[3.5 PrC] Hand of Rhyxali (WIP, PEACH)

[Dralnu]

HAND OF RHYXALI

"..."
-- A recent victim of a Hand of Rhyxali.

Rhyxali, the demon princess of shadow, is one of the most powerful fiends in the Abyss. She controls an entire layer called Shaddonon, a place of perpetual darkness and home to her shadow demon servants. Unlike such princes as Demogorgon, Orcus, and her brother Graz’zt, she maintains a low profile. She doesn't openly wage war with the other demon lords or covet a larger realm. Instead she seeks personal power, and she attains that power with the deadliest weapon of all: knowledge. Her shadow demon spies are her eyes and ears throughout the Lower Planes, and she in turn sells this information to anyone willing to pay, while keeping the best tidbits for herself to exploit. Shaddonon also has the reputation of being the main soul-trading center in the Abyss, which further increases her power.

Rhyxali has recently turned her attention to the Material Plane. For reasons unknown, she now seeks to expand her influence there. To do so, the princess of shadow has begun offering making Pacts of Shadow to exceptional magic-blooded mortals, granting them a taste of her fiendish powers, including her mastery of shadow and assassination. In return, these empowered individuals become become the demon lord's eyes and ears on the Material Plane, letting her see and hear what they do, and every soul of a victim they kill is sent to Shaddonon and placed in her possession.

These individuals that accept the Pact of Shadow are called Hands of Rhyxali. Innately magical beings that have their mystical powers augmented by the fiendish pact, Hands of Rhyxali are not obligated to swear loyalty to the princess of shadow and are free to follow their own path, but will forever more be mortal spies for her and every life they take will bolster her power.

BECOMING A HAND OF RHYXALI
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Alignment: Any nongood.
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Knowledge (Planes) 8 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks.
Feats: Pact of Shadow (new feat described below)
Invocations: Able to use the Darkness invocation.
Special: Sneak attack +1d6.


CLASS SKILLS
The hand of rhyxali’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier


Hit Dice: d8

HAND OF RHYXALI
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special |

Spellcasting

1st|+1|+0|+2|+0|Death Attack, Shadowsight, Shadow Jump|

--

2nd|+2|+0|+3|+0|Poison Use, Shadow Pounce|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

3rd|+3|+1|+3|+1|Empowered Attack, Sneak Attack +1d6|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

4th|+4|+1|+4|+1|Hide In Plain Sight|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

5th|+5|+1|+4|+1|Shadowslip|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

6th|+6|+2|+5|+2|Silencing Attack, Sneak Attack +2d6|

--

7th|+7|+2|+5|+2|Summon Shadow Demon|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

8th|+8|+2|+6|+2|Shadow Discorporation|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

9th|+9|+3|+6|+3|Quickening Attack, Sneak Attack +3d6|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

10th|+10|+3|+7|+3|Bloody Murder|

+1 level of existing invocation using class

[/table]

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You gain no proficiency in any weapon or armor.

Invocations: At each level except 1st and 6th, you gain new invocations known and an increase in caster level as if you had also gained a level in an invocation-using class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level (including eldritch blast). You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one invocation-using class before becoming a shadow assassin, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining caster level and invocations known.

Death Attack (Ex): As the assassin ability.

Shadowsight (Ex): Gifted with a mystical connection to shadow and darkness, you gain a superior form of darkvision with a 60-foot range. You can see through any form of normal or magical darkness without hindrance.

Shadow Jump (Su): You can travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow or darkness. You can jump a total of 20 feet per class level per day in this way. This amount can be split up among many jumps, but each jump, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.

Poison Use (Ex): At 2nd level, you gain the ability to use poison safely, as the assassin ability.

Shadow Pounce (Ex): At 2nd level, you learn how to attack swiftly from the shadows. Any time you use an ability, spell, or effect with the teleportation descriptor (for example, your shadow jump ability), you may execute a full attack upon completion of the teleportation. You must have line of sight on your intended target from your original location, and the spot to which you teleport must be a place from which you can launch a melee attack at the intended target with whatever weapon you have in hand at the beginning of your action. You may only perform this act once per round, regardless of how many times you teleport.

Sneak Attack (Ex): This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 at 6th and 9th level. If you get a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.

Empowered Attack (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, when you successfully deal sneak attack damage to an enemy, you gain a bonus +2 to any saving throw DC associated to that attack along with any other ability that you use before the start of your next turn.

Hide In Plain Sight (Su): At 4th level, you can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as you are within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, you can hide yourself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. You cannot, however, hide in your own shadow.

