Wild Shadow (Ranger; Half-elf)

The wild shadow is an archetype of the ranger class, available to half-elven rangers.

*The isolation that some half-elves feel leads them to live a life of isolation amid the wild places of the world. Such rangers stalk the wild like shadows, creating close bonds with the wild itself instead of seeking the solace and aid of companions. While ill at ease within cities and other urban areas, they are adept at using the terrain to tactical advantage; they dart through brambles and rough terrain with uncommon grace and use the land itself to lock down enemies.*

### Class Features

A wild shadow has the following class features:

#### Wild at Heart (Ex)

At 1st level, a wild shadow adds only 1/2 his class level when making wild empathy checks while in urban areas, and adds only 1/4 his class level to follow or identify tracks in such areas. In non-urban settings, he is considered two levels higher when determining the bonuses for such checks.

This ability alters the track and wild empathy class features.

#### Favored Terrain (Ex)

At 3rd level, when a wild shadow chooses a favored terrain, he cannot choose urban as the terrain type. Furthermore, at 8th level and every five levels thereafter, when he chooses a new favorite terrain type, he cannot choose the urban terrain type.

This ability alters the favored terrain class feature.

#### Woodland Stride (Ex)

This ability functions as the 7th-level ranger class feature of the same name, but the wild shadow gains it at 4th level instead.

This ability replaces the hunter’s bond class feature.

#### Unfettered Step (Ex)

At 7th level, a wild shadow’s woodland stride class feature functions in any difficult terrain within any of his favored terrains, even in areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion.

This ability replaces the ranger’s woodland stride class feature gained at 7th level.

#### Harrying Attack (Ex)

At 11th level, a wild shadow can use his knowledge of terrain to make shrewd attacks in combat. Such attacks can make foes fumble or cause them to become entangled within areas of the wild shadow’s favored terrain. As a standard action, the wild shadow denotes one target within line of sight and within one of his favored terrains as his harried prey. Once the foe is so designated, every time the wild shadow hits this harried prey with a melee or ranged weapon attack (either manufactured or natural), that creature is entangled for 1 round. A wild shadow can have no more than one harried prey at a time and that creature must correspond to one of his favored enemy types. He can dismiss this effect at any time as a free action, be he cannot select a new harried prey for 24 hours. If the wild shadow sees proof that his harried prey is dead, he can select a new harried prey after waiting 1 hour.

This ability replaces the quarry class feature.

#### Wild Stalker (Ex)

At 14th level, a wild shadow learns to better use natural surroundings to obscure his position in combat. Whenever a wild shadow is within one of his favored terrains and a feature of that terrain grants him cover, the bonuses to AC and Reflex saves for that cover improve by 1. Additionally, while he is within one of his favored terrains, if he gains concealment or total concealment, the miss chance of either type of concealment improves by 10%. Furthermore, at 16th level and 19th level, the bonuses granted by cover increase by 1 and the miss chance increases by another 10% (maximum +3 and +30% respectively at 20th level).

This ability replaces the camouflage class feature.

#### Master of Terrain (Ex)

At 19th level, a wild shadow can use his harrying attack against creatures other than his favored enemy or he can spend a standard action to designate up to two of his favored enemies as his harried prey instead.

This ability replaces the improved quarry class feature.