Confessor (Pathfinder Race)

Confessors

Confessors are creatures of magic, whose touch burns with ancient power.

Physical Description

Confessors generally appear human, though their appearance is affected by the race of their non-Confessor parent (see Society). Confessors generally prefer to dress simply but elegantly, and rarely wear jewelry, even among nobility. Among Confessors, hair length is used to mark noble station the way jewelry is in other societies. All Confessors wear their hair long, but the higher her station the longer she wears her hair. The Mother Confessor's hair often touches the ground behind her.

In lands where Confessors are well known, they can be recognized on sight for what they are, as with any other race. In other lands, however, Confessors are not automatically recognized; if their non-Confessor parent race is human or elf or half-elf, they appear to be a human or half-elf, respectively; otherwise, they look like a half-breed of human and their non-Confessor parent race, and are generally assumed to be an outlier member of one race or the other. Confessors get a +5 racial bonus on Disguise checks to appear as a human, or to appear as a member of their non-Confessor parent's race (if the non-Confessor parent is human, these stack to +10 to appear as a human; if the non-Confessor parent's race is elf or half-elf, these stack to +10 to appear as a half-elf), and an additional +10 to these checks in lands where Confessors are not widely known. In lands where Confessors are not widely known, one such disguise check is made passively on first meeting someone new, opposed by Knowledge (Arcana, History, or Nobility) to recognize her as a Confessor. Wearing a Confessor's Dress confers a -20 penalty on all Disguise checks to appear as not a Confessor..

Alignment and Religion

Female Confessors are always Good and usually Lawful, while male Confessors are always Evil and usually Chaotic. Exceptions may be made only with GM approval, and keep in mind that this is a once in an epoch event noteworthy enough to base a campaign around.

Confessors tend to worship deities whose domains include Charm, Good, Law, or Magic.

Society

Confessors tend to keep to themselves, though some take it upon themselves to travel the world and arbitrate justice where they see a need. They are led by the Mother Confessor, a title conferred by committee on one who has shown great power, wisdom, and leadership. She is nearly always one who has taken the Mother Confessor's Touch feat, and she is given the Mother Confessor's Dress as a mark of her station.
Because male Confessors are almost always Chaotic-Evil and incredibly powerful (see the Confessor Son's Touch feat), female Confessors never allow a male Confessor child to live if they can help it. One got loose one time and went on such a spree of mind-control, murder, and rape - fathering more male Confessors in the doing - that the next few hundred years were known as "The Dark Times" until a group of adventurers - including several female Confessors - were able to track down and wipe out all his male descendants. Confessors are very careful to kill every male Confessor child lest that happen again. They see this as necessary for the good of the world; if other societies tell them killing babies is bad, they remind them of the Dark Times, and that generally settles the matter.
Confessors usually travel the world when they come of age to look for a suitable mate, with whom they return to settle down among the other Confessors, so that any male offspring can be swiftly and quietly taken care of. Their mates are not permitted a say in this, but thanks to the Confessors' power this is rarely a problem. Confessors do not marry, and never choose a mate for love; their power would remove from their love everything they fell in love with in the first place. No Confessor would want to make a Thrall out of someone she truly cared for. Instead, Confessors choose a mate based on what traits they will impart to their children, both genetically and through teaching.

Relations

Most races feel something between respect and fear for the Confessors; respect for their love of justice and intolerance of tyrants, and fear that a Confessor might choose them or their loved ones as a mate, as their power makes refusal difficult or impossible. Most prefer to leave Confessors alone, and hope that they respond in kind.

Adventurers

Some Confessors see it as their duty to travel the world and use their ability to quell those who would misuse power. Most Confessors take to adventuring at least temporarily while searching for a mate, as it makes for a good way to travel the world. Confessors almost never travel alone, as they are vulnerable after using their power.

Confessors are often Paladins or Sorcerers, and occasionally Oracles or Bards, as Charisma is tied to their own power. Most Confessors take at least two levels of Noble Scion. Many take classes that allow them to cast Enchantment spells, particularly Charm Person, as this effectively gives them more frequent access to their power, albeit a lesser version of it.

Confessor Racial Features

• +2 Charisma, -2 Strength: Confessors value the strength of the heart over the strength of the body.
• Humanoid (Confessor): Confessors breed true with all medium-sized humanoid races, but always produce pure Confessor children (though they may have superficial aesthetic similarities to the other parent's race).
• Size, Base Speed, Languages, Age, Height, and Weight are as Humans.
• +8 Racial bonus to Sense Motive.

