The Age of Mortals brought with it a new kind of magic, the ambient magic threaded through Creation and the minds and hearts of its people. The living were not the only inhabitants of Krynn to be touched by this magic; even the souls of the dead exist within this intricate web of life, and their presence may be felt by those fearless enough to look for it. Those mystics who courageously pursue a life in the shadowy world of spirits are known as nightstalkers.

Your mystic abilities are focused entirely on the spiritual world. You have fewer hit points and spells per day than other mystics, but you have broader access to skills and a number of special abilities.

MAKING A NIGHTSTALKER

The nightstalker is a variant on the standard mystic class presented in the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. It combines elements of that class with some of the abilities of the rogue, with a focus on necromantic and divination spellcasting.

Like the mystic, the nightstalker benefits from a high Wisdom and Charisma score. Because of their rogue-like attributes, however, a high Dexterity score is also encouraged.

Although typically only kender and half-kender take levels in this alternative mystic class, any race with an innate fearlessness or resistance to fear, or a person who gains some level of connection to the spirit world, might also become a nightstalker.

The nightstalker combines elements of the mystic with some of the abilities of the rogue, and with a focus on necromantic and divination spellcasting. Characters with levels in any class that gains its spells from a deity (such as cleric or druid) or otherwise uses focused, prepared magic (wizard) cannot become a nightstalker.

PLAYING A NIGHTSTALKER

You search the world for those souls whose regrets and sorrows bind them to Krynn and prevent them from departing to the next stage of the soul's journey. You might roam about Ansalon searching for new undead friends, often traveling in the company of other kender or members of bigger races. Small groups can often be found roaming the bleak countryside of Nightlund or scampering about from gravestone to gravestone in large cities such as Palanthas, Gwynned, and Tarsis, hoping to find an interesting soul or two whose grief has bound them to this world.

Nightstalkers first arose in a world without gods, a world abandoned. However, as the majority of nighstalkers are kender, a cultural appreciation for Paladine never left them, and even in the post-War of Souls era, after Paladine sacrificed his godly powers, the belief remained with kender nightstalkers. Nightstalkers are naturally allied against Chemosh, the Lord of Bones, who claims dominion over the undead. As soon as a nightstalker learns of a cult of Chemosh somewhere in the local area, he stops at nothing to investigate the temple site and liberate any souls cursed into an undead state.

As you might expect, you get along very well with other rogues and mystics. Your spells and special abilities add to any adventuring group, though you are not a front-line fighter. This might lead you into alliances with rangers and barbarians, who can rush into melee while you hang back and provide support with spellcasting. In general, a nightstalker can associate freely with clerics of the Holy Orders, but depending on the cleric and the Holy Order, some friction may arise based on your use of mysticism instead of the power of devotion. Clerics of Chemosh are usually hostile to nightstalkers, who intervene in their own unholy work.

Wizards are suspicious and cautious, especially as your magic is both necromantic and divination-based - polar opposites within the Orders of High Sorcery. Sorcerers and bards are usually quite happy to work alongside you, however, as both are ambient spellcasters.

Your success in combat will depend on how you best use your spells, abilities, and spirit companions. Unlike rogues, nighstalkers do not have sneak attack or any kind of precision attack bonus; unlike mystics, nightstalkers have fewer hit points and their Fortitude saving throw is poor. However, the combination of good Reflex saves, a powerful spell list including inflict and cure spells, and access to some weapons with which mystics are not proficient give you the necessary resources to be a potent secondary fighter. When the opponents are undead, you are even more useful; most of your spells and talents are geared towards working with and against undead creatures. Also, after you have gained a spirit companion, you have access to an incorporeal ally in battle that can greatly improve your odds of survival.

Most nightstalkers choose to remain in the class. Many of the class' better features come later, such as rebuke undead and spirit companions. A nightstalker really comes into his own at 7th level, so consider sticking it out without multiclassing. If you do choose to multiclass, note the limit of multiclassing with mystic, wizard, cleric, druid, and more than three levels of paladin or ranger. Your best choices are rogue (for the sneak attack, evasion, and uncanny dodge), barbarian (for hit points, eventual damage reduction, and uncanny dodge), and fighter (bonus feats). If you choose to multiclass as sorcerer, you are most likely to benefit at 4th level or 7th level. Because both nightstalker and sorcerer rely on Charisma for spellcasting, they are quite complimentary.

When choosing feats, good choices from the Players' Handbook include Extra Turning, Improved Turning, Weapon Finesse, and the saving throw boosting feats: Great Fortitude, Iron Will, and Lightning Reflexes. If you are going to focus on spellcasting over combat or stealth, pick up feats like Spell Focus (necromancy) and Spell Penetration. Metamagic feats are not bad options, but they extend the casting time of your spells. Item creation feats are useful, especially as you can create potions and wands of cure spells, but the investment of skill ranks into Craft and the XP and time costs aren't always favorable.

NIGHTSTALKERS IN THE WORLD

Just prior to the War of Souls, many kender nightstalkers came forth to insist that the dead were acting funny, and their own undead companions were leeching away what little mystical energies the kender possessed. Of course, none paid any attention to the kender nightstalkers. If they had, they might have discovered the truth about what was transpiring with the dead on Krynn.

The two most famous nightstalkers are kender - Nightshade Pricklypear, a friend of Rhys Mason and opponent of Chemosh's Beloved, and Thanator "Shroud" Grave-Eyes, a nightstalker who helped uncover the threat of the Shattered Temple of Hurim in the deserts of Khur. There are many other nightstalkers, most of whom are kender or afflicted kender. One or two are half-kender, while a very small number are from other races. The fearlessness of kender (or in the case of afflicted kender, their grim determination) makes them the most ideal of all races to follow this path.

Although there aren't any organized groups of nightstalkers, the plucky mystics do form alliances or join up with other organizations, such as Belladonna's Eyes, the Legion of Steel, or even the mystics of the Citadel of Light. A nightstalker is rumored to be working on an extended independent contract with the Thieves' Guild in Palanthas, cleaning up after the occupation by the Dark Knights.

It is not immediately obvious to the casual onlooker that a nightstalker is anything but a lightly armored rogue or fighter, and if they are seen to cast spells, this usually suggests they are mystics. As most of them are kender, their reputation forms the basis of most impressions, but even non-kender nightstalkers may be looked upon with some suspicion or concern if they have a spirit companion that likes to make itself obvious. In fact, if a nightstalker spends too much time around undead or spirits, animals and children begin to get nervous. Most nightstalkers can rid themselves of this unnatural aura by spending a night in a comfy, well-booked inn or a place filled with warmth and light. Conversely, they can ignore what others think about them and remain in the shadows where they are needed.