Chessmaster

Life is a game. A common motto of gamblers, who see life as a great game of chance. But there are some who, upon hearing that life is a game, take it truly to heart and learn to play the game. These are the chessmasters, and they play to win. Manipulating the battlefield and moving their allies like pieces in a game, chessmasters are the ultimate in tactical players. Tacticians and vitalists are the most drawn to the role of chessmaster, but any character capable of forming a collective can walk the path.

**Hit Die:** d8

**REQUIREMENTS**

To qualify to become a chessmaster, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

* **Base Attack Bonus:** +4
* **Skills:** Knowledge (History) 5 ranks or Knowledge (Martial) 5 ranks, Sense Motive 5 ranks or Bluff 5 ranks.
* **Special:** Collective class feature.

**Class Skills:** The chessmaster’s class skills are Autohypnosis (Wis), Bluff (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (martial) (Int), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis).

**Skill Ranks per Level:** 4 + Int modifier.

### **CLASS FEATURES**

The following are the class features of the chessmaster.

### **Weapon and Armor Proficiencies**

Chessmasters gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

### **Collective (Su)**

Chessmaster levels stack with levels of other classes for determining the range and capacity of the chessmaster’s collective.

### **Manifesting**

At each level after 1st, a chessmaster gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if he had also gained a level in any one manifesting class he belonged to previously. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metapsionic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that he adds those chessmaster levels to the level of whatever other manifesting class the character has, and then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.

If a character had more than one manifesting class before he became a chessmaster, then at each chessmaster level that advances manifesting, he must decide to which class he adds the level to for purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

### **Promotion (Su)**

As a standard action, the chessmaster can expend psionic focus to grant an ally in her collective one benefit from Astral Construct Menu A. At third level, the chessmaster may instead choose an option from Menu B, and at fifth level, she may choose from Menu C. This benefit lasts for one round per chessmaster level.

### **Set Up The Board (Su)**

At the beginning of combat, when initiative is rolled, all allies in the chessmaster’s collective may move 10ft as a free action. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal, and does not count as having taken an action for the purposes of being flat footed at the start of combat.

### **Castling (Su)**

Beginning at second level, as a move action, a chessmaster may swap the position of any two allies in her collective. This is a teleportation effect, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

### **En Passant (Su)**

As a standard action, a chessmaster of second level or higher can enable her allies to strike at the space a foe has vacated. As a standard action, the chessmaster designates a foe. If that foe leaves that space before the beginning of the chessmaster’s next turn, they leave behind a phantom image. This image can be targeted as if it were the marked foe, and any damage or effects applied to the image are applied instead to the foe. The image has the victim’s AC, the victim makes all saves as normal, and may react to attacks on the image as though they were the target. This image vanishes at the beginning of the chessmaster’s turn.

### **Stalemate (Su)**

When an ally in her collective makes an opposed check, a chessmaster of fourth level or higher may take an immediate action to declare a stalemate after the dice have been rolled but before the results are revealed. When a stalemate is declared, the natural rolls are both set to the higher value of the two.

### **Pin (Su)**

As a standard action, a chessmaster of fourth level or higher can declare a pin. When a pin is declared, the chessmaster chooses an ally in her collective. Any opponent that could be charged by that ally may not move until the beginning of the chessmaster’s next turn. An ally who has been used for a pin cannot be used again for one minute.

### **Checkmate (Su)**

As a swift action, choose an opponent and an ally within close range (25 feet + 5 feet per 2 character levels). The chosen ally's next turn must be before the chosen opponent’s next turn in the current initiative count. The ally can immediately move up to their speed and take a standard action, even though it isn’t their turn; if they manage to kill or reduce the chosen opponent to 0 hit points or fewer, that opponent is locked in a temporal stasis effect (caster level equal to the chessmaster’s character level). If they do not, then at the end of your turn, the ally returns to their previous space, and all of the results of the granted actions are undone (though any resources expended remain expended). Once the chessmaster uses this ability, the chessmaster must wait 1 minute before doing so again.