Dantalion, The Star Emperor
Dantalion, called the Star Emperor for his legend and appearance, is a composite of many souls. He grants binders the ability to teleport short distances, read thoughts, and stop foes.
Legend: Binders know little of how Dantalion came to be. The most common legend of his origin presents him not as one spirit, but as a conglomeration of the souls of a royal line whose members were cursed not to join their deities in the afterlife. This ancient imperial line is not now connected to any living leaders. Supposedly, however, descendants of this family still live, ignorant of both their heritage and their curse. Some binders profess to be scions of Dantalion—the true heirs of the royal line—but these claims are likely just the fancies of romantic minds.
Manifestation: Dantalion appears in a fl ash of red light as a 10-foot-tall humanoid, resplendent in crimson and gold robes. His head is a massive conglomeration of dozens of human faces—male and female, young and old. A gold crown as big around as a barrel rests on the brow of his enormous cranium. Dantalion carries a great tome under one arm and speaks with the voices of his many faces, always in cryptic passages that he reads from his book. Sometimes just one face reads from his tome, but the speaking face changes often and usually in mid-sentence. Those who glance at the book’s pages see a dark sky fi lled with stars that change with each flip of a page.
Sign: One of Dantalion’s faces appears on your torso, as though it were a vestigial conjoined twin. It seems lifeless most of the time, but when you activate an ability granted by Dantalion, it opens its eyes and mouth, revealing a starry void within.
Influence: Dantalion’s influence causes you to be aloof and use stately gestures. Dantalion can’t help but be curious about the leaders of the day, so anytime you are within 100 feet of someone who clearly is (or professes to be) a leader of others, Dantalion requires that you try to read that person’s thoughts. Once you have made the attempt, regardless of success or failure, you need not try to read that person’s thoughts again.
Granted Abilities: Pact magic grimoires attest to Dantalion’s profound wisdom and his extensive knowledge about all subjects. Because he knows all thoughts, he can grant you a portion of that power, as well as the ability to travel just by thinking. You also gain a portion of his commanding presence, which many binders ascribe to his royal origins.
Awe of Dantalion: When you invoke this ability (a move action), any creature that sees you is unable to attack you or target you with a hostile spell for 1 round. If you attempt any hostile action, such as making an attack roll or casting an offensive spell against the affected creature or its allies, the effect ends. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
Dantalion Knows: While bound to Dantalion, you have a +8 bonus on Knowledge checks. This ability does not allow you to make Knowledge checks untrained.
Read Thoughts: At will as a full-round action, you can attempt to read the surface thoughts of any creature you can see, as long as it is within 5 feet per effective binder level you possess. If the target makes a successful Will save, you cannot read its thoughts for 1 minute. Creatures of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2) have simple, instinctual thoughts that you can pick up. If you attempt to read the thoughts of a creature with an Intelligence score 10 points higher than your own, you automatically fail and are stunned for 1 round. You can read a creature’s thoughts for as long as you concentrate.
Thought Travel: As a standard action, you can instantly transport yourself and any objects you carry (up to a heavy load) to any location you can see that is within 5 feet per effective binder level you possess. The desired location cannot be within an object or beyond a barrier unless you have some means of seeing the exact space you desire to occupy. If you cannot occupy the designated space because it contains a solid body inside which you cannot exist (for example, if an invisible creature is in the square, or some magic in that location prevents dimensional travel, or the like), the attempt to travel fails and you are stunned for 1 round. Otherwise, you always arrive at the exact location desired. You cannot use this ability while blinded. Thought travel is a teleportation effect and is usable a number of times per day equal to your effective binder level. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
