ROGUE-ASSASSIN KIT Shadow Description: Shadows are mysterious figures, Assassins who have devoted themselves to a strange and unusual pseudo-mystical science of stealth and that involves some degree of communion with the Plane of Shadow or possibly even an infusion of shadow-stuff somehow into the very essences of a Shadow Assassin. How they achieve this mystical connection is uncertain--it may be a variation of latent psionic powers or it may simply be an unexplainable mystery of the overlapping connections of the planes and the ability of some to tap into that connection and use its power. The plain and simple fact is that, whatever the source of their mysterious powers, Shadows do in fact possess a set of strange shadow-based abilities that are far outside the realm of possibility for normal individuals, and they have chosen to apply them very effectively in combination with the stealthy and subtle death-dealing art of the Assassin. Requirements: For reasons not well-understood, only characters with human blood can become Shadows. This includes half-elves and half-orcs and also the race of tieflings (descended from humans but tainted with the blood of one of the infernal races), but not aasimar, whose celestial bloodlines apparently interfere with the use of Shadow-talents). Shadows must be at least partially neutral in alignment, representing the balance between light and darkness, order and chaos that the very nature of shadows represent (though it can be difficult for a Shadow to maintain a Neutral Good alignment while actively plying his or her trade as an Assassin). Shadows have normal Assassin ability score requirements, but they also require great strength of will and mental fortitude to utilize their shadow-talents, needing at least a 15 Wisdom. Weapons & Armor: Shadows share the normal weapon and armor restrictions of typical Assassins. Thief Abilities and Modifiers: Climb Walls, Detect Noise, Escape Bonds, Find/Remove Traps, Hide in Shadows, Move Silently Special Benefits: Shadows gain an array of special abilities relating to their extraordinary ability to conceal themselves, to take advantage of shadows present in their environment, and to tap into the hidden power and essence of shadow-stuff to perform superhuman feats. It is thought that they accomplish these remarkable things by somehow transposing some portion of their own essence with the stuff of shadows, making themselves ever-so-slightly unreal with respect to the material world. In a sense, rather like an illusion, some portion of the Shadow is simply 'not there', which allows them to violate some of the normal laws of reality that bind those around them. However it is accomplished, a Shadow gains the following abilities: Darkling Nature: Shadows gain the ability to see in the darkness associated with the plane of gloom. All Shadows can see as well in moonlight as a normal human could see in full daylight, and all combat-related darkness penalties are reduced by the Blind-fighting that is a necessary part of their training. At 5th level, a Shadow can see by starlight as if in full daylight and reduces darkness penalties to -1. At 10th level, a Shadow can see perfectly in total darkness, whether natural or magical, negating all penalties. Note that blindness and fog or other visual obstructions can still interfere with his or her vision. In addition to this ability to see in conditions of darkness, Shadows gain certain advantages based on their communion with the Plane of Shadow and the power it grants them. Amount of Shadow Modifier No shadows -2 Weak shadows -- Strong shadows +1 Very strong shadows +2 The modifier listed above should be applied to a Shadow's attack, damage, and saving throw rolls when in such conditions. If attacking from surprise, the damage modifier should be applied before any multiplication of damage is made for the Backstab. The definitions of these lighting conditions are as follows: Shadows None surrounded by multiple magical light sources, areas of total darkness, outdoors in open terrain in direct sunlight Weak outdoors at dawn or twilight, in woods or city (or similar terrain) in daylight, typical indoor light, outdoors at night on a moonless or overcast night Strong outdoors at night, dim indoor light Very strong in woods or city (or similar terrain) in twilight, indoors with single flickering light source (e.g., torch, candle, lantern), outdoors at night near the edge of light shed by an artificial light source Note that conditions of extreme darkness interfere with a Shadow's abilities just as much as conditions of extremely bright light. Evade Detection: In the course of their training, Shadows learn how to render themselves unobtrusive and undetectable not only to normal sight but also to paranormal perceptions. As a result, they have a 5% chance per level to be able to resist most low-level divinations (3rd level or less--e.g., ESP, clairvoyance, detect invisibility, detect evil) as well as scrying via a crystal ball or similar device. It can also defeat the ability of high-level or highly Intelligent creatures to notice hidden or invisible creatures, the Back Protection abilities