AFFILIATION WITH THE SILVER RAVENS
The Silver Ravens are wary of inviting strangers into their fold, for their enemies are quite skilled in the arts of trickery and subterfuge. Yet when the Silver Ravens do identify potential allies, they welcome them into their circle of trust readily, especially if the ally seeks aid and advice regarding fostering revolutions or freedom-fighting endeavors in far-flung lands suffering under cruel regimes.
Example Affiliation Encounter: In order to earn the trust of the Silver Ravens, a prospective affiliate must first arrange a meeting with an agent of the semisecret group. Doing so requires a successful DC 20 Bluff check to send a secret message in an area where the Silver Ravens are active; this Bluff check takes 1 hour to perform and must be done in a public area. On a successful check, the Silver Ravens send an agent to interview the prospective affiliate within 24 hours, and the would-be affiliate must agree to imbibe an elixir of truth during the meeting. The Silver Raven agent uses this opportunity to determine the affiliate’s actual interests in the group and reasons for seeking aid, and the agent also ensures that the prospect is not secretly an agent of an opposing group, such as House Thrune, the church of Asmodeus or Norgorber, or some other enemy faction. After such an interview, the Silver Ravens generally accept all who are not obviously enemies.
FEATS
The Silver Ravens have developed the following feats to aid in the defense of their homes.
Devil SenSe
You instinctively sense the presence of fiends.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, ability to cast detect evil as a spell or spell-like ability.
Benefit: At the beginning of your turn each round, if you are within 60 feet of an outsider with the evil subtype, you instinctively sense that something unholy is near. You may experience this sense as an unpleasant smell or taste (such as sulfur), as gooseflesh on your arms or neck, or as an ineffable sense of dread. This sense does not alert you to the direction
of the outsider. Anything that can thwart or mislead detect evil can likewise block this sense.
Diva Advance (combat)
You stride forward with confidence, trusting your performance to protect you as much as your arms and armor.
Prerequisites: Cha 17, Combat Expertise Diva Strike, Diva Style, Improved Feint, base attack bonus +11 or bard level 11th.
Benefit: While using Diva Style, you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from creatures you have successfully feinted against. Additionally, you can feint against a creature using Diva Style from up to 30 feet away.
Diva Strike (combat)
Those distracted by your performance leave themselves open to vicious attacks.
Prerequisites: Cha 15; Combat Expertise; Diva Style; Improved Feint; base attack bonus +7 or bard level 7th.
Benefit: While using Diva Style, the first time you hit with a melee weapon in a round, you deal an additional amount of damage equal to your Charisma modifier to a target that is denied
its Dexterity bonus to AC. This damage is precision-based, and is not multiplied on a critical hit.
Diva Style (combat, Style)
You employ song, dance, or some other method of performance to distract your enemies from the battle at hand.
Prerequisites: Cha 13; base attack bonus +1 or bard level 1st.
Benefit: While using this style, you can use any Perform skill in place of Bluff to feint in combat. You can attempt a Perform check to feint as a move action when you begin a bardic performance.
SPELLS
The following spells are often used by spellcasting agents of the Silver Ravens.
INSTANT PORTRAIT
School conjuration (creation); Level bard 1, cleric 1, inquisitor 1, mesmerist 1, occultist 1, psychic 1, sorcerer/wizard 1, summoner 1, witch 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range touch
Effect a monochromatic illustration up to 1 square foot in area
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You touch a surface and produce a painted portrait of either yourself or a creature you can see without needing to attempt a Craft (painting) check. The surface to be affected must be relatively flat, such as a piece of paper or a wall. The image can be any color of your choice, but is monochromatic. While it is of too poor a quality to sell, it is otherwise accurate enough to recognize the subject or to serve as a target for the enter image spell. The portrait reflects your perception of the creature depicted, including any disguises, magical or mundane, that the subject is wearing at the time of the painting’s creation. The portrait is only as durable as normal paint and can be removed by mundane means.
WALL OF SILVER
School abjuration [good]; Level bard 5, cleric 6, inquisitor 5, sorcerer/wizard 6
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect transparent wall 20 ft. high by up to 20 ft. long/level
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw see text; Spell Resistance yes
You create a wall of translucent silver energy that hums and vibrates at the slightest touch. Objects and nonevil creatures can pass through this wall without difficulty. However, spells and
effects with the evil descriptor treat this barrier as a wall of force, which blocks line of effect.
Evil creatures that pass through the wall take 3d6 points of damage + 1 point of damage per caster level (maximum 3d6+20) and are blinded for 1 round. Creatures of any alignment that are particularly vulnerable to silver (such as those with damage reduction bypassed by silver, like devils or lycanthropes) instead take 1d6 points of damage per caster level (maximum 15d6), are
staggered for 1 round, and are permanently blinded. A creature that succeeds at a Will save reduces the damage by half and negates the blinding and staggering effects.
If you create a wall of silver so that it appears where creatures are, each creature takes damage as if passing through the wall. Each such creature can avoid the wall (ending up on the side of its choice) and thus take no damage by succeeding at a Reflex save.
MAGIC ITEMS
In addition to the classic silver raven figurine of wondrous power (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 513), the Silver Ravens are known to utilize the following specialized items.
DEVIL CATCHER PRICE
30,320 GP
SLOT none CL 7th WEIGHT 6 lbs.
AURA moderate abjuration and divination
This +1 net is made from fine silvery cords rather than simple rope. The net prevents extradimensional travel, affecting any creature entangled by it as per dimensional anchor for
as long as it remains entangled. Additionally, any invisibility effects targeting a creature entangled by the net are suppressed so long as it remains entangled. Devils take a –4 penalty on Strength checks and Escape Artist checks to free themselves from a devil catcher.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 15,320 GP
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, dimensional anchor, invisibility purge
DISCRETION CHARM PRICE
3,500 GP
SLOT none CL 10th WEIGHT —
AURA moderate illusion
These magical baubles were originally created to aid Chelish nobles in slipping away to engage in trysts with fellow partygoers, but the Silver Ravens have seized upon them as an excellent way to baffle foes in public areas without resorting to combat. A discretion charm usually comes in the form of a cuff link, an earring, or another small piece of jewelry. Pressing the face of the charm (a standard action) activates it, after which it remains active for up to 5 minutes.
Once it has been activated, the wearer can drop the charm as a free action to render herself invisible, as per vanish. Simultaneously, the dropped charm generates an illusory duplicate of the user in the square, as per programmed image. This image repeats whatever activities the user performed between the time the charm was activated and the time it was dropped. Unlike programmed image, the illusory duplicate of the user can react to external stimuli to a limited degree. It can turn to face those who speak to it and respond by nodding and smiling, but otherwise cannot say anything that it did not record before being dropped. If the charm was dropped less than 1 minute after being activated, anyone interacting with the illusion gains a +5 bonus on the Will save to disbelieve the programmed image effect.
This illusory duplicate lasts for 10 minutes, whereas the vanish effect on the user lasts only 5 rounds. Once the illusion effect ends, the discretion charm loses its powers and becomes a worthless, nonmagical piece of costume jewelry.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 1,750 GP
Craft Wondrous Item, programmed image, vanishAPG
STERLING SALT PRICE
1,500 GP
SLOT none CL 7th WEIGHT 1 lb.
AURA faint transmutation
This coarse-grained salt is flecked with bands of silver running through each crystal. A spellcaster can include this salt as a material component when casting a spell, even if the spell does not normally require material components. Any bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing damage dealt by a spell enhanced by sterling salt is treated as good and silver for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction and suppressing regeneration, in addition to its normal type. If a creature that is adversely affected by silver (such as a devil or lycanthrope) is affected by a spell augmented by sterling salt, that creature takes a –1 penalty on its saving throw to resist or negate the effects of the spell (if a saving throw is allowed).
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 750 GP
Craft Wondrous Item