Sneaky PrC

[Igan]

This is a little bit I cooked up. I really have no idea if it bears any similarity to any existing PrC, homebrewed or otherwise. That being said, I present the Sneaky Bastard (and I'll gladly take opinions on a more suitable name.)

Sneaky Bastard
Sneaky bastards were given their name by other people and they cannot find any point of inaccuracy that would sway a jury They are believers in the idea of an unexpected attack being a good one. Adding this philosophy to the already established ideas of flanking and common battle tactics, they practice feinting—the skill of forcing an opponent to guess where the real attack will come from and then inflicting serious pain when he guesses wrong.
Someone fighting a bastard face-to-face will soon discover that almost every attack involves a feint, but still be unable to guess where the real attack will come from.
Most sneaky bastards are rogues who decide to focus more on the most obvious combat ability they learn, although some other, similar, classes go in for it. Sneaky Bastards don’t any particular prejudices as a whole, except for fellow adventurers who extemporize at some length about “honorable” combat. The true bastard firmly believes that, in melee combat for your own survival, there are no rules, only guidelines, and only an idiot fights as if he expects to be given a grade afterwards.

Hit Die: d6
Weapons/Armor Proficiency: Sneaky Bastards gain full simple weapon profiency if they do not already have it. They gain no new shield or armor proficiencies.
Skill Points at each level: 4*+Int bonus
*The Sneaky Bastard has a class feature relating to skill points. See Natural Liar
Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha)*, Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex)

Requisites:
BAB: +3
Skills:Bluff 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks
Feats: Combat Expertise, Improved Feint.

Sneaky Bastard
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0| Natural Liar

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Superior Feint, Sneak Attack +1d6

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Double Feint

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Sneak Attack +2d6

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+2|Improved Double Feint,

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+2|

8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+2|Critical Sneak Attack, Sneak Attack +3d6

9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+3|

10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+3|Sneak Mastery, Sneak Attack with Improved Critical[/table]

Sneak Attack: At 2nd level and every third level thereafter, the Sneaky bastard gains +1d6 Sneak Attack. This is the same as the Rogue ability of the same name. If the character has gotten sneak attack from any other source, the bonuses stack.
Natural Liar: A sneaky bastard will gain ranks in Bluff as if they were spending skill points on it as they leveled up. This is the equivalent of a bonus skill point automatically spent on Bluff at each level. This does not subtract from their 4 skill points each level, in effect giving a Sneaky Bastard [4+Int]+1 skill points. The Sneaky Bastard cannot use one of his remaining 4+Int skill points to gain two ranks in Bluff in one level.
Superior Feint: At 2nd level, a Sneaky Bastard improves upon their already good feinting ability, and can feint once as a free action.
Double Feint: At 4th level, a sneaky bastard may make choose to make two feints as a move action, translating into two separate Bluff checks, opposed by two separate Sense Motive checks, as would be done for a normal, single feint. If he succeeds on either one, the feint is successful.
Improved Double Feint: At 6th level, a sneaky bastard may make a double feint as a free action.
Critical Sneak Attack: At 8th level, if a sneaky bastard’s sneak attack is a confirmed critcal, the additional Sneak Attack damage is doubled, regardless of the weapon's critical modifier.
Sneak Attack with Improved Critical: At 10th level, a sneaky bastard making a sneak attack with a weapon is treated as having the Improved Critical feat for the attack roll, assuming they are proficient with the weapon they are using. This does not stack with the Improved critical fear or the spell keen, and does not overlap with the Critical Sneak Attack ability—at the time of the attack roll, the sneaky bastard declares whether they are performing a Critical Sneak Attack or a Sneak Attack with Improved Critical (CAS or SAIC).
Sneak Mastery: The sneaky bastard becomes so certain in the use of certain skills that she can use them reliably even under adverse conditions. When making a skill check with Bluff, Hide, or Move Silently, she may take 10 even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so.

[Eighth_Seraph]

...I see some badness involved when a level 10 Rogue/10 Sneaky Bastard with some TWF feats and boots of speed goes in with six sneak attacks a turn. Double Feint as a free action? If the aforementioned rogue is any good at choosing equipment, then she'll also have keen weapons, likely a pair of rapiers, or Improved Critical. Or both, just in case. The thing is, the flavor works well and is pretty cool, but a good rogue will overpower this till you can't recognize the once-sneaky character at all. My advice: cut out the sneak attack dice. Yeah. That'll make sure that an optimized rogue/bastard doesn't get 60d6 damage off sneak attack alone, plus weapon damages in one turn. Also, I'm all for a change of name as well.

[Igan]

Hm. I'll bear it in mind. Thanks!

[knightsaline]

sneak attack damage cannot be multiplied by critting. its like hitting something with a flaming weapon and critting, only the weapon damage is multiplied, not the flaming part

[icke]

Good Idea, flavor-wise. But.

1)
I'm with the Eighth Seraph, cut out the Sneak attack dice, or at least reduce them to 1d6 per three levels. If You definitely want to keep the sneak attack, REDUCE THE HIT DIE TO D6.

2)
Also, what would be Double Feint for? After feinting two enemies as a move action, the resulting attack cannot hit more than one of them, magical equipment excluded.

3)
The Critical Sneak attack ability is too hefty, maybe make it one extra d6 of damage per three class levels. Still powerfull, but without so much chance of abuse.

4)
Clarify what You mean with SAIC, does the bastard declare the use of this ability before making the attack roll? If that's the case, You should limitate the uses per day, otherwise the SAIC will be declared before making EVERY sneak attack roll.

5)
Do not have characters require sneak attack as a prerequisite, there are sneaky bastards among every class.

6)
Keep the name. I like it.

[Khantalas]

Well, even if you don't reduce the sneak attack dice, you can give it sneak attack beginning at 2nd level. Or you're just fueling the +20d6 Sneak Attack damage at 20th level thing Fax was working on, IIRC.

[Yakk]

Ayep. Abilities commonly given every 2 levels should never be given at L 1 in a PrC.

Second, changes from Rogue:
-3 skill points
+1 HD size
Metric asstonne of special abilities.

[icke]

Oh, I forgot:

7)
The Natural Liar ability is a bit unprecise. Does the character gain extra skill points that must be spent on Bluff, or does she gain a skill bonus equal to her class level? State what happens if someone wants to put ranks into Bluff, either they're cumulative(what I don't hope) or not.

[Matthew]

Surely this Prestige Class should grant Weapon Proficiency (Sneaky Bastard Sword)?

[icke]

Sneaky bastard sword(light exotic weapon):
Damage: 1d6
Critical: (19-20)x2
Special: A member of the Sneaky Bastard prestige class treats this sword as a light martial weapon.

For further specification, look under 'short sword' in the SRD.

[El Honcho]

What about just changing the dice from d6 to d8 with Critical Sneak Attack instead of doubling them if a crit is archived.

Or lower the sneak attack to +1d6/3lv and change Critical Sneak Attack to Improved Sneak Attack, giving him d8 instead of d6.

[icke]

What about just changing the dice from d6 to d8 with Critical Sneak Attack instead of doubling them if a crit is archived.


Sounds like an idea, at least it's not as powerfull as double sneak damage. However, extra d6 have a practical advantage, they're easier to get by the dozen.

[Matthew]

*laughs* Yeah, I think this ought to be a Light Exotic Weapon that does 1D8 Damage and is otherwise treated as a One Handed Martial Weapon...