Samsaran

Mysterious humanoids with pale blue flesh and transparent blood like the waters of a trickling brook, samsarans are ancient creatures even in their youth. A samsaran’s life is not a linear progression from birth to death, but rather a circle of birth to death to rebirth. Whenever a samsaran dies, it reincarnates anew as a young samsaran to live a new life. Her past memories remain vague and indistinct—and each new incarnation is as different a creature and personality as a child is to a parent. Samsarans appear similar to humans, with dark hair and solid white eyes with no pupils or irises. Skin tones are generally shades of light blue.

Capable of recalling the lessons and failings of their previous incarnations, the samsarans seek to live lives of balance and enlightenment in order to ensure they are reborn upon death to continue their trek through history.

## Physical description

 (5'4" + 2d8 in)
 Female
 (5'6" + 2d8 in)

Samsarans appear as humans with pale blue skin, solid white eyes with no pupil or iris, and dark hair. A samsaran’s blood is crystal clear, like the water of a pure mountain spring.

## Society

Samsarans prefer to live simple lives of reflection, scholarship, and worship. They try to live their lives free of the ambitions and greed that mortality often imposes, since they view their lives as only the latest incarnation of many to come. Any accomplishments left undone in this current life can surely be achieved in the next, or the one after that. Samsarans’ memories of their past lives are not complete—they most often feel like half-remembered dreams. Samsarans can give birth, yet they do not give birth to samsarans—instead, they birth human children. Typically, samsarans give up their children not long after birth to be raised in human society, where the children grow and live their lives normally. Upon death, such offspring sometimes reincarnate as samsaran children, if they lived their lives in keeping with harmony. While most samsarans who die also reincarnate as samsaran children, this is not always the case. When a samsaran has utterly failed at maintaining harmony in her current life, or when she has succeeded perfectly at it, her soul instead travels to the Great Beyond to receive its final, long-delayed reward or doom. Samsarans do not keep family names, but often retain the names of their previous one or two incarnations, regardless of gender, as a sort of replacement for a family name to honor their previous lives’ accomplishments or to remind them of their past shames.

### Relations

Age
 Intuitive
 Self-taught
 Trained
 Middle age
 Old
 Venerable
 Maximum

Humans and others often misunderstand samsarans’ nature. Many fear or even hate samsarans’ unusual association with death, thinking them to be strangely cursed souls at best or vengeful spirits made flesh at worst.

### Alignment and religion

Most samsarans are lawful good—but samsarans of any alignment are possible. Deeply religious, the majority of samsarans take patron deities even if they aren’t clerics.

### Adventurers

Adventuring allows samsarans to see the world’s wonders, deepens their understanding of life, and lets them visit places half remembered from their previous lives.

### Names

* Female Names: Chimi, Mindu, Nalita, Rema, Sonitri, Treeni, Yeshing
* Male Names: Agyen, Bakji, Dakash, Henar, Puran, Sonan, Thukten

## Traits

### Standard racial traits

* **Ability Score Modifiers:** Samsarans are insightful and strong-minded, but their bodies tend to be frail. They gain +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, and –2 Constitution.
* **Size:** Samsarans are Medium creatures and thus have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
* **Type:** Samsarans are humanoids with the samsaran subtype.
* **Base Speed:** Samsarans have a base speed of 30 feet.
* **Languages:** Samsarans begin play speaking Common and Samsaran. Samsarans with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: any human language, Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Draconic, Giant, Ignan, Infernal, Nagaji, Tengu, and Terran. See the language page for more information about these languages.

### Other racial traits

* **Lifebound (Ex):** Samsarans gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws made to resist death effects, saving throws against negative energy effects, Fortitude saves made to remove negative levels, and Constitution checks made to stabilize if reduced to negative hit points.
* **Low-Light Vision:** Samsarans can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
* **Samsaran Magic (Sp):** Samsarans with a Charisma score of 11 or higher gain the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—*comprehend languages*, *deathwatch*, and *stabilize*. The caster level for these effects is equal to the samsaran’s level.
* **Shards of the Past (Ex):** A samsaran’s past lives grant them bonuses on two particular skills. A samsaran chooses two skills—she gains a +2 racial bonus on both of these skills, and they are treated as class skills regardless of what class she actually takes.

### Alternate racial traits

* **Mountaineer:** Samsarans who live their lives in the mountains are immune to altitude sickness and do not lose their Dexterity bonus to AC when making Climb checks or Acrobatics checks to cross narrow or slippery surfaces. This racial trait replaces lifebound.
* **Mystic Past Life (Su):** You can add spells from another spellcasting class to the spell list of your current spellcasting class. You add a number of spells equal to 1 + your spellcasting class’s key ability score bonus (Wisdom for clerics, and so on). The spells must be the same type (arcane or divine) as the spellcasting class you’re adding them to. For example, you could add divine power to your druid class spell list, but not to your wizard class spell list because divine power is a divine spell. These spells do not have to be spells you can cast as a 1st-level character. The number of spells granted by this ability is set at 1st level. Changes to your ability score do not change the number of spells gained. This racial trait replaces shards of the past.

## Favored class options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

* Monk Add a +1/2 bonus on the monk’s saving throws to resist death attacks.
* Oracle Add one spell known from the oracle spell list. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the oracle can cast.
* Rogue The rogue gains 1/6 of a new rogue talent.
* Wizard Add one spell from the wizard spell list to the wizard’s spellbook. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level the wizard can cast.

#### Third party favored class options

* Aegis: Add +1/4 to the number of customization points the aegis can reconfigure.
* Alchemist: Add a +1/2 bonus to the alchemist’s Craft (alchemy) and Knowledge (arcana) checks.
* Antipaladin: Add a +1/2 bonus to the antipaladin’s Intimidate and Sense Motive checks.
* Arcanist: Gain 1/6 of a new arcanist exploit.
* Barbarian: Add a +1/2 bonus to Will saves while raging.
* Bard: Add a +1/2 bonus to the bard’s Bluff and Diplomacy checks.
* Bloodrager: Reduce the duration of fatigue after bloodraging by 1/4 rounds. This option must be selected 4 times (or another increment of 4) to reduce the fatigue’s duration.
* Brawler: Add +1/4 to the DC to resist the brawler’s knockout ability.
* Cavalier: Add a +1/2 bonus to the cavalier’s damage rolls when charging while mounted.
* Cleric: The cleric heals +1 hit point when using a *cure* spell on another.
* Cryptic: Add +1/6 to the bonus received from the cryptic’s altered defense ability.
* Dread: Add 1 foot to the range of the dread’s aura of fear ability.
* Druid: Add +1 hit point to the druid’s animal companion.
* Fighter: Add +1/3 to the fighter’s base attack bonus and fighter level when qualifying for combat feats. This does not increase the fighter’s ability to hit.
* Gunslinger: Add +5 feet to the maximum range of all firearms. This does not affect what is considered close or medium range.
* Hunter: Cast *summon nature’s ally* +1/4 times per day as a spell-like ability. The version of this ability is equivalent to the highest level spell the hunter can cast.
* Inquisitor: Add +1/6 to the number of times per day the inquisitor can use the judgement ability.
* Investigator: Add +1/5 to the result of the 1d6 roll when using the investigator’s inspiration ability.
* Magus: Add +1/2 to the magus’s effective level for determining a spell’s range.
* Marksman: Add +2-1/2 feet to the range of Point Blank Shot. This option must be selected twice (or another increment of 2) to increase the range by 5 feet.
* Ninja: Add a +1/4 bonus to the damage dealt by the ninja’s sneak attack. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
* Paladin: Add a +1/2 bonus to the paladin’s Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks.
* Psion: Add +1/2 to the psion’s saving throws made to resist charm and compulsion effects.
* Psychic Warrior: Add +1/3 to the psychic warrior’s base attack bonus when qualifying for combat feats. This does not increase the psychic warrior’s ability to hit.
* Ranger: Add a +1/2 bonus to the ranger’s wild empathy checks.
* Samurai: Add a +1/4 dodge bonus to armor class against the target of the samurai’s challenge.
* Shaman: Gain 1/3 of a bonus feat for the shaman’s spirit animal. The spirit animal must meet the qualifications for this feat. If the spirit animal is replaced, the spirit animal gains the same number of bonus feats.
* Skald: Add +1/4 rounds to the duration the skald’s Inspired Rage lasts after ceasing to maintain it.
* Slayer: When dealing sneak attack damage, the slayer adds a +1/2 bonus to confirm a critical hit.
* Sorcerer: Reduce the spell slot required to apply a metamagic feat by 1/4 (to a minimum of +0). This option must be selected 4 times (or another increment of 4) to reduce the spell slot required by 1.
* Soulknife: Gain 1/5 of a combat feat.
* Summoner: Add +1/2 additional creatures summoned when summoning multiple creatures via a *summon monster* spell or spell-like ability.
* Swashbuckler: Increase the number of times per day the swashbuckler can use charmed life by 1/4.
* Tactician: Add +1/4 uses per day of the tactician’s coordinated strike ability.
* Time Thief: Add +1/6 to the time thief’s aevum pool.
* Vitalist: Reduce the power point cost to augment powers that heal hit point damage by 1/2.
* Warpriest: Add +1/2 damage to the warpriest’s sacred weapon.
* Wilder: Add a +1/3 bonus to the wilder’s Fortitude save.
* Witch: Add +1 hit point to the witch’s familiar.

## Feats

The following feats are available to a samsaran character who meets the prerequisites.

* Life’s Blood