Death Dealer Talent Tree

The Hero is a master at destroying his enemies, whether with his hands or his weapon of choice.

***Sneak Attack (Ex):*** If a Hero can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The Hero's attack deals extra damage anytime her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Hero flanks her target. Should the Hero score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (like a sap, whip, or an unarmed strike), a Hero can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.

The Hero must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A Hero cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.

This Sneak attack deals 1d6 damage to a creature when you use it.

***Improved Sneak Attack (Ex):*** When you use Sneak attack, you deal an additional 3d6 damage instead of 1d6. To select this talent you must first possess the Sneak attack talent, as well as one Talent from another Talent Tree.

***Advanced Sneak Attack (Ex):*** When you use Sneak Attack, you deal an additional 6d6 instead of 3d6. To select this talent you must first possess the Improved Sneak attack talent, as well as two Talents from another Talent Tree.

***Paragon Sneak Attack (Ex):*** When you sneak attack you deal an additional 10d6 instead of 6d6. To select this talent you must first possess the Advanced Sneak attack talent, as well as three Talents from another Talent Tree.

***Poison Use (Ex):*** This Talent allows you to apply poison to a weapon without the possibility of poisoning yourself.

***Disease Use (Ex):*** A Hero with this talent can apply filth from garbage, a sewer, a city street, a polluted area, or long-unwashed clothing or fur to a weapon as a standard action. Doing so causes the weapon to inflict filth fever on its next strike. The Hero does not risk exposure to this disease unless it is damaged by the weapon. After a successful attack with the weapon, the filth is dispersed and must be reapplied.

***Assault Leader (Ex):*** Once per day, when the Hero misses with an attack on a flanked opponent, it can designate a single ally who is also flanking the target that her attack missed. That ally can make a single melee attack against the opponent as an immediate action. To select this Talent you must select the Sneak attack talent.

***Befuddling Strike (Ex):*** When the Hero deals sneak attack damage against an opponent, that opponent takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls against the Hero for 1d4 rounds. To select this talent you must possess the Sneak Attack Talent.

***Master Sniper (Ex):*** As a full-round action, a Hero with this talent may double the sniping penalty to its Stealth check to make a full attack and hide afterward, instead of only making a single attack. All its attacks gain the benefits of being hidden, not just the first. To Select this talent you must possess the Stealth Master, Improved Stealth Master, and Advanced Stealth Master talents as well as two other Fast Hero Talents.

***Fleet in Shadows (Ex)*:** The hero can move double its normal speed (up to an additional 30 feet) for 1 round, but only while moving through areas of dim or darker light. Additionally, the hero can move at its normal speed and use the bonus speed from this trick in areas of total darkness, even if it cannot see. This ability can be used once per day for every point in the character’s dexterity modifier and doesn’t take an action to activate.

#### Debilitating Injury (Ex): Whenever the hero deals sneak attack damage to a foe, it can also debilitate the target of its attack, causing the enemy to take a penalty for 1 round (this is in addition to any penalty caused by a talent or other special ability). The hero can choose to apply any one of the following penalties when the damage is dealt.

*Bewildered*: The target becomes bewildered, taking a –2 penalty to AC. The target takes an additional –2 penalty to AC against all attacks made by you. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty to AC against attacks made by you increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).

*Disoriented*: The target takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls. In addition, the target takes an additional –2 penalty on all attack rolls it makes against you. At 10th level and 16th level, the penalty on attack rolls made against you increases by –2 (to a total maximum of –8).

*Hampered*: All of the target’s speeds are reduced by half (to a minimum of 5 feet). In addition, the target cannot take a 5-foot step.

These penalties do not stack with themselves, but additional attacks that deal sneak attack damage extend the duration by 1 round. A creature cannot suffer from more than one penalty from this ability at a time. If a new penalty is applied, the old penalty immediately ends. Any form of healing applied to a target suffering from one of these penalties also removes the penalty.

The Hero must possess sneak attack to select this talent.

#### Master Strike (Ex): The hero becomes incredibly deadly when dealing sneak attack damage. Each time the hero deals sneak attack damage, it can choose one of the following three effects: the target can be put to sleep for 1d4 hours, paralyzed for 2d6 rounds, or slain. Regardless of the effect chosen, the target can attempt a Fortitude save to negate the additional effect. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 the character’s level + the character’s Dexterity modifier. Once a creature has been the target of a master strike, regardless of whether or not the save is successful, that creature is immune to that character’s master strike for 24 hours. Creatures that are immune to sneak attack damage are also immune to this ability.

The character must possess Paragon Sneak attack and Debilitating injury to select this talent.

**Bleeding Attack (Ex):** A hero with this ability can cause living opponents to bleed by hitting them with a sneak attack. This attack causes the target to take 1 additional point of damage each round for each die of the hero’s sneak attack (e.g., 4d6 equals 4 points of bleed). Bleeding creatures take that amount of damage every round at the start of each of their turns. The bleeding can be stopped by a successful DC 15 Heal check or the application of any effect that heals hit point damage. Bleed damage from this ability does not stack with itself. Bleed damage bypasses any damage reduction the creature might possess.

The hero must possess sneak attack to select this ability.

**Emboldening Strike (Ex):** When a hero with this talent hits a creature with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage, it gains a +1 circumstance bonus on saving throws for every 2 sneak attack dice rolled (minimum +1) for 1 round.

The hero must possess sneak attack to select this ability.

**Distracting Attack (Ex):** A Hero with this talent can make sneak attacks with subtle flourishes that disorient and distract its enemy. When it hits a creature with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage, it can forgo the additional damage to cause the creature to become flat-footed against one target of its choosing until the beginning of its next turn. The hero cannot designate itself as the creature gaining the benefit of this talent. Creatures with uncanny dodge are immune to distracting attack.

The hero must possess sneak attack to select this ability.

***Extinguishing Strike (Ex):*** When a hero with this talent hits a creature with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage, any non-magical light sources worn or carried by the creature (such as lit torches, lanterns, or flashlights) are automatically extinguished.

**Focusing Attack (Ex):** When a Hero selects this talent, it must choose the confused, rattled, or sickened condition. When the hero has the selected condition and hits a creature with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage, the hero no longer has that condition. A hero can take this talent up to three times. Each time, it must select a different condition that it is able to remove from itself with a melee attack that deals sneak attack damage. If the hero possesses multiple effects from this talent it can remove multiples at once.

The hero must possess sneak attack to select this ability.

**Obscuring Blow (Ex):** Once per day, the hero can forgo its potential to deal sneak attack damage to attempt to cloud an opponent’s vision. It must declare the use of obscuring blow before it makes the attack. If the attack hits, it does normal damage but, instead of dealing sneak attack damage (and any effect that triggers when the rogue deals sneak attack damage), the target treats all other creatures as if they had concealment, suffering a 20% miss chance on all attack rolls for a number of rounds equal to half the hero’s level.

A successful Fortitude saving throw reduces this effect to 1 round. The DC of this saving throw is equal to 10 + 1/2 the hero’s level + the hero’s Intelligence modifier.

The hero must possess sneak attack to select this ability.

***Deadly Showdown (Ex):*** You gain a +3 bonus to showdown checks. When making a showdown check to deal additional damage, it always deals +1 damage die of the same type. The hero must possess the Showdown talent and put ranks in the showdown secret skill to select this.