Assassin of the Dagger of Light (3.5e Prestige Class)
Assassin of the Dagger of Light
These assassins have been discovered through their actions and abilities of stealth as candidates for their order. Those that strike to remove evil's influence in specific are selected and accepted within a reasonable time. From there, the candidates are trained in stealth and some arcane. The magic is more a supplement to stealth or at least a means of misdirection or assassination. Rogues that prove they are good are most likely to take this prestige class given they are most likely to find appeal in such a prestige class. However, those that meet the Entry Requirements are more than welcome to the fold for diversity's sake.
Becoming an Assassin of the Dagger of Light
This prestige class is for those wanting to become an Assassin without having to be evil aligned, and more focus on assassin's sneak attacks and spellcasting aspect.
| Alignment: | Any Non-evil |
|---|---|
| Skills: | Hide 8 Ranks, Move Silently 8 Ranks |
| Special: | The character must have killed someone of a notably evil history for the sake of purging said evils. |
| Level | Special |
|---|---|
| 11th | Sneak Attack +6d6 |
| 12th | +6 save against poison |
| 13th | Sneak Attack +7d6 |
| 14th | +7 save against poison, Silent Spellcasting |
| 15th | Sneak Attack +8d6 |
| 16th | +8 save against poison |
| 17th | Sneak Attack +9d6 |
| 18th | +9 save against poison, Still Spellcasting |
| 19th | Sneak Attack +10d6 |
| 20th | +10 save against poison |
Class Features
Assassins of the Dagger of Light more focus on stealthy assassinations of enemies, they train to a lesser extent of that of a Warmage, but more modified to their preferred subtleties. All of the following are class features of the Assassin of the Dagger of Light.
Sneak Attack: This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every odd level (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th). If an Assassin of the Dagger of Light gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.
Subtle Movement (Ex): The Assassin of the Dagger of Light has trained to move with stealth even while wearing armor. Having trained so fully as to move as if the armor were a mere cloth. At 1st level, an Assassin of the Dagger of Light is able to wear light armor and not suffer the Armor Check Penalties. That is provided they have at least 1 rank in the skill being used. Otherwise, Armor Check Penalties function normally. This does not extend to heavier armors at 1st level. At 5th level, the Assassin of the Dagger of Light can wear up to medium armor and maintain stealth.
Spells: Beginning at 1st level, an Assassin of the Dagger of Light gains the ability to cast a number of arcane spells. To cast a spell, an assassin must have an Intelligence score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, so an assassin with an Intelligence of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Assassin of the Dagger of Light bonus spells are based on Intelligence, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the Intelligence bonus. When they get 0 spells per day of a given spell level (s)he gains only the bonus spells he would be entitled to based on his/her Intelligence score for that spell level.
The spell list appears below. They cast spells just as a bard does.
Upon reaching 6th level, at every even-numbered level after that (8th and 10th), they can choose to learn a new spell in place of one they already knows. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level spell they can cast. An Assassin of the Dagger of Light may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that they gain new spells known for that level.
| Level | Spells Known | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| 1st | 21 | — | — | — |
| 2nd | 3 | — | — | — |
| 3rd | 3 | 21 | — | — |
| 4th | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 5th | 4 | 3 | 21 | — |
| 6th | 4 | 4 | 3 | — |
| 7th | 4 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| 8th | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 9th | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 10th | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| ||||
1st Level: detect poison, feather fall, ghost sound, jump, Magic Missile, obscuring mist, sleep, true strike.
2nd Level: cat’s grace, darkness, fox’s cunning, illusory script, invisibility, pass without trace, shatter, spider climb, undetectable alignment.
3rd Level: deep slumber, deeper darkness, false life, magic circle against evil, misdirection, nondetection.
4th Level: arcane eye, clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimension door, freedom of movement, glibness, greater invisibility, locate creature, modify memory.
Save Bonus against Poison: The Assassin of the Dagger of Light gains a natural saving throw bonus to all poisons. This save begins at 2nd level with a +1 bonus. This bonus increases by +1 for every two additional levels gained.
Armored Spellcasting (Sp): An Assassin of the Dagger of Light at 2nd level is able to cast spells from their Assassin spell list in light armor without risk of arcane spell failure. This improves to medium armor at 8th level.
Silent Spellcasting (Sp): An Epic Assassin of the Dagger of Light at 14th level casts spells as if under the Silent Spell Feat without increasing the spell level.
Still Spellcasting (Sp): An Epic Assassin of the Dagger of Light at 18th level casts spells as if under the Still Spell Feat without increasing the spell level. This feature can be used in conjunction with the Silent Spellcasting feature.
Ex-Assassins of the Dagger of Light
An Assassin of the Dagger of Light that becomes evil instead becomes a normal Assassin. Effectively trading levels in this prestige class for levels in the previously mentioned prestige class (Even if the prerequisites are not fully met for Assassin).
Playing an Assassin of the Dagger of Light
Combat: As the name would imply, they would use stealth tactics to get the job done. They also use their spells for distractions, recon, stealth, or assassinations.
Advancement: Assassins of the Dagger of Light likely seek out classes or prestige classes to further their arcane or stealth abilities, whichever the assassin deems most important. As such, additional spellcasting abilities from Wizard or similar are considered equally as rogue-ish features/levels/prestige class levels. Others take a more divine approach in becoming clerics to supplement their arcane casting with divine casting.
Resources: Assassins of the Dagger of Light have a long running and deeply rooted organization that operates mainly in stealth. Yet members are aware of these tricks and know how to spot fellow members. Certain subtleties give away fellow members that only other members would be aware of, that is if a member is showing those subtleties. Nobles have called upon this network to ensure evil is kept at bay.
Assassins of the Dagger of Light in the World
| “ | Dagger of Light? I wouldn't know such a group. Sounds like some sort of holy group. | ” |
Characters of this organization would fit well for good oriented Assassins.
NPC Reactions: There are only 3 groups of people that know of this group: Nobles/clergy of good that the organization have revealed themselves to, members that are soon to join, and targets that find themselves either threatened to turn themselves in or dead with a list of crimes and a white dagger in their chest.
Assassin of the Dagger of Light Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (History) can research Assassins of the Dagger of Light to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | "This group has existed in history, silently maintaining the balance of good and evil since its founding." |
| 16 | Last known sighting of a black or white dagger within a reasonable distance of where the research was conducted, including the fact that these are the calling cards. |
| 21 | A specific location where a branch of the organization operates, including the guard of the entrance. |
| 26 | "The ultimate goal of this organization is to develop a team of assassins capable of dealing with creatures in ranks of Demons, Devils, and Chromatic Dragons. As they are the epitome of Evils to walk the mortal world." |
Assassins of the Dagger of Light in the Game
As mentioned above, this prestige class is a nice re-flavor of assassins. For DMs willing to allow a low magic setting and want a good aligned campaign, this prestige class offers a nice niche for those fond of stealth and misdirection.
Adaptation: As mentioned above, this prestige class is a good-aligned remake of a prestige class from the core. The actual naming and related information of the prestige class name can be changed to fit the specific campaign a DM has established.
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