Smuggler Guide (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Whenever people and goods are hindered from crossing a border, there are smugglers trying to bypass such control. The smuggler guide leads small groups of creatures through dangerous territory to their goal. This is useful to both freedom fighters and criminals, and the line is often hard to draw.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. The smuggler guide is a ranger focused on teamwork.

Prestige Class: Bellflower tiller from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige.

Build Classes: Ranger.

Role: Smuggler guides lead small groups of travelers in the wilderness, keeping them hidden and protecting them from danger.

Alignment: Any. Smuggler guides are often chaotic loners, but some are part of organized networks.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills

The smuggler guide's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str)

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The smuggler guide has the class features of the ranger, except as follows.

Cell Defense (Ex)

A smuggler guide is dedicated to ensuring the safety and success of those he leads. The smuggler guide receives a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls made against creatures that threaten members of his smuggling cell (see below). Whenever he uses the aid another action for a member of his smuggling cell, he adds the cell defense bonus to the normal +2 bonus of aid other.

At 5th level and every five levels thereafter, these bonuses increase by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. This replaces favored enemy.

Smuggling Cell (Ex)

As a standard action, a smuggler guide may designate a number of allies up to 3 + his Wisdom modifier as part of his cell. Members of a group must remain within 30 feet of the smuggler guide in order to gain the benefits granted by a smuggler guide's other class abilities, detailed below; if they leave this range, the smuggler guide must designate these allies again for them to be included in his group.

When designating members for a smuggling cell, the smuggler guide can grant one teamwork feat he knows to all members of the newly-formed cell. Cell members do not need to meet the prerequisites of these bonus feats, and retain the bonus as long as they remain cell members. It is possible to re-form a smuggling cell just to change what teamwork feat it confers.

At 11th level, range increases to 60 feet. At level 13 designating members is a move action. At 17th level, range increases to 90 feet. At level 19, designating members is a swift action.

This replaces wild empathy.

Swift Traveler (Ex)

At 2nd level smuggler guide's base land speed is treated as being +10 feet faster when determining his overland travel speed while traveling long distances and while outside of combat. Members of his group may use either the smuggler guide's overland travel speed or their own, whichever is better.

At 10th level, the bonus to speed increases to +20 feet. This replaces track and quarry.

Teamwork Feat

At 2nd level, and every 4 levels after level 2, a smuggler guide gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. This bonus feat must be selected from those listed as teamwork feats, and the smuggler guide must meet the prerequisites of the selected bonus feat. Members of the smuggler guide's smuggling cell are treated as if they possessed the same teamwork feats as the smuggler guide for the purpose of determining whether the smuggler guide receives a bonus from his teamwork feats. His smuggling cell members do not receive any bonuses from these feats unless they actually possess or have been granted the feats themselves. The allies’ positioning and actions must still meet the prerequisites listed in the teamwork feat for the smuggler guide to receive the listed bonus. This replaces all combat style feats.

Favored Community (Ex)

At 3rd level, a smuggler guide grows familiar with and develops trusted contacts in a particular community. While inside the limits of this area, she gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (local), Perception, Stealth, and Survival checks. Any ally designated as part of the group receives a bonus on these skills equal to half the leader's bonus. A Group Leader traveling through her favored community leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (although she may leave a trail if she so desires).

Provided she isn't in immediate danger (such as fleeing from pursuers right on her heels), a smuggler guide can always find a safe place for her and members of her group to rest in her chosen community At such a location, she and her allies are fed, clothed, and provided with basic medical attention (as if attended by a person with a Heal bonus of +10).

At 8th level and every five levels thereafter, the smuggler guide may select an additional community in which to receive these bonuses. Each time she selects a new community, the skill bonus and initiative bonus in any one chosen community (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by +2.

For the purposes of this ability, a community is considered any settlement consisting of 100 or more individuals. The community may be larger than this minimum. Outlying farms, fields, and houses are considered part of a community. This replaces favored terrain.

Hunter's Bond (Ex)

This is the same as the ranger ability except as noted below.

If the smuggler guide forms a bond with his companions, this bond applies to members of his smuggling cell and lasts as long as they remain members of the cell, granting them his cell defense bonus.

If the smuggler guide chooses an animal companion, it shares his cell defense and favored community bonuses and is always a member of his smuggling cell without counting against the size limit and despite language barriers.

Grant Endurance (Ex)

Beginning at 8th level, a smuggler guide grants the Endurance feat to all members of his smuggling cell. This replaces swift tracker.

Grant Woodland Stride (Ex)

Beginning at 19th level, a smuggler guide grants the woodland stride class feature to all members of his smuggling cell. This replaces improved quarry.

Grant Mastery

At 20th level the smuggling guide shares his evasion, improved evasion, and camouflage class features with his smuggling cell. This replaces master hunter.

Table: Smuggler Guide

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1	2	3	4
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Cell defense +1, smuggling cell, swift traveler +10 ft.	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	teamwork feat	—	—	—	—
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Endurance, 1st favored community	—	—	—	—
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Hunter's bond	0	—	—	—
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Cell defense +2	1	—	—	—
6th	+6/+1	+5	+5	+2	Teamwork feat	1	—	—	—
7th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+2	Woodland stride	1	0	—	—
8th	+8/+3	+6	+6	+2	Grant Endurance, 2nd favored community	1	1	—	—
9th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+3	Evasion	2	1	—	—
10th	+10/+5	+7	+7	+3	Cell defense +3, teamwork feat	2	1	0	—
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+7	+3	Smuggling cell (60 ft.), swift traveler +20 ft.	2	1	1	—
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+4	Camouflage	2	2	1	—
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+8	+4	3rd favored community, smuggling cell (move action)	3	2	1	0
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+9	+4	Teamwork feat	3	2	1	1
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+9	+5	Cell defense +4	3	2	2	1
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+10	+5	Improved evasion	3	3	2	1
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+10	+5	Smuggling cell (90 ft.), hide in plain sight	4	3	2	1
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+11	+6	4th favored community, teamwork feat	4	3	2	2
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+11	+6	Grant woodland stride, smuggling cell (swift action)	4	3	3	2
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+12	+6	Cell defense +5, grant mastery	4	4	3	3

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

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

• Class Skills
• Favored Enemy (all)
• Wild Empathy
• Track
• Combat Style Feats (all)
• Hunter's Bond
• Quarry
• Quick Tracker
• Improved Quarry
• Master Hunter

Variant Smuggler Guides

The favored community class feature assumes a rather civilized setting, where communities are large and plentiful. For a more wilderness-themed smuggler guide, use the rangers favored terrain ability rather than favored community. Remove the grant endurance class feature to make up the balance.

The text in this article is Open Game Content. It is covered by the Open Game License v1.0a, rather than the Action copyright. To distinguish it, these items will have this notice. If you see any page that contains OGL material and does not show this license statement, please contact one of the Action administrators. Please note that images used in article may have different copyright than the text.