Touch (Sp): Confessors have a spell-like ability called Touching that she may use as a free action once every 2 days on any living sapient humanoid creature she is in physical contact with. If she makes a touch attack to do so, her BAB is treated as her character level for the purposes of this attack, and she gets +1 to it for each Confessor's Touch feat she has. Touching causes a hard impact to the air, like thunder with no sound. The target must make a Will save with a DC of 10 plus half the Confessor's level plus her Charisma modifier plus 2 for every Confessor's Touch feat she has, or be taken by an effect equivalent to Charm Person and (optionally) Command. After Touching, the Confessor becomes exhausted for one hour, after which she is fatigued until the ability recharges or she gets 8 hours of sleep, whichever comes first. Nothing may prevent this exhaustion and fatigue, nor cure it before it runs its course. Her caster level for Touch's effects is equal to her character level. Touch is a mind-affecting effect with the Charm and Emotion descriptors. All effects of Touch come about through affecting the emotions and desires of the target as per Charm Person; the Confessor does not actually assume direct control at any point, even if the equivalent spell says otherwise; she simply gives commands, and the target desires to follow them on its own. This is merely a flavor change; the mechanical effects are as the listed spell.
A Confessor's Touch is always at the ready (unless it is recharging), and is delivered by relaxing her restraint as a free action and allowing the power to release. She must constantly hold it back; under normal circumstances she is able to do this without difficulty, including while sleeping, but if she is ever knocked unconscious, sufficiently drugged or intoxicated, at the height of the throes of passion, or otherwise made mentally incapable of holding her power back (GM's discretion), the power immediately releases. If she is in physical contact with a valid target, it is released into them as though she had used it against them. If there are multiple such valid targets, they must all save against the ability, but the target is chosen at random from among those who fail the save. Even if she is not touching anyone, the power is expended, and she is made exhausted and then fatigued and it must recharge as usual.
If Touch is released during the throes of passion, it turns the target into a Thrall as the Master Confessor's Touch feat, even if the Confessor does not have that feat and even if she would not be allowed a Thrall of his level. Succeeding on the Will save negates this and the target takes the normal effects of Touch as though they had failed the Will save instead. She may only have one such illegal Thrall at a time; if she takes a new one, any other illegal Thralls are reduced to the ordinary effects of her Touch. One who designates a Confessor with the True Love Story Feat is immune to her Touch (this is not common knowledge, and discovering this is usually how that Story Feat is completed). Touch bypasses a Mord-Sith's spell resistance but does not deliver its normal effects; instead it deals 1d6 plus Charisma modifier Constitution damage, plus 1d6 for every Confessor's Touch feat she has. If the Mord-Sith succeeds on her Will save, she halves this damage. At GM discretion, Touch may target non-humanoids with sufficient capacity for compassion to fall in love with a humanoid - such as any Monstrous Humanoid, Outsider, or Fey appropriate for use as a Player Character - though Touch affects them only as Charm Monster. Touch does nothing to other Confessors, and it cannot target herself.

Racial Trait: Con Dar

When a Confessor comes of age, she is taught by her mother how to enter a special state called the Con Dar (or "Blood Rage"). A Confessor without this trait did not receive this teaching for some reason. A Confessor invokes the Con Dar by taking 6 consecutive full round actions (minus 1 for each Confessor's Touch feat she has), during which her eyes glow blood red and she raises her hands to the sky, unleashing an unearthly scream but taking no other actions. This spectacle causes everyone who sees or hears it to save as though Touched or be shaken for 1d6 rounds. The Con Dar may only be invoked on behalf of another, either in their defense or to avenge their death. Upon invoking the Con Dar, a Confessor enters a state of Rage as the Barbarian ability (except that she may still cast spells), and is affected by a Geas to protect or avenge the one for whom the Con Dar was invoked. At her first opportunity after invoking the Con Dar, she paints a pair of red lightning bolts on her face, which she may not remove until the Con Dar is over (treat this as part of the Geas). These painted lightning bolts give her a bonus to Intimidate equal to 1 plus the number of Confessor's Touch feats she has, and anyone familiar with Confessors recognizes them and knows what they mean. The Con Dar lasts until the Geas is complete, during which time she stays in the state of Rage and she may Touch once per round without exhaustion or fatigue and without physical contact up to a range of 60 feet. Anyone taken by Touch during the Con Dar becomes a Thrall as the Master Confessor's Touch feat, even if she does not have that feat and even if she would not normally be allowed a new Thrall of their level, though once the Con Dar is complete any illegal Thralls' effects revert to the usual effects of her Touch, with the duration starting from the end of the Con Dar. When the Con Dar is complete, she becomes dazed for one round, then nauseated for five rounds and exhausted for the amount of time she spent in the Con Dar (this may be measured in rounds up to 9, minutes up to 59, hours up to 23, or days up to a maximum of 2, always rounding up to the nearest whole number), then fatigued for three times that amount of time. Nothing may prevent these conditions, nor cure them before they run their course, and she may not invoke the Con Dar again until they have done so. Once she invokes the Con Dar, she may only ever invoke it again on behalf of the one for whom it was invoked the first time. Most Confessors go their whole lives without ever invoking the Con Dar.

