Critique my shadow-based feats and PrC's

[Pants]

Quite a while ago, I posted up a PrC shadow mage type... thing. I originally designed it because a player expressed interest in the subject, but... he never got further than that!
However, another player is going down the path of darkness and because I am always tweaking everything and I'm never satisfied, I've decided to post it up again!
I'm also going to put up some of the other shadow-based content I'm cooking up.

SHADOW MAGE
The shadow mages are reclusive splinter sect of the Mage’s Guild of Keth. The guild of shadow mages was formed almost 20 years ago after the High Mage Sepheron Dul discovered a way to tap into the Plane of Shadow in order to enhance his own spells. Sepheron Dul was immediately evicted from the guild after his superiors learned of his research. The reasons given for his eviction were vague, usually amounting to his ‘dangerous and heretic fantasies.’ Whatever the reasons, Dul set out on his own and in the backwater portions of Keth, he began to apprentice others in the power of shadow magic.

Since then, Dul’s small, rag-tag group of mystics has grown in power and renown, often operating openly in places where the Mage’s Guild has little to no influence. People go to them when a direct connection to a member of the Mage’s Guild is extremely difficult or outright impossible and Dul’s little guild has prospered because of it. The Guild of Shadow (as it has come to be known) deals in all manner of enterprises: shipping, magical goods, espionage, and a host of other activities many of questionable morality.

In some few places, the Guild of Shadow has openly challenged the authority of the Mage Guild. In the border city of Fanghold, Xaad Eral – one of Dul’s first Disciples – openly proclaimed the power of the Guild of Shadow. A tower of shadow was raised opposite the Mage’s Guildhouse in Fanghold, rivaling it in design, style, and size. Outraged, the Mage’s Guild sought to quash the rebellious cult and for several weeks afterward, the streets of Fanghold ran red with the blood of both Guilds. Angered by the guild warfare, Emperor Karan IV sent one legion of Kethian troops to the city and demanded that both Guilds cease their violent actions ‘Lest [their] traitorous spirits be ground into the soil of the land.’ Both Guilds complied, although secretly they seek to undermine each other’s actions with subterfuge and clandestine activities.

Shadow mages tend towards neutrality more than any other alignment. The trappings of good and evil mean very little to them and often just get in the way of their pursuits. Those good shadow mages tend to try and use their magic for the betterment of society or to try and heal the rift between the corrupt Mage’s Guild and Dul’s Guild of Shadow.

INITIATION
Initiation into the Guild of Shadows generally is a two part process. First, the applicant must be deemed worthy to join the guild by a Headmaster or High Mage. Second, the applicant must spend a day upon the Plane of Shadow. Usually, the applicant is joined by several others wishing to join the Guild. Should the applicant survive the process, he is deemed worthy of joining the guild. Afterwards, the training begins.

At this stage, the trainee is sent upon tasks of little importance by the High Mage. These tasks are usually errands of some sort and are designed to help the student develop a further connection with shadow and how it helps in everyday life. These tasks can run the gamut from silently filching a spoon from the guild’s chef without utilizing magic to other mundane things.

After this, the student must spend a week in a room with no light. The student must begin to attune himself to the darkness and must learn to function in places where no light exists. After the week is passed, the student then begins to learn the true art of shadow magery.

Note: The requirements of this class only state that the character must have visited the Plane of Shadow at least once. The requirements do not list that the character must be deemed worthy by a senior member of the cult. This is because anyone with the right knowledge can progress as a shadow mage. The requirement for initiation exists only for the purpose of joining the Guild of Shadows. If you wish, you could tie shadow magic exclusively to a guild or an organization. If you do so, consider having the character being deemed worthy by a senior member be a requirement to progress in the class.
Hit Die: d4.

Requirements
To qualify to become a shadow mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 6 ranks
Feats: Tap the Shadow
Spells: Able to cast five different arcane spells with the darkness descriptor or from the shadow subschool, one of which must be 3rd level or higher.
Special: The character must have visited the plane of Shadow at least once.

