Champion of the Vigil

"The devils don't know me, but they see me in their nightmares."

Prerequisite: Membership in the Circle of Smoke and Whispers

You haven't been through Hell. Not yet.
    Ever since you joined the Circle of Smoke and Whispers, the Hells have been trying to work through you instead. With countless painstaking maneuvers, through endless waves of vicious engagements, you have driven them back each time. If even a fraction of your sacrifices were known, they would move the most hardened veteran to tears. Secrecy is part of the price you pay to do what you do so well. You don't claim the honor of your victories or boast of your accomplishments; you can't mourn for fallen friends either or pay the tribute due them. Only the Circle of Smoke and Whispers knows your worth and your burdens. In the world you've sworn to protect, through the people who depend on you, you walk unseen and anonymous.
    In this you emulate generations of your predecessors. You have studied and mastered the tenets that grant your success. You watch from the background, strike from the shadows, and disappear without a trace after you eliminate a threat. The Vigil remains; you keep it. Thanks to your dedication, a safer and brighter day will dawn soon.
    When you've been through Hell, though, the world will know it.

CHAMPION OF THE VIGIL PATH FEATURES

    Disappearing Action (11th level): When you spend an action point to take an extra action, as a free action before the end of your turn you can shift your speed and make a Stealth check to hide, ignoring the penalty to your Stealth check for movement.
    Violent Emergence (11th level): Whenever you make an attack against a surprised enemy or an enemy from which you are hidden, your attack can score a critical hit on a roll of 19-20.
    Attack with Care (16th level): When you are hidden and miss all targets of an attack, you can reroll the attack and use the second result

Remain ElusiveChampion of the Vigil Attack 11

Your vicious counterattack distracts your foes long enough for you to vanish.

Encounter ✦ Implement, Primal, Psychic
Immediate Reaction Close burst 20

Trigger: An enemy within 20 squares hits you with an attack

Target: The triggering enemy

Attack: Wisdom or Charisma vs. Will

Hit: 2d8+ Wisdom or Charisma modifier psychic damage.

Effect: You become invisible until the end of your next turn or until you attack, and can move half your speed.

Remain UnflinchingChampion of the Vigil Utility 12

The purifying flames of nature destroy your enemies completely, increasing your own ability to remain hidden.

Daily ✦ Primal, Zone
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, whenever an enemy drops to 0 hit points within 2 squares of you, its body is consumed by flames. This produces a zone of obscured terrain in a close burst 1 centered on a square in that enemy's space. Each zone lasts until the end of the encounter or until dismissed by you as a minor action. As a move action, you can move one zone a number of squares equal to your Wisdom or Charisma modifier.

Remain VigilantChampion of the Vigil Attack 20

The land around you warns you of danger, allowing you and your allies to strike immediately.

Daily ✦ Primal
Free Action Close burst 5

Trigger: You roll initiative

Target: You and each ally in the burst

Effect: Each target can make a Stealth check as a free action and only requires partial cover or partial concealment to become hidden. Each target can then make a basic attack as a free action against an enemy from which he or she is hidden.

Published in Dragon Magazine 390.