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Mephibosheth
2006-01-14, 04:38 PM
Some of you may remember a tread I started a few weeks ago about a PrC for characters that use Darkness as a spell or spell-like ability to heighten their combat prowess. My original intent was for it to be a fighter-esque PrC, but that idea fell flat and it became a rogue PrC. However, I haven’t been able to get the idea of a fighter using his/her Darkness ability for tactical effect, so I am submitting the idea of the Sword in the Dark to you yet again. Hopefully you guys will like this one a bit better. As always, any comments/criticisms/suggestions are encouraged.

SWORD IN THE DARK

Their eyes wide open and their ears perked for the sounds of an ambush, the Red Serpent Guild mercenary company began to walk cautiously down the ravine, confident that they would accomplish this job and pad their pockets with the reward money, and assured that the bright light of the sun would allow them to see any possible ambushers in this ravine. Suddenly, the area was plunged into darkness.

“What’s going on?!” shouted Roper, the sorcerer and leader of the group as he thought to himself “why oh why didn’t I learn to cast Daylight?"

“I don’t know!” responded Galvorn the dwarven monk. “I can barely see a thing in the darkness. This must be the work of those %&#@ cultists of Mephistopheles!”

As this exchange took place, Maedhros the elven ranger, looking around to taking stock of the situation in his usual taciturn manner, saw a shadowy figure appear in front of him, wielding a deadly-looking flail. It whipped forward, wrapping itself around the shaft of his bow and pulling it from his grasp with surprising east. Maedhros cried out in astonishment and ran away from the figure, desperately trying to get out of the darkness. As he passed what he thought was the end, he found himself in another area of darkness, which this time seemed to be grabbing at his arms and legs, prevented him from moving. Behind him, Maedhros heard the shouts and grunts of his comrades fighting the mysterious figure, who seemed to be carrying the day. Finally, all was quiet and Maedhros was released from the darkness to find the stranger leaning over him, grinning and breathing heavily from the battle.

“Go back to your employer and tell him what happens to those who cross me” the stranger rasped, pulling Maedhros up and shoving him back in the direction of Mosstone, from whence the Red Serpent Guild had come. Maedhros didn’t need to be told twice, and ran as fast as he could back to town.

A Sword in the Dark is a warrior who delights in using the advantages of darkness to gain a superior tactical position. Most Swords in the Dark enjoy the challenges of a truly tactical combat, and employ their Darkness abilities to accomplish wonders on the battlefield.

Hit Dice: d8

Requirements:
BAB: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Weapon Focus (any), Stealthy
Special: Ability to use Darkness as a spell, spell-like ability, or special attack

Class Skills: The Sword in the Dark’s class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (History) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + int modifier

BAB: as Fighter
Saves: Fort, Will poor, Ref good
Special:
1 – Familiarity
2 – Extra Darkness, Darkness Tactics +1
3 – Trick of the Dark
4 – Shadow Jump 20 ft
5 – Darkness Tactics +2
6 – Trick of the Dark
7 – Shadow Jump 40 ft
8 – Darkness Tactics +3
9 – Trick of the Dark
10 – Shadow Jump 80 ft

Class Features:
Familiarity – Beginning at 1st level, a Sword in the Dark is unaffected by his/her own Darkness ability and can attack and maneuver within its radius at no penalty.
Extra Darkness – Beginning at 2nd level, a Sword in the Dark gains the ability to use his/her Darkness ability additional times per day equal to half his/her class level (min +1/day). If the Sword in the Dark casts Darkness as a spell, he/she gains additional spells/day slots equal to half his/her class level. These slots can only be used to cast Darkness.
Darkness Tactics – Beginning at 2nd level, a Sword in the Dark becomes adept at exploiting the illusive properties of darkness to aid his/her combat ability. While in an area of shadowy illumination or total darkness and not subject to any miss chance, the Sword in the Dark gains a +1 bonus to opposed checks made to trip or disarm an opponent. This bonus increases to +2 at 5th level and +3 at 8th level.
Trick of the Dark – Beginning at 3rd level, a Sword in the Dark gains the ability to alter any Darkness he/she creates. Only one Trick of the Dark can be used on any Darkness effect. At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, a Sword in the Dark may select one of the following tricks:
1. Widen Darkness – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to double the radius of his/her Darkness ability. This trick is usable thrice per day.
2. Extend Darkness – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to double the duration of his/her Darkness ability. This trick is usable thrice per day.
3. Darker Vision – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to gain the ability to see in magical darkness or to give this ability to his/her allies. He/she may expend a use of his/her Darkness ability to gain the ability to see in magical and non-magical darkness at a range of 15 ft for 1 min/level, or to bestow this same ability on his/her allies as a melee touch attack (a standard action).
4. Ensnaring Darkness – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to create an area of shadowy illumination that grabs at the bodies of individuals within its area. The area of Darkness created functions as an Entangle spell, but is otherwise identical to the Darkness created normally by the Sword in the Dark’s spell or spell-like ability. This ability is usable thrice per day.
5. Solid Darkness – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to create an area of shadowy illumination that severely impedes movement. The area of Darkness created functions as a Solid Fog spell, but is otherwise identical to the Darkness normally created by the Sword in the Dark’s spell or spell-like ability. This ability is usable thrice per day. Prerequisite – ability to use one other Trick of the Dark.
6. Persistent Darkness – A Sword in the Dark may use this trick to prevent his/her Darkness from being dispelled by Dispel Magic and similar spells. A Sword in the Dark adds his/her class levels when determining the DC of dispel checks made to dispel his/her Darkness (thus, the dispel DC for Darkness cast by a Tiefling level 6 Fighter/level 5 Sword in the Dark is 16). If the Sword in the Dark casts Darkness as a spell, his/her class levels stack with levels of his/her casting class for determining dispel DC’s (thus, the dispel DC for Darkness cast by a Human level 3 Cleric/level 3 Fighter/level 5 Sword in the Dark is 11 + Cleric levels + Sword in the Dark levels, or 19 [11+3+5]). Unlike other Tricks of the Dark, a Sword in the Dark can use an additional use of his/her Darkness ability to create an area of darkness that is affected by Persistent Darkness as well as another Trick. This ability is usable thrice per day.
Shadow Jump – Beginning at 4th level, a Sword in the Dark gains the Shadow Jump ability up to a maximum daily distance as shown above. This ability functions identically to the Shadowdancer ability of the same name, with the exception that a Sword in the Dark can only jump between areas of shadowy illumination he/she has created.

