Cerebral Animator (3.5e Prestige Class)

Created By

Stryker-Fyre (talk)
Date Created:	09/03/2010
Status:	Needs lots of Tweaking
Editing:	Edit Constructively, Major Changes discussed on talk page.
Balance:	Wizard

{{#set:Summary=The cerebral animator stimulates the central nervous system of the dead and makes their bodies move, making him the psionic equivalent to the necromancer. |Length=10 |Minimum Level=6 |Base Attack Bonus Progression=Poor |Fortitude Save Progression=Poor |Reflex Save Progression=Poor |Will Save Progression=Good |Class Ability=Psionics |Class Ability Progression=Full }} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Lawful Good}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Lawful Neutral}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Lawful Evil}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Neutral Good}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Neutral}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Neutral Evil}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Chaotic Good}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Chaotic Neutral}} {{#set:Allowed Alignments=Chaotic Evil}}

Cerebral Animator

“

My animated minds will not fall to your pathetic holy symbol.

”

A Cerebral Animator is a psionic being who wants power over the dead like a necromancer, and has found away to do such by animating a creatures nervous systems and controlling the dead by controlling their movements rather than forcefully causing the soul to re-enter a body and be controlled. The Cerebral Animator cannot control as many dead minions as can traditional necromancers and not for as long as they can either, though he makes up for this with increased potency of his animated minions and increase in his already potent psionic powers.

Becoming a Cerebral Animator

Psions who wish to control the dead usually become cerebral animators, however it is possible for other psionic classes to become cerebral animators although psions are the most common.

Entry Requirements

BAB:	+3.
Skills:	Psicraft 6 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 6 Ranks.
Feats:	Mind over Body.
Psionics:	Must be able to manifest 3rd level powers.

Table: The Cerebral Animator

Hit Die: d4

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Manifesting
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Animate the Mind, Skilled Animator	+1 level of existing manifesting class
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3		+1 level of existing manifesting class
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Skilled Animator	+1 level of existing manifesting class
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4		+1 level of existing manifesting class
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Skilled Animator	+1 level of existing manifesting class
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5		+1 level of existing manifesting class
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Skilled Animator	+1 level of existing manifesting class
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6		+1 level of existing manifesting class
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Skilled Animator	+1 level of existing manifesting class
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	Permanent Mind	+1 level of existing manifesting class
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Psicraft (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis).

Class Features

All the following are class features of the Cerebral Animator.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Cerebral Animators gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Powers Known: Every level, a cerebral animator gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if he had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that he adds the level of cerebral animator to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.

Animate the Mind: The main ability of the cerebral animator is to re-activate the central nervous system of a dead body, making the body move by command of the cerebral animator through sheer psionic power. At a cost of 15 + the number of cerebral animator levels in powerpoints, the cerebral animator may animate the mind of a dead creature, making it move by command of the cerebral animator. The cerebral animator may only animate a number of minds equal to three times his class level + Psionic manifesting ability. The animated mind gains the following qualities:

• Darkvision out to 60 feet.
• Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects.
• Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.
• Cannot heal damage on its own, although it can be healed. Positive energy (such as a cure spell) can heal an animated mind. The fast healing special quality works regardless.
• Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).
• Not at risk of death from massive damage.
• Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect an animated mind. These spells turn animated minds back into the living creatures they were before becoming dead.
• Proficient with any weapons it had proficiency with in life.
• Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, shields or heavy) it had proficiency with in life.
• Animated do not breathe, eat, or sleep.
• No Intelligence score.
• Loses all feats and skills.
• Loses any Special attack it had in life except those that are Extraordinary.

The cerebral animator can only animate an animated mind for 1 hour per class level. The cerebral animator cannot animate a dead body that lacks a brain, an example of such a creature would be a skeleton. The cerebral animator cannot animate any creature which has HD greater than his own. The animated mind cannot gain experience points. If a animated mind is killed in battle it can not be re-animated.

Skilled Animator: The Cerebral Animator knows how to manipulate the mind of a dead creature and to a certain extent their body. As such he has developed a few special psionic tricks to manipulate his animated minds, these tricks help to make his animated minds more potent and dangerous:

• Armored Skin: Through manipulating the power of the mind the cerebral animator has learned to harden a body to prevent damage to his minions. The cerebral animator may permanently pay 4 power points to permanently give any animated mind he activates +3 Natural armor. This may be taken multiple times, its effects stack.

• Resistant Body: Through manipulating the power of the mind the cerebral animator has learned to form a thin psionic barrier to lessen the damage to his minions. The cerebral animator may permanently pay 6 power points to grant any of his animated minds damage reduction 3/-. This may be taken multiple times, its effects stack.

• Psychokinetic Explosion: By manipulating the unstable psionic power flowing throughout his animated minions bodies he may cause a small psychokinetic explosion that destroys the dead corpse in the process. The cerebral animator may pay 8 power points to cause one of his animated minds to explode dealing 2d4 force damage per level of cerebral animator in a 20-ft radius spread, it allows a reflex save for half damage (DC 14+1/2 Cerebral animator level+ Int modifier). This is a standard action that me be used once per round.

• Instant Animation: The cerebral animator has learned to raise his creations quickly so that he may establish his defensive forces in a battle quicker as to protect himself. The cerebral animator may animate a creature as a free action once per round.

• Physical Mind: The psionic power that flows through the animated minds bodies is unstable, by refining the flow and making it more potent the cerebral animator increases the physical abilities of their dead minions. The cerebral animator may permanently pay 6 power points to give his animated minds +2 to Dexterity, Constitution and Strength and an additional +2 to any one of these abilities. This may be taken multiple times, its effects stack however only one additional +2 may be given.

• Stalwart Cranium: The cerebral animator may permanently pay 4 power points to give his animated minds +4 hp per HD they possess.

• Havoc Storm: The unstable psionic energy flowing throughout the animated minds body can be used for more than just destruction and advanced physical abilities, it can also be used to disturb the psionic powers of other psionic creatures. As a standard action the cerebral animator use the unstable psionic energy from an animated mind to disturb other psioinc abilities using this ability makes the corpse unusable for re-animating either through divine, arcane or psionic means and causes a burst of unstable psionic energy to explode at a location of the cerebral animators choice within 120-ft, the burst is 30-ft wide and causes all creature capable of using powers or psi-like abilities to make a Will save (DC equal to 10 + Cerebral Animator level + Int Modifier) on a failed save the creature may not use any psi-like abilities or manifest psionic powers for a number of rounds equal to the cerebral animators Int modifier x2, on a successful save the target must still make a concentration check (DC equal to 10 + Cerebral Animators total character level) to manifest a psi-like ability or to manifest a psionic power for 3 rounds. Using Havoc Storm costs 10 power points + cerebral Animator level.

Permanent Mind: The cerebral animator has perfected his art to the point where he may have two animated minds last until they or the cerebral animator are killed or until the cerebral animator chooses two different permanent minds. Whenever the cerebral animator animates a mind he may choose to make the animation permanent, he may only have two permanent minds at any one time and may swap between permanent minds whenever he wants. Unlike other animated minds he may re-animate a permanent mind if it is killed in battle.

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