Prestige Classes

SHADOW APOSTLE

Some beings are embraced by the shadow. In the soothing darkness come whispers promising their deepest desires, immortal gifts offered for a price of eternal loyalty. For the opportunity to work against the world of light that so scorns and scorches them, it is a price most gladly pay. These creatures, beloved and enslaved by the darkness, are members of Erebus's shadowy fold. Greatest among them are his shadow apostles, spellcasters who have learned to harness the power of darkness. Great power lies hidden in darkness, waiting for those willing to explore the dark road.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a shadow apostle, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Alignment: Any nongood.

Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks.

Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd-level arcane or divine spells, including at least three spells with the Darkness descriptor or of the Shadow subschool.

Deity: Erebus.

Class Skills

The shadow apostle's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.


Table: The Shadow Apostle

Level Base
Attack
Bonus		 Fort
Save		 Ref
Save		 Will
Save		 Special Spellcasting
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Dark spell focus, summon darkness pseudo-elemental (Small) +1 level of existing class
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 Low-light vision, shadow resistance +1 level of existing class
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 Summon darkness pseudo-elemental (Medium) +1 level of existing class
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 Darkvision, shadow blend +1 level of existing class
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 Summon darkness pseudo-elemental (Large) +1 level of existing class
Class Features

All of the following are class features of the shadow apostle prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shadow apostles gain no additional proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Spellcasting: Every level of shadow apostle grants new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if the character had also gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the level of shadow apostle. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of shadow apostle to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

Dark Spell Focus: At 1st level, a shadow apostle gains the ability to cast spells with the Darkness descriptor or of the Shadow subschool as if he had the Spell Focus feat applying to those spells. Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all spells with the Darkness descriptor or of the Shadow subschool.

Summon Darkness Pseudo-Elemental (Su): Once per day, a shadow apostle can summon a darkness pseudo-elemental. The pseudo-elemental obeys all of the shadow apostles commands to the best of its ability for at number of hours equal to the character's shadow apostle level. At 1st level, a shadow apostle using this ability summons one Small darkness pseudo-elemental. At 3rd level, this ability becomes more potent, summoning a Medium darkness pseudo-elemental. At 5th level, this ability reaches its full strength, placing a Large darkness pseudo-elemental under the shadow apostle's control.

Low-light Vision (Su): At 2nd level, a shadow apostle gains low-light vision, allowing him to see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight or similar conditions of poor illumination. If the character already has low-light vision this ability grants him no additional benefit.

Shadow Resistance (Ex): By 2nd level, a shadow apostle is intimately familiar with the workings of darkness- and shadow-related spells. The character now gains a bonus equal to his shadow apostle level on all saving throws made to resist the effects of spells with the Darkness descriptor or from the Shadow subschool.

Darkvision (Su): At 3rd level, a shadow apostle gains darkvision up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but is otherwise like normal sight, and allows the character to function with no light at all. Shadow apostles that already have darkvision at the same or a farther range gain no benefit from this ability.

Shadow Blend (Su): By 4th level, a shadow apostle has become attuned to the cool darkness of shadows. Whenever a shadow apostle is within an area of shadowy illumination, his form blurs slightly into the surrounding darkness, granting him total concealment. Darkvision foils this concealment unless the shadowy illumination is from a magical or supernatural source, such as the darkness spell. True seeing also negates the benefit of this ability.