This section describes the basic rules and terminology regarding occult spirits.

Name & Title

The spirit’s name and title is listed at the top of its entry. Some spirits bear names eerily identical to those of real historical figures while others have outlandish, almost simplistic names. A brief summary of the spirit can be found below its name.

Summoning Rules

This section describes the various rules and rituals for summoning the spirit, and explains the format of each spirit's block.

Level

All spirits are assigned a level ranging from 1st to 10th. A spirit’s level notes how difficult it is to summon and seal pacts with it; spirits with low levels are well known or actively try to seal pacts with binders while spirits with high levels are obscure or require an experienced, persuasive binder to convince them into a pact.

Alignment

Each spirit possesses an alignment that represents its world outlook or the manner in which it seeks to gratify its temporary existence when bound to a binder. A binder gains a +2 bonus on binding checks made with spirits who share an alignment trait and a –2 penalty on binding checks made with spirits who are aligned opposite to a trait the binder possesses. Sealing pacts with neutral spirits do not incur any bonuses or penalties due to alignment. For example, a binder with the holy trait gains a +2 bonus on binding checks when sealing pacts with a Lawful Good spirit. If the binder also possesses the law trait, the bonus would increase to +4.

Constellation

Each spirit belongs to a constellation, which is listed under its summoning rules. Although the term evokes celestial imagery, the exact connection between occult spirits isn’t well understood, and two constellations aren’t associated with the stars at all. Instead, most occult scholars believe that the constellations represent metaphysical themes and connections between the spirits and their mortal lives, ambitions, and personalities.

The constellations are described below. Each constellation includes its general theme, alternate names that some occult communities use for that constellation, and any constellations that it allies with or opposes. Some spirits are Starless, belonging to no constellation.

Binding DC

The spirit’s binding DC is noted here. A binding check is formed from a dice pool usually based on a character’s Soulcraft skill.

Totems

Totems are specific conditions that have some sort of significant meaning to a spirit. Each spirit has three totems listed under its summoning rules. Fulfilling the requirements of any one totem from among these three grants a binder a +2 bonus on his binding attempt with the spirit while fulfilling all three requirements grants the binder a +4 bonus on his binding attempt with the spirit.

Ceremony

A ritual that a binder must perform in order to guide a spirit from the Spirit Realm into a seal. See Performing a Pact Ritual.

Manifestation

The process by which a spirit appears within its seal after its ceremony is performed. Any creature can view the manifestation of a spirit within its seal within its normal, bodily limitations. A fully manifested spirit cannot harm creatures or interact with its surroundings beyond the limits of its seal, nor can it leave the confines of its seal. A spirit is able to dismiss itself from its seal whenever it pleases, ending the pact. Spirits typically do this only when no attempt to seal a pact with them is made within 1 minute of their summoning. See Performing a Pact Ritual.

Legend

Every spirit once possessed a life, whether real or imagined. A spirit’s legend is the result of countless of years of research on the nature of occult spirits. Most legends are spotty at best, and occult scholars still heavily debate even the most widely accepted occult legends. That said, a spirit’s legend often offers important clues and insight into a spirit’s nature that aids a binder during the pact making process.

Granted Abilities

Granted abilities are the powers that a spirit bestows upon a binder at the conclusion of the pact making process. All granted abilities are supernatural abilities and all benefits and bonuses provided by a granted ability (such as spell-like abilities or the benefits of path abilities) are temporary and cannot be used to meet the prerequisites or requirements of feats or similar abilities.

A granted ability that functions as a spell uses the binder’s level as its caster level; likewise, any spell-like ability that a binder gains from a granted ability uses the binder’s level as its caster level. Such granted abilities inherit the spell’s school and descriptors for the purpose of determining how it interacts with other effects.

A granted ability that grants a spell effect to the binder always affects the binder, regardless of type.

Any references to level made by a granted ability refer to the binder’s level. A granted ability’s save DC is equal to 10 + CM + PRE. This includes any spell-like abilities that a granted ability bestows upon a binder. When a pact with a spirit ends, any active effects created by that spirit’s granted abilities also end unless noted otherwise, even if they function as a spell with a duration that would extend beyond the pact itself. Effects with a permanent or instantaneous duration, such as those created fabricate, do not end when a spirit’s granted ability ends unless noted otherwise.

Granted abilities are divided into three types: major granted abilities, minor granted abilities, and capstone empowerments.

