There exists a special class of criminal, masters of elusive and fantastic heists who commit thefts impossible for lesser men. Not content with mere burglary, phantom thieves take more than mere objects from their targets.
Capturing hearts, minds, and the spotlight, these charismatic scoundrels can abscond with valuables into the dark of the night, revealing themselves only to bid their marks goodnight.
Role: Phantom thieves excel at confounding their enemies and liberating them of their possessions. In addition they can steal more abstract things like initiative order or effects from magic items.
Alignment: any
Parent Classes: Rogue and Bard.
Hit Dice: d8
Starting Wealth: 3d6 × 10 gp (average 105 gp.). In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.
Class Skills: The phantom thief’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Knowledge (Arcana, Local), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).
Skill Ranks Per Level: 6 + Int modifier
Class Features[]
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Spells Per Day | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | 5TH | 6TH | ||||||
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Panache, spells, cantrips, fabulous defence, thief’s acumen | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Trick | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Marvelous strike +1d6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Trick | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Marvelous strike +2d6, uncanny dodge | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Trick, improved thief’s acumen | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Marvelous strike +3d6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +6 | +6 | Trick, improved uncanny dodge | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Marvelous strike +4d6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Advanced trick | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Marvelous strike +5d6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +8 | +8 | Trick | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +8 | +8 | Marvelous strike +6d6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +9 | +9 | Trick | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +9 | +9 | Marvelous strike +7d6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +10 | +10 | Trick | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +10 | +10 | Marvelous strike +8d6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +11 | +11 | Trick | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +11 | +11 | Marvelous strike +9d6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +12 | +12 | Fantastic trick | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
The following are the class features of the phantom thief.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency[]
The phantom thief is proficient with all simple weapons, plus the hand crossbow, rapier, shortbow, and short sword. They are proficient in light armor, but not shields. A phantom thief can cast phantom thief spells while wearing light armor and using a shield without incurring the normal arcane spell failure chance. Like any other arcane spellcaster, a phantom thief wearing medium or heavy armor incurs a chance of arcane spell failure if the spell in question has a somatic component.
Spells[]
A phantom thief casts arcane spells drawn from the phantom thief spell list. He can cast any spell he knows without preparing it ahead of time. To learn or cast a spell, a phantom thief must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class (DC) for a saving throw against a phantom thief’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the phantom thief’s Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a phantom thief can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. His base daily spell allotment is given on Table 15-2: Phantom Thief Spells Per Day. In addition, he receives bonus spells per day if he has a high Charisma score.
The phantom thief’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A phantom thief begins play knowing four 0-level spells and two 1st-level spells of the phantom thief’s choice. At each new phantom thief level, he gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: 15-3 Phantom Thief Spells Known. Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a phantom thief knows is not affected by his Charisma score.
Upon reaching 5th level, and at every third phantom thief level after that (8th, 11th, and so on), a phantom thief can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the phantom thief "loses" the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least one level lower than the highest-level phantom thief spell the phantom thief can cast. A phantom thief may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.
A phantom thief need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his allotment of spells per day for the spell’s level.
| Level | 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 5th | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — |
| 6th | 6 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — |
| 7th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 8th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 9th | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — |
| 10th | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| 11th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | — | — |
| 13th | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — |
| 14th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | — |
| 15th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | — |
| 16th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 17th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 18th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 19th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 20th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Panache (Ex)[]
At 1st level, a phantom thief gains a pool of panache; a fluctuating measure of his ability to pull off daring capers and amazing feats. At the start of each day, a phantom thief gains a number of panache points equal to his Charisma modifier (minimum 1). His panache goes up or down throughout the day, but usually cannot go higher than his Charisma modifier (minimum 1), though feats and magic items can affect this maximum. A phantom thief spends panache to accomplish tricks (see below), and regains panache in the following ways.
- Critical Hit Against A Fascinated Or Flat-Footed Foe: Each time the phantom thief confirms a critical hit against a creature that is fascinated when the phantom thief makes an attack roll or a flat footed creature, he regains 1 panache point. Confirming a critical hit on a creature that has fewer Hit Dice than half the phantom thief’s character level doesn’t restore panache.
- Stealing From A Creature: When the phantom thief performs a steal combat maneuver or a Sleight of Hand check to lift an object from a creature that has at least half the phantom thief’s character level in Hit Dice, he regains one point of panache. He may only regain panche once from a given creature in a 24 hour period in this manner.
