Schools of Shadow

The Blade Dancers
Lesson 1 – Blade Dancer’s Stance
A warrior must learn to hold his ground, deflecting blows while preparing to deliver the final strike that ends a duel. A character with this ability gains an additional +2 dodge bonus to AC when using the total defense combat maneuver or fighting defensively.

Lesson 2 – Superior Dodge
By accepting a –5 penalty to hit on all of his attacks for that round, the blade dancer may make a Reflex save with a +10 circumstance bonus to avoid a single attack. The blade dancer must use this ability before his opponent makes an attack. The attack must equal or exceed the blade dancer’s Reflex save in order to hit. A blade dancer may use this ability once per round.

Lesson 3 – Tumbling Attack
The blade dancer learns to make sudden, acrobatic moves that confuse his opponent and ruin his defense. As a move-equivalent action, a blade dancer may move half his speed and make a Tumble check opposed by his opponent’s attack roll at his best base attack bonus. If the blade dancer succeeds, his opponent loses his Dexterity bonus to AC against any attacks the blade dancer makes that round.

Lesson 4 – Burst of Speed
In combat, the blade dancer’s speed increases by 5 ft. This bonus does not apply when calculating the blade dancer’s speed outside of battle, such as during a chase or while traveling cross-country.

Lesson 5 – Improved Superior Dodge
The blade dancer may now use superior dodge twice per round. The penalty to his attack rolls remains –5.

Lesson 6 – Agile Attack
When using the Spring Attack feat, the blade dancer does not draw attacks of opportunity due to movement from one opponent of his choice, in addition to the creature he attacks.

Lesson 7 – Improved Burst of Speed
The blade dancer’s combat speed increases by an additional 5 ft. Otherwise, this ability functions as burst of speed.

Lesson 8 – Ultimate Dodge
The blade dancer may use superior dodge as many times as he wishes per round. The penalty to his attack rolls remains –5.

Lesson 9 – Vorpal Hurricane
After mastering the ability to use his speed and agility for defense, the blade dancer now learns to turn his talents to the attack. In combat, a blade dancer may move up to half his speed between attacks using the full attack action. Note that the blade dancer may not combine his Spring Attack feat with this ability.

Lesson 10 – Ultimate Spring Attack
When using the Spring Attack feat, the blade dancer ignores all attacks of opportunity caused by movement.

The Confidence Man
Lesson 1 – Sharp Bargainer
Acon artist starts slowly, learning the basics of bargaining and reading others’emotions before he can move to elaborate tricks and complex schemes. This lesson allows him to increase the price of goods he sells by 5% and decrease the cost of items he buys by the same percentage.

Lesson 2 – Convincing Liar
The con man’s understanding of others slowly increases. He reads a person’s emotions and desires in a few moments and tailors lies to cater to them. If a con man can spend more than five minutes in conversation with his mark, he gains a +4 insight bonus to Bluff checks he makes during that conversation and in later encounters with the NPC.

Lesson 3 – Energetic Presence
The con man brims with enthusiasm and confidence when he lies. His deceptions benefit from his presence and boundless energy. When attempting to use his Bluff skill against a crowd of more than a dozen people, the con man gains a +2 circumstance bonus to his Bluff check and can use his skill in half the time normally required.

Lesson 4 – Masterful Bargainer
The confidence man’s skill and experience in making deals allows him to sell goods for 10% more than usual and buy goods at a 10% discount.

Lesson 5 – Tangled Twist of Words
When finely selected words fail, the con man can always fall back on a confusing swarm of invective, pleas, and wild accusations. This tactic fails utterly in calm situations, as the non-sensical nature of the con man’s speech is readily apparent. In combat, the emotion and chaos of the situation allow the con man’s energetic personality and forceful will to shine through his nonsense, confusing his opponent and paralyzing him with indecision for one critical moment. Once per encounter, the con man may make a Bluff check opposed by his opponent’s Will save. If he succeeds, his opponent loses his next action as per the daze spell. The con man does not have to share a language with his target, but the victim of this ability must have and use some form of spoken language. This is a mind-affecting ability.

Lesson 6 – Rumor Monger
The con man’s understanding of communication and interpersonal relations extends beyond the personal interactions he normally engages in. He learns to spread rumors about his scams that make people in a region more amenable to his lies. If the con man spends a day seeding an area with rumors, he gains a +2 circumstance bonus to all Bluff checks he makes in that area for a number of days afterward equal to 1d4 + his Charisma modifier. This area may be as large as a town or a specific district within a larger city.

Lesson 7 – Master Trader
The con man’s innate understanding of deals and trade allows him to sell goods for 20% more than normal and spend 20% less than the listed price when purchasing items.

Lesson 8 – Supreme Confidence
The con man brims with enthusiasm and confidence in his lies and tricks. He easily bowls over any concerns others may have with his energy and self-assurance. When using his Bluff skill, creatures with 5 or fewer HD may not use Sense Motive or other skills to resist his check. Weak or inexperienced creatures simply crumple in the face of his skillfully crafted lies.