Major Granted Ability

A major granted ability is a powerful effect that becomes expended for 10 minutes after it is used. During this time, the major granted ability is unavailable and cannot be activated. Some abilities, such as the Rapid Recovery feat, can reduce the number of minutes or rounds that a major granted ability is expended for while others, such as the empower major ability binder secret, can increase the time that a major granted ability is expended. If you miss with an attack granted by a major granted ability, its use is expended; you cannot “hold the charge” of a major granted ability as you can with a spell with a range of touch, even if the major granted ability functions as such a spell. Multiple effects that expend a major granted ability do not stack; use the longer duration when determining how long a major granted ability is expended.

Minor Granted Ability

Minor granted abilities are less powerful than major granted abilities, but they are not expended after they are used. Some minor granted abilities can only be used a limited number of times per day. Unless noted otherwise, maintaining a granted ability that a binder has already started is a free action.

If a minor granted ability functions as a spell that requires a material component that costs more than 100 gp, the binder must provide that material component in order to use that granted ability. Likewise, if a minor granted ability grants a spell-like ability with a material component that costs more than 100 gp, the binder must provide that material component in order to cast that spell-like ability. If a minor granted ability replicates a spell or grants a spell-like ability with a material component with a varying cost, such as fabricate or raise dead, she must always supply that spell’s material component in order to use that ability, regardless of the material component’s cost.

A binder who made a good pact with a spirit can suppress any minor granted abilities that she possesses that do not require an action to activate as a move action. She can also reactivate any minor granted ability that she has suppressed in this manner as a move action as well.

Capstone Empowerments

If a binder’s binding check result exceeds the spirit’s binding DC by 2 or more and makes a good pact with the spirit, her major granted ability gains an additional benefit called a capstone empowerment. A binder with the Capstone Binder ability only needs to exceed the spirit’s binding DC by 1 or more in order to make a good pact with it.

The benefits of a capstone empowerment are always optional and the decision to apply a capstone empowerment requires no action.

Signs & Influence

A spirit’s presence leaves its mark upon the binder, whether seen or unseen. A spirit’s signs and influence are divided into four types: physical sign, personality influence, favored allies, and favored enemies.

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Physical Sign

A physical sign is an aspect of the spirit’s power that manifests upon the binder’s body. Each physical sign has two aspects: one that is always seen while the physical sign is shown and one that is shown only when the binder activates one of the spirit’s granted abilities, be it a major granted ability or a minor granted ability. This second aspect is brief and does not affect or alter the binder or his environment in any way.

A binder can hide a physical sign using mundane means using Disguise or Bluff checks or magical means (such as disguise self). A physical sign is not a polymorph effect and continues to manifest itself upon the binder’s assumed form while he benefits from such an effect. A binder who has made a good pact with a spirit can show or suppress the spirit’s physical sign as a move action. A suppressed sign does not exist, so a binder does not need to make Disguise checks or Bluff checks to hide a suppressed physical sign. The Suppress Sign† feat reduces this action to a free action. A bind that has made a poor pact with a spirit cannot suppress the spirit’s physical sign.

Personality Influence

A spirit’s personality influence is the behavioral code that the spirit enforces upon a binder who is not able to assert himself over the spirit’s desires. Each time the binder fails to act in accordance to the spirit’s personality influence, she suffers a cumulative –1 penalty on ability checks, attack rolls, skill checks, saving throws, and to her AC for the rest of his pact with the spirit. This penalty stacks. The binder can attempt a Will save to prevent this penalty; the DC is equal to the spirit’s binding DC when the binder sealed his pact with the spirit. For example, the DC improves by +18 if the binder performed the spirit’s ceremony in one round.

Some personality influences require that the binder refrain from a certain action. For example, Forty-Two forbids its binder from responding or speaking unless spoken to. Such restrictions don’t apply to any of the spirit’s granted abilities; for instance, a binder can verbally present a question to Forty-Two using that spirit’s advanced computing granted ability without fear of suffering the spirit’s personality influence even though she is technically breaking the conditions set by the spirit’s personality influence. However, this doesn’t apply to granted abilities bestowed upon the binder from other spirits. For example, if a binder who sealed a poor pact with Forty-Two tries to speak to use a different spirit’s granted ability that includes verbal components without meeting one of Forty-Two’s contingencies, that binder would take a –1 penalty for breaking Forty-Two’s personality influence unless she succeeded on a Will saving throw.

Favored Allies and Favored Enemies

All occult spirits have preferences for some creatures over others. Some granted abilities, binder secrets, feats, and other abilities have specific effects against a spirit’s favored allies or enemies. A binder who attempts pact with a spirit that considers him a favored ally increases any totem bonus he receives for meeting the spirit’s totem requirements by 50% while a binder who attempts pacts with a spirit that considers him a favored enemy decreases any totem bonus he receives by 50%.

If the binder qualifies as a spirit’s favored ally and favored enemy simultaneously, there is no modification to his totem bonus.