CLASS SKILLS
The shadow mage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (all skills taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Base Attack Bonus: As Wizard
Saving throws: Good Will, Poor Fort and Reflex

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shadow mages gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At 2nd-level and every level thereafter (except for level 9), the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of shadow mage to the level of some other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
Cloak of Shadows (Su): At 1st level, the shadow mage can cloak his body in writhing tendrils of darkness at will. This has the added effect of granting her a +1 deflection bonus to AC and a +1 bonus to Hide checks. This bonus increases by 1 every 3 levels (+2 at 4th, +3 at 7th, and +4 at 10th). The shadow mage can suppress or resume this ability as a free action on her turn. This ability works only in shadowed or especially dark areas.
Darkvision (Ex): At 1st level, the shadow mage gains darkvision out to 60 ft. If the shadow mage already has darkvision, then she gains no other benefit.
Power of Darkness: At 2nd level, the shadow mage begins to master the power of the plane of shadow more and more. She casts spells with the darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool at +1 caster level. The bonus increases to +2 at 5th level and to +3 at 8th level. If a spell has the darkness descriptor and is also from the shadow subschool, the bonuses do not stack with each other. These bonuses do stack with the Tap the Shadow feat.
Summoning the Darkness (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the shadow mage gains the ability to call upon the dreaded Darkness Pseudo-elementals (see Dragon #322) when using a Summon Monster spell. The pseudo-elementals are added to her summon monster list thusly:

[color=skyblue]
[b]Summon Monster Spell                       Pseudo-Elemental Type[/b]
Summon Monster III	                  Small Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster V	                 Medium Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VI	                 Large Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VII	                 Huge Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster VIII	                 Greater Darkness Pseudo-elemental
Summon Monster IX	                 Elder Darkness Pseudo-elemental
[/color]

Cold Resistance (Su): Due to prolonged exposure to the unnatural chill of the Plane of Shadow, the shadow mage becomes inured to the cold. She gains 5 cold resistance at 3rd level and at 6th level the resistance increases to 10.
See in Darkness (Su): Once per day at 7th level, for a number of minutes equal to the shadow mage’s total levels, the shadow mage gains the ability to see in total darkness, even that created by a deeper darkness spell. The use of this ability need not be continuous and the shadow mage can resume or end this effect as a free action on her turn.
Shadow Walk (Sp): At 8th level, once per day the shadow mage can shadow walk as per the spell as a spell-like ability (caster level equals the shadow mage’s caster level). The use of this ability need not be continuous and the shadow mage may freely break up its uses during the day.
Strengthening Shadows (Su): At 9th level, the shadow mage gains the ability to strengthen the power of shadow that resonates within her magic. Any of her spells with the darkness descriptor and of the shadow subschool gain a +2 to the saving throw DC’s. This effect stacks with Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus, but they do not stack with each other.
Shadow Transformation (Ex): Prolonged exposure to the Plane of Shadow results in a strange physical and mental transformation. At 10th level, the mage’s skin pales, while her pupil and cornea turn a deep, dark black. The mage’s psyche becomes dangerously unraveled from the strange energies of the plane of shadow, resulting in a -2 to Wisdom. However, the mage becomes either more forceful of personality or more calculating (the character decides which upon gaining this ability) and agile, granting him a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a +2 bonus on either Charisma or Intelligence. The mage also gains the following traits: DR 5/silver, immune to cold, +4 racial bonus on Hide and Intimidate checks, and her type changes to outsider (native).

