Shadowsoul Sniper (3.5e Class)

Shadowsoul Sniper

Noiselessly, the Shadowsoul stalks his prey. He is patient and calm; waiting for just the right moment to strike. With blade or bow, the Shadowsoul never misses his mark.

Making a Shadowsoul Sniper

The Shadowsoul Sniper is a master of darkness. He stakes his life on binding his soul to a weapon through the use of Shadow Wisps. In doing so, the Shadowsoul Sniper gains bonuses when wielding the soul-bound weapon. In addition, he can use his Shadow Wisps to augment his abilities. The Shadowsoul Sniper is most comfortable as a scout, assassin, or other specialist. Players must be wary when playing as a Shadowsoul Sniper as their true potential can only be realized under the cover of darkness.

Abilities: Dexterity important for ranged attacks and skills. Charisma important for class features. Strength, Intelligence and Wisdom important for skills. Constitution important to boost low hit die.

Races: Any, but most often Shadar-Kai, Drow, Dueregar, or other races that favor darkness.

Alignment: Any. Generally, Shadowsoul Snipers lean towards evil because of the influence that darkness has on them.

Starting Gold: 4d12 x 10 (240gp)

Starting Age: As fighter

Table: The Shadowsoul Sniper

Hit Die: 1 lv d10 + con mod

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+0	+2	+0	Shadow Wisp, Soul-bound Weapon, AC Bonus
2nd	+2	+0	+3	+0	Nocturnal Hunter, Drop The Hammer
3rd	+3	+1	+3	+1	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
4th	+4	+1	+4	+1	Shadow Companion
5th	+5	+1	+4	+1	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
6th	+6/+1	+2	+5	+2	Shadow Shot
7th	+7/+2	+2	+5	+2	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
8th	+8/+3	+2	+6	+2	Call Soul-bound Weapon
9th	+9/+4	+3	+6	+3	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
10th	+10/+5	+3	+7	+3	Dark Flow
11th	+11/+6/+1	+3	+7	+3	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
12th	+12/+7/+2	+4	+8	+4	Improved Drop the Hammer
13th	+13/+8/+3	+4	+8	+4	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
14th	+14/+9/+4	+4	+9	+4	Scry Soul-bound Weapon
15th	+15/+10/+5	+5	+9	+5	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+5	+10	+5	Shadowmeld
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+6	Armor of Darkness
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6	Soul-bound Weapon Bonus Feat
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6	Power of Darkness

Can choose three from stealth, Deception, survival, intimidation

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Shadowsoul Sniper.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Simple weapons, all ranged weapons (including exotic and firearms), no armor, and no shields.

Shadow Wisp (Su): The source of a Shadowsoul Sniper's power comes from dark beings called shadow wisps. The wisps exist in conjunction with the Shadow Sniper, forming themselves to his soul. As the Shadow Sniper grows in levels, more wisps form to him, increasing his power. He may manipulate these wisps to enhance himself beyond normal bounds. Each wisp has a power of +2/+5, which can be applied to many abilities. The first number can be applied to attack, damage, skills, and saves. The second is more limited. This can only be applied to speed, health, and some abilities. Multiple wisps may stack, but each can only enhance one ability at a time (Example: 7th level Shadowsoul Sniper places 3 wisps on attack for +6, and 4 on speed for +20). The way you use the wisp is not permanent, your wisps reset as each day passes.

The Shadow Sniper may also use his wisps for other purposes. Talk to your DM to see how they can be used. Examples are summons, teleporting, shields, structures, wings, etc. A Shadow Sniper gains 2 wisps per level. Shadow Wisps can be activated and deactivated once per encounter as a free action or once per hour outside of combat. Shadow Wisps placed on skills temporarily augment the skill's ranks (+2 bonus) and the number of wisps able to be placed upon a skill max at 3+ the Shadowsoul's level. A Shadow Wisp's effect is halved (rounded down) in anything brighter than low-light.

