Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Galain 04-19-07, 05:02 PM	Well, a while back, with some inspiration from the Grey Men from Wheel of Time, my GM and I set about making a PrC. What we came out with was fun-looking class that bore some similarities to the Grey Men, but weren't just a clone. I posted this a LONG time ago, back when the working name was "Agent", not "Faded." However, that was almost 2 years ago, and there is no search, so forgive me if you've seen this before. Faded The crowd is my cloak, the shadows are my skin. I see what is hidden, for I am unseen. I take what is secure, be it a locket or a life. And in the end, the Wheel turns and balance is kept. A Faded is a shadowy agent who specializes in stealth, snooping and assassination. Faded are found both as independents working for the highest bidder, or in permanent service of particular patrons. No matter who they serve, Faded are never themselves Good or Evil, Lawful or Chaotic. Faded believe in maintaining a balance, both in themselves and in the universe at large. Their methods for working towards this balance are many and varied. Faded are primarily called such due to their ability to "fade" away from notice even in plain sight. Large crowds especially work well to this end. Because of his neutrality, a Faded can disperse his essence over such a crowd, making it very impossible to pick the Faded from among them even when looking for her face specifically. A Faded eventually is able to tap into the Plane of Shadow to hide himself in shadows and "jump" from shadow to shadow. Making a Faded Abilities: Dexterity plays an important part in the skills of any who ply the shadows, and many of the powers of the Faded rely on Intelligence. Races: Any, though it is almost unheard of for any race with a size of Large or higher to follow the path of the Faded. Alignment: True Neutral only. The inner balance of a Faded is the source of their camouflaging abilities. Entry Requirements: Feats: Alertness, Lightning Reflexes Skills: Hide 8 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks, Disguise 8 ranks Class Skills: The Faded’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex). Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int modifier. Hit Die: d6 Level BAB F/R/W Special 1st +0 0/2/0 Fade I, Sneak Attack +1d6 2nd +1 0/3/0 Stealthjump 3rd +2 1/3/1 Sneak Attack +2d6 4th +3 1/4/1 Fade II 5th +3 1/4/1 Sneak Attack +3d6 6th +4 2/5/2 Precise Attack 7th +5 2/5/2 Fade III, SA +4d6 8th +6 2/6/2 Blindsense (15 ft) 9th +6 3/6/3 Sneak Attack +5d6 10th +7 3/7/3 Fade IV Weapon Proficiency: A Faded gains no weapon or armor proficiencies. Sneak Attack: As per the rogue ability. The Faded sneak attack dice stack with rogue sneak attack dice. Fade(SU): An Faded prides himself on being able to avoid notice–indeed, it is a survival skill for him. This ability starts small and improves as the Faded gains experience. Note that it is an active ability that he can begin or end as a free action, with no limit on duration. Fade is a supernatural ability. --Fade I: The Faded’s face is difficult to remember, and he can blend in with crowds easily. While using Fade, anyone who sees him must make an Intelligence check to recognize or remember his face later, with a DC equal to the Faded’s Disguise check modifier. Furthermore, when walking within 5 feet of five or more people, he can make a Disguise check to blend in with the crowd. He is considered hidden when he does so, and anyone attempting to notice him must make an opposed Spot check. He does not have to make a Move Silently check while blended into a crowd unless the crowd is, for whatever reason, silent or nearly so. He may attempt to hide thus while being observed, but the observer gets a +4 circumstantial bonus on his Spot check to notice the Faded. A Faded cannot hide in a crowd of creatures if at least half of them are hostile towards him. He cannot hide in a crowd of creatures if at least three quarters if them are unfriendly or hostile towards him. --Fade II: A 4th-level Faded can melt into his surroundings. He can attempt to Hide when standing within 5 feet of a terrain feature that is roughly the same color as his outermost layer of clothing. Furthermore, the Faded does not leave footprints, fingerprints, or a scent, as if he interacted with objects without actually touching them. --Fade III: While hiding, a 7th-level Faded can avoid detection by magical means (such as deathwatch, scry, etc.). Spellcasters who attempt to detect the Faded must make