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  1. #1
    Senior Member RaspK_FOG's Avatar
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    The halflings were once a native people of the Shadow World and are some of the few who can walk upon the lands beyond Aebrynnis to this day, despite the difficulties they face doing so. Still, the halflings are, in their own, far aways from home and they know it. Some of them, however, have crossed the veil of shadows.
    These halflings, pulled by their homeland and a deeper connection their brethren has with it, learn how to manipulate the Seeming and can produce remarkable feats by tapping unto its endless potential for constant change.
    Hit Die: d8.

    Requirements
    Base Attack Bonus: +4.
    Feats: Endurance, Self-Sufficient, Shadow Walker.
    Race: Halfling.
    Skills: Knowledge (Shadow World) 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.


    Class Skills:
    The Traverser of Shadows's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (Shadow World) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
    Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.


    Class Features:
    All of the following are features of the Traverser of Shadows prestige class.

    Base Attack Bonus: Average (3/4 HD).

    Base Saves: High Fortitude and Will, Poor Reflex.

    Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Traversers of Shadows are proficient with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger (any type), dart, mace (light or heavy), morningstar, quarterstaff, sap, shortbow (normal), and shortsword. Traversers of Shadows are proficient with padded, and leather armour (normal or studded), and with light shields.

    Hide in the Seeming (Su): Manipulating the very Seeming, a Traverser of Shadows can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, he can hide himself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind; he cannot, however, hide in his own shadow. According to the proximity of the Shadow World, there are circumstance modifiers to this Hide check:

    Code:
    +2 in Winter
    +2 in deserted/uncivilised areas
    +5 at night
    -5 in the day
    -2 in settled/civilised areas
    -2 in Summer
    Bonus feats: A Traverser of Shadows gains Shadow Guide as a bonus feat at 2nd level; he also gains Improved Shadow Guide as a bonus feat at 8th level.

    Seeming Shadow (Su): At 3rd level, giving shape and form to the Seeming, a Traverser of Shadows can summon a shadow, an undead shade (see the monstrous entry for the shadow's statistics). Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment is one step on each axis closer to his alignment, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow cannot be turned, rebuked, or commanded by any third party due to it being a creation of the Seeming. This shadow serves as a companion and can communicate with the Traversor; however, the shadow's perspective is skewed and perverted to that of the Shadow World. Every third level gained by the Traverser adds +2 HD (and the requisite base attack and base save bonus increases) to his shadow companion. For example, a 9th-level Traverser of Shadows can have a shadow with 6 HD.
    If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the Traverser chooses to dismiss it, the latter must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the saving throw fails, he loses 200 experience points per class level. A successful saving throw reduces the loss by half, to 100 XP per class level. The Traverser's XP total can never go below 0 as the result of a shadow's dismissal or destruction. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for 30 days.

    Seeming Mettle (Su): Hardened by the experiences in the Shadow World and through his ancestral connection to it, the Traverser gains the supernatural ability to shrug off any effects that would otherwise harm him there. At 4th level, if he makes a successful Will save that would normally reduce the effect, he suffers no effect at all as long as the Traverser is in the Shadow World. Only spells and effects that are halved or affect their victim partially or have similar entries on a successful saving throw can be negated by this ability.
    At 7th level, the ability also affects similar successful Fortitude saving throws made in the Shadow World.

    Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 4th level, a Traverser gains the ability to react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilised.

    Improved Shadow Walker (Ex): More attuned to the Shadow World as he delved in its dark recesses, the Traverser gains the ability to step into it with more ease than he did; he receives a bonus on all checks made to step into or tap unto the Shadow World (including the Hide in the Seeming supernatural ability) that is equal to half his class level.

    Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 7th level, a Traverser can no longer be flanked; he can react opponents on opposite sides of him as easily as he can react to a single attacker. This defence denies others the ability to sneak attack the Traverser by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has Traverser levels.
    If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank a character.

    Shadow Walk (Sp): A Traverser of Shadows gains the ability to cast Shadow Walk as a spell-like ability once per week at 10th level.


    Code:
     1st level: Hide in the Seeming
     2nd level: Bonus feat - Shadow Guide
     3rd level: Seeming Shadow
     4th level: Seeming Mettle - Will, Uncanny Dodge
     5th level: Improved Shadow Walker
     6th level: Seeming Shadow +2 HD
     7th level: Seeming Mettle - Fortitude, Improved Uncanny Dodge
     8th level: Bonus feat - Improved Shadow Guide
     9th level: Seeming Shadow +4 HD
    10th level: Shadow Walk 1/week
    Last edited by RaspK_FOG; 02-13-2008 at 10:54 PM. Reason: Adjusted the presentation of the material - no change effected.

