General Prestige Class : Dread Commando
"Get in, do the job, get out. If they're lucky, they won't know I'm there. If not, they'll wish I wasn't." - Gregor Antus, of the 1st Scouting Regiment
Dread commandos are the elite scouts and strike force of a well-trained mercenary band. They combine stealth with protection, quickly moving through the battlefield even while heavily armored, and they are deadly when they catch an opponent unawares. Dread commandos are called upon when a mission requires an excursion deep into enemy territory and conflict is inevitable.
Most dread commandos begin their adventuring careers as rangers or rogues, since those classes have the requisite class skills. Barbarians and fighters make good dread commandos, though they typically multiclass as rangers or rogues to gain the requisite stealth. Monks also function well in this class, so long as they are willing to give up improvement in many of their key class features. The scout and ninja classes also find the path of the dread commando to their liking.
Dexterity is a key ability score, since the dread commando relies on agility for many of his class skills (as well as his Armor Class). A dread commando who finds himself frequently in melee combat wants high Strength and Constitution scores, while one who prefers skilled and subtle incursion favors a high Intelligence and/or Wisdom score.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Dread Commando, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Class Skills
The dread commando's class skills are Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (geography), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Spot, Swim, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
As he advances in level, a dread commando gains abilities that steadily increase his effectiveness against unsuspecting foes, while at the same time increasing his maneuverability while armored. He becomes an even more capable infiltrator or member of a shock troop as he advances in level.
Sudden Strike (Ex): If you can catch an opponent when she is unable to defend herself effectively from your attack, you can strike a vital spot for extra damage. Whenever your target is denied her Dexterity bonus to AC against your attack (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus to Armor Class or not), you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage with your attack. The extra damage increases to 2d6 at 3rd level and to 3d6 at 5th level.
Ranged attacks count as sudden strikes only if the target is within 30 feet; you can't strike with deadly accuracy from beyond this range.
You can only use sudden strike against living creatures with discernible anatomies - undead, constructs, oozes, plants, and incorporeal creatures lack vital areas to attack. Any creature that is immune to extra damage from critical hits is not vulnerable to sudden strike damage. You must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. You cannot make a sudden strike while striking a creature with concealment or striking the limbs of a creature whose vitals are out of reach.
You can't use sudden strike to deliver nonlethal damage. Weapons capable of dealing only nonlethal damage don't deal extra damage when used as part of a sudden strike.
Team Initiative Bonus (Ex): You are skilled at keeping a team organized and ready for danger. All allies within 30 feet who can see you (including yourself) gain a competence bonus on initiative checks equal to your class level.
Armored Ease (Ex): You learn to adapt your movements to the restrictive nature of armor. Beginning at 2nd level, you reduce the armor check penalty of any armor with which you are proficient by 2 (to a minimum of 0). At 4th level, this reduction increases to 4 points (to a minimum of 0).
Stealthy Movement (Ex): You learn to remain quiet and hidden even while mobile. Beginning at 4th level, you take no penalty on Hide or Move Silently checks while moving at up to your normal speed, and you take only a -10 penalty on Hide and Move Silently checks when running or charging (instead of the usual -20).
| Dread Commando | Hit Die: d8 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Sudden strike +1d6, team initiative bonus |
| 2nd | +2 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Armored ease 2 |
| 3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Sudden strike +2d6 |
| 4th | +4 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Armored ease 4, stealthy movement |
| 5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Sudden strike +3d6 |
Dread Commando Lore
Characters with Knowledge (history) can research the dread commandos to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
- DC 10: "Some armies have commando teams that can cover great distances even when heavily armed and armored."
- DC 15: "I heard a tale of a dread commando that snuck past a picket line, knocked out the guards at the enemy's command tent, stole the troop movement maps, and fled into the night. While wearing full plate. And when they tried to hit him with catapult shots as he fled, the weapons all misfired."
- DC 20: Characters who get a result this high will learn the names of prominent commando teams and the armies they might work for.
- DC 30: A character with this level of success learns the names of the leaders of commando troops who serve in the region.
A PC with ties to the military can make use of her contacts within an organization to gain a +5 bonus on Knowledge checks related to dread commandos. Bards can also uncover the DC 20 and DC 30 information through the use of bardic knowledge.
Sudden Strike And Sneak Attack
For the purpose of qualifying for feats, prestige classes, and similar options that require a minimum number of sneak attack damage dice, treat the dread commando's sudden strike ability as the equivalent of sneak attack.
The extra damage from the sudden strike ability stacks with extra damage from a sneak attack whenever both would apply to the same target.
Source: Heroes of Battle