PDA

View Full Version : [3.5 Base Class] The Divine Stalker



Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 12:03 AM
Divine Stalker

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/054/4/6/assassin_1503_by_arvalis-d3a9cr7.jpg
Image is credit to arvalis of deviantArt.

Yes, I used an Ezio picture for a holy assassin. I am so original.


Hit Dice: d6
Starting Age: Moderate
Starting Gold: 4d4x10

Class Skills
The Divine Stalker's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex)
Skills Points at Each Level: 8 + int

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|-0-|-1-|-2-|-3-|-4-|-5-|-6-

1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+2|Sacred Blade, Divine Guidance +1, Trapfinding|3|1+1|-|-|-|-|-

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+3|Divine Impetus|4|2+1|-|-|-|-|-

3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+3|Turn or Rebuke Undead|5|3+1|-|-|-|-|-

4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Domain Granted Power|6|4+1|1+1|-|-|-|-

5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+4|Evasion|6|4+1|2+1|-|-|-|-

6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+5|Divine Guidance +2, Improved Impetus|6|5+1|3+1|-|-|-|-

7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+5|Conviction of the True Faith|6|5+1|4+1|1+1|-|-|-

8th|
+6/+1|
+2|
+6|
+6|Surge of Divinity (Piercing Light/Shadow Gale)|6|5+1|4+1|2+1|-|-|-

9th|
+6/+1|
+3|
+6|
+6|Domain Granted Power|6|5+1|5+1|3+1|-|-|-

10th|
+7/+2|
+3|
+7|
+7|Sacred Stealth|6|5+1|5+1|4+1|1+1|-|-

11th|
+8/+3|
+3|
+7|
+7|Divine Guidance +3|6|5+1|5+1|4+1|2+1|-|-

12th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+8|
+8|Zealotry|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|3+1|-|-

13th|
+9/+4|
+4|
+8|
+8|Improved Evasion|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1|1+1|-

14th|
+10/+5|
+4|
+9|
+9|Domain Granted Power|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1|2+1|-

15th|
+11/+6/+1|
+5|
+9|
+9|Surge of Divinity (Spell Reflection)|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|3+1|-

16th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+10|
+10|Divine Guidance +4|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1|1+1

17th|
+12/+7/+2|
+5|
+10|
+10|Overwhelming Impetus|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1|2+1

18th|
+13/+8/+3|
+6|
+11|
+11|Sanctioned Execution|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|3+1

19th|
+14/+9/+4|
+6|
+11|
+11|Domain Granted Power|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1

20th|
+15/+10/+5|
+6|
+12|
+12|Surge of Divinity (Ascension)|6|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|5+1|4+1
[/table]

Class Features The following are all class features of the Divine Stalker.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Divine Stalkers are proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor and bucklers, but no other armor or shields.

Spellcasting: Divine Stalkers cast divine spells, which are drawn from the Divine Stalker's spell list (see below). A Divine Stalker can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time, just as a sorcerer can.

To learn or cast a spell, a Divine Stalker must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level (Wis 10 for 0th-level spells, Wis 11 for 1st level spells, and so on). The Difficulty Class of a saving throw against a Divine Stalker's spell is 10 + the level of the spell + Wis modifier.

A Divine Stalker can only cast a certain number of spells of a given spell level per day; the base daily allotment for each spell level is shown on the table above. In addition, a Divine Stalker gains bonus spells per day for having a high Wisdom score.

Spells Known: A Divine Stalker begins play knowing two 1st level spells and a number of 0th level spells equal to his Wisdom bonus (minimum of 1).

Each time you gain a new Divine Stalker level, you learn two new spells of any level you can cast, chosen from the Divine Stalker spell list.

Upon reaching 4th level and at every subsequent even-numbered level (6th, 8th, etc) you can choose to learn a new spell in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose access to the old spell in exchange for gaining the new one. The new spell's level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged. You can only swap a single spell at any given level, and you must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that you gain new spells known for the level.

Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: A Divine Stalker’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. A Divine Stalker chooses two domains from among those belonging to his deity. A Divine Stalker can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain. If a domain granted power mentions a Cleric or effective Cleric level, the Divine Stalker uses his class level instead.

Unlike a Cleric, a Divine Stalker must follow a god to gain his powers and domains; he cannot simply worship an ideal, as a Cleric can.

Each domain gives the Divine Stalker access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. The Divine Stalker gets the granted powers of both the domains selected. If a domain spell appears on the Divine Stalker spell list at a lower level than in the domain, the Divine Stalker may cast that spell in a domain slot of either of the two spell levels.

