Petitioner/pf

"Petitioner" is an acquired template that can be added to any creature whose soul migrates to one of the Outer Planes following its death (henceforth referred to as the base creature). The petitioner uses all of the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted below.

• CR: A petitioner’s CR is 1. In some cases, at the GM’s discretion, particularly large or unusual petitioners with higher than normal ability scores may begin with a higher CR; compare the petitioner’s statistics to the values on Table: Monster Statistics by CR to help determine an unusual petitioner’s starting CR.
• Alignment: A petitioner’s alignment is identical to that of the base creature.
• Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to outsider. It loses all subtypes. Its size does not change.
• Senses: Petitioners lose any unusual senses they had, but gain darkvision 60 feet.
• Armor Class: The petitioner loses all racial bonuses to its Armor Class.
• Hit Dice: Petitioners lose all racial and class-based Hit Dice and gain 2d10 racial Hit Dice as outsiders.
• Saves: Petitioners have good Fortitude and Reflex saves; a petitioner’s base saves are Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +0.
• Defensive Abilities: Petitioners lose all the defensive abilities of the base creature. Petitioners are immune to mind-affecting effects.
• Attacks: The creature’s BAB is +2, subject to modification for size and Strength. It loses all natural attacks and gains a slam attack as appropriate for a Creature of its size.
• Special Attacks: Petitioners lose all special attacks.
• Abilities: Same as the base creature.
• Feats: Petitioners lose all feats. As a 2 HD Outsider, a petitioner gains one feat—typically Toughness.
• Skills: Petitioners lose all skill ranks they possessed as mortals. As a 2 HD outsider, a petitioner has 12 skill ranks it can spend on skills (with a maximum of 2 ranks in any one skill), and gains bonus skill ranks as appropriate for its Intelligence. Unlike most outsiders, petitioners do not gain an additional 4 class skills beyond those available to all outsiders.
• Special Qualities: Petitioners lose all special qualities, along with all abilities granted by class levels (including increases on saving throws and to HD and BAB).

Petitioner Traits

A petitioner has additional abilities and features depending upon its home plane; note that none of these apply to petitioners within a power's realm, as that power decides for themselves what nature their petitioners will have.

Abyss (Chaotic Evil): Petitioners on the Abyss that don't take on the form of larva tend to retain their mortal appearance, though they don't last for long in that shape. Any such petitioners are taken almost immediately for judgment at the Mountain of Woe in order to bolster the ranks of the Abyssal armies, and so little is known about their special qualities.

Acheron (Lawful Neutral (Evil)): Here, on the plane of endless regimented battle, petitioners are quickly enlisted into the armies that dot this plane, most often the orc and goblin forces. It is widely believed that the number of petitioners on Acheron is constant, with each death or merger balanced by a newly arrived spirit. To help them survive in the constant conflict, Acheronian petitioners receive a +2 to Strength.

Arborea (Chaotic Good): Arborean petitioners are wilder, more dramatic. Oftentimes melodramatic, especially when swept up into the adventures of passing travelers. Some that go too far into this passion become bacchae, though this doesn't appear to be part of a path of ascension. They gain a +2 to Will saves.

Arcadia (Lawful Neutral (Good)): On Arcadia, petitioners appear mostly identical to how they appeared in life, although quite healthy, study even, regardless of how their physical condition was before death. Further, they often appear of a different age; it would seem that those further along their paths appear older, with all petitioners appearing between young adulthood and middle-aged. Arcadian petitioners receive +2 to Constitution, as well as gaining the innate ability to Detect Chaos.

Baator (Lawful Evil): Non-larval petitioners of Baator retain their mortal forms, but are heavily scarred by various tortures. Those who endure the torments of Hell long enough may eventually be approved for transformation into baatezu. They gain immunity to fire (but not immunity to the pain caused by fire—whenever one of the damned takes fire damage, it must make a DC 15 Fortitude save to resist being stunned by the pain for 1d4 rounds).

Beastlands (Neutral (Chaotic) Good): Petitioners on the Beastlands take on the forms of animals that closely approximate their personalities; potentially any sort of animal, from insect to dinosaur, though only those animals native to their homeland. As they progress, they cast off the trappings of civilization, becoming more animalistic. Beastlands petitioners gain a +2 to Dexterity as part of their new forms.

Bytopia (Neutral (Lawful) Good): New petitioners here have nothing special about their appearance, but they always manifest in Shurrock: on one of the farms, at one of the mines, anywhere that could use a new able body. They achieve greater position upon their plane through nothing but hard work, moving to Dothion after a certain point to continue on the other side of the economic spectrum. Bytopian petitioners have an innate +4 bonus to any Craft or Profession skill.

