Primal Thought

There are times when the need of the many must outweigh the needs of the few. Those who have learned to join with the consciousness of the world can more easily feel what needs to be done for the betterment of all. Those who take up this cause in the more aggressive sense join the ranks of the primal thoughts.

BECOMING A PRIMAL THOUGHT

The militant aspect of the primal thought, combined with the manifesting requirement, means that many among their ranks are multiclass characters with levels in ranger and psion. Psychic warriors also make excellent primal thoughts, filling the requirements more easily than their more cerebral counterparts.

Entry Requirements

To qualify to become a primal thought, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack: +4
Skills: Knowledge (nature) 4 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 8 ranks, Survival 4 ranks
Manifesting: Ability to manifest 2nd level powers

GAME RULE INFORMATION

Hit Die: d8

Class Skills

The primal thought’s class skills are Autohypnosis, Concentration, Craft, Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (psionics), Profession (any), Psicraft, and Survival. Skill Points per level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

Primal thoughts spend the majority of their time working to preserve their home planet from those who would invade from other worlds or from those undead who should have already left for the afterlife. All of the following are class features of
the primal thought.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Primal thoughts gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Manifesting: At each level indicated, primal thoughts gain 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 primal thought to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, and then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly. If a character had more than one manifesting class before he became a primal thought, he must decide to which class he adds the new level of primal thought for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

Attunement (Su): At 1st level, a primal thought learns to attune his psyche to a single world. If he departs via means such as plane shift, he loses that attunement. Gaining an attunement to a world takes 24 hours of uninterrupted meditation. Once a primal thought gains attunement, he does not lose it unless he leaves the world. Modes of travel such as ethereal jaunt, psionic or astral caravan do not count as leaving an attuned world unless the destination is another world. A primal thought’s attunement grants him defenses against those not naturally a part of his attuned world. He gains a +1 bonus on saving throws against powers, psi-like abilities, and supernatural abilities of outsiders, except outsiders with the native subtype, elementals, undead, and creatures with the extraplanar subtype.

Preservation (Ex): A primal thought is required to act in the best interests of the world as a whole. If he willfully commits an act that would disrupt the balance of nature, he immediately loses all class features granted from levels in primal thought unless he makes amends such as through atonement. Acts that would disrupt the balance of nature include hunting an indigenous species to near extinction in an ecosystem, causing a large amount of deaths of inhabitants of an area (anything greater than 15% of the population is considered a large amount), or the like that would cause major imbalance in the environment. If an environment has an unnatural balance, such as that imposed by a single entity exploiting an entire population, or an extraplanar creature or a single or group of undead in an area, it is the primal thought’s responsibility to restore the normal
balance to that area.

Insight of the Attuned (Su): By listening to the consciousness of his attuned world, a primal thought is able to extract clues to any problem he may face. He gains a +3 bonus to any Knowledge check made while he is on his attuned world. This bonus improves by one every three levels (+4 at 4th level, +5 at 7th level, +6 at 10th level).

Needs of the Many (Su): The greater good calls out to a primal thought as clearly as a voice in a quiet room. Beginning at 2nd level, any time a primal thought acts in a manner that is for the benefit of others instead of himself, he gains a +1 insight bonus to any appropriate attack or damage roll, save or opposed check. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level and to +3 at 8th level.

Foreign Disjunction (Su): A primal thought is inherently tied to the world around him; those who do not belong to his attuned world are anathema to a primal thought. Beginning at 3rd level, a primal thought gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against any undead, elemental, or creature with the extraplanar subtype. This bonus increases to +4 at
7th level.

Expel (Su): Upon achieving 10th level, a primal thought has learned to forcibly remove those who do not belong upon his attuned world. As a standard action, he may attempt to expel a creature with the undead or extraplanar subtype. The target must succeed on a Will save against a DC of 20 + the primal thought’s Charisma modifier or be either destroyed if undead or banished back to their home plane if extraplanar.

