Black Hand Assassin

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Hit Dice: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become an assassin of the Black Hand, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any evil.
Disguise: 4 ranks.
Hide: 10 ranks.
Move Silently: 10 ranks.
Tumble: 5 ranks.
Special: Must kill someone for no other reason than to join the Black Hand.

Class Skills

The black hand’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Alchemy (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Innuendo (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Pick Pocket (Dex), Read Lips (Int, exclusive skill), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha, exclusive skill), and Use Rope (Dex). See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A black hand’s weapon training focuses on weapons suitable for stealth and sneak attacks. black hands are proficient with the crossbow (hand, light, or heavy), dagger (any type), dart, sap, shortbow (normal and composite), short sword, and rapier.
     Black hands are proficient with light armor but not 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, and that carrying heavy gear imposes a check penalty on Swim checks.

Sneak Attack (Ex): If a black hand can catch an opponent when she is unable to defend herself effectively from his attack, he can strike a vital spot for extra damage. Basically, any time the black hand’s target would be denied her Dexterity bonus to AC (whether she actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), the black hand’s attack deals +1d6 points of damage. This extra damage increases by +1d6 points for every third level thereafter (+2d6 at 4th level, +3d6 at 7th level, and +4d6 at 10th level). Should the black hand score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
     It takes precision and penetration to hit a vital spot, so ranged attacks can only count as sneak attacks if the target is 30 feet away or less.
     With a sap or an unarmed strike, the black hand can make a sneak attack that deals subdual damage instead of normal damage. He cannot use a weapon that deals normal damage to deal subdual damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty, because he must make optimal use of his weapon in order to execute the sneak attack.
     A black hand’s sneak attack only works against living creatures with discernable anatomies. Any creature that is immune to critical hits (including undead, constructs, oozes, plants, and incorporeal creatures) is not vulnerable to a sneak attack, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits (such as armor with fortification) also protects a creature from a sneak attack.
     If a black hand gets a sneak attack bonus from another source (such as rogue levels), the bonuses to damage stack.

Death Attack (Ex): If the black hand studies his opponent for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target. While studying the opponent, the black hand can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect the black hand or recognize the black hand as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails her Fortitude saving through (DC 10 + the black hand’s class level + Intelligence modifier) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim’s mind and body become enervated, rendering her completely helpless and unable to act for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per level of the black hand. If the victim’s saving through succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once the black hand has completed the 3 rounds of study, he must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if the black hand does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before he can attempt another death attack.

Poison Use (Ex): Assassins of the Black Hand are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

Cover of Darkness (Su): Drawing upon the supernatural plane of shadow, black hands cloak themselves in darkness and use the Hide skill even while being observed. Upon reaching 2nd level, as long as they are within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, black hands can hide themselves from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. They cannot, however, hide in their own shadows. This is the same as the shadowdancer’s Hide In Plain Sight ability.

Every Advantage (Ex): At 2nd level, black hands add their Intelligence bonus (if any) to their Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If the black hand is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus. This ability only functions in light armor or no armor.

Find the Heart (Ex): The assassins of the Black Hand are experts in the study of vital points. Beginning at 3rd level, this knowledge becomes so advanced, that they have the option to deliver a sneak attack that is so debilitating, it inflicts damage to the victim’s Constitution. In order to use this ability, the black hand chooses to forgo 2d6 points of sneak attack damage in order to inflict 1 point of temporary Constitution damage.

Swift Stealth (Ex): A 4th level black hand can move at his normal speed when using Hide and Move Silently, without suffering a penalty to those skills.

Blindsight (Su): Using a supernatural “sixth sense”, the black hand learns to maneuver and fight just as well in darkness as in light. Beginning at 5th level, invisibility and darkness become irrelevant, though the black hand still cannot discern ethereal beings. The black hand’s blindsight extends for 30 feet.

Silence (Sp): Upon reaching 6th level, the black hand can created an area of total silence (as the spell silence, but targeting himself only) for a total of one minute per day for each level of black hand. The duration of minutes can be used consecutively, or spread out among several uses. In either case, usage can only be divided by minutes. Even if the black hand only uses the silence effect for thirty seconds, a full minute is used up for the purposes of his daily limit.

Focused Mind (Ex): An 8th level black hand gains control of his wandering thoughts and can focus all of his mind to a given task. He gains a +5 competence bonus to all Intelligence-based checks.

Improved Stealth (Ex): At 8th level, the black hand gains a +10 competence bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks. In addition, a black hand can always choose to take 10 on Hide and Move Silently checks, even when circumstances would normally prevent him from doing so.

Gaseous Form (Sp): A 9th level black hand can assume a gaseous form, as the spell (see the Player’s Handbook), once per day for 1 round per class level. Using this ability requires a full-round action.

Constant Stealth (Ex): At 10th level, the black hand’s mastery of stealth is so pervasive, that he is always taking 10 on Hide and Move Silently checks. Unless the black hand wants to be seen or heard, make opposed Listen and Spot checks to detect the black hand’s presence.

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 This page was last updated on September 23, 2004 .