Prestige Classes

Cavestalker

"Welcome to my realm. You'll find naught for you here but privation, fear, and death — oh, and my blade."

— Gaelimor Zyrshaen, drow cavestalker

The Underdark's most dangerous predators are not its horrific monstrosities, crawling and festering in the darkest of grottoes.

Rather, they are the deadly cavestalkers, moving effortlessly through a jungle of living rock — and none are as much at home in these caverns as the drow.

Just as a surface ranger feels at peace in the heart of a virgin forest, so too is a cavestalker is at home in the wilds of the Underdark. Yet even in his most familiar environment, he is aware of the ever-present danger that surrounds him. It is in the task of surviving this endless peril that he finds peace away from so-called "civilized folk."

Becoming a Cavestalker

Rangers and druids are natural candidates for the cavestalker class. Underdark races that choose the path of the druid or ranger find little use for the abilities of those classes that are attuned to the wilderness of the surface. The cavestalker class augments and hones those abilities, making them more suitable for use in the endless night and providing a true advantage for those that live away from the light.

Rogues occasionally become cavestalkers, since their high skill point allotment allows them to achieve the requirements more easily than other classes. Other classes might enjoy the benefits of becoming a cavestalker, but would likely find meeting the requirements to be prohibitive. Regardless of class, only individuals who have natural darkvision can achieve the affinity with the lightless depths necessary to become a cavestalker.

Hit Dice: d8

Requirements

Skills: Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4 ranks, Survival 5 ranks..

Base Attack Bonus: +2.

Special: The candidate must have natural darkvision to allow successful navigation of Underdark tunnels.

Class Skills

The cavestalker’s class skills (and the key abilities for each) are: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (Underdark local) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Survival (Str).

Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier per level

Table 5-xx: Cavestalker

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Advanced spelunker, Track
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Underdark affinity, hide of stone +1
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Lesser cavesense
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Exotic combat style
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Expert spelunker
6th	+6	+5	+5	+2	Gaseous form, hide of stone +2
7th	+7	+5	+5	+2	Improved exotic combat style
8th	+8	+6	+6	+2	Greater cavesense
9th	+9	+6	+6	+3	Void in space
10th	+10	+7	+7	+3	Master spelunker, hide of stone +3

Class Features

As they advance in the class, cavestalkers become more familiar with the Underdark's natural elements. In addition, any abilities they have from the ranger or druid classes become attuned to their subterranean environment.

Advanced Spelunker (Ex): As a cavestalker, your familiarity with the environs of the Underdark allows you to move through it easily, even in the most difficult conditions. As a result, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Acrobatics, Climb, and Escape Artist checks in natural subterranean surroundings.

Track (Ex): A cavestalker adds half his level (minimum 1) to Survival skill checks made to follow or identify tracks.

Underdark Affinity (Ex): At 2nd level, your adaptation to the Underdark allows you to use your nature-themed class abilities in natural subterranean surroundings as well. These include the druid and ranger abilities of camouflage, hide in plain sight, trackless step, and woodland stride. If you already have wild empathy, you can now use it to affect vermin. If you have the wild shape ability, add vermin to the types of creatures you can become (subject to all the size and frequency limitations provided by that ability). If you do not already have these underlying abilities, Underdark affinity does not grant them to you; it only augments those you already have.

Hide of Stone (Ex): As you gain levels in the cavestalker class, your body embraces the rigors of the Underdark and takes on something of its hue and toughness. Your skin hardens and becomes flinty, granting you a natural armor bonus in addition to a circumstance bonus on Stealth checks when in natural subterranean surroundings. These bonuses increase as you progress through the cavestalker class, at 6th level and again at 10th level.

Lesser Cavesense (Ex): At 3rd level, you are gifted with a mystical connection to the Underdark, giving you darkvision out to 120 feet. If you already have darkvision out to 120 feet, your darkvision extends an additional 60 feet. Due to your familiarity with the acoustic qualities of the Underdark, you also gain a +4 competence bonus on Perception checks made in subterranean surroundings.

Exotic Combat Style (Ex): At 4th level, you gain mastery of a specific exotic combat style, either the spiked chain style or the hand crossbow style.

If you are not a ranger or have not already selected a ranger combat style, choose one of these two styles. You gain proficiency in that exotic weapon — either the spiked chain or the hand crossbow — if you do not already have it.

If you already have selected two-weapon combat as a ranger combat style, then the exotic combat style provides you with the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain) fear and permits the use of a spiked chain as a one-handed weapon.

If you already have selected archery as a ranger combat style, then the exotic combat style provides you with the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (hand crossbow) feat and grants you the Rapid Reload feat, even if you do not have the normal prerequisites for the feat.

If you acquire a ranger combat style after gaining an exotic combat style, then the two styles must correspond in a similar fashion: You must select two-weapon combat after choosing the spiked chain style, or archery after choosing the hand crossbow style.

The benefits of your chosen exotic combat style apply only when you wear light or no armor. You lose all benefits of your exotic combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Expert Spelunker (Ex): Upon reaching 5th level, your familiarity with the tight confines of the Underdark allows you to retain your Dexterity bonus even when climbing or when in a cramped space. Furthermore, you're better able to negotiate cramped spaces, lowering Escape Artist DCs, move penalties, and attack penalties by one category. See Table 6—1: Cramped.

Gaseous Form (Sp): At 6th level, you gain the ability to traverse the treacherous and confined terrain of the Underdark by assuming gaseous form once per day (caster level 12th).

Improved Exotic Combat Style (Ex): Your aptitude for your chosen exotic combat style increases at 7th level. If you do not already have a combat style from the ranger class, then the improved exotic combat style grants you one of those ranger combat styles. If you already have the hand crossbow exotic combat style, you must select archery; if you already have the spiked chain exotic combat style, you must choose two-weapon combat.

If you select archery, then you are treated as having the Rapid Shot feat, even if you do not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

If you select twoweapon combat, then you are treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, even if you do not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

If you already have the ranger two-weapon combat style and the spiked chain exotic combat style, then the improved exotic combat style allows you to treat a spiked chain as one size category smaller for the purpose of use in a cramped space (see Expert Spelunker, above).

If you already have the ranger archery combat style and the hand crossbow exotic combat style, then you are treated as having the Manyshot feat even if you do not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

You are able to use this feat in conjunction with a hand crossbow.

As before, the benefits of your chosen style apply only when you wear light or no armor. You lose the benefit of your exotic combat style when wearing medium or heavy armor.

Greater Cavesense (Ex): When you reach 8th level, your mystical connection to the Underdark increases, granting you tremorsense out to 30 feet.

Void in Space (Su): When you reach 9th level, your attunement to the particular atmosphere of the Underdark allows you to warp the sounds, scents, and vibrations you give off, making you invisible to creatures that rely on senses other than sight to detect others. This effectively makes you undetectable to blindsense, blindsight, and tremorsense. You still make noises and vibrations (though a successful Stealth check can mask the sounds), but creatures that cannot see are incapable of determining your true location and believe that you are 30 feet in a random direction from where you are actually located.

In addition, this ability nullifies the effect of the Blind-Fight feat against you.

Master Spelunker (Su): By the time you reach 10th level, your affinity for the terrain of the Underdark has become so great that you can negotiate it without difficulty and even merge with it at times. This grants you the ability to use spider climb (as the spell) on any natural stone surface at will. In addition, you can use meld into stone (as the spell) with any surface of unworked stone three times per day.