Lantern Bearer (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

The worst evil the elves ever discovered was what had become of their elven kin who became corrupted by both demons and the strange energies within the bowels of the earth. These elves were transformed into what are now known as the drow. In response to these wicked threats, the elves founded the Lantern Bearers. Members of this secretive organization state that their goal is “to be a light against the coming darkness.” In plainer terms, they seek to contain and eliminate the drow.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. Lantern bearers are rangers who suppress the drow.

Publisher: Purple Duck Games.

Prestige Class: Lantern bearer from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige.

Build Classes: Ranger.

Role: Lantern bearers are specialists in tracking and facing down drow and other creatures of darkness and evil.

Alignment: Any. Like elves, most lantern bearers are chaotic good or chaotic neutral and this colors how they operate, but individual members have no restriction.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills

The lantern bearer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Abilities

The lantern bearer has all the ranger's class abilities, except as noted below.

Favored Enemy (Ex)

Gained at 1st level, this is the same as the ranger ability of the same name. The lantern bearer's favored enemies must be selected from this list:

Aberration, animal, fey, humanoid (elf), outsider (evil), plant, and vermin.

Lantern Arcana (Sp)

At third level a lantern bearer adds a number of spells to his spell list.

Orisons (level zero): dancing lights, light, and spark. These all function as prepared cantrips and can be cast at will.

1st level: faerie fire, protection from evil.

2nd level: invisibility purge, see invisibility.

3rd level: dispel magic, magic circle against evil (centered on self), searing light.

4th level: daylight, dimensional anchor.

This replaces the ranger's 1st favored terrain.

Bitter Armament (Su)

At 8th level, metal weapons that a lantern bearer wields are treated as being cold iron for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction (in addition to the weapons' other special material properties). These weapons, including fired ammunition, retain this property for 1 round after leaving the Lantern Bearer's grasp. This replaces the ranger's 2nd favored terrain.

Superior Discernment (Ex)

At 9th level, a lantern bearer gains one of the following as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites: Eagle Eyes, Elven Accuracy or Sharp Senses. This replaces evasion.

Unbounded Stride (Su)

At 12th level, as a swift action, a lantern bearer can make himself immune to effects that would impede his movement, such as overgrown foliage, webs, solid fog, or other magical area effects that impair movement or confer the entangled condition. This ability is similar in effect to a druid's woodland stride ability, but its effects extend to magical effects as well, and the lantern bearer must announce he is using unbounded stride before it takes effect. He takes no damage from moving through barbed vegetation, briars, or even a wall of thorns, but harmful gases and other detrimental effects, such as fire damage from an incendiary cloud, still affect him as normal. A lantern bearer can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to his class level; these rounds need not be consecutive. This replaces camouflage.

Celestial Weaponry (Su)

At 13th level, a Lantern Bearer's attacks are treated as good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. This replaces the ranger's 3rd favored terrain.

Fade from Sight (Su)

At 16th level, a lantern bearer can use the Stealth skill without having anything to hide behind, and even while being observed. Activating this ability is a swift action. A lantern bearer can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to his class level; these rounds need not be consecutive. This replaces improved evasion.

Faerie Alignment (Su)

At 17th level, once per day as a full-round action a lantern bearer can use the interconnected power of the material and faerie worlds to teleport himself to an elf gate that he has studied carefully (see teleport). This functions as word of recall .

In addition, a lantern bearer can magically slip between the spaces in reality twice per day as a swift action, as if using dimension door. This ability has a range of 50 feet and the lantern bearer cannot take other creatures along. This replaces hide in plain sight.

Bringer of Brightness (Sp)

At 18th level, once per day a lantern bearer can engulf himself in a brilliant radiance. This functions as a holy aura spell targeting only the Lantern Bearer, with a save DC of 18 + the lantern bearer's Wisdom modifier. This replaces the ranger's 4th favored terrain.

Table: Lantern Bearer

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1	2	3	4
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	1st favored enemy, track, wild empathy	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Combat style feat	—	—	—	—
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Endurance, lantern arcana	—	—	—	—
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Hunter's bond	0	—	—	—
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	2nd favored enemy	1	—	—	—
6th	+6/+1	+5	+5	+2	Combat style feat	1	—	—	—
7th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+2	Woodland stride	1	0	—	—
8th	+8/+3	+6	+6	+2	Bitter armament, swift tracker,	1	1	—	—
9th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+3	Superior discernment	2	1	—	—
10th	+10/+5	+7	+7	+3	3rd favored enemy, combat style feat	2	1	0	—
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+7	+3	Quarry	2	1	1	—
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+4	Unbounded stride	2	2	1	—
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+8	+4	Celestial weaponry	3	2	1	0
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+9	+4	Combat style feat	3	2	1	1
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+9	+5	4th favored enemy	3	2	2	1
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+10	+5	Fade from sight	3	3	2	1
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+10	+5	Aiudara alignment	4	3	2	1
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+11	+6	Bringer of brightness, combat style feat	4	3	2	2
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+11	+6	Improved quarry	4	3	3	2
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+12	+6	5th favored enemy, master hunter	4	4	3	3

Variant Lantern Bearer's

In its conception, this is a class for elves fighting drow. But it can be adapted to other wilderness hunters chasing elusive prey. This is done by changing what alignment the lantern bearer's protection from evil and magic circle against evil spells protect against, what kind of DR bitter armament and celestial weaponry penetrates, what kind of places he can teleport to using faerie alignment, and what spell bringer of brightness enhances the user with. The favored enemies these variants hunt are usually tricky, stealthy, and unlikely to stage set-piece battles, meaning that the variant lantern bearer must be equally tricky.

Class Variant	Signature Enemy	Alignment Protection	Bitter Armament	Celestial Weaponry	Teleport Point	Bringer of Brightness Spell
Arrow Bearer	Rakshasa	Law	Piercing	Good	Ruined jungle temples	cloak of chaos
Bearer of Pain	Kytons	Law	Silver	Good	Any spot the bearer of pain has been tortured or dismembered	waves or ecstasy which can affect others
Bearer of the Ages	Reptilian humanoids	Evil	Magic	None: instead add 60 ft. to darkvision	Uninhabited ruins	frightful aspect
Bearer of the Past	Humans	Law	Magic	Adamantine	Uninhabited ruins	antimagic field
Iron Bearer	Fey	Chaos	Cold Iron	Lawful	Ruins in woods	shield of law
Light Bearer	Dark Folk	Evil	None: instead add 30 ft. to darkvision	None: instead darkvision can see in deeper darkness	Areas of natural light underground	holy aura
Silver Lantern	Devils	Evil	Silver	Good	Faerie Glades	cloak of chaos
Shining Tyrant	Azata	Good	Cold Iron	Evil	Devil temples	unholy aura
Soul Bearer	Daemon	Evil	Silver	Good	Portals to evil planes	holy aura

These variant work best if incorporated into the world, having an origin tied to a race or group who traditionally fights enemies of this kind. This gives the variant lantern bearer natural enemies and allies, places of refuge, and others to role-play against.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Favored Terrain (all)
• Evasion
• Camouflage
• Improved Evasion
• Hide In Plain Sight

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