Lancer Sphere

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All practitioners of the Lancer sphere gain the following ability:

Impale

When making a melee attack with the attack action that deals lethal damage, you can take a -2 penalty on the attack roll; if the attack is successful, your weapon impales the creature, giving it the impaled condition and forcing it into a square within your reach if it was not already.

Weapons used to impale a creature cannot be used for attacks except for those against the impaled creature (you cannot impale more than a single creature with your unarmed strikes). Attacking an impaled creature with the impaling weapon ignores armor, natural armor, and shield bonuses to AC.

Controlling an impaling weapon requires the same amount of hands as wielding the weapon does.

You may choose to automatically remove the weapon as a move action, and you can also choose to release the weapon as a free action without dealing damage (although you cannot release natural weapons).

Base Talents

Guardian Talents (Impale)

These talents can only be used against creatures who are impaled by this ability when you are controlling the impaling weapon.

Bloody Rip

Whenever you make an attack using the attack action against a creature using the weapon currently impaling them, you may remove the impaling weapon as a swift action, dealing damage as appropriate and causing them to retain all penalties for being impaled (except for being unable to move) until the end of their next turn.

Cruel Vibration

Whenever you use an attack action to deal damage to a creature with the weapon currently being used to impale them, your damage is treated as though you rolled the maximum possible amount on your weapon’s damage dice (additional damage dice from critical hits and special abilities such as the flaming enchantment are not affected by this ability).

At +10 base attack bonus, whenever you deal damage with a weapon currently impaling a creature, that creature must make a successful Fortitude save or be unable to take a move action for 1 round.

Distracting Tear

Whenever you deal damage while removing a weapon from an impaled creature, that creature provokes an attack of opportunity from one ally of your choice other than yourself.

For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, you can select an additional ally with this talent.

Human Shield

Whenever you are the target of an attack, you may perform a reposition combat maneuver against an impaled creature as an immediate action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

You may reposition the impaled enemy into occupied squares other than your own, but they are shunted to the nearest unoccupied square after the attack resolves. If the impaled creature’s new position would place them in the path of the attack targeting you, the attack is instead rolled against them.

Painful Twist

You may perform a dirty trick combat maneuver as a move action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity against an impaled creature.

At +10 base attack bonus, you may perform this dirty trick combat maneuver as a swift action.

Ragdoll Swing

As long as you have martial focus, you may use a creature you are currently impaling with a wielded weapon as an improvised weapon of that creature’s size, taking no penalties on attack rolls for doing so. This talent does not allow you to wield a creature of a larger size than you normally could wield as an improvised weapon. Each successful attack you make while using the impaled creature as a weapon deals damage to the impaled creature equal to half your base attack bonus.

Staggering Tear

Whenever you remove a weapon impaling a creature, that creature must make a successful Fortitude save or be staggered for 1 round.

Unbalancing Twist

As long as you have martial focus, you can cause an impaled creature to provoke an attack of opportunity from one ally of your choice (except for yourself) as a move action.

For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, you can select an additional ally with this talent.

Guardian Talents (Extra Impale Attacks)

Bracing Pierce

Whenever you ready an action to intercept a charge, you can also impale the charging creature without taking a -2 on the attack roll; readying an action in this fashion does not alter your place in the initiative order.

Once per round while you have an action readied in this fashion, you may move up to half your base speed as a free action even when it is not your turn; if this movement would place you in the path of a charging creature, you can make your readied attack against them.

At +10 base attack bonus, if a creature provokes an attack of opportunity from you due to moving towards you, they are treated as a charging creature for the purpose of triggering your readied action.

Opportune Impalement

Whenever you make an attack of opportunity against a foe, you can expend your martial focus to attempt to impale them with the attack, taking no penalty on your attack to do so.

Pinning Impale

Whenever you use the charge action, you can impale the target of your charge on a successful attack.

If the creature is adjacent to a wall or other such structure, or they are within your melee reach of one, you can pin them to the wall with your weapon. Releasing the weapon does not end the impalement against the creature, forcing the creature to make a combat maneuver check against your CMD to release themselves.

