Knight of the Shadow

Few secret societies in Karameikos are as steeped in legend and contradiction as the Order of the Shadow. Its members, the Knights of the Shadows, are men and women of supreme virtue and mystery. Gathering annually in the cursed city of Karakotos, the Knights go forth in search of the wicked, pledged to selflessly protect the innocent. Yet theirs is not a life of accolades and glory. As their appellation implies, the Knights walk in darkness, emerging wherever they are needed and vanishing just as suddenly. Those who are pure of heart seem to be drawn to them, yet the Knights cloak themselves in secrecy, lest the master of evil in our world seek them out and destroy them utterly. Theirs is a lonely way, promising endless hardship and no reward but the gratification of good deeds done. It is not a path be thread lightly.

Knight of the Shadow

Most Knights of the Shadows are fighters, rangers, or paladins, but the Order will accept any soul who proves her prowess and willingness to sacrifice her own life for good. Clerics, rogues, and even a barbarian have all been initiated into the Knights at one point.

Hit Dice: d10

Requirements

To qualify to become a Knight of the Shadows (Ksh), a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any good.
Feats: Courage, Dead Man Walking
Skills: Gather Information 4 ranks, Knowledge (local) 4 ranks.
Spellcasting: Ability to case locate object.
Special: The character must be initiated into the Circle by other Knights of the Shadows.

Class Skills

The Knight of the Shadow's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Bluff (Cha), Concentratrion (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Spellcraft (Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Knight fo the Shadows prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Knight of the Shadows seekers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor, and with shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble.

Virtue is Its Own Reward: A Knight of the Shadows receives a +1 sacred bonus to Diplomacy and Gather Information checks when interacting with good-aligned characters. This bonus increases by +1 every other Knight of the Shadows level thereafter. If the skill check involves a mixed group where there are more non-good than good characters present, the bonus is halved (round down). If the check is exclusively involves Innocents, the bonus is doubled.

Guardian of Innocence: When a Knight of the Shadows is fighting to protect others from evil, she receives a +1 sacred bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. This bonus applies only when at least one intelligent good creature is in immediate danger of harm at the hands of an evil intelligent creature or minions the evil creature controls (such as zombies or charmed creatures). The evil creature must be harming or threatening to harm the good creature with physical attacks, supernatural abilities, spell-like abilities, spells, or any hostile action that inflicts damage or requires a saving throw. The bonus applies so long as both the good creatures and evil creature are both within the Knight of the ShadowsÕs line of sight. This bonus rises to +2 at 5th level and +3 at 10th level. When an Innocent is in danger, this bonus is doubled.

Spell List

Knights of the Shadows can choose from the following list:

1st: bless, change self, deathwatch, detect undead, expeditious retreat, invisibility to undead, magic weapon, obscuring mist, protection from evil, sancturary.
2nd: aid, blur, consecrate, darkness, fog cloud, invisibility, mirror image, misdirection, shield other.
3rd: blink, deeper darkness, displacement, halt undead, haste, magic circle aginst evil, negative energy protection, nondetection, prayer
4th: death ward, detect scrying, freedom of movement, improved invisibility, greater magic weaon, shadow conjuration, solid fog, status.

Knight of the Shadow Advancement