Lesson 9 – Verbal Bull Rush
The con man’s personality allows him to brush aside even the most imposing person for a short period of time. If an NPC attempts to use Sense Motive against the con man, he must first make a Will saving throw with a DC equal to the con man’s Bluff check. On a failed saving throw, the NPC is treated as if he failed his Sense Motive check for a number of rounds after the attempt equal to 1d4 + the con man’s Charisma modifier. The con man’s bluster and confidence throw his mark on the defensive, confusing him and forcing him to spend a few moments collecting his bearings.

Lesson 10 – Sell the Moon
This final lesson teaches a con man how to pull off some of the most audacious tricks ever attempted. He learns to not only project his lies on to others, but to convince them to believe in them with their heart and soul. The con man can convince others to believe his lies, no matter how outrageous. If an NPC misses a Sense Motive check that opposes the con man’s Bluff check by 10 or more, the NPC becomes convinced of the con man’s lies to the point that he refuses to reconsider their reliability. For 2d6 days afterward, the NPC deeply believes the con man’s lies, to the point that he clings to them with a fanatic’s abandon. No amount of debate short of blatant, physical evidence can convince him otherwise

Master of Disguise
Lesson 1 – Master of Speech
The student of disguise gains an additional language of his choice. This may be any tongue commonly spoken by a race in the campaign world but does not include any secret or hidden language. In addition, the student learns to quickly assimilate accents and local dialects of languages he already knows. With 5 – his Intelligence modifier days of study, he can learn the speech patterns used by the locals for any language he already knows.

Lesson 2 – Superior Disguise
The student learns to better create disguises that radically alter his appearance. Using prosthetics and other tools, he may ignore the standard penalties to the Disguise skill for altering his sex, race, age, or character class.

Lesson 3 – Clever Improvisation
While applying a useful disguise takes time, sometimes the master of disguise does not have the time necessary to create a full disguise. The student learns to don a disguise in 1d3 x 10 rounds, rather than minutes, at the cost of a –5 circumstance penalty to his Disguise check. Furthermore, the master of disguise cannot make any drastic changes to his appearance, such as altering his race, sex, height, or age.

Lesson 4 – Master of Words
While in disguise, the student gains a +2 competence bonus to all Bluff checks. He learns to so thoroughly sink into the roles he assumes that he believes his own lies. Half-truths and falsehoods come easily to him when they are part of his role.

Lesson 5 – Mimic
If the master of disguise has at least three days to study a specific figure, he can adopt that person’s mannerisms and dress and claim his identity. The master’s skill with disguise and thorough study of his target’s mannerisms reduces the bonus his target’s friends and acquaintances receive to penetrate his disguise by 2.

Lesson 6 – Cloak Nature
Magical divinations are the bane of any spy, but the master of disguise learns to so thoroughly immerse himself into his chosen role that the sheer force of his belief can foil some divinations. When subject to detect chaos, detect evil, detect law, or detect good, the master of disguise is allowed a Will save to detect as the alignment of his choice. The save DC equals 10 + the spell’s level + the caster’s relevant ability modifier.

Lesson 7 – Masterful Linguist
The master of disguise learns a single secret language of his choice and may use the Speak Other Language skill to acquire new secret languages. The master’s contacts and research uncovers the information necessary to acquire such a language.

Lesson 8 – Magical Alertness
By studying the nature and methods of divination magic, the master of disguise learns to spot their effects. When targeted with a divination spell of any type, the master of disguise is allowed a Will saving throw to notice the subtle signs of such magic. On a successful save, the spell fails to function or reveals information of the master’s choice as appropriate. The master of disguise uses mental exercises and other mundane countermeasures to ruin the spell’s effects.

Lesson 9 – Alias
The master of disguise learns to perfectly duplicate the mannerisms and actions of a specific person that he studies for two weeks. After this period of time, the master of disguise may adopt his target’s identity. Associates of his target receive a bonus 6 less than normal to detect his disguise.

Lesson 10 – Perfect Disguise
The master of disguise crafts such cunning deceptions that only the most observant people he encounters suspect a thing, even after personally interacting with the master. Creatures or NPCs with 5 or fewer Hit Dice never suspect the master’s disguise unless they are specifically told to look for him

Master of Venoms
Lesson 1 – Venom Handler
One of the most important lessons a master of venoms learns is how to handle dangerous substances without exposing himself to risk. When using a poison on a weapon, the master of venoms does not run the risk of accidentally poisoning himself while applying venom to a sword or using it to prepare alchemical items or more powerful poisons. However, the master of venoms still runs the risk of accidentally poisoning himself on a “natural 1” when using a poisoned weapon in combat.

Lesson 2 – Venom Merchants
In the course of studying poisons and their use, the master of venoms comes into contact with alchemists, craftsmen, and others who prepare and sell poisons. He can purchase any poison at a 5% discount on its listed price.

Lesson 3 – Weapon Handler
When attacking with a poisoned weapon, the master of venoms does not risk injuring himself with his weapon and exposing himself to the poison he uses. He learns subtle fighting techniques that reduce his chance of a fatal error to zero.

