The Shadow Sun Ninja in 20 levels (3.5 base class)

[Circle of Life]

The Shadow Sun Ninja

Image is credit to osaelf of deviantArt.

Hit Dice: d6
Starting Age: As Monk
Starting Gold: 4d4x10
Alignment: Any non-Evil, except true neutral.

Class Skills
The Shadow Sun Ninja's class skills (and the key ability modifier for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knoweldge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex)
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + int

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances|Radiant Palm Damage

1st|+0|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|Improved Unarmed Strike, Trapfinding, Weapon Finesse|

6

|

4

|

1

|

1d6

2nd|+1|

+0

|

+3

|

+0

|AC Bonus|

7

|

4

|

2

|

1d6

3rd|+2|

+1

|

+3

|

+1

|Evasion, Touch of the Shadowed Sun|

8

|

5

|

2

|

1d6

4th|+3|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|Scouring Light|

9

|

5

|

2

|

1d8

5th|+3|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

|Void of the Shadow Sun|

10

|

6

|

3

|

1d8

6th|+4|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Cloak of the Shadow Sun|

11

|

6

|

3

|

1d8

7th|+5|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

|Light Within Darkness|

12

|

6

|

3

|

1d8

8th|+6/+1|

+2

|

+6

|

+2

|Embracing the Light|

13

|

7

|

3

|

1d10

9th|+6/+1|

+3

|

+6

|

+3

|Instinct of the Shadow Sun|

14

|

7

|

3

|

1d10

10th|+7/+2|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|Darkness Within Light|

15

|

8

|

4

|

1d10

11th|+8/+3|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|Improved Evasion|

16

|

8

|

4

|

1d10

12th|+9/+4|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

|Child of Shadow and Light|

17

|

8

|

4

|

2d6

13th|+9/+4|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

|Embracing the Shadow|

18

|

9

|

4

|

2d6

14th|+10/+5|

+4

|

+9

|

+4

|From Darkness, Light|

19

|

9

|

5

|

2d6

15th|+11/+6/+1|

+5

|

+9

|

+5

|From Light, Shadow|

20

|

10

|

5

|

2d6

16th|+12/+7/+2|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

|Banishing Shadows|

21

|

10

|

5

|

2d8

17th|+12/+7/+2|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

|Purifying Radiance|

22

|

10

|

5

|

2d8

18th|+13/+8/+3|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

|Enveloping Darkness|

23

|

11

|

5

|

2d8

19th|+14/+9/+4|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

|Embracing the Balance|

24

|

11

|

5

|

2d8

20th|+15/+10/+5|

+6

|

+12

|

+6

|Shadow Sun Maelstrom|

25

|

12

|

6

|

2d10

[/table]

[Circle of Life]

Class Features The following are all class features of the Shadow Sun Ninja.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Shadow Sun Ninjas are proficient with all simple weapons and with the handaxe, kama, nunchaku, sai, shuriken, and siangham.

Maneuvers: A Shadow Sun Ninja starts play with six maneuvers known. The disciplines available to the Shadow Sun Ninja are Crescent Moon, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, and Solar Wind.

Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you may use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver used by a Shadow Sun Ninja is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.

You learn additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on the table above. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. (See page 39 of ^{Tome of Battle} to determine the highest level maneuvers you can learn.)

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered Shadow Sun Ninja level after that, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe the restriction on the highest level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver, if any. You may only swap a single maneuver at any given level.

If a maneuver initiated by a Shadow Sun Ninja offers a saving throw, the Difficulty Class of the save is equal to 10 + maneuver level + the Shadow Sun Ninja's Wisdom modifier.

Maneuvers Readied: You can ready four of your six maneuver knows at 1st level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by meditating and exercising for five minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to meditate again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend five minutes in meditation, you can change your readied maneuvers.

You begin an encounter with all of your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

You can recover an expended maneuver by using a full-round action to quickly meditate. Doing this does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If you complete your meditation, you can choose one expended maneuver to refresh. It is now available for use in a subsequent round.

Special: A Shadow Sun Ninja may take the Adaptive Style and Extra Readied Manuever feats as if he were a Swordsage.

Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one stance that you meet the requirements for from any discipline available to you. At 2nd, 5th, 9th, 14th, and 20th level, you can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All the stances you know are available to you at all times, and you can change the stance you currently use as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.

Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know.

Radiant Palm (Su): By channeling a tiny fraction of his essence through his chakra pathways into his palms, a Shadow Sun Ninja can cause his unarmed strikes to deal additional searing or frostfire damage as indicated on the table above. Searing damage is half fire and half unresistable sacred damage, but this sacred damage does not harm creatures that are not diametrically opposed to you on the good/evil axis (or the law/chaos axis in the case of a neutral Shadow Sun Ninja). Frostfire damage is half cold damage and half fire damage.

Additionally, whenever he would be allowed an unarmed strike in an attack or full attack action, the Shadow Sun Ninja may instead release a ray of light at a target up to 60 feet away, dealing the indicated damage as a normal ranged attack. These light rays have all the attack bonuses an additional effects the Shadow Sun Ninja's unarmed strike would normally have, save for those that are exclusive to melee attacks. A Shadow Sun Ninja may use these light rays as associated weapons for the Solar Wind discipline.

All attacks made with Radiant Palm add the Shadow Sun Ninja's full Wisdom modifier to damage in place of strength or dexterity.

Special: A single feat, Weapon Focus: Radiant Palm applies to all attacks made with this ability, whether melee or ranged.

Improved Unarmed Strike: A Shadow Sun Ninja gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat at first level.

Trapfinding (Ex): A Shadow Sun Ninja 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.

Weapon Finesse: A Shadow Sun Ninja gains the Weapon Finesse feat as a bonus feat at first level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for it. If he already possessed the Weapon Finesse feat, he gains no benefit.

AC Bonus: Beginning at 2nd level, a Shadow Sun Ninja adds their Wisdom modifier as a Deflection bonus to Armor Class, so long as they wear light armor or no armor, are unencumbered, and do not use a shield.

Evasion (Ex): At 3rd level and higher, a Shadow Sun Ninja 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 Shadow Sun Ninja is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless Shadow Sun Ninja does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Touch of the Shadowed Sun (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Shadow Sun Ninja learns to strike a balance between the powers of light and shadow. As a standard action, he may make a melee touch attack against a foe within his unarmed strike's reach. If successful, he deals double normal Radiant Palm damage as negative energy damage.

In the round after he uses this ability, the Shadow Sun Ninja may touch a creature as a standard action to heal an amount equal to the damage dealt by the negative energy touch in the previous round. If the target of this healing is willing, the Shadow Sun Ninja may deliver the touch as a swift action.

You cannot use both aspects of this ability in the same round, nor can you use the negative energy touch again in a round after you have already successfully used it.

Scouring Light (Su): As a full-round action a number of times per day equal to his Wisdom modifier, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 4th level or higher may voluntarily expend two readied and available maneuvers to release a 60-ft blast of brilliant illumination centered on himself. The light does not persist long enough to affect vision or harm light sensitive creatures, but any undead caught within the area of affect take 1d6 divine damage per class level. A successful Will save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis modifier halves the damage. Undead with turn resistance may subtract twice their turn resistance from the amount of damage inflicted by this ability.

When using this ability against incorporeal creatures, the Shadow Sun Ninja does not need to roll a 50% miss chance; scouring light affects all undead creatures in the area, regardless of incorporeality.

Void of the Shadow Sun (Su): Beginning at 5th level, a Shadow Sun Ninja learns to wreath themselves in a nimbus of brilliant, semisolid light. Even if an opponent manages to break through this barrier, it is not destroyed. Rather than fade away, the shield shifts into an aura of roiling black energy that harms rather than protects.

As a swift action a number of times per day equal to his Wisdom modifier, the Shadow Sun Ninja may grant himself a +2 Deflection bonus to AC that stacks with any other Deflection bonus until the start of his next turn. If an opponent successfully strikes the Shadow Sun Ninja while this bonus is active, the Shadow Sun Ninja loses the bonus to AC and cannot use this ability again on his next turn. However, he can instead release a wave of black energy in a 30-foot radius burst around himself as a standard action in the round after the shield is pierced. Enemies in this area take 1d6 points of frostfire damage per two class levels and are frozen in place for one round, unable to move from their location or take attacks of opportunity, though they make otherwise act normally. A successful Fortitude save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis mod halves this damage and negates the secondary effect.

