I've got an evil NPC that will be recurring for a while, and so he will have to advance somewhat as my party does. He started as a Dark Stalker Sepulchral Thief Scout/Telflammar Shadowlord. It's nifty, because he has two ways to "survive" death.
Anyway, I was looking through the books earlier tonight, and my mind started playing with the Phantom template, and I think it would be amazing to put it on this guy. However, I'm curious how his incorporeality and the Dark Stalker's Shadow Cloak ability interact.
When he is incorporeal, he will get a 50% miss chance from any corporeal magical source that isn't a force effect.
Shadow Cloak also provides him with a 40% miss chance from being cloaked in magical shadow.
If he were under the effects of both, how would an attack roll with a magical sword be resolved? Only the 50% miss chance? Both miss chances rolled separately, and failing either one means you missed?
Pardon, it appears I was mistaken. The incorporeal percentage is not actually a miss chance, but merely a chance to ignore damage. So, player attacks, and somehow hits his ridiculously high AC (or attacks with a ray, hitting a lower touch AC), then rolls a 40% (20% in bright light) miss chance from concealment, then rolls a 50% chance to see if the phantom ignores the damage anyway... right?
I have a feeling this guy will continue to remain an utter pain in the kiester for a very long time.
Here are his full stats, as he first faced the party last week. His hit points are crap, but he has DR 15, he's undead (so no crits, and half sneak attack only if my Rogue player flanks him), he almost can't fail a Reflex save, and his immunity to Cold and Electricity gave the big ol' middle finger to my Iot7FV PC's 80 points of electricity damage from his newest warding.
The peculiarities of Phantom letting him keep all his normal armor bonuses and NA bonuses to AC, plus the new deflection modifier from Phantom, and this guy's buffed AC will soon be 39... and shield protects vs. Magic Missile... and any attempt to disintegrate him will have to get through two percentile rolls.
Sepulchral Thief Dark Stalker Scout 4/Telflammar Shadow Lord 5
Medium-Size Undead
Hit Dice: 12d12 (78 hp) [+4 turn resistance]
Initiative: +10
Speed: 40 ft.
AC: 28 (+9 Dex, +2 +1 Thistledown Padded Armor, +7 natural) touch 19, flat-footed 28 [+1 Dodge]
Shield AC: 32 (+9 Dex, +2 +1 Thistledown Padded Armor, +7 natural, +4 Shield) touch 19, flat-footed 32 [+1 Dodge]
Hasted Shield AC: 33 (+9 Dex, +2 +1 Thistledown Padded Armor, +7 natural, +4 Shield, +1 Haste) touch 20, flat-footed 33 [+1 Dodge]
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+10
Attack: +1 keen rapier +18 melee, or javelin +17 ranged, or Draining Touch +17
Full Attack: +1 keen rapier +18/+13 melee and Touch +12 melee, or javelin +17 ranged
Hasted Full Attack: +1 keen rapier +19/+19/+14 melee and Touch +13 melee, or javelin +18 ranged
Damage: +1 keen rapier 1d6+3 (15-20/x2) plus poison, javelin 1d6+2 plus poison, Draining Touch 1d8+5 (Will DC 22 half)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Fog cloud, poison use, shadow cloak, sneak attack +4d6, skirmish +1d6/+1 AC, spells, shadow pounce
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., light sensitivity, trapfinding, battle fortitude +1, uncanny dodge, fast movement +10 ft., trackless step, +4 turn resistance, DR 15/+1 and Lawful, immunity to Cold, Electricity, and mind-affecting attacks, reanimation, see in darkness, shadow jump (130 ft.), shadowsight, shadow blur, shadow walk, shadow discorporation
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +21, Will +8 [Hasted Ref +22]
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 29, Con -, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 22
Skills: Balance +26 [7], Climb +10 [0 ], Hide +32 [15], Jump +13 [5], Listen +19 [15], Move Silently +32 [15], Sleight of Hand +23 [6], Spot +19 [15], Tumble +26 [15], Use Magic Device +21 [15]
Feats: Blind-Fight, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse, Telling Blow
Climate/Terrain: Any underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 15 [GCR 14]
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +5
Possessions: Amulet of Fortune Prevailing (1/day reroll a saving throw, must take reroll), Cloak of Resistance +1, Boots of Swift Passage (5/day, teleport 20 ft in line-of-sight as a move action), Wand of Wraithstrike (32 charges), arcane scroll of Air Walk (CL 3rd), two scrolls of Shield.
