Symbiont

A dissident is no stranger to inner turmoil, although there are a rare few–either from strange phenomena or the severity of the strife–that have this turmoil become manifested within the dissident. These symbionts possess a deeper connection to their strife, and are even able to physically manifest it for all to see.

Symbiotic Bond

At 1st level, the symbiont becomes the bearer of an entity known as a symbiote. This entity usually remains within the symbionts consciousness, and possesses a personality (and appearance) that reflects her strife (for example, the symbiote associated with the light and darkness strife may appear as a gray amalgam of glass shards that refract light in strange ways).

For as long as the symbiote resides within the symbiont’s consciousness, whenever the symbiont attempts a Will saving throw, she can roll it twice and take the highest result. If the symbiont is still affected in some way by the effect that caused the saving throw, the symbiote can choose to suffer its effects instead of the symbiont (although the symbiote cannot be manifested for the duration of the effect).

This replaces dissonant heart.

Incarnate Form

At 3rd level, the symbiont can manifest their symbiote as a standard action, causing it to become a creature in an adjacent square, known as its incarnate form. This functions as a Conjuration sphere companion except that it cannot be banished or dispelled, and possesses a (form) talent of the symbiont’s choice, plus an additional (form) talent for every 4 dissident levels after 3rd she possesses; the symbiont uses her dissident level as her caster level when determining the effects of these talents and her symbiote.

During this time, the symbiote cannot go further than 100 feet from the symbiont, and the symbiote gains the benefits of whichever strife benefit the symbiont is benefitting from. The symbiont can spend a standard action to return her symbiote to her consciousness, as long as she is adjacent to it.

When the symbiote is killed, it becomes dormant and ceases to confer any benefits to the symbiont until the symbiont next regains spell points.

Special: The symbiont can instead choose to have the symbiote gain the benefits of the opposite side of her struggle if she chooses (chosen when she gains this ability), although once this choice is made, it cannot generally be changed (for example, while the symbiont is moderately attuned to light, the symbiote would be gaining the strife benefits of being moderately attuned to darkness).

This replaces divided skillset.

Symbiont’s Nuances

The symbiont gains access to the following unique nuances:

Extended Link

The symbiont’s symbiote can move further than 100 feet from the symbiont, but doing so causes it to have its current and maximum hit point totals reduced by 50%–this worsens to 75% if the symbiote moves further than 1,000 feet from the symbiont. If the symbiote is more than 10,000 feet away from the symbiont, it returns to the symbiont’s consciousness. Current hit points lost this way are not healed when the symbiote gets closer to the symbiont, but its maximum hit point total does return to normal in such an instance.

Additionally, whenever the symbiote would be killed, the symbiont can sacrifice any amount of hit points to prevent an equal amount of damage dealt to the symbiote. If the symbiote is in its symbiotic form, the action cost for the symbiote or symbiont to divert damage to one another when either of them would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points is reduced to a free action that is usable outside of their turn, once per round.

Synergistic Anguish (requires symbiont 6)

The symbiote can use the symbiont’s strife dedication ability, although if the ability has a daily limit, it counts towards the symbiont’s limit for the day. This also includes abilities that may require spell points or a similar resource that the symbiote does not possess.

The exception to this ability is if the symbiont has the aspect of imagination strife ability. Instead, while the symbiont is attuned to fantasy, her symbiote gains an additional (form) talent of the symbiont’s choice (chosen when she first becomes attuned to fantasy each day).

Symbiotic Form

At 4th level, whenever the symbiont manifests her symbiote, she can choose to have its incarnate form become an amalgam of her physical body, known as its symbiotic form. While within this form, it surrounds the symbiont, enhancing her as it does. The symbiont gains a +1 natural armor bonus which stacks with other sources of natural armor, increasing by +1 for every 4 dissident levels beyond 4th. The symbiont chooses a single (form) talent that the symbiote possesses, plus an additional talent at 11th and 19th level; the symbiont gains the benefits of the chosen (form) talents. Any bonuses to attributes that are gained from a granted (form) talent are treated as enhancement bonuses.

Additionally, at any point that the symbiont or symbiote would be reduced to 0 hit points or fewer, the other can divert any amount of damage to themselves as an immediate action, to a maximum amount of damage diverted equal to the damage dealt.

This replaces balanced viewpoint.