SilverElf4
2006-01-14, 04:55 PM
I keep coming back to the fact that Darkness is an easily countered/dispelled effect/spell....sooo...why not give him a special ability to resist dispel and counterspell effects on his Darkness?

Mephibosheth
2006-01-14, 06:09 PM
SilverElf -
I've added a new Trick of the Dark that increases resistance to Dispel Magic. What do you think about that as a solution? I'm inclined to think that it's better than a new ability, because the character would have to give up another Trick in order to cast a Persistent Darkness. What do you think?

Anyone else? Comments, concerns, rants, raves, suggestions?

Thanks

Mephibosheth

OzymandiasVolt
2006-01-14, 06:20 PM
Blind-Fight feat, Blindsense feat, Blindsight feat (Sword and Fist), Earth Sense feat (Races of Stone), Daylight spell, people who actually make use of the counterspelling system...

I'm not saying it isn't a good idea. I'm just saying there are indeed a lot of things that can counter or ignore darkness, magical or otherwise.

Adding special effects to the darkness is a great idea. Maybe you could add one that lessens the effects of some of those vision modes.

For example, maybe something that cuts Scent range in half? Or maybe a high-end Trick that pairs the Darkness with a Silence effect?

Gralamin
2006-01-14, 07:44 PM
3level wiz + 4th level fighter can then access. 8th level - 17th level. I belevie by the time your done, enemies have time stop, and true seeing. It is not something for PCs to use, more something for NPCs.

SilverElf4
2006-01-14, 08:00 PM
Time stop is effectively countered by Extend Darkness.

True seeing is a problem though, since clerics get it at level nine.

I like the way you handled the adding to the dispel DC Mephib.

Mephibosheth
2006-01-15, 12:18 PM
Thanks a lot for the responses guys. I really appreciate it.

OzymandiasVolt:

I agree that there are a lot of ways of countering darkness. That’s one of the reasons I think that this PrC is such an interesting tactical challenge. It relies on a relatively weak ability but provides modifications that make it more potent and, combined with the right weapons or skills, can overcome many of those barriers. It is true that things like Blind-Fight remove many of the penalties of darkness, but the class still offers options in those circumstances (Darkness Tactics, Ensnaring Darkness, Solid Darkness, etc).

As to the idea of a silencing darkness, it seems more in the flavor of the other PrC I’ve crafted along this same vein, the Knife in the Dark (a more rogue-ish PrC found at http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=gaming;action=display;num=1134585077 ;start=10#10). (it can be found about halfway down the first page). In fact, I’ve already added that trick to the Knife in the Dark. Thanks for the inspiration!

Gralamin Shieldheart:

Yeah, True Seeing would pretty much negate a lot of the benefits of this class, but I’m not trying to create an invincible PrC here. If a PC has True Seeing, he/she’s high enough level where there should be some tricks he/she can pull to overcome this class.

SilverElf4:

Thanks for your help with these classes. It’s been invaluable.

Anyone else?

Mephibosheth

SilverElf4
2006-01-15, 10:02 PM
::tips his hat::

You're very welcome, kind sir. :)

The_Werebear
2006-01-16, 04:03 AM
I would give them darkness as a spell like ability, and allow them to use their abilities in any sort of darkness, natural or spell.

Mephibosheth
2006-01-16, 11:51 AM
With the exception of Shadow Jump, a Sword in the Dark can use his/her abilities in any darkness. I decided to limit Shadow Jump to limit the class, keep it from becoming overpowered, and to introduce yet another tactical aspect to the class. If you think it wouldn't be overpowered to allow Shadow Jump anywhere, I'm more that willing to consider it.

I'm not quite sure about what you mean when you say "give them darkness as a spell-like ability." Are you talking about the extra darkness ability as it applies to spellcasters? I wasn't sure about how to work extra darkness for them, so I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks

Mephibosheth

The_Werebear
2006-01-16, 07:02 PM
Well, you have extra darkness. I was just thinking that, since this is a melee oriented class, you wouldn't want spellcaster levels in there in many cases. Why not, rather than make them dependent on that, let them have Darkness as a spell like ability at will?