- The phantom thief may also gain panache in a method akin to the gunslingers daring act rule.
Fabulous Defence (Ex)[]
When wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a phantom thief adds 1 point of Charisma bonus (if any) per phantom thief level as a dodge bonus to his Armor Class while he has a point of panache. If a phantom thief is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.
Thief’s Acumen (Ex)[]
At 1st level the phantom thief gains Improved Steal as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. He may use his phantom thief level in place of his base attack bonus when calculating his Combat Maneuver Bonus and Combat Maneuver Defense against the Steal combat maneuver. Base attack bonuses granted from other classes are unaffected and are added normally. In addition Sleight of Hand checks made to take an item from his person must succeed against his CMD if it is greater than 20.
Marvelous Strike (Ex)[]
At 3rd level, while he has at least 1 panache point, a phantom thief gains the ability to strike precisely with a light or one-handed weapon, adding his phantom thief level to the damage dealt. To use this ability, a phantom thief cannot attack with a weapon in his other hand or use a shield. He can even use this ability with light or one-handed ranged weapons, so long as the target is within 30 feet of him. Any creature that is immune to sneak attacks is immune to the additional damage granted by marvelous strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from the additional damage of a marvelous strike. This additional damage is precision damage, and isn’t multiplied on a critical hit.
As a swift action, a phantom thief can spend 1 panache point when attacking a target denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, flanked by the phantom thief, or who was fascinated until the phantom thief’s attack, in order to change his marvelous strike’s damage bonus on the next attack to 1d6 points of damage - at 5th level and every two levels thereafter this bonus damage increases by 1d6. This benefit must be used before the end of his turn, or it is lost.
This abilities’ cost cannot be reduced by any ability or effect that reduces the amount of panache points a deed costs (such as the Signature Deed feat). When dealing d6s of damage this ability counts as sneak attack for the purpose of feats, class features, items, and other effects that affect that ability. A phantom thief cannot use his marvelous strike against a creature with concealment.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex)[]
At 4th level, a phantom thief gains the ability to react to danger before his senses would normally allow his to do so. He cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does he lose his Dex bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. He still loses his Dexterity bonus to armor class if immobilized. A phantom thief with this ability can still lose his Dexterity bonus to armor class if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against him.
If a phantom thief already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
Improved Thief’s Acumen (Ex)[]
At 6th level the phantom thief gains Greater Steal as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. In addition the phantom thief may attempt to steal Items that are closely worn (such as armor, backpacks, boots, clothing, or rings). Creatures receive a +8 bonus to their CMD to resist the theft of items that are closely worn but do not cover their entire body (such as rings or gloves), and a +15 bonus against that are closely worn and cover their entire body (such as armor and clothing).
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex)[]
After 8th level, a phantom thief can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the phantom thief by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has phantom thief levels.
If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.
Tricks[]
Starting at 2nd level, a phantom thief gains a single trick. He gains an additional trick for every 2 levels of phantom thief attained after 2nd level. A phantom thief cannot select an individual trick more than once unless otherwise noted in the trick’s entry.
(Phantom Thief Tricks can be found here)
Advanced Tricks[]
At 10th level, and every two levels thereafter, a phantom thief can choose from those tricks listed as advanced tricks in place of a normal trick.
Fantastic Trick[]
At 20th level the phantom thief gains one of the following abilities:
- Seen And Unseen (Sp): At 20th level, the phantom thief may, as a standard action, expend a point of panache and number of spell slots with a total level of 5 or greater to cast greater invisibility on himself. While invisible in this way, he cannot be detected by any magical or supernatural means, and not even invisibility purge, see invisibility, or true seeing can reveal him. He also gains the benefits of a true seeing spell while under this effect.
- Disappearing Act (Sp): At 20th level, the phantom thief may, as a standard action, while being unobserved expend a point of panache and number of spell slots with a total level of 9 or greater to cast interplanetary teleport. The phantom thief may even use this ability to teleport into or out of spaces that would normally prohibit teleportation (such as an antimagic field or dimension lock spell). The phantom thief must teleport into an area where he would not be observed.
- Steal Soul (Su): At 20th level, the phantom thief may, as a standard action, spend a point of panache and make a steal combat maneuver (DC 10+ 1/2 target’s HD + creatures highest mental ability score) If successful then the phantom thief may control that creature, using his own actions to do so. Each time the target is forced to act against its nature it may make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 phantom thief’s level + his Charisma modifier) to break free of this effect.