Languages: Sylvan, Undercommon, Common (Lapp)
Blindsight (Ex): A dark one maneuvers and fights not only by sight, but also by using hearing and smell to ascertain its surroundings. This ability enables it to discern objects and creatures within 60 feet. A dark one usually does not need to make Spot or Listen checks to notice creatures within range of its blindsight.
Fog Cloud (Sp): Twice per day, a dark stalker can use fog cloud as the spell cast by a 5th-level sorcerer.
Light Sensitivity (Ex): Undead are immune to morale effects, and thus light no longer hinders this dark one.
Poison Use (Ex): Dark stalkers never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade. They typically use shadow essence poison (Fort DC 17, 1 Str drain/2d6 Str damage) on both their swords and their javelins. A dark stalker usually enters combat with its blade and four javelins coated with poison.
Shadow Cloak (Su): Three times per day, a dark one can wrap itself in a cloak of shadows that grants it concealment from its foes. In shadows or darkness, the shadow cloak gives the creature nine-tenths concealment (40% miss chance for attackers). In bright light, the shadow cloak provides only one-half concealment (20% miss chance). Darkvision does not negate the dark one’s concealment, since the shadow cloak is formed from magical darkness. Creatures that can see in magical darkness, such as devils, do not have a miss chance when striking a dark one.
Sneak Attack (Ex): Anytime a dark one’s target is denied a Dexterity bonus, or when a target is flanked by a dark one, the dark one deals additional damage on a successful melee attack. Dark stalkers deal an additional 3d6 points of damage.
Special Attacks: Save DCs are equal to 10 + 1/2 thief’s HD + thief’s Cha modifier unless otherwise noted (DC 22).
Draining Touch (Su): Any time the sepulchral thief deals damage with its touch attack, it gains a number of hit points equal to 1/4 the damage dealt (for this reason, the creature often attempts to begin combat with a sneak attack delivered with this method). If this raises its hit point total above its normal maximum, it gains the excess as temporary hit points that disappear after 1 hour. It can never have more temporary hit points than its total normal hit points.
Obscuring Aura (Su): Sepulchral thieves are shrouded in a mind- and senses-clouding aura of negative energy. Living creatures in a 30-foot radius must succeed on a Will save or be affected by the aura. Creatures with fewer than one-half the sepulchral thief’s Hit Dice are blinded and deafened. All other creatures take a –2 penalty on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same thief’s aura for 24 hours.
Sneak Attack (Ex): The sepulchral thief deals 1d6 points of extra damage when flanking an opponent or at any time when a target would be denied its Dexterity bonus. This extra damage applies to ranged attacks only if the target is within 30 feet (PH 50). If the creature already has sneak-attack bonuses due to class levels or some other source, these bonus dice stack.
Special Qualities:
Turn Resistance (Ex): A sepulchral thief has turn resistance +4.
Damage Reduction (Su): A sepulchral thief’s undead body is powered by hatred and negative energies, giving the creature damage reduction 15/magic and lawful. Its natural weapons are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): A sepulchral thief with at least 14 ranks in Hide can use the Hide skill even while being observed, as long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, as per the assassin class feature.
Immunities (Ex): Sepulchral thieves have immunity to cold, electricity, and mind-affecting attacks.