You may select this talent up to twice; if you select this talent a second time, you can instead pin a creature to the ground with this talent.

Ranged Impale

You may attempt to impale a creature with a thrown weapon; ammunition and other weapons which would be destroyed upon successfully hitting a creature may not be used with this talent, although doing so does not cause the impaled creature to move to a square adjacent to you.

If you possess the Pinning Impale talent, you may use it with this talent.

Guardian Talents (Other)

Adamant Stalker

Whenever a creature within your threatened area attempts to take a 5-foot step away from you, you may also make a 5-foot step as an immediate action so long as you end your movement with the creature in your threatened range.

If you take this step, you cannot take a 5-foot step during your next turn.

If you take an action to move during your next turn, subtract 5 ft. from your total movement.

You can select this talent a second time; if you do, the creature also provokes an attack of opportunity from you at the end of your movement.

Double Impale

If you successfully impale a creature with a weapon wielded with two hands, you can expend your martial focus to make an additional attack roll against a creature adjacent to that creature with the same penalty. If this attack is successful, that creature takes damage and is also impaled.

While they are impaled, both creatures are forced to act on the same initiative count (whichever is lower between the two) until they are no longer impaled, and both can only move if both agree to move using both of their move actions, using the slower of their speeds to determine movement between the two using a movement type both share.

The creature who was impaled first cannot remove the weapon impaling them as long as it is still impaling the creature who was impaled second, but both can make a combat maneuver check to remove it, gaining a +2 circumstance bonus on this check. The creature who was impaled second can choose to attempt to free only themselves from the impaling weapon.

Focusing Finale

Whenever you remove your weapon from an impaled creature, you may regain your martial focus.

Pincushion Punishment

You can make a impale attempt against a creature who is currently impaled; if you do so, they take a -1 penalty to attack rolls and armor class for each weapon currently impaling them. As long as no other creatures are holding any weapons currently impaling the creature, you may choose to remove all weapons currently impaling it as an attack action by making a single combat maneuver check against the creature’s CMD, dealing damage equal to the weapon’s base damage die for each weapon removed with this talent. If you do not have enough hands to carry all of these weapons you may choose which ones to hold, with any remaining weapons falling to your feet.

Terrifying Pierce

Whenever you successfully impale a creature, you can make a demoralize morale maneuver against the creature as an immediate action.

At +10 base attack bonus, a creature who is demoralized by this talent is instead frightened for the duration of the demoralization.

Whirlwind Knockdown

As an attack action, you can attempt a single trip combat maneuver check against all creatures you threaten, tripping each creature whose CMD you successfully overcome. For each creature you target with this talent, you take a -1 penalty to your combat maneuver check.

At +10 base attack bonus, all creatures knocked prone by this talent take damage equal to your base attack bonus.

Advanced Talents

Guardian Talents (Impale)

Dimensional Pierce

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +15.

Creatures impaled by you are affected as though by a dimensional lock spell as long as you control a weapon impaling that creature. This means that the target cannot use teleportation effects, turn ethereal, or otherwise travel from the spot they are at except through mundane means. This is a supernatural effect.

Soul Link

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +5.

Whenever you control a weapon that is impaling a creature, whenever you take damage, that creature must make a successful Fortitude save or suffer 1/4 of the damage dealt to you; this damage is typeless and cannot be reduced.

If the impaled creature would regain hit points from a non-extraordinary source, they must make a successful Will save or gain only 1/2 of the hit points they normally would, granting you temporary hit points equal to 1/2 of the healing they would receive. These hit points last for 1 minute.

At +10 base attack bonus, the target instead suffers 1/2 the damage you would on a failed save, taking 1/4 of the damage on a successful save. This is a supernatural ability.

Soul Pierce

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +10.

Whenever you pierce a creature, the creature gains 1 negative level at the beginning of each round they are impaled. These negative levels last for a number of hours equal to your base attack bonus. This is a supernatural effect.