“Almost every species in the Multiverse has an irrational fear of the dark. But they’re wrong… It’s not irrational.”
Some are trained in the use of crossbow or throwing axe, longbow or javelin. Others can seek the weaknesses of there enemies with an ease that is truly frightening. Finally, there are those who are but ghosts, who stealth through shadow and through light and are all but invisible. For those who merge those paths, there is a path that opens up to but a few. For those who are the best at what they do, for those who truly have nothing left to lose…there is the Path of the Dread Sniper.
Spoken of in rumors and told of as a story to scare small children, the Dread Sniper is but a legend to most. Those who know better than most dare not speak of them. And those the Dread Sniper have been contracted to kill live in fear…for however long they have left to live. The life of Dread Sniper is one of discipline, one that relies on rigorous training. Those who refuse to train or are lax in there discipline are unfit to travel down this path.
Role
A Dread Sniper excels at ranged combat, taking the time to line up each shot with a killing intent. They can vanish in a crowd as well as on a grassy plain, and in the shadows they almost seem to just vanish. The abilities of a Dread Sniper even have some utility for use with an ally…when a Dread Sniper chooses to walk with others.
Alignment
Dread Snipers must be of a Lawful Alignment.
Abilities
Dexterity is most important for a Dread Sniper, as Dexterity effects the accuracy of the Sniper’s attacks as well as how well the Sniper can become hidden. Good secondary stats are Intelligence and Wisdom. Intelligence gives the Dread Sniper more skill points, while Wisdom allows the Sniper to find his prey all the easier.
Entry Requirements: 2d6 Sneak Attack, Weapon Focus in a Ranged or Throwing Weapon, Skill Focus: Stealth, Hellcat Stealth, 7 ranks in Stealth.
Special: Must have successfully killed three targets by Contract, on of which was no less than 2 CR under you. These targets do not have to be in succession.
LEVEL BAB FORT REF WILL SPECIAL
1 +0 +0 +1 +0 Reveal the Flaw
2 +1 +1 +1 +1 Sneak Attack +1d6, Wall Climber
3 +2 +1 +2 +1 First to Fire
4 +3 +1 +2 +1 Sneak Attack +2d6, Ledge Walker
5 +3 +2 +3 +2 Silencing Shot
6 +4 +2 +3 +2 Sneak Attack +3d6, Sniper’s Eye
7 +5 +2 +4 +2 Silent as the Grave
8 +6 +3 +4 +3 Sneak Attack +4d6, Stealthy Sniper
9 +6 +3 +5 +3 Master of Stealth
10 +7 +3 +5 +3 Sneak Attack +5d6, Skill Mastery, The Wet William Tell
Hit Die: d8
Skill Ranks per Level: 8 + Int modifier.
Class Skills: The Dread Sniper’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Engineering) (Int), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Knowledge (Nobility) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The Dread Sniper gains no additional Armor or Weapon Proficiencies.
Reveal the Flaw (Ex): At first level, the Dread Sniper can reveal the flaws of her enemies to both herself and her allies. For every 2d6 of Sneak Attack Damage sacrificed in this way, the Dread Sniper may lower any fortification of that creature by 5%. This ability works on any creature, and stacks with other abilities and spells that lower the amount of fortification a creature may have. (Creatures with immunity to Sneak Attacks and Critical Hits are treated as if they had 100% Fortification for the purposes of this ability). This reduction lasts for a number of rounds equal to the number of Sneak Dice sacrificed, and can be removed with a DC 25 heal check.
Sneak Attack: This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every other level (2st, 4rd, 6th, 8th, and 10th). If a Dread Sniper gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.
Wall Climber (Su): A Dread Sniper gains this Ninja Trick for free at 2nd level.
First to Fire (Ex): The Dread Sniper’s reflexes are honed to strike at the first opportunity. The Dread Sniper now gains her class level as a bonus to initiative checks.
Ledge Walker (Ex): The Dread Sniper gains this Rogue Talent for free at 4th Level.
Silencing Shot (Sp): The Dread Sniper can silence his victims, making it almost impossible to tell when he has struck. Once per day, a Dread Sniper can spend a standard action to make a piece of ammunition or one throwing weapon emit an Aura of Silence, as if the spell was cast on that piece of ammunition or the throwing weapon. It’s caster level is equal to the Dread Sniper’s class level.
Sniper’s Eye (Ex): The Dread Sniper gains this Rogue Talent for free at 6th Level.
Silent as the Grave (Ex): The Dread Sniper excels at hiding from all but the most well-trained of observers. The Dread Sniper now gains a bonus on all Stealth Checks equal to his Class Level.
Stealthy Sniper (Ex): The Dread Sniper gains this Advanced Rogue Talent for free at 8th Level.
Master of Stealth (Su): When the Dread Sniper chooses, he can vanish from those who use any type of sight to see him. A person looking for a Dread Sniper with a spell or device that grants an alternate form of sight, (such as Infravision or Thermal-Imaging Goggles, for example), must now roll a Perception check to find him. Abilities such as Scent and Tremorsense can still find the Dread Sniper, however.
Skill Mastery (Ex): A Dread Sniper gains this Advanced Rogue Talent for free at 10th level. One of the Skills chosen must be Stealth, however.
The Wet William Tell (Ex): The way a Dread Sniper can pierce through the defenses of his foes is truly frightening. For every 1d6 of Sneak Attack Damage sacrificed in this way, the Dread Sniper may lower any fortification of that creature by 5%. This ability works on any creature, and stacks with other abilities and spells that lower the amount of fortification a creature may have. (Creatures with immunity to Sneak Attacks and Critical Hits are treated as if they had 100% Fortification for the purposes of this ability). This reduction lasts for a number of rounds equal to the number of Sneak Dice sacrificed, and can be removed with a DC 25 heal check. This ability replaces Reveal the Flaw.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I went over possibilities for a prestige class for a ranged character with no spellcasting, I realized that Pathfinder had no ranged prestige class options...even the Assassin was restricted to primarily melee attacks. I also realized that Fortification, the bane of any class that used Precision-based damage, had no viable counter outside of taking several levels in a spell-casting class. This being said, the Dread Sniper is my first shot at building this Prestige class fully. This is a very rough draft, and as such is open to questions, comments and concerns about its overall balance and/or usefulness.
[EDIT] I apologize for the odd formatting on some of this.