"Magic is a wild force, and in the wild it finds its greatest strength. It can perhaps be harnessed, but it can never be tamed."

-Jerarra of the Hunted Steppes

For all that magic appears to be an unnatural force to those who misunderstand it, it is a fundamental part of the world, a current that flows naturally through all places and all creatures. Like the waters of a stream, its flow never ceases, but it does congregate in reservoirs of natural magic. These "pools" of magic are the fey, certain magical beasts, and other creatures of both innate magic and strong natural bonds.

So-called wild souls are arcanists who have tapped into this natural flow of energy. As druids are divine casters who share a link with the animals of nature, wild souls develop a similar link to the world's fey. And like the fey themselves, wild souls swear allegiance - or at least an alliance - with one of the two great courts. The Seelie Court are fey of grace, beauty, and natural purity, while the Unseelie are vicious, impure, and often ugly. Both courts are intrinsically linked to the world of nature and the flow of magic. Titania and Oberon rule the Seelie Court; the Queen of Air and Darkness rules the Unseelie Court. The seelie tend toward neutrality, though many are good or evil; the unseelie tend toward evil, and while neutrality is found among them, good never is. The vast majority of these fey are chaotic, and none are lawful.

Wild souls - also called primal mages or, in the more poetic language of the Seelie Court, mystic mavens - are mortal, and thus not truly a part of these fey courts. They are, however, respected ambassadors of the mortal world, honored above other mortals due to the strong connection to the arcane magic that fey feel flowing through their veins. Other mortals fear them, sensing on an instinctive level the touch of the otherworld upon them.

BECOMING A WILD SOUL

Sorcerers feel the pull of the wild soul most frequently, since their innate ability to cast spells mirrors the natural magic of the fey. Certain wizards and wu jen, however, also feel the pull of this primal magic, and in fact might - due to their higher average intelligence - be better able to meet its requirements. A significant minority of wild souls began as multiclass arcane casters/druids.

PLAYING A WILD SOUL

You understand that magic is a primal part of the world, and you seek to embody it as thoroughly as those creatures that are innately mystical in their own right. Others might mistake you for a religious totemic, but clearly they misunderstand you. You don't worship fey, magical beasts, or the otherworldly courts as deities. You simply revere them for their magical nature, and for what they represent. You seek a fusion between the arcane and the mundane, and power over all creatures of magic.

Combat

Your ability to summon fey and creatures of magic is your primary weapon. Consider using them to aid your companions in flanking maneuvers, or better yet to harass enemy spellcasters (many of whom are easy to hit). Few foes are prepared for an opponent who can call such potent beings to service, so you've also got the advantage of surprise. Don't ignore the fact that, as a spellcaster, you have plenty of other spells and techniques on which to draw, but consider conserving your nonsummoning spells until they're needed most. Your ability to spontaneously cast spells not otherwise available to you provides yet another means of surprising your foes. Like the fey themselves, you never hesitate to use deceit and trickery where necessary.

Advancement

It's unclear how or why certain individuals become wild souls. You always had something of a wild streak, or at least thought of magic as a primal force that could be only partially tamed. No organization found and trained you. You might have discovered the art of the wild soul mentioned in ancient texts, or you might simply have developed this connection with the fey the first time you encountered one of them. Whatever the case, you came to see yourself as merely one part of the primal whole that is magic, and a part of your soul filled with a longing for the strange world of the fey. They, in turn, reacted more positively to you, recognizing in you a potential lacking in most mortals.

You adventure now, seeking ever-closer communion with the fey. You might certainly have other goals, but the understanding of "natural magic" remains one of your priorities. When advancing as a wild soul, consider feats such as Augment Summoning to increase the power of your fey allies further still. Although you'll doubtless want to focus your skill points on traditional arcanist skills such as Spellcraft, consider spending a few points on Knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (the planes) the better to understand the fey and the environments in which they dwell.

Resources

Wild souls are loners or at least have no greater community affiliation than the average adventurer. They must acquire any resources they wish to gain from organizations or communities on their own, through payment or trade as usual.

Interestingly enough, wild souls can, on occasion, request aid from local druids. Their interests in creatures of nature such as fey and magical beasts overlap, and the two classes sometimes cooperate to put down threats to an area of natural magic.

WILD SOULS IN THE WORLD

"Wild souls are similar to the fey they revere. I find that I can almost understand them, but every time I think I've got them figured, they prove me wrong."

