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I've tweaked the class features to make it possible for a Facestealer to retain the faces of those he has stolen. Also, I've added Archetypes, the Breathstealer and the Bringer of Woe. Comments and criticisms would be appreciated!

Backstab only works against enemies that regard the Facestealer with a friendly attitude. So for that first Backstab to work, the enemy needs to have a friendly attitude in the first place, so enemies that weren't friendly don't become friendly.

I made it this way so that the Facestealer wouldn't feel useless after the first Backstab in an encounter.

I think that Backstab and Sneak Attack are on equal ground, as while Backstab is definitely more powerful (it doesn't matter if the enemy is flat-footed), it is also considerably more situational. Therefore, I think it's okay to allow other classes to advance backstab damage.

I agree with you on lack of clarity though, I'll try to change the phrasing of the features.

@VRMH: The Facestealer is definitely way more at home in social / urban campaigns than in dungeon crawling ones. Perhaps I should look into giving the Facestealer more versatility then...

Also, edited some of the class features for clarity.

Hey all, this is my first homebrew creation, a base class which revolves around treachery and betrayal.

Without further ado, I present the Facestealer: here's the Google Docs Link.

Right now, the class's capstone ability and feats are still a work-in-progress, but I believe the rest of the content is solid enough to stand on its own. Comments and criticism appreciated.

Hey all, this is my first homebrew creation. My favorite parts of 3.5 have to be the flavor of the Shadowcaster and the Warlock's Invocations, and I wondered, why not create a blend of the two?

Right now, the class as a whole and invocations are still unfinished, but I believe I have the class's basic foundation down and would love to hear some feedback on it!

Shadow Mage

Alignment: Any non-good. While the shadows themselves are a purely neutral tool, using them requires an open mind.

Hit Die: d6

Starting Gold: As Sorcerer

Class Skills
The Shadow Mage's skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana, Planes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Points: (4 + Int modifier)

Table: Shadow Mage (Link to Imgur)

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Shadow Mage.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Shadow Mages are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield. Armor interferes with a Shadow Mage's gestures, which can cause his Invocations to fail.

Invocations: A Shadow Mage does not prepare or cast spells as other wielders of magic do. Instead, he possesses a repertoire of attacks, defenses and abilities known as Invocations that call upon the Plane of Shadow. The Shadow Mage may use any Invocation he knows at will, with the following qualifications:

A Shadow Mage’s invocations are spell-like abilities; thus, unless indicated in the description, using an invocation is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. An invocation can be disrupted, just as a spell can be ruined during casting, a Shadow Mage is entitled to a Concentration check to successfully use an invocation if he is hit by an attack while invoking, just as a spellcaster would be. A Shadow Mage can choose to use an invocation defensively, by making a successful Concentration check, to avoid provoking attacks of opportunity. A Shadow Mage’s caster level with his invocations is equal to his caster level.

The save DC for an invocation (if it allows one) cast in daylight is equal to 5 + the equivalent spell level of the invocation + the Shadow Mage’s Charisma modifier. When casting an Invocation in daylight, the Shadow Mage must also make a DC10 concentration check or have his Invocation fail to work.

The save DC for an invocation (if it allows one) cast in darkness is equal to 13 + the equivalent spell level of the invocation + the Shadow Mage's Charisma modifier.

Since spell-like abilities are not actually spells, a Shadow Mage cannot benefit from any metamagic feat or the Spell Focus feat; he can, however, benefit from the Ability Focus feat as well as feats that emulate metamagic effects for spell-like abilities.

The four levels of invocations, in order of their relative power are: Least, Lesser, Greater and Dark. A Shadow Mage begins play with knowledge of two Least Invocations. As a Shadow Mage gains levels, he learns new invocations, as shown on the table above.

Novice of Shadows: There exist eight schools of shadow sorcery. At 1st level, the Shadow Mage may either choose to specialize in any one of them or none at all. Specializing in a school of shadow grants the school's novice power.

The Schools of Shadow

Shade's Eyes (Su): Over time, the Shadow Mage's continued use of dark magic begins to alter his physiology, turning him into something not unlike a denizen of the Plane of Shadow.

At 2nd level, the Shadow Mage gains the ability to see in darkness. He gains darkvision with a range of 30ft. If he already possesses darkvision, its range increases by 30ft.

This however, comes at the cost of Light Blindness. Creatures with Light Blindness are blinded for 1 round after abrupt exposure to bright light. On subsequent rounds, they are dazzled for as long as they remain in the affected area.

At 5th level, the range of the Shadow Mage's darkvision increases by 30ft.

At 9th level, the Shadow Mage's darkvision is now able to pierce magical darkness.

Bonus Feat: Starting at 3rd level and every five levels after, the Shadow Mage gains a bonus feat from the following: Combat Casting, <Metashadow Feats>, <Spell-Like Ability Feats>, <Item Creation Feats>

Shadow Power: Starting at 4th level and every five levels after, the Shadow Mage may choose one of his Invocations to enhance, unlocking its Unleashed ability.

Initiate of Shadows: At 5th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to his school's Initiate Power.

Lesser Invocations: At 6th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to Lesser Invocations.

Shade's Resilience (Su): At 7th level, the Shadow Mage gains the resilience of a shadow creature. He gains cold and electricity resistance 5, and gains fast healing 4.

At 14th level, this becomes cold and electricity resistance 10, and fast healing 6.

Adept of Shadows: At 10th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to his school's Adept Power.

Greater Invocations: At 11th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to Greater Invocations.

One With Darkness: At 12th level, the Shadow Mage's Invocations become true spell-like abilities. They no longer have a verbal or somatic component (if they originally had any) nor do they require a focus. The Invocation can now be activated mentally and is no longer affected by armor.

Master of Shadows: At 10th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to his school's Master Power.

Dark Invocations: At 16th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to Dark Invocations.

Shade's Blood (Su): At 17th level, the Shadow Mage's metamorphosis into a denizen of shadow is nearly complete. He no longer has a metabolism. This means he no longer has to eat, sleep or breathe, nor doe she age. Additionally, he gains all the immunities of someone who lacks a metabolism, such as immunity to fatigue, exhaustion, poison and death by aging.

Chosen of Shadows (Su): At 20th level, the Shadow Mage gains access to his school's Chosen Power.

Looking at the first screenshot of the game they've released makes me excited. It has definitely been way too long since a game like Baldur's Gate or Planescape has come along.

I'm not sure if this has already been stated before, but can you create a class that runs on a resource gained over time? I had the idea of a martial class that gains Expertise by using his Disciplines, which heightens his class abilities. I have no idea how to execute this though, or if such a class is already in existence...

Something occurred to me, wouldn't it make more sense to have the huecuva be a cleric instead of a druid? He does draw his power from a 'god' after all and IIRC, druids do not, no? Simply give him the plant/animal domains to keep the druidic feel.

Personally, I feel like an undead druid makes perfect sense. Death is as big a part of nature as animals, plants and all else that the druids revere. Some might take this reverence a little bit further. After all, there are druids that specialize in animals, forests, water... Why not a druid that worships the death aspect of nature?

Personally, I'd go with the Power Attack for the sole reason of having more options in battle. I'm not sure about you, but to me, having only a single answer to every combat situation is very uninteresting to play. I think that Power Attack, while small and sometimes insignificant, definitely outweighs EWP's still smaller bonus.

Still, it certainly depends on your playstyle. If you don't mind your Fighter's lack of options, the small difference in numbers really doesn't matter.