pact you made to gain martial prowess infuses your weaponry with mystic power. All strikes you make are magical ✨ abilities. This means you use your magical power to determine your damage instead of your mundane power (see Power).

Rank 2 – Augmented Maneuvers

You gain the ability to customize your pact maneuvers. For each rank 1 pact maneuver you know, choose one augment from the list below and apply it to that maneuver. Augments scale in power with your “excess rank”. Your excess rank with a maneuver is equal to your rank in this archetype minus the rank of the maneuver.

Whenever you increase your rank in this archetype, you can change your augments. However, you must still apply them to rank 1 pact maneuvers.

Finishing Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to twice your excess rank against creatures who are at less than their maximum hit points.

Mighty Maneuver: You take an accuracy penalty equal to 5 - your excess rank but the strike deals double weapon damage. If your excess rank is at least 6, this becomes an accuracy bonus. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a strike.

Precise Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to your excess rank.

Reckless Maneuver: You gain an accuracy bonus equal to twice your excess rank. However, you briefly take a -4 penalty to your defenses after you use the maneuver. You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a melee strike.

Spellfused Maneuver ✨: Choose a ranged pact spell you know that does not have the Attune or Sustain tags. Its rank most not exceed your excess rank with the maneuver. You treat your rank with that spell as being equal to your excess rank, which limits the bonuses it gains from rank scaling. Each target of the maneuver is also affected by that spell, using separate attack rolls for the spell and maneuver. You do not have to spend time casting the spell, but each target must still meet any targeting requirements for the spell, such as range or touch.

You can only apply this augment to maneuvers which cause you to make a melee strike, and you must choose a different spell each time you apply this augment to a maneuver. After you use this maneuver, you briefly cannot use any spellfused maneuver again.

Rank 3 – Pact Maneuvers+

You learn an additional pact maneuver. In addition, you gain access to rank 3 pact maneuvers.

Rank 4 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 3 pact maneuvers.

Rank 5 – Pact Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 5 pact maneuvers.

Rank 6 – Augmented Maneuvers+

You can also choose an augment for each of your rank 5 pact maneuvers.

Rank 7 – Pact Maneuvers+

You gain access to rank 7 pact maneuvers.

6.12.7 Soulforged ✨

This archetype enhances your connection to your soulkeeper, granting you abilities relating to your pact. All abilities from this archetype are magical ✨.

Rank 1 – Body and Soul As One ✨

Your body is shaped by your soulkeeper’s influence.

Devil – Calculating: You can use your Intelligence in place of your Dexterity to determine your Armor defense. Your Intelligence is still halved by armor, just like your Dexterity would be.

Fae – Alluring: You gain a +3 enhancement bonus to the Deception, Perform, and Persuasion skills.

Moirai – Fatebound: You gain a +2 bonus to your vital rolls.

Precursor – Burgeoning: You gain a bonus equal to twice your rank in this archetype to your hit points (see Hit Points). In addition, you gain a tentacle natural weapon (see Natural Weapons). It deals 1d6 damage, has the Maneuverable weapon tag, and does not require a free hand.

Rank 2 – Soulforged Spell ✨

If you have access to pact magic, you learn an additional pact spell. The spell can be up to rank 2, even if you do not have access to rank 2 spells. It gains a special effect based on your soulkeeper. When you gain access to new spell ranks, you can change which spell you know with this ability, including spells with a higher rank.

Devil – Tormenting Spell: Each creature hit by the spell becomes tormented by the spell as a condition. If it loses hit points while it is tormented, the spell repeats on that creature, and all instances of the condition are removed. You gain a +2 accuracy bonus with the repeat for each additional instance of this condition, but the spell still only repeats once.

Fae – Hidden Spell: The spell does not have verbal components or somatic components. In addition, if it does not deal damage, it gains the Subtle tag.

Moirai – Inevitable Spell: Whenever you make an attack roll with the spell, if the roll would be less than a 5, treat it as a 5 instead. This does not affect extra dice from exploding attacks. If any other effect would set the minimum roll result of the spell, increase that minimum roll result by 2.

Precursor – Eldritch Spell: You gain a +2 accuracy bonus with the spell. However, whenever you cast the spell, you briefly take a -2 penalty to your Fortitude and Reflex defenses.

Rank 2 – Soulforged Weaponry ✨

If you do not have access to pact magic, choose a magic weapon property with a rank no higher than your rank in this archetype (see Magic Weapons). You can attune to that magic weapon property. If you do, you treat all of your weapons, including natural weapons, as if they had that property. This applies in addition to any other special material or magical properties. However, it does not stack if the item would already have that property normally.

Whenever you increase your rank in this archetype, you can change which magic weapon property you have with this ability.

Rank 3 – Soulbound Resilience ✨

You gain a bonus equal to three times your rank in this archetype to your damage resistance. In addition, you take half the normal penalties for being resurrected (see Resurrection).

Rank 4 – Body and Soul As One+ ✨

Your body continues to be shaped by your soulkeeper’s influence.

Devil: You gain a +1 bonus to your Intelligence.

Fae: You gain a +1 bonus to your Perception.

Moirai: You gain a +1 bonus to your two lowest attributes. You can choose between equally low attributes.

Precursor: You gain a +1 bonus to your Constitution. In addition, your tentacle now deals 1d8 damage and gains the Clinch weapon tag (see Weapon Tags).

Rank 5 – Soulforged Armory ✨

If you do not have access to pact magic, choose a magic body armor property with a rank no higher than your rank in this archetype (see Magic Armor). You can attune to that magic body armor property. If you do, you treat your body armor as if it had that property, which changes its damage resistance appropriately. This applies in addition to any other special material or magical properties. However, it does not stack if the item would already have that property normally.

Whenever you increase your rank in this archetype, you can change which magic body armor property you have with this ability.

Rank 5 – Soulforged Spell+ ✨

You learn an additional spell with this ability. It can be up to rank 5, even if you do not have access to rank 5 spells.

Rank 6 – Soulbound Resilience+ ✨

The bonus increases to four times your rank in this archetype. In addition, you take no penalties for being resurrected.

Rank 7 – Body and Soul As One+ ✨

Your body continues to be shaped by your soulkeeper’s influence.

Devil: You gain a bonus to your Mental defense equal to half your Intelligence.

Fae: The skill bonuses increase to +5. In addition, the Perception bonus increases to +2.

Moirai: The vital roll bonus increases to +5. In addition, the attribute bonus also applies to your third lowest attribute.

Precursor: The hit point bonus increases to four times your rank in this archetype. In addition, your tentacle now deals 1d10 damage and gains the Long weapon tag.