ending a divine manifestation is a standard action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity, but the assassin can spend ki points to change both her youthful identity and her current divine manifestation as a swift action instead Often a particular aspect’s divine manifestation grants abilities beyond normal Each manifestation details the abilities the assassin gains when using it and at what level A paleblade assassin can use divine manifestation for a number of hours each day equal to her paleblade assassin level + her Charisma modifier It need not be consecutive but must be spent in hour increments For abilities that function based on ‘uses of manifestation,’ each hour of divine manifestation counts as a use Disarming Appearance (Ex): At 6th level, a paleblade assassin learns to use her youthful identity to gain an advantage in combat, surprising foes that are unaware of his intent Whenever a paleblade assassin in her youthul identity attempts an attack against a foe that is completely unaware of the assassin’s motives (usually at the beginning of combat, or as a result of a Bluff check to feint), the foe is treated as flat-footed until the end of the assassin’s next turn (instead of just her next attack) Uncanny dodge or a similar ability prevents this effect unless the assassin is at least levels higher than the foe with uncanny dodge The foe also takes a –4 penalty on attacks made against the assassin until the start of the assassin’s next turn Light Steps (Ex): At 6th level, a paleblade assassin in her youthful identity learns to move while barely touching the surface underneath her As a full-round action, she can move up to twice her speed, ignoring difficult terrain While moving in this way, any surface will support her, no matter how much she weighs This allows her to move across water, lava, or even the thinnest tree branches She must end her move on a surface that can support her normally She cannot move across air in this way, nor can she walk up walls or other vertical surfaces When moving in this way, she does not take damage from surfaces or hazards that react to being touched, such as lava or caltrops, nor does she need to make Acrobatics checks to avoid falling on slippery or rough surfaces Finally, when using light steps, the assassin ignores any mechanical traps that use a location-based trigger Chimeric Aspect (Su): At 9th level, when a paleblade assassin uses her divine aspect ability, she can choose two aspects gain the benefits of each Greater Chimeric Aspect (Su): At 14th level, when a paleblade assassin uses her divine aspect ability, she can choose up to three aspects and gain the benefits of each A Thousand Faces (Ex): At 18th level, a paleblade assassin gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as if using the alter self spell, but only while in her true identity Timeless Body (Ex): After attaining 18th level, a paleblade assassin no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged Any penalties she may have already incurred, however, remain in place Bonuses still accrue, and the assassin still dies of old age when her time is up Final Aspect (Su): At 20th level, a paleblade assassin gains access to a fifth divine aspect When she uses divine aspect she gains the benefits of all her aspects, and the assassin can use both divine aspect and divine manifestation at will Divine Aspects and Manifestations The following divine aspects and manifestations are available to all paleblade assassins who gain those features For any of these, the paleblade assassin’s level is her caster level, and the saving throw DC is 10 + half the paleblade assassin’s level + her Charisma modifier Death Benefit: You qualify to take slayer talents as paleblade assassin techniques, but those talents only function while in this aspect As a move action, you can study a living creature, learning exactly how many hit points it has remaining You also gain a +1 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks attempted against that creature, and a +1 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against it The DCs of your paleblade assassin class abilities against that creature increase by You can only maintain these bonuses against one creature at a time; they remain in effect until either the creature is dead or you study a new target These bonuses increase to +2 at 8th level, and +3 at 15th level This ability otherwise functions and counts as a slayer’s studied target Its effects not stack Divine Manifestation: You can cast death knell on a studied target at will as a full-round action The effects last for the duration of your divine manifestation At 8th level, increase the temporary hp gained from the spell to 2d8 and the enhancement bonus to Strength to +4 At 15th level, increase the temporary hp gained from the spell to 3d8 and the enhancement bonus to Strength to +6 In addition, you can spend ki points to cast death knell on a living creature within close range (25 ft + ft./2 levels) whose current hp is equal to or less than three times your paleblade assassin level A creature that saves against this use of the spell is immune to your death knell for day At 8th level, you can force the creature to roll a Fortitude save against the effect instead At 15th level, you can spend additional ki points (8 total) to remove the saving throw entirely Spell resistance still applies Deception Benefit: You gain Improved Feint as a bonus feat, even if you don’t meet the prerequisites At 8th level, you can take 10 on any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (local), or Sense Motive check if you have ranks in that skill Once per day, you can take 20 on one of those skill checks instead (without spending any additional time) At 15th level, you can take twice per day Divine Manifestation: You can spend ki points equal to the spell level to cast the following spells as a sorcerer of your paleblade assassin level Regardless of point cost, you cannot cast one of these spells if a sorcerer of your level couldn’t know it 1st—charm person, illusion of calm; 2nd—hidden blades, mirror image; 3rd—tongues; 4th—shadow conjuration; 5th—dominate person, mass charm person; 6th—veil; 7th—greater shadow conjuration; 8th—mass charm monster; 9th—dominate monster 177