The Teleporter (Prestige Class)

Ok guys, here's a prestige class i've been working on. Take a look and tell me what you think. Comments appreciated.

Plane Shifter
Those rogues who have experience with magic can be blessed with an innate ability to shift between planes. They use this as a way to teleport to other areas in the living plane. At first this talent is difficult to control, resulting in undetermined points of re-emergence. Through luck and perseverance, these individuals can master this ability and use it to their advantage by making their enemies unable to track their movement. Generally, these talents are used in combat but it also provides a means of travel for those who need passage into an unaccessible area.
Hit Die: d6

Requirements
To acquire these shifting abilities one must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Abilities: Sneak attack ability, spell-casting ability
Alignment: Any
Skills: Escape Artist 5 ranks, Tumble 5 ranks

Class Skills
Appraise, Balance, Climb, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (planar), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Magic Device
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int Modifier

Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shifters are proficient with all simple weapons, all light martial weapons, rapiers, scimitars, hand crossbows and short bows. They are only proficient with light armor.
Inept to Casting: At 1st level, shifters lose all previous spell casting abilities. From this point on, they can never use spells, scrolls or any related casting of the sort.
Quick Shift: Also at 1st level, shifters gain an innate ability to pass between planes. In a burst of smoke, they transfer over to another plane. Here, they can move about and shift back, arriving in a new location in the living realm. However, they cannot remain in the plane they just shifted through. They return back at the end of the action even if they did not move. At first, this talent is uncontrollable and unpredictable. Where the shifter will reappear in the living plane is determined randomly (See Table). Should that location be already occupied, the process is repeated. If the shifter were to land in a space behind the line of sight of their opponent, they gain a free sneak attack opportunity. However, if they arrive in an adjacent space of the enemy or within their enemy reach and vision, they provoke an attack of opportunity. This action of teleportation is considered a move action. Those who are touching the shifter as he teleports are teleported as well.
*Note: To determine which plane the shifter passes through, match his alignment to the corresponding domain of the plane.
Sneak Attack: With the aide of teleporting, shifters gain a more frequent chance for sneak attacks. In accordance to rogue’s sneak attack bonus, the shifter gains an extra 1d6 at every even level.
Tactical Shift: At 3rd level, a shifter begins to use his talents as a tactician rather than just a combatant. I f grappled, a shifter may use a surprising maneuver. In lue of escaping the grapple, the shifter may transport him and his grappler into the other plane. In this new enviroment, the enemy may become confused enough for the shifter to reverse the grapple before arriving back. In order to resist this counter, the enemy must make a reflex save (DC 10 + Shifter level) in order to maintain the grapple.
Improved Quick Shift: Also at 3rd level, the shifter gains more control over his powers. He now can determine where he will reemerge (no d20 used to roll relocation) and shifting is now counted as a free action. However, due to the intensity of the other plane, his movement, in the other plane, is reduced to ten feet. A d20 must be rolled in order to determine a critical failure. If the shift fails, it provokes an attack of opportunity. Every following odd level, the range increases by ten more feet.
Rapid Shift: At 5th level, a shifter may take a full round action to make an extra shift during his turn. (It is the equivalent of running in order to use two move actions in one round.)
Flurry of Shifts: At 8th level, the shifter begins to tap into the main power of his talents. Once per day, the shifter may take a full round action to shift behind and sneak attack every enemy (equal to the number of Plane Shifter levels he possesses) within a 30 foot radius. (This is the melee equivalent of the Arcane Archer’s Hail of Arrows)
Unbounded Shift: In combat situations only, a shifter is no longer restricted to a certain distance. Once a week, a shifter may transport instantly to a location he has already visited previously.

Stats Attached to file
 

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There's some interesting ideas here, but I worry that the sneak attack is too powerful. The especially egregious part is the doubling of the sneak attack bonus. A rogue 6/cleric 1 (or worse yet, depending on your interpretation of "spell-casting ability," a gnomish rogue 6) with 10 levels in this class does +13d6.

Or am I misunderstanding, and he would get a total of +8d6?

We'd need to see the BAB et al to really be able to judge. I'm not generally a big fan of having to use a table to determine the shifting result; that makes it really hard to use tactically.
 