a caster level check as if attempting to pierce spell resistance, where the Faded has a SR of 20 + Faded level + Int modifier. --Fade IV: A 10th-level Faded may attempt to hide if he is within 5 feet of a shadow. He may not hide in his own shadow. He may also attempt to hide while being observed, though the observer gets a +4 circumstantial bonus to Spot the Faded. Stealthjump(SU): While using his powers of stealth, a 2nd-level Faded gains the ability to teleport between locations. While hiding, the Faded can teleport to any area in his line of sight in which he could still hide. When he reappears in the new location, he must make checks as appropriate to renew his Fade (e.g. if he jumps while blended in with a crowd, he must make another Disguise check in his new location). He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Intelligence modifier (minimum of once per day). Precise Attack(EX): If a 6th-level Faded studies his victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of being an automatic, confirmed critical hit. While studying the victim, the Faded can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect the Faded or recognize the Faded as an enemy. Blindsense(EX): At 8th level, a Faded gains blindsense out to 15 feet. He can notice things he cannot see, and usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice and locate a creature in his range of blindsense, provided he has line of effect to the creature. Any opponent the Faded cannot see has total concealment (50% miss chance) against the Faded, and the blindsensing Faded still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of the Faded. A Faded with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see. PLAYING A FADED Religion: Faded are, by their very nature, not religious. They respect all the gods but do not favor any of them in particular. Some quietly worship Concordant Killers (MM4 p. 34) and assist them in maintaining the balance of the Planes. Other Classes: You have no problem working with any class that is willing to work with you, though you are rarely trusted. Your fluid nature confounds most who deal with you, leaving them uncertain and sometimes suspicious. Combat: Your primary advantage lays in getting the first strike, usually with Precise Attack, then vanishing into a handy crowd or shadow. From there, ranged sneak attacks or another Precise Attack can whittle down an enemy. FADED IN THE WORLD "Trying to spot a Faded before he wishes it is like trying to tickle yourself, only less rewarding." -Kirrin Fallowfield, Gnomish Sorcerer Daily Life: Most Faded make their homes in urban centers, where they have crowds and shadows in ample supply. They gather information like a dragon gathers gold, either for themselves or a master. When they see something that upsets what they see as "balance", they are quick to take whatever action is needed to restore balance. Notables: None known. Faded shed their names constantly to take new ones, and their slippery faces slide out of memory. Organizations: Faded rarely work in large groups, though it is not unheard of for a small number of them to band together to accomplish a common goal or objective. NPC Reaction: Obviously, most NPCs will not know a Faded by simply looking at one. Depending on how the Faded is disguised at the time, reactions run the gamut from hostile to friendly. Those who know the true nature of a Faded PC will often wish to enlist the services of the Faded. Even Lawful NPCs are not adverse to employing a Faded to gather critical intelligence on an enemy or track down and eliminate dangerous criminals. However, even patrons of Faded do not trust their elusive employees.
FreAkOuTRG 04-19-07, 05:31 PM	Hehe, faded rouge. :D Sorry, couldn't resist.
Galain 04-20-07, 09:11 AM	Hehe, faded rouge. :D Sorry, couldn't resist. Hah! Don't DO that, almost though I had misspelled "rogue." :P In any case, how does the power level seem? Is this "power overwhelming?" Or less so?
Galain 04-21-07, 01:08 AM	I suppose I'll take the overwhelming silence as a "It's balanced just right and there is nothing that can be added to it's perfection." ;)
FreAkOuTRG 04-21-07, 07:47 AM	I suppose I'll take the overwhelming silence as a "It's balanced just right and there is nothing that can be added to it's perfection." ;) More like "We can't tell how balanced it is because it isn't formatted correctly"
Galain 04-21-07, 11:48 PM	I'm sorry, I don't know how to do the /code block to format it the preferred way. Can you let me know the proper format?
