PDA

View Full Version : Apparitions Stalk the Night [3.5 PrC, PEACH]



strawberryman
2011-01-26, 01:55 PM
Once again, something Touhou-inspired.


Ebon Night Blade
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1816/ebonnightblade.jpg
Rumia, an Ebon Night Blade

Shadowdancers and Assassins may have renown for striking foes from the shadows, but the Ebon Night Blades put them to shame. A mix between single-minded practitioners of the Shadow Hand discipline of the school of Nine Blades and the mysterious art known as shadowcasting, these beings become one with shadow, jumping across the battlefield to strike unassuming foes with lethal efficiency.

Hit Die: d6

Requirements
BAB: +3
Skills: Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks
Feats: Shadow Blade
Maneuvers: Able to use a 2nd-level Shadow Hand maneuver.
Mysteries: Able to cast 2nd-level mysteries, and cast the black candle and sight obscured fundamental mysteries.

Ebon Night Blade
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Listen, Martial Lore, Move Silently, Spot, Swim, Tumble.
Skill-points per level: 4+Int modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Mysteries|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Shadow Strike 10%|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
1|
0

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Shadow Hop 20 ft.|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
0|
0

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Sapping Strike, Shadow Strike 20%|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
1|
0

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Enigma Triumphant Stance, Shadow Hop 40 ft.|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
0|
1

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Replenishing Strike, Shadow Strike 30%|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
0|
0

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Shadow-Assassin's Wake, Shadow Hop 80 ft.|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
1|
0

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Draining Blade, Shadow Strike 40%|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
0|
0

8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+6|Shadow Hop 120 ft., Swift Hop|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
0|
1

9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+6|Enervating Blade, Shadow Strike 50%|+1 level of mystery-using class|
1|
1|
0

10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+7|Penumbral Transformation, Shadow Hop 160 ft.|--|
1|
0|
0[/table]

Weapon and Armor proficiency: Ebon Night Blades gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Mysteries: At each level except 10th, Ebon Night Blades gain new mysteries per day and an increase in caster level (and mysteries known, if applicable) as if they had also gained a level in their mystery-using class. They do not, however, gain any other benefits a character of this class would have gained. If they had more than one mystery-using class before becoming a Ebon Night Blade, they must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining mysteries, caster level and mysteries known.

Maneuvers: At every level, the Ebon Night Blade gains a new maneuver known from the Shadow Hand discipline. They must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. They add their full Ebon Night Blade levels to their initiator level to determine their total initiator level and their highest-level maneuvers known.
At levels 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th, the Ebon Night Blade gains new maneuvers readied.

Stances: At 4th and 8th level, the Ebon Night Blade gains a new martial stance from the Shadow Hand discipline. They must meet a stance's prerequisite to learn it.

Shadow Strike (Su)
Trained in arts both emphasizing the strength of the dark in hiding their position, Ebon Night Blade's signature attack further attracts a blinding aura of energy around a creature when they are able to catch them unawares, distracted, or within an aura of darkness. At 1st level, when the Ebon Night Blade successfully attacks a flatfooted or flanked creature, or a creature within the affected area of a darkness spell or the black candle or dusk and dawn mysteries, that creature gains a 10% miss chance on any attacks for 1 round. A Ebon Night Blade using a Shadow Strike at range must be within 30 feet of the target creature. This miss chance doesn't stack with any other effect that inflicts a miss chance. A specific creature can only be affected by Shadow Strike once per round (which mostly affects the abilities gained later in this class). Creatures that do not rely on sight aren't affected by the miss chance inflicted by Shadow Strike.
The miss chance imbued by the Ebon Night Blade's Shadow Strike increases to 20% at 3rd level, 30% at 5th level, 40% at 7th level, and 50% at 9th level.

Shadow Hop (Su)
At 2nd level, an Ebon Night Blade gains the ability to travel between shadows not unlike the Shadowdancer's Shadow Jump ability. As a move action while within an area of shadow (whether mundane or magical), an Ebon Night Blade can jump up to 20 feet to another area with at least some shadow per encounter. This may be a single jump of 20 feet, or two jumps of 10 feet. At every even level, the maximum distance traveled per encounter increases (to 40' at level 4, 80' at level 6, 120' at level 8, and 160' at level 10). Because this is teleportation, the Ebon Night Blade provokes no attacks of opportunity for movement in this fashion. As the Ebon Night Blade increases in level they may use any amount of their Shadow Hop at once as long as they do not exceed their maximum distance in one encounter.

Sapping Strike (Su)
At 3rd level, the Ebon Night Blade is able to turn part of the same darkness that he uses to blind foes to damage others, as they turn part of it into purely entropic energy. As part of a shadow strike attack, the Ebon Night Blade may reduce the miss chance they inflict as part of their Shadow Strike by 5% to deal 1d8 negative energy damage. They may increase this damage by 1d8 per additional 5% they sacrifice, but they must still deal at least 5% miss chance to the chosen foe. This damage heals undead, as normal.