Shadowslip (Su): Starting at 5th level, the shadows on the ground reach up to envelop you. You can become momentarily intangible and slip through barriers. If you have 5 ranks in Escape Artist, you can attempt to slip through a solid object or barrier up to 5 feet thick with a DC 20 Escape Artist check. If you have 10 ranks in Escape Artist, you can attempt to pass through an object or barrier up to 10 feet thick. If you have 15 ranks in Escape Artist, you can attempt to pass through a barrier composed of magical force (or similar magical obstacles).

Silencing Attack (Su): Starting at 6th level, when you successfully deal sneak attack damage to an enemy, you may silence the enemy as a free action, as the spell Silence, except it only affects the target itself and not also the area around it. You can use this ability once per encounter.

Summon Shadow Demon (Sp): At 7th level, your growing understanding of Rhylaxi's fiendish blessings allows you to command her faithful servants, the shadow demons. You can summon a shadow demon (Book of Vile Darkness p172) once per day. This functions as a summon monster spell cast by a spellcaster of your effective character level. Shadow demons summoned this way cannot use any spell-like abilities other than their at-will spell-like abilities.

Shadow Discoporation (Su): At 8th level, you learn how to use your mastery of shadows to cheat death. If you are in shadows or darkness (anything but direct daylight or the illuminated radius of a light source), any damage that would reduce you to 0 hit points or below instead has a chance to discorporate you. You attempt a Reflex save (DC 5 + damage dealt); if successful, you simply break apart into dozens of flitting shadows and vanishes, along with anything you are holding or carrying. At the next sunset, you reappear at the spot of your choosing within one mile of the place where you were forced to discorporate. While discorporate, you simply do not exist - you can do nothing, nor can any of yout enemies do anything to you.

Quickening Attack (Su): Starting at 9th level, when you successfully deal sneak attack damage to an enemy, an invocation of "greater" grade or lower that you cast before the end of you next turn is quickened as by the Quicken Spell-like Ability metamagic feat. You do not need to know the Quicken Spell-like Ability feat to use this ability. You can use this ability once per encounter.

Bloody Murder (Ex): At 10th level, you've reached the pinnacle of assassination. You may observe any number of foes simultaneously when setting up a death attack. Whenever you kill or paralyze an opponent with a death attack, you may use shadow jump as a free action and get an immediate, extra melee attack at the end of the teleportation, which can also be a death attack if applicable. The extra attack is with the same weapon and at the same bonus as the attack that dropped the previous creature. There is no limit to the number of such bonus attacks you can receive per round.



PLAYING A HAND OF RHYXALI
Like the demon lord that has granted you power, you are a perfect assassin. Darkness itself is your greatest weapon, which you wield with unmatched mastery. Your wiser victims know that wherever there is but a single patch of shadow, they are not safe.

While you've chosen to augment your magics with Rhyxali's powerful blessings, you don't necessarily have to devote yourself to the demon princess of shadow, or even like her. Rhyxali doesn't ask for loyalty or anything that requires actual effort on the recipient's part. You passively spy for the demon lord just by existing. Each life you snuff out is added to her collection, but if you were willing to kill the person anyway, sending the victim's soul straight to Hell could be just a nice bonus. Both loyal fanatics and uncaring individuals are welcomed by Rhylaxi, so long as you have the magic blood required to contain her blessings.

COMBAT
You're most effective when playing towards your stealthy strengths. Striking from the shadows, taking out a target quickly before it can react and then retreating back into the darkness, that is the way of a masterful assassin. Others may call you an honorless coward, demanding you step into the light and face them without trickery. Those people will be dead on the ground a second later, while you haven't even suffered a scratch.

ADVANCEMENT
Accept Rhylaxi's offer of power and you will be granted it. Your magic-infused soul is a vassal for her fiendish blessings. As you grow in power and master your abilities, your soul grows stronger and allows you to contain more of the demon lord's powers as you continue progressing in this class.

RESOURCES
Hands of Rhyxali are made from personal pacts with the demon lord herself and there is no formal organization that the Hands congregate in. The individuals have no affiliation with each other because each individual made their pact for their own reasons. In fact, having organized groups would work against Rhyxali's interests, as she'd prefer to have her spies scattered amongst the realms rather than congregate in the same spot. Thus, Hands of Rhylaxi are for the most part self-sufficient.

HANDS OF RHYXALI IN THE WORLD
"Spoiled brats! If being born with magic in your veins wasn't lucky enough, now they're handed stealthy powers like free candy? Ah well. At least I can join the shadowdancers, I guess..."

- Lidda, a disgruntled rogue

Hands of Rhyxali are magic-blooded individuals that been bestowed with shadow powers of fiendish origin. The only common theme between them all is a lust for power without care of its origins. Hands of Rhylaxi are first and foremost assassins, and can be found anywhere an assassin could be found.