Racial Feats

Improved Confessor's Touch: (Level 5 Female Confessor or Level 1 Male Confessor)
Touch's effects are now as Charm Person and Suggestion. It may now be used once every 24 hours.
If the target's type ever becomes something other than Humanoid, the effects are reduced to merely that of Charm Monster until and unless their type becomes Humanoid again, or the duration expires. Anyone under the effects of her Touch gains a Morale bonus towards any actions that comply with the Confessor's wishes equal to the number of Confessor's Touch feats she has, and takes a similar penalty to any actions that threaten the Confessor or directly oppose her wishes.

Greater Confessor's Touch: (Level 9 Female Confessor or Level 3 Male Confessor, Improved Confessor's Touch)
Touch's effects are now as Charm Person and Dominate Person (with the latter's duration), with the following exceptions: the Confessor cannot scry on the subject's senses, and the subject does not get additional saving throws for actions against his nature (though he will still refuse to follow self-destructive orders). Touch may now be used once every 12 hours.

Empowered Confessor's Touch: (Level 13 Female Confessor or Level 5 Male Confessor, Greater Confessor's Touch)
Touch's effects are now as Charm Person and Geas-Quest (with the latter's duration), and the Geas may be altered with a move action as with Dominate Person. Touch may now be used once every 8 hours.

Master Confessor's Touch: (Level 17 Female Confessor or Level 7 Male Confessor, Empowered Confessor's Touch)
Touch now turns the target into a Thrall. It may now be used once every 4 hours.
Thralls are emptied completely of their own desires and filled only with the desire to please the Confessor and carry out her wishes. They will carry out harmful or suicidal orders, and will even make futile attempts at carrying out impossible orders. A Confessor calculates her allowed number and level of Thralls as Followers per the Leadership Feat, using her level plus twice her Charisma modifier as her Leadership score (no other modifiers are applied). She does not gain a cohort this way. Any Thralls she gains are subtracted from her allowed number of Followers gained through Leadership or other methods. If the target of her Touch would not be allowed as a new Thrall, the effects are as Charm Person and Geas-Quest instead, but with a duration of Permanent. In either case, only a wish or miracle can remove this effect, though if the target's type ever becomes something other than Humanoid, the effects are reduced to merely that of Charm Monster as normal (the duration remains Permanent, though he does not count as a Thrall as long as his type remains other than Humanoid).

Mother Confessor's Touch: (Level 19 Female Confessor, Master Confessor's Touch)
Touch may now be used once every 2 hours. Double her effective Leadership score for Thralls, and use Epic Leadership progression. Thralls will follow any order their body is capable of, even if they would not normally be able to consciously choose to do so (she may order a Thrall to fall asleep, to stop digesting a poison, to simply drop dead, etc. and he will comply). A Confessor with this feat may invoke the Con Dar by instinct, even if she was never taught how by her mother.

Confessor Son's Touch: (Level 9 Male Confessor, Master Confessor's Touch)
Touch may be used once per round and causes no exhaustion or fatigue. Double his effective Leadership score for Thralls, and use Epic Leadership progression.

New Item

Confessor's Dress (Mother Confessor's Dress)
Masterwork Outfit, 80gp (300gp), counts as a Courtier's (Royal) Outfit - including necessary jewelry - for social purposes.
This is a black dress, elegant in its simplicity, cut square at the neck with no frills or pleats. It may be enchanted as if it were Bracers of Armor (up to +5), though it has no effect if worn by anyone other than a Confessor. There is a unique version of this item known as the Mother Confessor's dress, which is white instead of black, may be enchanted as though it were Epic Bracers of Armor (up to +10), and has no effect if worn by anyone other than the Mother Confessor.

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