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Deep Watcher

Perhaps the least well known of the factions which take Lathidus as their guardian and spiritual advisor are those belonging to the group known as the Deep Watchers. These religous zealots are the most death defying of any of the warrior orders of Lathidus' followings. The Deep Watchers often are not seen upon the surface of the world, for they claim it to be their duty to bring the sunlight into the world which does not know the warmth of the sun, the Underhalls and cavernous Underworld. Originally this faction was persecuted by both the Arm of Justice and the Church of the Light, but as reports of amazing feats of faith and courage continued to gain the attentions of the Church's leadership and as the order of Deep Watchers continued to grow both the Church and the Arm recognized this faction and it gained widespread acceptance. Now the Deep Watchers, though unknown to much of the general populace, is held in high regard by the rest of the worshiping body of Lathidus' followers.
    For the most part, the Deep Watchers is a group of elite warrior-priests and paladins, highly trained and able to survive in the most hostile and dangerous environs which lay beneath the surface. They journey there to combat priests of Brakah, god of darkness and undead servitude; to expose their secretive ways to the honest and upright light of the world. They go there to reach the Silothreni, where no other priesthood will travel, to teach them of goodness and bring safe light to their world of darkness. They fight against the Drakher Elves in attempt to bring them to good and eradicate the malignant evil that fills their society. They also travel into the darkness to combat those creatures which hide from the light; wraiths, wights, vampires, liches, ghosts, ghouls, shades and all manner of undead and evil are sought out in their own lairs to be hunted and destroyed in the name of good and the light.
    Members of the Deep Watchers rarely get to see each other. Unless there is a gathering on a holy day or a call of the sects high counsel, most pass their time journeying by themselves or with adventurers into the Underhalls. Occasionally they will travel in pairs; these couples often being close friends or husband and wife. Paladins of the Deep Watchers often have a companion priest who travels with them.
    Deep Watchers take it upon themselves to learn the ways, customs, and environs of the Underhalls. They are known for being some of the most dedicated and yet the most joyful followers of Lathidus. They take pride in their work and revel in the light and good they feel is brought to the world by their actions. It is Deep Watchers duty to explore and intervene in the underground world of darkness. Deep Watchers that shrug this duty will quickly find themselves bereft of divine power and outcast from their peers. The path of the Deep Watcher can be a lonely one. Finding a group of adventurers or fellow priest that is willing to plumb the depths of the underworld can be a rare comfort. Surviving in the Underhalls, much less living there comfortably can be a daunting task for which a Deep Watcher is aptly prepared. Many lesser creatures of darkness will simply flee from a Deep Watcher's presence.
    Deep Watchers vigilantly watch over the tide of evil and darkness in the world, and look to beneath the ground where the sun cannot reach as both a haven and the source from which the darkness advances. They perceive themselves to be at the very front of the battle against the evils which well up from the earth to plague those upon the surface, and against the evils which already have corrupted the races which live beneath the earth. All races which dwell below have felt the tint of evil, so say the Deep Watchers. The Urdunan Dwarves have long made war against their evil cousins the Urdain, while the Drakher bend their knees to gods of unspeakable evil and make war upon all races of the Underhalls. The Silothreni, a race of intellectuals who long ago split from their race to avoid persecution and blood shed have become tainted as well by the evil darkness lurking in the earth so that none of the Silothreni trust each other and the skills of murder and assassination are held only second to self gain. Certainly evil is also present in the world above, but as Deep Watchers they believe that its origins lay somewhere beneath the crust of the world, waiting to destroy the races who live in the sun much the same as it has corrupted those which live in its grasp of darkness.
    Hit Die: 1d10

Requirements

Alignment: Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral
Base Attack: +7
Climb: 5 ranks
Religion: 8 ranks
Spellcasting: Able to cast 1st level divine spells
Special: Deep Watcher candidates must also be worshipers of Lathidus. In addition, they must have had peaceful contact with an underground dwelling race.

Class Skills

The Deep Watchers class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge Religion (Int), Knowledge Dungeoneering (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis)