Carceri (Neutral (Chaotic) Evil): Petitioners of Carceri start with no special qualities to their appearance, nor any special abilities, nor even benefits to their skills; this would merely give them an unfair advantage, after all. But as they progress closer to their ideal, each gains some new facet about themselves, reflecting the layer on which they dwell. See the individual layer entries for more information.

Elysium (Neutral Good): Elysian petitioners have idealized versions of their mortal bodies, reflecting the purity of the plane. They appear of perfect form and great beauty, like a piece of art come to life. As a result, they gain a +2 bonus to Charisma.

Gehenna (Neutral (Lawful) Evil): On the world-fragments of Gehenna, petitioners appear mortal, with nothing to make them stand out in that regard but for the various signs of damage incurred by merely surviving on the plane. To help that survival, however, Gehennan petitioners gain fire, cold, and acid resistance 10.

Grey Waste (Neutral Evil): Here, petitioners take on the ultimate apathy of the wastes. Nothing more than colorless spectres, they wander the plane, increasingly unable to interact with anyone, but drawn to the highly emotional. The longer they remain along their path, the more they divest themselves of emotion, of color, and of form. Petitioners of the Waste are immune to any spells or effects relating to either emotion or color.

Limbo (Chaotic Neutral): The chaotic petitioners of Limbo lose all pretense of form, constantly shapeshifting like the soup itself; many are indistinguishable from it. These petitioners, due to their transient solidity, have the incorporeal subtype, and all advantages granted by that defensive ability.

Mechanus (Lawful Neutral): In Mechanus, petitioners look aggressively average; not identical, but with no distinguishing features or marks that would cause one to stand out from the crowd. They tend to be quiet but forceful, especially when it comes to law, but are quite cooperative to those that present themselves appropriately. Mechanus petitioners gain a +2 to Intelligence, finding the ordered pathways of thought more beneficial for recalling and using information.

Mount Celestia (Lawful Good): These petitioners appear similar to their mortal forms, save that they possess the slightest of glowing auras, usually invisible in the daytime and easily dismissed when necessary. After spending enough time aiding heavenly tasks, petitioners of the Mount become archons. They gain +2 to AC and saves vs. any attack from a being of evil alignment.

Outlands (Neutral): A petitioner on the Outlands could almost be mistaken for a planar, but for their constant desire to either stay out of any sort of conflict, or ensure it is balanced in a fair manner. As only the most devoutly neutral end up manifesting here, even new petitioners on the Outlands tend to be somewhat obsessive about their beliefs. Aiding in the pursuit of balance, these petitioners gain a +2 to Wisdom, giving them the insight to better find resolutions of some nature to any conflict.

Pandemonium (Chaotic Neutral (Evil)): Petitioners within Pandemonium take on slender (almost bony), hairless forms, the better to maneuver through the harsh winds of the tunnels. In addition, they each tend to be touched to some degree, with those further along their path showing greater signs of madness. These petitioners have darkvision 120 ft. as opposed to 60 ft., which unlike other darkvision still functions within the plane. They are also immune to mind-affecting effects, thanks to the shielding effects of their insanity.

Ysgard (Chaotic Neutral (Good)): The petitioners of Ysgard, plane of great forces crashing against one another, are well-suited for their goals. Though not all are fighters themselves - smiths, chefs, leatherworkers, and everything else that would be required to support the community - all love a good brawl, indulging not just when necessary, but for nothing but the joy of it. And since all those slain in combat on Ysgard arise anew the next day — even petitioners — it's all in good fun. Ysgardians gain a +2 to Fortitude saves, which helps them in both the fighting, and the celebrating afterwards.

Lower Planes (Any Evil): Larvae are perhaps the most hideous of petitioners — they appear as pallid, maggot-like creatures with faceless heads similar to those they possessed in life. While most manifest on the Gray Waste, and somewhat fewer on the Abyss or Baator, larva appear across the Lower Planes, where they are used as both currency and food. Left alone, larvae eventually naturally become nupperibos, manes, or hordelings, depending on where they are. They become Tiny, have 1 HD rather than 2, have cold, electricity, and fire resistance 10, and instead of a slam attack gain a bite attack as appropriate for their size.

Reference

• Pathfinder SRD
• Planes of Chaos: Book of Chaos, pgs.18-19,39-40,70-71,91,108
• Planes of Conflict: Liber Benevolentiae, pp.14-15
• Planes of Conflict: Liber Malevolentiae, pg.48
• Planes of Law: Arcadia, pg.9-10
• Planes of Law: Mechanus, pg.11