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Blue_C.
2014-04-27, 07:23 AM
Covert

I'd rather be lucky than good. I'd rather get away than get famous.

In more chaotic leaning societies, casters often find different paths for their magic than either the Adept or Mage-smith classes allow. Coverts ply the margins of societies, living alone in the shadows or banding together with other outcasts for greater survivability. Not often respectable, coverts aren't always criminals either. Most are simply playing the hand life has dealt them, with maybe one or two cards up their sleeve.

Role: An NPC covert might be willing to assist in taking down a trap or two, or putting a word into the right ear. In a campaign setting, Coverts could in theory make credible political leaders or emissaries, but most coverts simply don't think along those lines, trusting their magic to get them past social barriers their preference for sticking to backgrounds does not.

Alignment: While more often hailing from societies that are Chaotic leaning, coverts themselves can be of any alignment.

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: As adept

Class Skills
The Covert's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis) Profession (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex).

Skill Ranks per Level: (4+ Int modifier)


Covert


Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


1st

+0

+0

+2

+0
Cantrips

0

-

-

-

-


2nd

+1

+0

+3

+0
Skill Focus

1

-

-

-

-


3rd

+1

+1

+3

+1


2

-

-

-

-


4th

+2

+1

+4

+1


2

0

-

-

-


5th

+2

+1

+4

+1


2

1

-

-

-


6th

+3

+2

+5

+2


2

2

-

-

-


7th

+3

+2

+5

+2


3

2

-

-

-


8th

+4

+2

+6

+2


3

2

0

-

-


9th

+4

+3

+6

+3


3

2

1

-

-

10th

+5

+3

+7

+3


3

2

2

-

-

11th

+5

+3

+7

+3


3

3

2

-

-

12th

+6/+1

+4

+8

+4


3

3

2

0

-

13th

+6/+1

+4

+8

+4


3

3

2

1

-


14th

+7/+2

+4

+9

+4


3

3

2

2

-

15th

+7/+2

+5

+9

+5


3

3

3

2

-

16th

+8/+3

+5

+10

+5


3

3

3

2

0

17th

+8/+3

+5

+10

+5


3

3

3

2

1

18th

+9/+4

+6

+11

+6


3

3

3

2

2


19th

+9/+4

+6

+11

+6


3

3

3

3

2


20th

+10/+5

+6

+12

+6


3

3

3

3

2



Class Features
All of the following are class features of the covert.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Coverts are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor, nor with shields, and suffer the normal arcane spell failure chance from wearing either.

Spells: A covert casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the covert spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a covert must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a covert’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the covert’s Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a covert can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Covert. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score. When Table: Covert Spells Known indicates that the covert gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Charisma score for that spell level.
The covert’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A covert begins play knowing four 0-level spells of your choice. At most new covert levels, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Covert Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a covert knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Covert Spells Known are fixed.)
Upon reaching 5th level, and at every third covert level after that (8th, 11th, and so on), a covert can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the covert “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level covert spell the covert can cast. A covert may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.
As noted above, a covert need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.

Cantrips (Sp): Coverts learn a number of cantrips, or 0-level spells, as noted on Table: Covert Spells Known under "Spells Known." These spells are cast like any other spell, but they do not consume any slots and may be used again.

Skill Focus: At 2nd level, coverts gain addition mastery of their craft, whatever that craft happens to be. They gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat.

Covert Spell List
Coverts choose their spells from the following list.
0 Level: dancing lights, daze, detect magic, ghost sound, light, lulluby, mending, prestidigitation, read magic, touch of fatigue.
1st Level: cause fear, charm person, command, comprehend languages, detect secret doors, disguise self, feather fall, hypnotism, jump, lesser confusion, magic aura, silent image, sleep, ventriloquism.
2nd Level: cat’s grace, daze monster, detect thoughts, eagle's splendor, fox's cunning, find traps, hideous laughter, hypnotic pattern, invisibility, minor image, mirror image, misdirection, scare, undetectable alignment.
3rd Level: deep slumber, displacement, fear, glibness, haste, heroism, hold person, major image, rage, suggestion, slow, tongues.
4th Level: charm monster, confusion, crushing despair, good hope, fear, lesser geas, phantasmal killer, rainbow pattern.
5th Level: break enchantment, dominate person, greater command, permanent image, mass suggestion, mirage arcana, mind fog, seeming.

