Shadow¶

Subtlety is your art, the tip of the blade your brush. You studied at a secret college, specializing in alchemy, illusion, or shadow-magics. Your training and knowledge places you among the elite assassins, spies, and commandos. But more powerful than any weapon or sorcery is your insight into your enemy's weakness.

As a shadow, you have abilities that deal a lot of damage, let you move swiftly across the battlefield and away from hazards, and allow you to fade from notice even in the middle of the most heated combat encounter. You also possess more skills than any other hero.

Basics¶

Starting Characteristics: You start with an Agility of 2 and a Presence of 2, and can choose one of the following arrays for your other characteristics scores:
2, −1, −1
1, 1, −1
1, 0, 0
Starting Stamina at 1st Level: 18
Stamina Gained at 2nd and Higher Levels: 8
Recoveries: 10
Skills: Hide and Sneak, plus choose any five skills from Criminal Underworld or the skills of the exploration, interpersonal, or intrigue skill groups.

Shadow Advancement¶

Level	Features	Abilities
1st	Shadow College, Insight, College Feature, College Triggered Action, Hesitation is Weakness, Shadow Abilities	Signature, 3, 5
2nd	College Feature, College Ability	Signature, 3, 5, 5 (College)
3rd	Assess and Aim, 7-Insight Ability	Signature, 3, 5, 5 (College), 7

1st-level Features¶

As a shadow, you gain the following features.

Shadow College¶

Shadow colleges are secret institutions that turn ordinary folk into something else. Finding a college is the first step in a rigorous initiation process that tests the mettle of an applicant. Even those who make the cut often wash out—or are kicked out—as the master shadows who teach stealth, magic, and assassination to their students are often less than gentle in their approach.

You are one of the few who has graduated from a shadow college, chosen from the following options:

College of Black Ash: The College of Black Ash founded the art of being a shadow. Its graduates use Black Ash sorcery to teleport around the battlefield in clouds of soot, and to manipulate and create darkness. Graduates of the college are unmatched in mobility. You gain the Magic skill.
College of Caustic Alchemy: The College of Caustic Alchemy teaches its students recipes for the acids, bombs, and poisons used in their grim work. Graduates of the college are exceptional assassins. You gain the Alchemy skill.
College of the Harlequin Mask: Graduates of the College of the Harlequin Mask learn illusion magic, which they use to infiltrate enemy strongholds and create orchestrated chaos in combat. You gain the Lie skill.

Your choice of shadow college determines many of the features you'll gain from this class.

Insight¶

By observing your enemy, you learn how to use their weaknesses against them. You have a Heroic Resource called insight.

Outside of combat and other dangerous situations tracked in turns and rounds, you have insight equal to your Victories. If you lose some or all of this insight outside of combat, it takes you 1 minute to regain it.

When a combat encounter begins, you keep any insight you had outside of combat. At the start of each of your turns during combat, you gain 2 insight. You gain 1 insight whenever you get a tier 3 result with an attack. When combat ends, you once again have insight equal to your Victories.

1st-level College Features¶

Your choice of college grants you one or two features, as shown on the 1st-Level Shadow College Features table.

1st-level Shadow College Features¶

College	Feature
Black Ash	Black Ash Teleport
Caustic Alchemy	Coat the Blade, Smoke Bomb
Harlequin Mask	I'm On Your Side

Black Ash Teleport¶

You gain the following ability.

Black Ash Teleport¶

In a swirl of black ash, you step from one place to another.


Keywords: Magic	Type: Action
Distance: Self	Target: Self

Effect: You teleport up to 5 squares. If you end this movement in concealment or cover, you can use the Hide maneuver even if you are observed.

Spend Insight: You teleport 1 additional square for each insight spent.

Coat The Blade¶

You gain the following ability.

Coat The Blade¶

Just a little poison goes a long way.

Effect: You coat one of your weapons with a harmful poison. The next creature you damage with an ability that uses that weapon takes extra poison damage equal to twice your Presence score or the target is weakened (EoT). You choose the effect when you apply the poison. The poison loses its potency after you damage the creature or at the end of the encounter.

Spend Insight: For each insight you spend, the damage dealt by the poison increases by a number equal to your Presence score. You can't spend more Insight than your shadow level on this ability.

I'm On Your Side¶

You gain the following ability.

I'm On Your Side¶

Taking on the illusory countenance of another creature gives you an advantage on subterfuge.

Effect: Choose a creature of your size, whose size is no more than 1 greater than yours, and who is within 10 squares of you. Your body is covered in an illusion that makes you appear to be that creature. This illusion covers your entire body, including clothing and armor, and changes your voice to sound like the creature. While this illusion lasts, you gain an edge on attacks against and Presence tests made to interact with the creature's allies, and you don't provoke opportunity attacks from those allies. These benefits don't apply against the creature whose appearance you've taken on. The illusion ends when you harm another creature, when you and another creature physically interact, when you use this ability again, or when you end the illusion (no action required).

Smoke Bomb¶

You always carry a supply of smoke bombs to make it easy for you to distract and get away from foes. You can use the Hide maneuver even if you are observed and don't start in cover or concealment. If you do, you can shift a number of squares equal to your Agility. If you end this movement in cover or concealment, you are hidden.

