Fugitives and marks alike run from their would-be captors. The wisest of these hunters do not rely on mundane ways of tracking alone, instead combining those abilities with the information readily available through the powers of the mind. By blending clairsentient talents with the techniques of an inquisitive and a warrior, these sighted seekers become the worst nightmare of any criminal – or anyone they’re hired to find.
Becoming a Sighted Seeker
Because of the dual nature of the sighted seeker, both as one who physically and mentally hunts for a target, those who look to become sighted seekers tend to be multiclass characters with levels in ranger and seer. Members of either class individually can become sighted seekers, as can dedicated members of other classes (particularly rogues and society minds), although it is slightly more difficult. Despite the apparent focus on law enforcement, a sighted seeker does not need to be lawful – several see themselves as operating outside the law, and are thus free to do what they feel is ‘the right thing,’ even if the law would dictate otherwise.
Entry Requirements
To qualify to become a sighted seeker, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Gather Information 5 ranks, Listen 8 ranks, Spot 8 ranks, Survival 5 ranks
Feats: Track
Special: Power point reserve.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Class Skills
The sighted seeker’s class skills are Autohypnosis, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Gather Information, Hide, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (psionics), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Psicraft, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, and Use Rope. Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sighted seeker.
Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Sighted seekers are proficient with all simple weapons, plus the longsword, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow and whip. Sighted seekers are proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
Manifesting: A sighted seeker gains manifesting ability if she did not already have it. Her power points per day, powers known, and maximum power level known are given on the table below. She chooses her powers from the sighted seeker power list. To learn or manifest a power, she must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the power’s level, the save DCs for her powers are Wisdom-based, and she uses her Wisdom score to determine bonus power points.
Alternatively, if the sighted seeker was capable of manifesting psionic powers before becoming a sighted seeker, she may choose to forgo this training, instead opting to progress her existing manifesting class as described on the table below. At each indicated level, she gains power points, access to new powers, and an improved manifester level as if she had gained a level in whatever manifesting class she belonged to earlier. If she belonged to more than one manifesting class before becoming a sighted seeker, she must choose which class to add the level of sighted seeker to for the purposes of power points, access to new powers, and manifester level. Once the sighted seeker has chosen her manifesting path, it can never be changed – not even with effects such as psychic reformation.
Favored Prey (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a sighted seeker may add her favored enemy bonus (if any) to the save DCs when manifesting powers (such as remote viewing) against her favored enemies. Favored prey only applies to powers the sighted seeker manifests from her own mind (it does not apply to those from a psionic item or to psi-like abilities), and if such a power would affect multiple targets, only favored enemies or marks face the increased DC.
Urban Tracking: A sighted seeker gains Urban Tracking as a bonus feat at first level.
Passive Seeking (Su): What makes the sighted seekers so efficient at their job is their ability to distil information from the passive thoughts and interactions around them, without arousing suspicion by asking any questions. While psionically focused and having a particular goal in mind, the sighted seeker may make a free Gather Information check relating to this goal every 10 minutes she’s in a crowd as she detects scraps of information from those around her. If her goal is to locate a mark (see mark prey, below), she gains a bonus on this check equal to her class level.
Mark Prey (Ex): A 3rd-level sighted seeker can invest her own psionic power into actively seeking a specific individual target, known as a mark. This investment requires spending power points equal to 3 per specific target selected. While a sighted seeker does not need to know a mark’s specific name or appearance, she must be able to unquestionably identify the specific individual in some way – for instance, “the one who made these tracks” or “the Queen’s killer” would be sufficient, while simply looking for “the elf” would not. This cost must be paid immediately upon recovering power points on each subsequent day that mark is being actively hunted by the sighted seeker. A target remains a mark until the seeker ceases investing power points each day to hunt them.
The sighted seeker may treat a mark as a favored enemy, as if she had the ranger class ability, with a +1 bonus. If that foe is already a favored enemy by virtue of race or organization, the favored enemy bonus improves by +2. Many of a sighted seeker’s class features function in an improved fashion if she uses them against a mark; see the individual abilities for details.
Prescient Tactics (Ex): When a sighted seeker of 4th level or higher manifests the defensive precognition, offensive precognition, or offensive prescience power, she adds the following augment to the power.
- If you spend 2 additional power points, the duration increases to 1 hour/level, but you only gain the insight bonuses against your favored enemies. In addition, you also add the insight bonus to Survival checks made to use the Track feat, and to Gather Information checks made to use the Urban Tracking feat.
Seeker’s Analysis (Ex): A 5th level sighted seeker has mastered the mundane aspects of the hunt, such that they become almost second nature to her. Add the following abilities to the Search skill:
- Find Evidence Normal time DC 10-20
- Analysis 1 minute DC 15
Evidence is a physical clue which would provide information about her current task, such as the location or past deeds of a mark or the solution to a mystery. The DC to find a clue is based on how much the scene was disturbed from the act that left the evidence (with 10 being a perfectly undisturbed scene). However, it still must be interpreted to determine any useful information. Analyzing evidence to determine useful information requires a DC 15 Search check, +2 per day past the event. Failure of analysis provides incomplete and potentially misleading information, while dramatic success may reveal more information than the clue may initially suggest to a casual observer. Regardless of the success of analysis, though, it takes more dramatic means (such as object reading or related powers) to determine the authenticity of evidence (that fleck of kobold scales could have been planted at the scene, for instance).
