In societies without any magical way to heal wounds, the needs of sick and injured must be met in some way. Those with psionic potential in these communities unlocked the secrets to use their power to heal others. Initially, these individuals were thought to simply be society minds, who have the ability to share health across their worldthought network; but as the talents of these healers grew, it was discovered they had unique talents never seen before in society minds. These individuals came to be known as worldthought medics.
The worldthought medic is a variant designed to supplement the existing society mind class. It is quite possible to have both worldthought medics and society minds in the same game, or even the same adventuring party. A character cannot multiclass between worldthought medic and society mind, as they are both technically the same class.
MAKING A WORLDTHOUGHT MEDIC
The role of a worldthought medic in a party is typically to provide healing, both in a reactive way through his powers, and in a proactive way by siphoning life from enemies and granting it to his allies. Because a worldthought medic can allow his allies to heal themselves without having to actually take the initiative, he can often perform other duties as needed, although his healing is usually more effective if he initiates it, rather than requiring a party member to request it.
Abilities:
Wisdom determines what level of psionic power a worldthought medic can manifest, how hard his powers are to resist, and his bonus power points. A high Constitution is also important for the worldthought medic, who might need to transfer other’s damage to himself.
Races:
Worldthought medics come from all races, although the naturally psionic races do tend to draw more worldthought medics than those races not born with psionic power. Elans and maenads are among the most prolific of the worldthought medics, although the xephs, with their natural inclination to travel, have been known to become worldthought medics to provide the healing they, and others, need while away from civilized areas.
Alignment:
The nature of worldthought medics as primarily healers tends to result in more good or neutral aligned characters, but the offensive capabilities of the worldthought medic, as well as the ability to heal himself can lead characters of any alignment to choose the path of the worldthought medic. No specific alignment is exempt from being able to choose to become a worldthought medic.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Worldthought medics have the following game statistics.
Hit Dice: d6
Class Skills:
The worldthought medic’s class skills are Autohypnosis, Bluff, Craft, Concentration, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Knowledge (psionics), Listen, Perform, Profession, Psicraft, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Survival. Skill Points at 1st level: (2 + INT) x 4. Skill Points at Each Additional Level: (2 + INT)
Class Features
Your psionic powers and your worldthought network are your most vital abilities. Helping your allies - whether by healing them or making your enemies weaker - is what you do best.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Worldthought medics are proficient with all simple weapons and all types of armor, but not with shields. Armor does not, however, interfere with the manifestation of powers.
Power Points/Day: A worldthought medic’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points he has available. His base daily allotment of power points is given on the table above. In addition, he receives bonus power points per day if he has a high Wisdom score. His race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain feats and items.
Powers Known: A worldthought medic begins play knowing one worldthought medic power of your choice at the time. At every even-numbered class level after 1st, he unlocks the ability to know more powers at any given time. Choose the powers known from the worldthought medic power list. (Exception: The feats Expanded Knowledge and Epic Expanded Knowledge do allow a worldthought medic to learn powers from the lists of other classes.) A worldthought medic can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than his manifester level. The total number of powers a worldthought medic can manifest in a day is limited only by his daily power points.
A worldthought medic never needs to prepare powers ahead of time; he draws them from his mind when needed. When a worldthought medic recovers his daily power points after resting, he may choose to rotate one or more powers he knows for new ones. These powers must always be chosen from the worldthought medic power list, and the maximum number of powers the worldthought medic may know at any one time in this fashion is listed on the table above. If a worldthought medic learns a power through other means, such as the Expanded Knowledge feat or psychic chirurgery, this power is known in addition to his normal powers. He may never exchange it for another power from the worldthought medic list when he chooses his powers known, and it doesn’t count against his limit of powers known at any one time.
The Difficulty Class for saving throws against worldthought medic powers is 10 + the power’s level + the worldthought medic’s Wisdom modifier.
Maximum Power Level Known: A worldthought medic begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As he attains higher levels, he may gain the ability to master more complex powers. To learn or manifest a power, a worldthought medic must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the power’s level.
Worldthought Network (Su): A worldthought medic can connect willing minds through an internal network that strengthens their psychic bonds. As a standard action, a worldthought medic can join up to his class level in willing targets into his network. The worldthought medic must have line of sight to each target, each target must have a Wisdom score of at least 1, and all targets must be within range (see Table 2). A worldthought medic’s network can never have more members than his class level. The worldthought medic is always considered a member of his own network, and does not count against this limit.
The worldthought medic can choose to remove a member as a free action on his turn, and any member can voluntarily leave the network as a free action on their turn. Any member whose Wisdom drops to zero or who moves out of range of the network is automatically removed. If a member enters a null psionics field, the network link is suppressed until that member leaves the field. A member who leaves the network for any reason immediately loses any and all benefits they may have gained from being a member. A worldthought medic is aware of the status of his network and can, roughly, sense the presence of each member, although beyond telling if such a creature is still a member, this has no mechanical benefit until higher levels (see telepathy and health sense, below).