FEATS
DARKEN SPELL [METAMAGIC, SHADOW]
Prerequisite: Tap the Shadow
Benefit: You can imbue your spells with the power of shadow making them more effective against light sources. The spell becomes outlined with black flames which deal an extra 1 point of cold damage per die of damage the spell deals. Thus, a lightning bolt cast at 7th level would deal 7d6 points of electricity damage plus 7 points of cold damage. The spell also snuffs out light sources. Torches, sunrods, or any other nonmagical sources of light within the radius of the spell are immediately extinguished. Magical sources of light (such as a light spell) are snuffed out only if the caster succeeds at a caster level check. The caster makes a check (1d20 + your caster level, maximum +10) against the magical light source (DC 11 + spell’s caster level). If you succeed, the light is extinguished. If you fail, the light remains and the spell effects the targets as normally. A darkened spell uses up a spell slot one level higher than the spell’s actual level.
Spells modified by this feat gain the darkness descriptor and become of the shadow subschool.
Special: This feat cannot be used on any spell that has the fire, light, or darkness descriptor or is from the shadow subschool. This feat represents the ability to empower nonshadow spells with the power of shadow.

TAP THE SHADOW [SHADOW]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells.
Benefit: You learn to tap into the Plane of Shadow to power your magic. As a result, you cast all spells with the darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool at +1 caster level. However, as a side effect of the source of magic, you can no longer cast any spells with the light descriptor. You also cast all spells with the fire descriptor at -1 caster level. If this would you reduce your caster level below the minimum required in order to cast such a spell, then you cannot learn or cast it. For example, a 5th level wizard with the Tap the Shadow feat casts all spells with the darkness and shadow descriptors as a 6th level wizard, however he casts any spells with the fire descriptor as a 4th level wizard and he is unable to cast any 3rd level spells with the fire descriptor.
Special: If a spell has more than one of the descriptors, the bonuses do not stack. For example, a spell with the darkness descriptor and from the shadow subschool only receives a +1 bonus.

Thoughts? Recommendations?
I uploaded it into a pdf for those who wanted to see it all tabled out. I'm planning on making a whole bunch of shadow-themed feats and a couple of prc's, but I really do not like designing feats. I'm not a very good powergamer, so discovering potential game-breaking rules loopholes is not my forte.

 

[mercucio]

Pants,

Hiya! I remember walking through this class the first time you posted it. Still looks really nice =). My only suggestion would be to change the DC bonus from Strengthing the Shadows to +1.

- M

p.s. I like the inclusion of the darkness pseudo-elementals

 

[Pants]

Pants,

Hiya! I remember walking through this class the first time you posted it. Still looks really nice =). My only suggestion would be to change the DC bonus from Strengthing the Shadows to +1.

- M

p.s. I like the inclusion of the darkness pseudo-elementals

And I thank you for the help you gave me.

Here's my other addition:
SHADOW TIGER
The shadow tigers are the more martial sect of the Guild of Shadows. The shadow tigers were only recently introduced into the guild, mostly as an answer to the mages from the Mage’s Guild. Endral Fenth was the originator of the shadow tigers. He had learned earlier in life to freely mix the results of his monastic training with his inborn, sorcerous power. When he joined the Guild of Shadows, he realized that the path normally taken by the shadow mages was too strict for him to further enhance his own abilities. He left the Guild for a year and traversed the Plane of Shadow. There he subsumed himself in the powers darkness. He learned to bend it to his will through force of mind alone. He mastered the art of fighting in total darkness, learning to rely on senses other than sight alone.

When he returned to the Guild, Dul and the other High Mages had assumed him dead, and their shock was palatable. Fenth had changed considerably. Darkness seemed trail in his steps, tendrils of shadow writhed around his arms, hands, and feet, and his eyes had changed to a dull violet. Most impressive were his enhanced skills; both physical and arcane. Fenth was almost immediately promoted to a Master of Shadow, joining the ranks of Dul and the other High Mages.

With the increasing amount of conflict with the Mage’s Guild, Fenth was appointed the task of finding methods to help combat the superior number of mages at the Guild’s disposal. Fenth realized that the training that he underwent would be especially useful in combating mages. He began training acolytes in the same way that he trained himself. Those that succeeded at the grueling and intense training became the first shadow tigers.

