Ipos, Prince of Fools
Binders call Ipos the Prince of Fools because of the crown he wears and the sad legend of his transformation into a vestige. He grants his summoners cold iron claws with which to rend foes, the power to see creatures and objects as they are, and a fraction of his charisma.
Legend: As a mortal scholar of deities and the planes, Ipos discovered vestiges and the process of binding long before their rediscovery in the current age. Although binder lore gives confl icting accounts of Ipos’s race and nation of origin, the legends agree that he was a mighty spellcaster with the power to travel the planes in his pursuit of knowledge. Although he was interested in all subjects, Ipos had a particular passion for discovering the nature of the planes, magic, and the gods. Through his study of these topics, Ipos sought to discover the planar order—the set of fundamental laws within which the multiverse operated. Ipos did a magnifi cent job with his research, and his discoveries have been passed down through the generations. Yet he left such an incomplete vision of reality that later scholars and explorers had to expand upon his body of work. In the midst of his investigations, Ipos stumbled across vestiges and drowned in the depth of this knowledge. He could not conceive of beings that did not exist in some place, or that could not be reached via the planes or by deities. He became obsessed with fi nding the plane upon which the vestiges resided. He dropped the study of all other topics and threw himself into the task of fi nding a way to the realm of the vestiges. No one knows what happened after he made this mission his focus, but the fact that he now exists as a vestige lends credence to the idea that he discovered what he sought.
Special Requirement: Ipos refuses to answer the call of any summoner who, in his judgment, has not taken a serious enough interest in occult studies. Anyone wishing to bind Ipos must have at least 5 ranks in Knowledge (arcana) and 5 ranks in either Knowledge (religion) or Knowledge (the planes).
Manifestation: Ipos steps forward onto his seal as though reappearing from invisibility. Some pact magic texts say that he has the head of a vulture or a goose, but those writers must have been unfamiliar with the bald ibis. Ipos clearly has that bird’s long, downward-curving beak and mottled, featherless head. Atop his warty scalp, he wears a crown of black iron, and a many-layered gray cloak hides most of his form. Ipos’s overly long arms end in gray-furred and clawed members that are more like the paws of a lion than the hands of a man. In one paw, he holds a gnarled iron cane that he uses more often to strike the ground in emphasis than as an aid in walking. He keeps his other paw hidden in one of the long sleeves of his robes, but from time to time, an observer can see him extending its long, black claws. Despite his rusting crown and tattered cloak, Ipos presents an imposing figure, and his hissing voice and baleful glare add considerably to his menace
Sign: You grow long, black, clawlike nails.
Influence: You think highly of your intellect and show contempt toward those who question your assumptions or conclusions. If you encounter a creature that shows interest in a topic about which you have knowledge, Ipos requires that you truthfully edify that individual.
Granted Powers: Ipos grants you his discerning sight and commanding presence, as well as claws of cold iron with which to rend the veil of ignorance.
Cold Iron Claws: Your fingernails harden into cold iron, granting you one claw attack per hand. You can strike with each hand at your full attack bonus and add your full Strength bonus to the damage you deal. The base damage for each claw attack is as given on the following table.
| Size | Base Damage |
| Diminutive | 1 |
| Fine | 1d2 |
| Tiny | 1d3 |
| Small | 1d4 |
| Medium | 1d6 |
| Large | 1d8 |
| Huge | 2d6 |
| Gargantuan | 2d8 |
| Colossal | 4d6 |
If you already had claw attacks with your hands, use the claw damage on the table only if it’s better than your normal base damage. Your claw attacks are considered cold iron weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. You cannot use this ability if you do not show Ipos’s sign.
Flash of Insight: As a swift action, you gain a true seeing effect (as the spell) for a duration of 1 round. Once you have used this ability, you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.
Ipos’s Influence: Your affiliation with Ipos allows you to draw more power from the vestiges to which you are bound. The saving throw DC (if any) of each special ability granted by your vestiges increases by 1. Treat your effective binder level as one higher than normal for the purpose of determining the effects of vestige special abilities.
Planar Attenuation: You gain protection from the natural effects of a specific plane. These effects include extremes in temperature, lack of air, poisonous fumes, emanations of positive or negative energy, or other attributes of the plane itself. You can change the plane to which you are attuned as a standard action.
Rend: When you hit one foe with all your claw attacks, you automatically deal double the damage of a normal claw attack (including your Strength modifier) in addition to your normal damage.
