Postmortal -- slightly wacky prestige class [Archive] - Wizards Community

Postmortal -- slightly wacky prestige class [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JulesCARV
04-14-08, 11:38 PM This is something that I think probably is very poorly balanced (I'm not quite sure where it lies on the spectrum between "brokenly overpowered" and "pathetic," though), but I nonetheless have had the idea of it running around my head for a while. I decided to post it, because hey, what do I have to lose?

I should warn you -- some mechanics may trigger traumatic memories among 3.0 veterans.

I realize that this class has some odd stuff going on -- ur-priest/apostle of peace style psionic progression, weird ability score-keyed manifesting, etc -- but it was all what was going through my head, and it all seemed integral to the concept I had in mind.

POSTMORTAL

Postmortals are people of mortal stock who seek a path that allows them transcend their limitations, overcoming death (at least death through old age) and the limitations of their body in manipulating reality. Postmortals, as part of their transformation, gain immense intuitive psionic power. Many find it difficult to wield this power very proficiently, however, since it is deduced not from any form of controlled, disciplined psionics, but from a barely-controlled sundering of previous limitations on their ability to directly shape reality through thought.

Generally, postmortals refer to themselves as post-original race, not postmortal, which most regard as an excessively broad term. Humans who enter the postmortal class become posthumans, gnomes who enter the postmortal class become postgnomes, etc.

Some postmortals discover their path independently, but most are taught by other postmortals. While some postmortals might make various demands for those who seek knowledge of their secrets, the largest organization of postmortals, the Unsevered Thread, is extremely open with the knowledge of postmortality: they disseminate manuals on postmortality throughout as many libraries as they can and consider it their duty to freely teach anyone who asks, although those who receive this training are likewise expected to spread the word to others when the opportunity exists to do so. In fact, the Unsevered Thread's main frustration is in the high prerequisites of becoming postmortal, putting it out of reach to most. (That is, the entry requirements of the postmortal prestige class -- requiring being 7th level to even start, and 17th level to truly achieve immortality vis-à-vis aging.) Its members hope that eventually they will develop some process that will make the benefits of postmortality available to the masses, although its efforts have been unsucessful for many years with little sign of progress.

The Unsevered Thread has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the Elan Council -- the Unsevered Thread has attempted to steal the secrets of the ritual for creating Elans in a botched espionage operation, hoping to improve the process to allow retention of past identity and application of the process to races other than humans, making postmortality available to more people: the Elan Council foiled the plot, and created a branch dedicated to ensuring that the secrets used in the transformation stay secret. There is also some philosophical tension between the Elan Council's reclusiveness and the Unsevered Thread's envangelism.

Hit die: d4

Requirements

Skills: Autohypnosis 8 ranks, Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 10 ranks, Psicraft 6 ranks

Feats: Autonomous, Body Fuel, Mind Over Body, Psionic Body, Toughness

Special: Must have a finite lifespan

Class Skills
The postmortal's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are autohypnosis (wis), concentration (con), craft (int), heal (wis), knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (int), profession (wis), and psicraft (int).

Skill Points per Level: 2 + int

Table: The Postmortal
Base Fort Ref Will Power Powers Maximum Power
Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Points/Day Known Level Known
1 +0 +0 +0 +2 DR 1/- 3 2 1
2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Infertility 7 3 2
3 +1 +1 +1 +3 Darkvision 60ft 15 5 3
4 +2 +1 +1 +4 DR 2/- 24 6 4
5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Timeless Body 36 8 5
6 +3 +2 +2 +5 Resistance 5 49 9 6
7 +3 +2 +2 +5 DR 3/- 66 11 7
8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Death Immunity 84 12 8
9 +4 +3 +3 +6 Resistance 10 105 14 9
10 +5 +3 +3 +7 Transcendence, 127 15 9
Dr 4/-
Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Postmortals gain no proficiency in weapons or armor.

