S-Class Marksman

What are S-Class Characters?

S-class characters are built using the core summoner class as the basis against which all other classes are balanced. If you have played, or GM’d for, a summoner and felt it was fine as is, you should have no problem running with an s-class character.

Spell-Like and Psi-Like Abilities

As explained in the source material, psionics function in many ways like spells, and are able to be countered, negated, and resisted just as spells are. The distinctions drawn between the two are purely in the ways in which they are learned and how they affect the world around them.

For this reason, the content here is provided more in context of other Pathfinder options, listing spell-like abilities and referring to spells when a psionic power or talent is equivalent to one.

Every psionic cabal keeps s-class marksmen to compete with other cabals. These masters of ranged combat can harry enemies from a safe distance before they reach the marksman’s group. When an opponent draws too close, an s-class marksman can quickly find a safe way of getting back out of that situation.

Note: The s-class marksman is an alternate, superior version of the marksman class. They retain all of the standard marksman progressions and options, and as such should qualify to select marksman archetypes without specific adjustments.

Hit Die: d10.

Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175 gp.)

Class Skills

The s-class marksman’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Autohypnosis (Wis), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: S-Class Marksman

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	PP/day	Powers Known	Max Power Level
1st	+1	+0	+2	+2	Cabal, point-blank shot, wind reader	1	0	1st
2nd	+2	+0	+3	+3	Combat style, evade arrows (+1), style technique, favored weapon (+1)	2	1	1st
3rd	+3	+1	+3	+3	Style skill (+1), style mantra	3	2	1st
4th	+4	+1	+4	+4	Cover fire, style ability	5	2	1st
5th	+5	+1	+4	+4	Bonus feat	7	3	2nd
6th	+6/+1	+2	+5	+5	Evade arrows (+2), style skill (+2), favored weapon (+2)	9	4	2nd
7th	+7/+2	+2	+5	+5	Disengage	11	5	2nd
8th	+8/+3	+2	+6	+6	Bonus feat, style ability	14	5	2nd
9th	+9/+4	+3	+6	+6	Style skill (+3)	17	6	3rd
10th	+10/+5	+3	+7	+7	Evade arrows (+3), favored weapon (+3)	20	7	3rd
11th	+11/+6/+1	+3	+7	+7	Bonus feat	24	8	3rd
12th	+12/+7/+2	+4	+8	+8	Style ability, style skill (+4)	28	8	3rd
13th	+13/+8/+3	+4	+8	+8	Defensive shot	32	9	4th
14th	+14/+9/+4	+4	+9	+9	Bonus feat, evade arrows (+4), favored weapon (+4)	37	10	4th
15th	+15/+10/+5	+5	+9	+9	Style skill (+5)	42	11	4th
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+5	+10	+10	Style ability	47	11	4th
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Bonus feat	52	12	4th
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11	Evade arrows (+5), style skill (+6), favored weapon (+5)	58	13	4th
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11	Ranged specialist	64	14	4th
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	Bonus feat, style ability	70	14	4th

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the s-class marksman.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

An s-class marksman is proficient with all simple weapons, all light, projectile, and thrown martial weapons, light armor, and with bucklers. Armor does not interfere with the manifestation of powers.

Cabal

Like other s-class psionic characters, marksmen join psionic cabals that help to round out their abilities.

At 1st level, choose a psionic cabal to which the marksman belongs. A sample list of cabals can be found at the end of this section.

Powers Points/Day

An s-class marksman’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points she has available. Her base daily allotment of power points is given on Table: The Marksman.

In addition, she receives bonus power points per day if she has a high Wisdom score. Her race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain feats and items.

Powers Known: An s-class marksman begins play knowing no marksman powers (although she can manifest powers from power completion or power trigger items as normal). At each level indicated on Table: The Marksman, she unlocks the knowledge of a new power.

Choose the powers known from the marksman power list. (Exception: The feat Expanded Knowledge does allow an s-class marksman to learn powers from the lists of other classes.) An s-class marksman can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than her manifester level.

The total number of powers an s-class marksman can manifest in a day is limited only by her daily power points.

An s-class marksman simply knows her powers; they are ingrained in her mind. She does not need to prepare them (in the way that some spellcasters prepare their spells), though she must get a good night’s sleep each day to regain all her spent power points.

The Difficulty Class for saving throws against marksman powers is 10 + the power’s level + the marksman’s Wisdom modifier.