A worldthought medic can manifest certain powers through his worldthought network. If a worldthought medic power specifies one or more willing targets (or is harmless) and has a range greater than personal, he can manifest this power on a member of his network regardless of the range of the actual power. All other non-range restrictions still apply. He may also manifest any power with the Network descriptor this way, regardless of their actual ranges or targets. If he is capable of manifesting powers or casting spells from a different class (as is the case for a multiclass worldthought medic), any compatible spell or power with a range greater than touch can also be used through the network.
If a member of the network dies, the member is removed from the network and the worldthought medic must make a Fortitude save (DC 15) or lose 10 XP and 1 power point for every Hit Die of the fallen member. The worldthought medic must maintain a power point reserve of at least one point to maintain the network. If he does not, the network and all attendant benefits end immediately.
Cooperative Healing (Su): Whenever a willing member of the worldthought medic’s worldthought network could regain lost hit points or ability damage, that member may choose to redirect any or all of that healing to one or more other willing members of the network as a free action. This can transfer instantaneous healing (such as a body adjustment power) and even hit points gained from rest (in which case, a member of the network would rest for a period of time as normal, and the amount of hit points and ability damage healed would go to another). Healing from ongoing healing effects, such as the fast healing special quality or true metabolism, cannot be transferred.
In any case, the original recipient of the healing effect chooses who gets to receive the diverted healing, and does not gain the benefits of any healing he grants to another. The type of healing (positive energy, negative energy, construct repair, etc.) is unchanged from the original source for determining who or what can be healed.
Example: Darius the soulknife is a willing member of Jaieth the worldthought medic’s worldthought network. He drinks a potion of cure light wounds that would normally heal him for 6 hit points, but he decides to redirect 4 of those points to Jaieth. As a result Darius is healed for 2 hit points, and Jaieth is healed for 4. If there were more members in Jaieth’s cooperative network, Darius could spread the healing from that potion out even more as long as the sum of hit points healed was no greater than 6.
Unlike the society mind, who cannot heal if he has not taken any damage, as there is nothing to heal and then transfer, a worldthought medic may even heal wounds through cooperative healing if at full health. This may only be used with healing effects such as potions, powers, or other such effects. Healing from long term care or natural healing cannot be transferred in this way.
Medic Powers: The worldthought medic gains special uses of some of his powers that are unavailable to other characters, even to society minds. The following powers gain the Network descriptor when manifested by a worldthought medic only: all powers with the Healing descriptor, biofeedback, endorphin surge, expansion, oak body, physical acceleration, iron body, psionic, sustenance, suspend life, timeless body, vigor.
Health Sense: Beginning at 2nd level, a worldthought medic may take a swift action to gauge the relative health level of party members, determining how much healing his network members are in need of. In addition, the worldthought medic may make a Heal check as a standard action, with a DC of 15, to determine if any of the members of his network are afflicted by a disease or poison.
Starting at 7th level, the worldthought medic can make a Heal check over his worldthought network to stabilize a dying target or treat a wound from a caltrop, spike growth, spike stones, or similar. This ability improves at 12th level, and the worldthought medic may make a Heal check over his worldthought network to treat a poisoned creature.
At 17th level, the worldthought medic is able to treat diseases in the same fashion, making a Heal check over his worldthought network. When treating a target over a worldthought network, the DC of the Heal check is the same as if the worldthought medic was treating the target normally.
Spirit of Many (Su): A worldthought medic gains special abilities when manifesting powers with the Network descriptor. He can manifest these powers on any member of his network, even if they are out of the power’s range or would normally be immune to the power. Whenever a worldthought medic manifests a power with the Network descriptor targeting only members of his worldthought network, the power loses the mindaffecting descriptor (if it had it) and is treated as a supernatural ability (bypassing power resistance and becoming immune to dispel attempts), although it still provokes an attack of opportunity to manifest as normal. Network powers manifest only on members of the network never allow saving throws — their saving throw entry becomes “None,” although if the power specifies a subsequent saving throw (such as an augmented ability as one UP), subjects attempt those saves normally. The worldthought medic also adds the following augment to all powers with the Network descriptor:
- Augment: For every additional power point you spend, you can choose an additional target, so long as the target is a member of your worldthought network.
Steal Health (Su): At 3rd level, a worldthought medic has learned to siphon the health of a creature and use it for his own needs or the needs of his network. As a touch attack, the worldthought medic may deal a number of hit points in damage to the target equal to his level + his Wisdom modifier and heal an equal amount of damage. The worldthought medic may share any healing from this effect over his network, even if he himself would not be eligible for the healing. A worldthought medic may not heal more hit points than the touched creature had prior to using this ability.
For example, Poldreth is a level 3 worldthought medic with a Wisdom of 16 and 15 hit points. Poldreth has suffered 3 hit points of damage and uses Steal Health on a nearby orc, dealing 6 hit points of damage (3 from his levels in worldthought medic, 3 from his Wisdom modifier). Although Poldreth may only heal himself for 3 hit points, he may distribute the other 3 hit points over the network to other network members as needed.