Vestigial Bonds

A binder can surrender a granted ability of his spirit in order to acquire an alternate granted ability instead. The decision to trade one of a spirit’s minor granted abilities for a vestigial bond must be made when you barter with the spirit turning Step 4 of the pactmaking process. A binder is limited to one vestigial bond at a time regardless of how many spirits are bound.

Vestigial bonds are divided into two types: vestigial boons and vestigial companions.

Vestigial Boons

A vestigial boon augments the binder, his allies, or both. A vestigial boon functions as any other granted ability.

Vestigial Companions

A vestigial companion is a helpful creature that is bound to the binder via its associated spirit. Most vestigial companions function as creatures granted from specific class features, namely a wizard’s arcane bond (for familiars), a druid’s nature bond (for animal companions), or a summoner’s eidolon (for eidolons). A binder uses his binder level as his class level when determining the vestigial companion’s abilities. If a vestigial companion functions as a familiar that can only be selected by a character with the Improved Familiar feat, she cannot select that spirit’s vestigial bond ability unless his binder level is equal to or greater than the minimum arcane spellcaster level requirement that Improved Familiar requires to gain that creature as a familiar.

Some vestigial companions function as cohorts; such vestigial companions are always 0 Hit Die creatures who advance via class levels. Such companions have the following ability scores, assigned by the binder however she wishes: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. The cohort also has the standard racial traits associated with its race; alternate racial traits are not available to it. A cohort granted as a vestigial companion doesn’t have a favored class and its class levels must be allocated as indicated by its associated spirit’s vestigial bond ability.

If a vestigial companion has Hit Dice, its hit points are always average for a creature of its kind and class (if any). For instance, animal companions have 5.5 hit points per Hit Die (rounded down). In addition, vestigial companions that function as animal companions, eidolons, or cohorts doesn’t gain skill ranks like standard creatures do; instead, they possess a number of skill ranks equal to their character level in a number of skills equal to its number of skill ranks per level (based upon its creature type or class level) plus its Intelligence modifier.

Typically, a binder makes any decisions regarding what class features or feats that a vestigial companion after initially sealing her pact with the spirit; once chosen, such choices cannot be altered for the rest of the pact. At the GM’s decision, a binder may be allowed to build her vestigial companion once (the first time it is gained from that specific granted ability) and afterwards the binder summons the same vestigial companion each time.

Alternatively, the GM may preconstruct a vestigial companion, requiring all binders who summon that spirit to gain that specific vestigial companion each time the vestigial companion is gained. If a vestigial companion functions as a cohort, that companion doesn’t count as the character’s actual cohort for the purpose of the Leadership feat. Humanoid vestigial companions cannot select character traits or alternate racial traits.

When the pact ends, the vestigial companion returns from whence it came and any equipment given to it while it was summoned falls to the ground in its space. While a vestigial companion is summoned, it is forced to show its associated spirit’s physical sign for the duration of the pact. A binder that made a good pact with the vestigial companion’s associated spirit can suppress its physical sign as a full-round action, or as a swift action if she possesses the Suppress Physical Sign† feat. If a binder has a class feature that grants it a companion, such as an animal companion, an eidolon, or a familiar, it cannot gain a second creature of that kind as a vestigial companion.

For example, a binder with an animal companion cannot also gain an animal companion as a vestigial companion. Instead, the binder can choose to grant its existing companion the share granted abilities feature, as noted below. Alternatively, the binder can allow the spirit to possess her companion, warping its body to match the spirit’s vestigial companion. Effectively, you trade your companion’s type and statistics for the type and statistics of the spirit’s vestigial companion. The creature trades its statistics (those based upon its kind) for those of the vestigial companion and gains the share granted abilities feature, but its skills, hit points, feats, and memories remain unchanged. This restriction doesn’t apply to vestigial companions that function as cohorts.

For instance, a binder with a wolf animal companion cannot gain Shelassik’s vestigial companion because Shelassik’s vestigial companion is a shark that acts as an animal companion. Instead, the binder could trade devil’s grin to grant her wolf the shared granted abilities feature or she could exchange her animal companion’s wolf statistics and abilities for those of a shark, otherwise leaving the animal’s hit points, skills, feats, and ability score allocations from leveling up unchanged.

In addition to the notes mentioned above, all vestigial companions receive the share granted abilities feature, as noted below:

Share Granted Abilities (Su)

A vestigial companion gains all of the granted abilities of the spirit to which it belongs except for the granted ability traded in its description. The binder and his companion share these abilities: an expended major granted ability is expended for both master and companion uses of a granted ability activated by either creature counts against the total number of times per day that both creatures may use the granted ability.