Prestige Classes
SWORD STALKER
Sword stalkers are trained specialists with only one purpose: recovering silver swords lost by other githyanki and hunting down the fools who take them. Able to hunt such thieves even across planar boundaries, sword stalkers are the superlative trackers and scouts of the githyanki race. Most sword stalkers are gish (multiclass fighter/wizards or ranger/wizards), since their diversity of skills makes them best suited for the dangerous missions they undertake. Ranger/wizards are well suited to the role, building on their existing tracking ability to become masterful planar stalkers. Fighter/wizards and occasionally barbarian/wizards also become sword stalkers. For some reason, sorcerers are not typically drawn to the class, though there are certainly exceptions. Unlike most gish, sword stalkers tend to operate with a high degree of independence, and often have no formal connection to the armies of the Lich-Queen. Often a single sword stalker leads a small band of adventurous gith warriors, warlocks, and gish on a hunt; much more rarely, a troupe of sword stalkers works together to find a very important silver sword. |
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
To qualify to become a sword stalker, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Race: Githyanki.
Alignment: Any evil.
Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Skills: Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks, Survival 7 ranks.
Feats: Alertness, Track.
Spellcasting: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.
Special: Must have recovered a silver sword from a nongithyanki.
Class Skills
The sword stalker's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Table: The Sword Stalker
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | Improved alertness, locate object |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Smite swordthief (1/day) |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | Astral tracking |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Smite swordthief (2/day) |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +4 | Scry sword |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +5 | Smite swordthief (3/day) |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +5 | |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +6 | Smite swordthief (4/day) |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +6 | |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +7 | Discern location, smite swordthief (5/day) |
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the sword stalker prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Sword stalkers gain no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Improved Alertness (Ex): A sword stalker gains an additional +2 bonus on Listen and Spot checks, which stacks with the bonus from the Alertness feat.
Locate Object (Sp): A sword stalker can use locate object at will, but can only use it to locate a silver sword. Her effective caster level is her class level +2.
Smite Swordthief (Su): Once per day, a sword stalker of at least 2nd level can smite an opponent who has stolen a silver sword. The sword stalker gains a +4 bonus on her attack roll and adds her class level to her damage roll. If the sword stalker accidentally smites someone who has never stolen a silver sword, the smite has no effect, but it is still used up for that day.
For every 2 levels the sword stalker attains beyond 2nd, she can smite a swordthief one additional time per day.
Astral Tracking (Su): A 3rd-level sword stalker can attempt to track normally even through the featureless wastes of the Astral Plane (base DC 25). In addition, when standing at the location (on any plane) where someone departed by means of a teleportation spell, the sword stalker can attempt to determine the destination of the spell. This requires a Survival check against a DC of 30; if successful, the sword stalker can dimension door to the same location, if it is within range.
Scry Sword (Sp): A 5th-level sword stalker can scry as a spell-like ability at will. This ability works like the greater scrying spell, except that the sword stalker can only target a silver sword, not a creature. If the silver sword is in a creature's possession, the creature makes a saving throw as normal, but automatically suffers a -4 penalty on the save because of the sword stalker's connection to one of the creature's possessions.
Discern Location (Sp): At 10th level, a sword stalker gains the ability to use discern location as a spell-like ability, three times per day, as a 16th-level sorcerer. This ability only works to locate a silver sword.