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Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Starfinder RPG Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition)

Biohacker | Envoy | Evolutionist | Mechanic | Mystic | Nanocyte | Operative | Precog | Solarian | Soldier | Technomancer | Vanguard | Witchwarper
Drone

Main Details | Archetypes | Class Builds | Adaptations | Niches

Evolutionist Niches

Source Interstellar Species pg. 14
The following are the most common evolutionist niches.

Divine

Source Starfinder Enhanced pg. 42
You seek religious apotheosis—to become a powerful servant of a god or a semi-divine being yourself. You channel planar energy through your body, becoming aligned with a specific outer plane but also opening yourself to harm from those aligned with its opposite. In time, you aim to complete your transformation into an outsider of the outer planes, such as an angel, azata, demon, or devil.

Augmentation Type: Magitech
Class Skill: Mysticism
Instinct: Select one of the following broad categories of outsider that you wish to become. Each is associated with an alignment and opposed to an alignment; you must be of the associated alignment to select that category. Once made, this choice can’t be changed.
  • Celestial (associated alignment: good; opposed alignment: evil)
  • Entropic (associated alignment: chaotic; opposed alignment: lawful)
  • Fiendish (associated alignment: evil; opposed alignment: good)
  • Resolute (associated alignment: lawful; opposed alignment: chaotic)
As long as you have 1 or more Mutation Points, your body becomes imbued with the divine energy of your associated alignment, causing the following effects. Your adaptive strike becomes aligned with your associated alignment; damage from your adaptive strike bypasses DR that can be overcome by your associated alignment, and it ignores the energy resistance of outsiders of your opposed alignment. Additionally, you gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against spells cast by an outsider of your opposed alignment.
Drawback: As your body becomes a vessel for divine energy, you become weakened by opposing forces. While you have at least 1 MP, you have vulnerability to damage aligned with your opposed alignment. Additionally, if you fail a saving throw against a spell cast by an outsider of your opposed alignment, you also take damage equal to half your evolutionist level + your MP total. While you have at least 3 MP, your body burns from the inside out from channeling more divine power than you can safely handle. On each of your turns, after you gain MP at the start of your turn, you’re dealt fire damage equal to the number of MP you have over 3. This damage bypasses any resistances and immunities you have and can’t be reduced in any way.
Bolstering Aura (1st level): You release a fraction of the divine energy contained within your body, radiating it out from you to bolster your spiritual allies. As a move action, you can generate a 30-foot-radius aura of divine energy. Creatures in the area that are of your associated alignment gain a +1 divine bonus to attack rolls and Will saving throws. This aura lasts for 3 rounds. When this aura would end, you can spend MP to prolong its duration by 1 additional round; this costs 1 MP plus an additional MP for each previous round you have extended this effect. At 10th level, the bonus increases to +2. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you spend a Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points after a 10-minute rest.
Scour Soul (10th level): As a standard action, you can inundate an area with divine energy, scouring away all those opposing your values. This area is a 20-foot radius burst that originates at a point within 100 feet of you. The divine energy deals 1d6 fire damage plus 1d6 slashing damage for every 2 evolutionist levels you have (Reflex saving throw for half damage). This damage has the descriptor appropriate for your associated alignment. Creatures of your associated alignment are immune to the damage dealt by this ability. You can spend 2 MP to change the fire damage to another one of the following damage types of your choice: acid, cold, electricity, or sonic.
Niche Metamorphasis (20th level): Your creature type becomes outsider with your choice of the following subtype: aeon, agathion, angel, archon, azata, daemon, demon, devil, inevitable, or protean. You gain immunity to petrification and poison.

Eldritch

Source Interstellar Species pg. 14
You intend to gradually metamorphose into a fantastical or extraplanar being. Magical energy flows through your veins and deflects spells, yet the more you embrace this influence, the more toxic the mundane world becomes to you.

