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heridfel 07-12-07, 06:42 PM

Deneith Cloaked Guardian Hook: A bodyguard that isn't seen until he is needed The Deneith Cloaked Guardians are a small order within House Deneith. They developed as a result of the studies of Holnar Denathor, a human with the Dragonmark of Sentinel who helped found House Deneith almost 3500 years ago. Holnar was one of the few humans to develop the Greater Dragonmark of Sentinel, and the first person in recorded history to find a person with the Siberys Mark of Sentinel, his future wife, Maril Denathor. Holnar sought to duplicate his wife's abilities with his dragonmark. While he was not completely successful, his work was close enough that studies have continued to this day. While few know of the Cloaked Guardians, that's just the way that they like it. As they grow in skill, it becomes harder and harder to find them. Because of this, it is hard to get an accurate estimate of how many exist. Generally, a master will spot a possible initiate and study him from secret for a week. Any initiate who manages to spot the master is immediately offered a chance to join, though this is rare. More often, the master appears to the character after being satisfied that the initiate is dependable and circumspect about his duties as a bodyguard. While an initiate must have some idea of how to hide before being initiated, it is not as important as his ability to identify the trustworthiness of others. A Cloaked Guardian needs to be careful to offer his services only to those who will keep his abilities a secret. Requirements To qualify to become a Deneith Cloaked Guardian, a character must fulfill all the following criteria: Base Attack Bonus: +6 Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks, Sense Motive 6 ranks Feats: Greater Dragonmark of Sentinel Proficiency with heavy armor Hit Die: d8 Class Skills The Deneith Cloaked Guardian’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str). Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special ------------------------------ 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Armored stealth, trackless step 2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Hide in plain sight 3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Cloak self 1/day 4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Nondetection cloak 5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Blank thoughts, cloak self 2/day Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Deneith cloaked guardian gains proficiency with all simple and martial weapons and shields, including tower shields. Armored Stealth (Ex): A Deneith cloaked guardian is better at remaining unnoticed when wearing heavier armors than most. His armor check penalty for Hide and Move Silently is reduced by 1 per class level. This does not reduce his armor check penalty for other skills, and it never gives a bonus to Hide or Move Silently rolls. Trackless Step (Ex): This functions just like the druid ability Trackless Step (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm#tracklessStep), though the terrain need not be natural for the ability to be used. Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): This functions just like the ranger ability Hide in Plain Sight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/ranger.htm#hideinPlainSight), though the terrain need not be natural for the ability to be used. Cloak Self (Sp): At third level, a Deneith cloaked guardian can hide himself completely from nonmagical vision and hearing. By taking a standard action, he gains the benefits of an invisibility (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/invisibility.htm) and silence (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/silence.htm) spell targeted on himself, with the following changes: The duration of the effect is 10 minutes per class level. He may not cast any spells or use any spell-like abilities without the effect ending (except that he still may use the spell-like abilities from his dragonmark). The silence affects only the Deneith cloaked guardian and his gear and does not extend in a 20-foot radius. The silence part of the effect ends at the same time as the invisibility part of the effect ends. This is considered the equivalent of a 5th-level spell. The Deneith cloaked guardian gains an additional use of this ability per day at 5th level. Nondetection Cloak (Su): Upon reaching 4th level, a Deneith cloaked guardian (and any gear he wears or carries) becomes more difficult to locate through divinations such as clairaudience/clairvoyance, locate object, and other detection spells. The Deneith cloaked guardian gains magical protection from divinations equivalent to a nondetection spell (caster level equals the character's caster level for his dragonmark), except that it affects only the Deneith cloaked guardian and his possessions. Blank Thoughts (Ex): At 5th level, a Deneith cloaked guardian can induce within himself a state of mental absence, thereby becoming immune to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, patterns, phantasms, and morale effects). He can suppress or resume this ability as a free action. ----------- This class began when I started looking for prestige classes for my Deneith fighter. I knew I wanted him to be of house Deneith, and couldn't decide whether I should start with a Least mark or wait until he could get a Siberys mark. When I saw the Occult Slayer from Complete Warrior, I loved the final two abilities (very close to a mind blank on himself), but the rest of the class doesn't really fit Eberron. Everyone with a dragonmark has a spell-like ability, and I didn't want him to be especially good at killing his fellow marked. My original thought was to use cloak self as the first big power of the class, so that a character with low Hide/Move Silently would still be able to remain unseen. It didn't feel quite right, though, and I decided it would be better to begin with more mundane abilities before a spell-like ability. I'm confident about the balance of the last two abilities because of their basis in the occult slayer class. It's the rest of the class that I'm seeking feedback on. The earliest this class can be entered is level 8 through the dragonmark heir class, or level 9 otherwise. It's easiest for fighters with their heavy armor proficiency to qualify, though other classes such as barbarian, ranger, and rogue who can spare the feats to get the armor proficiency can also get in fairly easily. Please let me know what you think. If you think it's too good, let me know why. If you think it's too weak, let me know why. Thanks for your help. (This was cross-posted from the Prestige Classes subforum.)