Mantis Zealot

System: Pathfinder | SRD | Type: Subclass (Archetype) of Warpriest

, Advanced Class Origins pg. 25
Among the Red Mantis worshipers of Achaekek, some hold such strong faith in their assassin god that they gain divine power. They forge themselves into perfect killers in honor of He Who Walks in Blood. These warpriests are a relatively recent addition to the Red Mantis arsenal, but in the few short decades they have served the assassins, they have quickly built a reputation for themselves as particularly fanatical devotees of the Mantis God. Their penchant for taking the faith’s writings verbatim and for overwhelming and often destructive pedantry serves them well in matters of loyalty to Achaekek (and particularly when it comes to drafting contracts for assassinations that favor the organization in financial and tactical ways), but it offers little room for complex cases that would benefit from bending the rules, making them unsuitable for missions that require diplomatic finesse. In addition, the rising incidence of mantis zealots accusing fellow worshipers of Achaekek of heresy and blasphemy, resulting in internal accusations, exiles, and even fullblown assassinations, increasingly makes them objects of fear and distrust among even their own kind. Whether the rise of the mantis zealot presages a dramatic upcoming shift in the religion’s hierarchy and methods, or whether the faction may be burning too bright for its own good and is hurtling toward selfannihilation, remains to be seen.

Class Abilities

Mantis Sworn (Ex) (addition)

A mantis zealot must choose Achaekek as his deity, and he must be lawful evil in alignment. If he ever changes his deity, he loses this archetype and becomes a normal warpriest.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency (addition)

Mantis zealots are proficient with simple and martial weapons, as well as with the sawtooth sabre UE . They are proficient with light armor but not with shields. This replaces the warpriest’s weapon and armor proficiencies.

Sneak Attack (Ex) (addition)

At 4th level, a mantis zealot can make a sneak attack. This ability functions as the rogue class feature of the same name. At 4th level, his sneak attack damage is +1d6. This damage increases by 1d6 at 8th level and every 4 warpriest levels thereafter. If the zealot gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses stack. This ability replaces sacred weapon.

Sacred Reflexes (Su) (addition)

At 7th level, a mantis zealot can emulate Achaekek’s grace and move with a supernatural fluidity. As long as he is wearing light or no armor, as a swift action he can gain uncanny dodge as per the rogue class feature. He can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to his warpriest level. This duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments. If he already has the uncanny dodge ability from another source, he instead gains improved uncanny dodge while this ability is active. At 10th level, when he uses this ability, he also gains evasion as per the monk class feature (or improved evasion if he already has evasion from another source). At 13th level, he gains improved uncanny dodge instead of uncanny dodge. At 16th level, he can activate this ability as part of making an initiative check, before rolling the die. At 19th level, he gains improved evasion instead of evasion. This ability replaces sacred armor.

Aspect of the Mantis (Su) (addition)

At 20th level, when using aspect of war, instead of moving at full speed regardless of his armor or encumbrance, a mantis zealot deals a number of points of bleed damage equal to his Dexterity modifier with each attack. This ability alters aspect of war.

Source: Adventurer's Guide pg. 157 , Advanced Class Origins pg. 25

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