Bloodsong Heritor

Every race has a song to sing, a story to tell to the world. The
bards who become bloodsong heritors are those who have
chosen to take up that song. Exemplifying the art and culture
of their peoples, bloodsong heritors unlock sanguine music
that inspires their allies and fills their veins with its strange,
pounding beat. Bloodsong heritors all begin as bards, and
most of them are bards with an interest in preserving and
promoting their race’s culture and unique nature in the
wider world around them. While not all bards with that
interest become bloodsong heritors, some discover a natural
talent for the bloodsong, while others unearth it in ancient
tomes or learn it from a fellow heritor. However it happens,
they begin their journey into the heart and soul of their
people, understanding it from a different perspective than
their peers.

Bloodsong heritors can be found in any race that has
bards, though truly old races produce them more often than
younger races do. Many half-breeds become bloodsong
heritors, looking to understand where they come from and
then falling in love with their heritage.

**Alignment:** Any.

**Hit Die:** d8**.**

**Role:** Support; bloodsong heritors enhance their allies and
use harmonic magic to bolster their spellcasting.

* **Skills**: Perform (any) 3 ranks.
* **Feats:** Bloodsong Adept.
* **Spellcasting:** able to cast 1st level bard spells.
* **Special**: bardic performance.

**Class Skills:** The bloodsong heritor’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Knowledge (any) (Int), Perform (Cha), and Spellcraft (Int).

**Skill Points at Each Level**: 6 + Int modifier.

### **CLASS FEATURES**

All of the following are class features of the bloodsong
heritor prestige class.

### **Weapon and Armor Proficiency**

Bloodsong heritors gain
no proficiency with any weapons and armor.

### **Spells Per Day**

At every level except 1st and 10th, the
bloodsong heritor gains new spells per day as if she had also
gained a level in bard. She does not, however, gain other
benefits a bard would have gained (such as class features).
This essentially means that she adds those levels of bloodsong
heritor to her levels of bard, then determines spells per day,
spells known, and caster level accordingly.

### **Bloodsong (Su)**

The bloodsong heritor learns songs woven
with blood magic and her peoples’ ancient ancestry. She
gains additional rounds per day of her bardic performances
equal to her levels in this class, and learns the following
bardic performances as she gains levels in bloodsong
heritor. Bloodsong performances may have auditory or
visual components, or both, as chosen by the bloodsong
heritor when she begins each performance.

* *War Hymn:* The bloodsong heritor learns this performance at 2nd level; she drives her allies with a song of war and glory in battle. Her allies may make an additional 5 ft. step each round and gain a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls.
* *Bolstering Rhythm:* The bloodsong heritor learns this performance at 4th level; she bolsters her allies with memories of hearth, home, and peace. She expends three rounds of her bardic performance as a standard action, and all allies within 60 ft. may immediately make a new save against any undesired effects currently affecting them. If they succeed, the effects end immediately. Bolstering rhythm cannot remove effects that do not allow a saving throw. Unlike most performances, bolstering rhythm cannot be maintained and does not require the bloodsong heritor to cease maintaining another performance to activate.
* *Furious Chord:* The bloodsong heritor leans this performance at 6th level; she strikes down her enemies with the ancient wrath of her people. She expends two rounds of her bardic performance as a standard action and deals 1d6/caster level sonic damage to a creature or object within 60 ft, ignoring hardness. A successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + the bloodsong heritor’s class level + her Charisma modifier) halves this damage. Unlike most performances, furious chord cannot be maintained and does not require the bloodsong heritor to cease maintaining another performance to activate.
* *Song of Sorrows:* The bloodsong heritor learns this performance at 10th level; she draws on deep racial tragedy and the funeral traditions of her people. Enemies within 60 ft. suffer a penalty equal to the bloodsong heritor’s Charisma modifier to their AC, attack rolls, and skill checks.

### **Harmonic Enhancement (Ex)**

The bloodsong heritor
weaves her songs and spells together in a way few bards
ever learn to. She increases the caster level of spells she casts
while maintaining a performance by 1. This increases to +2
at 5th level, and +3 at 10th level.

### **Harmonic Blood (Su)**

At 3rd level, the bloodsong heritor
learns to exploit the blood sympathy she can create with her
harmonic spells; while maintaining a bardic performance,
whenever she casts a spell targeting a creature that shares
a type or subtype with her, she gains a +2 bonus to the save
DCs of her spells until the beginning of her next turn and
deals 2 additional damage per die with those spells, if the
spell deals damage.

### **Harmonic Balance (Su)**

At 5th level the bloodsong heritor
learns to repurpose the magical energies in her songs and
spells. She may cast any bard spell she knows without
using one of her spells per day by instead expending bardic
performance rounds equal to twice the spell’s level (rounded
down).

She may modify a spell cast with this ability with
metamagic as normal, which may require expending more
performances. It may only have a maximum spell level equal
to the highest level spell the bloodsong heritor can cast and
still takes a full-round action to cast unless the bloodsong
heritor has another ability that reduces its casting time.

Additionally, the bloodsong heritor may sacrifice a spell slot
as a swift action to regain a number of bardic performance
rounds equal to the spell slot’s level, up to her full normal
maximum (any excess is wasted).

### **Counter Resonance (Su)**

At 7th level, the bloodsong heritor’s
harmonic magic aids her when countering spells; she may
attempt to counterspell as an immediate action as long as
she maintained a bardic performance within the last round,
without needing to ready an action. She otherwise follows
the normal rules for counterspelling (including needing to
use the spell being countered or a spell specifically noted to
counter that spell).

### **Bloodsong Mastery (Su)**

At 8th level, the bloodsong heritor’s
mastery over the bloodsong’s fundamental principles
reaches its pinnacle. The effects of her performances that
can be maintained on creatures that share a type or subtype
with her last for 2 rounds after she ceases performing, which
stacks with the other effects that prolong the effects of her
performances (such as the Lingering Performance feat).

### **Harmonic Metamagic (Su)**

At 9th level, the bloodsong
heritor masters the final aspect of her harmonic magic.
She chooses Enlarge Spell, Extend Spell, or Still Spell (once
made, this choice may not be changed). Spells she casts
while maintaining a bardic performance gain the benefits
of the chosen feat without extending their casting time or
increasing their spell level.