Soul-bound Weapon (Su): Whether the Shadowsoul Sniper chooses this weapon or the weapon chooses him is still up for debate, but the bond between weapon and wielder is legendary. The Shadowsoul Sniper or DM may designate a single ranged weapon to be part of his "Shadowsoul," an extension of his abilities that in turn empowers the Shadowsoul Sniper. These abilities are only in effect when the Shadowsoul Sniper is actively wielding the weapon (except for an example such as Quick Draw, which is a character-effecting feat). The feats gained through Soul-bound Weapon may be applied only to the Soul-bound Weapon itself or to the Shadowsoul Sniper when applicable.

If the Shadowsoul Sniper loses his Soul-bound Weapon or if it is destroyed, it can take many weeks, if not months, to bind his soul to another weapon. When he does, he must permanently fuse a Shadow Wisp to the weapon (In game, this means the Shadowsoul Sniper effectively loses a Shadow Wisp). A Shadowsoul Sniper's soul may be connected strong enough to his Soul-bound Weapon that in the event of a Shadowsoul Sniper's death, his soul is held safely within his Soul-bound Weapon. This mostly depends on the cause and manner of death and how heavily invested the Shadowsoul Sniper is in his Soul-bound Weapon. Talk to your DM about what kind of consequences this could have.

Starting at level 1 and every odd level thereafter, the Shadowsoul Sniper may choose a bonus feat from the following selection. The Shadowsoul Sniper must meet all prerequisites for each of these feats (excluding class restrictions).

Bonus feats for Soul-bound Weapon: Alertness, Sneaky, Improved Initiative, Point-Blank Shot, Weapon Focus, Called Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload, Quick Draw, Weapon Specialization, Far Shot, Ranged Trip, Ranged Disarm, Firearm or Bow Mastery, Improved Critical, Speed Loader, Improved Precise Shot, Power Critical, Greater Weapon Specialization, Firearm or Bow Sniper, Bleeding Critical

AC Bonus (Su): With every wisp the Shadowsoul Sniper gathers to his Shadowsoul, the darkness within his soul melds itself into a protective barrier over his body, granting a +1 AC bonus for every wisp he currently has available. For example, a 5th Level Shadowsoul Sniper has a passive AC Bonus of +10.

Nocturnal Hunter (Ex): The night is the home of a Shadow Sniper. He gains Darkvision full and Blindsense equal to his Wisdom modifier x 10ft. Shadow Wisps can increase the range by 10 feet per Wisp. In Low-Light or brighter, this distance is calculated, then reduced by 1/2.

Drop the Hammer (Ex): The Shadowsoul Sniper is so adept at pinpointing a foe's weak spots he will always cause massive damage if he connects. Using a Shadow Wisp and his Soul-bound Weapon, if the Shadowsoul Sniper's attack roll succeeds, the enemy must make a fortitude save equal to DC 10 + number of Shadow Wisps used + Shadowsoul Sniper's Intelligence Modifier + Shadowsoul Sniper's Class Level or it dies. If the save is successful, the shot still deals critical damage.

Shadow Companion (Sp): Starting at 4th level once per day, the Shadowsoul Sniper may use his wisps to create certain creatures with the shadow subtype. Once a creature has been chosen, you may not choose a different creature if the first one is destroyed. Instead, you may resummon the same creature. The creature's HD are equal to the number of wisps used. Creatures that can be summoned are: Shadow Mastiff, Shadow, Will-o-wisp, Blink Dog, Yeth Hound, Darkmantle, and some other creatures with the Shadow subtype. Talk to your DM about what creatures would be appropriate.

Shadow Shot (Ex): The Shadowsoul Sniper uses his surroundings to conceal his location when attacking. The normal penalty to a hide check after attacking is -20. In low light, this is reduced to -10, darkness to -5, and magical darkness -0.