PLAYING A PRIMAL THOUGHT

A primal thought views the entire world as his charge; matters of nations or kings rarely mean much to you. Other adventurers may have difficulty understanding that in your view, the world may be better off if an evil king be left in power if it means the area is stable, while a kind-hearted duke may actually be causing more harm than he realizes, destabilizing an entire geographical area.

Combat

While a primal thought does not necessarily seek out combat, neither does he shy away from it. As a primal thought, you are prepared to face the enemies of the greater good with whatever is available, be it a weapon, your psionic powers, or your bare hands. In addition, creatures that do not belong on your attuned world are your primary target in combat.

Advancement

Your talents as a primal thought grow based upon your experience with your attuned world. As you take actions that protect your world, you will find new abilities at your disposal, new abilities focused at protecting and preserving your chosen home. It is not uncommon to become more militant as a primal thought as your time attuned to a single world grows. You may begin to actively seek out wrongs to right, becoming more proactive in your approach instead of reactive.

Resources

A primal thought is the guardian of an entire world, oft-times self-appointed. As such, he can sometimes call upon the aid of organizations that are like-minded, such as druid circles, some religious groups, and hunters of extraplanar creatures. This is not always the case, as some primal thoughts are loners who do not seek out the assistance of others.

PRIMAL THOUGHTS IN THE WORLD

The calling as a protector or guardian of an entire world can be a bit daunting for most individuals. For one called to be a primal thought, it is something they are not only comfortable with, it is something at which they excel. The role of protector is second-nature to these individuals and they do not flinch from the responsibility it requires. Many of the more globally-conscious groups, such as druid circles, may call upon primal thoughts in times of need, but due to instances where the actions of these groups have gone against the greater good, primal thoughts can and do go against any organization that has hired them, causing primal thoughts to often be singular individuals instead of members of any group.

Organization

As vast as the world truly is, it can sometimes be hard to determine what is truly for the best for everyone and everything. Some primal thoughts have tried to band together to work for the common good, but have come to odds when there were differing ideas of what course of action was for the best. Even with all the talents the individuals have, the choice of options is so vast, and the conviction these individuals possess is so strong, that compromise is a difficult concept for them to accept. As a result, most primal thoughts are not associated with any given organization for any significant amount of time. If a specific job by an organization is for the common good, a primal thought has been known to work for hire, but they are unflinching in doing what is best for their attuned world.

NPC Reactions

Reactions to primal thoughts vary based upon the area and the government of the area. Many lands that seek to help those in need and preserve rather than exploit view primal thoughts as welcome members of society, while those who willingly cause imbalance and disorder see them as threats to be eliminated. Common folk often perceive these protectors of the greater good as meddlers, especially when their actions bring them at odds with the local authorities.

PRIMAL THOUGHT LORE

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (psionics) can attempt to research primal thoughts to find out more about them. When a character makes an appropriate Knowledge check, use the phrases or variations of them from below, including any information from lower DC checks, should there be any.

  • DC 10: The name primal thought sounds quite imposing, but they are actually very protective.
  • DC 15: A primal thought does not just protect his friends; he works to protect the entire world from those who would invade it.
  • DC 20: The power of a primal thought comes from their attunement to their own world. They are able to sense those who do not truly belong and some primal thoughts are even able to return invaders to where they belong.

PRIMAL THOUGHTS IN THE GAME

Players who enjoy the concept of the greater good, even if it means supporting the lesser evil, may find that the primal thought prestige class is right up their alley. As the class does not have any direct organizational ties, it should not be difficult to integrate them into your game.

Adaptation

Campaigns that lack the inclusion of extraplanar creatures or undead may cause a player of the primal thought prestige class to feel as if the choice to enter the class was a poor one. Remember that summoned creatures, such as elementals, that come from other planes automatically carry the extraplanar subtype. Introducing enemies who utilize summoning effects can help make a player of a primal thought get the most out of their choice.

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