ORGANIZATION
There are no known organizations that house Hands of Rhyxali. However, it has been rumored that on rare occasions, a few Hands of Rhyxali that are devoted to the demon lord will gather together in order to accomplish a mission for her.

NPC REACTIONS
To people who do not know much of the Hand of Rhyxali's origins, they are simply stealthy assassins that command shadow magic, and their perception of them reflect their attitudes toward sneaky, deceptive killers that wield sneaky, deceptive magic. So, at the very least, "cautious" would be an appropriate attitude many people harbor towards one.

For those that do know about the source of the Hand of Rhyxali's powers, however, their attitude to them is the same as their attitude to the demon lord. In general, most people in-the-know hate and fear Hands, for the same reasons that they hate cruel, chaotic, thoroughly evil demons.

HAND OF RHYXALI LORE
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Planes) can research Hands of Rhyxali and learn more about them. When a character makes a skillcheck, paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs.
DC 10: I've heard strange tales of assassins that are most dangerous in darkness.
DC 15: These individuals are known as Hands of Rhyxali. They are magic-blooded individuals that have mastery over shadows and assassination techniques.
DC 20: Hands of Rhyxali gain their powers from a pact with a powerful demon lord.
DC 25: Reveals information about Rhyxali and the nature of the Pact of Shadow.

HANDS OF RHYXALI IN THE GAME
Hands of Rhyxali are more often enemies than allies. They may be found under the employment of another NPC to kill an important target, such as the PCs themselves, or any other situation where stealth and assassination is called for.
As a player character, a Hand of Rhyxali appeals to players that like playing sneaky characters that excel at scouting and hit-and-run tactics. Others may enjoy the shadowy theme of the class, or the unique blend of shadow magic with rogueish sensibilities that stand out from other assassin types.

ADAPTION
WIP

SAMPLE ENCOUNTER

Azazel D'ogun, a Hand of Rhyxali

Azazel D'ogun has never been accepted into society. When he was born, his single mother tried to raise the fiend-touched child in a cabin at the outskirts of a village. But when the villagers found the red-skinned boy with devilish horns and tail, they locked the mother and child in the cabin and lit in on fire, burning the mother alive. Azazel managed to survive due to his fiendish heritage. From that day on, the tiefling has lived on his own, sustaining himself as a thief and later as a mercenary and assassin when his innate magical powers began manifesting.

When Azazel discovered the Pact of Shadow, he immediately jumped at the opportunity to create one. To him, Rhyxali's fiendish blessings are a great boon to his goals and ambitions at no cost to himself. He has no desire to serve the demon lord, but doesn't care if he passively aids her in his regular daily life.

Azazel D'ogun CR 7
Male tiefling rogue 1/ warlock 4/ hand of rhyxali 2
CE Medium outsider (native)
Init +4; Senses darkvision (including magical) 60 ft.; Listen +3, Spot -1
Languages Common, Infernal, Draconic, Elven
-----------------------------------
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16
(+4 Dex, +6 armor)
hp 45 (7 HD); DR 1/cold iron
Immune outsider immunities
Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +3
-----------------------------------
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee 2 eldritch dagger +7 (3d6)
Ranged sickening eldritch blast +9 (3d6 plus sickened)
Base Atk +5; Grp +5
Atk Options death attack (DC 14), sneak attack +1d6, shadow pounce
SA darkness, detect magic, shadow jump
Combat Gear 1 vial of drow poison (unconscious DC 13), 1 vial of large scorpion venom (1d6 Str / 1d6 Str DC 18), 1 vials of giant wasp poison (1d6 Dex / 1d6 Dex DC 18)
Invocations Known (CL 5th):
Least —darkness, eldritch dagger* +9, sickening blast +9 (DC 13)
* New invocation; see below
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th):
1/day—darkness
Supernatural Abilities (CL 7th):
1/day— incorporeality (3 rounds)
-----------------------------------
Abilities Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 12 (elite array)
SQ trapfinding, deceive item, shadowsight, poison use, shadow pounce
Feats Two-Weapon Fighting, Pact of Shadow*, Weapon Finesse
* New feat; see below.
Skills Balance +10, Bluff +8, Disable Device +6, Escape Artist +8, Hide +14, Knowledge (arcana) +3, Knowledge (planes) +11, Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +3, Move Silently +8, Search +6, Spellcraft +3, Tumble +14, Use Magic Device +12
Scrolls 1 comprehend languages, 1 endure elements, 1 hide from animals, 1 hide from undead, 1 protection from good, 1 protection from evil, 1 protection from law, 1 protection from chaos, 1 undetectable alignment, 1 invisibility
Possessions combat gear and scrolls plus +1 mithril breastplate, 115gp
-----------------------------------
Sneak Attack (Ex) +1d6
Trapfinding (Ex) Can use the search skill to detect traps DC higher than 20 and can use Disable Device skill to disable traps.
Sickening Eldritch Blast (Sp) Fire a ray as a melee touch attack with a range of 60 feet. If it hits, the target takes 3d6 damage and must make a fortitude save (DC 13) or be sickened for one minute.
Detect Magic (Sp) Detect magic at will (CL 4).
Damage Reduction (Su) DR 1/cold iron.
Deceive Item (Ex) Can take 10 on UMD checks even when distracted or threatened.
Pact of Shadow (Su) 1/day go incorporeal for up to 3 rounds. Enemies killed must make a Will save DC 17 or have their souls sent to Rhyxali in Shadonnon.
Death Attack (Ex) Can make a sneak attack that can paralyze or kill the target (Fort save DC 14)
Shadowsight (Ex) See through normal or magical darkness 60ft.
Shadow Jump (Su) Teleport between shadows as by dimension door up to 40 feet per day.
Poison Use (Ex) Isn't at risk of poisoning himself when applying poisons.
Shadow Pounce (Ex) Perform a full attack at the end of a spell with the "teleport" descriptor.

Strategies and Tactics
Azazel D'ogun likes being fully prepared before entering combat. If he has time to prepare beforehand, he will use any appropriate scrolls on himself and coat his eldritch daggers with his wasp and scorpion venom. He will keep his Darkness invocation up to give himself concealment.

If possible, Azazel will begin in hiding. If there's nowhere to hide, he will use his scroll of Invisibility to gain concealment. He starts combat by shadow jumping beside a spellcaster and unleashing a shadow pounce death attack, hoping to take out the biggest threat in the surprise round.

If brought below half health, Azazel will retreat, likely using his 1/day incorporeality (3 rounds) from his Pact of Shadow to escape to safety.




Design:

Spoiler

Show

I wanted to make an assassin PrC for invokers. I want it to be low tier 3, roughly comparable to Tome of Battle classes.

The prestige class is an orgy of abilities derived from Assassin, Jade Phoenix Mage, Shadowdancer, and tons of Teflammar Shadowlord.

The prestige class is intended to be roughly balanced with a straight-classed warlock. A warlock taking this class loses 3 levels of caster progression and in return has his BAB upgraded from medium to full and a bunch of stronger, but more specialized assassin/shadow abilities. The result is that the warlock becomes a worse blaster / debuffer but a stronger melee roguish player.

[Dralnu]

NEW FEATS

PACT OF SHADOW
You have made an unbreakable pact with the demon lord Rhyxali, gaining some of her power in return for becoming her spy and soul collector.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (Planes) 3 ranks, Able to cast least invocations, Any nongood alignment
Benefit: Once per day as a standard action, you may become incorporeal, taking on the appearance (but not statistics) of a shadow. During this time, you gain the incorporeal subtype. This supernatural ability lasts for one round, plus an additional round per three character levels.

Whenever you kill a creature with a soul, the creature must make a Will save equal to 10 + your character level or their soul is immediately sent to Shadonnon and placed in Rhyxali's possession. There are very few ways to restore the soul's freedom. A carefully worded wish spell or miracle can work but may incur the wrath of Rhyxali if she found out about the theft. The boldest individuals might try to rescue the soul by entering Shadonnon in an effort to locate it, but there are no known accounts of such a crazy scheme ever being successful.

Special: Once you take this feat, you enter into a nigh-unbreakable pact with Rhyxali. Forever more, she and her shadow demon servants may scry on you as a supernatural ability, as the spell Greater Scrying. You automatically fail your Will save against this effect. Any attempt to block this scrying effect must succeed a DC 36 Will save or the attempt automatically fails.

This is not a function of this feat, but rather one of Rhyxali's demonic powers. As such, she and her minions can continue to scry on you even if you no longer possess this feat. Only powers far beyond mortal means can break this pact and undo its effects, but what it takes to do so is known only to Rhyxali and perhaps a handful of other incredibly powerful individuals in the universe.

NEW INVOCATIONS

EDLRITCH DAGGER
Least; 2nd; Blast Shape
You can form the energy of your eldritch blast into the shape of a dagger. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to a dagger of a size appropriate for its wielder and is treated as though made of mithral. On a successful attack with an eldritch dagger, you deal your eldritch blast damage instead of regular dagger damage. An eldritch dagger is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of affecting incorporeal targets.

Eldritch dagger is considered for all purposes as a normal weapon, and therefore gains the usual benefits a high Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls, can be used in conjunction with weapon-related feats such as Weapon Finesse, can be chosen for feats requiring a specific weapon choice such as Weapon Specialization, and can be targeted by spells or effects that target weapons. You may gain additional attacks with your eldritch dagger according to your BAB and other sources such as Haste.

