 Dawnflower Dissident
Source Paths of Prestige pg. 20
The church of Sarenrae is known across Golarion for its benevolence. In some regions, it is a faith that seeks little more than the succor and relief of suffering wherever it can be found, a warming and cleansing flame that banishes chill, darkness, and despair. Elsewhere, Sarenrae’s faith is a flame that not only cleanses but scourges the wicked, seeing injustice and cruelty as a wound that must be cauterized. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a faith built upon such incandescent passion and verve, the servants of Sarenrae don’t always agree on the best methods to carry out their goddess’s will, and their disagreements become heated, often to the point of violent conflict.
Dawnflower dissidents arise to deal with schism and heresy within their own faith, seeking either to expunge or heal the divisions that plague their religion. In order to avoid identification by hostile eyes, Dawnflower dissidents must constantly work in secret, and eschew holy symbols for more discreet shows of faith, such as tattoos or wellhidden pieces of jewelry.RequirementsTo qualify to become a Dawnflower dissident, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Deity: Must worship Sarenrae.
Feats: Dervish Dance (The Inner Sea World Guide 286), Weapon Finesse.
Skills: Bluff 5 ranks, Disguise 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks, Sleight of Hand 5 ranks.
Spells: Able to cast daylight as a divine spell.Class SkillsThe Dawnflower Dissident's class skills are Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Stealth (Dex).
Skill Points at each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Hit Die: d8.Class Features| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells Per Day | | 1st | +0 | +0 | +1 | +1 | Divine deception, Eschew Materials | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 2nd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | Secret caster | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 3rd | +2 | +1 | +2 | +2 | Schismatic apostle | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 4th | +3 | +1 | +2 | +2 | Burning blade (flaming) | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 5th | +3 | +2 | +3 | +3 | — | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 6th | +4 | +2 | +3 | +3 | Shift blame | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 7th | +5 | +2 | +4 | +4 | — | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 8th | +6 | +3 | +4 | +4 | Burning blade (flaming burst) | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 9th | +6 | +3 | +5 | +5 | Morning light | +1 level of spellcasting class | | 10th | +7 | +3 | +5 | +5 | Flight of the phoenix | +1 level of spellcasting class |
The following are class features of the Dawnflower dissident prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Dawnflower dissident gains no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.
Divine Deception (Ex): A Dawnflower dissident adds a sacred bonus equal to 1/2 his level on Bluff or Sense Motive checks to send, interpret, or intercept coded messages, and increases the DC of Spellcraft checks made to identify his spells by the same amount. He also adds the following spells to his spell list: illusion of calmUC (1st), rope trick (2nd), nondetection (3rd), detect scrying (4th), mage’s private sanctum (5th), veil (6th), mage’s magnificent mansion (7th), screen (8th), and communal mind blankUC (9th). In addition, the duration of these spells doubles when they target worshipers of Sarenrae (including the caster). This does not affect the level of the spell or its casting time, and does not stack with feats or effects such as Extend Spell.
Eschew Materials: A Dawnflower dissident gains Eschew Materials as a bonus feat, and he can ignore any divine focus (holy symbol) components for his spells.
Secret Caster (Ex): At 2nd level, a Dawnflower dissident can disguise his spellcasting with a Bluff check (for spells with verbal components), opposed by the observer’s Sense Motive check, and/or a Sleight of Hand check (for spells with somatic components), opposed by the observer’s Perception check. Depending on the situation, the Dawnflower dissident’s Bluff and/ or Sleight of Hand check is modified according to the following table.
| Penalty | Condition | | -0 | Spell has a range of personal | | -5 | During combat | | -5 | Spell has a range of touch | | -10 | Spell has a range longer than touch | | -Spell level ×2 | Spell has a visible, audible, or otherwise observable effect | | Automatic failure | Spell has an observable effect that clearly emanates from the caster |
Casting a spell in this fashion increases its casting time to a full-round action (if normally a standard action or less), or doubles the casting time of spells with a casting time longer than a full-round action. A spell cast in this way does not provoke attacks of opportunity from observers that fail to recognize it for what it is. For spells with both verbal and somatic components, the spell still provokes attacks of opportunity from observers unless they fail both their Sense Motive and Perception checks.
Schismatic Apostle (Ex): At 3rd level, a Dawnflower dissident adds a +1 bonus to the DC of mind-affecting effects used against followers of both Sarenrae and Rovagug. If he is an inquisitor, any bonuses he gains from his judgment increase by 1 when used against followers of Sarenrae or Rovagug.
Burning Blade (Su): At 4th level, a Dawnflower dissident can expend one use of channel energy as a swift action to grant a scimitar he touches the flaming weapon special ability for 1 round per 1d6 points of damage the channeled energy would normally heal. If a worshiper of Sarenrae wields the scimitar and strikes another worshiper of Sarenrae, as a free action the wielder may choose to make all damage from the attack nonlethal, as if wielding a weapon with the merciful weapon special ability. An inquisitor may instead choose to expend one use of his judgment ability to imbue the scimitar with the flaming weapon special ability for a number of rounds equal to his caster level, or may use this ability in place of his bane ability.
At 8th level, this power grants the touched scimitar the flaming burst weapon special ability instead.
Shift Blame (Su): At 6th level, when a Dawnflower dissident provokes an attack of opportunity, he can attempt to deceive the creature making the attack of opportunity into believing the provoking action was performed by another creature as long as it is adjacent to the Dawnflower dissident and also threatened by the attacker. Doing so requires a Bluff check opposed by the attacker’s Sense Motive check. The attacker gains a bonus equal to its base attack bonus on this Sense Motive check. If the Bluff check is successful, the attack of opportunity instead targets an adjacent creature chosen by the Dawnflower dissident, and the attacker must reroll her attack roll to see whether she hits this new target.
Morning Light (Su): At 9th level, a Dawnflower dissident can spend a full-round action reciting the litany of Sarenrae’s renewing wisdom while expending two uses of channel energy or one use of his judgment ability. This grants each ally within 15 feet of him a new saving throw against any one ongoing condition or effect that allows a save. This does not affect instantaneous or permanent effects or effects that do not allow a saving throw. Allies that worship Sarenrae (including the Dawnflower dissident) can instead attempt a new saving throw against every ongoing condition or effect that allows a save.
Flight of the Phoenix (Su): At 10th level, when a Dawnflower dissident is killed his body is engulfed in a column of holy fire equivalent to a flame strike at his caster level. At the beginning of his next turn, his spirit returns in the form of a phoenix (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 227) that fights as he directs for up to 1 minute and then disappears. This phoenix is not considered called or summoned. The Dawnflower dissident is reborn (as resurrection) 1d4 rounds after it disappears in a random location within 1 mile, with his gear intact but with two permanent negative levels. If the phoenix is killed before it disappears, the Dawnflower dissident cannot be reborn via this ability, though other methods of raising him still work.
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