Umbral Agent

Some Umbral agents work in the open as diplomats and consuls, others in secret as spies, agitators, and agents provocateur. Most agents spend their time hunting down apostates and heretics, seeking to purge the world of inappropriate influences. Those acting abroad seek out positions in rival nations’ halls of power. Regardless of their methods, all serve the will of their dark god with blind devotion.

Umbral agents’ loyalty to their overlords and ideals does not extend to other agents. Many an agent has fallen to a poisoned dagger from a rival seeking greater power. These minor treacheries are overlooked, or even rewarded, by superiors, so long as they do not interfere with the relative peace and order. Agents who thirst for power often make deals with dark entities in order to stay one step ahead of their so-called allies, and it is not uncommon for agents to transform themselves into vampires or other types of undead.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become an Umbral agent, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

  • Alignment: Lawful evil.
  • Deity: Must worship an evil god.
  • Feats: Deceitful.
  • Skills: Bluff 5 ranks, Knowledge (nobility) 7 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 7 ranks.
  • Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level spells.

Class Skills

The Umbral agent’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Stealth (Dex).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: Umbral Agent
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Spells per Day
1st +0 +1 +0 +1 Blessings of darkness, shadow courtier, tenebrous magic
2nd +1 +1 +1 +1 Darkvision +1 level of spellcasting class
3rd +2 +2 +1 +2 Shadow chains +1 level of spellcasting class
4th +3 +2 +1 +2 Shadow jump (40 ft.) +1 level of spellcasting class
5th +3 +3 +2 +3 Unnerving gaze (shaken 1 round)
6th +4 +3 +2 +3 Grasping darkness, shadow jump (80 ft.) +1 level of spellcasting class
7th +5 +4 +2 +4 Darkvision +30 ft., unnerving gaze (shaken 1d4 rounds) +1 level of spellcasting class
8th +6 +4 +3 +4 Shadow jump (160 ft.) +1 level of spellcasting class
9th +6 +5 +3 +5 Unnerving gaze (staggered 1 round)
10th +7 +5 +3 +5 Crushing umbra, shadow jump (320 ft.) +1 level of spellcasting class

Class Features

The following are class features of the Umbral agent prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

An Umbral agent gains proficiency with the spiked chain.

Blessings of Darkness

An Umbral agent gains the Darkness domain at 1st level, using his class level as his effective cleric level to determine the effects of its granted powers. If he already possesses the Darkness domain from another class, his Umbral agent levels stack with levels in that class when determining the effects of his Darkness domain powers. The Umbral agent does not receive bonus spells or domain spell slots from his Umbral agent levels.

Tenebrous Magic

An Umbral agent receives Tenebrous Spell as a bonus feat at 1st level, and can apply its effects to his spells without increasing their effective spell level or casting time. In addition, if the spell has the darkness or shadow descriptor or is of the illusion (shadow) subschool, the spell’s effective caster level and any associated save DCs are increased by 2 (instead of 1), and any attempts at dispelling the spell in darkness or dim light take a –4 penalty on the dispel check (instead of –2).

Umbral Courtier (Ex)

An Umbral agent gains a competence bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Knowledge (nobility) checks equal to his class level.

Darkvision (Ex)

At 2nd level, an Umbral agent gains darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If he already has darkvision, the range increases by 30 feet.

At 7th level, the range of the Umbral agent’s darkvision increases by an additional 30 feet.

Shadow Chains (Sp)

At 3rd level, an Umbral agent can use his touch of darkness ability one additional time per day. When using the touch of darkness ability, the Umbral agent manifests shadowy chains that increase the reach of his melee touch attack by 5 feet. A creature struck by these chains must succeed at a Reflex save (DC 10 + the Umbral agent’s level + the Umbral agent’s Wisdom modifier) or be entangled for 1d4 rounds in addition to the normal effects of the ability.

Shadow Jump (Su)

At 4th level, an Umbral agent gains the ability to supernaturally travel between shadows. This ability functions exactly like the shadowdancer ability of the same name.

Unnerving Gaze (Su)

At 5th level, an Umbral agent gains a gaze attack similar to the kyton ability of the same name. Creatures within 30 feet of the Umbral agent must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + the Umbral agent’s level + the Umbral agent’s Wisdom modifier) or be shaken for 1 round. The Umbral agent can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to his level; these rounds do not need to be consecutive. Activating this ability is a swift action. The Umbral agent is immune to the unnerving gaze of kytons (whether or not his own unnerving gaze is active). This is a mind-affecting fear effect that follows all the normal rules for a gaze attack.

As the Umbral agent gains levels, his unnerving gaze grows more potent.

At 7th level, creatures that fail their save are shaken for 1d4 rounds.

At 9th level, they are staggered for 1 round and shaken for 1d4 rounds after.

Grasping Darkness (Sp)

At 6th level, an Umbral agent can use his touch of darkness ability an additional time per day, and the reach provided by his shadow chains ability increases by 5 feet (to a total 10 foot increase). In place of entangling the target, the Umbral agent can attempt to grapple the target without provoking an attack of opportunity, using his Wisdom modifier in place of his Strength modifier for the purpose of determining his CMB. If both the Umbral agent and his target are in an area of dim or darker light, he gains a +5 bonus on this grapple check. The Umbral agent does not gain the grappled condition when using his shadow chains this way. He may make combat maneuver checks to maintain the grapple for as long as the effect of his touch of darkness ability persists.

Crushing Umbra (Sp)

At 10th level, an Umbral agent can use his touch of darkness ability at will, and the reach provided by his shadow chains increases by another 10 feet (to a total 20 foot increase). When he successfully grapples a creature with his shadow chains, the Umbral agent can begin constricting his victim as a free action, dealing 5d6 points of damage whenever he makes a successful grapple check. Creatures constricted in this way are also considered strangled, and cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Matt Goodall, and Jason Nelson.

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