Call Soul-bound Weapon (Sp): The Shadowsoul Sniper can will his weapon to his hands. The weapon must not be gripped by anyone or held down, so that it may fly free to it's master. The Shadowsoul Sniper must make a Concentration check, DC= 5 + 1 for every 10 feet away the Soul-bound weapon is away from it's master. The Shadowsoul Sniper must be able to see the bonded weapon or know its exact location to call it to him. This is equivalent to a standard action to perform, or a movement action if the Shadowsoul Sniper has the Quick Draw feat.

Dark Flow (Su): The Shadowsoul Sniper may choose to increase the power of his Shadow Wisps by one of three ways; he may double the effect of his first number, double the +5 of his second number, or double the effects that Shadow Wisps have on his abilities.

Improved Drop the Hammer (Ex): The Shadowsoul Sniper is so adept at pinpointing a foe's weak spots he will always cause massive damage if he connects. Using a Shadow Wisp and his Soul-bound Weapon, if the Shadowsoul Sniper's attack roll succeeds, the enemy must make a fortitude save equal to DC 10 + number of Shadow Wisps used + Shadowsoul Sniper's Intelligence Modifier + Shadowsoul Sniper's Class Level or it dies. If the save is successful, the shot still deals critical damage, except that the multiplier is increased by one. (Example: x2 crit becomes a x3, x3 becomes a x4, and so on.)

The Shadowsoul Sniper must normally study the enemy for at least 3 rounds and must make the attack within 3 rounds of studying the enemy for Drop The Hammer to take effect, however, with Improved Drop The Hammer, the attack may be made study-less with a minus to the attack roll, equal to the number of Shadow Wisps used. Enemies immune to critical hits are immune to Drop the Hammer.

Scry Soul-bound Weapon (Sp): A Shadowsoul Sniper can scry (as the spell) on his Soul-bound Weapon once per day. This ability allows the Shadowsoul Sniper to see and hear his bonded weapon and its surroundings as if they were never separated. Scry Soul-bound Weapon lasts 1 round + 1 round per Shadow Wisp used + Intelligence Modifier.

Shadowmeld (Sp): The Shadowsoul Sniper is so at home in the shadows that he gains Invisibility (as the spell) in darkness.

Armor of Darkness (Sp): The Shadow Sniper has idled in the shadows long enough to bring the shadows wherever he goes. He gains a 10% concealment bonus. Shadow Wisps can increase this by 5% per 2 wisps up to 25% concealment.

Power of Darkness (Su): The Shadowsoul Sniper may again increase the power of Shadow Wisps in the same way as Dark Flow. Thi is to say, Dark Flow is applied first to the wisp, and the result is then effected by Power of Darkness. If the Shadowsoul Sniper is in low-light or brighter, the result is then reduced by 1/2. (Ex. Alain, the human 20th level Shadowsoul Sniper, has 40 wisps available. He chooses to apply 3 to his speed, which would normally grant a +15, but chooses to also use his Dark Flow and Power of Darkness abilities. Dark Flow is applied first, raising the speed boost to +30. Power of Darkness is then applied, increasing the speed boost to +60. However, Alain is in full daylight, reducing his total speed boost back to a +30.) In the case of an off-numbered result (Such as 37.5) The result should be rounded down to the nearest 5.

Epic Shadowsoul Sniper

Table: The Epic <-class name->

Hit Die: d4

Level	Special
21st	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
22nd	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
23rd	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
24th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
25th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
26th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
27th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
28th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats-
29th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
30th	<-any improvements to class features gained at this level, including any bonus feats->
<-number of skill points-> + Int modifier skill points per level.