Psionics: As they break down the barriers between their mind and physical reality, postmortals gain considerable psionic power. They gain powers known (from the psion/wilder list) and power points according to the table above. A postmortal also gains a manifester level equal to twice her class level. However, unlike most manifesters, postmortals do not manifest based on a single ability score, but rather have a score keyed to each discipline, as follows:

Clairsentience: Wisdom
Metacreativity: Intelligence
Psychokinesis: Strength
Psychometabolism: Constitution
Psychoportation: Dexterity
Telepathy: Charisma

To learn or manifest a power of a given level and discipline, the postmortal must have a key ability score for the discipline equal to 10 + the power's level. The saving throw DC for a postmortal's powers is equal to 10 + the power's level + the modifier of the key ability score for that power's discipline. In addition, postmortals gain a pool of power points based on each ability score, equal to manifester level x ability bonus / 2, or class level x ability bonus since manifester level = 2 x class level for a postmortal. However, power points gained from a given ability score may only be spent manifesting powers of the discipline keyed to that ability score.

Damage Reduction (ex): At 1st level, a postmortal gains DR 1/-. Every three levels thereafter (at 4th, 7th, and 10th), damage reduction increases by 1.

Infertility: As the postmortal takes a step away from the natural cycle of birth and death, the ability to reproduce naturally is lost. Postmortals lose no apparent sexual function, but their ova or sperm are rendered sterile at 2nd level.

Darkvision (ex): Beginning to take on the nature of an outsider, postmortals gain darkvision out to 60 feet upon gaining 3rd level. If the postmortal already has darkvision, it is extended by 60 feet.

Timeless Body (ex): Upon attaining 5th level, a postmortal no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the postmortal still dies of old age when her time is up, unless she has attained Transcendence (see below).

Resistance (ex): At 6th level, the postmortal gains resistance 5 to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. At 9th level, the resistance increases to 10.

Death Immunity (su): Increasingly understanding the nature of death and how to overcome it, the postmortal gains immunity to spells and powers with the [death] descriptor at level 8.

Transcendence: At tenth level, the postmortal completes her transformation, becoming an outsider with the (native) subtype. She no longer has a maximum age, and also gains immunity to poison and petrification.
awaken_D_M_golem
05-03-08, 02:05 PM Nice.

The semi-DvR zero material is a good touch.

Fast advancement, but on a limited string, is a good touch.
Although, not being keyed to any other advancement class is a limiter.
Perhaps 10/10 to PsyWar advancement, or 6/10 to Psion advancement, just to open things up a little.

Either way, it's kinda a double-down proposition.
Non-psionic gets 9th level powers, but isn't a frontliner anymore, same for PsyWar or Lurk.

Psionic Body AND Toughness is redundant; most PrCs have no more than 2 feats to get in.

Bump BAB up to medium.
Quirky.
Betrays your sig ... ;)
JulesCARV
05-06-08, 07:33 PM Lost track of this thread a bit. Heh. Anyway, my latest revision on the thread on the Prestige Classes Board (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1018951) is this:

POSTMORTAL

Postmortals are people of mortal stock who seek a path that allows them transcend their limitations, overcoming death (at least death through old age) and the limitations of their body in manipulating reality. Postmortals, as part of their transformation, gain immense intuitive psionic power. Many find it difficult to wield this power very proficiently, however, since it is deduced not from any form of controlled, disciplined psionics, but from a barely-controlled sundering of previous limitations on their ability to directly shape reality through thought.

Generally, postmortals refer to themselves as post-original race, not postmortal, which most regard as an excessively broad term. Humans who enter the postmortal class become posthumans, gnomes who enter the postmortal class become postgnomes, etc.

Some postmortals discover their path independently, but most are taught by other postmortals. While some postmortals might make various demands for those who seek knowledge of their secrets, the largest organization of postmortals, the Unsevered Thread, is extremely open with the knowledge of postmortality: they disseminate manuals on postmortality throughout as many libraries as they can and consider it their duty to freely teach anyone who asks, although those who receive this training are likewise expected to spread the word to others when the opportunity exists to do so. In fact, the Unsevered Thread's main frustration is in the high prerequisites of becoming postmortal, putting it out of reach to most. (That is, the entry requirements of the postmortal prestige class -- requiring being 7th level to even start, and 17th level to truly achieve immortality vis-à-vis aging.) Its members hope that eventually they will develop some process that will make the benefits of postmortality available to the masses, although its efforts have been unsucessful for many years with little sign of progress.

The Unsevered Thread has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the Elan Council -- the Unsevered Thread has attempted to steal the secrets of the ritual for creating Elans in a botched espionage operation, hoping to improve the process to allow retention of past identity and application of the process to races other than humans, making postmortality available to more people: the Elan Council foiled the plot, and created a branch dedicated to ensuring that the secrets used in the transformation stay secret. There is also some philosophical tension between the Elan Council's reclusiveness and the Unsevered Thread's envangelism.

