Campaign Design - Prestige Class: Shadow Adept

Shadow Adept (adapted from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting)

Some spellcasters who discover the power of the Shadow Realm are cautious, altering their magic slowly. Others are more reckless, and hurl themselves into the abyss of the Shadow Realm, immediately acquiring all the gifts available to the casual student and discovering secrets unavailable to all but the most dedicated. These spellcasters are shadow adepts, who make great sacrifices in some aspects of the magical arts in order to reap greater benefits elsewhere.

Most shadow adepts are sorcerers or wizards, and they gain the greatest power from this path. That said, any spellcaster can tap into the Shadow Realm, and a few druids and spirit shamans have been known to make this choice Among clerics, only the followers of Gangyn are common in the ranks of the shadow adepts.

Although not necessarily villainous, in the Three Worlds, most shadow adepts are outcasts and exiles, living apart from society or hiding their identity as a shadow adept from all but their closest and most trusted allies. For reasons that are not entirely clear to those outside the organizations, both the Collegium and the Leucadian Brotherhood are implacable foes of the shadow adepts and ruthlessly hunt them down and eliminate them whenever they discover one. Needless to say, this makes all but the most powerful or most reckless shadow adepts reluctant to expose the true nature of their magic.

Hit Die: d4.
Luck Die: d2.

Requirements
To become a shadow adept, one must meet the following criteria:

• Alignment: Any nongood.
• Skills: Knowledge: Arcana 8+ ranks, Spellcraft 8+ ranks.
• Feats: Shadow Magic and any metamagic feat.
• Special: Ability to cast 3^rd level arcane or divine spells.

Class Skills

• The shadow adept's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Craft: Any (all skills taken individually)(Int), Disguise (Cha), Knowledge: Any (all skills taken individually)(Int), Profession: Any (all skills taken individually)(Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
• Note: Because the Three Worlds campaign uses the Skills by Character house rule, the list of class skills given here is only included for the sake of completeness, and is not used by characters in the campaign setting.
• Skill Points at each level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shadow adept prestige class.

• Base Attack Bonus: Poor. A shadow adept gains +½ base attack bonus per class level.


• Base Fortitude Save Bonus: Poor. A shadow adept gains +⅓ base Fortitude save bonus per class level.


• Base Reflex Save Bonus: Poor. A shadow adept gains +⅓ base Reflex save bonus per class level.


• Base Will Save Bonus: Good. A shadow adept gains a +½ base Will save bonus per class level.


• Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Shadow adepts gain no new proficiency with any arms or armor.


• Spellcasting: A shadow adept's training focuses on magic. Thus, when a new shadow adept level if gained, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit of a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of shadow adept to the level of whatever other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per and caster level accordingly. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before he became a shadow adept, he must decide to which class he adds each level of shadow adept for the purpose of determining spells per day.


• Shadow Feats: A shadow adept gains the Insidious Magic, Pernicious Magic, and Tenacious Magic feats.


• Low-Light Vision (Su): A shadow adept gains low-light vision if he does not already have it.


• Shadow Defense: Add this value to a shadow adept's saving throws against spells from the schools of Enchantment, Illusion, and Necromancy, and spells with the darkness descriptor.


• Darkvision (Su): A shadow adept can see in the dark as though he were permanently affected by a darkvision spell.


• Metamagic Feat: The shadow adept can choose any one metamagic feat.


• Spell Power: Add this value to the DC for saving throws and to caster level checks to overcome spell resistance for spells the shadow adept casts from the schools of Enchantment, Illusion or Necromancy and spells with the darkness descriptor. This stacks with other spell power effects that affect the specified spells.


• Shield of Shadows (Su): A shadow adept can create a mobile disk of purple black force as a standard action. The shield of shadows has the effect of a shield spell and also provides three-quarters concealment 30% miss chance) against attacks from the other side of the shield. As with the shield spell, the shadow adept can change the defensive direction of the shield of shadows as a free action once per round on his turn. The shadow adept can see and reach through the shield, so it does not provide cover or concealment to opponents.
  
  
  
  The shield of shadows lasts 1 round per caster level per day and need not be used all at once. Creating or dismissing the shield of shadows is a standard action.
  
  
  
  At 8^th level, the shield also grants spell resistance of 12 + the character's shadow adept level on attacks against the shadow adept that originate from the other side of the shield,as if the shadow adept were under the effect of a spell resistance spell.


• Shadow Walk (Sp): A shadow adept can cast the shadow walk spell once per day.


• Shadow Double: Once per day, a shadow adept can use a standard action to create a double of himself woven from shadwostuff. The double has the ability scores, Armor Class, hit points, saves, and attack bonuses of its creator, but no equipment. any apparent clothing or equipment is nonfunctional. The double can attack the creator's enemies if given a weapon or items (since it can use anything its creator can use) or function as the target of a project image spell, duplicating the creator's actions and acting as the origin of the creator's spells when it is within a direct line of sight. mentally commanding the double is a free action. Using it as the originator of a spell counts as an action for the creator and the double. Causing the creator or the double to leave the plane they share dismisses the double.
  
  
  
  The double lasts 1 round per caster level. The death of the double does not affect the shadow adept or vice versa. The double still lasts to the end of the duration if its creator does.

Shadow Adept

Level	Special	Spells
1st	Shadow Feats	+1 level of existing class
2nd	Shadow Defense +1, Low-Light Vision	+1 level of existing class
3rd	Spell Power +1	+1 level of existing class
4th	Shield of Shadow	+1 level of existing class
5th	Metamagic Feat, Shadow Defense +2	+1 level of existing class
6th	Spell Power +2	+1 level of existing class
7th	Shadow Walk, Darkvision	+1 level of existing class
8th	Shadow defense +3, Greater Shield of Shadows	+1 level of existing class
9th	Spell Power +3	+1 level of existing class
10th	Shadow Double	+1 level of existing class

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