Natural Explorer Talents

Natural Explorers gain a talent at every even level. If a talent is tagged with a class feature (such as hunting focus or explorative hunter), then they must possess that class feature to gain that talent (meaning they must be of sufficient level and they must not have taken an archetype that trades away that feature). Each talent can be taken only once unless otherwise stated.

A Lifetime of Scars (Ex, 20th Level)
Pain is an old friend, and weakness has long been beaten out of the natural explorer’s body. The natural explorer gains Damage Reduction 10 + his Wisdom modifier. This talent cannot reduce the damage from a hit to less than 1 hit point of damage.

Ambush Tactics (Ex) (Explorative Hunter)
When the natural explorer attacks his hunting focus while it is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), the natural explorer’s explorative hunter deals double the explorative hunter damage.

Ancient Ways (Ex)
The best natural explorers rediscover the secrets of their forefathers and learn to rely on their peripheral vision and hearing. The natural explorer always acts on the surprise round. At 6th level, he gains uncanny dodge as a rogue of equal level.

Ancient Ways Improvement (Ex, 10th level, Ancient Ways)
The best explorers do further advance their senses to be able to deal with things some may miss when they gain this ability the natural explorer gains improved uncanny dodge.

Aura Tracing (Sp) (Hunting Focus)
Even with his limited magical potential, the natural explorer has long learned to recognize magical auras and their use. The natural explorer may detect magic as the spell at will, using his natural explorer class level in place of his caster level. When detecting magical auras from spells cast by his hunting focus, he can detect traces of their aura for an even longer duration than they normally remain, and he treats the power of the aura as if it were one stage stronger, as listed under detect magic. If an aura would be considered stronger than Overwhelming strength, he may always detect the lingering aura. The natural explorer may use his ability to detect magic as a move action, targeting a single object or creature within range. When he does so, he gains information as if he had spent 3 rounds detecting for magic, and if the target is his hunting focus, he automatically learns the highest level spell slot that the target can prepare (but not which spells are prepared), if they can cast spells at all.

Beginning at 8th level, he treats any auras left by his hunting focus as if they were two stages stronger, and at 14th this increases to three stages stronger.

Claim Dominion (Ex) (Wild Speaker) (16th Level)
The natural explorer can call upon a region of the earth and demand its fealty. The dominion should have some logical separations from the rest of the world that can be used as borders (rivers, ridges, or the like), not include any settlements greater than 100 people, or be larger than 25 square miles.

Once the call is made, the natural explorer must fight the champion of the domain — a CR 20 creature of the GM’s choice appropriate to the area, such as a native creature or an elemental, although another natural explorer may arrive. The champion arrives in 1d6 minutes, and at this point it will make its presence known, and then attack. This is single combat fought until one combatant is rendered helpless. The natural explorer may be assisted by an animal companion or similar ally acquired through class features, but otherwise cannot receive help from others, including help in the form of spells cast before the combat.

If the natural explorer is rendered helpless, the champion stops attacking and disappears, and the natural explorer may not challenge that region again for 1 year. If he succeeds, he gains the fealty of the domain for as long as does not leave the domain for more than 24 hours or gain fealty from another domain.

While a natural explorer has fealty over a domain, he is its rightful lord. Creatures native to the domain with Intelligence below 3 instinctively obey natural explorer. He also gains the ability to scry as if using the scrying spell as a spell-like ability, and can teleport himself (and his animal companion, if any, but only himself ) from any location in the region to any other location in the region as a spell-like ability.

Finally, he may order the region to perform tasks for him. What the region can accomplish is left up to the GM, but a good guide is that the region can duplicate the effect of any 6th level or lower spell on the druid spell list that only affects itself or that summons a creature appropriate to the region. Ordering a task is a standard action and the natural explorer can do this a number of times per day equal to his Wisdom modifier.

Combat Adaptation (Ex, 4th Level)
As a swift action, the natural explorer can gain the benefit of a combat feat that he does not possess for 1 minute. He must otherwise meet the feat’s requirements. If a combat feat has a daily use limitation, any uses of that combat feat while using this ability count toward that feat’s daily limit.

The natural explorer may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1/4 his natural explorer level (minimum 1), up to a maximum of 5 times per day at 20th level. The natural explorer cannot use this ability again before the duration of a previous use expires.

Combat Trick (Ex)
A natural explorer that selects this talent gains a bonus combat feat.

Deceptive Hunter (Ex) (Hunting Focus)
The natural explorer’s mental focus and insight allows him to better deceive his prey. He receives a bonus to Stealth skill checks equal to half his natural explorer level (minimum 1), but only against Perception checks made by his hunting focus. He may also apply the same bonus to Bluff skill checks made to feint his hunting focus or to resist their Sense Motive skill checks.

