Superego Manifestation

The superego is the last element of the subconscious to evolve. It governs notions of conscience, ethics, and morality.

Occult Lore
Author Keith Baker, Adam Bank, Chris Jones, Scott Reeves, and Elton Robb
Series Lore
Publisher Atlas
Publish date 2002

Where the ego looks after the individual, it is the superego that encourages the character to think about what he can do for others, or to feel guilt for actions that bring harm to innocents. As a result, the superego can often be an ally to adventurers; it may attempt to help the party out of dangerous situations, or provide hints to help them get around obstacles. An important thing to consider when dealing with the superego is the alignment of the dreamer. A good soul will probably have a powerful superego, which may step in to try to solve conflicts. An evil being either has a weak superego or has managed to suppress it; in this case, the superego manifestation may be physically restrained within the dream (chained or imprisoned) and unable to help the party. Freeing the superego and helping it gain dominance over the ego may be the first step in shifting the alignment of the dreamer.

Note that while a superego manifestation may help the party, if the party is in a dream for purely selfish or evil reasons the superego will oppose them – even if it simply tries to slow them down or sway them from their path instead of actually engaging them in combat.

A superego manifestation often takes on the appearance of the dreamer, which means that it is easy to confuse it with the ego manifestation. When it does not take the dreamer’s shape, it generally assumes the form of someone important to the dreamer, someone who has been a voice of moderation or attempted to provide moral guidance to the dreamer. Like the ego manifestation, the superego will always have statistics derived from the dreamer, regardless of its appearance.

‘Superego manifestation’ is a template that can be added to any entity with an Intelligence score of 4 or more. It uses all of the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here. A superego manifestation can only be encountered in the dreams of the base creature.

Hit Dice: Set to d4.

Attacks: A superego manifestation will never initiate combat even if it is itself attacked, it will rarely respond with violence; instead, it will attempt to reason with enemies, if necessary using charm or Enthrall to defuse hostilities. If it is somehow driven to fight, it will possess the same attacks as the base creature.

Special Attacks: A superego manifestation possesses all of the special attacks of the base creature, although it will only use force in the direst of circumstances, and even self-preservation may not qualify.

Special Qualities: A superego manifestation possesses all of the special qualities of the base creature, plus those listed below:

Aura of Compassion (Su): Anyone attempting to attack a superego manifestation is struck by a wave of guilt and an overpowering sense of shame. This effect is similar to the spell Sanctuary. In order to initiate hostilities against the superego, a character must make take a full action and make a Will saving throw against a DC of 12 + the base creature’s Wisdom modifier. Once a character has successfully made the save, he does not have to make it again; he has overcome his guilt. If he fails the roll he may try again, but each attempt requires a full action.

Blindsight (Ex): A subconscious manifestation is intuitively aware of the nature of its surroundings; it is part of the dream, after all. The manifestation can sense its enemies and surroundings up to 60 feet away, and is not affected by darkness or invisibility.

Fast Healing (Ex): A manifestation receives constant support from the subconscious. As a result, a manifestation recovers 6 hit points each round. This will not allow the creature to regenerate lost limbs, nor prevent it from being killed. This will also not restore damage caused by an oneiric bolt spell.

Spell-Like Abilities: A superego manifestation can use any of these abilities at will: charm monster, cure light wounds, Enthrall, hypnotism, or suggestion. These abilities work as if cast by a cleric of a level or hit dice equal to the base creature, and have a base save DC of 10 + Wisdom modifier + spell level. If the base creature is evil, victims receive a +4 to their saving throws against these effects. If the base creature is good, victims receive a -2 to their saves.

Spell Resistance (Ex): Subconscious manifestations are naturally resistant to magic; the force of the subconscious works to counteract a character’s attempts to harm the creature. A manifestation has a Spell Resistance value equal to 5 + the base creature’s hit dice or character levels.

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Strength +0, Dexterity +0, Constitution +0, Intelligence +2, Wisdom +6, Charisma +2

Skills: The manifestation possesses all of the skills of the base creature. In addition, it gains the following skills: Diplomacy +6, Healing +6, Sense Motive +6. If the base creature already possesses these skills, these bonuses are added to the creature’s existing skill values.

Climate/Terrain: Dreams of the base creature.

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +2

Alignment: Always neutral good.

Treasure: None