Lesson 4 – Harvest Poisons
As the master of venoms learns more of the noxious chemicals he employs and their manufacture, he studies creatures that use poison and learns how to harvest and use their venom. With a successful Alchemy or Heal check (DC 20) the master of venoms can extract 1d3 doses of poison from a freshly killed creature that has a poison special attack. This poison functions exactly as the creature’s venom.

Lesson 5 – Poison Craftsman
As the master of venom’s training progresses, he learns to concoct poisons from their base ingredients. He may use the Alchemy or Craft (poison) skills to produce any poison that costs 200 gp or less per dose. Treat the poison as any other item created using the Craft skill.

Lesson 6 – Poison Dealer
The master of venoms may now purchase poisons at a 10% discount. His increasing skill and renown in his art puts him into contact with likeminded craftsmen who offer him good bargains in exchange for advice and assistance in their endeavors.

Lesson 7 – Strengthen Poison
The master of venoms learns to create more potent versions of standard poisons by mixing them in highly concentrated doses. By combining two doses of a single poison, he may create a single dose with an increased save DC of +2.

Lesson 8 – Expert Craftsman
With his education nearing its completion, the master of venoms may now create any poison, regardless of its cost, with his Alchemy or Craft(poison) skills.

Lesson 9 – Venomous Strike
Not only does the master of venoms learn how to create poisons, but he also learns how to use them. He may poison a weapon as a free action once per round. With a practiced flick of his wrist and a swift motion, he drips venom on to a weapon and strikes with it in one fluid act. The master of venoms must carry a vial of poison in one hand to execute this maneuver.

Lesson 10 – Deadly Injection
When fighting with a poisoned weapon, the master of venoms learns to strike at areas that are particularly suited to delivering his poisons. On a critical hit, he may opt to deny his opponent a saving throw to resist his poison in return for inflicting no damage with his attack. With his opponent’s guard down or a gap appearing in his armor, the master of venoms delivers his poison with a quick slash of his weapon. The victim loses its saving throw only against the initial damage caused by the poison, not the secondary damage.

The Shadowlurker
Lesson 1 – Information Network
A shadowlurker thrives on information. As he learns more of his target’s history, actions, and abilities, he slowly weaves a web that can entrap and destroy his enemy. A shadowlurker may use Gather Information at 10 times the listed time and gold necessary to learn about any subject that he could normally hear of using that skill. Using a network of informers and spies, the shadowlurker spreads word that travels via merchants, wizards, travelers, and others, eventually filtering the information he seeks back to him. Distance is no longer a barrier to using the Gather Information skill.

Lesson 2 – Face in the Crowd
When using the Disguise skill to mimic a guard, servant, or other person who is a member of a large, organized body, the shadowlurker gains a +2 circumstance bonus to his check.

Lesson 3 – Scout Location
If the shadowlurker spends one hour examining a location where he later engages in a fight, his knowledge of that place grants him either a +1 competence bonus to attacks or a +1 dodge bonus to AC. The shadowlurker uses the terrain to his advantage. Only one location at a time may be studied and used in this manner.

Lesson 4 – Connections
The shadowlurker cultivates contacts in a wide variety of places. He may now use Gather Information at 10 times the necessary time and 20 times the cost to learn about a single, specific, public figure who lives in a civilized area. He can uncover a person’s character level, alignment, and daily routine.

Lesson 5 – Escape Route
After studying a location using his scout location ability, the shadowlurker can plot an escape route from that area. When fighting within that area, the shadowlurker may ignore all attacks of opportunity caused by movement for one round as he uses the terrain to cover his actions. During this round, the shadowlurker may do nothing but move.

Lesson 6 – Silent Killer
While hiding or sneaking through an area, the shadowlurker may make a grapple check as a free action before attacking a victim in order to silence him. If the grapple succeeds, his victim cannot scream or cry out until he breaks free.

Lesson 7 – Sniper
After scouting a location, the shadowlurker can pick a place to snipe at his targets if appropriate. For example, a shadowlurker cannot act as a sniper in a 10-foot-by-10-foot dungeon room. In an appropriate area, the shadowlurker gains a +5 circumstance bonus to Hide checks. After attacking from hiding, his opponents must make a Spot check to see him. If he attacks again, he is discovered as normal.

Lesson 8 – Contacts and Informants
The shadowlurker can now learn one of the following facts about a specific person, even private figures: spells known and commonly used, magical items owned, or magical abilities commonly used. He must make a Gather Information check (DC 25) and spend two weeks and 2d6 x 100 gp to pay off informants and uncover this information. The shadowlurker may use this ability once per person and may only pursue information on one subject at a time.

Lesson 9 – Devious Escape
When pursued by his opponents, the shadowlurker is an expert at doubling back, using obstacles and other tricks to escape. Those who attempt to track him suffer a –5 circumstance penalty to their Wilderness Lore checks. When directly pursued, the shadowlurker may make a Tumble, Jump, or Dexterity check opposed by his pursuer’s own checks. Those who fail must give up the chase as the shadowlurker crosses an obstacle or performs a trick that leads them astray.

Lesson 10 – Surprise Attack
When attacking with surprise, the shadowlurker strikes with quick, decisive blows. He may use the full-attack action to attack a single victim during a surprise round.