Red Mantis Assassin Errata

Initiates of the Red Mantis usually begin their training as rogues, often with fighter or ranger levels, as stealth and skill at arms are both prerequisites to joining the order.

## Requirements

To qualify to become a Red Mantis Assassin, a character must fulfill the following criteria.

* **Alignment**: Lawful evil.
* **Feats**: Alertness, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (sawtooth sabre), Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (sawtooth sabre).
* **Skills**: Intimidate 5 ranks, Perception 5 ranks, Stealth 5 ranks.

## Class Skills

The Red Mantis Assassin's class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Stealth (Dex).

**Skill Points at each Level**: 6 + Int modifier.

**Hit Die**: d8.

## Class Features

The following are class features of the Red Mantis Assassin.

**Weapon and Armor Proficiency**: A Red Mantis Assassin is proficient with simple weapons, light martial weapons, and light armor, but not with shields. A Red Mantis Assassin can cast Red Mantis Assassin spells while wearing light armor without incurring the normal arcane spell failure.

**Spellcasting**:

A Red Mantis Assassin casts **illusion** and **transmutation** arcane spells drawn from the sorcerer and wizard spell lists. She can cast any spell she knows without preparing it ahead of time. To cast a spell, she must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell’s level, and her bonus spells are based on Charisma. Saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + the spell’s level + the caster’s Charisma modifier (if any). At each Red Mantis Assassin level, she gains one or more new spells as indicated on the table below. At 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th level, she can learn a new spell in place of one she already knows, provided the new spell is of the same level as the one she is replacing.

As she gains levels, a small number of additional spells that are not otherwise available to her are added to her list. She does not automatically learn these spells when they become available—they must be selected as part of her total spells known. At 1st level, she adds *obscuring mist* and *true strike* to her spell list. At 4th level, she adds *darkness,* *summon swarm*, *fog cloud* and *see invisibility* to her spell list. At 7th level, she adds *clairaudience/clairvoyance* and *hold person* to her spell list. At 10th level, she adds *dimension door* and *modify memory* to her spell list.

**Sneak Attack (Ex)**: This functions as the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt is +1d6 at 1st level and increases by 1d6 every 3rd level thereafter. If the Red Mantis Assassin gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the damage bonuses stack.

**Sabre Fighting (Ex)**: At 1st level, the Red Mantis Assassin gains Weapon Specialization (sawtooth sabre) as a bonus feat and treats sawtooth sabres as a light weapon for all purposes, including being able to use a sawtooth sabre with Weapon Finesse. At 5th level, she gains Greater Weapon Focus (sawtooth sabre) as a bonus feat. At 7th level, she gains Greater Weapon Specialization (sawtooth sabre) as a bonus feat. She does not need to otherwise qualify for these feats by having the minimum number of fighter levels.

**Prayer Attack (Su)**: At 2nd level, a Red Mantis assassin learns her signature assassination style. To initiate a prayer attack, she holds her sawtooth sabre (or sabres) out, point down, and weaves the blade in the air. She must be within 30 feet of and visible to her victim. Beginning a prayer attack is a standard action that causes her victim to be fascinated unless he succeeds at a Will save (DC = 10 + the Red Mantis assassin’s class level + her Charisma modifier; if she’s wielding two sawtooth sabres, the DC increases by 2). The fascination effect is a mind-affecting effect. She can maintain the fascination effect by concentrating. If the Red Mantis Assassin is spotted during her prayer process; she is not immediately foiled. However, if the Red Mantis Assassin takes any damage while in the process of praying; she must make a fortitude save to remain focused (DC = 15, or ½ Damage dealt, whichever is higher) or begin her prayer attack anew. The victim can attempt a new save to escape this fascination each time a threat (other than the fascinating assassin) appears. At any point after 3 rounds she can deliver a single attack to the target that automatically critically threatens even if they are not fascinated, and if that attack deals sneak attack damage the target may be instantly slain. Activating or concentrating to maintain a prayer attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

If the victim of such a prayer attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 10 + ½ the Red Mantis Assassin's number of HD + the Red Mantis Assassin's CHA modifier) against the kill effect, they die.

**Red Shroud (Su)**: At 3rd level, a Red Mantis Assassin can create a veil of red mist a number of times per day equal to her Constitution modifier (minimum once per day) as a move action. The red shroud persists for 1 round per class level, granting the Red Mantis Assassin a +1 dodge bonus to AC and fast healing equal to her Constitution modifier (minimum 1). This mist cannot be dissipated by wind. If she is slain while this ability is active, she can choose whether to remain corporeal or to disintegrate into a cloud of red mist that leaves behind only her gear, depriving her enemies of access to her remains.

**True Death (Su)**: Starting at 4th level, anyone slain by a Red Mantis Assassin's prayer attack becomes more difficult to bring back from the dead. Spellcasters attempting to bring a creature back from the dead must make a caster level check with a DC equal to 20 + the Red Mantis Assassin's class level or the spell fails and the material component is wasted. Successfully casting remove curse before the resurrection negates this chance of failure. The DC to remove the curse is 15 + the Red Mantis Assassin's class level.

**Resurrection Sense (Su)**: At 5th level, a Red Mantis Assassin senses if a creature she has slain within the last year has been restored to life, as long as they are both on the same plane.

**Aspect of the Red Mantis (Su)**: At 6th level, a Red Mantis Assassin starts taking on aspects of Achaekek. The first of these aspects grants the Red Mantis Assassin's sawtooth sabres the grab ability, treats her reach with sawtooth sabres as one size category higher, gains a bite attack that deals 1d6 damage (1d4 for a small creature) that is treated as a primary natural attack, and grants her a climb speed equal to her walking speed.

At 8th level, the Red Mantis Assassin's sawtooth sabres deal an additional 1d6 bleed damage on all attacks that cannot be healed by magic and must be treated with a heal check (DC 15 + Crimson Assassin level), and she gains DR 5/Good.

At 10th level, whenever a grabbed creature takes damage from the Red Mantis Asssassin's bite attack they gain 1 negative level. The save DC to remove each of these negative levels is equal to 20 + the Red Mantis assassin’s Constitution modifier. Each negative level inflicted in this manner grants the Red Mantis assassin 5 temporary hit points that last for 1 hour. In addition, her damage reduction increases to DR 10/Good

**Swift Prayer (Ex)**: At 9th level, a number of times per day equal to ½ the Red Mantis Assassin’s level, the time to study a target for a prayer attack may be reduced to a single round; allowing the Red Mantis Assassin to pray at a target for a single round; and prayer attack them the subsequent round.