Shadow Prestige Class : Child of Night
"Watch and read until the coming of final night - it will not avail you. To comprehend the magnificent and empty beauty of darkness, it is not enough to study shadow; you must become shadow." - Lara Berhendé, former Lady of the Second House, Parliament of Shadows, now renegade
They prefer to call themselves "black transmogrifists," but most know them as children of night. They are more than spellcasters, more than scholars, and - they claim - more than mortal. For those who have the will and the depth of knowledge to join their ranks, ascension beyond the earthly form awaits, for the children of night become the stuff of shadow itself.
Children of night must be tied to the Plane of Shadow through their ability to perform magic involving darkness. The path of the shadowcaster is the most direct route, although some wizards, sorcerers, and clerics can progress into this class. Few bards or druids embark on this journey of self-transformation.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Child of Night, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 8 ranks
- Shadowcasting/Spellcasting: Ability to cast mysteries or ability to cast spells with the darkness descriptor or from the shadow subschool
- Special: Must have visited the Plane of Shadow
Class Skills
The child of night's class skills are Concentration, Craft, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (the planes), Move Silently, Profession, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
As you advance as a child of night, your physiology changes, becoming more shadow and less mortal flesh.
Mysteries/Spellcasting: At each level beyond 1st, you gain new mysteries or spells per day and an increase in caster level (and mysteries or spells known, if applicable) as if you had also attained a level in a casting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, such as bonus feats for mystery paths known, or improved familiar for wizard or sorcerer. If you had more than one casting class before becoming a child of night, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining mysteries or spells per day, caster level, and mysteries or spells known.
Cloak of Shadows (Su): Your flesh takes on a hazy, almost translucent hue, granting a bonus equal to your child of night level on Hide checks. At 4th level, once per day as a swift action, you can make your outline shadowy and indistinct, as the blur spell, for a number of minutes equal to your class level. When you reach 6th level, you can use the blur effect three times per day. At 8th level, your form permanently becomes hazy and you continually have a blur effect. At 10th level, two times per day as a swift action, you can make your true location more difficult to discern, as if you were affected by the displacement spell, for 10 rounds.
Cold Resistance (Su): At 1st level, the shadow in your essence provides cold resistance 5. This resistance increases to 10 at 5th level and 15 at 9th level.
Sustaining Shadow (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, you lose various biological needs, as you draw power from the Plane of Shadow. This functions as the shadowcaster ability, except new abilities are gained at 4th, 6th, and 8th level. If you have the sustaining shadow ability from a different class (shadowcaster, for example), you automatically gain the next sustaining shadow ability.
Dancing Shadows (Su): At 3rd level, you can use the dancing shadows mystery as a supernatural ability once per day with a caster level equal to your class level plus your levels in any other mystery-casting class. At 7th level and above, you can use dancing shadows twice per day.
Night Form (Ex): For 1 minute per day, you can become incorporeal, and gain all the benefits of the incorporeal subtype. You also gain a fly speed of 40 feet with perfect maneuverability.
| Child of Night | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Mysteries/Spells |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Cloak of shadows, cold resistance 5 | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Sustaining shadow (eat 1 meal/week) | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 3rd | +1 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Dancing shadows 1/day | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 4th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Cloak of shadows (blur 1/day), sustaining shadow (sleep 1 hour/day) | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 5th | +2 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Cold resistance 10 | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 6th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Cloak of shadows (blur 3/day), sustaining shadow (immune to poison/disease) | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 7th | +3 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Dancing shadows 2/day | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 8th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Cloak of shadows (blur continuous), sustaining shadow (no need to breathe, eat, or sleep) | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 9th | +4 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Cold resistance 15 | +1 level of existing casting class |
| 10th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Cloak of shadows (displacement 2/day), night form | +1 level of existing casting class |
Source: Tome of Magic