Courser

The courser gains a bonus combat feat. This venture can be taken multiple times; each time selecting another combat feat.

The courser’s mount benefits from their fast movement and determined stalker abilities.

The courser gains Endurance as a bonus feat (which can be traded for the Resilience Training Navigation sphere talent as normal), in addition to healing nonlethal damage at twice the normal rate, healing 2 hit points per hour per character level they possess.

At 6th level, the courser instead heals 2 points of nonlethal damage every 10 minutes, instead of every hour. Additionally, the courser adds their Constitution score to their hit point total when determining when nonlethal damage would begin to affect them negatively, such as making them staggered or unconscious.

The courser gains the Meat Survivalism talent as a bonus talent. Any meat that the courser refines does not count towards their maximum number of components they can have refined at one time.

Additionally, if the courser adds refined meat to a meal created with their forage class feature, it only takes 30 minutes to prepare, as well as increasing the number of creatures they can feed with the meal by twice the number of refined meat spent.

The courser gains an animal companion, treating their courser level as their effective druid level. This stacks normally with other druid levels.

The courser gains a bonus skill talent from the Herbalism, Navigation, or Survivalism sphere. This venture can be taken multiple times; each time selecting an additional talent.

The courser can select one of the following rogue talents in place of a courser venture: assault leader, camouflage, canny observer, climbing stunt, cunning trigger, disease use, escaping stunt, fast stealth, firearm training, green tongue, grit, heads up, iron guts, ledge walker, maneuvering dodge, peerless maneuver, poison use, quick trapsmith, rapid perception, rogue crawl, rope master, snap shot, sneak training, strong stroke, superior sniper, swift tracks, thrill of the chase, and wall scramble.

Any talent effects based on rogue level use the courser's class level. If the rogue talent has a prerequisite, the courser must fulfill the prerequisite before selecting that rogue talent. This venture can be selected multiple times; each time selecting another rogue talent.

Creatures who eat the courser’s meals are treated as if they had received both a full day of complete rest and long-term care whenever they have a full night's rest, allowing them to heal 4 hit points per character level and 4 ability score damage for each 8 hours of rest they receive. If such a creature would undergo a full day of complete rest, they increase the amount of hit points healed by an additional 2 hit points per character level, and the amount of ability score damage by 2.

The courser gains a favored terrain, as the ranger class feature. This venture can be taken once at 2nd level, plus an additional time for every 4 courser levels they possess beyond 2nd. Each time this venture is gained beyond the first, they gain an additional favored terrain, and the bonuses granted by one of their favored terrains (even the one just chosen if they desire) increases by 2. A terrain chosen this way cannot have a bonus above +2, +2 per 5 character levels they possess.

The courser can spend 1 use of skill leverage to reroll a Survival, Knowledge (geography) or Knowledge (nature) check as an immediate action, with an insight bonus equal to 1 + 1 per 4 courser levels they possess. This choice must be made after the roll, but before the result.

The courser can only reroll a check once when using this venture.

The courser may take both a standard and a move action (or a full-round action) during a surprise round.

The courser gains the Hunter’s Eye Survivalism talent as a bonus talent. While they adopt the hunter’s eye approach, they also gain a rough insight into a creature’s physical state if they are marked. As long as the courser is within 60 feet of a marked creature and can see them, they immediately learn if the creature is healthy (at least 90% remaining hit points), injured (50-90% remaining hit points), wounded (Less than 50% hit points remaining), or critical (0 or fewer hit points remaining).

The Heal DC and points of healing required to remove the effects of the courser’s harrying assault ability increase by 5 + 5 per 5 courser levels they possess.

The courser gains the Communication sphere as a bonus skill talent with the Animal Whisperer alternate start. Creatures of the animal and vermin type have a default attitude towards you of neutral, and domestic animals have a default attitude of friendly. Such creatures will not attack you unless compelled to do so by a Handle Animal check or a compulsion check; although the creature will react to hostile actions normally.

The courser’s fast movement ability still functions while wearing medium armor, and they gain proficiency with medium armor. This venture can be selected a second time. If they do, the courser’s fast movement ability also functions while wearing heavy armor, and they gain proficiency with heavy armor.

The courser can land a debilitating blow to a creature’s stomach using their harrying assault ability. The creature becomes sickened for a number of rounds equal to the courser’s Wisdom modifier (minimum 1, Fortitude negates). While sickened this way, the creature retches up anything they ingest (wasting the action and consumable) and cannot benefit from alchemical bonuses.

At 10th level, a successful save only reduces the duration of the sickened condition to 1 round. On a failed save, the effects of any potion with a duration (or similar consumables) the creature has imbibed within the last hour as well as any alchemical bonuses the creature is benefitting from are dispelled unless the originator of the effect has more Hit Dice than the courser.

At 16th level, on a failed save, the creature is also nauseated for 1 round. Also, the sickened condition lasts twice as long (even on a successful save), and the penalties associated with the condition increase by +2.