Cloak of the Shadow Sun (Su): Beginning at 6th level, a Shadow Sun Ninja learns to create a short-lived barrier of pure negative energy around themselves, absorbing elemental damage. They can then gather this energy, transform it, and release it as a reforged attack.

As an immediate action, the Shadow Sun Ninja may shroud himself in a shimmering black cloak that grants cold and fire resistance equal to his class level until the start of his next turn. While the cloak persists, tally the amount of damage reduced by the granted resistances. At the beginning of the turn after this ability is used, the Shadow Sun Ninja may release a bolt of frostfire at an opponent within 60 feet as a move action. This bolt requires a ranged touch attack to hit and deals frostfire damage equal to the total damage absorbed by the cloak.

Light Within Darkness (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Shadow Sun Ninja's inner light cannot be stifled by darkness, no matter how deep. Rather, the shadows cause his light to lash out like a caged beast as it struggles to break free.

If the Shadow Sun Ninja makes a melee attack against an opponent on the round after he makes a successful Hide check, his body bursts alight with searing flames of pure liquid light. All opponents within 60 feet of him that failed to detect him while hiding must make a Fortitude save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis mod or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. Creatures who were aware of the Shadow Sun Ninja are unaffected by this ability, as are allies and any other creature the Shadow Sun Ninja wishes to be unharmed.

Embracing the Light (Su): Once per day as a standard action, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 8th level or higher may “embrace the light”, temporarily shunning the ability to use maneuvers from the Shadow Hand discipline as well as any spell, class feature, or other such ability that creates or augments darkness or uses negative energy, except for his Touch of the Shadow Sun ability, which instead inflicts unresistable divine damage during this time. If he is currently in a Shadow Hand stance at the time of the transformation, he may change his stance as a free action.

When he uses this ability, the Shadow Sun Ninja chooses an amount of time for the transformation to last, up to one round per class level. During this time, he is immune to poison and disease, gains blindsight and the ability to detect invisible creatures out to 60 feet, each successful melee attack heals him for one hitpoint per hit die he possesses, and each successful strike maneuver cleanses one random, non-permanent, non-instantaneous negative effect from him.

When this ability ends, the Shadow Sun Ninja releases a 60-foot halo of divine light that heals all allies within it for 1d6 points for each round the transformation persisted, while all enemies within the area take an equal amount of damage. A successful Reflex save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis modifier negates the damage.

Instinct of the Shadow Sun: Beginning at 9th level, once per encounter, the Shadow Sun Ninja may expend one readied, available maneuver to no effect to instead initiate a strike maneuver from either the Shadow Hand or Solar Wind disciplines of a level equal to or lower than the expended maneuver. The Shadow Sun Ninja cannot initiate a maneuver that he currently has readied in this fashion, but he can choose maneuvers that he does not possess knowledge of.

Darkness Within Light (Su): While light cannot exist without darkness, the opposite is also true. Beginning at 10th level, the Shadow Sun Ninja may voluntarily shroud his senses in complete darkness, closing his eyes and willingly ignoring any special senses, such as blindsight, blindsense, scent, touchsight, or other such abilities. While ignoring his senses in this fashion, the Shadow Sun Ninja is effectively blinded, but he also gains a special advantage against foes who are also blinded, or effectively blinded. Against such foes, the Shadow Sun Ninja ignores the penalties for fighting while blinded, and instead gains a +4 bonus on all melee attack and damage rolls, as well as any attack made with his Radiant Palm ability, whether melee or ranged. In additon, blinded opponents take a -2 penalty to the saving throw against any maneuver from the Shadow Hand or Solar Wind schools that he initiates.

While ignoring his senses in this way, the Shadow Sun Ninja suffers the penalties for being blinded and deafened until the start of his next turn. These impairments cannot be negated through any means, whether magical or mundane, until that time.

