STATISTICS
Str +4.5, Dex +3, Con +3, Int +5, Wis, Cha
CLASS FEATURES
Runes:
Through meticulous study, you have carved the knowledge of secret runes into your mind and body. You can apply special runesmith runes onto objects and creatures, which grant the bearer magical effects. You must know a rune to use it, and you learn runes via the runic repertoire class feature.
Applying Runes
All runes can be applied in one of two ways: a rune can be etched on or merely traced. An etched rune is carved, inked, or branded in, though this application does not damage the creature or item. Etching runes requires an artisan’s toolkit. Your magic can sustain up to 2 etched runes at a time, and you can etch any number of runes up to this maximum during your daily preparations and when you spend 10 minutes in exploration mode. As you increase in level, the maximum amount of etched runes you can have at a given time increases. Your etched runes remain indefinitely until they’re expended or removed, or until you etch more runes than your maximum, which causes your oldest rune to fade.
A traced rune is drawn lightly in dust, light, or a similar fleeting medium. You can trace runes with the below action.
Trace Rune (one action or two actions)
Concentrate Magical Manipulate Runesmith
Requirements You have a hand free or are holding an artisan’s toolkit.
Your fingers dance, glowing light leaving behind the image of a rune. You apply one rune to an adjacent target matching the rune’s Usage description. The rune remains until the end of your next turn. If you spend 2 actions to Trace a Rune, you draw the rune in the air and it appears on a target within 30 feet. You can have any number of runes applied in this way.
Invoking Runes
Magic on your lips, you can pronounce the true name of a rune you have applied, calling it to power using invocation actions. You gain the below invocation action.
Invoke Rune (one action)
Invocation Magical Runesmith
You utter the name of one or more of your runes within 30 feet. The rune blazes with power, applying the effect in its Invocation entry. The rune then fades away, its task completed. You can invoke any number of runes with a single Invoke Rune action, but creatures that would be affected by multiple copies of the same specific rune are affected only once, as normal for duplicate effects.
Runic Magic:
Runes are magical effects. Some runes have a specific tradition trait; for instance, the elemental ranshu, rune of thunder is a primal rune. Any rune that doesn’t have a specific tradition trait can be written in the style of one of the four magical traditions to give it that trait if you are trained in that tradition’s skill (for instance, you could create an arcane pluuna, rune of illumination if you were trained in Arcana). Any runes that require a saving throw use your runesmith class DC.
Though runes aren’t spells, some things that affect spells also affect runes. Abilities that restrict you from casting spells (such as being polymorphed into a battle form) or protect against spells (such as a spell that protects against other spells or a creature’s bonus to saves against spells) also apply to tracing or invoking runes, though you can continue to benefit from a rune’s effects.
Any rune you use is the same level you are. For instance, if you’re 5th level, your runes would be 5th level (and their counteract rank would be 3rd rank), even if you gained the rune at 1st level. Similar to spells, many runes get more powerful as you increase in level. In these cases, the rune ends with one or more “Level” entries. This either lists the levels at which the rune gets an upgrade or has an entry with a plus sign that describes a benefit that increases on a regular basis. For instance, a 1st-level rune with a “Level (+4)” entry would get stronger at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels.
Runic Crafter: Your study of secret runes leaves you well practiced in crafting their more common cousins. You gain the Magical Crafting skill feat, even if you don’t meet the prerequisites. You automatically gain the formulas for the fundamental armor runes (armor potency and resilient), fundamental shield rune (reinforcing), and fundamental weapon runes (weapon potency and striking) as soon as your level equals each item’s. You practice your runes so thoroughly you can draw them by heart, and so do not need a formula book to record the formula of any runes you learn how to create.
Smith's Weapon Expertise: You’ve dedicated yourself to learning the intricacies of your weapons. Your proficiency ranks for simple weapons, martial weapons, and unarmed attacks increase to expert.
Expert Runes: Your expertise in magical scripting lends further power to your runic magic. Your proficiency rank for runesmith class DC increases to expert.
Reflex Expertise: You’ve developed a knack for dodging danger. Your proficiency rank for Reflex saves increases to expert.
Runic Optimization: You’ve learned to draw upon the magic of weapon runes to deal greater damage. You deal 2 additional damage with weapons bearing a striking rune. This damage increases to 3 if the weapon bears a greater striking rune and 4 if it bears a major striking rune.
Assured Runic Crafter: You’re so used to tracing and etching runes in the field that when given the peace and quiet of a proper workshop, it’s hard for things to go astray. When you roll a check to Craft a magic item in downtime (Player Core) and that item is a permanent rune, you get the outcome one degree of success better than the result of your Crafting check.
Smith's Endurance: Your body is toughened by long days immersed in crafting, without break for food or drink. Your proficiency rank for Fortitude saves increases to master. When you roll a success on a Fortitude save, you get a critical success instead.
Medium Armor Expertise: You’ve learned to better defend yourself against attacks. Your proficiency ranks for light armor, medium armor, and unarmored defense increase to expert.
Perception Expertise: You remain alert to threats around you. Your proficiency rank for Perception increases to expert.
Smith's Weapon Mastery: You fully understand your weapons. Your proficiency ranks for simple and martial weapons and unarmed attacks increase to master.
HERITAGE
BACKGROUND
Your life truly began after your first kill. Maybe you killed in self-defense, maybe it was a crime of passion, or maybe it was just an accident and you were a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the end, the why doesn't matter. You got away with it. And then you found that maybe it didn't bother you as much as it should have. And maybe, just maybe, you had a talent you could use to forge a life for yourself. A blood-soaked talent and a blood-soaked life, sure. But it's yours.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Strength or Dexterity, and one is a free attribute boost.
You're trained in the Stealth skill, and the Underworld Lore skill. You gain the Terrain Stalker skill feat, choosing a terrain appropriate for where you make your kills.