Whenever the courser uses their determined stalker or distant advance class features, they add their vigilant bonus to Acrobatics, Climb, Fly, Stealth, or Swim checks made to pursue the creature, and ignore up to 10 feet of difficult terrain when doing so. Additionally, they can choose to move twice their base speed when using such a class feature, although doing so subtracts from their total movement on their following turn.

^{Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle}

The damage dealt by the attack is treated as continuous for the purposes of concentration checks attempted by the creature for 1 round. Additionally, the creature suffers a -4 penalty to their Intelligence and Wisdom for a number of rounds equal to the courser’s Wisdom modifier (minimum 2); a successful Fortitude save reduces the duration of this effect to 1 round. For every two courser levels beyond 6th they possess, this penalty increases by 2.

On a failed save, whenever the creature suffers damage, they must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or have the damage be treated as continuous for the purposes of concentration checks for 1 round.

When using their forage ability, the courser may spend a Herbalism sphere herb per target to increase any numerical benefits of their forage ability by 1.

Once per round, whenever the courser makes an attack of opportunity against a creature and the attack is a successful hit, they can apply their harrying assault class feature to the attack. This ignores the normal once per round limit on harrying assault.

The courser is adept at gathering various ingredients from locales outside the normal planar boundaries, granting different effects depending on the plane the courser forages from. For the purposes of their resourceful foraging class feature, a plane is treated as a terrain, and can be chosen from normally:

• Astral Plane or Plane of Air: Creatures who eat this meal immediately succeed at Wisdom checks to maneuver in subjective directional gravity and can reduce or increase their falling speed when setting a new direction of gravity by an additional 100 feet on the first round, and an additional 200 feet per round thereafter. Such creatures that are on a plane with heavy, normal, or light gravity instead gain a circumstance bonus to Acrobatics and Fly checks equal to half their courser level and are always treated as having a running start when attempting Acrobatics checks to jump.
  At 10th level, such creatures also halve all damage they suffer from impacts (such as falling damage), and treat their Acrobatics checks to high jump as long jumps for the purposes of determining the DC. Additionally, such creatures no longer retroactively age or hunger when departing a plane with the timeless trait. When such a creature is on a plane with subjective directional gravity, they gain a fly speed of 50 feet (perfect); this improves to 80 feet at 20th level.
  At 20th level, such creatures gain a 60-foot fly speed (good).
• Ethereal Plane: While on the Ethereal Plane (or similar), creatures who eat this meal increase the range that their senses expand from the Ethereal Plane to the Material Plane to 120 feet (instead of 60 feet), and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and saving throws against effects originating from the Material Plane that extend to the Ethereal Plane. At 10th level, such creatures can instead perceive the same distance they can on the Material Plane, as well as reducing the damage of effects originating from the Material Plane that extend to the Ethereal Plane by 50%; this increases to 75% at 20th level.
  If the creature is not on the Ethereal plane, they ignore concealment caused by natural effects (such as fog or mist), and treat total concealment from such sources as concealment. Additionally, such creatures can perceive ethereal creatures within 30 feet of them, +15 feet per 5 courser levels they possess. At 20th level, such creatures can perceive ethereal creatures regardless of distance.
• Fey Realm: Creatures who eat this meal gain a +2 alchemical bonus to saving throws against illusions, +1 per 5 courser levels they possess. Such creatures also treat their weapon attacks as if they were cold iron for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
  At 10th level, creatures who eat this meal do not leave a trail (and therefore cannot be tracked) unless they wish to, and can use Stealth to hide in any natural terrain, even if it does not grant cover or concealment. Also, such a creature gains spell resistance equal to 15 + their courser level against time-based effects (such as the alter time sphere ability). Additionally, when such a creature leaves a plane with erratic time, they can roll twice and choose either result when determining how much time has passed.
  At 20th level, such a creature can choose to be unaffected by the erratic time planar trait when leaving such a plane, as well as becoming immune to time-based effects that they are unwilling against.
• Plane, aligned: When the courser creates this meal, they choose an alignment type (good, evil, lawful, or chaotic). The courser must choose an alignment within one step of their own alignment, unless they are currently inhabiting a plane that has an alignment subtype. Creatures who eat this meal may choose to emanate an alignment aura of the chosen alignment type instead of their own as a free action, as if they were a cleric of their character level. This lasts until dismissed as a free action. A creature that possesses 4 or more Hit Dice than the creature can see both auras, but cannot distinguish which is the original aura. Additionally, such creatures do not take penalties to skill checks due to being on a strongly aligned plane that clashes with their own alignment.
  At 10th level, such creatures treat their attacks as if they were aligned with the alignment opposite of the chosen alignment type for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction, as well as gaining DR 5 that is bypassed by the alignment opposite of the chosen alignment type, increasing to DR 15 at 20th level. Also at 20th level, such creatures are treated as if they were native to the plane the meal was foraged from for the purposes of spells and abilities, unless they are willing.
• Plane, elemental: Creatures who eat this meal gain a +2 alchemical bonus to saving throws against certain effects, depending on the plane: air and electricity effects (Plane of Air), acid and earth effects (Plane of Earth), fire effects (Plane of Fire), cold and water effects (Plane of Water). This bonus increases by +1 per 5 courser levels they possess. Additionally, such creatures gain another benefit depending on the plane—each plane is considered its own individual option for resourceful foraging and other abilities:
  • Plane of Earth: Creatures who eat this meal can burrow up to half their speed as a full-round action (instead of the usual 5 feet), improving to equal their base speed at 10th level, and twice their base speed at 20th level.
  • Plane of Fire: Creatures who eat this meal gain fire resistance 5 and ignore the fire damage from the fire-dominant planar trait. This improves to fire resistance 20 at 10th level, and fire immunity at 20th level.
  • Plane of Water: As the water terrain benefit.