Improved Evasion (Ex): Beginning at 11th level, while a Shadow Sun Ninja still takes no damage on a successful Reflex throw against attacks, henceforth he takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless Ninja does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Child of Shadow and Light (Su): Beginning at 12th level, the Shadow Sun Ninja learns to better control the warring forces of light and dark within him, becoming capable of releasing carefully moderated bursts of light and dark energy, engulfing the area around him in alternating patterns of light and dark.

While he is in a Shadow Hand or Solar Wind stance, the Shadow Sun Ninja may choose to forgo its normal benefit as a swift action to gain the effect of shadow and light. This ability lasts as long as the Shadow Sun Ninja would maintain the stance, or as described below. He may also stop using child of shadow and light and resume gaining the normal benefit of the stance as a swift action.

If he uses this ability to exert light energy, the area around the Shadow Sun Ninja fills with blinding light. All enemies within a 60-foot radius burst become dazzled for one round. This ability is treated as a spell of a level equal to half the Shadow Sun Ninja's class level for the purposes of determining how it interacts with magical darkness.

If you exert dark energy, the area around you is cast into total darkness for 1 round in a 60-foot radius burst. This ability is treated as a spell of a level equal to half the Shadow Sun Ninja's class level for the purposes of determining how it interacts with magical darkness.

As long as you maintain this stance, you alternate between projecting light and darkness. If this ability is active at the beginning of your turn, its effects reverse. If it projects light, it now projects darkness, and vice versa. You cannot regain the effects of shadow and light on the same turn in which it ends.

Embracing the Shadow (Su): Once per day as a standard action, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 13th level or higher may “embrace the shadow”, temporarily shunning the ability to use maneuvers from any school except the Shadow Hand discipline as well as any spell, class feature, or other such ability that creates or augments light or uses positive energy, except for his Touch of the Shadow Sun ability, which inflicts unresistable profane damage on the second touch instead of healing during this time. If he is currently in a stance other than a Shadow Hand stance at the time of the transformation, he may change his stance as a free action.

When he uses this ability, the Shadow Sun Ninja chooses an amount of time for the transformation to last, up to one round per class level. During this time, he is healed by negative energy effects and harmed by positive energy effects, gains lifesense out to 120 feet and the ability to detect invisible creatures out to 60 feet, gains a +8 bonus on Hide checks and automatically succeeds on Move Silently checks, and gains a +4 bonus to attack rolls made against creatures in an area of darkness. Finally, each successful melee attack inflicts one negative level. For each successful negative level bestowed, the Shadow Sun Ninja is healed for five points of damage. These negative levels disappear after one hour, and never risk becoming permanent.

When this ability ends, the Shadow Sun Ninja takes one point of Constitution damage for each negative level he inflicted with this ability during the transformation. If he is immune to to Constitution damage, he instead takes 1 point of damage per hit die he possesses. Careless Shadow Sun Ninjas can slay themselves with this ability, though they may be raised normally if they die from the backlash.

From Darkness, Light (Su): Once per round as a free action, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 14th level or higher may cause an area of magical darkness within 60 feet to abruptly shift to an area of blinding radiance. All creatures within this area of shifted darkness, as well as any who enter it while it persists (except those that the Shadow Sun Ninja specifically excludes) must succeed on a Fortitude save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis modifier or be blinded for 1d4 rounds. The Shadow Sun Ninja may shift the area of darkness created by his child of light and darkness ability in this fashion, but doing so immediately ends the effects of the stance, though the area of shifted light persists until the end of his turn. Otherwise, the transformed area of light persists for as long as it would normally remain.

From Light, Shadow (Su): Once per round as a free action, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 15th level or higher may cause an area of magical light within 60 feet to abruptly shift to an area of utter blackness. All creatures save those the Shadow Sun Ninja specifically excluded within the area of shifted darkness are blinded for as long as they remain within the area, even if they possess a devil's See in Darkness ability or the effects of an ebon eyes spell or similar. As long as they remain within this area, affected creatures lose special detection modes (such as scent, blindsense, etc) except those that are supernatural in origin or originate from a spell or similar. The Shadow Sun Ninja may shift the area of light created by his child of light and darkness ability in this fashion, but doing so immediately ends the effects of the stance, though the area of shifted darkness persists until the end of his turn. Otherwise, the transformed area of darkness persists for as long as it would normally remain.