No, the gnome rogue would only get +8d6 and remeber after improved quick shift is aquired the table is disregarded and the range is the only limits on the shifting and by spellcaster i'm refering to sorc/wizard
 
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disgruntledarcher said:
by spellcaster i'm refering to sorc/wizard

You'll probably want to specify "ability to cast arcane spells." Having to chuck the spellcasting from that level is painful; at least they get to keep the familiar. Are spells in that class still considered to be on their spell list for the purpose of spell completion items like wands?

A few comments:

Be aware that both "planeshifter" and "shifter" are names used by other classes or races in WotC books. You may have some confusion at first. :)

> If the shifter were to land in a space behind the line of sight of their opponent, they gain a free sneak attack opportunity.

What is line of sight? Are you saying that if the shifter disappears and reappears somewhere that a foe can't see him, then he's considered to have successfully hid... or are you saying that all foes are considered flatfooted to a shifter after he shifts? There's no facing in 3.5, so this is important. In addition, with no line of sight then there's no way for the shifter to make any attack, never mind a sneak attack.

> However, if they arrive in an adjacent space of the enemy or within their enemy reach and vision, they provoke an attack of opportunity.

By this it seems like all enemies are NOT flatfooted. That suggests that a shifter who pops in might be considered hidden, which seems okay. Just being able to see an arriving shifter shouldn't provoke an AoO, although I see nothing wrong with saying that reappearing in someone's area of control should do so.

> This action of teleportation is considered a move action. Those who are touching the shifter as he teleports are teleported as well.

You may want to limit this to one person per shifter level, and unwilling people get a saving throw as per teleport.

Note that Flurry of shifts is much more powerful than flurry of arrows because of the sneak attack damage. Also note that by the rules you've already established, the shifter would draw an AoO from every single person that he pops in next to to do this.
 

Thankyou for the arcane apell note. Okay, allow me to elaborate.

First point: About the line of sight issue, I was trying to establish a visual statement of if the shifter were to land in the 3 immedtiate spaces behind the enemy he was facing, he could catch it flatfooted and cuase a sneak attack. Since the enemy would be unable to follow the movement visually, he would no be aware of the shifter or the oncoming attack. This is what I am trying to specify as a "sneak attack" per say. About the ranged sneak attack issue, since this type of sneak attack is a tad skewed from the regular type, I'm going to limit the attack to a melee category. Therefore, if you were to land in the appropiate space behind the enemy within your weapon's reach, you can sneak attack. I'm beginning to see that direction is going to play a big part in determining this ability. I'm trying to balance out the strenghts and weaknesses of this power so I had to have complications arise before somewhere before master the skill, hence the randomness and the Improved Quick Shift. For this class, the idea of line of vision I guess will have to come into play.

Second: I'm supposing you mean if two enemies where in line within one another, one in front and one in back, with a five foot increment between them, and the shifter where to land in the space between them. Now should his selected target (This may help clarify: before the shifter shifts, he must designate who he is trying to get behind and attack before so) be the one in front, yes he would gain the attack. However, since the rear enemy was not the selected target and since the shifter landed in one of his threatened spaces, he would get the AoO. With this in mind, the shifter, being a more tactical class, he would have targeted the rear target, predicting the consequences of the other optional attack. I'm being to see the underlying flaws with this class but remeber it's still being designed.

Thanks for the tip on the number of people teleported per shifter level. I'll apply that in. As well as the will save factor. Question: Should the will save be taken into account for the tactical shift ability or just the reflex save, making it more applicable?

Finally, the flurry of shifts comment was helpful. I think I'll reduce the sneak attack bonus to 1/2 the ammount of d6's. Or should I make it 1/4? That seems a little overextensive.

Thanks for all the commments. Keep them coming, it's really helpful. That's why I'm doing this so I can present the revised version to my DM.
 
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Thanks Brandon. What?! No! No! Sorry! I mean, uh... thankyou mysterious jawa man, whom i don not know at all, and whose apartment I have never been to. Uh, um.......yeaaah......
 

My name is Kashell
I ring lots of bells
Outside of Brandon's house
Also known as Chad's new spouse
He will hear the bells all day and night
Until morning's first light.

-Kash

(Sun School should not stack with teleporting attack)
 
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