Delver (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

A mercenary undertaking his task with cold, professional detachment, the assassin is equally adept at espionage, bounty hunting, and terrorism. At his core, an assassin is an artisan, and his medium is death. Trained in a variety of killing techniques, assassins are among the most feared classes. While nearly any class is capable of becoming an assassin, rogues suit the part more than any other, from both an ability viewpoint and an ideological one. Though they make excellent allies during combat, assassins excel in more clandestine situations, and the best assassins are the ones the victims never knew existed.

Class Information

This is a prestige class archetype.

Prestige Class: assassin.

Build Classes: Rogue.

Role: Assassins tend to be loners by nature, seeing companions as liabilities at best. Sometimes an assassin's missions put him in the company of adventurers for long stretches at a time, but few people are comfortable trusting a professional assassin to watch their backs in a fight, and are more likely to let the emotionless killer scout ahead or help prepare ambushes.

Alignment: Evil. Due to its necessary selfishness and callous indifference toward taking lives, the assassin class attracts those with evil alignments more than any others. Because the profession requires a degree of self-discipline, chaotic characters are ill suited to becoming these shadowy killers. Neutral characters sometimes become assassins, frequently thinking of themselves as simple professionals performing a job, yet the nature of their duties inevitably pushes them toward an evil alignment.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills

The delvers's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), abd Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The assassin has the class features of the rogue, except as follows.

Bardic Knowledge (Ex)

This ability is identical to the bard ability of the same name. Levels in this class stack with levels in any other class that grants bardic knowledge or a similar ability.

Sneak Attack (Ex)

This is the same as the rogue's sneak atatck ability, except the delver has 1d6 sneak attack damage at level 1, 2d6 sneak attack damage at level 5, and an additional die of sneak attack damage every five levels after level 5.

Master Explorer (Ex)

At 2nd level a Dark Delver adds 1/2 his class level (minimum 1) as a bonus on all Perception checks (this does not stack with the bonus from trapfinding). A Dark Delver can disable intricate and complex traps in half the normal amount of time (minimum 1 round) and open a lock as a standard action instead of a fullround action. He can always take 10 on Disable Device and Stealth checks, even if distracted or endangered.

Rogue Talents

As a delver gains experience, she learns a number of rogue talents that aid her and confound her foes. Starting at 3rd level, a delver gains one rogue talent. She gains an additional rogue talent for every 4 levels of rogue attained after 3rd level. A delver cannot select an individual talent more than once.

Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to a delver's sneak attack. Only one of these talents can be applied to an individual attack and the decision must be made before the attack roll is made.

A delver cannot choose a ninja trick with the same name as a rogue talent.

At 11th level, and every four levels thereafter, a delver can choose one an advanced rogue talent talent in place of a regular rogue talent if desired.

Surefooted (Ex)

At 3rd level, a Delver can move through difficult terrain (such as hills, mountains, rubble, ruins, and similar terrain) at his normal speed. Ground that has been magically manipulated to impede motion still affects him normally.

Resourceful Disabler (Ex)

Dark Delvers are adept at making use of what’s at hand. At 5th level, a Dark Delver can use the Disable Device skill without tools at no penalty.

Guardbreaker (Ex)

At 6th level, a delver’s familiarity with the strange guardians often left in tombs allows him to attack them more effectively. He may treat his trap sense bonus as if it were a favored enemy bonus against constructs, oozes, and undead; this bonus stacks with any ranger favored enemy bonuses.

Thrilling Escape (Ex)

At 7th level, a Delver can attempt to delay a trap immediately after triggering it. To use this ability, he makes a Disable Device check as an immediate action against the trap's Disable Device DC; if he’s successful, the trap's activation is delayed until the end of the delver’s next turn. The delver can attempt this check even if the trap was triggered by a failed Disable Device check, or if it is not the Dark Delver’s turn.

Vigilant Combatant (Ex)

Starting at 8th level, a Dark Delver adds +2 initiative checks. This bonus increases to +4 at level 13 and +6 at level 17.

Fortunate Soul (Su)

Once per day at 10th level, the delver may reroll any saving throw he has just made before the results of the roll are revealed. He must take the result of the reroll, even if it’s worse than the original roll. He may use this ability twice per day at level 15 and three times per day at level 20.

Left for Dead (Su)

Once per day, a 10th-level Dark Delver can cheat death. If he would be killed by a melee attack, ranged attack, or an effect that requires a saving throw, he is instead reduced to –1 hit points and knocked unconscious, but is stable. The delver appears dead (though a DC 25 Heal check or life-tracking abilities such as deathwatch reveals he is not), but becomes conscious 1 minute later unless awakened sooner.

True Seeing (Sp)

At 14th level, a Dark Delver can use true seeing once per day. At 19th level, he can use this ability 2 times per dayHis caster level equals his class level.

Nick of Time (Ex)

A Dark Delver has a knack for choosing the best time to act. Once per day at 20th level, a delver can use an immediate action to perform an action that normally requires a standard action to perform.

Table: Delver

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Bardic knowledge, sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Evasion, master explorer
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Rogue talent, surefooted, Trap sense +1
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Sneak attack +2d6, uncanny dodge
5th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Resourceful disabler
6th	+4	+2	+5	+2	Guardbreaker, Trap sense +2
7th	+5	+2	+5	+2	Rogue talent, thrilling escape
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+2	Sneak attack +3d6, vigilant combatant +2
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+3	Trap sense +3
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+3	Fortunate soul 1/day , Left for dead
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+3	Advanced talents, rogue talent
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4	Improved uncanny dodge, Sneak attack +4d6, trap sense +4
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+4	Vigilant combatant +4
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+4	True seeing 1/day
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+5	Fortunate soul 2/day, rogue talent, trap sense +5
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Sneak attack +5d6
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Vigilant combatant +6
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+6	Trap sense +6
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6	Rogue talent, true seeing 2/day
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6	Fortunate soul 3/day, nick of time, Sneak attack +6d6

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

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

• Rogue talents (all)
• Advanced rogue talent
• Sneak Attack (All)
• Improved Uncanny Dodge
• Master Strike