Enigma Triumphant Stance (Su)
Not only a warrior, but a shadowcaster as well, this stance exemplifies the ability to conjure energy from the plane of shadow to greater effect, as they cut through foes with shadowy blades. At 4th level, the Ebon Night Blade may use a swift action to lose the effects of a Shadow Hand stance to gain the effects of the Enigma Triumphant Stance. While in this stance, creatures who are negatively affected by the Ebon Night Blade's mysteries take an additional 1d6 damage per mystery level, and must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + class level + their Charisma modifier) or be considered flatfooted until the end of the Ebon Night Blade's next turn.
This is considered a 5th-level Shadow Hand stance.

Reserving Strike (Su)
Stealing a bit of a foe's shadow for their own purposes, the Ebon Night Blade renews some of their ability to hop from shadow to shadow. At 5th level as part of a shadow strike attack, the Ebon Night Blade can reduce the miss chance they inflict as part of their Shadow Strike by 10% to recover 10 feet of their Shadow Hop ability. They can increase the recovery by 10 for every additional 10% they sacrifice, but they must still deal at least 5% miss chance to the chosen foe.

Shadow-Assassin's Wake (Su)
Both subtle and terrifyingly visible in the dark, an Ebon Night Blade is trained to be a vicious killer; and nothing exemplifies that more than the Shadow-Assassin's Wake maneuver. Disappearing into a foe's shadow, the Ebon Night Blade cuts a path through the battlefield. At 6th level, the Ebon Night Blade gains the use of a unique maneuver; it is treated as a 7th-level Shadow Hand strike and must be readied just like any other maneuver. As a full-round action, the Ebon Night Blade makes a charge attack against a foe that is within their normal movement speed (despite being a charge attack). Once they reach this foe, they make a Hide check in place of a normal attack roll. If they succeed, the foe is flat-footed (and thus is susceptible to a shadow strike) against their attack. Then, they may perform another charge attack against a foe within their movement speed or less. As long as they move at least 10 feet, the Ebon Night Blade may charge as many foes as they wish as long as they do not move more than double their land speed, and they may only attack a specific foe with this strike once per initiation. Each charge does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Draining Blade (Su)
Shadow can not only be used to replenish the Ebon Night Blade's abilities, but it can also be used to drain directly from their victim's bodies to benefit them. At 7th level as part of a shadow strike attack, an Ebon Night Blade can reduce the miss chance they inflict by 15% to deal 1d4 points of ability score burn to Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution (1d3 instead of 1d4); they choose which type when they attack. In addition, for every 2 points of burn they deal, they gain a +1 Shade bonus to that ability score for a number of minutes equal to their class level (being a typed bonus, multiple applications do not stack, only the greatest). A successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + class level + their Charisma modifier) halves the burn. The Ebon Night Blade may increase the ability burn dealt by 1d4 (or 1d3 for Con) for every additional 15% miss chance they sacrifice, but they must still deal at least 5% miss chance to the chosen foe.

Swift Hop (Su)
At 8th level, the Ebon Night Blade may half the distance of a shadow hop (which must still land them in an area of shadow) to hop as a swift action instead of a move action.

Enervating Blade (Su)
The Ebon Night Blade not only debilitates their foes sights and bodies, but their very soul as well; absorbing the strength they are granted within areas of great darkness, they conjure energy straight from the plane of shadows to enervate their foes. At 9th level as part of a shadow strike attack, the Ebon Night Blade may reduce the miss chance they inflict by 20% to inflict a single negative level upon their foe (no save). This negative level lasts a number of hours equal to their class level, and never becomes permanent (however, a creature still dies from having as many negative levels as their HD). The Ebon Night Blade may increase the number of negative levels inflicted by 1 for every additional 20% they sacrifice, but they must still deal at least 5% miss chance to the chosen foe.

Penumbral Transformation (Ex)
At 10th level, the Ebon Night Blade becomes an avatar of shadow. They gain the Phantom template (Monster Manual V), and several other benefits.
Hide In Plain Sight (Ex): The Ebon Night Blade can use the Hide skill even while being observed unless they are within an area of natural daylight, the area of a daylight spell, or a similar effect.
Hide +8 and Move Silently +8 as racial bonuses.
Whenever the Ebon Night Blade uses their Shadow Hop ability to travel 20 feet or more, they may renew any expended Shadow Hand maneuver to be used again.

peacenlove
2011-01-26, 02:10 PM
First of all i really really like the class and i was searching the internet for a jade phoenix warrior substitute for the shadowcaster.

Not many comments here, only that you shouldn't lose shadowcaster casting levels since as written in the ToM mysteries < spells, and frontliners with a d6 for HD make me sad, because they die too easy, i suggest upping the HD to d8.

Only the template at the end strikes me as a tad powerful, as phantom template is the best from corporeality and incorporeality, however i have no knowledge of games more than 16th level.

TheGeckoKing
2011-01-26, 02:36 PM
And I was gonna make a psionic shadow class.......dang homebrewers brewing up awesomeness..........
I'm not familiar with mysteries, so i'm just gong to point out Enervating Blade is missing the end of the sentence on one part.

"However, a creature still dies from their." And it just stops there.

So, yeah. Keep up the good work.

strawberryman
2011-01-26, 08:55 PM
Fair enough. Changes taken into account. Also boosted the Shadow Strike progression, since at first I was going to have it stack with existing miss chance, but that seemed kind of... well, odd. Can still lower the granted miss chance to 5%, but.