Hmmm, I could go for that, I guess. Maybe we can take some of the language from scrying.
Okay, I'll have a stab at a rough draft...
Panther Trance (Su): A panther lord can enter a trance which allows it to see and hear from the viewpoint of any living feline within its territory. This territory is an area of land the panther lord claims by pacing around its entire border within a 24 hour period. This territorial claim lasts for [
?] days or until the panther lord claims a new territory. The panther lord must be within the borders of its territory to use this ability.
The viewpoint feline can be any cat or catlike creature (animal or magical beast) or a lycanthrope with a cat for a base animal. If the viewpoint creature succeeds on a Will save, the scrying attempt fails and the panther lord cannot direct its Panther Trance at that particular creature again for 24 hours, although they can still attempt to scry through other felines. The Will save is DC X plus a modifier that depends on how well the panther lord knows the subject and what connection (if any) it has with the feline, as detailed in the Panther Trance Modifiers table. The save DC is Charisma-based.
The panther lord can try to scry upon a specific feline or a specific location. If it tries to scry upon a specific location, its Panther Trance attempts to connect to a feline that is able to see that location. The attempt fails if there are no felines viewing the target location. If there are multiple felines able to see a location, the Trance attempts to connect to whichever one has the most favorable Will Save Modifier (use random selection if there is a tie).
Panther Trance Modifiers
Knowledge (of feline and/or location)
| Will.Save.Modifier
|
| None¹ | +10 |
| Secondhand (heard of the subject) | +5 |
| Firsthand (seen the subject) | +0 |
| Familiar (know the subject well) | -5 |
Connection
| Will.Save.Modifier
|
| Likeness or picture | -2 |
| Possession or garment | -4 |
| Body part, tuft of fur, bit of claw, etc. | -10 |
| Self or thrall² | n/a |
1 The panther lord can attempt to scry upon a feline within its territory even if the panther lord has no knowledge of the feline.
2 A panther lord can scry on itself or any of the werepanther thralls it has created and automatically succeed, provided the target is within its territory.
If the subject fails its will save, the panther lord can see from the subject's viewpoint with the panther lord's full visual acuity, including any magical effects it has in operation. If the subject moves, the Panther Trance's viewpoint moves with it.
Panther Trance can connect to multiple felines during a single trance session. It normally uses itself as its first viewpoint, so the panther lord can periodically check the safety of its body. The panther lord can only scry one viewpoint at a time, but can switch viewpoints as a free action. The maximum number of felines the panther lord can connect to simultaneously is equal to [
Hit Dice? 3 plus its Charisma bonus? Fixed number?]. The panther lord can release a feline from a connection as a free action. If it releases a feline it can try to reconnect to it later, but the feline is entitled to a new Will save to break the connection (thus a "released connection" is a different matter than a "broken connection".).
I'm also thinking adding the following might be a good idea:
A panther lord can use Panther Trance to telepathically suggest the viewpoint feline watches a particular creature or location. This effect resembles the
suggestion spell. If the feline succeeds at a Will save (roll for each suggestion), the scrying connection breaks and cannot be resumed for 24 hours. The viewpoint feline gains a bonus on its Will save if it is asked to spy upon a potentially harmful situation; this bonus ranging from +2 for mild risk to +10 for extreme danger or automatic success for a suicidal suggestion. If the viewpoint feline is one of the panther lord's werepanther thralls, the panther lord can send simple telepathic instructions of up to three [
?] words ("kill", "capture slaves", "return with loot") and there is no risk of the connection breaking if the thrall is ordered into danger.
