Hello all. So I just finished publishing a book for a fellow ttrpg designer and I felt inspired by it. Please give it a look, and enjoy my mental picture of what a visitor to the book’s titular location might be like (strongly inspired by anime/light novel series The Raven of the Inner Palace).

 Akashic Expansions: Tai Lin by Vladimir “El Vlado” Rodriguez

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Mysterious Consort’s Daxiushan

Descriptors: Enhanced (light armor), Enhanced (50 shuriken)

Class: Lunar, Radiant, Volur

Slot: Hands, Head, Chest

Save: See Text

This regal garment smells of peony blossoms and bears the psychic imprint of someone that reigned in secret over a court of spirits.

Shaping this veil causes a black silk daxiushan trimmed with gold to appear on your body and a pair of peony blossoms to appear in your hair (or on a headband on your head if you lack hair). The daxiushan conjured by this veil counts as light armor that grants you a +1 armor bonus to your AC. The peony blossoms function and count as shuriken, when thrown they turn into a thick stream of razor sharp petals that collectively function as a single shuriken. A new blossom automatically appears in your hair when one is thrown.

Additionally, you gain the ability to use the read aura occult skill unlock once per day even if you do not have ranks in the Perception skill. If you already have access to this occult skill unlock, you may instead use it 1 additional time per day.

The daxiushan and blossoms produced by this veil are enhanced as separate items.

Essence: For each point of essence invested in this veil you gain a +1 insight bonus to Perception and Sense Motive checks. For every 4 points of essence invested in this veil you gain the ability to use the read aura occult skill unlock an additional time per day

Chakra Bind (Hands) By binding this veil to your Hands chakra you cause it to become suffused with divine energies. The base damage done by this veil’s blossoms becomes sacred damage instead of piering damage. You can suppress or resume this effect as a swift action. Additionally, as a standard action you can take a point of essence burn to gain a sacred bonus to AC equal to the number of points of essence invested in this veil for 1 minute.

Chakra Bind (Head) In addition to the benefits of binding this veil to your Hands chakra, binding this veil to your Head chakra grants you the ability to suppress hostile spirits and curses. A total number or times per day equal to 1 + your veilweaving modifier you can take a point of essence burn to use calm spirit or abeyance as spell-like abilities.

Chakra Bind (Chest) In addition to the benefits of binding this veil to your Head chakra, you gain the power to instantaneously transport yourself and others across vast distances, and even banish entities from your presence. As a standard action you can take a point of essence burn to teleport a number of willing creatures or unattended objects (up to medium size), in any combination, up to your veilweaving modifier that you can see to a location of your choice within in 10 miles per veilweaver level you possess + an additional 10 miles per point of essence invested in this veil. You must have some clear idea of the location or layout of the destination to teleport there. The clearer your mental image, the more likely the teleportation works. Areas of strong physical or magical energy may make teleportation more hazardous or even impossible. You need not have seen your destination, but in that case you must have at least a reliable description of the place you are teleporting. If you attempt to teleport with insufficient information (or with misleading information), you disappear and simply reappear in your original location. Essence burn taken in this way lasts for 24 hours.

Additionally, when you confirm a critical hit against an extraplanar creature with this veil’s blossoms you can take a point of essence burn as a free action. This negates the additional damage from confirming the critical hit, but the creature must succeed at a Will save or be sent back to its home plane as per the dismissal spell. Against non-extraplanar creatures, confirming a critical hit with this veil and taking a point of essence burn instead causes them to be teleported to a location of your choice as if they were a willing creature targeted by this veil’s teleportation effect unless they succeed on a Will saving throw. 

 

Fushigi na Jutsutsukai
[Mysterious Arts User]
(Volur Archetype)

While some practitioners of the mystic arts treat the mystery that others attribute to them and their practices as merely natural, not so for others. Those that call themselves mysterious arts users, draw mystery about themselves like a mantle and wield it like a badge of authority. Mysterious arts users call upon the power of Onmyōdō, maledictive veils, and their own mystique to serve ends that only they can know.

Note: Like the Onmyōji class a mysterious arts user is reliant on both Charisma and Wisdom for their magical abilities. Their brands, veils, spirit pool, and petitions are based on their Charisma. Their talismans and several of their spirit pool abilities rely on their Wisdom.

Class Skills

Mysterious arts users gain Knowledge (nobility) and Knowledge (religion) as class skills, but lose Handle Animal and Survival.

This alters the volur’s class skills.

Diminished Essence Pool

Mysterious arts users have a reduced pool of essence, granting them only one point of essence at 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level. Starting at 11th level, they gain 1 point of essence at each class level, for a total of 15 essence at 20th level.

This alters the volour’s essence pool.

Mysterious Arts Training

The mysterious arts users’ pursuit of the arts of Onmyōdō has left them without the ability to shape veils normally. Though they are still treated as having a veilweaver level equal to their class level for the purposes of the brandweaving, and the vestments of the minor kami, and vestment of office class features.