Hit die: d8

Requirements

Skills: Autohypnosis 8 ranks, Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 10 ranks, Psicraft 6 ranks

Feats: Autonomous, Body Fuel, Mind Over Body, Psionic Body, Toughness

Special: Must have a finite lifespan

Class Skills
The postmortal's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are autohypnosis (wis), concentration (con), craft (int), heal (wis), knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (int), profession (wis), and psicraft (int).

Skill Points per Level: 2 + int
Table: The Postmortal
Base Fort Ref Will Power Powers Maximum Power
Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Points/Day Known Level Known
1 +0 +2 +2 +2 DR 1/- 3 1 1
2 +1 +3 +3 +3 Infertility, 7 3 1
Darkvision 60 ft
3 +1 +3 +3 +3 DR 2/- 15 5 2
4 +2 +4 +4 +4 Improved 24 7 3
Manifester Level
5 +2 +4 +4 +4 Timeless Body, 36 9 4
DR 3/-
6 +3 +5 +5 +5 Resistance 5 49 11 5
7 +3 +5 +5 +5 DR 4/- 66 13 6
8 +4 +6 +6 +6 Poison and 84 15 7
petrification immunity
9 +4 +6 +6 +6 Resistance 10, 105 17 8
DR 5/-
10 +5 +7 +7 +7 Transcendence 127 19 9
Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Postmortals gain no proficiency in weapons or armor.

Psionics: As they break down the barriers between their mind and physical reality, postmortals gain considerable psionic power. They gain powers known (from the psion/wilder list) and power points according to the table above. However, unlike most manifesters, postmortals do not manifest based on a single ability score, but rather have a score keyed to each discipline, as follows:

Clairsentience: Wisdom
Metacreativity: Intelligence
Psychokinesis: Strength
Psychometabolism: Constitution
Psychoportation: Dexterity
Telepathy: Charisma

To learn or manifest a power of a given level and discipline, the postmortal must have a key ability score for the discipline equal to 10 + the power's level. The saving throw DC for a postmortal's powers is equal to 10 + the power's level + the modifier of the key ability score for that power's discipline. In addition, postmortals gain bonus power points based on their highest ability score.

Damage Reduction (ex): At 1st level, a postmortal gains DR 1/-. Every odd level thereafter, the damage reduction increases by 1.

Infertility: As the postmortal takes a step away from the natural cycle of birth and death, the ability to reproduce naturally is lost. Postmortals lose no apparent sexual function, but their ova or sperm are rendered sterile at 2nd level.

Darkvision (ex): Beginning to take on the nature of an outsider, postmortals gain darkvision out to 60 feet upon gaining 2nd level. If the postmortal already has darkvision, it is extended by 60 feet.

Improved Manifester Level (ex): Starting at 4th level, the postmortal gains a bonus to her postmortal manifester level equal to her postmortal class level - 3, in addition to her ordinary postmortal manifester levels. Note that this only applies to postmortal levels, not to advancement of postmortal manifesting through any other prestige class. In effect, a postmortal of 3rd level or lower's manifester level is equal to her class level, while a postmortal of 4th level or higher's manifester level is equal to (class level x 2) - 3: 5 at level 4, 7 at level 5, etc.

Timeless Body (ex): Upon attaining 5th level, a postmortal no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the postmortal still dies of old age when her time is up, unless she has attained Transcendence (see below).

Resistance (ex): At 6th level, the postmortal gains resistance 5 to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. At 9th level, the resistance increases to 10.

Poison and Petrification Immunity (ex): At level 8, the postmortal becomes increasingly akin to an outsider, now gaining immunity to poison and petrification.

Transcendence: At tenth level, the postmortal completes her transformation, becoming an outsider with the (native) subtype. She no longer has a maximum age, and also gains immunity to poison and petrification.