With access to two domain spells at a given spell level, a Divine Stalker may cast only one or the other each day from his domain spell slots. If a domain spell is not on the Divine Stalker spell list, a Divine Stalker can cast it only from his domain spell slot. A Divine Stalker may spontaneously cast any domain spell he knows from his domain spell slots, just as he can with his normal spells.

At 4th level, and again at 9th level and every 5 levels thereafter, a Divine Stalker gains access to another domain, but only for the purpose of its domain granted power. He does not gain access to any of the domain's spells. If the Divine Stalker's chosen god does not offer sufficient domains, consult with your DM to determine thematically appropriate additions.

Trapfinding (Ex): A Divine Stalker can use the Search skill to locate traps with a DC higher than 20, and he can use Disable Device to bypass a trap or disarm magic traps. See the Rogue class feature of the same name for further details.

Sacred Blade (Su): By sacrificing an unused spellslot for the day, a Divine Stalker can imbue a wielded weapon with divine energy as a swift action. An imbued weapon deals an additional 1d6 points of sacred (for Good and Neutral Divine Stalkers) or profane (for Evil Divine Stalkers) damage per spell level of the sacrificed spell slot. A Divine Stalker may imbue any number of wielded weapons, though each must be imbued separately. An imbued weapon retains its magic until the Divine Stalker rests to regain spells or until it leaves his possession, at which point it becomes nothing more than the base item once more.

A Divine Stalker may sacrifice a 0th level spell slot to imbue a weapon; doing so does not grant bonus damage to successful attacks, but does allow those attacks to benefit from his Divine Guidance ability.

Divine Guidance (Su): When making an attack with a weapon imbued by his Sacred Blade ability, a Divine Stalker gains a +1 bonus to his attack roll. At 6th level and every 5 levels thereafter, this bonus increases by an additional point.

Divine Impetus (Ex): As a full-round action, a Divine Stalker of 2nd level or higher can make a single melee attack (or a mainhand and offhand attack, if he possesses the Two-weapon Fighting feat) and cast a Divine Stalker spell with a casting time of 1 standard action or less that targets one or more enemies. The subject of his attacks must be a target of the spell cast in this fashion. The Divine Stalker does not provoke an attack of opportunity for casting this spell if he successfully lands at least one attack as part of the action.

Turn or Rebuke Undead (Su): A Divine Stalker of 3rd level or higher can turn or rebuke undead as a Cleric of his level -2. See the Cleric class feature of the same name for more details.

Evasion (Ex): At 5th level and higher, a Divine Stalker can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the Divine Stalker is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless Divine Stalker does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Improved Impetus (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, whenever the Divine Stalker uses his Divine Impetus ability, he may attempt to counterspell a spell he identifies before the start of his next turn as an immediate action. The Divine Stalker may attempt to counterspell the spell as normal if he knows the spell being cast, otherwise he may sacrifice an unused spell slot for the day to counterspell as the counterspelling function of greater dispel magic, except that he takes a penalty to the dispel check equal to the difference between the level of the spell being cast and that of his sacrificed spell slot (the Divine Stalker does not gain a bonus for sacrificing a spell slot of a higher level than the spell being cast).

Conviction of True Faith (Ex): At 7th level, a Divine Stalker gains True Believer(CDiv, p. 86) as a bonus feat. The Divine Stalker may activate the effects of this feat once per encounter, rather than once per day.

Additionally, the Divine Stalker gains immunity to fear effects, as well as effects that would forcibly alter his alignment.

Surge of Divinity (Su): As he progresses through this class, a Divine Stalker's bond with his god strengthens. This bond manifests in three ways, each of which may be activated as a swift action once per encounter.
Piercing Light/Shadow Gale: At 8th level, the Divine Stalker is able to release a 60-ft. burst of light (Good-aligned) or shadow (Evil-aligned). A Neutral Divine Stalker gains the Piercing Light ability if he chose to Turn undead, or Shadow Gale if he chose to Rebuke undead. Piercing Light creates an area of bright illumination that blinds any foes within it for 1d4 rounds if they fail a Will save. Shadow Gale creates an area of shadowy illumination that blinds foes for as long as they remain within it. Both versions of this ability persist for one round for every two class levels. Treat this ability as a [Light] or [Darkness] spell of a spell level equal to half the Divine Stalker's class level for determining interaction with other areas of magical light or darkness.
Spell Reflection: At 15th level, the Divine Stalker may grant himself spell resistance equal to his class level + 10 for a number of rounds equal to his Wisdom modifier. Whenever this a spellcaster fails to overcome this spell resistance, all effects that you would otherwise have suffered (such as fire damage from a fireball spell) are redirected to the caster of the spell, regardless of whether they are within the spell's area of effect or not. You may raise and lower this spell resistance as a free action that may be taken out of turn.
Ascension:At 20th level, the Divine Stalker may take on the aspect of a divine creature for a number of rounds equal to his Wisdom modifier. He temporarily gains the Outsider type with the Native subtype, his base attack bonus becomes equal to his class level, which may grant him an additional attack per round, he gains immunity to stunning, paralyzation, and petrification effects, and he gains immunity to an element of his choice (acid, cold, electricity, or fire) and resistance 10 to the other types that stacks with any other elemental resistance he may possess.

