---
title: "Soul Warden"
noteType: ":sticky-note:"
aliases: "Soul Warden"
foundryId: Compendium.pf2e.journals.JournalEntry.vx5FGEG34AxI2dow.JournalEntryPage.9g14DjBZNj27goTt
tags:
  - JournalEntryPage
---

# Soul Warden
You consider yourself an honorary psychopomp—a shepherd of spirits who ensures the cycle of souls progresses unimpeded. Although you're unable to safeguard the cycle of souls in its entirety, you strive to ensure each soul's time on the Material Plane proceeds without incident. You work to free souls from imprisonment, prevent necromancers from animating the dead, and destroy undead so their souls rejoin the cycle.

While most who hunt undead do so out of fear, vengeance, or a desire to protect the lives of others, you take a more measured and far less emotional approach; you destroy undead so their souls can continue their journey along the River of Souls, thus ensuring the continuation of existence. You understand that without the cycle of souls, the life cycle of the planes is disrupted, and all of existence could be consumed by the Maelstrom.

Nearly all soul wardens worship [[Pharasma]] or one of the psychopomp ushers, especially [[Barzahk]] the Passage, a psychopomp usher who routinely shirks their duties and needs help from mortal soul wardens. Soul wardens also often join organizations that regularly combat undead, including the Voices of the Spire and Ustalav's Ivory Reapers (page 14).

**Additional Feats**: 4th [[Domain Initiate]], Familiar; 8th [[Expanded Domain Initiate]]; 16th [[Advanced Domain]]

THE SOUL CYCLE

A soul's journey begins on the Forge of Creation, where blank, empty souls attach themselves alongside the vitality essence of the plane to mortals on the Material Plane, forming a single living being. At the end of a mortal's life, these souls enter the Ethereal Plane, progressing through the River of Souls to Pharasma's Boneyard, where they're judged and sorted into the appropriate afterlife. Judged souls proceed to their assigned planes, becoming petitioners. These, too, die in time, becoming absorbed by and expanding their associated plane, as their own spiritual essence joins with the plane's as a substance known as quintessence. But the ever-churning Maelstrom breaks these planes down, scattering this planar quintessence throughout the Maelstrom and adjoining planes. Those pieces that land on the Forge of Creation eventually form new blank souls and the cycle begins anew.

## [[Soul Warden Dedication]] Feat 2

**Prerequisites** trained in Occultism or Religion, worships Pharasma or a psychopomp usher

* * *

You can take 10 minutes to emblazon Pharasma's holy sigil-a spiraling comet that represents the winding path a soul takes through its existence-upon a shield, tabard, banner, or other prominent object that your wear or wield. The symbol doesn't fade until 1 year has passed, but if you emblazon the symbol again, any symbol you previously emblazoned and any symbol already emblazoned on that item instantly disappears. The item becomes a religious symbol of Pharasma and can be used as a divine focus while emblazoned.

Whenever an undead creature or captive soul is within 100 feet of this object, the spiral glows, shedding dim blue light in a 10-foot radius. If the creature is hiding or the soul is [[Hidden]], it must succeed at a Stealth check against your Perception DC to fool the sigil and prevent the spiral from glowing.

In addition, you can cast _[[Vitality Lash]]_ as a divine innate cantrip at will. As normal, a cantrip is automatically heightened to half your level rounded up. You gain access to the [[Cast a Spell]] activity if you didn't have it already. You're trained in divine spell attack rolls and spell DCs. Your key spellcasting ability for these spells is Wisdom.

When you have at least two other feats from this archetype, the spiral glows with bright light in a 10-foot radius (and dim light for the next 10 feet). Feats that require a creature or object to be in the light of your spiral function whether it's in the bright or dim light.

**Special** You can't select another dedication feat until you have gained two other feats from the soul warden archetype.

## [[Cycle Spell]] Feat 4

**Prerequisites** Soul Warden Dedication

* * *

Your devotion to the cycle of souls grants you an additional divine spell. Choose from _[[Bless]]_, _[[Infuse Vitality]]_, or _[[Heal]]_. You must make this selection when you take this feat and it can't be changed. Once per day, while your spiral is glowing, you can cast the selected spell as a divine innate spell.

## [[Psychopomp Familiar]] Feat 4

**Prerequisites** Soul Warden Dedication, familiar

* * *

Your familiar becomes a masked psychopomp-an extraplanar guardian of the cycle of souls. This familiar continues to use all the same rules as other familiars, but one of its abilities must always be speech and it has the monitor and psychopomp traits. As normal when a familiar must always have a certain ability, the speech ability counts against your familiar's abilities each day.

You can select three familiar or master abilities each day, instead of two, but one must be one of the following psychopomp familiar abilities.

*   **Soul Sight** Your familiar gains lifesense with a range of 30 feet.
*   **Spirit Touch** Your familiar can touch incorporeal creatures. If you have the spell delivery master ability from your familiar, any spell the familiar delivers with it gains the benefits of the [[Ghost Touch]] property rune.

## [[Liberate Soul]] Feat 6

**Prerequisites** Soul Warden Dedication

* * *

The light flows from your sigil of Pharasma to shatter the bonds imprisoning a soul. You attempt to counteract a possession effect, or an effect, object, or spell that is imprisoning a soul (such as _[[Seize Soul]]_, a soul gem, or a devourer's devoured souls). You must be within 60 feet of the possessed creature or object, or of the receptacle imprisoning the soul. Your counteract level is half your level rounded up, and your counteract modifier is your divine spell DC - 10. If the attempt fails, you can't use Liberate Soul against that particular effect again unless circumstances have changed drastically, as determined by the GM.

## [[Spiral Sworn]] Feat 6

**Prerequisites** Soul Warden Dedication

* * *

You trace a spiral in the air while intoning prayers to Pharasma, gaining her blessing for a time. For 3 rounds, your Strikes and spells deal additional damage against undead, creatures in possession of an imprisoned soul, or creatures you have witnessed create or command undead. You gain a status bonus to damage with your Strikes against these creatures equal to the number of weapon damage dice. Spells you cast from spell slots gain a status bonus to damage against these creatures equal to the level of the spell; this bonus applies only to spells that deal damage and don't have a duration.

If your spiral is glowing, you can target a willing creature in its light. If you do, that creature gains the bonuses instead of you.

## [[Enhanced Psychopomp Familiar]] Feat 8

**Prerequisites** Psychopomp Familiar

* * *

Your psychopomp's continued service in Pharasma's name brings it favor from the goddess. It might change appearance to look like a different, more powerful kind of psychopomp. You can select four familiar or master abilities each day, instead of two, but two must be from the Psychopomp Familiar feat or the following ability.

*   **Augury** Your familiar can glimpse the strands of fate to give you a cryptic clue regarding your future. Your familiar can cast _[[Augury]]_ once per day using your magical tradition and spell DC. You must be at least 8th level to select this ability.

## [[Safeguard Soul]] Feat 8

**Prerequisites** Soul Warden Dedication

* * *

You've girded your soul against outside interference. You gain a +2 status bonus to saving throws against death effects, possession effects, and effects that attempt to manipulate or steal your soul. You can't be transformed into an undead by any means. While your spiral is glowing, your allies in the light of the spiral gain this benefit as well.

## [[Expand Spiral]] Feat 10

**Prerequisites** Spiral Sworn

* * *

Your prayers encompass your companions, granting you the ability to share Pharasma's blessings. When you use Spiral Sworn, you can spend 2 actions instead of 1 to grant the benefits to all allies who are in the light of your spiral when you take the action.