<-existing class feature->: <-how this class feature increases or accumulates at epic levels->

<-another existing class feature->: <-how this class feature increases or accumulates at epic levels->

Shadar-Kai Shadowsoul Sniper Starting Package

Weapons: Longbow, Short Sword, 20 arrows

Armor: Leather Armor

Ability Scores: Str 10 Dex 17 Con 12 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 15

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty
<-Skill name->	<-4 for class skills and 2 for cross-class skills->	<-Abbrieviated key ability->	<-armor check penalty based on starting armor. If innapplicable put "—"->
<-Skill name->	<-4 for class skills and 2 for cross-class skills->	<-Abbrieviated key ability->	<-armor check penalty based on starting armor. If innapplicable put "—"-> <-copy and paste the rows as necessary.->

Feat: <-1st-level feat selection->.

Bonus Feats: <-1st-level feat bonus feats due to class or sample race. remove this section if this sample doesn't get any bonus feats at 1st level. ->.

Gear: Backpack, waterskin, trail rations, flint and tinder, bedroll, tools

Gold: 15gp

Campaign Information

Playing a Shadowsoul Sniper

Religion: Chaotic or Evil Shadowsoul Snipers typically worship gods of darkness and assassination, like Shar, Nerull, Cyric, and Mask. Lawful or Good Shadowsoul Snipers may worship deities of patience, reason, and study, like Delleb, or justice and retribution, like Helm and Saint Cuthbert. Neutral Shadowsoul Snipers generally worship the goddess of death, fate, and doom: the Raven Queen.

Other Classes: Many see the uses that a Shadowsoul can bring to the table as invaluable, but few like it. Even a Lawful Good Shadowsoul can be despised by a Paladin, who perceives a Shadowsoul's bond with darkness as unholy. Rogues and Rangers often find themselves competing with the Shadowsoul. Many find the cautious and patient nature of Shadowsoul Snipers frustrating. Those that readily get along with a Shadowsoul, let alone love one, are few and far between; rather the Shadowsoul inspires respect and fear.

Combat: A Shadowsoul Sniper's job in combat is a silent striker much like a rogue, but with the precision of a Ranger from afar. Using their Shadow Wisps, they can potentially deal extremely accurate and deadly blows with their soul-bound weapon.

Advancement: Shadowsoul Snipers typically level exclusively as a Shadowsoul, although some take levels in Rogue, Ranger, Fighter, Assassin, or Shadow Dancer to augment their abilities further.

Shadowsoul Snipers in the World

“	<-Some quote from a character of this class->	”
—<-NPC name->, <-race-> Shadowsoul Sniper

The Shadowsoul Sniper is just one of many classes of Shadowsouls.

Daily Life: <-day in the life of a character of this class->.

Notables: <-notable NPCs of this class->.

Organizations: Organized groups of Shadowsouls are called Brotherhoods, and the bonds the members form with each other are near as strong as the bonds they form with their weapons. These Brotherhoods serve different purposes depending on the individuals within a Brotherhood. Some Brotherhoods are contract killers, others a religious order, and still more as vigilantes.

NPC Reactions: Known Shadowsouls are generally regarded with wariness. Open hostility towards Shadowsouls is not uncommon among followers of Pelor and other deities of light and purity.

Shadowsoul Sniper Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (History) or Gather Information can research Shadowsoul Snipers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
5	Shadowsouls are weakened in daylight and bright light.
10	A Shadowsoul uses dark beings called Shadow Wisps to empower himself.
15	Shadowsouls congregate in Brotherhoods, and fill a wide variety of roles and functions, such as assassins, deities' instruments, and vigilantes.
20	Shadowsoul Snipers bind a portion of their soul to a ranged weapon, making the weapon a part of them. When a Shadowsoul dies, at least part of their soul remains in their soul-bound weapon. Extremely powerful clerics can resurrect a Shadowsoul using their weapon without incurring a penalty on the Shadowsoul.

Shadowsoul Snipers in the Game

<-How characters of this class fit in the game (PC and NPC) and what roles they play.->

Adaptation: <-Possible variant conceptions of this class.->.

Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPCs of this class.->.

EL : <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter.->.

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