Heroic Scion Dedication Feat 12

Source Pathfinder #219: Lord of the Trinity Star

Destiny calls, and the soul of a dead hero reincarnates to take up the fight! Either an old enemy resumes their efforts to affect chaos and violence, or a new threat arises and you feel compelled to stand against it. You've stood against evil before, and the time is nigh for you to do so once again.

When you select this mythic destiny, work with your GM to determine the best choice for which previous PC or NPC serves as the source of your reincarnation. For the Revenge of the Runelords Adventure Path in particular, any PC who played a role in the Rise of the Runelords, Shattered Star, or Return of the Runelords Adventure Paths makes for a perfect fit—as would any allied NPC who, in your previous campaign, perished before the end.

A heroic scion comes into the world when a nemesis from their old adventures returns. In the case of this campaign, the heroic scion's nemesis are the ancient runelords of Thassilon. In other campaigns, this nemesis can be a specific individual, a coterie of rivals, or an organization you're destined to oppose. You instinctively know when your nemesis is active in the world. This knowledge may begin as nightmares or a feeling of inevitable conflict but grows stronger and more specific as you contemplate further. You also know when this entity or group has been fully defeated and ceases to operate at all. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to Seek or Sense Motive whenever an ally or servant of your nemesis attempts to Lie to you, escape your notice, or Impersonate someone else.

Fate has deemed you incredibly hard to kill. You reduce the DC of recovery checks by 1.

Choose one skill that's not a Lore skill, based on the themes of your reincarnated heroic source. Your GM can help you determine a list of appropriate skills to choose from. When you employ an action using that skill, you may spend a Mythic Point to attempt the associated check at mythic proficiency.

Finally, you gain the Additional Lore feat for a special Lore skill subcategory—Incarnation Lore. This Lore skill allows you to become aware of or recall your past exploits. When you increase your proficiency in Incarnation Lore, you remember more about your previous adventures. Certain heroic scion feats require you to attempt an Incarnation Lore check, such as when you attempt the Flash of Memory activity granted you by this feat.

Rare

Regular people often quip about the eventful lives of legendary heroes with pithy witticisms such as "no good deed goes unpunished" or "no rest for the wicked." Whatever the source of such wisdom, these words could correctly describe the never-ending struggle between good and evil and the fight for survival in a world of monsters and nefarious plots. For the most heroic adventurers, peril begets peril and one crisis often gives way to the next.

Such is the nature of growing in power. The pool of similarly powerful figures becomes smaller, and the stakes for future conflicts grow higher. For many such adventurers, it's difficult to find peace, especially if a past rival resurfaces. Such foes might demand a reckoning with the same heroes who defeated them before, and even if those heroes have gone on to the afterlife, they still may return to do battle with old foes once again.

These sons and daughters of destiny, known as heroic scions, return whenever trouble arises. Whether they return from the beyond as a reincarnated soul in a newborn body destined for glory or manifest within the soul of a hero who happens to be in the right place at the right time, the end result for the heroic scion is the same—the sudden recollection of astounding deeds and great victories from a past life. Academics debate whether these individuals share a similar soul born to fight against serious threats or whether every great power gives rise to a karmic enemy. Possibly the explanation is much simpler—great heroes come forward to battle great evil, and history remembers the champions of both sides.

A heroic scion's purpose goes beyond mere revenge or simple misadventure. These fated figures possess a true destiny: to defeat an enemy capable of altering the course of mortal life or the cyclical frustration of an enduring adversary. Should a scion, or even a party of scions, achieves total victory over their quarry, the universe tends to provide a new enemy worthy of their might.

Scions come from every possible type of adventurer but share preternatural toughness as a common trait. While they return to life from death within a new body, they're never exactly the same as their previous incarnation. Full details of their past lives are initially fleeting, but as the heroic scion grows in power, their old memories surface as their potency increases. Some might seek out old companions or their spiritual successors, while others soldier on alone, a unique thorn in the side of their equally timeless adversary.

Along with the heroic scion's perseverance, they exhibit other gifts. Most possess a strong sense of self and are all but incorruptible in that regard. They remember the lessons of history's great battles, having taken part in many themselves. Likewise, they recall their defeats and humiliations, yet they don't dwell upon these in a negative way—instead seeking to learn from past mistakes so that when they're faced with similar situations in this new incarnation, they can bring the wisdom of one who has suffered before to solve the problem. After so many years of conflict, heroic scions master familiar tactics and terrains and become experts in dealing with their recurring enemies. A heroic scion may rest when their nemesis is defeated but always remembers their place when the villain returns.

Choosing Your Hero
The heroic scion gives a player the chance to play the reincarnated soul of a previous PC who has perished and moved on to the afterlife. The previous hero need not be mythic, nor even as high a level as the current PC, but the merging of their life into the form of the heroic scion catapults both into the higher stratum of mythic power. Whether a player chooses a previous PC as their past life or selects another hero chosen from the world's history, the player gets to decide if their current character identifies as that past hero or simply recalls their previous adventures as they live their new life as a heroic scion. If the player has no prior PC to choose from, they can also select a dead heroic NPC ally or notable figure from a previous campaign. The player should work with the GM to determine who their past life was and then strive to flavor their mythic destiny feats so they echo their reincarnated soul more accurately from a narrative and flavor standpoint.

Choosing Your Hero

The heroic scion gives a player the chance to play the reincarnated soul of a previous PC who has perished and moved on to the afterlife. The previous hero need not be mythic, nor even as high a level as the current PC, but the merging of their life into the form of the heroic scion catapults both into the higher stratum of mythic power.

Whether a player chooses a previous PC as their past life or selects another hero chosen from the world's history, the player gets to decide if their current character identifies as that past hero or simply recalls their previous adventures as they live their new life as a heroic scion. If the player has no prior PC to choose from, they can also select a dead heroic NPC ally or notable figure from a previous campaign. The player should work with the GM to determine who their past life was and then strive to flavor their mythic destiny feats so they echo their reincarnated soul more accurately from a narrative and flavor standpoint.