Lion Blade (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Lion Blades come from the most secretive schools of the fighting arts. They scoff at assassins, laughing at their poisons and blow guns — and they’re equally derisive of knights, stomping about the battlefield in burdensome armor and wielding huge, slow weapons. Lion Blades prefer crowded urban areas and are masters of motion, controlling both their own movement and those around them. With the flick of a blade, they can slow their enemy to a crawl and then step into a crowd and disappear from sight. They are quick, agile, knowledgeable, and masters of disguise.

Class Information

This is a prestige class archetype.

Prestige Class: lion blade.

Build Classes: rogue.

Lion blades are rogues focused on crowded streets.

Role: Lion Blade PCs are often on extended loan for a specific purpose or are given permission to adventure in order to perfect their art in real world settings.

Alignment: Any. Most lion blades begin with a lawful alignment, but can change alignment without direct consequence. A Lion Blade usually spends at least a year in training before taking on missions. A rare few Lion Blades shirk their responsibilities and work independently or even serve the enemies of their host nations especially eager for these turncoats.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Features

The lion blade has all rogue class features, except as follows:

Sneak Attack (Ex)

This is exactly as the rogue ability, except the lion blade gains a die of snek attack at level 1, 3 and every 3 levels thereafter.

Master of Disguise (Ex)

At second level a lion blade learns to perfectly alter her appearance in order to blend in to any crowd and any environment. A lion blade no longer suffers penalties to Disguise checks made to change her gender, race, or age.

Move with Crowd (Ex)

From 3rd level, lion blades are masters of moving in crowds. When moving through groups of humanoids that would normally count as difficult terrain, the lion blade instead moves normally.

Inspire Self (Su)

At 3rd level, a lion blade learns a quiet, throaty chanting that puts her in a light trance as a standard action, increasing her focus on the task at hand. The lion blade gains a +1 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill as long as she is able to continue her chant (a free action each round), up to a maximum of 2 minutes. These bonuses rise to +2 when the lion blade reaches 6th level, to +3 when he reaches 9th level, to +4 when he reaches 12th level, to +5 at 15th, and to +6 at 18th level. The GM may rule that certain uses of this ability are infeasible — chanting to make the lion blade move more quietly, for example, is self-defeating. Inspire self is a mind-affecting ability and replaces trap sense.

Slowing Strike (Su)

At 5th level, once per round on a successful sneak attack, a lion blade may choose to deal less dice of sneak attack damage and instead reduce the target’s ground speed by 5 feet per dice of damage she does not inflict. Once an opponent’s speed has been reduced to 0 feet, he is immobilized (but not helpless). If the target uses wings to fly, the lion blade can choose to reduce the creature’s flying speed instead of its ground speed. The movement penalties imposed by slowing strike are removed once the creature fully heals or it receives a lesser restoration spell or other effect that restores attribute damage.

Unexpected Suggestion (Su)

At 6th level, once per day a lion blade can use suggestion on a target she catches flatfooted. Her caster level is equal to her class level. The saving throw DC of this ability is 10 + ½ the lion blade's level + his Charisma modifier.

Hide in Crowds (Su)

At 8th level, a lion blade can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. As long as there are at least 10 other humanoids within 30 ft., a lion blade can hide herself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. Non-humanoid lion blades can hide in crowds of creatures that match their basic form (quadruped for a centaur lion blade, for example).

Expeditious Advance (Ex)

At 9th level, a lion blade’s land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when she is wearing no armor or light armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the lion blade’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn.

Glean Information (Ex)

At 11th level, a lion blade’s study of body language gives her an advantage when observing or manipulating others. A lion blade gains a +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Sense Motive checks. Once per day per character level, a lion blade can add a +2 circumstance bonus to any Knowledge skill check relating to humanoids in her presence.

Secret Step (Su)

A 12th level lion blade can slip through crowds with supernatural ease. Once per day per four class levels, a lion blade can take a move action to move up to double her speed through a crowd without provoking attacks of opportunity for this movement. For example, if a lion blade has a movement speed of 40, she can use secret step to move 80 feet as a move action. She can only use this ability to move through humanoid crowds that would otherwise count as difficult terrain. This is fast, agile movement, not teleportation, so she must physically traverse the intervening space (for example, she cannot use this ability to bypass a trapped floor or wall of fire, even if surrounded by crowds).

Cloud the Mind (Su)

At 14th level, a lion blade becomes incredibly difficult to find. Whenever a lion blade is using Stealth, observers suffer a –5 on their Perception checks. The lion blade gains SR equal to 10 + her class level against divination spells.

Narrow Miss (Su)

At 15th level, a lion blade can dodge swiftly and erratically as a swift action, gaining 20% concealment until her next turn. She may use this ability once per day per two class levels.

Grandmaster of Disguise (Ex)

At 17th level, a lion blade is able to improvise materials for a disguise that are as effective as an actual disguise kit. She gains a +2 circumstance bonus to disguise checks (this doesnot stack with the bonus from an actual disguise kit). Once per day per class level she can make a Disguise check at a –20 penalty to create a disguise as a full-round action.

Silent Soul (Ex)

At 18th level, a lion blade has mastered the ability to still her thoughts, her movement, and her sounds to such a point that she becomes harder to dominate, harder to see, and harder to hear. All Stealth checks made by the lion blade gain a +10 circumstance bonus (this is in addition to the –5 penalty imposed by cloud the mind) and the lion blade gains SR 20 against mind-affecting effects.

No Rogue Talents

The lion blade gains no rogue talents.

Table: Lion Blade

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Evasion, master of disguise,
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Inspire self +1, move with crowd,
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Sneak attack +2d6, uncanny dodge
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Slowing strike
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5	Inspire self +2, unexpected suggestion
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5	Sneak attack +3d6
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	Improved uncanny dodge, hide in crowds
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6	Expeditious advance, inspire self +3
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	Sneak attack +4d6
11th	+8/+3	+3	+7	+7	Glean information
12th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	Inspire self +4, Secret step
13th	+9/+4	+4	+8	+8	Sneak attack +5d6
14th	+10/+5	+4	+9	+9	Cloud the mind
15th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+9	+9	Inspire self +5, narrow miss
16th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Sneak attack +6d6
17th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+10	Grandmaster of disguise
18th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+11	Inspire self +6, silent soul
19th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+11	Sneak attack +7d6
20th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+12	Master strike

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)