Followers of the Path of the Scoundrel are just that. Highwaymen, waylayers, thugs, and brutes - followers of this Path use the universal language to get what they want: violence. Granted, there are many ways to go about such a method - from poisons to blackjacks to knives, there are no rules of war on the streets. Followers of this Path are often assassins, mercenaries, and dangerous bandits of the wilderness.
When you purchase the Path of Shadows, you gain the following Key Skills:
You may act fully in the surprise round (meaning you may use a Move, Swift, and Standard Action).
Your party may use your Stealth check, but their movespeed is locked to 5 ft per round.
One ally of your choice per Sneak Attack Die you possess may move fully in the Surprise Round, as if they possess the Ambush Talent as well.
When you confirm a critical hit, you may instead pass that critical to an ally on their turn, as long as they attack the same creature.
When you use the charge action, you may inflict Sneak Attack on your target as if you were flanking them.
When you hit a creature with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC for each sneak attack die rolled, for one round. The dodge bonus only applies against the creature you sneak attacked, and the dodge bonus does not stack with itself. You may gain this bonus against multiple creatures, provided that you successfully sneak attack them in the same turn.
Whenever you move more than 10 ft in a round, and make an attack action, you treat your target as flat footed against you, and you inflict Sneak Attack accordingly. This only applies to the first of such attacks; you must spend TP to apply Sneak Attack on additional attacks as normal.
When you are adjacent to a foe, as a full-round action, you can take a full-attack action to make melee attacks against the foe, moving 5 feet before each attack. You must move 5 feet before each melee attack you make, and can’t exceed your maximum speed, exceed your maximum number of attacks in a round, or attack any other target until the beginning of your next turn.
You must remain adjacent to the foe, and your movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal unless you succeed at the appropriate Acrobatics checks. If your first attack against the foe hits, you are considered to be flanking the foe on your second attack. Subsequent attacks made as part of the full-attack action continue to be treated as if you were flanking the foe until one of your attacks misses, at which point your attacks are treated normally. Such subsequent attacks allow you to apply Sneak Attack to the targeted creature.
You never accidentally poison yourself when applying it to a weapon. When you are struck with an attack that would inflict poison, you may make a Reflex saving equal to the poison’s Fortitude save DC + 10 to avoid being poisoned entirely. If you fail this check, you may still roll the Fortitude save as normal to avoid the effects.
Poison on your weapons lasts for a number of attacks equal to your total Sneak Attack die.
Whenever you strike a creature with a poisoned weapon, you may spend TP up to your maximum Sneak Attack dice total to increase the duration of the poison by that amount. For example, if you were to spend 2 TP on a poison that lasts for 6 rounds, it would now last 8 rounds instead. Additionally, whenever you sneak attack with a poisoned weapon, the saving throw to avoid the effects of the poison are increased by an amount equal to your total Sneak Attack die.
You may now apply poison to a weapon as a Swift Action.
Choose a number of specific poisons equal to your Secondary Attribute modifier, you are now completely immune to those poisons.
When you apply poison to a weapon, you may choose whether or not to add reactive agents to it. If you choose to do so, all poison effects applied by that specific application of poison take effect immediately when your target is poisoned. For example, you could make Drow Knockout Poison apply immediately upon a target taking damage and failing the subsequent Fortitude save.
All poisons applied by you have their Saving Throw DC increased by an amount equal to your total Sneak Attack die.
Your Intimidate to demoralize a creature lasts 1 extra round for every 5 by which you exceed the DC. If you inflict 2 or more rounds of the shaken condition, the creature may instead be frightened, at your discretion. If you are subject to inflict 4 or more rounds of shaken, you may make the creature panicked or frightened instead.
You never provoke Attacks of Opportunity when Grappling.
When you damage a creature with your Sneak Attack, they are sickened for a number of minutes equal to your secondary attribute modifier.
When you are grappling a creature, you do not take a penalty to your Dexterity, or to your Dexterity bonus to AC. In addition, you are always considered to be flanking a creature which you are grappling.
When you deal Sneak Attack damage to a target, you may make an immediate grapple check against them, with a +1 bonus for every Sneak Attack die you possess.
As a full round action, you may knock out a creature which you are grappling. Make a single attack against the creature, if you hit, the creature must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage inflicted, including your Sneak Attack) or go unconscious. Creatures that do not need to breathe, are immune to critical hits, or are immune to nonlethal damage are immune to this ability.
When you successfully use Abduct against a creature and beat their CMD by 10 or more, they are pinned instead of grappled.
You may attempt to Coup de Grace a creature you have pinned as a Standard Action that provokes Attacks of Opportunity.
Sneak Attacks with a dagger, kerambit, kukri, punching daggers, starknife, or swordbreaker dagger use D8s instead of D6s. All other weapons use D4s.
You may Feint a target as a Move Action. When you possess 10 Sneak Attack die, you may Feint as a swift action.
When you damage a creature with Sneak Attack, you may spend 3 TP to deliberately cut along their veins or similar weak points, causing them to take bleed damage equal to your total Sneak Attack die every round until they are attended to by a Heal check (DC 10 + your Base Attack Bonus + your Sneak Attack Dice total). This damage does not stack with itself, and bypasses all DR.
Your knives deal damage as if they were one size category larger.
You may Parry and Riposte with a dagger, kerambit, kukri, punching daggers, starknife, or swordbreaker dagger. Attempting to Parry costs 1 TP, and a follow-up Riposte costs 2 TP more.
As long as a target is flat footed against you, you may reroll all 1s and 2s on your sneak attack roll.
When you succeed at a grapple check while using this style, your opponent takes an amount of bludgeoning damage equal to your Secondary Attribute modifier in addition to any damage your grapple deals, such as when you choose to harm your opponent as part of a successful check to maintain a grapple. In addition, you gain a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks to maintain a grapple.
The damage that you deal with the Kraken Style Talent on a successful grapple combat maneuver check increases to an amount equal to your Secondary Attribute modifier + 2.
While using this style, you can choke your opponent when you successfully maintain a grapple instead of choosing to damage, move, pin, or tie up your opponent. This suffocates your opponent. The grappled opponent can take a breath during any round in which you do not maintain the grapple.
The damage you deal with the Kraken Style Talent on a successful grapple combat maneuver check increases to an amount equal to your Secondary Attribute modifier + 4. While using this style, you can crush your opponent when you successfully maintain a grapple instead of choking, damaging, moving, pinning, or tying up your opponent.
When you do, you deal an amount of damage equal to 2d6 + your STR modifier to your foe’s armor or an item held in your foe’s hand. This crushing damage bypasses half of the hardness of the armor or item.
You add your Secondary Attribute modifier on Acrobatics checks. While using this style, you take no penalty on melee attack rolls or to AC while prone. Furthermore, you can crawl and stand up from lying prone without provoking attacks of opportunity, and you can stand up as a swift action if you spend 1 TP and succeed on a DC 20 Acrobatics check.
While using Monkey Style, you add your Secondary Attribute modifier on Athletics checks. You can also can climb and crawl at half your speed; you can take a 5-foot step by jumping, crawling, or climbing; and you retain your Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing. Further, while using Monkey Style, when you hit an opponent twice or more on your turn, you can spend a swift action to take a 5-foot step even if you have moved this round.
While using Monkey Style, if you successfully strike an opponent with a melee attack, you can spend a free action to enter a square adjacent to you that is within your opponent’s space. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. While you are in your opponent’s space, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC and a +4 bonus on melee attack rolls against that opponent. If otherwise unhindered, the opponent can move away from you, but if he does it provokes Attacks of Opportunity as normal.