At 1st level, the mysterious arts user gains the ability to manufacture talismans fueled by the supernatural power of the spirit world. This ability functions and counts as the onmyōji’s talismans ability, except as follows. The mysterious arts user has a petitioner level equal to their volur level. The duration of their talismans is 3 rounds + 1 round per volur level.

This replaces the volur’s veilweaving class feature.

Essential Spirit Pool (Su)

At 1st level, the mysterious arts user gains a spirit pool that is not entirely an innate part of their gifts, but is instead born of their mastery of their own essence. They gain a pool of spirit points equal to their Charisma modifier. This ability otherwise functions and counts as the onmyōji’s spirit pool ability, and the mysterious arts user gains access to spirit pool abilities as an onmyōji of their volur level -3 (minimum 1).

The mysterious arts user can bind essence, but not temporary essence, into this ability. For each point of essence bound into this ability they gain an additional spirit point in their pool. The mysterious arts user’s volur level is used to determine the essence capacity of this ability instead of their character level.

Vestments of the Minor Kami

Due to being connected to the same energies as the various entities of the spirit world, the mysterious arts user can conjure from the akashic records the possessions of myriad minor spirits. At 1st level the mysterious arts user gains Shape Minor Veils as a bonus feat even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

Vestments of Office

At 1st level, a mysterious arts user gains the ability to shape the Mysterious Consort’s Daxiushan veil with a veilweaver level equal to their class level. This veil does not count against their veils shaped or their chakras. Shaping this veil requires 1 hour of quiet contemplation. 

At 2nd level, they gain the benefits of this veil’s Hands chakra bind. At 6th level they gain the benefits of this veil’s Head chakra bind. At 18th level they gain the benifits of this veil’s Chest chakra bind. 

Petition Spirits (Su)

At 2nd level, the mysterious arts user’s spiritual authority has been accepted by various spirits, and they gain the ability to call upon them for aid. This ability functions and counts as the onmyōji’s ability of the same name except as follows. Starting at 2nd level and every three levels thereafter the mysterious arts user selects one petition for which they meet all the prerequisites. Unless stated otherwise, a mysterious arts user cannot select an individual petition more than once.

The mysterious arts user uses their petitioner level to determine the petitions they have access to and the effects of these petitions. The Difficulty Class (DC) for a saving throw against a mysterious arts user’s petition is 10 + 1/2 the mysterious arts user’s volur level + their Charisma modifier.

This replaces the volur’s chakra binds class feature. 

Talisman Bearing Spirit (Su)

At 3rd level, if it is within 20 feet of its master the mysterious arts user’s akashic spirit may place talismans, using any prayer that its master knows. Talismans placed in this fashion deduct from the mysterious arts user’s daily allotment. Further, their duration is based on the akashic spirit’s effective Hit Dice rather than the mysterious arts user’s partitioner level. All other effects are based on the mysterious arts user’s petitioner level.

This replaces the deliver akasha ability of the volur’s akashic spirit.

Haze of Mystery (Su)

At 3rd level, the mysterious arts user becomes wrapped in an air of mystery that hangs about them like heavy incense smoke. This ability can be invested with essence. The first time each day that they invest this ability with essence, the mysterious arts user must select one of the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, or Disguise. As long as at least 1 point of essence is invested in this ability, they gain a +2 competence bonus to the selected skill. For each point of essence invested in this ability after the first, this competence bonus increases by +1. As a swift action they can spend a point from their spirit pool to change the skill that this ability’s bonus applies to. Additionally, the DCs to identify the mysterious arts users’ veils gained from the volur class or this archetype, along with their talismans and petitions, are increased by an amount equal to the bonus granted by this ability.

Improved Essence Capacity

The mysterious arts user’s connection to their akashic spirit and mastery of the spiritual arts has improved their ability at investing essence. At 8th, and 14th level the maximum essence capacity of all of their essence receptacles increases by 1.

This alters the volur’s improved essence capacity ability.

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Iconic Character Concept

Yuki Yanagi(LN non-binary human volur[mysterious arts user] 5/noble scion 5).  They are known to have joined the Onmyōdō Bureau in large part to hide in the shadow of their influence, but also to hone their mystical skill. The reasons for and nature of their exile are only known to themself and the senior staff of the Onmyōdō Bureau. Yuki serves the guild as a diplomat, and is often sent of be the liaison between the Onmyōdō Bureau and other organizations with similarly ancient pedigrees. They are currently the “successor apparent” for the  office of Onmyōdō Bureau Master of Courtly Arts.

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Culture/Language Notes

• Daxiushan– A traditional Chinese outerwear garment that was popular among Tang dynasty era royalty. It generally takes the form of a robe or gown with oversized sleeves.