Touch of the Inhuman: Fire

Introduction

Fire spirits have close ties to civilizations of all kinds. Human myths often credit fire as the force that first raised humankind from animals to something greater, and fire can be found in various uses in every human civilization. fire spirits as extremely passionate beings, with fiery temperaments. The can be friendly one moment, only for a slight or disrespect to send them into a fury. Dealing with fire spirits requires the same caution and respect as handling open flame, lest one end up burned. Most fire spirits create touched in those that respect and use flame often, hearth-tenders, smithes and forge-masters, and spellcasters that use fire to destroy their enemies.

Description

Physical Description: Fire touched can be subtle or obvious about their inhuman natures, some even becoming more or less so based on their mood. their heritage usually presents itself with an unusually warm body, which flares to searing-hot in combat. They may show a wide variety of other traits, such as bright red hair, reddish or bloodshot eyes, or a faint trace of smoke on their breath when angered. Others are dramatically inhuman, with hair that bursts into flame at their whim, a heat shimmer in the air around them, or even tongues of flame on their skin.

Personality: Tire touched are often as fickle as their supernatural sources. They tend to have unusually wide swings of emotion. When angered, they become enraged, when saddened, they despair, when pleased, they rejoice. The ofter are easy to anger, and comments on their ‘hot temper’ usually only speed their descent to rage. They love and hate with equally intense passion, and there are as many lotharios as there are berserkers.

In the World: Fire touched can be found in any society that uses fire, or, in other words, all of them. Fire touched particularly appear in the families of those who have a particularly close relationship with fire, such as smiths. They most commonly arise in european societies, but they often kill the infants, mistaking their connection to fire for a connection to hellfire. Many european myths confuse fire spirits and demonic spirits.

Ability Modifiers

• +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom Fire touched are passionate and forceful, but they tend to be hot-tempered and can be somewhat easy to manipulate.

Universal Abilities

• Fiery Assault: Fire touched become burning hot in combat. All successful melee attacks that make deal 1 fire damage in addition to their normal damage. Their bodies are even hot enough to ignite flammable materials with a touch. They can suppress or resume this ability as a free action at will.
• Fire Resistance: Fire touched are inured to the heat of flames. They gain fire resistance 5.

Optional Abilities

• Burning Fury: The fire touched has a fiery temper, and can channel it into a burning fury. Entering or leaving a burning fury is a free action. While in burning fury, they gain a +1 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls, a +1 morale bonus to will saves, and the fire damage dealt by their fiery assault ability is doubled, but they take a -2 penalty to AC. They can enter a burning fury at will, but they can only remain in burning fury for a maximum number of rounds equal to ½ their HD (minimum 1), and when the burning fury ends, they are fatigued for a number of rounds equal to the rounds they spent in burning fury.
• Courage: The fire touched is filled with unwavering courage. They gain a +2 racial bonus to saves against fear effects, enchantment spells and spell-like abilities.
• Fireballs: The fire touched can conjure balls of mystic fire and hurl them at foes. As a free action, they can create a ball of fire in a free hand. They can throw a fireball like a thrown weapon or wield it as a touch attack. A thrown fireball is a ranged touch attack, with a range of 60 and no range increment. A melee attack with a fireball is a melee touch attack. If the fireball hits when thrown or touched, it deals 1d6 points of fire damage plus the fire damage from fiery assault. A fireball dissipates harmlessly after it strikes.
• Fire in the blood: The fire touched is healed by the touch of fire. They gain fast healing 1 for one round any time they take fire damage (whether or not this damage overcomes their fire resistance).
• Fire Magic: The fire touched is attuned to fire magic. They gain a +1 bonus to caster level when casting spells with the [Fire] subtype.
• Flame Breath: The fire touched can breathe forth a destructive blast of elemental fire on their foes. Breathing fire is a standard action and fills a 15 foot cone with fire. Creatures in the area take 1d6 fire damage plus 1d6 fire damage per 2 hit die the fire touched possesses. they can attempt a reflex save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the fire touched’s hit die + their charisma modifier) for half damage. After using this breath weapon, the fire touched must wait one minute before they can use it again.
• Flame Tongue: The fire touched can speak with the sound of a raging inferno, and can communicate with elemental creatures. They can understand and be understood by any creature with the fire subtype, regardless of whether they share a language or not.
• Hot-blooded: The fire touched is stubborn and passionate, able to call forth reserves of willpower to break free of magical compulsion. If they fail a will save against an ongoing effect, they can attempt a second saving throw on the following round. If this save is successful, the effect ends. They can attempt this save even in they could not normally take actions.
• Improved fire resistance: The fire touched is even more resistant to heat than normal. Their fire resistance increases to 10.
• Inferno Assault: The fire touched burns hotter than most, it’s burning body more deadly. The fire damage from fiery assault increases to 1d4.
• Light The fire: touched bears torchlight with them wherever they go, sometimes a floating ball overhead, sometimes searing light from their eyes, sometimes igniting their hair. These flames are magical in nature and do not produce heat or consume oxygen. The fire touched sheds light like a torch. They can suppress or resume this ability as a free action at will. While active, this light imposes a -10 penalty on their stealth checks. As a swift action, they can flash this light to momentarily blind their foes, dazzling all enemies within the area of bright light for one round.
• Searing Body: The fire touched has searing-hot skin, so hot it can damage those that touch them. If a creature hits them with a natural weapon attack, unarmed strike, or melee touch attack, the attacker automatically takes fire damage equal to the bonus fire damage from fiery assault. If the fire touched is involved in a grapple, the other creature takes this damage each turn at the start of their turn. They can suppress or resume this ability as a free action at will.
• Smoldering Passion: The fire touched smolders with passion. They gain a +2 racial bonus to diplomacy and intimidate checks.