A sighted seeker can take 10 to find or analyze evidence, but cannot take 20 and cannot retry failed checks. 5 or more ranks in a relevant Knowledge skill provide a +2 bonus on Search checks made when analyzing evidence. Additionally, add the following abilities to the Knowledge skill:
- Research Subject: At least 1d4 hours DC 10
- Browse Records: At least 1d4 hours DC 10-30.
Researching a subject involves perusing libraries or related sources for information about a particular subject, such as the nations which export the type of weapon found at a scene or what a particular symbol stands for. Difficult subjects require more time to research (up to the GM), but do not alter the DC – instead, you are limited by the amount of information present in the source you are browsing. Particularly good sources (such as royal archives or related specialists’ libraries) may provide a bonus of up to +6 on this check. A successful check results in a general understanding of the subject, while higher checks result in better information (to the limit of the source).
Browsing records involves going over files or ledgers looking for a particular piece of information – trends in immigration, taxation patterns, the goals of documented experiments and the like. The complexity of the filing system sets the DC; more difficult systems also take longer to peruse (at the GM’s option). If a sighted seeker sets out with a specific goal in mind – such as the exact date a particular individual checked in at the inn – the DC may increase by +5-+15 (at the GM’s option), or may decrease dramatically if the filing system is particularly good.
A sighted seeker may take 10, take 20, and retry these Knowledge checks as often as time allows, though she is still limited by the information present in the source.
Sighted Analysis (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a sighted seeker learns to augment her deductive skills with her psionic powers. She may spend 3 power points to automatically determine if a source is authentic during analysis, or to gain a +2 insight bonus to a single Search or Knowledge check (whether using seeker’s analysis or not). If she increases her Knowledge check this way while browsing records or researching a subject, she is able to make such great leaps of insight that she is no longer bound by the limits of her source of information. Unlike most supernatural abilities, sighted analysis can be augmented by spending more power points. Each additional power point spent increases the insight bonus
on Search or Knowledge checks by 2. Alternatively, by spending 2 additional power points, the sighted seeker gains the trapfinding feature (as a rogue) for the duration of her Search check, or she may treat any single Knowledge check as a trained check. The sighted seeker may not spend more power points on a single use of sighted analysis than her class level.
Hypercognition (Ps): At 8th level, the sighted seeker gains the ability to use hypercognition once per week as a psi-like ability, with a manifester level equal to twice her class level. Additionally, she adds hypercognition to list of powers known as a 7th level power. If she is unable to manifest 7th level powers, she cannot manifest it until she is able to.
The Sight (Su): Experienced sighted seekers develop the technique from which their name derives: the Sight. At 9th level, a sighted seeker learns the remote viewing power automatically (without having to select it). If she already knows remote viewing, she may learn any other clairsentience power from her class list of 4th level or lower.
Additionally, when she manifests remote viewing on a mark (see mark prey, above), she treats her connection to the mark (if she has one) as if it were one step better (from a likeness or picture to a possession or garment, for instance), reduces the manifesting time from 1 hour to 1 minute, and increases the duration from 1 minute/level to 10 minutes/level. Remote viewing doesn’t end if the sighted seeker attempts to manifest a power on her mark from her quasi-real viewpoint, although all other restrictions on such manifestations apply. Manifesting remote viewing on a mark does not cost any experience points (although the sighted seeker must still pay the XP cost if she uses remote viewing for other purposes).
Metafaculty (Ps): At 10th level, the sighted seeker gains the ability to use metafaculty once per week as a psi-like ability, with a manifester level equal to twice her class level. Additionally, she adds metafaculty to her list of powers known as an 8th level power. If she is unable to manifest 8th level powers, she cannot manifest it until she is able to.
Sighted Seeker Power List:
- 1st level: Blinding Flash, Burst, Call to Mind, Call Weaponry Chameleon Circumstance Shield HC, Compression, Destiny Dissonance, Detect Psionics, Detect Teleportation, Grip of Iron, Headcount, Judge HC, Precognition, Defensive Precognition, Offensive Precognition, Offensive Prescience, Prevenom Weapon, Psychic Tracking
- 2nd level: Clairvoyant Sense, Psionic Darkvision, Everyman, Feat Leech, Psionic Identify, Know Direction and Location, Object Reading, Prowess, Recall Agony, Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions
- 3rd level: Danger Sense, Escape Detection, Fate Link, Mental Barrier, Ubiquitous Vision
- 4th level: Anchored Navigation, Aura Sight, Detect Remote Viewing, Psionic Divination, Physical Acceleration, Remote Viewing (but see The Sight, above), Steadfast Perception, Trace Teleport
Urban Seekers:
If you use the urban ranger and Urbant Tracking feat variants in your games, urban rangers may also become sighted seekers. To become a sighted seeker under such a variant, you may replace the Track feat and Survival skill requirement with the Urban Tracking feat and a Search skill requirement. If the urban ranger variant is allowed, a sighted seeker who entered the class with Urban Tracking gains the Track feat at first level instead. No other mechanical changes are necessary.