Shady Drifter

Class Features

The following are class features of the shady drifter.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Shady drifters are proficient with all firearms, light blades, spears, gunblades, light armor, and bucklers.

Battle Artes (Su) 

Shady drifters train in the use of special combat artes, known as maneuvers. Maneuvers are unique abilities that fall into one of three categories. Strikes are the most common type, and are comprised of special attacks that can deal additional damage or carry debilitating effects. Boosts are swift action abilities that can modify another action. Counters are immediate actions that the shady drifter can take in reaction to evolving situations in combat.

A shady drifter has an initiator level equal to his shady drifter level that determines some of the effects of his battle artes. He uses his Charisma modifier as his initiatior modifier for these abilities.

Shady drifters learn the following five disciplines: Cursed Razor, Riven Hourglass, Scarlet Throne, Solar Wind, and Veiled Moon. Abilities granted by disciplines are supernatural for the shady drifter. Each discipline is associated with specific weapon types - many of the maneuvers they grant either require these discipline weapons to work, or have bonus effects when used in conjunction with a discipline weapon.

At first level, the shady drifter learns one first-level maneuver from each of his five disciplines. He learns additional maneuvers as noted in the class table. At 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the highest level of maneuver the shady drifter can learn increases by 1, to a maximum of 9th at level 17. When a shady drifter gains a level, he can choose to lose one of his known maneuvers to learn a new one. The new maneuver cannot be more than 1 level higher than the forgotten one. He cannot lose a known maneuver that is a prerequisite for another maneuver he knows.

The shady drifter can prepare a number of his maneuvers known equal to his maneuver pool. He cannot prepare the same maneuver multiple times. The shady drifter may prepare maneuvers by taking ten minutes to perform obeisance to his patrons, or by calling on his familiar during combat. He loses all prepared maneuvers when he sleeps or otherwise falls unconscious.

Drifter's Finesse (Ex)

Shady drifters rely on agility over strength. They may use Dexterity for attack rolls with all weapons they have proficiency with through this class. They may also choose to deal bonus damage with these attacks using their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier; if they do, this is precision damage, not multiplied on a critical hit. They lose this ability when wearing medium or heavy armor or when heavily encumbered.

Familiar (Ex)

By forging strange bonds with unnameable beings, shady drifters gain the service of a mystical adviser, a familiar to both serve him and reveal to him secrets unknown to most mortals. A familiar is an animal chosen by a shady drifter to supplement his martial artes and grant him special powers. This uses the rules found here, except as follows. The familiar stores the shady drifter's Battle Artes, rather than spells. Instead of sharing spells with his familiar, a shady drifter may activate Battle Artes with a range of Personal on his familiar. Rather than delivering touch spells via his familiar, the shady drifter gains the ability to originate his Battle Artes from his familiar as long as he can see it.

Once per combat, the shady drifter may call upon his familiar as a swift or move action to regain the use of one Battle Arte he has already expended.

Channeled Artes (Su)

At 2nd level, the shady drifter gains a +1 profane bonus to attack rolls for his Strike and Counter Battle Artes. This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter, to a maximum of +7 at 20th level. This bonus only applies to attacks made as part of a Battle Arte granted by this class, not to any other attack rolls.

The save DC, if any, against his Battle Artes is increased by half of the bonus to his attack rolls granted by this ability, rounded down. This follows the same restrictions as the attack bonus above.

Whisper on the Wind (Ex)

Starting at 4th level, the shady drifter evades blows and blasts with uncanny agility. If he moves at least 10 feet on his turn, he gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves until the start of his next turn. He loses this ability when wearing medium or heavy armor or when heavily encumbered.

These bonuses increase by +1 at 8th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

Vengeful Strike (Ex)

At 6th level, when the shady drifter would be brought to 0 or fewer hit points by hit point damage, he may initiate one of his readied Strikes against the source of that damage as an immediate action. He may only use a Strike with an initiation time of 1 standard action or less, and the triggering creature must be a valid target (or in appropriate area of effect) for the Strike.

At 12th level, the shady drifter gains temporary hit points equal to half the damage he inflicts with his vengeful strike. If multiple targets are hit by an area of effect Strike, he only gains this temporary HP for one struck creature. He may only gain temporary hit points in this way once per combat, and they last until the end of combat. 

At 18th level, the shady drifter may gain temporary HP from Vengeful Strike twice per combat.

Discipline Mastery

At 10th level, the shady drifter gains the Discipline Mastery feat for one of his shady drifter disciplines. He need not meet the prerequisites for this bonus feat.

Fate Undone (Su)

At 20th level, the shady drifter's attacks unwind the very fortune of his foes. His Battle Artes now ignore all immunities possessed by his target(s).

Archetypes

A shady drifter may choose to take an archetype from the list below. These archetypes replace or modify various shady drifter abilities, allowing you to focus the character into a unique discipline.

• Desperado 

• Naive Initiate 

• Scarlet Huntress