New Year’s is right around the corner and that means New Games. As you set up your new party of awesome, you might be looking to take on the iconic role of the rogue. Sometimes, you want something new. If the rogue role is something you enjoy or going to be taking on for the next game, there are some great third party options out there for filling the place of this shadowy damage dealer. With so much out there in the ocean of third party awesome we figured we could point out a few for you. Today we look at the umbra, a planar charged character from Amora Game.
Midnight Striker – Umbra
Of all the striker type characters we have looked at, the umbra is by far the least rogue-like (it almost made an appearance in Shift-Mas!) but its ability to increase base damage per hit, variable damage mitigation abilities and highly customizable class features that make it a possible fit for the rogue-loving player who wants to really branch out and still have some of the same types of options.
For Whom the Bell Tolls – (Conditional Damage Boost): Slowburn and Nova. Elemental energies can be allocated to “ubiquitous” powers that boost every attack by a small, persistent bonus to damage. These effects conditional nature is entirely dependent on the targets resistances to to the energy. Most elemental groups also have a “nova” power that can be used once an hour for greater effect (BOOM). Most of the power groups also have a de-buff to handle creatures immune to your core powers and eventually you gain a second path to fall back on.
Midnight Moves – (Skill Use): Silhouette. Umbra is least like a rogue in this category getting very few of the core rogue skills. Negative energy attuned umbras gain stealth as a class skill and might have a future as vampiric, draining assassins. Otherwise the situational abilities of the umbras are more unique and extreme moving into the realms more familiar to casters such as flight or healing.
Slippery Shadows – (Damage Mitigation): Get behind me, I’ll tank it. Critical hit negation, miss chances and multiple self-heals are all in the stable of umbra abilities and among its chief abilities to really surpass rogue in this arena. Knockdowns, natural armor, and damage resistance are also options in some elements. A positive-earth umbra might make an excellent guard while an air-water one will evade and negate some of the most powerful attacks against it.
New Year’s Kiss – (Customize-able Advancement): Girl in every port. Elemental attunements are not only customize-able in selection but also in daily point allocation meaning your umbra might be earth encrusted tank one day and a tectonic stomping tripper the next. Watch initial elemental selection because your initial attunement is set to each element (primary and secondary) as you gain access to them eventually unlocking third “demiplane” between them providing another set of options as you learn to blend your two core elements.
Umbra rates well enough for customize-ability and damage mitigation to go toe-to-toe with rogue for the striker role, but mind trait selection if you are missing those core rogue skills too much. Still not right for your next striker? Midnight Strikers countdown continues tomorrow, Rogue-ing the New Year Midnight Strikers: The Conduit (T-Minus 2 Days).
Don’t forget ANY skilled character can benefit in mythic games from the Super-Genius mythic path from Mythic Paths of the Lost Spheres and you can get it on: RPGNow or Paizo or d20.pfsrd.com!
"Find the Hero Within" - Lost Spheres Publishing 