Symbiotic knights form bonds with amorphous creatures to protect themselves.

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Symbiotic Armor (Su)

At 1st level, a symbiotic knight forms a bond with an amorphous creature or some other entity. This symbiote becomes a part of the symbiotic knight, often taking the form of a growing plant, a stone hand, or another conscious mark when not in use. When summoned, the symbiote covers the creature and becomes a suit of armor. The symbiote can take on the characteristics of leather armor, a breastplate, or full plate.

 

Forming symbiotic armor or changing the armor’s form requires the same action as summoning equipment. A suit of symbiotic armor has a hardness of 10, and 10 hit points per symbiotic knight level. If the symbiote is destroyed (such as through sunder maneuvers), it reverts to its dormant state and cannot be used unless repaired or until the symbiotic knight rests to regain spell points, at which time it regains all lost hit points.

 

This armor gains special abilities as if it were a piece of bound equipment. However, unlike most pieces of bound equipment, a symbiotic knight may change what special abilities her symbiote possesses each time it is summoned, whenever its form is changed, or at any time with the same required action (a swift action or move action, which improves through the quick summons class feature). A symbiote counts as a piece of bound equipment for all purposes. If the symbiotic knight gains the greater materials or improved materials arsenal tricks, she may grant her symbiote the benefits and hardness of those materials. This replaces bound equipment.

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Summon Equipment (Su)

A symbiotic knight summons equipment by forming it out of the substance of her symbiote. As such, only the symbiotic knight can use her summoned equipment; in the hands of any other creatures, her summoned equipment is treated as nothing but a masterwork weapon. This alters summon equipment.

 

Symbiote Traits (Su)

At 5th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the symbiotic knight’s symbiote gains one trait from any Alteration sphere talent, which it may bestow to the symbiotic knight. Treat her symbiotic knight level as her caster level when meeting the prerequisites and determining the effects of a particular trait. These traits are not considered a polymorph effect. Traits that cost an additional spell point to use (such as turning incorporeal) or are only available as part of a form (such as the perfect maneuverability of an air elemental) cannot be gained in this fashion. If a trait gives an additional choice (like Elemental Resistance for the energy type) then this choice must be made once the trait is chosen. Such a trait can be selected several times, but each time a different choice has to be made. Once a trait has been chosen, it cannot be changed. So long as the symbiotic knight is using her symbiote as armor, her symbiote may grant her any trait or traits it possesses. Activating or dismissing any of these traits may be done as part of the action needed to summon, dismiss, or alter the special abilities of symbiotic armor.