  2. #2
    Birthright Developer Raesene Andu's Avatar
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    A very interesting prestige class. One thing I would add (seeing that you have tied this class to the seeming) is to give some sort of seeming ability (maybe +1/level or something like that). Halfings native to the Shadow World gain at the very least a slight seeming score (1-5) and while halfings in Cerilia have lost this power, returning to the Shadow World may awaken it again.
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  3. #3
    Senior Member RaspK_FOG's Avatar
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    I rechecked the old material and think that this is entirely possible (if not even desirable); however, this calls for more information on how Seeming scores and perception scores are going to be handled by the Atlas; if they are to be used, I can also provide additional spells (like Pierce the Veil, a spell that would increase one's perception score while being of lower level than True Seeing, or Mask of Shadows, a spell that would apply one's Seeming score as a bonus on Disguise checks). I strongly believe that, should we use these old terms, Wisdom should affect your Perception, while your Charisma should affect your Seeming.

    It might even be possible for halflings to gain some Seeming powers if they remain in the Shadow World for an amount of time (something that should be based on Intelligence, I think).

    Note that the prestige class is also less roguish than what I initially had in mind. Also, while a 7th-level rogue can take the class, so can a character with 3 ranger levels and 2 levels in any class that has Knowledge (Shadow World) as a class skill; and these are not the only builds that allow a halfling to take the prestige class.

  4. #4
    Senior Member RaspK_FOG's Avatar
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    I would highly appreciate additional comments on how you perceive the Traverser; does noone else have an opinion on this?

  5. #5
    Birthright Developer irdeggman's Avatar
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    I like the general feel/concept. The prerequisites are too low however: a 1 bard/3 ranger could qualify as well as a 1 wizard/3 ranger or scion of 1 Basaia/ 3 ranger.

    Need to include a description of the hide in plain sight ability also.

    And yes we need more on the seeming. If the Atlas group working on the Shadow World (yeah I know that is waay later) gives me something it can be put into Chap 8. Probably a decent place since like other issues it crosses mutiple categories. As an alternative to the Atlas team coming up with something we can start a thread fordiscussin of how to incorporate the seeming in the the 3.5 rules/mechanics.
    Duane Eggert

  6. #6
    Birthright Developer Raesene Andu's Avatar
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    It wasn't planned for anything on the seeming to go into the Atlas. That doesn't mean that it can't include something, just that it wasn't planned, so nothing was included.
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  7. #7
    Birthright Developer irdeggman's Avatar
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    Originally posted by RaspK_FOG@Jan 13 2005, 08:19 AM

    Note that the prestige class is also less roguish than what I initially had in mind. Also, while a 7th-level rogue can take the class, so can a character with 3 ranger levels and 2 levels in any class that has Knowledge (Shadow World) as a class skill; and these are not the only builds that allow a halfling to take the prestige class.
    Actually it is possible for a character with 3 levels of ranger and 1 level of a class with knowledge (Shadow World) as a class skill (e.g., bard, wizard or scion - Basai).

    Hence the prerequisites should be raised to eliminate this possibility.
    Duane Eggert

  8. #8
    Senior Member RaspK_FOG's Avatar
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    If you read carefully, you can see that I changed the wording of "Hide in plain sight" to "Hide in the Seeming" in the descriptive text.

    As for the prerequisites, a couple of ranks in other skills and/or, more probably, a +4 BAB might be needed; adding an additional feat might be a good idea... What do you think? I don't want to just start adding myself!

  9. #9
    Birthright Developer irdeggman's Avatar
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    If you read carefully, you can see that I changed the wording of "Hide in plain sight" to "Hide in the Seeming" in the descriptive text.
    But not the table of level based abilities. At 1st level it still says Hide in Plain Sight. That is what I was referring to. People generally go to the table first and then the text.


    As for the prerequisites, a couple of ranks in other skills and/or, more probably, a +4 BAB might be needed; adding an additional feat might be a good idea... What do you think? I don't want to just start adding myself!
    I generally like the class and what you've done. It is your baby, either a +4 BAB or 8 ranks in Knowledge (Shadow World) would suffice for prequisites IMO. I generally don't like forcing too many feats as a prerequisites tough. The Knowledge (Shadow World) is probably better at capturing what the class is about better. But it is your call.
    Duane Eggert

  10. #10
    Senior Member RaspK_FOG's Avatar
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    Call me a fool, for I forgot to correct the error; someone knock me on the head!

    I would also prefer the Knowledge (Shadow World) 8 ranks requirement over and above other solutions... if not for the fact that some of the more survival oriented oriented classes have nothing to do with the various Knowledge skills, and thus such a requirement would make it inappropriate for most other than bards and wizards (or characters multiclassed to either), since you must be of the 13th character level to raise a cross-class skill to 8 ranks, which is not a good idea in my opinion...

    I don't want to effectively force an unneeded multiclass issue on any who might be interested in the class; for this reason, I believe that the ranks in Knowledge (Shadow World) requirement will remain at 5 (which still requires of you to be of at least the 7th-level if you do not have the skill as a class skill), and that a BAB: +4 requirement is added.

    I still think of your opinion as important to me and my work, so I would like to ask you if you have any arguments against what I pointed out.

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