Deep Magic (Su) (Hunting Focus) (18th Level)
The natural explorer rallies incredible magical power to defend himself against his hunting focus. Against spells and spell-like abilities used by his hunting focus, he gains Spell Resistance of 30.

Endless Vigor (Ex, 6th Level)
The natural explorer has trained himself for expeditions and journeys that last months at a time. The natural explorer only needs to sleep for 2 hours in order to be considered as if he had a full night’s rest, and only needs to rest for 10 minutes to reduce the exhausted condition to fatigued. If the natural explorer gets a full 8 hours of rest, he does not need to rest for 72 hours, although abilities that require rest to recharge still require him to do so. He also halves all penalties from the fatigued or exhausted conditions.

Eternal Spring (Su, 20th Level)
The power of nature literally flows through the natural explorer’s veins, restoring them whenever they are injured. The natural explorer gains fast healing 5 and can no longer be killed by taking hit point damage (although he still falls unconscious if below 1 hit point). The natural explorer can be permanently killed if his body is burned, melted with acid, disintegrated, or completely destroyed.

Favored Foe (Ex) (Explorative Hunter)
Years of fighting a small group of creatures have honed the natural explorer’s skills in fighting to them to the point where he is death itself. Choose a creature type from the list of choices available to ranger as favored enemies, the natural explorer’s hunter focus bonuses always apply to creatures of this type, without him having to hunting focus them. In addition, the natural explorer gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his class level (minimum 1) to all Intimidate skill checks against creatures of that type.

Feat (Ex, 10th level)
A natural explorer may gain any feat she qualifies for in place of a explorer talent.

Focused Haste (explorative hunter) (Su, 10th Level)
Whenever the natural explorer makes a full attack against his hunting focus, he may make an additional attack at his full Base Attack Bonus. All attacks made during the full attack must be directed against the hunting focus until it is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points. This does not stack with other effects that grant an extra attack, such as the haste spell.

Full Moon Invocation (Sp, 12th Level)
Once per day, the natural explorer may perform a ceremony to invoke the powers of nature in a way far more powerful than he normally can. At the end of the ceremony, the natural explorer chooses a druid spell with a level no greater than half his natural explorer level. At the end of the ceremony, he may cast that spell as a spell-like ability, using his natural explorer level as his druid level.

The ceremony takes as long as the casting time of the spell to perform, with a minimum of 1 minute. The natural explorer must also provide any material components or foci required by the ceremony. The ceremony can be interrupted as spellcasting can, but the ceremony can be restarted by adding one additional minute to the time involved.

Guarded Ranger (Ex)
The natural explorer is skilled in the use of shields. He treats any shield he wears as if it had an enhancement bonus to its armor class equal to the enhancement bonus of any weapon he holds in his primary hand, if any. Additionally, he applies his shield’s enhancement bonus to AC to all attack and damage rolls made with the shield as part of a shield bash.

Harsh Bounty (Ex)
The natural explorer has learned how to make do with what he has at hand, or what he can easily find. Anything else he must make himself. Whenever the natural explorer wants to use his Craft skill to craft tools, survival gear, simple arms or armor, made primarily of materials commonly found in nature, he does not need to spend gold to acquire materials, and may add half his level (minimum 1) to his Craft check and may make such checks untrained. A natural explorer with Harsh Bounty need only 1 hour to craft the simple items he plans to make.

Many natural explorers have found that even with better options available, there is an advantage to making your own weapons. When the natural explorer makes a weapon made from the bones of a freshly dead (within 24 hours) creature, for the next 24 hours it does an extra 2d6 damage to creatures of the same race.

These items only last 1 day per level, in addition these items do look of impressive qualities but have clear flaws and show that they do break away after time, making them not able to be sold as easily to people.

Hidden Space (Sp)
You can use the Extradimensional Storage talent of the Warp sphere as a spell-like ability. You use your natural explorer level in place of caster level, and for casting class levels when determining MSB and MSD for this talent. You do not gain a spell pool, but may spend spell points on this ability if you gain them from another source. This stacks normally with caster levels gained from other sources, except for any provided by these natural explorer levels (like through Advanced Magic Training).

You may take this talent twice, which upgrades your spell-like ability to have the effect of two purchases of Extradimensional Storage.

