Nightblade Class Features

The nightblade can best be summed up as a rogue with shadow magic. They are proficient in the use of simple weapons and a limited selection of martial weapons, and the spiked chain. They are also proficient in light armor and can cast their spells in such armor.
Nightblade spells range from level 1 to 6, including cantrips and use the same progression as that of the bard. The strength of the nightblade’s spells and powers depend on their force of personality.

At level one a path is selected, each path gives it’s own path power, a way to use the shadow surge, path techniques at levels 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20, as well as access to a few nightblade arts. The chosen path has a major effect on how the class plays.
The five paths are:

• The Path of the Bloodied Chain, which creates areas filled with shadowy chains that hinder and frighten all who are caught within.
• The Path of the Darkened Fortress, nightblades who follow this path learn to create weapons, items, an arcane bond and even a dark citadel in their own corner of the shadow plane.
• Path of the Eternal Night, these nightblades create a shoud of negative energy around themselves. They devour the life force of dying enemies to empower themselves.
• Path of the Ravaging Void, whose specialization lies in shadow evocations. Any evocation spell can be cast using half-real shadowstuff.
• Path of the Twilight Veil, those who follow this path use shadow magic to deceive their enemies with the unreal. Their illusions can hide the nighblade and her allies, or leave her opponents sick disoriented and lost.

Nightblades quickly gain evasion, and learn to store shadow energies into their own shadows with a standard action. This energy can be expended in a shadow surge to power a wide range of abilities. At level 2 all Nightblades can expend a surge to gain advantage on a Stealth roll, and also gain the surge ability of their path at the same level.
A second and third surge can be stored at level 8 and 17.

At third level and every three levels thereafter a nightblade arts can be chosen, amongst other things these give new ways to use shadow surges. Nightblade arts can also be exchanged for rogue talents and combats feats.
At the same time nightblades learn to see in the dark, gaining darkvision 30 and Blind-Fight from level 3. This is improved to darkvision 60 at level 9. At level 14 the ability to see perfectly in both natural and magical darkness.
At eighth level hide in plain sight is gained.

Experienced Nightblades can shadow shift, this allows teleportation like dimension door up to 30 feet per level per day. This counts as the ability to use dimension door for feats like Dimensional Agility.

The penultimate class feature is shadowy realism, which ads 20% reality to shadow spells, though this sadly does not stack with other such abilities.
Finally the capstone is gained from the nightblade’s path.

The Diarchs of the sun and the moon prefer honesty and openness in their dealings. But for those times where subterfuge and even a blade in the dark is truly needed the shadowbolts are called upon. These operatives are personally blessed by the diarch of to moon with great powers over shadows and darkness.

Kress Frestings believes that if she kills and devours enough of the living she can return to life herself. For this purpose she as been stalking and devouring the life of people in the city. After decades of of murders she is becoming impatient, and now she seeks to create a cult dedicated to a diety of disease and release a plague to create thousands of dead to feast upon.

Deepshadow Gates, or their natural occuring counterparts Deepshadow Caves allow practitioners of shadow magic to travel rapidly between them. A rare ritual allows one to temporarily destroy these places of power to gain the ability to shadow shift yourself.