At 10th level, creatures who eat this meal are unaffected by planar impediments to their magical abilities.
At 20th level, creatures who eat this meal gain the benefits of the enhanced magic planar trait from the chosen plane, even while on another plane.

• Shadow Plane: Creatures who eat this meal increase the miss chance from being within dim light from 20% to 50% (this does not confer total concealment), as well as gaining a +2 alchemical bonus to saving throws against emotion, light, and pain effects, increasing by +1 per 5 courser levels they possess.
  At 10th level, such creatures also gain negative energy resistance 20 and increase the miss chance from being within dim light to 75%.
  At 20th level, such creatures can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including magical darkness (as the see in darkness ability).

If the attack deals damage equal to at least half the creature's current hit points, the target must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or either die or fall unconscious (courser's choice). Regardless of the result of the saving throw, the creature cannot be the target of this ability again for 24 hours. This is a death effect.

At 10th level, the creature no longer gains immunity against this effect after the results of their saving throw.

At 16th level, this ability bypasses any immunity that the target may possess against death effects, and can be used against creatures that are usually not subject to Fortitude saves, such as constructs and undead.

The creature halves the range of all spells and spell-like abilities they possess (minimum 5 feet), in addition to suffering a 10% spell failure chance for a number of rounds equal to the courser's Wisdom modifier (minimum 1, Will negates). This stacks with other spell failure chances. If a spell fails due to this spell failure chance, the creature provokes attacks of opportunity (as though they failed to cast defensively).

At 10th level, on a successful save, the creature still suffers its effects for 1 round. Additionally, on a failed save, the spell failure chance increases to 25%. This spell failure chance is doubled for teleportation effects cast by the creature.

At 16th level, on a successful save, the creature suffers the reduction in range for the normal duration. On a failed save, the spell failure chance increases to 50%. If a creature is suffering spell failure chance from another source, add this spell failure to the other source to get a single spell failure chance.

The courser reduces any fortification or similar chance to negate a critical hit or source of precision damage by 20%, treating any immunity against critical hits or precision damage as 150%. This reduction increases by 10% for every 2 courser levels beyond 6th.

The courser can attempt to gain a rough idea of the location of a creature who has recently teleported. As long as the courser is within close range (25 feet + 5 feet per 2 courser levels they possess) of a creature's original location before they cast a teleportation effect, the courser can spend a full-round action and attempt a Survival check against a DC equal to 10 + the caster level of the teleportation effect.

If the courser is successful, they learn the direction of the creature's destination, and whether or not it is within 25 feet, 100 feet, 1,000 feet, or further than 1,000 feet from them. This venture must be used within 1 minute of the teleportation attempt.

^{Source: Diamond Spheres: Hustle & Bustle}

Choose an acclimation benefit from an (acclimation) talent the courser possesses—they gain it as a constant benefit. This does not count towards the maximum number of acclimations the survivor can benefit from at once.

You can take this courser venture multiple times. Each time you do, choose another acclimation benefit.

Whenever the courser successfully confirms a critical hit and the courser applies their harrying assault class feature to the attack, the creature takes a -4 penalty to their saving throw against the harrying assault.

The courser can choose two terrain benefits when using their forage class feature. This requires the courser to be within an area with multiple types of terrain, or to use their resourceful foraging class feature.

When the courser successfully uses their astral tracking courser venture, they instead learn the exact location of the creature's destination, as long as it is on the same plane as the courser. Additionally, the courser can attempt to track this way within 1 hour of a teleportation attempt.

The courser gains Pin Down (Ultimate Combat) as a bonus feat, even if they do not meet the prerequisites.

^{Source: Diamond Spheres: Invention & Ingenuity}

The courser can add a single entree and a flavor to a meal that they create using the forage class feature (this entree and flavor function as per the recipes class feature from the iron chef blacksmith archetype). The added entree and flavor lasts for the duration of the courser’s prepared meal (as opposed to the normal duration of the recipes ability).

At 10th level, the courser can add an additional flavor, and at 16th level, they can add an additional entree. The courser uses their courser level as their effective blacksmith level for determining the effects of this ability.

Additionally, the courser can select chef’s insights in place of courser ventures, treating their meals as an iron chef meal for determining its effects.

This replaces harrying assault and deadly assault.

Special—Gourmand Archetype: If the courser possesses the gourmand archetype and the prepare meal class feature, this ability modifies the prepare meal feature as normal.