Hideout (Ex)
Occasionally, a natural explorer requires an immediate safe location he can stow away goods, rest in, or hide away from the world. He learns how to establish a location known as a hideout. A hideout takes one hour to create or change to from an old hideout, and the natural explorer may only possess a single hideout at a time. At 2nd level, a hideout is generally a small union center such as a small campsite, a room in a building, or a small grove in the woods. At 5th level, the hideout may be larger, such as a small building (a hut for a small family), a hidden sewage pathway, or a large section of a cave. At 10th level, the hideout may be as large as a building complex (such as an inn), or buildings of similar size. At 15th level, he may consider a large swath of land to be his hideout, such as a small town or an entire district of a large city. At 20th level, the hideout can include an entire metropolis as his hideout, or regions of land just as large. Specific details regarding the region and shape of the hideout are up to the Game Master’s discretion.

Being in his hideout allows the natural explorer to hide from potential threats, and act in secrecy. Any objects stored in this hideout cannot be located by any effect less powerful than a discern location spell, and all attempts to locate or otherwise track down the natural explorer or his allies who are within the hideout suffer a -10 penalty. At 7th level, this divination protection also applies to every creature in the hideout. At 13th level, the entire area is protected from all scrying effects much like a mage’s private sanctum.

Inescapable Gaze (Su, 6th Level) (Hunting Focus)
Honing his mastery over his senses, the natural explorer has learned never to allow his prey to escape. As a swift action, while within line of sight of his hunting focus, he may focus all his focus and attention on locating his hunting focus. Until the beginning of his next turn, he always pinpoints the exact location of his hunting focus and ignores all concealment bonuses his hunting focus benefits from. Additionally, he does not suffer the penalty for making ranged attacks against his hunting focus if it is engaged in melee combat.

When using this ability a natural explorer takes a -2 to his AC against all enemies that are not your hunting focus until the start of your next turn.

Enacting such focus heavily limits the natural explorer’s capability to attack others while maintaining it. The natural explorer cannot attack any creature other than his hunting focus without ending his gaze (a free action he may take outside his turn). This talent allows the natural explorer to qualify for feats as if he possessed the Precise Shot feat.

Inescapable Focus (Su, 12th Level, Inescapable Gaze) (Hunting Focus)
The natural explorer's continued efforts to hone his senses have taught him that sometimes his prey is tricky and able to try and confuse his senses in a way that he may not have anticipated but through hunting these sorts of creatures he's learned ways to deal with them. While using Inescapable Gaze on his hunting focus the natural explorer is able to ignore any and all miss chance this includes miss chance provided by spells like mirror image.

Mechanical Expertise (Ex, 12th Level)
The natural explorer gains the Rapid Reload feat and may use it with all crossbows and firearms. Additionally, he increases the critical threat range of all crossbows and firearms he wields by one. This effect does not stack with other effects that increase the critical threat range or critical multiplier of a crossbow or firearm.

Mental Know-How (Ex)
You have honed your memory. When attempting a Knowledge check, you may add your Intelligence bonus a second time as an insight bonus. Thus, if you have 5 ranks in Knowledge (local) and a +2 Intelligence bonus, you have a total skill bonus of +9 (+5 + 2 + 2) when using this ability. You can also use this ability when attempting an Intelligence check to remember something.

Monster Lore (Ex)
The natural explorer adds his Wisdom modifier as an insight bonus in addition to his Intelligence modifier when making Knowledge skill checks to identify the abilities and weaknesses of creatures.

The natural explorer may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify creatures.

Now You See It (Sp) (requires hidden space or Warp sphere (Extradimensional Storage))
You can access your extradimensional storage in a quicker, more subtle manner. You may stow or withdraw a single item as a move action (or as a swift action if you have taken Extradimensional Storage/Hidden Space twice).

In addition, you may make a Sleight of Hand check to conceal your action, opposed by a Perception check from observers. On success, observers do not notice the action and remain unaware of the item’s absence or presence for at least 1 round. Further, an observer’s opposed Perception check must succeed by 5 or more for them notice the involvement of extradimensional space; otherwise they notice the action but remain uncertain of how it was accomplished.

At natural explorer level 10, you may use this talent as a swift action rather than a move action (or as a free action once per round if you have taken Hidden Space twice).

Pack Tactics (Ex)
A Single animal companion or familiar you possess gains the same teamwork feats you do, if they did not possess them already.

Ranger Combat Style (Ex)
A natural explorer selects a ranger combat style (such as archery or two-weapon combat) and gains a combat feat from the first feat list of that style. He can choose feats from his selected combat style, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites. At 6th level, he may select this talent again and add the 6th-level ranger combat feats from his chosen style to the list. At 10th level, he may select this talent again and add the 10th-level ranger combat feats from his chosen style to the list.

Secondary Target (Ex) (Hunting Focus) (14th Level)
The natural explorer’s incredible skill with ranged weapons means that even failure is success. Whenever the natural explorer misses his hunting focus with a ranged or thrown weapon attack, he may redirect the attack to an enemy within 20 feet of his hunting focus. He makes an attack roll against the new target, and if successful, hits as if he had targeted them in the first place. He does not benefit from his explorative hunter ability for this attack, unless he would for some other reason, such as the Favored Foe talent.

