A duo’s power lies not just in the power of their individual components but in their relationship with each other. This relationship, a supernatural bond of some form, empowers them to do the impossible. Some are bound by the wiles of yin and yang, others drawn together to embody long-dead opposing deities, a cursed fate, cosmic forces, or even simple destiny. This bond, tangible and all-consuming in their lives, is both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness - for without one the other will fall.
Duos are comprised of either extremely similar or extremely dissimilar characters. Their literal relationship is often an expression of the nature of their bond. If they are two similar characters their bond often represents unity amongst similar things - empowering a single ideal to make it ever stronger. These pairs are often made up of related characters; they can be siblings, twins, compatible souls, relatives, etc., but this is not always the case. When the opposite is true the bond manifested is a representation of the meeting of two opposing concepts or forces (the union of dark and light, an unstoppable force and an immovable object, yin and yang, brain and brawn, opposed elements, etc.) to produce a synthesis of the two.
Duos are chosen, not trained. Their bond is often pre-ordained, thrust upon them, or in some way beyond their control. This bond is almost always part of a larger cosmic level power source- be it the nature of the elements, deities fighting, etc.
HIT DICE: D10.
PLAYING THIS CLASS: A duo class is not a traditional class. It requires two characters to both select the duo class and declare each other their partner. They build their characters independent of each other, though they must declare each other as their “partner” via their partner class feature.
ROLE: Duos are coordinated fighters, able to survive easily on the front line. Their main strength comes from their ability to fight in a coordinated fashion. A duo’s dichotomy will largely define how they interact with the world and what kinds of roles they will adopt during combat. Duos should have a respectable Charisma score (as it defines most of their abilities) and either a good Dexterity or Strength score (depending on their preferred style of fighting).
ALIGNMENT: Any
STARTING WEALTH: 3d6 × 10 gp (average 105gp.). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
CLASS SKILLS: The duo’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Survival (Wis)
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features[]
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Dichotomy, relationship tokens, two-of-a-kind |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Teamwork feat |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Telepathy (1 mile) |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Personal trait |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Teamwork feat |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Dichotomy |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Personal trait |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Medium armor casting, teamwork feat |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +3 | +6 | - |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Personal trait |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Dichotomy, teamwork feat |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | - |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Personal trait |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Teamwork feat |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Telepathy (planar) |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Dichotomy, personal trait |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Teamwork feat |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +11 | - |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Personal trait |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Syzygy, teamwork feat |
The following are the class features of the duo.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies[]
The duo is proficient in all simple weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields (except tower shields). The duo can cast duo spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a duo wearing medium armor, heavy armor, or a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component. A multiclass duo still incurs the normal arcane spell failure chance for arcane spells received from other classes.
Dichotomy[]
At 1st level, the individuals playing the duo jointly select a dichotomy to represent the relationship between their two characters. Separated they are disparate parts but together they represent harmony. Both individuals gain a benefit from their chosen dichotomy at 1st, 6th, 11th, and 16th level.
(Duo Dichotomies and their benefits can be found here)
| When we refer to an “individual” we are referring to a single member of the duo. When we are referring to the “duo”, we are referring to both collectively. When we are referring to the other member of an individual’s duo, we call them their “partner”. |
Relationship Tokens[]
Each role in a dichotomy has a way for a member of the duo to gain “tokens”. These tokens are an abstraction but represent a character playing their part in the dichotomy; helping achieve harmony between the two. Each individual can hold a maximum number of tokens equal to 3 + their character level at a time. Tokens disappear after 1 minute if not used. An individual cannot gain more than 1 token per round but can spend as many as applicable.
Tokens can be used in various ways, often defined by their dichotomies, but any duo can use them in the following ways:
- AID: When attempting an aid another check on their partner the individual gains a +4 morale bonus if they spend 1 token as a free action.
- TEAM ATTACK: When their partner is making an attack roll an individual can spend 1 token to grant their partner a morale bonus on attack and damage rolls on that attack roll equal to 1/4th their level (minimum 1).
An individual always gains a token if they score a critical hit in the presence of their partner.
Two of a Kind[]
For the purpose of meeting prerequisites for feats both individuals count their collective abilities together. When both individuals have ranks in a skill, use the higher of the two ranks.
Example: If a feat required that a creature have 5 ranks in Survival and 5 ranks in Perform and one individual meets the Survival prerequisite but not the Perform one while their partner has the necessary ranks in Perform they both qualify for the feat.
Spells[]
A duo casts arcane spells drawn from the duo spell list. They can cast any spell they know without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a duo must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class (DC) for a saving throw against a duo’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the duo’s Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a duo can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Duo. In addition, they receive bonus spells per day if they have a high Charisma score (using the higher of their two Charisma scores).
Unlike other spellcasters both individuals draw from the same daily spell allotment. They also know all the same spells, except when their dichotomy gives them spells specific to their roles. An individual cannot cast a spell granted by their partner’s dichotomy.
The duo’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A duo begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of the duo’s choice. At each new duo level, they gain one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Duo Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a duo knows is not affected by their Charisma score (See Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook).
Upon reaching 5th level, and at every third duo level after that (8th, 11th, and so on), a duo can choose to learn a new spell in place of one they already know. In effect, the duo “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least one level lower than the highest-level duo spell the duo can cast. A duo may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that they gain new spells known for the level.
A duo need not prepare their spells in advance. They can cast any spell they know at any time, assuming they have not yet used up their allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.
| Duo Spells Known | Duo Spells Per Day | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| 1st | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2nd | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3rd | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 5th | 6 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 6th | 6 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| 7th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 6 | 5 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 8th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | 3 | - | - | - |
| 9th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | 8 | 6 | 5 | - | - | - |
| 10th | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | - | - |
| 11th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | - | - |
| 12th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | - | - | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | - | - |
| 13th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | - | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | - |
| 14th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | - | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | - |
| 15th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | - | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | - |
| 16th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| 17th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| 18th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| 19th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| 20th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
Teamwork Feat[]
At 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter, the duo gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as teamwork feats. Only one individual needs to meet the prerequisites for the feat. Each member of the pair must agree to select the same teamwork feat.
Telepathy[]
At 3rd level the duo share a telepathic bond that allows them to communicate mentally with each other at a range of up to 1 mile.
At 15th level this telepathic bond is no longer restricted by range and they can even communicate with each other across planes of existence.
Personal Traits (Ex)[]
While each member of a duo is largely defined by their relationship to their other half ,they still grow in their own way. These strides they make in the expression of their own identities manifest as powers unique to them. While other aspects of the duo class must be chosen with their consent of their partner, personal traits are chosen by the individual.
(Duo Personal Traits can be found here)
Medium Armor Casting (Ex)[]
Starting at 8th level, a duo can cast duo spells while wearing medium armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a duo wearing heavy armor or using a shield incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.
Syzygy[]
At 20th, whenever the individual gains a token their partner does as well.
Favored Class Options[]
The duo may choose from the following favored class options
- All: Gain +1/6 of a teamwork feat (both members must choose this option, and must choose the same feat).
- All: Gain +1/4 of a personal trait
- All: Gain +1/5 of a bonus spell known from any list, this spell cannot be higher level than the highest level spell known by the duo. This spell is considered a dichotomy spell.
- All: Gain +1/5 of a bonus dichotomy maneuver known, this maneuver cannot be higher level than the highest level maneuver known by the duo (sacred band only).
Archetypes[]
Sacred Band (Path of War)