Creating an eldritch dagger takes the same action as drawing the weapon normally, and is considered the equivalent of drawing it for all purposes (such as for use with the Iajutsu Focus skill). Each time you create your eldritch dagger anew, it is treated as a new and distinct weapon. Thus, you always create it with full hit points and effects affecting your previous eldritch dagger are not transferred onto the new one. The eldritch dagger dissipates into nothing if it's not in your hand by the end of your round, or immediately if anyone else holds it.

You cannot use eldritch essences in conjunction with an eldritch dagger.

Special: If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you may manifest an additional eldritch dagger in your offhand.

[Mulletmanalive]

Gonna be honest, i haven't read the class because i don't tend to read anything with screen stretch going on [or gratuitous spoilers but that's not relevant here].

Forum limit is supposed to be 600 pxls. Widescreens, with this forum's frames, can make it to about 800 without being fancy.

[Dralnu]

Oops. I made the picture much smaller, it shouldn't screen stretch anymore.

[Mulletmanalive]

Ok, the class seems solid, though as i'm a fan of the Warlock's balance point, it seems strong to me. That aside, a few suggestions:

Shadowsight: Well, this is basically just the Devil's Sight invocation. I'd either grant it as a bonus invocation [what's it going to hurt, really?] or oblige a prospective candidate to possess it before entering the class. I'd say prerequisite because the first level is currently heaving under its own weight...

Shadows in General: Connected to the above, it seems odd that with so many "shadow" themed Invocations, it seems a shame to not have them be a prerequisite, just to make sure that the class actually has some shadow going on before you get here; that way it would continue a theme rather than growing a new one from nowhere.

Empowered Attack: Be clear if this applies on effects from the attack that causes it; Death Attack is a courier on Sneak Attack, so this is important.

Bloody Murder: nice capstone, though tricky to evaluate balance as this can make you unstoppable if mooks are involved.

Overall: I kinda like the idea but there is no fluff for me to judge how well you've met your design goals... From the implied fluff in the name, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that while there is a real "stealthy killer" mojo going, it lacks much "shadow" compared to what is possible. I guess you've got to go through your own material and see if it's ticking all of your boxes.

As it stands, i'd say it was a nice alternative to the normal assassin but it wouldn't entice me from a warlocky path as there was no way to even feel like you were developing towards this. You're a warlock, you get a dice of sneak attack, bam! you're a deadly insta-kill machine. Not really feeling it.

[Dralnu]

Thank you for the critique!

Ok, the class seems solid, though as i'm a fan of the Warlock's balance point, it seems strong to me.

I'm aiming for a little more power than a warlock, but not greatly so (low/mid tier 3 really). I'm happy with the overall power level. Lose 3 caster levels, gain better but more specialized class abilities.

Shadowsight: Well, this is basically just the Devil's Sight invocation. I'd either grant it as a bonus invocation [what's it going to hurt, really?] or oblige a prospective candidate to possess it before entering the class. I'd say prerequisite because the first level is currently heaving under its own weight...

Shadows in General: Connected to the above, it seems odd that with so many "shadow" themed Invocations, it seems a shame to not have them be a prerequisite, just to make sure that the class actually has some shadow going on before you get here; that way it would continue a theme rather than growing a new one from nowhere.

You bring up a good point. I'm still thinking about this. I'd rather not close the door on other invoker classes (which really just means other homebrew I guess). But it would be a sensible pre-req and clean up the 1st level a bit.

Empowered Attack: Be clear if this applies on effects from the attack that causes it; Death Attack is a courier on Sneak Attack, so this is important.

Fixed.

Bloody Murder: nice capstone, though tricky to evaluate balance as this can make you unstoppable if mooks are involved.

You get it at level 17, you need to observe the targets for 3 rounds undetected, and the ability stops as soon as someone makes their Fort save. It doesn't work on anything without CON. I think it's fine.

Overall: I kinda like the idea but there is no fluff for me to judge how well you've met your design goals... From the implied fluff in the name, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that while there is a real "stealthy killer" mojo going, it lacks much "shadow" compared to what is possible. I guess you've got to go through your own material and see if it's ticking all of your boxes.

As it stands, i'd say it was a nice alternative to the normal assassin but it wouldn't entice me from a warlocky path as there was no way to even feel like you were developing towards this. You're a warlock, you get a dice of sneak attack, bam! you're a deadly insta-kill machine. Not really feeling it.

I added the fluff. You're a magic-born character that entered a pact with the demon princess of shadows to augment your powers with fiendish shadow magic in exchange for becoming her spy. I got Rhyxali's stats here, which includes shadowy goodness, sneak attack, etc.