of other Assassins, a Thief's Enhanced Surprise power, and an Adventurer's Danger Sense. A Shadow can also use this ability to cause an observer to lose track of him or her and attempt to Hide in Shadows even while under direct observation. Observers' perceptions simply have difficulty locking onto the Shadow; their eyes pass over a Shadow without noticing them or finding anything remarkable about them at all. If the Shadow's check to evade detection is successful, he or she automatically escapes notice or reveals no information to the diviner. Even if the roll is failed, the Shadow is entitled to any applicable saving throw. This ability has no effect if either the roll or the saving throw is failed, and more powerful divinations, including know alignment, true seeing, contact other plane, and the like cannot be resisted with this ability. The ability to Evade Notice enables Shadows to attempt a special attack if the ability is successful and the Shadow can then make a successful Hide in Shadows roll, allowing the Shadow to seem to 'disappear' and completely evade the notice and perceptions of creatures nearby. When this is done, during the brief disorientation that follows, the Shadow can attempt to land a killing blow with a melee or missile attack against one of them. The intended victim must be within 10 yards of the Shadow's position when this ability is used, as this trick of perception cannot hide the Shadow long enough to move further than this. Regardless of the success or failure of this attack, it cannot be attempted more often than once per day, due to the intense concentration required by the Shadow. Before the attack is made, the Shadow should roll for surprise (including the normal Assassin -2 surprise bonus, -2 for being effectively invisible to the target, and an additional -2 if the Shadow makes a successful Move Silently roll); if the target is surprised, the Shadow can make the attack without fear of immediate retaliation and gains his or her full normal Backstab bonuses to the attack, but even if the target is not surprised the Shadow can still attempt to land a killing blow with his or her first attack. A successful hit by the Shadow on his or her first attack forces the target to save vs. death magic or be instantly slain. This is true regardless of whether the victim is surprised, though if the target is surprised it suffers a -2 to its saving throw vs. death and also suffers full Backstab damage (including the chance of an instant kill). The intended target of this attack must be a basically humanoid creature no larger than size L, and he or she cannot have more hit dice/levels than the Shadow. Shadow Flight: A Shadow is able to tap into the power of shadow-stuff to reduce the effect of this world's gravity on their quasi-real body, effectively making their bodies lighter. An attempt to use Shadow Flight requires a successful Hide in Shadows roll, and so obviously cannot be used in conditions where shadows do not exist. Beginning at 1st level, a Shadow can use this ability to reduce falling damage, being able to fall 5' per level of experience without harm as long as there is a solid surface within 5'. They are able through some unknown means to use the presence of that solid surface to slow their descent by periodically making contact with it, perhaps exchanging some of their energy with it in order to decrease or eliminate the energy of their falling body. If a Shadow is free- falling without a solid surface nearby or fails his or her Hide in Shadows check, Shadow Flight fails to work and the Shadow suffers normal falling damage. In addition to this ability to decrease falling damage, a Shadow of 15th level or above gains the ability to actually fly silently and nearly invisibly in conditions of shadow, becoming almost literally a shadow, flitting from place to place at great speed. The rate of travel depends on the conditions of shadow that are present (see Darkling Nature for descriptions): Amount of Shadow Movement Rate No shadows Normal movement only Weak shadows levitate self if within 10' of a solid surface Strong shadows 12 (MC C) Very strong shadows 24 (MC B) This ability cannot be used in conditions where no significant shadows are present; i.e., only normal movement is possible in such conditions. Shadow Travel: In addition to the Shadow Flight ability described above, a Shadow can use his or her powers to transubstantiate a portion of his or her essence to perform a variety of other special movement-related maneuvers. A Shadow of any level gains a special advantage when using his or her Move Silently power; that is, a successful check not only results in silent movement, it also allows a Shadow to lighten his or her footfalls so as to leave no tracks behind. As with a normal Move Silently check, the Shadow can only move at 1/3 his or her normal speed and maintain this ability. A Shadow of 5th level and above can use his or her Shadow Travel ability to walk across virtually any surface without actually touching it, enabling them to walk across water, quicksand, and similar substances without sinking and without leaving any trace behind. This maneuver