Arcane Corsair

Many a mystical thug takes to the skies to seek their fortune as pirates on Tera, but not all of them are truly committed to a life in the air. Arcane corsairs make sky piracy their whole life, finding ways to integrate their magical training at a deeper level. A seasoned arcane corsair can pilot his ship in wholly unnatural ways, deflect cannon fire, and even call forth the powers of mighty kraken.

Role: Arcane corsairs are accomplished spellcasters, but more than that, they are adept at manipulating magical energies to better their chances in airship combat.

Alignment: Arcane corsairs cannot be of Lawful alignment. 

HP Roll: d4+1

Requirements

To qualify to become an arcane corsair, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Skills: Appraise or Spellcraft 4 ranks, Profession (sailor) 4 ranks (at the GM's discretion, other sky-pirate-appropriate Profession skills may be used to qualify)

Spells: Ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells

Special: Must have willingly participated in acts of sky piracy.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the arcane corsair prestige class.

Spells per Day

At the indicated levels, an arcane corsair gains new spells per day and spells known as if he had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased caster level. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming an arcane corsair, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Skystep (Sp)

The arcane corsair is adept at traveling between points in an instant, an invaluable skill for staying safe on a craft in combat. By expending a spell slot as a move action, he can teleport up to 20 feet, plus 5 feet per level of the slot expended. He carries his gear with him, but may not bring other creatures. If the arcane corsair is in free fall (such as if he is pitched off the deck of a ship), he can instead use this ability as an immediate action.

Nautical Soul (Ex)

An arcane corsair is inured against the elements, and never needs to make concentration checks due to weather or wind. In addition, he gains energy resistance 5 against electric and sonic damage.

At 7th level, the resistances increase to 10, and the arcane corsair never needs to make concentration checks due to grappling or unsteady footing.

Quick Appraise (Ex)

At 2nd level, the arcane corsair is extremely adept at locating valuables and discerning written deceptions. It takes only a single round for the arcane corsair to appraise an object or unit of cargo with the Appraise skill, or to check a document for forgery with Linguistics. He can also use Appraise in place of Spellcraft to identify the effects of magic items.

Point Defense (Su)

An arcane corsair of 2nd level can expend his magic to protect his ship from cannon fire. During ship combat, he can use a special tactical action to block incoming shot and shell. He expends one spell slot of his choice to create a number of small arcane shields around the ship equal to the level of the spell slot expended. 

Until the start of his ship's next turn, whenever it would be hit by a salvo fired by another vessel, the arcane corsair can make a caster level check with a DC equal to the attack roll of the incoming salvo. On a success, he deflects a number of shots up to the number of shields present; the shot and shield mutually annihilate. If any shields remain after a salvo is blocked, the remaining shields can be spent blocking further attacks.

Preternatural Reflex (Ex)

At 3rd level, the arcane corsair gains a +1 competence bonus to Reflex saves.

Bonus Feats

At 4th and 9th levels, the arcane corsair learns a bonus feat he qualifies for. These must be combat or metamagic feats.

Skyman's Sight (Ex)

At 5th level, the arcane corsair can see through fog, smoke and similar impediments as though these were not present.

Aura of Calm (Su)

At 6th level, the arcane corsair negates the effects of strong winds around his person. The air around him in a radius equal to 5 feet per 2 class levels is still and calm, even if a storm is raging through the area. He can suppress or restart this effect as a move action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Kraken Strike (Su)

At 8th level, the arcane corsair can summon a fraction of the mighty power of a kraken to strike at his foes. This ability has two modes, one for normal combat and one for ship combat.

1. In normal combat, he may expend a spell slot as a swift action to gain a Large tentacle strike attack for 1 minute. This strike is a primary natural weapon that deals 2d8 damage, has the grab universal monster rule, and gains an enhancement bonus to the attack and damage rolls equal to the level of the slot expended (piercing DR as appropriate based on the bonus). The attack bonus also applies to grapple checks made with this tentacle strike. This natural attack acts as a separate limb and does not interfere with gestures or use up a hand; however, it cannot be used for any purpose other than making the listed attack.

2. In ship combat, he may expend a spell slot as a Tactical Action to summon a Colossal tentacle to grab and squeeze at a ship within 5 squares of his own. This requires an attack roll against the ship's AC; the bonus to this roll is equal to half the arcane corsair's caster level. On a hit, the ship suffers 1d6+1 damage per level of the spell expended (half this amount on a miss) and does not move on its next turn. If the attack roll is a natural 20, roll 1d4 on the critical hit chart for ship combat and apply the appropriate effect to the victim.

Assume Control (Su)

At 10th level, the arcane corsair can assume direct control of his airship in combat in place of attempting a Maneuver, extending his mind and senses into the vessel and becoming one with the ship itself. He gains vision of the entire interior and exterior of the vessel. In addition, while under his direct control, the vessel does not move normally. Instead, the ship can simply move a number of squares up to its current speed in any direction at the arcane corsair's discretion, in the same way a character moves in regular combat. He can choose the ship's facing at will in the destination square. While moving in this way, the airship gains a +2 bonus to AC due to its unpredictable motions.

On a turn where the arcane corsair uses this ability, his body is paralyzed and helpless, as he is controlling the ship instead. He cannot take any other actions while assuming control.

This ability may be used a number of times per day up to the arcane corsair's Int modifier.