Reanimation (Su): The greed and malevolence that animate the sepulchral thief cannot be dispersed through mere physical destruction. When a sepulchral thief is destroyed, its life force immediately inhabits the single most valuable item it has on its possession (often but not always a weapon). Unless the item is destroyed or mystically cleansed, the sepulchral thief reappears 1d10 days after its apparent death. Casting dispel evil or hallow on the item destroys the thief’s essence if the caster makes a successful caster level check against a DC equal to 11 + the sepulchral thief’s HD. Destroying the item also destroys the inhabiting essence.
If the thief has two or more items of equal value as its “most valuable” possessions, it inhabits a weapon in favor of any other item; otherwise, choose randomly. So long as the sepulchral thief inhabits an item, that item radiates moderate necromancy and evil, in addition to its normal auras.
See in Darkness (Sp): Moreso even than other undead, the sepulchral thief is fully comfortable in the black of night. They can see perfectly in darkness—retaining the ability to distinguish color and texture—to a distance of 60 feet. This applies even to magical darkness.
Shadow Jump (Sp): A sepulchral thief gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell, just as a shadow dancer can (DMG 195). The thief can jump a total of 30 feet each day in this manner. If the sepulchral thief has the shadow jump ability from some other source, such as levels in the shadow dancer prestige class, these total daily distances stack.
Skills: Sepulchral Thieves have a +8 racial bonus on Balance, Climb, Hide, Move Silently, and Sleight of Hand checks.
Shadowsight (Ex): Gifted with a mystical connection to shadow and darkness, the shadowlord gains a superior form of darkvision with a 60-foot range. He can see through any form of normal or magical darkness without hindrance.
Shadow Jump (Su): A Telflammar shadowlord can travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow or darkness. The shadowlord can jump up to a total of 20 feet per class level per day in this way. This amount can be split up among many jumps, but each jump, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment. If the Telflammar shadowlord already has shadow jump from another class (because he did not meet the spellcasting prerequisite, for example), this ability confers no additional benefit.
Shadow Blur (Su): At 2nd level, a Telflammar shadowlord gains an unusual defense—anytime he is not in daylight or the illuminated radius of a light source, the shadows cloak his every movement, conferring the benefits of a blur spell. The shadowlord can choose to activate or end this effect as a free action.
Shadow Walk (Sp): Once per day starting at 3rd level, a Telflammar shadowlord may use shadow walk as a caster whose level is equal to his shadowlord class level. If he previously possessed the ability to use shadow walk as a spell-like ability, he gains a second daily use of that power.
Shadow Pounce (Ex): At 4th level, a Telflammar shadowlord learns how to attack swiftly from the shadows. Any time he uses an ability, spell, or effect with the teleportation descriptor (for example, his shadow jump ability), he may execute a full attack upon completion of the teleportation. The shadowlord must have line of sight on his intended target from his original location, and the spot to which he teleports must be a place from which he can launch a melee attack at the intended target with whatever weapon he has in hand at the beginning of his action.
Shadow Discorporation (Su): At 5th level, a Telflammar shadowlord learns how to use his mastery of shadows to cheat death. If the shadowlord is in shadow or darkness (anything but direct daylight or the illuminated radius of a light source), any damage that would reduce him to 0 hit points or below instead has a chance to discorporate him. The shadowlord attempts a Reflex save (DC 5 + damage dealt); if successful, he simply breaks apart into dozens of flitting shadows and vanishes, along with anything he is holding or carrying. At the next sunset, the shadowlord reappears at a spot of his choosing within one mile of the place where he was forced to discorporate. While discorporated, the shadowlord simply does not exist—he can do nothing, nor can any of his enemies do anything to him.
Spells: Casts spells similarly to a Wizard, with a spellbook.
Spells per day: (-/3/2/1); CL 5th; DC's 14+spell level
1 - Chill Touch, Invisibility, Levitate
2 - Haste, Improved Invisibility
3 - Dimension Door
Spellbook:
1 - Blindness/Deafness, Chill Touch, Darkness, Darkvision, Invisibility, Knock, Levitate, Shadow Mask, Shadow Spray
2 - Air Walk, Haste, Improved Invisibility, Vampiric Touch
3 - Dimension Door, Mislead