Table: Covert Spells Known


Level
0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


1st
2
2






2nd
2
2






3rd
3
2






4th
3
2
2*





5th
3
2
2





6th
3
3
2





7th
3
3
2





8th
3
3
2
2*




9th
3
3
2
2




10th
3
3
3
2




11th
4
3
3
2




12th
4
3
3
2
2*



13th
4
3
3
3
2



14th
4
4
3
3
2



15th
4
4
3
3
3



16th
4
4
3
3
3
2*


17th
4
4
3
3
3
2


18th
4
4
4
3
3
2


19th
4
4
4
3
3
3


20th
4
4
4
4
3
3


*Provided the covert has a high enough Charisma score to have a bonus spell of this level.

This is a repost and Pathfinder update of an NPC class I had posted a while ago on Wizard's board, originally called the Charlatan. I have not yet gone through the spell list, so there is potential for wonkiness there, but everything else should be updated.

Larkas
2014-04-29, 03:25 PM
It's funny cuz this is stronger than a Rogue, NPC class or no :smallbiggrin: I don't hold it against you, though, the Adept also is, and it's somewhat hard to come up with a spellcaster that's lower than T4 (and I think no one should aim to). Again, NPC or no, this would be right at home in a T4/5 campaign.

It looks like a very nice "Urban Adept". I'd probably drop Polymorph from the spell list, but that's more from a flavor concern than a power one. I'd also think about downgrading the number of skill points/level.

I don't care much about the name, though. I like the old one better, but it was still not perfect.

Anyways, care to post a link to the 3.5 version?

Blue_C.
2014-04-30, 09:34 AM
I want you to know I made a serious effort to find the previously posted version of this class. I think the internet ate it.

Here are the highlights on my edit: I edited the spell/day progression slightly, so that they usually get at least one new spell per day every level. I removed a unique ability, and added back Skill focus and Trapfinding in trade. And of course, redid the class skills, removing several that either got consolidated or no longer fit the flavor I wanted (previous version was called "bard-lite" for good reason). Here is the abilities I removed:

Bonus Language: A charlatan hears much and picks up more, even from her earliest days on stage. A 1st level charlatan gains a bonus language of her choosing.
Target Audience: At 4th level, and every four levels after, a charlatan learns to tailor her performances to her audience, and so those performances become especially effective. Every time this class ability is gained, the charlatan selects a humanoid subtype to target. The charlatan gains a +1 competence bonus against all members of that subtype for charisma checks and charisma based skill checks. This bonus stacks with similar bonuses such as from the spell focus feat. The charlatan must know all racial languages associated with the subtype in order to select it. The same subtype may be selected more than once; its effects stack.
As an optional rule, the DM may allows target audiences other than humanoids; however, the charlatan must still know all racial languages to select the type.


While I wasn't designing (or revising) this class with the rogue in mind, more comparing it to both the adept and magesmith classes, I do think I overshot my mark. Dropping trapfinding, and adding "Find Trap" to the spell list will probably help.

I hear you on polymorph. As I said, I haven't had a chance yet to go through those (and won't still for a couple of days) but at the very least that one is moving to be a fifth level spell, as it should be.

Larkas
2014-04-30, 01:35 PM
Glad I could be of help! Anyways, fun fact: even though polymorph is a Sor/Wiz 5 spell, it's still listed as Adept 4 in PF! :smalleek:

Blue_C.
2014-05-02, 03:34 AM
I just did a revision of spells, and spells that were previously being learned at inappropriate levels should now be corrected. Polymorph and Alter Self got nixed, but, hey, it got Haste and Heroism in the divorce proceedings, so I think we're all coming out ahead.

Thank you for anyone that has taken a look at it.