High Mage Xaad made excellent use of Fenth’s shadow tigers in Fanghold. The shadow tigers made frequent covert attacks against key members of the Mage’s Guild. Several of the more promising members managed to penetrate the defenses of the Guildhouse in order to strike at their targets. Unfortunately, late in the conflict the Mage’s Guild began setting traps for the shadow tigers. Many were slaughtered before the Emperor called an end to the conflict and the order still hasn’t recovered. Xaad still has several shadow tigers left in his Guildhouse, however he utilizes them only in the most dire of situations.

The shadow tigers are much different than the shadow mages. While they both seek to understand and manipulate the same force, they go about it in different ways. The shadow mages seek to bend it to their will with arcane power, while the shadow tigers seek to use the force of their will and mind instead. They focus more on physical and spiritual perfection with meditation and cold logic. The mind is a more capable tool than any spell will be. Still, all shadow tigers are capable arcane casters, though not to the extent of the shadow mages. They mix their skills together, creating an almost perfect balance between physical strength and arcane power.
Hit Die: d6.

Requirements
To qualify to become a shadow tiger, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +3
Skills: Hide 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 3 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 3 ranks, Move Silently 8 ranks.
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Tap the Shadow.
Spells: Must be able to cast 2nd level arcane spells at least two of which must have the darkness descriptor or be of the shadow subschool.
Special: The character must have visited the Plane of Shadow at least once.
Class Skills
The shadow tiger’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Base Attack Bonus: As cleric
Saves: All Good

CLASS FEATURES
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shadow tigers gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At 2nd level and every even level thereafter (and level 5), the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that she adds the level of shadow tiger to the level of some other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
Monk Abilities: A shadow tiger’s levels stack with her monk levels for determining her unarmed damage, flurry of blows, AC bonus, and unarmored speed bonus.
Darkvision (Ex): At 1st level, the shadow tiger gains darkvision out to 60 ft. If the shadow tiger already has darkvision, then she gains no benefit from this ability.
Ki Strike (Su): At 2nd level shadow tiger learns focus her ki energies in different ways. Her unarmed attacks are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of dealing damage to creatures with damage reduction. If she already has the ki strike (magic) ability then she gains no other benefit. At 5th level, her unarmed strikes act as if they were under the effects of the ghost touch weapon special quality, meaning that she suffers no mischance against incorporeal undead. At 8th level, the shadow tiger’s unarmed attacks are treated as if they were silver weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Note that this does not impose the -1 penalty to damage normally associated with silver weapons.
Cold Resistance (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, due to prolonged exposure to the unnatural chill of the Plane of Shadow, the shadow tiger has become fairly inured to the cold. She gains cold resistance 5. At 6th level, this cold resistance increases to 10.
Fists of Darkness (Su): At 3rd level, the shadow tiger learns to empower her fists with the essence of darkness. At will she tendrils of shadow-stuff begin to writhe and wrap around her fists, dealing an extra 1d4 points of cold damage with each successful unarmed strike. Alternatively, the shadow tiger could make a touch attack to deal only the cold damage. The shadow tiger can suppress or resume this affect as a free action on her turn. This damage increases to 1d6 at 9th level.
Shadow Jump (Su): At 4th level, a shadowdancer gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow. A shadowdancer can jump up to a total of 20 feet each day in this way; this may be a single jump of 20 feet or two jumps of 10 feet each. The length of the shadow jump increases to 40 ft. at 7th level. This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.
Evasion (Ex): At 5th level, the shadow tiger gains evasion. If exposed to any effect that normally allows her to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. If the shadow tiger already has evasion, then she gains the improved evasion ability.
Ascension (Su): At 10th level, the shadow tiger ascends to some higher form similar to that achieved by the shadow mages, although much more controlled. She becomes an outsider with the native subtype. She gains immunity to cold, damage reduction 5/silver, and a +4 bonus to Hide checks.
Sight Without Eyes (Ex): At 10th level, the shadow tiger has reached the pinnacle of her training. Darkness is no longer an obstacle to be overcome, but an enhancement to her already impressive abilities. She gains the blindsight ability out to 10 ft.

