Mythic Heroes

Mythic heroes are set apart from their contemporaries, capable of amazing feats of courage in the face of overwhelming odds. In spite of this, they’re still similar in many ways to other adventurers. They have hit points, an armor class, and saving throws—in fact, most of their statistics are comparable to non-mythic characters of an equal level. Where mythic characters differ is in the special abilities they gain from mythic paths—collections of similar abilities that they can choose to represent their mythic power. These abilities enhance mythic characters both in and out of battle, allowing them to take part in extraordinary, larger-than-life adventures.

Creating A Mythic Character

Unlike normal characters, those with mythic power have greater ties to the world around them and a greater place in legend. A skilled fighter might impact the history of a region, but a mythic champion can change its fate, his every move chronicled and recorded. Because of this greater impact on the campaign world, creating a mythic character requires you to work with the GM to find your place in the story and determine the source of your power.

To create a mythic character, start by creating a normal character. Despite their incredible abilities, mythic characters start with the same class features and abilities as normal ones.

The process by which your character becomes mythic is determined by the shape of the overall campaign.

Generally, characters become mythic in one of two ways—either the GM decides to make the characters mythic as one part of the campaign, or their ascension and subsequent deeds are the central focus of the story from nearly the very beginning. Whichever path is chosen influences how you create your mythic character.

If mythic power is added to your character as part of a larger campaign (possibly only for a short period of time), that story defines the source of your newfound power, which is likely the same for all of the PCs. While you might not make all of the decisions about that power’s origins and nature, you will still be able to customize your character by selecting your mythic path and abilities.

If mythic power will instead be a central theme of the entire campaign, each PC might have a different, individual source of power. In such a campaign, you should work with your GM to determine the source of your mythic power. This could be anything from contact with an ancient artifact to gaining the sponsorship of a deity. The GM might ask for all of the PCs to share some aspects of their power—such as its source—to give them a common bond, or you might come together as part of a larger destiny, a gathering of great heroes to accomplish truly legendary deeds.

In either case, there will be a moment in the campaign when you gain mythic power (or when it manifests, in the case of mythic power that has been latent in you since birth). This critical part of the story is called the moment of ascension. Depending on the style of the campaign, this could occur very early in the story or much later in your character’s career, as part of larger plot line. From this moment onward, your character is mythic, and gains a mythic path and a variety of mythic abilities.

Mythic Ascension

The moment a character gains her first mythic tier is called the moment of ascension (or simply ascension) and is usually concurrent with an extraordinary event. Generally speaking, the GM determines this event, which has many implications on the story of the character. Ascension determines the source of a mythic character’s power, and though this doesn’t affect the types of abilities she gains, it can influence future choices and roleplaying decisions.

The GM is free to invent any sort of event to serve as the moment of ascension, as required by the needs of the campaign.

The following ideas represent some of the most common means of ascension.

Artifact

The character comes into contact with an unstable artifact that unleashes some of its power into her, granting her mythic power. The mythic character might need to protect the artifact, as it is the source of her power.

Fated

The character was born under an auspicious sign, such as a planetary conjunction or lunar eclipse, and as such was destined to greatness. The moment of ascension comes when those circumstances repeat themselves and the character gains mythic power.

Godling

The mythic character is the child of a god, typically born from the union of that deity and a mortal. The moment of ascension is when the character learns of her true heritage or is visited by her divine parent (or an agent of that deity).

Granted

A divine agent or other incredibly powerful being calls upon the character to act as its representative. This role gives the character mythic power, but possibly only while serving the interests of this benefactor and while holding to that patron’s tenets.

Passed On

The character is present at the death of a powerful—perhaps even mythic—creature. In its final moments, it passes on its power to the character, granting mythic abilities. Alternatively, its power might not be given voluntarily, but rather taken by the PCs when they slay a mythic creature. This method could even be the way that all mythic power is gained in a campaign.

Base Mythic Abilities

Every mythic PC gains a number of base abilities common to all mythic characters, in addition to the special abilities granted by each mythic path. These abilities are gained based on the character’s mythic tier.

Ability Score Increase

Upon reaching the 2nd mythic tier, an ability score of your choice permanently increases by 2. At 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th tiers, another ability score of your choice permanently increases by 2; this can be an ability score you’ve already increased or a different ability score.

Mythic Feat

Select one mythic feat or non-mythic feat as a bonus feat. You must qualify for this feat normally.

You gain another mythic feat at 3rd tier, and again every 2 tiers thereafter.

Hard to Kill (Ex)

Whenever you are below 0 hit points, you automatically stabilize without needing to make a check. If you have an ability that allows you to act while below 0 hit points, you still lose hit points for taking actions, as specified by that ability. Bleed damage still causes you to lose hit points when below 0 hit points. In addition, you don’t die until your total number of negative hit points is equal to or greater than double your Constitution score.

Mythic Power (Su)

Mythic characters can draw upon a wellspring of power to accomplish amazing deeds and cheat fate. This power is used by a number of different abilities. Each day, you can expend an amount of mythic power equal to twice your mythic tier (2/day at 1st tier, 4/day at 2nd, and so forth). This amount is your maximum amount of mythic power. If an ability allows you to regain uses of your mythic power, you can never have more than this amount.