Banishing Shadows (Su): Once per encounter as a standard action, by voluntarily expending three readied and available Shadow Hand maneuvers to no effect, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 16th level or higher may replicate the effects of a banishment spell with a caster level equal to his class level, except that this ability is supernatural in nature, and as such does not allow for spell resistance.

Purifying Radiance (Su): Once per encounter as a standard action, by voluntarily expending three readied and available Solar Wind maneuvers to no effect, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 17th level or higher may replicate the effects of a sanctify the wicked spell with a caster level equal to his class level.

Alternately, if used against an undead creature, this ability instead allows the Shadow Sun Ninja to force a touched undead foe to succeed on a Will save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis modifier, or be utterly unmade, absolved of all sins committed while forced into its unholy semblance of life, and have its soul pass on to an appropriate afterlife. A willing, intelligent undead creature can choose to forgo its saving throw if this ability is used on it, receiving the effect of the redemption ability of the atonement spell before being unmade.

Unlike most supernatural abilities, spell resistance applies to both uses of this ability.

Enveloping Darkness (Su): Once per encounter, when he successfully delivers a Shadow Hand strike, a Shadow Sun Ninja of 18th level or higher can forgo its usual effects to instead force the struck foe to succeed on a Will save, DC 10 + ½ class level + Wis modifier or be enveloped by roiling, semisolid shadows, subjected to visions of torment beyond imagining. If the affected creature fails its save, it is rendered helpless for 1d4 rounds and takes 1d4 wisdom and constitution damage each round it remains helpless.

Embracing the Balance (Su): Beginning at 19th level, the Shadow Sun Ninja may use his Embracing the Light and Embracing the Shadow abilities once per encounter, rather than once per day. Additionally, while using these abilities he no longer suffers from the restrictions of each ability (though he may still use the altered version of his Touch of the Shadow Sun ability if he wishes, chosen at the time of the transformation), does not suffer constitution damage for inflicting negative levels with his Embracing the Shadow ability, and blinds his target(s) for one round whenever he successfully delivers a Solar Wind strike while using his Embracing the Light ability.

Shadow Sun Maelstrom (Su): Once per day as a full-round action, as a Shadow Sun Ninja of 20th level may expend six readied and available Shadow Hand or Solar Wind maneuvers of any combination to duplicate the effects of a maw of chaos spell centered on himself, except that the spell does not affect objects or creatures that the Shadow Sun Ninja chooses to remain unaffected. This effect persists until the end of the next turn on which the Shadow Sun Ninja created it, unless he expends an additional six readied and available Shadow Hand or Solar Wind maneuvers as a free action, in which case the effect persists for an additional round, up to a total number of rounds equal to the Shadow Sun Ninja's class level.

[bobthe6th]

this could be really fun...
am I missing the reference, or was it made without one?

[Circle of Life]

this could be really fun...
am I missing the reference, or was it made without one?

The Shadow Sun Ninja is a PrC from ToB that, while it has potential, has several glaring mechanical issues that make parts of it unusable. For instance, one of its abilities requires you to use an immediate action, then a swift action on your next turn. But an immediate action consumes your next turn's swift action, so there's no way you can actually use the ability as printed.

Plus, I think the game is better when you can play the character you want from level 1, as opposed to waiting 10 levels for it to come to be.

[bobthe6th]

and thats what I get for skiping ToBs PRCs...

[Circle of Life]

A bucketful of minor tweaks have been made to the class, along with several wording clarifications. This should be considered the finalized version short of someone finding an egregious loophole or somesuch.

[ScrambledBrains]

Finally, a viable Shadow Sun Ninja(One I'll use when I finally DM the campaign I want to soon.). You sir, have my utmost thanks.

[Demidos]

SO...awesome!!!

Only one question: as written, they cant be true neutral. Any reason why not?