Sacred Stealth (Sp): As a swift action, a Divine Stalker of 10th level may expend a use of turn or rebuke undead to grant himself the effect of a greater invisibility spell and a silence spell centered on himself for a number of rounds equal to his class level. The Divine Stalker may dismiss either of these effects as a free action. This ability is equivalent to a 4th level Illusion spell.

Zealotry (Ex): Beginning at 12th level, the first time each day that a Divine Stalker would be reduced to -10 hp or slain outright, his hitpoints are instead set to 1 and he ignores any effect the attack, spell, or ability that triggered this ability would have had.

Overwhelming Impetus (Ex): Beginning at 17th level, when using his Divine Impetus ability, a Divine Stalker automatically overcomes a number of points of spell resistance with the spell cast from the Divine Impetus equal to his class level, provided he hit with at least one attack from the Impetus.

Sanctioned Execution (Su): As a full-round action, a Divine Stalker of 18th level or higher may make a single melee attack at his highest attack bonus. If it hits, the attack deals +1d6 sacred (or profane, in the case of an Evil Divine Stalker) damage for every two class levels. Additionally, if the struck foe is directly or thematically opposed to the goals of the Divine Stalker's god (ex., an Evil Cleric struck by a Divine Stalker following a Good-aligned god, or an undead creature struck by a Divine Stalker of Pelor), it must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + ˝ class level + Wis mod) or be utterly disintegrated, body reduced to a fine ash. Once a creature is subjected to the effect of this ability, it is immune to further Sanctioned Executions from the same Divine Stalker for 24 hours.

Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 12:04 AM
Divine Stalker Spells

0th: Cure minor wounds, detect magic, detect poison, guidance, inflict minor wounds, light, purify food and drink, read magic, resistance, virtue

1st: Bane, bless, blessed aim, command, cure light wounds, detect chaos/evil/good/law, detect undead, divine favor, divine sacrifice, doom, faith healing, inflict light wounds, know greatest enemy, magic weapon, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, shield of faith, sign

2nd: Aid, align weapon, augury, bear's endurance, body blades, bull's strength, cat's grace, consecrate, cure moderate wounds, darkness, delay poison, desecrate, dispel magic, divine insight, eagle's splendor, hold person, inflict moderate wounds, iron silence, living undeath, owl's wisdom, remove paralysis, resist energy, lesser restoration, silence, spiritual weapon, undetectable alignment, zeal, zone of truth

3rd: Awaken sin, bestow curse, blindness/deafness, castigate, clutch of orcus, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, demon dirge, devil blight, inflict serious wounds, knight's move, know vulnerabilities, lesser visage of the deity, locate object, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, magic vestment, prayer, remove blindness/deafness, remove curse, weapon of the deity

4th: Cure critical wounds, death ward, delay death, dimensional anchor, discern lies, dismissal, divine agility, divine power, favor of the martyr, freedom of movement, greater dispel magic, hand of the faithful, implacable pursuer, inflict critical wounds, panacea, restoration, revivify, sheltered vitality, wrack

5th: Commune, flame strike, greater command, hallow, harm, heal, mark of justice, righteous might, scrying, slay living, spell resistance, stalwart pact, true seeing, unhallow, visage of the deity, zone of revelation

6th: Antimagic field, blasphemy, blood to water, death pact, dictum, fortunate fate, greater bestow curse, greater scrying, greater visage of the deity, heavenly host, hellish horde, holy word, renewal pact, wall of greater dispel magic, word of balance, word of chaos

NeoSeraphi
2012-01-06, 12:25 AM
The default orisons (the ones gained at first level) should be 2+Wis, minimum 3. You shouldn't be able to know more 1st than 0th level spells at 1st level. They're orisons. Nothing game breaking about having a lot of them at first level (hell, wizards know all of them from 1st level)

Since you have the Trapfinding class feature, I think it would make sense for you to have a related Knowledge skill as a class skill. (Either Know (Architecture and Engineering) or Know (Dungeoneering), dunno which would fit better there).