If the fluff doesn't win people over, I could make it warlock-exclusive and add appropriate shadow invocations in the pre-requisite.

Thanks again for the critique!

[The Tygre]

A class based on Rhyxali, the Dark Man's baby sister?! Stupendous! Sign me up!

[Dralnu]

Bumped the BAB from Medium to Full, mostly because a Warlock 6 / Rogue 1 / HoR 1 has a +4 BAB, which really sucks for a "I hit things" class. Might reverse that change though if it's too strong now. Looks pretty balanced compared to something like Jade Phoenix Mage though.

Injected a whole bunch of fluff into the class. FLUFF OVERWHELMING!

[jiriku]

I endorse your fluff! Good timing, this. I'm running Expedition to the Demonweb Pits right now, and Rhyxali has a (very small) cameo in it. I'll see if I can't work a hand of rhyxali into one of the sidequests and give it a playtest for you. Probably be a couple of months before my players get that far along in the module, though.

[Dralnu]

That would be neat, thank you! Want me to whip you up an NPC for you? I want to make a sample NPC for the OP anyway. Just give me a race, class combo, and level.

I got an idea for the final ability. Summon a shadow demon (BoVD p172, CR 8). Hard to gauge the power of such an ability though. And for wording, "as Summon Monster" I guess?

[peacenlove]

That would be neat, thank you! Want me to whip you up an NPC for you? I want to make a sample NPC for the OP anyway. Just give me a race, class combo, and level.

I got an idea for the final ability. Summon a shadow demon (BoVD p172, CR 8). Hard to gauge the power of such an ability though. And for wording, "as Summon Monster" I guess?

The strongest summon from "disciple" classes is a CR 16 cornugon. I would however suggest something in the 12 CR range, upgradable with HD (but always 3-4 cr below you).
Alternatively you can just copy or modify the demon summoning ability of "thrall of" classes.

Also I am a sucker for shadow related material, consider this class used in my incoming games.

[jiriku]

That would be excellent! Let's see, tiefling for the race. CR 14 would be about right. Rogue 5/warlock 1/hand 8 would be good, or perhaps a team of four rogue 5/warlock 1/hand 4 (prolly all the same build). If you feel like replacing the 5 levels of rogue with 5 levels of the daring outlaw in my sig, that would save me the time of converting, but if that's too time-consuming for you, it's no problem.

[Garryl]

NEW FEATS

PACT OF SHADOW
You have made an unbreakable pact with the demon lord Rhyxali, gaining some of her power in return for becoming her spy and soul collector.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (Planes) 3 ranks, Able to cast lesser invocations, Any nongood alignment
Benefit: Once per day as a standard action, you may become incorporeal, taking on the appearance of a shadow. During this time, you gain the incorporeal subtype but the rest of your character statistics remain the same. This ability lasts one round per three character levels (minimum 1).

In addition, Rhylaxi and her shadow demon followers may scry on you as a supernatural ability, as the spell Greater Scrying. You automatically fail your Will save against this effect. Unlike regular scrying, it is impossible to block out this ability.

Finally, whenever you kill a creature with a soul, the creature must make a Will save equal to 15 + your character level or their soul is immediately sent to Shadonnon and placed in Rhyxali's possession.

Special: It is almost impossible to break this Pact once sworn to it.

How so do your statistics not change? Do you mean that nothing happens other than to norm for gaining the incorporeal subtype, do you mean that you gain the subtype but none of the traits (which would make it kinds useless, I guess), or is it something else?

Are creatures whose souls are sent to Shadonnon still resurrectable?

How so is it "almost impossible to break this Pact"? What does that actually mean? Since the pact is just a feat, does that mean you can't retrain it or trade it away with Psychic Reformation or Embrace the Dark Chaos? What if you no longer qualify for it (whether by changing to a good alignment, losing your invocations, or losing your ranks in Know (planes))?

[Dralnu]

That would be excellent! Let's see, tiefling for the race. CR 14 would be about right. Rogue 5/warlock 1/hand 8 would be good, or perhaps a team of four rogue 5/warlock 1/hand 4 (prolly all the same build). If you feel like replacing the 5 levels of rogue with 5 levels of the daring outlaw in my sig, that would save me the time of converting, but if that's too time-consuming for you, it's no problem.

Currently you need at least 6 levels in warlock (lesser, not least) to qualify for the PrC.

The strongest summon from "disciple" classes is a CR 16 cornugon. I would however suggest something in the 12 CR range, upgradable with HD (but always 3-4 cr below you).
Alternatively you can just copy or modify the demon summoning ability of "thrall of" classes.