The natural explorer may use this ability as often as he misses, but once he hits a creature with a redirected attack, he cannot target it again this way until the beginning of his next turn.

See As The Prey (Ex, 4th Level)
Even the greatest hunter can be hunted. The natural explorer gains the trapfinding and danger sense abilities of an unchained rogue of equal level. This stacks with any he possesses in a class with the danger sense ability. In addition, Disable Device (Dex) becomes a class skill for the natural explorer.

Sixth Sense (Sp) (10th Level)
The natural explorer knows to never let his hunting focus escape and can always find them once he knows their shape. As a full-round action, the natural explorer can study his hunting focus provided his hunting focus is up close and visible (within 30 feet). Doing so allows him to constantly be aware of his hunting focus’s location, as if under a continuous locate creature spell, out to a distance of 400 feet, + 40 per natural explorer level. The duration of this spell lasts until the hunting focus is killed (which immediately alerts the natural explorer, even if he is not nearby) or when the natural explorer marks another creature as his hunting focus.

Slip Through (Ex)
You learn to fit through gaps that shouldn’t hold you. The creature can move through an area as small as one-half its space without squeezing or one-quarter its space when squeezing. At the GM’s discretion, you can also accomplish feats such as fitting your arm under a door or sticking a finger through a keyhole.

At natural explorer level 10, The creature can move through an area as small as one-quarter its space without squeezing.

Subtle Senses (Ex)
The natural explorer has gained skill using the lesser-used senses of smell and taste. He gains the scent special ability and gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his level (minimum 1) to all Perception checks to identify things by smell or taste (such as a potion or poison). The natural explorer may make a creature his hunting focus if he catches their scent as if he were tracking them as a move action, and when tracking his hunting focus, the natural explorer may note the direction of his hunting focus with only a swift action.

Survivalist (Ex)
The natural explorer gains the Endurance feat as a bonus feat. In addition, the natural explorer suffers no harm from being in a hot or cold environment and can exist comfortably in conditions between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 and 60 degrees Celsius) without having to make Fortitude saves. This doesn’t provide any protection from fire or cold damage, nor does it protect against other environmental hazards such as smoke, lack of air, and so forth. In addition if the environment has fresh food and water the natural explorer is able to procure that for himself and his animal companion or familiar if any.

Finally, the natural explorer can hold his breath an additional number of rounds equal to twice his level.

Survivalist Improved (Ex, Survivalist)
The natural explorer can apply the benefits of survivalist to a number of his allies equal to his wisdom modifier.

Touched by the fey (Sp)
The natural explorer has learned some minor magical abilities. He chooses 4 0-Level spells from the druid spell list and may use them at will as spell-like abilities. For this purpose, his caster level is equal to his class level, and Wisdom is his casting ability. Whenever he rests for 8 hours, he may change which cantrips he chose.

Use Magic Device is a class skill for the natural explorer.

Trapper (Ex, 6th Level)
The natural explorer gains the Learn Ranger Trap feat as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. In addition to the trap he learns from this feat, he learns an additional trap for every two class levels he possesses past 6th level. He is still limited to setting a maximum number of traps per day equal to 1/2 his natural explorer level + his Wisdom modifier.

Vantage Point (Ex)
The natural explorer uses higher ground to his advantage on his projectile attacks. Whenever the natural explorer has his entire body completely above the body of his enemy he may reduce cover, partial cover and soft cover's penalties/bonuses by half.

Vicious Hunter (Ex) (Explorative Hunter) (16th Level)
Whenever the natural explorer strikes a creature which his explorative hunter ability applies to, he can add an additional injury that will reduce its ability to escape. Until the beginning of the natural explorer’s next turn, the creature’s speed is halved, and it draws attacks of opportunity for entering threatened squares as if they had left that square, or for taking a 5-foot step.

Wildspell (Ex) (Spells) (6th Level)
Through exposure to other forms of magic, the natural explorer has learned another way of doing things. When he gains this talent, he chooses between one of the following spell lists: Sorcerer/Wizard, Cleric/Oracle, Druid or Psychic this choice must be one he does not possess. Once chosen, this choice cannot be changed. He may choose 1 spell of each natural explorer spell level he knows that are not on his spell list from the spell list of the class he chose and add them to his spell list. He may prepare these spells as natural explorer spells and cast them normally. Whenever he gains a level, he may change what spells he chose, and if he gains a new spellcasting level, he gains a spell from the chosen class’ spell list to add to his own spell list.