College Triggered Action¶

Your college grants you a triggered action, as shown on the Shadow Triggered Actions table.

Shadow Triggered Actions¶

College	Triggered Action
Black Ash	In All This Confusion
Caustic Alchemy	Defensive Roll
Harlequin Mask	Misdirection

Defensive Roll¶

When an enemy attacks, you roll with the impact to reduce the harm.

Trigger: Another creature damages you.

Effect: You shift up to 2 squares, halve the triggering damage, and don't suffer any effect associated with the damage. If you end this movement with concealment or cover, you can use the Hide maneuver even if you are observed.

Spend 1 Insight: If the triggering damage was from an attack, you also reduce the attack's damage by one tier.

In All This Confusion¶

You teleport away in a plume of black smoke to avoid danger.

Trigger: You take damage.

Effect: You teleport up to 4 squares, halve the triggering damage, and don't suffer any effect associated with the damage.

Spend Insight: You teleport 1 additional square for each insight spent.

Misdirection (1 Insight)¶

You sow a moment of confusion in combat, to your enemy's peril.

Trigger: An enemy attacks you.

Effect: Choose an enemy within distance of the attack. The attack targets that enemy instead.

Hesitation Is Weakness¶

You know how to seize the advantage in battle, working with your allies to find the perfect moment to strike. You have the following ability.

Hesitation Is Weakness (1 Insight)¶

Waiting for your enemies to act was never your style.

Trigger: Another hero ends their turn.

Effect: You take your turn immediately.

Shadow Abilities¶

You specialize in dealing damage, then getting out of harm's way before the inevitable counterattack. You know a number of unique martial abilities that define your presence on the battlefield.

Signature Ability¶

Select one signature ability from the options below. Signature abilities can be used at will.

Distracting Pain¶

Your precise strikes let your allies take advantage of a target's agony.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 3 damage
12–16: 8 damage; the next attack against the target gains an edge
17+: 12 damage; the target falls prone

I Work Better Alone¶

Facing an enemy alone lets you exploit their overconfidence.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 3 damage
12–16: 8 damage
17+: 12 damage

Effect: If the target has no allies adjacent to them, you gain an edge on the attack.

Shot And Step¶

Being fast on your feet makes your ranged attacks especially deadly.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 3 damage
12–16: 7 damage
17+: 10 damage

Effect: You can shift 1 square before or after the attack.

Sucker Slice¶

Keeping an enemy's focus on you lets your ally hit hard.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 3 damage
12–16: 8 damage
17+: 12 damage

Effect: If you are flanking the target when you make this attack, one ally who is flanking with you has a double edge on melee attacks against the target until the end of the ally's next turn, even if they are no longer flanking the target.

Heroic Abilities¶

A range of heroic abilities define your combat prowess, all of which make use of your insight.

3-insight Abilities¶

Choose one heroic ability from the following options, each of which costs 3 insight to use.

Blade Dance (3 Insight)¶

As you move across the battlefield, every foe within reach feels your wrath.

Effect: You move up to your speed, and that movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. You make one power roll that targets each enemy who becomes adjacent to you during the move.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 3 damage
12–16: 4 damage
17+: 7 damage

Quick Pursuit (3 Insight)¶

A foe forced away from you might assume they're out of danger, but they'll soon learn otherwise.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 6 damage; slide 2
12–16: 9 damage; slide 3
17+: 14 damage; slide 5

Effect: You can shift into squares the target leaves behind when you force move them.

Two Throats At Once (3 Insight)¶

Striking two foes at once is second nature to you.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 4 damage
12–16: 6 damage
17+: 9 damage

Wounding Strike (3 Insight)¶

You leave your foe bleeding out after a devastating attack.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 6 damage
12–16: 9 damage; bleeding until a creature uses a maneuver to staunch the wound
17+: 14 damage; bleeding until a creature uses an action to staunch the wound

Effect: While bleeding, the target takes 4 damage at the start of each of your turns.

5-insight Abilities¶

Choose one heroic ability from the following options, each of which costs 5 insight to use.

Assassinate (5 Insight)¶

You seize the perfect moment and strike with fatal precision!

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 2d6 + 8 damage
12–16: 2d6 + 12 damage
17+: 2d6 + 18 damage

Get In, Get Out (5 Insight)¶

Move unexpectedly, strike fast, and be gone!

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 7 damage
12–16: 11 damage
17+: 17 damage

Effect: You can move up to your speed, and that movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks. You can move before or after your attack, or can split your movement before and after your attack.

Impairing Shot (5 Insight)¶

Your attack leaves a foe in the perfect position for your allies to finish them.

Power Roll + Agility:

11 or lower: 7 damage; attacks against the target gain an edge (EoT)
12–16: 11 damage; attacks against the target gain an edge (EoT)
17+: 17 damage; attacks against the target have a double edge (EoT)

Quickness (5 Insight)¶

You put on a burst of magical speed to get the job done.

Effect: You make two signature attacks that each deal extra damage equal to twice your Agility.