Augmentation Type: Magitech
Class Skill: Mysticism
Instinct: When you have 1 or more Mutation Points you gain spell resistance equal to 5 + your MP + your evolutionist level. If you’re hit by or fail a saving throw against an enemy’s spell, you can take a reaction to gain a +2 bonus to saving throws of the same type (Reflex, for example) until the end of your next turn. In addition, you can voluntarily lower your spell resistance until the beginning of your next turn as a standard action or as a reaction.
Drawback: Your body increasingly operates on a magical level, leaving you vulnerable to mundane threats. While you have at least 1 MP, the first time you take nonmagical kinetic damage each round, you take additional damage equal to half your evolutionist level plus the number of MP you have. While you have at least 3 MP, you can’t voluntarily lower your spell resistance.
Spell Bending (1st level): When a willing ally within 30 feet of you casts a spell, you can spend a number of MP equal to 1 + half the spell’s level as a reaction to absorb and redirect the spell’s energy. Attempt a Fortitude save, using the spell’s save DC as your saving throw’s DC. If you fail, you choose the spell’s targets, measure the spell’s range from your space, and make any attack rolls for the spell as if you were the caster, though the original spellcaster makes any caster level checks, rolls any damage, and is responsible for controlling and concentrating on any subsequent effects of the spell. If you succeed at the save, you can redirect the spell as if you had failed, but you also apply one of the following three special effects to the spell.
  • You increase the spell’s saving throw DCs by 2, to a maximum of 10 + half your evolutionist level + your key ability score modifier.
  • The spellcaster’s caster level is treated as 2 higher for the purpose of overcoming spell resistance, to a maximum of your evolutionist level + 1.
  • If the spell deals damage, you can replace your adaptive strike’s damage with one damage type dealt by the spell until the end of your next turn. This effect doesn’t change whether your adaptive strike targets KAC or EAC.

Arcane Leap (10th level): As a move action, you instantly teleport to any space within your line of effect within 30 feet. When you activate your spell bending adaptation, you can spend 1 additional MP to activate this ability as part of that reaction, teleporting to any space within 30 feet that is within or adjacent to the spell’s target or area of effect.
Niche Metamorphasis (20th level): Your creature type becomes your choice of dragon, fey, or outsider. You become immune to one of the following damage types: acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic.

Mechanized

Source Interstellar Species pg. 14
Your personal journey will transform you from mortal into machine. When stressed, your body begins replacing parts of you with mechanized armor.

Augmentation Type: Cybernetics
Class Skill: Engineering
Instinct: Choose one type of kinetic damage (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing) and one type of energy damage (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). You reduce the damage taken from damage types other than the two you selected by an amount equal to half your current MP. At 10th level the amount of reduction is instead equal to your MP.
Drawback: While you have at least 1 MP the first time per round you take either type of damage you chose for your instinct (above), you take additional damage equal to half your evolutionist level + your MP total.
If you have 3 or more MP you become increasingly robotic. You’re treated as both a construct and your creature type—whichever type allows an ability to affect you for abilities that only affect one type, and whichever is worse for abilities that affect both types. Such effects continue to affect you even if you have fewer than 3 MP later in the effect’s duration. In addition, you can’t gain morale bonuses and you take a penalty equal to half your MP total, rounded up, to Charisma-based skill checks except Intimidate.
Avenging Burst (1st level): When a creature within 10 feet of you damages you, you can spend 1 MP as a reaction to vent lethal plasma through the wound to damage your attacker. This deals 1d4 electricity and fire damage for every 2 evolutionist levels you have; the creature takes half damage with a successful Reflex save. You can spend 1 additional MP when using this adaptation to roll d6s instead of d4s or you can spend 2 additional MP when using this adaptation to roll d8s instead of d4s. Once you use this adaptation, you can’t use it again until you rest for 10 minutes to regain Stamina Points.
Rapid Reboot (10th level): As a standard action, you can reset and repair your cybernetic loadout, emerging recharged. Until the beginning of your next turn, you’re flat-footed and the value of your niche instinct’s damage reduction doubles. At the beginning of your next turn, you can end one of your ongoing adaptations to gain a number of MP equal to the MP you spent to activate that adaptation (maximum 2 MP). So long as you gain at least 1 MP in this way, you also regain Stamina Points equal to twice your evolutionist level.
Niche Metamorphasis (20th level): Your creature type becomes construct. You gain immunity to fatigue and exhaustion.

