Faerûnian Prestige Class : Justice of Weald and Woe

"Make no mistake. If you harm my people or my land, I will hunt you down like a dog and make you curse the hour of your birth." - Talianas Sentherune, justice of the Suldusk cell of the Eldreth Veluuthra

The justice of weald and woe is the go-to person when something unsavory - usually involving the removal of humans - needs doing. When the foes of the elves are well protected physically, magically, and politically - and the grand lords and ladies dare not sully their hands with the dirty necessities of preserving the heart of elvendom from human encroachment - it is to you, the justice of weald and woe, that they turn. With your bow in hand and the power of nature at your command, you strike, a silent, unseen sniper, solving problems a score of diplomats couldn't solve in a hundred years - then melt back into the forest before what is left of the enemy's forces even knows you were there.

As hunters of men, individuals already skilled in the hunt find themselves drawn to this class. Stealth, skill in making bows and arrows, and knowledge of the forest are the foundation upon which the class is built. Rangers are particularly well suited to become justices, as are rogues, whose sneak attack damage stacks with the sneak attack damage gained from this class. Although spellcasting ability is not a prerequisite, you will begin to learn to cast spells that draw upon the divine power of nature itself. Druids can become justices, but one will always be less skilled in archery than his ranger and rogue colleagues, and his druid skills will never be as powerful as they would have had he remained a druid.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Justice of Weald and Woe, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

Class Skills

The justice's class skills are Balance, Bluff, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, and Tumble.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

As they gain in level, justices learn the skills they will need to become the silent snipers of the forest, able to infiltrate an enemy camp in the guise of an animal or fire unseen from a concealed position.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield.

Spellcasting: You gain spells according to the tables below. You do not gain new spells in any other spellcasting classes that you might have had before you took this prestige class, but you can still cast spells from your previous class. You can only choose spells from the justice spell list; justices use their Wisdom modifier for calculating bonus spells and spell DCs.

Bonus Feats: At 2nd and 8th levels, you gain a bonus archery feat. When you gain a new bonus feat, you must choose from the following list: Deflect Arrows, Far Shot, Improved Critical (longbow), Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Mounted Archery, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run, Snatch Arrows, Weapon Specialization (longbow only), Greater Weapon Focus (longbow only), Greater Weapon Specialization (longbow only). You must meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat. Use your justice level when determining whether you meet a prerequisite of a minimum fighter level. For example, a ranger 8/justice 8 would meet the requirement for Greater Weapon Focus (fighter level 8th), but not Greater Weapon Specialization (fighter level 12th).

Woodland Stride (Ex): At 2nd level, you can move through any sort of undergrowth, as the druid ability.

Sneak Attack (Ex): Beginning at 3rd and 7th level, you deal an extra 1d6 points of damage when striking an opponent when the opponent is denied a Dexterity bonus to armor class, such as when it is surprised and flat-footed, or when you attack from a flanking position, as the sneak attack ability of rogues. Your damage dice stack with any sneak attack damage dice you might have gained from a previous class.

Lucky Shot (Su): Once per day as a free action, you can gain a +10 insight bonus to one attack roll with your longbow. You must declare the use of this ability before rolling the die.

Trackless Step (Ex): At 4th level and higher, you leave no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. You can leave a trail on purpose if you so desire.

Poison Use (Ex): At 5th level, you learn to create and/or extract natural poisons and apply them to your weapons without any danger of harming yourself.

Steady Hand (Ex): At 6th level, you become able to fire your personal longbow in melee combat without provoking attacks of opportunity. You only gain the benefit of this special ability when wearing light or no armor.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): At 9th level, you gain the ability to hide in plain sight, as the ranger ability.

Death Attack (Ex): At 10th level, you gain the ability to study your victim for 3 rounds and then make a sneak attack with a longbow that, if it successfully deals damage, has the, additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (your choice). While studying the victim, you can undertake other actions so long as your attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect you or recognize you as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 20+ your Int modifier) against the kill effect, it dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the target is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6+10 rounds. If the target's saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once you have completed the 3 rounds of study, you must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if you do not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before you can attempt another death attack.

Poison Immunity (Ex): At 10th level, you gain immunity to all natural poisons and animal venoms. This ability differs from the druid ability of the same name, in that it only applies to poisons derived from natural plants or fungi, or from animal or vermin venoms, not to all poisons, such as venoms from celestial animals or outsiders, or poisons derived from minerals or magic.

Justice of Weald and Woe spell List

Justice of Weald and WoeHit Die: d8
CLBABFortRefWillSpecial
1st+0+3+3+0Spells
2nd+1+3+3+1Bonus feat, woodland stride
3rd+2+4+4+1Sneak attack +1d6
4th+3+4+4+1Lucky shot, trackless step
5th+3+5+5+1Poison use
6th+4+5+5+2Steady hand
7th+5+6+6+2Sneak attack +2d6
8th+6+6+6+2Bonus feat
9th+6+7+7+3Hide in plain sight
10th+7+7+7+3Death attack, immunity to poison
Justice Spells Per Day
CL1st2nd3rd4th
1st0 - - -
2nd1 - - -
3rd20 - -
4th31 - -
5th320 -
6th331 -
7th3320
8th3331
9th3332
10th333 3
Justice Spells Known
CL1st2nd3rd4th
1st2¹ - - -
2nd3- - -
3rd32¹ - -
4th43 - -
5th432¹ -
6th443 -
7th4432¹
8th4443
9th4443
10th4444
¹ Provided, the character has sufficient Intelligence to have a bonus spell of this level.

Source: Champions of Ruin

[Back]
Realms Prestige Classes