Surge (Su)

You can call upon your mythic power to overcome difficult challenges. You can expend one use of mythic power to increase any d20 roll you just made by rolling 1d6 and adding it to the result. Using this ability is an immediate action taken after the result of the original roll is revealed. This can change the outcome of the roll. The bonus die gained by using this ability increases to 1d8 at 4th tier, 1d10 at 7th tier, and 1d12 at 10th tier.

Amazing Initiative (Ex)

At 2nd tier, you gain a bonus on initiative checks equal to half your mythic tier, rounded down.

In addition, as a free action on your turn, you can expend one use of mythic power to take an additional move or standard action during that turn. This additional standard action can’t be used to cast a spell. You can’t gain an extra action in this way more than once per round.

Recuperation (Ex)

When you complete a Short Rest, you recover hit points and ability points as if you had completed a Long Rest. This replaces the normal healing for a short rest.

Once per day by expending one use of mythic power during a short rest, you instead regain a number of hit points equal to half your full hit points (up to a maximum of your full hit points) and regain the use of any class features that are limited to a certain number of uses per day (such as barbarian rage, bardic performance, spells per day, and so on). This rest is treated as a long rest for such abilities. This rest doesn’t refresh uses of mythic power or any mythic abilities that are limited to a number of times per day.

Mythic Saving Throws (Ex)

At 5th tier, whenever you succeed at a saving throw against a spell or special ability, you suffer no effects as long as that ability didn’t come from a mythic source (such as a creature with a mythic tier or mythic ranks). If you fail a saving throw that results from a mythic source, you take the full effects as normal.

Force of Will (Ex)

At 7th tier, you can exert your will to force events to unfold as you would like. As an immediate action, you can expend one use of mythic power to reroll a d20 roll you just made or force any non-mythic creature to reroll a d20 roll it just made. You can use this ability after the results are revealed. Whoever rerolls a roll must take the result of the second roll, even if it is lower.

Unstoppable (Ex)

At 8th tier, you can expend one use of mythic power as a free action to immediately end any one of the following conditions currently affecting you: bleeding, blinded, confused, cowering, dazed, dazzled, deafened, entangled, fascinated, immobilized, nauseated, paralyzed, sickened, staggered, or stunned or to remove all levels of fear or exhaustion. All other conditions and effects remain, even those resulting from the same spell or effect that caused the selected condition. You can use this ability at the start of your turn even if a condition would prevent you from acting.

Immortal (Su)

At 9th tier, if you are killed, you return to life 24 hours later, regardless of the condition of your body or the means by which you were killed. When you return to life, you aren’t treated as if you had rested, and don’t regain the use of abilities that recharge with rest until you next rest. This ability doesn’t apply if you’re killed by a coup de grace or critical hit performed by either a mythic creature (or creature of even greater power) or a non-mythic creature wielding a weapon capable of bypassing epic damage reduction. At 10th tier, you can be killed only by a coup de grace or critical hit made with an artifact.

Legendary Hero (Su)

At 10th tier, you have reached the height of mortal power. You regain uses of your mythic power at the rate of one use per hour, in addition to completely refreshing your uses each day.

Selecting a Path

Once you gain mythic power, you select a mythic path, which is much like an additional class. It determines the majority of your mythic abilities. You cannot “multiclass” with mythic path. Once you choose a path, it cannot be changed.

Gaining Tiers

A character’s mythic power is classified by tier, with a 1st-tier mythic character already being significantly more powerful than a non-mythic character of the same level and a 10th-tier mythic character possessing nearly godlike puissance. Mythic tiers are similar to levels in a class or prestige class in that the powers gained at each tier are added to all those that came before, but tiers are gained in a different manner from levels. A character gains a new mythic tier by completing a number of trials that occur during play. A trial is a difficult task that adds to the legend and story of your character. Achieving a new mythic tier occurs independently of experience point progression (though you will also gain experience points for the various encounters you complete as you progress through your trials).

Trials are moments in the story when you must rise above the deeds of lesser heroes. These moments become critical junctures in your legend. The GM decides what qualifies as a trial, and it’s up to you to complete it as you would other adventures. You might not even know you are attempting a trial until it is completed and the GM informs you to note it on your mythic character sheet, though you’ll likely get an inkling when you find yourself facing a particularly challenging foe or attempting something that most would find impossible.

The number of trials required to attain each new tier appears on Table: Mythic Trials per Tier. For example, suppose a 5th-level fighter discovers her mythic heritage and becomes a 1st-tier champion. Over a number of sessions, she earns enough experience points to gain her 6th level of fighter. During this time, she doesn’t complete a trial, so she doesn’t advance to the next tier of the champion path. During the next session, however, she engages in a climactic battle against a mythic troll that has plagued the town for years; by defeating the troll, she completes her trial, allowing her to become a 2nd-tier champion. To reach 3rd tier, she will need to accomplish two more trials. A mythic character can’t gain more than 10 tiers.

Note that the number of trials needed to achieve the next tier might vary from the number listed on Table: Mythic Trials per Tier. The GM can reduce or increase this number as needed to suit the campaign—refer to the Mythic Trials section for more guidance.