Note: Just to let anyone know, I allow monks to multiclass freely... assuming the character has a good reason for it or a good character idea.

 

[mercucio]

Pants,

Nice work! As usual I have a couple of suggestions:

1. Darkvision/Sight Without Eyes: An alternate path: 1st level again Blind-fight as a bonus feat, at 4th level gain blindsight 10’ radius, and 8th level gain blindsight 20’ radius (this works into epic progression nicely). Alternately you could make it 1, 5, 10 just as easily.

2. Ki Strike: I would recommend moving incorporeal to 7th level and ditching silver. The Shadow Tiger’s natural attacks are automatically treated as silver weapons at 10th level when they gain the Ascension class ability.

3. Ascension: As an alternate option (any keeping with same theme from the Shadow Mage PrC)

Shadow Transformation (Ex): Prolonged exposure to the energies of the Plane of Shadow results in the shadow tiger undergoing a strange physical and mental transformation. At 10th level the shadow tiger’s skin pales, her pupils and cornea turn a faintly glowing violet, and she gains the following traits: DR 5/silver, immune to cold, +4 racial bonus on Hide and Intimidate checks, and her type changes to outsider (native). The Plane of Shadow’s warping influence combined with the shadow tiger’s physical regimen grants her a +2 bonus to Constitution or Dexterity. The shadow tiger’s medidation on nature of shadow and how it is created by the interplay of light and darkness grants her a +2 bonus to Wisdom.

The power granted by shadow tiger’s training does not come without a price. The shadow tiger’s focus on darkness and umbra has weakened his connection with other creatures, permanently reducing his Charisma by 2.

 

[Pants]

1. Darkvision/Sight Without Eyes: An alternate path: 1st level again Blind-fight as a bonus feat, at 4th level gain blindsight 10’ radius, and 8th level gain blindsight 20’ radius (this works into epic progression nicely). Alternately you could make it 1, 5, 10 just as easily.

I'm keeping the Darkvision, but toning it down to 30 ft.
Darkvision is always useful, but the Blind-Fight feat becomes pretty useless once the character gains the Blindsight ability.
I like the progression of the blindsight though (levels 5-10 works rather well!). Consider that yoinked.

2. Ki Strike: I would recommend moving incorporeal to 7th level and ditching silver. The Shadow Tiger’s natural attacks are automatically treated as silver weapons at 10th level when they gain the Ascension class ability.

Yoinked!

3. Ascension: As an alternate option (any keeping with same theme from the Shadow Mage PrC)

Shadow Transformation (Ex): Prolonged exposure to the energies of the Plane of Shadow results in the shadow tiger undergoing a strange physical and mental transformation. At 10th level the shadow tiger’s skin pales, her pupils and cornea turn a faintly glowing violet, and she gains the following traits: DR 5/silver, immune to cold, +4 racial bonus on Hide and Intimidate checks, and her type changes to outsider (native). The Plane of Shadow’s warping influence combined with the shadow tiger’s physical regimen grants her a +2 bonus to Constitution or Dexterity. The shadow tiger’s medidation on nature of shadow and how it is created by the interplay of light and darkness grants her a +2 bonus to Wisdom.

The power granted by shadow tiger’s training does not come without a price. The shadow tiger’s focus on darkness and umbra has weakened his connection with other creatures, permanently reducing his Charisma by 2.

Actually, to reflect the monk's training and mindset, the ascension is supposed to be much more controlled (ie not resulting in any stat penalties nor increases). Gaining immunity to cold, DR, the skill bonuses, and the outsider type is good enough IMO.

Besides, the -2 to Charisma makes this a very hard PrC for Sorcerer/Monks to take. I'd like for it to be equally available to both Sorc and Wiz's.

Additionally, I reworked some parts of the PrC. Some abilities got switched around and Ki Strike (magic) got dropped. Having Ki Strike (magic) is now a requirement of the class. I've uploaded the new version of the class in .pdf.

As usual, thanks for the suggestions.