At 7th level, a worldthought medic is able to use steal health as a ranged touch attack with a range of 30 feet.
Telepathy (Su): When a worldthought medic reaches 3rd level, all willing members of his worldthought network (including the worldthought medic himself) can communicate with each other telepathically, even if they do not share a common language. Psionic creatures who are willing members in a worldthought medic’s worldthought network (including the worldthought medic himself) may manifest unknown powers from powers known by another willing psionic creature in the network as if they were making physical contact.
Request Aid (Su): Starting at 5th level, members of a worldthought medic’s worldthought network are able to request aid from the worldthought medic, should he not realize such aid is needed. As a standard action, any member of the worldthought network can request healing from the medic. The medic can grant this request by spending up to his level in power points as a free action. Each power point spent in this fashion heals 3 hit points to the target. A medic can even initiate this healing himself should he realize someone needs healing, by spending a standard action. A medic can only do this a number of times per day equal to 1+ his Wisdom modifier.
Empathy (Ps): Once a worldthought medic has reached 6th level, he gains the ability to manifest empathy twice per day with a manifester level equal to his class level. This ability may only be used on members of the worldthought medic’s worldthought network and is treated as having the network descriptor. Every three levels thereafter, the worldthought medic may use this ability one additional time per day (3 at 9th level, 4 at 12th level, etc).
Mystic Echo (Su): At 8th level, the worldthought medic gains the ability to copy non-permanent magical and psionic effects within his network. If a member of the network is affected by a magical or psionic effect with a duration greater than 1 round, the worldthought medic can “echo” it onto another member of his worldthought network. To do so, the worldthought medic must first identify the power properly (see the Psicraft skill description). Echoing a magical or psionic effect is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity and costs the worldthought medic a number of power points equal to the original effect’s caster or manifester level (whichever applies). As a supernatural ability, a worldthought medic is permitted to spend more power points than his manifester level on this effect. The new target must be legal for the effect in question (for instance, if you attempt to echo an unaugmented psionic charm on a dog, the echo will fail). If the effect allows a saving throw, the new target is entitled to a saving throw when the effect is echoed (same DC as the original power). Only the basic effect and augmentation are echoed - metamagic and metapsionic feats do not echo. The echo has all the same decisions made as the original — for instance, specified energy adaptation echoes would guard against the same energy type, while a 5pp psionic charm (extended duration) could not be echoed as a 5pp psionic charm (affects aberrations). The echo takes effect at the same caster or manifester level as the originator. When the original ends or leaves the network, all echoes of it also end. An echo can be dispelled as normal without terminating the original.
A worldthought medic can spend power points to augment this supernatural ability. For every 4 additional power points spent, the echo may reach an additional target. If this augment would raise the cost of the echo above the worldthought medic’s manifester level, the echo attempt fails (although he may still attempt to echo it onto a single target). The worldthought medic knows if an effect is beyond his ability to echo this way when he identifies it.
Soul Buffer: At 9th level, the worldthought medic gains the Soul Buffer feat as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it.
Healing Affinity (Su): Once a worldthought medic achieves 11th level, he has learned new techniques
for healing that improve his manifestations of healing powers. Any time a worldthought medic manifests a power of the healing subdiscipline, he can expend his psionic focus to treat the power as augmented by one additional power point. The
power’s effective augmented power point cost may still not exceed the worldthought medic’s manifester level. Every four levels thereafter, the power is augmented by an additional power point (2 at 15th, 3 at 19th).
Steal Life (Su): Beginning at 14th level, a worldthought medic can not only steal the health of a target, but steal their life itself. By making a successful touch attack and expending psionic focus, the worldthought medic can force the target to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half worldthought medic level + Wis mod) or die. A successful save negates this effect. If the target fails the save, the worldthought medic is able to channel the stolen life force through his network, healing any number of the members of his network for a combined total of 5 hit points per hit die the original target had.
For example, Poldreth is a level 14 worldthought medic and he uses steal health on a thought slayer, which has 11 hit dice. The thought slayer fails the Fortitude save, so Poldreth can heal up to 55 hit points over his network, divided among the members as he sees fit. Constructs, elementals, and undead are immune to the effects of steal life.
Efficient Network (Su): At 20th level, the worldthought medic’s mastery over his worldthought network and the closely associated Network powers reaches legendary proportions. A worldthought medic can maintain concentration on a Network power with only a move action. He can even manifest other powers while concentrating, though doing so requires a Concentration check (DC 15 + the level of the power he’s concentrating on + the level of the power he intends to manifest). If this check fails, the new power fails (and the power points spent on it are lost) and the worldthought medic must make a second Concentration check or lose concentration on the original power, ending it immediately. The DC to maintain concentration on any power as a move action is 5 higher than normal.
