Radiant Spirit (Template)

Radiant Spirits are the the spirits of great heroes that died for some heroic cause, and were granted immortality by a deity or other powerful patron. These spirits often return to the mortal world to finish their quest (if they have been slain before its completion), to serve as a guardian for some city or group of people, or simply to continue serving their cause.
A Radiant Spirit is composed of pure life energy (positive energy). It appears like it did in life, but made of white light. This light illuminates an area of 10 ft. radius around the creature with a light strength equal to that of a torch.

Creating a Radiant Spirit:
"Radiant Spirit" is an aquired template that can be added to any intelligent non-evil creature. The creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature) must have a Charisma score of at least 6. A Radiant Spirit uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The creature's type changes to Outsider. Do not recalculate the creature's Hit Dice, base attack bonus, or saves. It retains its old type as a subtype. It also gains the Incorporeal subtype, with the exception that it retains its Strength score. Size is unchanged.

Hit Dice: Future Hit Dice are gained per class or as Outsider (d8).

Armor Class: Natural and worn armor is the same as the base creature's but applies only to other incorporeal or ethereal creatures. As an incorporeal creature, it gains a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma modifier or +1, whichever is higher.

Attacks: A Radiant Spirit retains all the attacks of the base creature, although those relying on physical contact do not affect creatures that are not incorporeal or ethereal. Against ethereal opponents, it adds its Strength modifier to attack and damage rolls. Against nonethereal opponents, it adds its Dexterity modifier to attack rolls only.

Special Attacks: A Radiant Spirit retains all the special attacks of the base creature, although those relying on physical contact do not affect corporeal creatures. The creature also gains the following special attacks:

Radiant Aura (Su): Once per day, as a standard action, a Radiant Spirit can channel its life energy into a protective aura. This aura deals 1d6 points of positive energy damage to any undead creature that touches the Spirit (e.g. by making an attack with a natural weapon). Using this ability requires the Spirit to sacrifice 1 hit point per hit die. These hit points cannot be healed as long as the Radiant Weapon is in effect. The effect lasts up to 1 round per hit die.

Radiant Weapon (Su): At will, as a standard action, a Radiant Spirit can channel its life energy into its weapons (including natural ones), enabling them to attack corporeal beings with those weapons or deliver touch spells (no miss chance). It adds its Strength modifier to attack and damage rolls. Much like brilliant energy weapons, radiant weapons ignore corporeal defenses such as armor and natural armor. They cannot hit objects or constructs. However, they can hit undead and deal an additional 1d6 points of positive energy damage against them. Using this ability requires the Spirit to sacrifice 1 hit point per hit die. These hit points cannot be healed as long as the Radiant Weapon is in effect. The effect lasts up to 1 round per hit die.

Special Qualities: A Radiant Spirit has all the special qualities of the base creature as well as those described below.

Immortality (Su): When slain, a Radiant Spirit is immediately sent to the plane where it would end up after death, where it continues to exist as a Radiant Spirit. The creature cannot return to the Material Plane until a raise dead or (true) ressurrection is cast, or until a year has passed. Requirements (such as parts of the original physical body) and costs (such as level loss) still apply. The casting of such spells also allows the Radiant Spirit to take on material form again. Doing so suppresses all of the template's effects, except the Spell-like Abilities and Planar Bond, until death. The Spirit may select the age of the new material form.

Immunities (Su): A Radiant Spirit is immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, and death effects. The Spirit is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, fatigue, and exhaustion effects. They are not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, they are immediately slain.

Planar Bond (Su): A Radiant Spirit has two or three home planes: the Material Plane, the plane on which it would end up after death (its "heaven"), and the plane on which the deity or being lives that has granted the template (which often is the same as the plane as the one on which it would end up after death). It is not considered extraplanar when on one of these planes. In addition, the Radiant Spirit may travel to one of these planes, as per plane shift spell, once per day (personal only).

Spell-like Abilities (Sp): 3/day: mage hand, daylight, cure light wounds. All spells are cast as a cleric with caster level equal to the creature's hit dice.

Vulnerability to Negative Energy (Su): Being composed of positive energy, Radiant Spirits are very vulnerable to attacks using negative energy. They receive half again as much (+50%) damage (hit points, level drain, ability drain, etc.) from any negative energy attack or effect. Furthermore, they can be turned or destroyed with Rebuke Undead, and rebuked or commanded with Turn Undead.

Abilities: Same as the base creature, except that the Radiant Spirit has no Constitution score.

Skills: Due to their radiant nature, Radiant Spirits gain a -8 circumstance penalty to Hide checks in any environment that is not brightly lit.

Environment: Any, often as base creature.

Treasure: None.

Alignment: Any non-evil.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +2.

Spirit Equipment
When a Radiant Spirit forms, all its equipment and carried items usually become incorporeal along with it. The original items vanish. In addition, the Radiant Spirit retains 2d4 items that it particularly valued in life (provided they are not in another creature's possession). The equipment works normally on the Ethereal Plane but passes harmlessly through material objects or creatures. A weapon of +1 or better magical enhancement, however, can harm material creatures, but any such attack has a 50% chance to fail unless the weapon is a ghost touch weapon (just as magic weapons can fail to harm the Radiant Spirit). New equipment will need to be made incorporeal or ethereal for the Spirit to use them, although it can use ghost touch items as normal.

Licensing:
This material is distributed under the Open Game License Version 1.0a (view a copy of the license). All of this material is designated as Open Game Content, in accordance with Section 1(d) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a.

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