Faerûnian Prestige Class : Evereskan Tomb Guardian
Few things are more sacred to the elves of Evereska than the bodies of their dead. Countless great leaders, heroes, and scholars of the Fortress Home are buried in tombs scattered throughout the region, and the elves consider these sites inviolable. Unfortunately, the tombs also contain priceless magic treasures crafted by the elves of old, and the thought of such booty leads many looters to test the elves' defenses. The Evereskan tomb guardians are on hand to ensure that these defenses are very good indeed. Each tomb guardian swears a solemn oath to track grave robbers to the ends of Faerûn and beyond, and never to rest until the defilers have been slain.
Rogue/sorcerers and ranger/sorcerers are far and away the most common candidates for tomb guardians, though monks, sorcerers, and wizards sometimes find themselves drawn to this path as well. Fighters, clerics, and paladins tend to have trouble meeting the spellcasting requirement, and barbarians are too violent.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Evereskan Tomb Guard, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Elf
- Skills: Hide 5 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Listen 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks, Spot 2 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.
- Feats: Alertness, Track,
- Base Attack Bonus: +4
- Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level arcane spells
- Region: Evereska
Class Skills
The Evereskan tomb guardian's class skills are Climb, Craft, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Western Heartlands local), Knowledge (geography), Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Swim, Tumble, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the Evereskan tomb guardian prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Evereskan tomb guardians gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield. Armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble, and double the normal armor check penalty applies to Swim checks.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: When a new Evereskan tomb guardian level is gained; the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class granted him access to 2nd-level arcane spells before he added the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic or item creation feats, bard or assassin abilities, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. This essentially means that he adds the level of Evereskan tomb guardian to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class granted him access to 2nd-level arcane spells, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.
If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class that granted access to 2nd-level spells before he became a tomb guardian, he must decide to which class he adds each level of tomb guardian for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
Sacred Duty (Su): The Evereskan tomb guardian gains a +2 sacred bonus on Gather Information, Hide, Move Silently, and Survival checks made inside the region of Evereska. While inside an Evereskan tomb, he also gains a +2 sacred bonus on attack rolls and a sacred bonus equal to his tomb guardian level on damage rolls.
Devoted Pursuit (Ex): While pursuing the robber of an Evereskan tomb, a 2nd-level or higher tomb guardian retains his bonuses on Gather Information, Hide, Move Silently, and Survival checks from the sacred duty ability even while outside of Evereska. He also retains the bonuses he gained from that ability on attack and damage rolls, but these apply only to attacks made against the tomb robber.
Dodge Bonus (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, an Evereskan tomb guardian receives a +1 dodge bonus to AC while wearing light or no armor. This bonus increases to +2 at 4th level.
Swift Tracking (Ex): At 3rd level, the tomb guardian no longer takes a -5 penalty on Survival checks for tracking at his normal speed. Furthermore, he takes only a -10 penalty (instead of the normal -20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.
Silent Guardian (Ex): At 5th level, the tomb guardian can attune himself to the look and sounds of his surroundings. After concentrating for 10 minutes to familiarize himself with the area, he gains a +4 bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks as long as he remains within 100 feet of the spot where he first attuned himself.
| Evereskan Tomb Guard | Hit Die: d6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day/Spells known |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Sacred duty | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Devoted pursuit, dodge bonus +1 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Swift tracking | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Dodge bonus +2 | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Silent guardian | +1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class |
Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn