Ronove

Ronove, The Iron Maiden

Ronove remained a mystery for ages, but binder scholars now believe her to have been a human ascetic who lived more than two thousand years ago. As a vestige, she grants her summoners the power to move objects at a distance, to strike with the skill of a monk, to fall as lightly as a feather, and to run like the wind.

Legend: Many binder scholars credit Ronove with laying the foundation for orders of monks, and indeed, her philosophies and abilities bear a strong resemblance to the training that monks now receive. In life, Ronove was a charismatic guru who taught that enlightenment comes from denial—fi rst of the needs of the flesh, then of the perceived limits of reality, and lastly of the rules of reality. Her frequent demonstrations of power served to illustrate the validity of her ideas to others. She leapt from cliffs without harm, lifted boulders with her thoughts, and lived for months without eating or drinking. Although Ronove gathered many followers, not one of her disciples could manage her great feats. Some began to question her methods.

To prove the veracity of her teachings, Ronove secluded herself in an iron coffi n, telling her students to bury her and dig her up only when they received a sign from her. Years passed, and no sign came. One by one, her followers lost faith and deserted her. At last only one remained. Disillusioned, he dug up the rusted sarcophagus, only to find it empty. He tracked down his fellow disciples to tell them of the miracle, but none believed him. Ronove and her nameless disciple would have been lost to obscurity, but her lone faithful follower inscribed his story on the walls of a cavern. The recent discovery of this inscription explains the strange powers and appearance of Ronove.

Special Requirement: Ronove’s seal must be drawn in the soil under the sky. Manifestation: When Ronove manifests, the ground quakes, and a rusted iron sarcophagus erupts from the earth within her seal, shedding dirt and flakes of rust as it grates upward. The metal visage of a human woman is discernible on the lid. The metal bindings holding the lid closed burst in clouds of corroded metal, and the sarcophagus creaks open, releasing a tumble of human bones and noisome black liquid. Ronove does not speak to her summoner, but the visage on the lid smiles or frowns during the pact-making process.

Sign: The flesh of your face settles into a frown or a smile (a frown if you succeeded on your binding check, or a smile if you did not) and retains that general expression regardless of your actual feelings. This alteration to your visage does not affect your Charisma, Charisma-based skill checks, or others’ ability to make Sense Motive checks against you.

Influence: Ronove’s infl uence makes you think that others doubt your abilities and competence. Despite what anyone says, you feel the constant need to prove your worth. In addition, Ronove requires that you consume neither food nor beverages including potions) for the entire time you remain bound to her.

Granted Abilities: Ronove gives you the power to fall any distance without harm, lift objects without touching them, and run like the wind.

Cold Iron and Magic Attacks: Your melee attacks count as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. When you attain an effective binder level of 7th, your melee attacks also count as cold iron for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Far Hand: As a swift action, you can lift and move an unattended object to which you have line of effect, as long as it is within 10 feet per effective binder level of your position. The force manipulating the object is considered Medium in size, and it has a Strength score equal to your effective binder level. During the swift action, you can move the object up to 5 feet per effective binder level. If the object weighs enough to constitute a medium or heavy load for an individual of the force’s Strength, you can move it only half the normal distance.

If the object to be moved would constitute a medium or heavy load for you, activating this ability is a move action. If the item could only be pushed or dragged by such a person (that is, it weighs up to fi ve times the maximum load), you can move it just 5 feet per move action. The force cannot lift the object more than 5 feet off the ground. In any round during which you do not use a swift action to manipulate the object, you lose control of it. You can never move an object outside the range of this ability, and you lose control of the object if you move too far away from it or if a creature touches it. You can move only one object at a time in this fashion.

Alternatively, you can use the telekinetic force to push a creature as a standard action. The force deals 1d6 points of damage to the target and initiates a bull rush, using the force’s Strength modifier and adding a +2 bonus. If the bull rush is successful, the target moves in the direction you indicate. Once you have used your far hand in this way, it dissipates, and you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Feather Fall: You automatically fall as though under the influence of a feather fall spell. You can suppress or activate this ability as a standard action.

Ronove’s Fists: You gain the benefit of the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Your unarmed strikes deal damage as those of a monk of a level equal to your effective binder level. This ability does not grant you any other abilities of a monk, such as flurry of blows.

Sprint: You gain a +10-foot enhancement bonus to your base land speed.