In addition, a postmortal who has taken physical ability score penalties owing to aging (prior to acquiring timeless body) may be rejuvenated, eliminating those penalties, paying 1,000 xp for every point of age-based penalty eliminated. Rejuvenating from middle age to youth costs 3,000 xp, rejuvenating from old age to middle age costs 6,000 xp, and rejuvenating from venerable age to old age costs 9,000 xp. A single stage of rejuvenation -- from venerable to old, old to middle-aged, or middle-aged to young -- requires 24 hours of quiet focus and meditation.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 04-14-08, 11:38 PM	This is something that I think probably is very poorly balanced (I'm not quite sure where it lies on the spectrum between "brokenly overpowered" and "pathetic," though), but I nonetheless have had the idea of it running around my head for a while. I decided to post it, because hey, what do I have to lose? I should warn you -- some mechanics may trigger traumatic memories among 3.0 veterans. I realize that this class has some odd stuff going on -- ur-priest/apostle of peace style psionic progression, weird ability score-keyed manifesting, etc -- but it was all what was going through my head, and it all seemed integral to the concept I had in mind. POSTMORTAL Postmortals are people of mortal stock who seek a path that allows them transcend their limitations, overcoming death (at least death through old age) and the limitations of their body in manipulating reality. Postmortals, as part of their transformation, gain immense intuitive psionic power. Many find it difficult to wield this power very proficiently, however, since it is deduced not from any form of controlled, disciplined psionics, but from a barely-controlled sundering of previous limitations on their ability to directly shape reality through thought. Generally, postmortals refer to themselves as post-original race, not postmortal, which most regard as an excessively broad term. Humans who enter the postmortal class become posthumans, gnomes who enter the postmortal class become postgnomes, etc. Some postmortals discover their path independently, but most are taught by other postmortals. While some postmortals might make various demands for those who seek knowledge of their secrets, the largest organization of postmortals, the Unsevered Thread, is extremely open with the knowledge of postmortality: they disseminate manuals on postmortality throughout as many libraries as they can and consider it their duty to freely teach anyone who asks, although those who receive this training are likewise expected to spread the word to others when the opportunity exists to do so. In fact, the Unsevered Thread's main frustration is in the high prerequisites of becoming postmortal, putting it out of reach to most. (That is, the entry requirements of the postmortal prestige class -- requiring being 7th level to even start, and 17th level to truly achieve immortality vis-à-vis aging.) Its members hope that eventually they will develop some process that will make the benefits of postmortality available to the masses, although its efforts have been unsucessful for many years with little sign of progress. The Unsevered Thread has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the Elan Council -- the Unsevered Thread has attempted to steal the secrets of the ritual for creating Elans in a botched espionage operation, hoping to improve the process to allow retention of past identity and application of the process to races other than humans, making postmortality available to more people: the Elan Council foiled the plot, and created a branch dedicated to ensuring that the secrets used in the transformation stay secret. There is also some philosophical tension between the Elan Council's reclusiveness and the Unsevered Thread's envangelism. Hit die: d4 Requirements Skills: Autohypnosis 8 ranks, Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 10 ranks, Psicraft 6 ranks Feats: Autonomous, Body Fuel, Mind Over Body, Psionic Body, Toughness Special: Must have a finite lifespan Class Skills The postmortal's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are autohypnosis (wis), concentration (con), craft (int), heal (wis), knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (int), profession (wis), and psicraft (int). Skill Points per Level: 2 + int Table: The Postmortal Base Fort Ref Will Power Powers Maximum Power Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Points/Day Known Level Known 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 DR 1/- 3 2 1 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 Infertility 7 3 2 3 +1 +1 +1 +3 Darkvision 60ft 15 5 3 4 +2 +1 +1 +4 DR 2/- 24 6 4 5 +2 +1 +1 +4 Timeless Body 36 8 5 6 +3 +2 +2 +5 Resistance 5 49 9 6 7 +3 +2 +2 +5 DR 3/- 66 11 7 8 +4 +2 +2 +6 Death Immunity 84 12 8 9 +4 +3 +3 +6 Resistance 10 105 14 9 10 +5 +3 +3 +7 Transcendence, 127 15 9 Dr 4/- Class Features Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Postmortals gain no proficiency in weapons or armor. Psionics: As they break down the barriers between their mind and physical reality, postmortals gain considerable psionic power. They gain powers known (from the psion/wilder list) and power points according