Sepulchral

Source Interstellar Species pg. 15
You strive to attain undead immortality on your own terms. While unliving energies strengthen your body and grant you supernatural power over life and death, you develop unnatural hungers that drive you to violence. If not controlled, your transformation might tear your body apart at the seams.

Augmentation Type: Necrografts
Class Skill: Mysticism
Instinct: Once per round while you have 1 or more MP, when you deal damage with your adaptive strike to a living creature, you can increase the damage dealt to that creature by an amount equal to half your MP total, rounded up. This additional damage you deal increases to your MP total at 7th level, 1-1/2 × your MP total at 13th level, and 2 × your MP total at 19th level
Drawback: Once per round while you have at least 1 MP and reduce a living creature to 0 HP with your adaptive strike, you must attempt a Will save with a DC = 10 + half your character level + your MP total. If you fail, you must take your first action of your next turn to either make another attack with your adaptive strike that includes the defeated creature as a target or take a move action to spend at least 1 MP with no effect.
While you have 3 or more MP, the first time you regain Hit Points or Stamina Points from an effect—other than from your grim harvest ability (see below)—you decrease the number of HP or SP you regain by an amount equal to half your MP total, rounded up (minimum 1 HP or SP recovered). The amount by which you reduce the HP or SP you regain increases to your MP total at 7th level, 1-1/2 × your MP total at 10th level, 2 × your MP total at 13th level, and 3 × your MP total at 17th level.
Grim Harvest (1st level): As a reaction when either you reduce a significant enemy to 0 HP with your adaptive strike or a significant enemy within 15 feet of you is reduced to 0 HP, you can spend 1 MP to regain 1d4 Hit Points for every 2 evolutionist levels you have; you can spend 1 additional MP when using this ability to roll d6s instead of d4s, or you can spend 2 additional MP when using this ability to roll d8s instead of d4s.
Once you use this adaptation, you can’t use it again until you rest for 10 minutes to regain Stamina Points.
Spectral Step (10th level): You can spend 2 MP as a move action to become incorporeal and gain a fly speed of 30 feet with perfect maneuverability until the beginning of your next turn. As part of this action, you can also fly up to 15 feet. When this effect would end, you can extend the duration by 1 round by spending 2 MP, plus an additional MP for each previous round you have extended this effect.
Niche Metamorphasis (20th level): Your creature type becomes undead. You gain immunity to death effects and negative levels.

Vital

Source Interstellar Species pg. 15
Your body, a riot of biological potential, longs to become some extraordinary flora, fauna, or chimeric creature. Rampant life energy heals your wounds, yet your thoughts become equally impulsive and direct.

Augmentation Type: Biotech
Class Skill: Life Science
Instinct: Once per round while you have 1 or more MP, the first time you regain Hit Points or Stamina Points from an effect, you increase the number of HP or SP you regain by an amount equal to half your MP total, rounded up. The additional HP or SP you regain increases to your MP total at 7th level, 1-1/2 × your MP total at 10th level, 2 × your MP total at 13th level, and 3 × your MP total at 17th level.
Drawback: Your mind and body react with greater impulsiveness and less control. While you have at least 1 MP you take a penalty to Will saves equal to half your MP total, rounded up. While you have at least 3 MP, you can’t use any ability that requires patience or concentration, such as spellcasting or any Charisma- or Intelligence-based skills except Intimidate.
Biotic Invigoration (1st level): As a swift action, you can spend 1 MP to regain a number of Stamina Points equal to your evolutionist level. At the start of each of your next three turns, you and one adjacent ally regain a number of Stamina Points equal to your evolutionist level. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you spend a Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points after a 10-minute rest.
Adrenaline Rush (10th level): You move with an exceptional burst of speed. As a swift action, you take a guarded step and gain a +1 enhancement bonus to your AC and Reflex saves until the beginning of your next turn. If you spend 2 MP when activating this evolution, you can instead move up to half your speed with the guarded step and the enhancement bonus increases to +2.
Niche Metamorphasis (20th level): Your creature type becomes your choice of aberration, monstrous humanoid, ooze, or plant. You gain immunity to critical hit effects and reduce any damage you take from critical hits by an amount equal to 20 + your key ability score modifier.