requires total concentration, and being struck by a blow while using this form of Shadow Travel will break the Shadow's concentration and cause him or her to fall unless he or she saves vs. breath weapon. Note that this is still treated as a normal Move Silently attempt, and movement at greater than 1/3 normal speed is not possible. The maximum distance that can be traversed using this ability cannot exceed 5' per level of the Shadow; he or she must make contact with a solid surface after traveling this distance and rest for one round before attempting it again, and in no case can a Shadow perform this feat more often than once per day for every level of experience. At 10th level, this ability improves yet again. At this level, a Shadow is able to draw upon the power of shadow to shift him- or herself slightly out of phase with the material world. This provides several benefits, the first of which is that he or she can move with seemingly blinding speed from one shadowy area to another. Use of this skill requires a successful Hide in Shadows check (and therefore is impossible in an area that is too light or too dark to have shadows); if this is successful, the Shadow's movement rate is increased by an amount proportional to the amount of shadows present (see Darkling Nature for descriptions): Amount of Shadow Movement Rate No shadows Normal movement only Weak shadows 15 Strong shadows 18 Very strong shadows 24 A Shadow is visible if moving between areas of shadow, but he or she will be effectively invisible and can move at the accelerated rate noted above as long as he or she stays within the area of shadow. This increased movement rate is cumulative with other uses of the Shadow Travel ability (i.e., allowing a Shadow to move more quickly while not leaving tracks or passing over liquid or treacherous surfaces). If an attack is made, the Shadow's presence and location immediately become apparent, but he or she can fade back out of sight automatically on any round that he or she does not attack (assuming shadows are present), even if under direct observation. A Shadow can also use this phase-shifting ability to perform a remarkable feat once per day, effectively willing his or her body into an insubstantial state that allows the Shadow to pass through any solid material (save for lead, gold, and similar very dense metals or materials specifically enchanted to bar passage of astral, ethereal, or out-of-phase creatures). Use of this power requires three rounds of concentration and a successful Hide in Shadows check (and so cannot performed in an area with no shadows); following this, the Shadow becomes momentarily insubstantial and can slip through a solid barrier up to 1' thick per level of experience. If the barrier is too thick to pass through completely, the Shadow's body disintegrates into nothingness, unable to reform itself, and all possessions must save vs. disintegration or suffer the same fate. Even if this ability succeeds and the Shadow makes it all the way through, the Shadow must save vs. breath weapon or be stunned for 1 round by the shock of the experience. At very high levels, the Shadow Travel ability can be used for two additional special feats, both of which require the presence of 'very strong shadows' (see Shadow Flight for description) and a successful Hide in Shadows roll. At 15th level, a Shadow can use this ability to draw him- or herself (and possibly one or more companions) fully into the Plane of Shadow, as per the shadow walk spell. This ability can be used no more than once per week, and the Shadow (and any passengers) must save vs. breath weapon or be stunned for 1d10 rounds upon arrival. Finally, a Shadow of 20th level can use this power to dimension door up to 360 yards up to once every hour, though the point of arrival must also have 'very strong shadows' or else the dimension door will fail. Special Hindrances: Shadows spend a great deal of time learning how to manipulate their shadow-talents and considerably less time than other Assassins on some of the traditional arts of an Assassin, using their own specialized talents to perform assassinations rather than the disguise, impersonation, and infiltration skills used by a typical Assassin. As a result, Shadows do not gain the Assassination ability of a typical Assassin, and they also lose the ability to Masquerade as an Assassin can. Further, though they do make use of poisons when it suits their purpose, they make no special study of them, and as a result they do not gain the Poison Mastery ability of typical Assassins. In addition to this loss of abilities, Shadows cannot use many of their abilities unless some shadows are present, greatly reducing their effectiveness in conditions of total darkness or very bright light. Required Proficiencies: Anatomy, Blind-fighting, Night Vision, Planology Preferred Proficiencies: Ambush, Camouflage, Close-quarter Fighting, Concentration, Display Weapon Prowess, Healing, Herbalism, Instant Stand, Intimidation, Lightning Reflexes, Monster Lore, Prone Fighting, Reading/Writing, Set Snares, Sign Language, Torture, Tracking, Trailing, Venom Handling, Weapon Improvisation