I settled on the "disciple" method. At 14th level minimum, you get a CR 8 shadow demon, except I took out its limited SLAs to bring it in line with summon monster VII. Not as good as the disciple equivalents, but overall the class is strong enough I think.

Also I am a sucker for shadow related material, consider this class used in my incoming games.

Sweet! Tell me how it goes.

How so do your statistics not change? Do you mean that nothing happens other than to norm for gaining the incorporeal subtype, do you mean that you gain the subtype but none of the traits (which would make it kinds useless, I guess), or is it something else?

Nothing happens other than gaining the incorporeal subtype. I fixed the wording now.

Are creatures whose souls are sent to Shadonnon still resurrectable?

I changed it so you can only retrieve the soul with wish or miracle.

How so is it "almost impossible to break this Pact"? What does that actually mean? Since the pact is just a feat, does that mean you can't retrain it or trade it away with Psychic Reformation or Embrace the Dark Chaos? What if you no longer qualify for it (whether by changing to a good alignment, losing your invocations, or losing your ranks in Know (planes))?

Well.. Um.. Hmmm..

How about if I say that it's impossible to break, and if you no longer qualify for the feat then you lose the ability to become incorporeal, but Rhylaxi still gets to scry on you and you still send souls to her? Or should this pact just not be a feat at all?

[Garryl]

How about this?

Special: Once you take this feat, you enter into a nigh-unbreakable pact with Rhyxali. Forever more, she and her shadow demon servants may scry on you as a supernatural ability, as the spell Greater Scrying. You automatically fail your Will save against this effect. Unlike regular scrying, it is impossible to block out this ability. This is not a function of this feat, but rather one of Rhyxali's demonic powers. As such, she and her minions can continue to scry on you without fail even if you no longer possess this feat. Only powers far beyond mortal means can break this pact and undo its effects, but what it takes to do so is known only to Rhyxali and the perhaps the powers' bearers themselves.

[jiriku]

Currently you need at least 6 levels in warlock (lesser, not least) to qualify for the PrC.

Well then, probably warlock 6/rogue 1/hand x.

[Dralnu]

How about this?

Special: Once you take this feat, you enter into a nigh-unbreakable pact with Rhyxali. Forever more, she and her shadow demon servants may scry on you as a supernatural ability, as the spell Greater Scrying. You automatically fail your Will save against this effect. Unlike regular scrying, it is impossible to block out this ability. This is not a function of this feat, but rather one of Rhyxali's demonic powers. As such, she and her minions can continue to scry on you without fail even if you no longer possess this feat. Only powers far beyond mortal means can break this pact and undo its effects, but what it takes to do so is known only to Rhyxali and the perhaps the powers' bearers themselves.

Perfect, thank you once again!

Well then, probably warlock 6/rogue 1/hand x.

I'll get on it.

[Dralnu]

EDLRITCH DAGGER
Least; 2nd; Blast Shape
You can form the energy of your eldritch blast into the shape of a dagger. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to a dagger of a size appropriate for its wielder and is treated as though made of crystal. On a successful attack with an eldritch dagger, you deal your eldritch blast damage instead of regular dagger damage. An eldritch dagger is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of affecting incorporeal targets.

Eldritch dagger is considered for all purposes as a normal weapon, and therefore gains the usual benefits a high Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls, can be used in conjunction with weapon-related feats such as Power Attack, can be chosen for feats requiring a specific weapon choice such as Weapon Specialization, and can be targeted by spells or effects that target weapons. You may gain additional attacks with your eldritch dagger according to your BAB and other sources such as Haste.

Creating an eldritch dagger takes the same action as drawing the weapon normally, and is considered the equivalent of drawing it for all purposes (such as for use with the Iajutsu Focus skill). Each time you create your eldritch dagger anew, it is treated as a new and distinct weapon. Thus, you always create it with full hit points and effects affecting your previous eldritch dagger are not transferred onto the new one. The mind blade remains until you will it to dissipate, which takes the same action as and is equivalent to sheathing it. It also dissipates immediately if you fall unconscious.

You cannot use your normal eldritch blast ability while your eldritch dagger exists. You cannot use eldritch essences in conjunction with an eldritch dagger.

Special: If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you may manifest an additional eldritch dagger in your offhand.



New blast shape. Too much?

[Garryl]

EDLRITCH DAGGER
Least; 2nd; Blast Shape
You can form the energy of your eldritch blast into the shape of a dagger. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to a dagger of a size appropriate for its wielder and is treated as though made of crystal. On a successful attack with an eldritch dagger, you deal your eldritch blast damage instead of regular dagger damage. An eldritch dagger is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of affecting incorporeal targets.