FreAkOuTRG 04-22-07, 08:23 AM	For the tables For whatever Hit the Quote button at the bottom right.
saidin0111 04-22-07, 09:38 AM	just take the spaces out of the sample coding below to get the code and sblock to display in your posts text [ code ] text [ /code ] text [ sblock="tag" ] text [ /sblock ] also, check my sig for the way that WotC has been formatting classes lately and a link to the thread where it was originally posted and discussed
Galain 04-22-07, 06:51 PM	Ok, original post is edited to the accepted format.
saidin0111 04-22-07, 07:19 PM	well, with a quick look (I'm at work and about to get off, so not much time), nothing appears game breaking, I was initially concerned about the huge skill set, but it is mostly an alteration to the rogue, so not a big deal, also, Faded I seems a bit much for the minimum entry level, you may want to delay some of the benefit until Faded II I can definitely see the Grey Men inspiration in this class, with some obvious flavorized adjustments btw, is flavorized even a word?
FreAkOuTRG 04-22-07, 07:29 PM	Wow, not half as bad as I thought it would be. I would say take out the alignment restriction (or at least give more options). Fade II: A 4th-level Faded can melt into his surroundings. He can attempt to Hide when standing within 5 feet of a terrain feature that is roughly the same color as his outermost layer of clothing. Furthermore, the Faded does not leave footprints, fingerprints, or a scent, as if he interacted with objects without actually touching them. I bolded the area I thought should be taken out. Precise attack should just be death attack, I think. Or perhaps improves to death attack at 10th level?
Galain 04-22-07, 10:24 PM	Wow, not half as bad as I thought it would be. I would say take out the alignment restriction (or at least give more options). Hmmm, maybe I should be clearer in the fluff. The idea is that Fade comes from neutrality, and being able to spread this neutrality over a crowd, thus making the Faded harder to find. As for balance reasons...if there can be a core class restricted to a single alignment (Paladin), then I don't think having a PrC limited to a single alignment is too horrible. :-D I was considering putting in something that would allow the Faded to mimic any alignment for purposes of spells and abilities, but I was worried this might lead to power gamers gleefully using every good- and evil-aligned artifact out there. I bolded the area I thought should be taken out. Problem with taking that bit out is that it makes the Level IV Fade (hiding in shadows) rather pointless. If you can meld with your surroundings in any condition, what's the point of being able to melt into a shadow? Mind you, the cloak doesn't have to EXACTLY match the terrain. A brown cloak will do nicely in a dirt field, a green cloak is all you need in a forest, and a grey cloak will handle a lot of urban buildings. At worst, a Faded has to carry a few extra cloaks around, or have a single cloak enchanted to shift colors. Boy, color-shifting cloak. That's like a Warden/Grey Man combo. Someone hold me. :D Precise attack should just be death attack, I think. Or perhaps improves to death attack at 10th level? You're probably right. Death attack was modified because I felt a guaranteed crit would be more helpful against, say, an opponent with high saves. But Death Attack is much more in line with the concept behind the class. As for the power, I downgraded the BAB from Full progression. I'm still not sure if it would break the class to do that, since they don't get much else in the way of combat. But I figured I'd rather err on the side of caution. Faded I seems a bit much for the minimum entry level, you may want to delay some of the benefit until Faded II Fade I allows the Faded to be harder to remember, and melt into crowds. I see those as the two very basic parts of the class. Again, the whole Grey Man thing. AS a general question, I wanted to ask everyone's opinion on poisons. I know they're supposed to be evil, but I'm not wholly convinced. Especially after seeing Ravages in BoED. What's the general consensus on that?
Aktariel 04-28-07, 08:44 AM	Just taking a look at it, it seems if anything slightly underpowered. I can... hide really well! Yeah! And... teleport. But only a few times. And I can maybe stab people where it hurts for a little bit of extra damage. And if I'm lucky, a fair bit of extra damage. It's a great idea. It just needs... more.
Aiwen 05-15-07, 05:27 AM	Just a small sugestion, New Feat: Extra Stealth jump Prerequisites: Ability to stealth jump Benefit: Can stealth jump 4 more times oer day
Peregrine_Wolf 05-15-07, 04:00 PM	I like it, yet again...it does seem underpowered. I'd stick with the Full BAB and maybe add a little more stuff in there like, weapons have a weak poison on them, but it is permanent. Maybe something like you choose a weapon, and from then on, any such weapon has added poison bonus while you wield it. Poison should be something simple, like, Black Adder Venom but with a DC that increases by your Int modifier or something...