to the table above. A postmortal also gains a manifester level equal to twice her class level. However, unlike most manifesters, postmortals do not manifest based on a single ability score, but rather have a score keyed to each discipline, as follows: Clairsentience: Wisdom Metacreativity: Intelligence Psychokinesis: Strength Psychometabolism: Constitution Psychoportation: Dexterity Telepathy: Charisma To learn or manifest a power of a given level and discipline, the postmortal must have a key ability score for the discipline equal to 10 + the power's level. The saving throw DC for a postmortal's powers is equal to 10 + the power's level + the modifier of the key ability score for that power's discipline. In addition, postmortals gain a pool of power points based on each ability score, equal to manifester level x ability bonus / 2, or class level x ability bonus since manifester level = 2 x class level for a postmortal. However, power points gained from a given ability score may only be spent manifesting powers of the discipline keyed to that ability score. Damage Reduction (ex): At 1st level, a postmortal gains DR 1/-. Every three levels thereafter (at 4th, 7th, and 10th), damage reduction increases by 1. Infertility: As the postmortal takes a step away from the natural cycle of birth and death, the ability to reproduce naturally is lost. Postmortals lose no apparent sexual function, but their ova or sperm are rendered sterile at 2nd level. Darkvision (ex): Beginning to take on the nature of an outsider, postmortals gain darkvision out to 60 feet upon gaining 3rd level. If the postmortal already has darkvision, it is extended by 60 feet. Timeless Body (ex): Upon attaining 5th level, a postmortal no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the postmortal still dies of old age when her time is up, unless she has attained Transcendence (see below). Resistance (ex): At 6th level, the postmortal gains resistance 5 to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. At 9th level, the resistance increases to 10. Death Immunity (su): Increasingly understanding the nature of death and how to overcome it, the postmortal gains immunity to spells and powers with the [death] descriptor at level 8. Transcendence: At tenth level, the postmortal completes her transformation, becoming an outsider with the (native) subtype. She no longer has a maximum age, and also gains immunity to poison and petrification.
awaken_D_M_golem 05-03-08, 02:05 PM	Nice. The semi-DvR zero material is a good touch. Fast advancement, but on a limited string, is a good touch. Although, not being keyed to any other advancement class is a limiter. Perhaps 10/10 to PsyWar advancement, or 6/10 to Psion advancement, just to open things up a little. Either way, it's kinda a double-down proposition. Non-psionic gets 9th level powers, but isn't a frontliner anymore, same for PsyWar or Lurk. Psionic Body AND Toughness is redundant; most PrCs have no more than 2 feats to get in. Bump BAB up to medium. Quirky. Betrays your sig ... ;)
JulesCARV 05-06-08, 07:33 PM	Lost track of this thread a bit. Heh. Anyway, my latest revision on the thread on the Prestige Classes Board (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1018951) is this: POSTMORTAL Postmortals are people of mortal stock who seek a path that allows them transcend their limitations, overcoming death (at least death through old age) and the limitations of their body in manipulating reality. Postmortals, as part of their transformation, gain immense intuitive psionic power. Many find it difficult to wield this power very proficiently, however, since it is deduced not from any form of controlled, disciplined psionics, but from a barely-controlled sundering of previous limitations on their ability to directly shape reality through thought. Generally, postmortals refer to themselves as post-original race, not postmortal, which most regard as an excessively broad term. Humans who enter the postmortal class become posthumans, gnomes who enter the postmortal class become postgnomes, etc. Some postmortals discover their path independently, but most are taught by other postmortals. While some postmortals might make various demands for those who seek knowledge of their secrets, the largest organization of postmortals, the Unsevered Thread, is extremely open with the knowledge of postmortality: they disseminate manuals on postmortality throughout as many libraries as they can and consider it their duty to freely teach anyone who asks, although those who receive this training are likewise expected to spread the word to others when the opportunity exists to do so. In fact, the Unsevered Thread's main frustration is in the high prerequisites of becoming postmortal, putting it out of reach to most. (That is, the entry requirements of the postmortal prestige class -- requiring being 7th level to even start, and 17th level to truly achieve immortality vis-à-vis aging.) Its members hope that eventually they will develop some process that will make the benefits of postmortality available to the masses, although its efforts have been unsucessful for many years with little sign of progress. The Unsevered Thread has a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the Elan Council -- the Unsevered Thread has attempted to steal the secrets of the ritual for creating Elans in a botched espionage operation, hoping to improve the process to allow retention of past identity and application of the process to races other than humans, making postmortality available to more people: the Elan Council foiled the plot, and created a branch dedicated to ensuring that the secrets used in the transformation stay secret. There is also some philosophical tension between the Elan Council's reclusiveness and the Unsevered Thread's envangelism. Hit die: d8 Requirements Skills: Autohypnosis 8 ranks, Heal 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 5 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 10 ranks, Psicraft 6 ranks Feats: Autonomous, Body Fuel, Mind Over Body, Psionic Body, Toughness Special: Must have a finite lifespan Class Skills The postmortal's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are autohypnosis (wis), concentration (con), craft (int), heal (wis), knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (int), profession (wis), and psicraft (int). Skill Points per Level: 2 + int Table: The Postmortal Base Fort Ref Will Power Powers Maximum Power Level Attack Bonus Save Save Save Special Points/Day Known Level Known 1 +0 +2 +2 +2 DR 1/- 3 1 1 2 +1 +3 +3 +3 Infertility, 7 3 1 Darkvision 60 ft 3 +1 +3 +3 +3 DR 2/- 15 5 2 4 +2 +4 +4 +4 Improved 24 7 3 Manifester Level 5 +2 +4 +4 +4 Timeless Body, 36 9 4 DR 3/- 6 +3 +5 +5 +5 Resistance 5 49 11 5 7 +3 +5 +5 +5 DR 4/- 66 13 6 8 +4 +6 +6 +6 Poison and 84 15 7 petrification immunity 9 +4 +6 +6 +6 Resistance 10, 105 17 8 DR 5/- 10 +5 +7 +7 +7 Transcendence 127 19 9 Class Features Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Postmortals gain no proficiency in weapons or armor. Psionics: As they break down the barriers between their mind and physical reality, postmortals gain considerable psionic power. They gain powers known (from the psion/wilder list) and power points according to the table above. However, unlike most manifesters, postmortals do not manifest based on a single ability score, but rather have a score keyed to each discipline, as follows: Clairsentience: Wisdom Metacreativity: Intelligence Psychokinesis: Strength Psychometabolism: Constitution Psychoportation: Dexterity Telepathy: Charisma To learn or manifest a power of a given level and discipline, the postmortal must have a key ability score for the discipline equal to 10 + the power's level. The saving throw DC for a postmortal's powers is equal to 10 + the power's level + the modifier of the key ability score for that power's discipline. In addition, postmortals gain bonus power points based on their highest ability score. Damage Reduction (ex): At 1st level, a postmortal gains DR 1/-. Every odd level thereafter, the damage reduction increases by 1. Infertility: As the postmortal takes a step away from the natural cycle of birth and death, the ability to reproduce naturally is lost. Postmortals lose no apparent sexual function, but their ova or sperm are rendered sterile at 2nd level. Darkvision (ex): Beginning to take on the nature of an outsider, postmortals gain darkvision out to 60 feet upon gaining 2nd level. If the postmortal already has darkvision, it is extended by 60 feet. Improved Manifester Level (ex): Starting at 4th level, the postmortal gains a bonus to her postmortal manifester level equal to her postmortal class level - 3, in addition to her ordinary postmortal manifester levels. Note that this only applies to postmortal levels, not to advancement of postmortal manifesting through any other prestige class. In effect, a postmortal of 3rd level or lower's manifester level is equal to her class level, while a postmortal of 4th level or higher's manifester level is equal to (class level x 2) - 3: 5 at level 4, 7 at level 5, etc. Timeless Body (ex): Upon attaining 5th level, a postmortal no longer takes penalties to her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that she has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the postmortal still dies of old age when her time is up, unless she has attained Transcendence (see below). Resistance (ex): At 6th level, the postmortal gains resistance 5 to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. At 9th level, the resistance increases to 10. Poison and Petrification Immunity (ex): At level 8, the postmortal becomes increasingly akin to an outsider, now gaining immunity to poison and petrification. Transcendence: At tenth level, the postmortal completes her transformation, becoming an outsider with the (native) subtype. She no longer has a maximum age, and also gains immunity to poison and petrification. In addition, a postmortal who has taken physical ability score penalties owing to aging (prior to acquiring timeless body) may be rejuvenated, eliminating those penalties, paying 1,000 xp for every point of age-based penalty eliminated. Rejuvenating from middle age to youth costs 3,000 xp, rejuvenating from old age to middle age costs 6,000 xp, and rejuvenating from venerable age to old age costs 9,000 xp. A single stage of rejuvenation -- from venerable to old, old to middle-aged, or middle-aged to young -- requires 24 hours of quiet focus and meditation.