Shroudhunter

Many are the perils that an undead presence imposes upon a nearby demihuman civilization.  Those civilizations that cannot root out and destroy all undead, but are instead forced to live with them close at hand for centuries, develop specialized paths to train their warriors into hunters of the night.  Shroudhunters hail from relatively advanced civilizations that emphasize arcane over divine magic.  Their moniker comes from a desert civilization whose warrior caste specialized in hunting mummies; it has stuck with adventurers and sages over the years, and now any similar path from any civilization is referred to by this term.

Alignment

Any.

Hit Die

d8.

Class Skills

The shroudhunter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana/dungeoneering/religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Rope (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st Level

(6 + Int modifier) ×4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level

6 + Int modifier.

Table: The Shroudhunter
Level Base
Attack Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save

Special

Spells per Day
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1st +1 +2 +2 +0 Code of conduct, Track
2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 Combat style
3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 Endurance
4th +4 +4 +4 +1 Ignore Spell Failure 10% 0
5th +5 +4 +4 +1 Favored enemy 0
6th +6/+1 +5 +5 +2 Improved combat style 1
7th +7/+2 +5 +5 +2 Disease Immunity 1
8th +8/+3 +6 +6 +2 Swift tracker 1 0
9th +9/+4 +6 +6 +3 Ignore Spell Failure 15% 1 0
10th +10/+5 +7 +7 +3 Favored enemy increase 1 1
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +7 +3 Combat style mastery 1 1 0
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +8 +4 Fear Not the Shroud 1 1 1
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +8 +4 Arcane Sight 1 1 1
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +9 +4 Ignore Spell Failure 20% 2 1 1 0
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +9 +5 Favored enemy increase 2 1 1 1
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +10 +5   2 2 1 1
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Death Ward 2 2 2 1
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6   3 2 2 1
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6 Ignore Spell Failure 25% 3 3 3 2
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Favored enemy increase 3 3 3 3

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the shroudhunter.

Code of Conduct

A shroudhunter must swear to destroy all undead, and loses all class abilities if he ever willingly allows an undead being to continue in its existence. His code of conduct also demands that he protect others from the depredations of undead.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A shroudhunter is proficient with simple and martial weapons, light armor, and all shields except for tower shields.

Track

A shroudhunter gains Track as a bonus feat.

Favored Enemy (Ex)

At 5th level, a shroudhunter gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against undead creatures. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.

At 10th level and every five levels thereafter, the bonus increases by 4.

Combat Style (Ex)

At 2nd level, a shroudhunter must select one of two combat styles to pursue: distance or close combat. This choice affects the character’s class features but does not restrict his selection of feats or special abilities in any way.

If the shroudhunter selects distance, he is treated as having the Rapid Shot feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

If the shroudhunter selects close combat, he is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

The benefits of the shroudhunter’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Endurance

A shroudhunter gains Endurance as a bonus feat at 3rd level.

Ignore Arcane Spell Failure

A 4th level shroudhunter gains the ability to ignore 10% of arcane spell failure for his shroudhunter spells. Every 5 levels thereafter, his ability to ignore arcane spell failure improves by 5%, to a maximum of 25% at 19th level.

Spells

Beginning at 4th level, a shroudhunter gains the ability to cast a small number of arcane spells, which are drawn from the shroudhunter spell list. A shroudhunter must choose and prepare his spells in advance (see below).

To prepare or cast a spell, a shroudhunter must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a shroudhunter’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the shroudhunter’s Intelligence modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a shroudhunter can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The shroudhunter. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Intelligence score. When Table: The shroudhunter indicates that the shroudhunter gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his Intelligence score for that spell level.

A shroudhunter prepares and casts spells the way a wizard does. A shroudhunter may prepare and cast any spell in his spellbook, provided that he can cast spells of that level, but he must choose which spells to prepare during his daily meditation. At each new shroudhunter level, he gains one new spell of any spell level that he can cast (based on his new level) for his spellbook. At any time, he can also add spells found in other spellbooks to his own, provided that they are shroudhunter spells.

Through 3rd level, a shroudhunter has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, his caster level is one-half his shroudhunter level.

1st-Level Shroudhunter Spells

2nd-Level Shroudhunter Spells

3rd-Level Shroudhunter Spells

4th-Level Shroudhunter Spells

Improved Combat Style (Ex)

At 6th level, a shroudhunter’s aptitude in his chosen combat style (distance or close combat) improves. If he selected distance at 2nd level, he is treated as having the Manyshot feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

If the shroudhunter selected close combat at 2nd level, he is treated as having the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

As before, the benefits of the shroudhunter’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Disease Immunity (Ex)

At 7th level, a shroudhunter gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Swift Tracker (Ex)

Beginning at 8th level, a shroudhunter can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal -5 penalty. He takes only a -10 penalty (instead of the normal -20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.

Combat Style Mastery (Ex)

At 11th level, a shroudhunter’s aptitude in his chosen combat style (distance or close combat) improves again. If he selected distance at 2nd level, he is treated as having the Improved Precise Shot feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

If the shroudhunter selected close combat at 2nd level, he is treated as having the Greater Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

As before, the benefits of the shroudhunter’s chosen style apply only when he wears light or no armor. He loses all benefits of his combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Fear Not the Shroud (Ex)

At 12th level, a shroudhunter gains immunity to supernatural and magical fear effects.

Arcane Sight (Sp)

A shroudhunter of 13th level or higher can cast arcane sight at will.

Death Ward (Su)

A shroudhunter of 18th level or higher is continually protected as though by the Death Ward spell. Note that, as with all shroudhunter abilities, this protection stems from mortal magics, and consequently artifacts and divine abilities are unaffected by it.

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