Eldritch dagger is considered for all purposes as a normal weapon, and therefore gains the usual benefits a high Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls, can be used in conjunction with weapon-related feats such as Power Attack, can be chosen for feats requiring a specific weapon choice such as Weapon Specialization, and can be targeted by spells or effects that target weapons. You may gain additional attacks with your eldritch dagger according to your BAB and other sources such as Haste.

Creating an eldritch dagger takes the same action as drawing the weapon normally, and is considered the equivalent of drawing it for all purposes (such as for use with the Iajutsu Focus skill). Each time you create your eldritch dagger anew, it is treated as a new and distinct weapon. Thus, you always create it with full hit points and effects affecting your previous eldritch dagger are not transferred onto the new one. The mind blade remains until you will it to dissipate, which takes the same action as and is equivalent to sheathing it. It also dissipates immediately if you fall unconscious.

You cannot use your normal eldritch blast ability while your eldritch dagger exists. You cannot use eldritch essences in conjunction with an eldritch dagger.

Special: If you have the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you may manifest an additional eldritch dagger in your offhand.



New blast shape. Too much?

Tisk tisk. If you're going to borrow my stuff, at least clean it up properly. You left a reference to "mind blade" in the sentence about it remaining until you will it to dissipate. You might also want to change the crystal material to cold iron, alchemical silver, mithral, or some other material associated with the arcane instead of psionics.

Given that it's like a non-reach, light version of Eldritch Glaive that also consumes the Eldritch Essence slot and uses normal attack rolls instead of touch, so it's fine as a least invocation instead of EG's lesser. The fact that you can TWF with it is a point in the dagger's favor, but you're investing the feats into that style so it's fine.

You might also want to look at my updated Mind Blade wording, which includes being able to make multiple weapons innately but also prevents sharing them with others. Note that your version lacks the clauses preventing you from making multiples, so not only can you make multiples without needing TWF, but you can give them to others to use without interfering with your own abilities.

[Dralnu]

Oops. I'll take out the mind blade reference. Switching it to mithril. I forgot to use the soulknife's wording regarding the blade, "The moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates." Keeps it simple.

Eldritch Glave is also a least invocation, actually. It lets you make a "full attack" as touch attacks that deal EB damage along with any essence tacked on. The problem is it's not a weapon, which disqualifies itself from a whole bunch of fun stuff, and it's a full-round action and not a full attack, so it's even more restrictive and can't be used with shadow pounce. Not to mention it's extremely confusing to interpret in general.

There's also Eldritch Claws for true weapons, but the source is fairly obscure and has its own problems, so I went ahead and made an alternative while trying to make it as crystal clear as possible.

[Garryl]

Oops. I'll take out the mind blade reference. Switching it to mithril. I forgot to use the soulknife's wording regarding the blade, "The moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates." Keeps it simple.

Eldritch Glave is also a least invocation, actually. It lets you make a "full attack" as touch attacks that deal EB damage along with any essence tacked on. The problem is it's not a weapon, which disqualifies itself from a whole bunch of fun stuff, and it's a full-round action and not a full attack, so it's even more restrictive and can't be used with shadow pounce. Not to mention it's extremely confusing to interpret in general.

There's also Eldritch Claws for true weapons, but the source is fairly obscure and has its own problems, so I went ahead and made an alternative while trying to make it as crystal clear as possible.

I did not know that EG was least instead of lesser. Thank you for showing me. Regardless, this should be fine. It's only giving Warlocks something that they reasonably should be getting anyways. Not terrible useful without the TWF option when you first get it anyways, as with only one attack you're just doing EB damage in a less accurate, harder to use form. So, yeah, should be fine.





EDIT (02/10/2011, 10:17 PM):
Don't want to double post, so I'm editing.

The sample NPC is invalid. Also, the requirement of Least invocations to enter the PrC is mostly irrelevant. This is all due to Pact of Shadow's requirement of Lesser invocations, meaning that the earliest entry is Warlock 6/Rogue 1, and in that order to boot so you can pick up the feat with your 6th level feat.

If you change the feat to, say, Least invocations and CL 3rd, you could pick it up with your 3rd level feat and enter the class after Warlock 3/Rogue 1/X 1 (or Warlock 1/Rogue 1/X 3 with Practiced Spellcaster). Or change it to whatever you like.

Ooh, Indigo Tricksters can get in single-classed after 6 level with Rogue's Precision.

[Dralnu]

Thanks for the catch. The feat should've said least, not lesser. You can take it as warlock 1.

Indigo Tricksters, well.. I'll need to fix that. They can easily full attack twice per round with shadow pounce for little investment.

EDIT: I changed the pre-reqs and did some other touchups.

[Kirion]

Any suggested alternative to the shadow demon for people without access to BOVD?