-Vadania, a druid

Although the term "wild soul," and the class's affiliation with fey and magical beasts, might lead some to believe that they hail solely from savage or primitive regions, nothing could be further from the truth. Wild souls are like other arcanists; some might indeed come from regions beyond civilization, but others hail from the greatest of urban metropolises. All a region need have to produce its own wild souls is an arcane tradition and some population (even a small one) of fey or other naturally mystical creatures.

Organization

Even though many wild souls belong to arcanist guilds, adventuring parties, and the like, no specific wild soul organization exists.

NPC Reactions

Something about the touch of the fey on the wild soul makes normal people uncomfortable around them. Members of any magic-using class, from adepts to druids to wizards, react to the wild soul just as they would any other spellcasting stranger. Nonspellcasting individuals, however, are reluctant to spend much time around the wild soul unless they have to. Although they are not necessarily hostile, individuals who would normally be helpful are instead merely friendly, and those who would be friendly are indifferent.

Warlocks and eldritch initiates who gain their power from the courts of the fey feel a strong connection to wild souls if they share a patron, and great rivalry if they serve different courts. An allied warlock or initiate begins one step nearer helpful, while an opposed one begins one step nearer hostile.

WILD SOUL LORE

Characters who have ranks in Knowledge (arcana) or the bardic knowledge ability can research wild souls to learn more about them. When a character makes a successful skill check or bardic knowledge check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs.

DC 10: Wild souls are spellcasters with links to the fey.

DC 15: They have some mystical connection to one of the two great fey courts, either the Seelie or the Unseelie, and their personalities match. They can cast spells they otherwise could not and gain several feylike abilities and resistances.

DC 20: At higher levels, wild souls can summon fey allies to them - often without casting a spell at all - though they must sacrifice a bit of spellcasting ability to reach this point.

DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about a specific wild soul in your campaign, including the areas where she operates, and the kinds of activities she undertakes.

Due to their lack of any central organization, finding a wild soul is no small feat. The best PCs might manage is to leave word of their search with arcanist and adventuring guilds in or near areas known to have fey populations and hope that a wild soul hears of their interest.

WILD SOULS IN THE GAME

Wild souls can fit into any adventuring party, but they are particularly well suited to those that expect to do a great deal of wilderness exploration and dungeon delving. (Although fey and magical beasts exist in urban environments, they are somewhat less common in such places.) Because one level is not too severe a hit to spellcasting ability, the wild soul can serve as a group's primary arcanist, or even pass herself off as an arcane caster of some other sort.

This class should appeal most to players who enjoy conjurers but who seek a little more "bang for their buck" when it comes to the potency of their summoned minions. It is also a good choice for players who like to explore the sources and philosophies of their character's magic, seek an in-character excuse to wander both this world and others, and are interested in strange new monsters.

Adaptation

The wild soul could be transformed into a divine class with relatively little effort. Perhaps the campaign world is one in which the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are worshiped as divine powers. The fey listed above are added to the Summon Nature's Ally list rather than the Summon Monster list. In this case, consider replacing Knowledge (arcana) with Knowledge (religion) in the entry requirements.

With a bit of work, the class might also be modified to summon creatures other than those listed above. The DM might create a bestial list for wild soul variants who summon aberrations or outsiders. Be extremely careful, however, since such creatures possess a lot of mystical abilities that can seriously distort game balance. Use the CRs of the fey and magical beasts above as a guideline, but do not assume that just because CR matches, a creature is necessarily a good choice.

Sample Encounter

A wild soul could easily become either a monster hunter or the leader of a monster pack, depending on her court allegiance and how she chooses to focus her efforts. PCs might thus run into them as fellow adventurers, or as the very villains against whom they must struggle. Few wild souls stay too long in any one place, unless they have truly come to consider themselves a part of the local community (humanoid or otherwise), so the majority of encounters with them likely take place in the wild or on the road.

EL 11: Jerarra of the Hunted Steppes (CG female half-elf wu jen 5/wild soul 6) is a halfbreed, born of a mother from the tribes of the Hunted Steppes and a father of the city of Eslandar. She has never felt entirely at home in either wild or urban areas and remains constantly on the move. When she encounters the PCs, she is helping a local community hunt down a violent criminal by using her summoned beasts, but the party could easily misinterpret her efforts and believe her to be attacking an innocent.