Hexblade, Variant (3.5e Class)

Hexblade
"It was a brave gamble, drawing steel on me. But I've already stacked the deck."

Hexblades are

Making a Hexblade
Hexblades

Abilities: Hexblades are powerful melee combatants

Races: Humans

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 5d4&times;10 GP (125 GP).

Starting Age: As sorcerer.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the hexblade.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency (Ex): A hexblade is proficient with all simple weapons, martial weapons, light armor, and light shields.

Maneuvers (Ex): A hexblade begins his career with three maneuvers chosen from the Dread Crown, Hollow Nymph, Shadow Hand, and Stone Dragon disciplines. Once he knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by hexblades is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and do not provoke attacks of opportunity when initiated.

A hexblade learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on Table 1-1: The Hexblade. A hexblade counts his full class levels towards his initiator level, rather then half as normal.

Upon reaching 6th level, and at every two hexblade levels after that (8th, 10th, 12th and so on), a hexblade can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he wishes, as long as it is not greater than his highest maneuver level known. For example, upon reaching 11th level, a hexblade could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as he meets the prerequisite of the new maneuver. Only a single maneuver can be swapped at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied (Ex): A hexblade can ready all of the maneuvers he knows at 1st level, but as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he must choose which maneuvers to ready. A hexblade readies maneuvers by practicing sleight of hand, balance, and stealth while unobserved; doing so takes 1 hour of uninterrupted concentration. Rest is not required to ready maneuvers; any time a hexblade is unobserved and able to practice, he can change his readied maneuvers.

A hexblade begins an encounter with all her readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times she might have already used them since she chose them. When she initiates a maneuver, she expends it for the current encounter, so each of her readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless she recovers them, as described below).

Whenever an opponent fails an attack roll, skill check, or casts a spell which is successfully saved against by all targets, the hexblade may recover a readied maneuver as an immediate action. Whenever an opponent under his Curse dies, he may recover all his readied maneuvers as an immediate action. He may also recover one maneuver he knows with a DC 15 Sleight of Hand check; this check is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity and is interrupted by attacks of opportunity, and he is flatfooted during it.

Stances Known (Ex): A hexblade begins play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to him. At the levels indicated on Table 1-1: The Hexblade, he can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and the hexblade does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he is currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.

Unlike with maneuvers, a hexblade cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

 (Su): At first level, a hexblade has mastered the dark signature of the class, her Curse. Cursing an opponent is a move action that does provoke attacks of opportunity; opponents are allowed a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Charisma bonus) to resist. On a failed save, they are subject to a -2 luck penalty to attack rolls, AC, saves, and skill checks for the rest of the encounter. A hexblade may Curse an opponent once per encounter; they may use their Curse once more per encounter at levels 5, 10, and 15. If an opponent successfully saves against a Curse, they are immune to the hexblade's Curse for 24 hours, but the Curse is not used up.

At 8th level, a hexblade's Curse acquires an extra bite to it. The luck penalty from a successful curse increases to -4, and they take a -10 luck penalty to their speed (all movement modes).

At 16th level, a hexblade's Curse is truly deserving of the sobriquet "Dire". The luck penalty from a successful curse increases to -6, and they apply twice the hexblade's Charisma bonus as a luck penalty to any DR, energy resistance, and spell resistance they possess.

 (Su): Starting at 2nd level, the hexblade adds her Charisma bonus (mininum 1) to saves against spells and spell-like abilities.

 (Su): At 3rd level, a hexblade must choose his Voodoo Style from the available options listed below.


 * Brutal Juju: The hexblade may use his Strength instead of his Charisma to determine the save DCs of invocations and hexblade class features against opponents currently afflicted by his Curse. In addition, whenever he strikes an opponent by surprise or confirms a critical hit, he may use his Curse against that opponent as a swift action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and he may add his Strength bonus to the save DC.


 * Martial Mojo: The hexblade may substitute her Charisma for other ability scores when determining the save DC of maneuvers initiated against opponents afflicted by her Curse. In addition, she adds one-half her Charisma modifier (rounded down) to her hitpoints gained at each level (retroactive).


 * Wicked Ways: The hexblade's Curse is a subtle poison in the souls of his victims. Targets of the hexblade's Curse are not aware they have been cursed unless they make their save; even if they do, they must succeed on an immediate Sense Motive check versus the hexblade's Sleight of Hand check or remain unaware of the curse attempt. In addition, increase the DC of your Curse by 2.

 (Su): At 3rd level, the hexblade first unlocks the secrets of the Weird Strike, an awful tangle of black magic twisted into an attack to ruinous effect. Whenever a hexblade strikes an opponent currently under the hexblade's curse, he deals the indicated bonus vile damage.

 (Ex): Upon reaching 4th level, three times per encounter, the hexblade may add his Charisma modifier to any skill check made using a hexblade class skill. As a side effect of his developing power, the hexblade can no longer benefit from Luck feats, and neither luck bonuses nor luck penalties can be applied to his actions.

 (Sp): Each time the hexblade gains this ability, he learns a single warlock invocation of the indicated rank.

 (Su): At 6th level, once per encounter, a hexblade can radiate a debiliating aura of misfortune and woe. As a swift action, she may project the Aura of Ill Omen (lasting a number of rounds equal to her Charisma bonus, minimum 1), granting her a 20% miss chance against melee and ranged attacks. In addition, hostile spells of which she is the only target suffer 10% arcane failure chance.

 (Su): At 7th level, if an opponent misses an attack or fails a spell against the hexblade due to miss chance or arcane spell failure chance, and the hexblade's Aura of Ill Omen class feature is active, you may end the aura as an immediate action in exchange for a +5 profane bonus to attack rolls and damage against that opponent until the end of the encounter.

 (Ex): At 9th level, the hexblade's attacks apply Weird Strike damage even if they miss.

 (Su): At 12th level, a hexblade's Aura of Ill Omen becomes the Aura of Calamity, granting her a 50% miss chance against melee and ranged attacks, and improving her inflicted arcane failure chance to 25%.

 (Su): Upon reaching 13th level, the hexblade discovers that he can consume the fates of those he destroys, sacrificing their stolen possibilities to absorb suffering meant to complicate his own future. Whenever an opponent dies while afflicted by his Curse, the hexblade may remove one negative condition from himself.

 (Su): At 14th level, the hexblade gains spell resistance equal to 15 + her Charisma bonus.

 (Su): At 17th level, a hexblade no longer has a limit on his Curse ability; he may use it as often as he pleases in a given encounter. Additionally, once per encounter, he may take a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunities to attempt to Curse a number of enemies equal to his Charisma modifier.

 (Su): At 18th level, a hexblade's Aura of Calamity becomes the Aura of Doom, allowing her to wreak unimagined havoc on the battlefield. Any attack that misses her or spell that fails against her has a chance, through twisted ties of fate and deep voodoo, to strike the attacker or one of the hexblade's other opponents. Roll randomly to determine who among her enemies is the victim; the attack or spell is repeated against the victim under the exact conditions it was performed against the hexblade.

 (Su): At 19th level, once per day, a hexblade can reach deep into the realm of fate and tear open an awful wound. As a full-round action, she can force a single opponent to make a Will save or be utterly destroyed, as if that opponent had come into contact with a sphere of annihilation. Even if they save, they are immediately afflicted as if by a hexblade's Dire Curse, allowing no save and not counting against per-encounter uses of Hexblade's Curse.