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the Deep Watcher prestige class. Paladins may freely enter the Deep Watcher prestige class and later continue their paladin advancement.
    Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Deep Watchers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Slight of Hand, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment used.
    Spells per Day: A Deep Watcher continues to gain access to more powerful divine magic while he advances in this prestige class. Thus, when the Deep Watcher advances a level and gains a new spellcaster level, the character gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in the divine spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, more frequent remove disease, and so on). For example, if Reldar, a 11th level cleric, gains two levels as a Deep Watcher, he gains new spells as if he had risen to 12th level as a cleric, but uses the other Deep Watcher aspects of level progression such as base attack bonus, save bonus, and hit dice. If he next gains a level as a cleric, making him a 12th level cleric/2nd level Deep Watcher, he gains spells as if he had risen to 13th level as a cleric.
    If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before he became a Deep Watcher, the player must decide which class to assign each bonus spell casting level for the purpose of determining divine spells per day.
    Divine Sight (Ex): All Deep Watchers gain Dark Vision as an extraordinary ability. Deep Watcher candidates who already possess dark vision gain an additional 20 feet of range to their dark vision sight. At 2nd level the deep watcher becomes immune to all forms of magical darkness.
    Gift of Tongues (Ex): To facilitate the Deep Watchers efforts of communicating and enlightening subterranean races, they gain the ability to rapidly learn to speak the languages of those whom they encounter in the underworld. To learn a language the Deep Watcher must have heard it spoken at least once and must spend an hour in silent meditation. Upon completion of his meditations the Deep Watcher is able to understand any who speak the language. The Deep Watcher is unable to use this ability to speak to creatures of 3 intelligence or less. All languages learned through the gift of tongues are treated as bonus languages. This ability improves at 3rd, 5th, and 7th levels, allowing the paladin to learn one additional language per improvement.
    Elemental Companion: At first level, the deep watcher may choose to summon or exchange an existing mount for an elemental companion. The new elemental companion has the

Watcher    Level Companion   Size Bonus    HD Bonus    Armor Int    Special* 1-3 Small +1 +0 6 Improved evasion, share spells, empathetic link, share saving throws, 6 bonus skill points 4-6 Medium +3 +1 6 Bonus feat, 4 bonus skill points 7-9 Medium +5 +3 6 Command creatures of its kind, 4 bonus skill points 10 Large +7 +5 8 Bonus feat, Spell resistance, 8 bonus skill points

*Special abilities are detailed in the PHB, pg 43. Bonus feats and skill points are respective of the creatures hit dice and type for an elemental of the noted size, as such they are not truly "bonuses" but feats and skills which an elemental of the given size and hit dice would naturally have.     Elementals are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning. Elementals have no clear front or back and are therefore not subject to critical hits or flanking. Unless noted otherwise, they have darkvision with a range of 60 feet.     A slain elemental cannot be raised or resurrected, although a wish or miracle spell can restore it to life.

base statistics of a small earth elemental. This companion is an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal assistant to the Deep Watcher in their crusade against evil in the underworld. Should the elemental companion die, he may call for another one after a year and a day. The new companion has all the accumulated abilities due a companion of the Deep Watchers level. Elemental companions have the base monster statistics of an elemental of the appropriate size. Add to these starting statistics all bonus hit-dice, armor class benefits, and special abilities noted in the above table. Like a mount, elementals can be equipped with armor and magical items. Unlike a mount, an elemental companion has the facility and capability to wield weapons which the Deep Watcher grants it use of. Elemental companions are proficient in all simple weapons and in medium weight armors.
    Divine Presage (Su): At 2nd level the Deep Watcher gains the supernatural ability to sense the possibilities of the future given a specific action. This ability functions as the spell Augury, and can be used once a day. At sixth level this ability improves and the Deep Watcher may use it twice per day.
    Earth Step (Su): At 3rd level the Deep Watcher gains the ability to walk through non-magical stone and earth. While walking through the earth the Deep Watcher's vision is limited to 30 feet, however, his movement rate remains unaffected. During one day he may stay submerged within the earth for a number of rounds equal to twice his class level. He may choose to split his available time among different occasions as long as their total time does not exceed his allowance.
    Divine Aura (Ex): At 4th level the Deep Watcher gains a divine aura, his skin begins to take on an earthen hue, granting him damage resistance 5/+1. This ability improves to 10/+1 at 7th level. At 10th level his divine aura increases to 20/+1 and he can cause golden flames to burn from his flesh at will. The flames are a supernatural ability which can be invoked as a free action. They illuminate a radius of 20 feet in all directions from him as the spell Light.
    By the Sword (Su): At 5th level the Deep Watcher can opt to withhold a killing blow when in combat and instead offer mercy to his opponent. His opponent must then make a Will save (DC: 10 + ½ character level + deep watchers charisma bonus) or have their attitude to the Deep Watcher change to Indifferent. Beings whose attitude has changed to indifferent will attempt to remove themselves from combat. Upon further conversation, the Deep Watcher may persuade the creature to a attitude of Friendly with a successful diplomacy check. Creatures of with a 3 or lower intelligence, undead, constructs, and evil outsiders are immune to this effect. (See table 5-2, pg 149 DMG)
    Divine Vigor (Su): At 8th level a Deep Watcher has spiritually attuned himself to the earth and his god to such a degree that he no longer requires food or water to survive and he does not tire as long as he remains in contact with native earth.
    Elemental Gate (Sp): At 9th level the Deep Watcher gains the ability to open an elemental gate. Instantaneous travel through the gate delivers those who use it to a location of the Deep Watchers choice. Both ends of the gate appear as a swirling plane of earthen substance and both must be located on the same plane of existance, in a surface of native stone and dirt large enough to accommodate its size. The gate may have up to a 10 foot diameter and is the same size on both ends. The gate lasts as long as the Deep Watcher concentrates upon it. One gate may be opened per day. An unwilling creature cannot be forced through the elemental gate.