You need to point out for the Domain granted powers that the divine stalker's effective cleric level (if relevant, like for the Strength Domain power) is equal to his class level.

Sacred Blade: Sacred and Profane aren't damage types. You're thinking of holy and unholy. I would simply say "Deals an extra 1d6 damage and is treated as good or evil for overcoming damage reduction".

Also, you reference an ability called "Divine Blessing" here. I think you meant to say "Divine Guidance".

Divine Guidance: Bonuses to hit are good. Helps balance out the 3/4 BAB. Fine with me.

Surge of Divinity: You should definitely stack that list with some indents.

Sacred Stealth: SLAs need a caster level, for dispelling purposes.

Zealotry: Oh, bravo good sir! Very nice indeed.

Overwhelming Impetus: The language here is confusing. What I think you mean is "I cast a spell, and subtract my CL from their SR before even making the check". If that's true, it should be "automatically ignores spell resistance up to class level", not "overcomes". It's just a bit of clearer word choice.

Sanctified Execution: This...is a bit much for at-will. Yeah, you don't get a full attack, but you probably weren't going to hit with that last attack anyway. I would at least put a one-round cooldown on it.

Edit: Oh crap, I didn't even realize you didn't ask for PEACH. :smalleek: Ah well, just say the word and I'll delete this post.

Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 12:31 AM
Since you have the Trapfinding class feature, I think it would make sense for you to have a related Knowledge skill as a class skill. (Either Know (Architecture and Engineering) or Know (Dungeoneering), dunno which would fit better there).

Skills for the skills god! Trapfinding for the trap throne!


You need to point out for the Domain granted powers that the divine stalker's effective cleric level (if relevant, like for the Strength Domain power) is equal to his class level.

Whoops, that's a pretty big oversight. Thanks.


Sacred Blade: Sacred and Profane aren't damage types. You're thinking of holy and unholy. I would simply say "Deals an extra 1d6 damage and is treated as good or evil for overcoming damage reduction".

Sacred damage exists in core (Flame Strike). Profane comes from BoVD and later books, which is like Sacred but EVILZ™.


Also, you reference an ability called "Divine Blessing" here. I think you meant to say "Divine Guidance".

Already fixed prior to post.


Surge of Divinity: You should definitely stack that list with some indents.

How many more indents can it need? :smallconfused:


Sacred Stealth: SLAs need a caster level, for dispelling purposes.

If unspecified, the caster level for a spell-like ability is equal to the creature's hit dice. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm)


Sanctified Execution: This...is a bit much for at-will. Yeah, you don't get a full attack, but you probably weren't going to hit with that last attack anyway. I would at least put a one-round cooldown on it.

Did you miss the 24-hour lockout on it, or do you still feel that it would need a cooldown with that in mind?


Edit: Oh crap, I didn't even realize you didn't ask for PEACH. :smalleek: Ah well, just say the word and I'll delete this post.

I don't put PEACH tags in the title of any of my homebrew as a matter of habit. Feedback is always nice.

Pyromancer999
2012-01-06, 12:34 AM
Looks like a good class so far. Still, the name is a bit.....creepy.

NeoSeraphi
2012-01-06, 12:35 AM
Whoops, that's a pretty big oversight. Thanks.


No problem. Happens to the best of us.



Sacred damage exists in core (Flame Strike). Profane comes from BoVD and later books, which is like Sacred but EVILZ™.


Oh yeah, I forgot they had a name for it. I just thought they called it "divine power" and left it untyped. My bad.



How many more indents can it need? :smallconfused:


Ah. For some reason, when I read it, it was all just one big paragraph, like the List code had screwed up.



If unspecified, the caster level for a spell-like ability is equal to the creature's hit dice. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm)


Fair enough.



Did you miss the 24-hour lockout on it, or do you still feel that it would need a cooldown with that in mind?


I didn't, but for some reason I was thinking that it only prevented the save-or-dust, not the extra damage. It's pretty unlikely that you'll be able to pull it off in consecutive rounds then, unless you were being threatened by two creatures for two rounds, which, with d6 hit dice, means you probably got mauled at 18th. So yeah, I'm cool with it not having a cooldown then.



I don't put PEACH tags in the title as a matter of habit. Feedback is always nice.

Ah, good, I'm glad to hear it. Class looks great! I look forward to helping you playtest it.

Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 12:38 AM
Looks like a good class so far. Still, the name is a bit.....creepy.

Call it a Shadowbane Inquisitor With Real Class Features if you feel like it. It's just a name.

NeoSeraphi
2012-01-06, 12:44 AM
Call it a Shadowbane Inquisitor With Real Class Features if you feel like it. It's just a name.

Indeed! What kind of person would call himself a stalker if he didn't know how to use rope! Preposterous! :smallbiggrin:

RaggedAngel
2012-01-06, 01:51 PM
This looks great, but I have a few hang-ups that need addressing:

1. You cast spontaneously except for your domains. Why? Why not just let you cast your domain spells out of your domain slots spontaneously? I don't see that being overpowered in the least, and it streamlines things.

2. The Ascension ability needs to be better clarified. Rounds equal to his class level ever? Once a day? Once per combat? What's the action to activate it?

3. Not really a hang-up, but Sanctioned Execution is astoundingly badass; I would leave it as it is. Ezio would approve. Requiescat in pace, everybody. The "thematically opposed" part is up to interpretation, but I have faith in DM's and players to not be idiots.

Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 01:54 PM
1. You cast spontaneously except for your domains. Why? Why not just let you cast your domain spells out of your domain slots spontaneously? I don't see that being overpowered in the least, and it streamlines things.

That's probably a good idea.


2. The Ascension ability needs to be better clarified. Rounds equal to his class level ever? Once a day? Once per combat? What's the action to activate it?


Surge of Divinity (Su): As he progresses through this class, a Divine Stalker's bond with his god strengthens. This bond manifests in three ways, each of which may be activated as a swift action once per encounter.


3. Not really a hang-up, but Sanctioned Execution is astoundingly badass; I would leave it as it is. Ezio would approve. Requiescat in pace, everybody. The "thematically opposed" part is up to interpretation, but I have faith in DM's and players to not be idiots.

As do I. It's intentionally vague, because every Divine Stalker will have different goals, different gods.

gkathellar
2012-01-06, 02:01 PM
Very nice. No real objections. I've been looking for a partial-caster assassin base class for some time, and this is it.

Rapidghoul
2012-01-06, 02:24 PM
I like the class a lot. One thing though is that all the abilities I've seen thus far that work to prevent a death-blow and keep you fighting set you to -9 or to 0, never to 1. Perhaps giving them Diehard as a bonus feat and (once per day) setting it to one of those numbers instead? That way Zealotry not only prevents the death-blow from killing you, but you're actually fighting on beyond what normal people are capable of.

Circle of Life
2012-01-06, 04:27 PM
I like the class a lot. One thing though is that all the abilities I've seen thus far that work to prevent a death-blow and keep you fighting set you to -9 or to 0, never to 1. Perhaps giving them Diehard as a bonus feat and (once per day) setting it to one of those numbers instead? That way Zealotry not only prevents the death-blow from killing you, but you're actually fighting on beyond what normal people are capable of.

The Zealotry ability is based on the Indomitability spell, which sets your HP to 1.

Othesemo
2012-01-20, 06:32 PM
I love this class. No dead levels, non-game-breaking spell casting and plenty of flavor.

I have one question about the capstone, though. By 20th level, I'd expect any wis-based caster to have a +10 modifier, at least. Since ascension is usable once per encounter, and lasts for wis modifier rounds, and is only a swift action to use, I can't imagine a reason why a divine stalker wouldn't just have it up perpetually during combat (really, at that level, combat doesn't tend to last more than a few rounds). Is there any reason to not just say that the divine stalker permanently gains those bonuses and the type change?

One other thing. Since this class can only use light armor and shields, they'll need dex. Since they have a mere d6 HD, they'll need CON even more than normal. Since they only have medium BAB, but many of their abilities are melee-focused, they'll also need high strength. Because of the spells, they clearly need high wisdom, and with so many skills a point or two of intelligence wouldn't hurt (they certainly wouldn't want a negative mod). In fact, the only ability they don't need is charisma. Actually, check that, they need charisma for turning undead.

In short, this class seems a bit too MAD in my eyes. I'd suggest adding one or two abilities. For example, using wisdom for attack/damage, or maybe wisdom for turn undead checks.That would put necessary abilities at Wis, Con and Dex, with the others being more open for individual characters. It's hardly SAD, but a bit more flexibility in abilities would be nice, and hardly game breaking.

Ecalsneerg
2012-01-20, 08:27 PM
Any real reason neutral Stalkers automatically deal sacred damage, and don't get to choose between positive/negative energy like neutral Clerics do for turning?