Maximum Power Level Known: An s-class marksman begins play with the ability to learn 1st-level powers. As she attains higher levels, she may gain the ability to master more complex powers. To learn or manifest a power, an s-class marksman must have a wisdom score of at least 10 + the power’s level.

Point-Blank Shot

At 1st level, an s-class marksman gains the Point-Blank Shot feat as a bonus feat.

Wind Reader (Su)

An s-class marksman can use her heightened senses and awareness of her surroundings to read the wind and environment, allowing her to drastically improve her accuracy. While maintaining psionic focus, she can spend a swift action to gain a competence bonus equal to her Wisdom modifier on ranged attacks until the end of the round. She can do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + her class level.

Combat Style

At 2nd level, an s-class marksman chooses a type of ranged combat that is her preferred style. This style determines certain class features, skills, and abilities, as described in the different styles.

A sample list of the marksman combat styles can be found at the end of this section.

Favored Weapon

At 2nd level, an s-class marksman gains a +1 competence bonus to ranged attack rolls made with her favored weapon group. Every four marksman levels thereafter, this bonus increases by 1. For additional favored weapon groups, please reference the source material.

Bows: composite longbow, composite shortbow, orc hornbow, longbow, and shortbow.

Evade Arrows (Ex)

At 2nd level, an s-class marksman’s familiarity with ranged attacks and her natural intuition alerts her to danger from mundane ranged attacks. She gains a +1 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks (but not ranged touch attacks). At 6th level and every four marksman levels thereafter, this Dodge bonus increases by 1.

Style Technique (Su)

All s-class marksmen, regardless of their chosen combat style, gain special techniques at 2nd level that they can use by expending psionic focus. The specific technique is determined by the marksman’s chosen style.

Style Skill (Ex)

At 3rd level, an s-class marksman gains a +1 bonus to the skill associated to his combat style. Every three levels thereafter (6th, 9th, etc), this bonus improves by 1.

Style Mantra (Su)

At 3rd level, an s-class marksman gains a mantra associated with her combat style that is active as long as she maintains psionic focus. An s-class marksman may not use her style mantra at the same time she uses Wind Reader; she may only gain the benefit of one or the other, not both.

Cover Fire (Ex)

Beginning at 4th level, the marksman knows not only how to directly engage her enemies, but also how to protect her allies. As an attack action, she may choose to fire a ranged or thrown weapon at an opponent within 30 feet to distract that opponent rather than to deal damage. Make an attack roll against the space a target occupies (AC 10). If successful, the targeted enemy must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + one-half the marksman’s class level + the marksman’s Dexterity modifier), or be staggered for one round. The marksman still expends ammunition as normal for this attack.

If the attack roll would indicate a critical threat and the result would hit the opponent’s AC, roll to confirm: if the critical hit is confirmed against the opponent’s AC, the attack does normal damage as well. An s-class marksman cannot use cover fire if her opponent or the square she targets would be subject to a miss chance (such as from a concealed target).

Style Ability

Starting at 4th level, an s-class marksman gains an ability associated with her combat style. Every four levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, 20th), she gains a new style ability.

Bonus Feat

An s-class marksman of 5th level gains a bonus feat chosen from his combat style feat list, Deadly Aim, Far Shot, Fell Shot, Greater Psionic Shot, Parting Shot, Precise Shot, Psionic Meditation, Psionic Shot, Quick Draw, Return Shot, Returning Throw, or a feat that requires a particular weapon when it is selected, such as Weapon Focus or Improved Critical. If the marksman chooses a feat that requires a particular weapon, she must select a weapon from her selected ranged weapon group. The marksman must still meet all prerequisites for the feat to select it.

At 8th level and every three marksman levels thereafter, the marksman gains another bonus feat from the same list.

Disengage (Ex)

Once an s-class marksman has reached 7th level, she learns how to effectively distance herself from enemies. When the marksman would provoke an attack of opportunity for moving out of a threatened space, she may expend her psionic focus to add her Wisdom modifier to her Acrobatics rolls to avoid attacks of opportunity for the round and can move at full speed without increasing the Acrobatics DC.

Defensive Shot (Ex)

At 13th level, an s-class marksman no longer provokes attacks of opportunity when making ranged attacks with a ranged or thrown weapon.

Ranged Specialist (Su)

At 19th level, an s-class marksman’s ranged and thrown attacks have their critical multiplier increased by 1 (x2 becomes x3, for example) and her penalties for range increments are halved. If the marksman has the Far Shot feat, she instead suffers no penalties for range increments.