Esoteric Warrior

These drifters, consumed by their quest for vengeance, make special pacts to aid in hunting down and punishing those who wrong them. These fearsome warriors single out their opponents for bloody retribution and wreak devastation upon them, giving them a dark and dangerous reputation that follows wherever they go.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies

Esoteric warriors gain proficiency in medium armor and light shields.

Ornery (Ex)

At 1st level, the esoteric warrior gains the Toughness feat. In addition, he is never at risk of bleeding out due to his wounds - he automatically stabilizes below 0 HP, and when he is at 0 HP, he does not take damage if he engages in strenuous activity.

This ability replaces Drifter's Finesse.

Feral Familiar

An esoteric warrior's familiar is bloody-minded and dedicated to combat. Its intelligence never increases above 6, but it instead gains a +1 bonus to Strength at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter.

The familiar also loses the Alertness ability and only gains Evasion, rather than Improved Evasion. However, it gains the ability to transform into a larger, more ferocious battle form and back at will. In battle form, the familiar's size becomes Medium and it gains a +2 size bonus to its Strength score. Since many familiars are Tiny or Diminutive, be sure to check for any additional Strength and Dexterity adjustments for increasing in size from Tiny or Diminutive to Medium. This is a polymorph effect.

At 11th level, the familiar gains DR 5/Cold Iron instead of Spell Resistance.

This ability alters Familiar.

Cooperative Tactics (Ex)

At 2nd level, an esoteric warrior and his familiar gain a +1 to attack rolls against targets that both of them are threatening. This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter. Additionally, creatures threatened by both the esoteric warrior and his familiar suffer a penalty to saving throws against the esoteric warrior's Battle Artes equal to half the attack bonus (min 1).

This ability replaces Channeled Artes.

Stubborn Resilience (Su)

At 4th level, the esoteric warrior and his familiar gain a +1 enhancement bonus to natural armor. This bonus increases by 1 at 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter. In addition, they gain a bonus to Fortitude saves equal to half the natural armor bonus.

This ability replaces Whisper on the Wind.

Team Flexibility (Ex)

At 6th level, the esoteric warrior and his familiar gain a teamwork feat of his choice. He may treat his shady drifter level as his BAB for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites of this feat, and must otherwise meet all prerequisites as normal. 

Once per day, the esoteric warrior can change the teamwork feat he knows from this ability. He may do this any time he spends 10 minutes preparing maneuvers. If his currently-chosen feat is being used as a prerequisite for another feat, he cannot swap it out.

At 12th and 18th levels, the esoteric warrior and his familiar gain another teamwork feat, following the rules above. 

This ability replaces Vengeful Strike.