Animist

**Parent Class:** Aegis

Rarely, an aegis will find himself in a position to gain
favor with the spirits by gathering and preparing special
items, or fetishes. These fetishes are imbued with blood
and attuned to specific enemies – and when that enemy
is confronted, the spirits assist the animist.

*Astral Mantle:* When formed into astral mantle, an
astral suit resembles masterwork hide armor and is
treated as such for all mechanical purposes. While the
animist maintains his psionic focus, he can move at
normal speed while wearing his astral mantle. Should
the animist be wearing armor when forming his astral
suit in this fashion, the astral suit encloses the armor and
the animist gains the benefits of only his astral suit and
not those of his armor, even if his armor would confer
better benefits. Forming his astral suit into this form
takes a move action.

The animist gains the following
free customizations: power resistance, presence (shown
below).

At 2nd level, the animist gains the energy
resistance customization as a free customization when
the astral suit is in astral mantle form.

At 10th level, the
animist gains the improved armor (2) customization as a
free customization.

At 5th level, the gris-gris can become attuned to
specific types of spirits, granting various bonuses based
on the spirit. Once per day, as a ritual that takes five
minutes to perform, the animist may choose one of the
following spirits, gaining the listed bonuses for one day
or until they end it early as a free action (see below). In
addition, as a free action while the animist has one or
more spirits attuned to their gris-gris, they may end one
of the effects to heal hit points equal to their class level.
This is a supernatural effect.

* *Anger:* +2 insight bonus on damage rolls.
* *Crossroads:* +2 insight bonus on opposed skill checks.
* *Duality:* +2 insight bonus to any two skills, chosen when the animist attunes their gris-gris.
* *Haunting:* +1 insight bonus on save DCs of any aegis or animist effect the animist creates.
* *Protection:* +1 insight bonus to AC and one save, chosen when the animist attunes their gris-gris.
* *Serenity:* +1 insight bonus on attack rolls.

At 12th level, the animist may select any two of these
options whenever they attune their gris-gris.

This ability replaces astral repair, master craftsman,
and cannibalize suit.

### **Blood Talisman (Su)**

At 2nd level, the animist can gain
further power from the blood of his enemies. He can spend
a swift action to gather some of the blood of an adjacent
to an enemy that has been damaged and hasn’t received
magical or psionic healing. If the animist has hit that
enemy with a charge attack and dealt damage this turn,
he may instead gather blood as a free action. Against that
enemy for the round, he gains a +1 competence bonus on
Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival
checks, and a +1 competence bonus on weapon attack and
damage rolls. At 6th level, and every four levels thereafter,
this bonus increases by one.

Activating this ability again, while already in use,
immediately causes the previous effect to end.
This ability has no effect on targets immune to bleed
effects, such as constructs or the undead. Ghosts or other
incorporeal undead are affected as normal (the animist
leeches from their soul).

This ability replaces craftsman.