The stealth mage is an arcane rogue who blends the trickery of thieves with the studious magical arts of sages. He is not the combatant that the rogue is, and his bookish nature forecludes some of the rogue's more charismatic roles, but in stealth and bamboozlement he is unparalleled. His magic prowess is lessened relative a normal wizard's, but he makes up for that with ample tricks.
Primary Class: Wizard.
Secondary Class: Rogue.
Hit Dice: d6.
Saves: good Reflex and Will, poor Fortitude.
Bonus Skills and Ranks: A stealth mage selects three rogue skills to add to his class skills in addition to the normal wizard class skills. The divine exemplar gains a number of ranks at each level equal to 4 + Int.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Stealth mages are proficient with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, and quarterstaff, but not with any type of armor or shield.
Arcane Bond (Ex or Sp): The stealth mage gains two new options when selecting his arcane bond: he may bond with the arcane ebb and flow of trickery itself, or with an organization of arcane tricksters and thieves.
If he chooses to bond with trickery, he gains the insight to perform deadly sneak attacks. The extra damage he deals on a successful sneak attack is 1d6 at first level, plus 1d6 at 5th level and every four levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5d6 at 17th level. Sneak attack bonuses from multiple sources stack. He also receives a +1 enhancement bonus on Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth skill checks. This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and every five levels thereafter, to a maximum of +5 at 20th level. The drawback to bonding with trickery is that the stealth mage has a harder time casting spells in the open—in order to cast a spell under the scrutiny of hostile creatures, he must make a concentration check (DC 15 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell.
If the stealth mage instead bonds with the organization, he receives additional training in stealth and teamwork. At 1st level, he receives a daily stealth pool equal to his Bluff ranks plus any bonus he receives from feats. As the chameleon rogue archetype, the stealth mage can choose to put stealth points into his roll when making a Stealth check. He may also use these points when rolling a Bluff skill check to create a diversion to hide. Additionally, when casting a spell, the stealth mage can expend a number of stealth points equal to the spell's level in order to remove either the verbal or somatic components from the spell.
At 4th level, the stealth mage who bonds with the organization can use these points as ki points for the purpose of using ninja tricks. At 8th level, the stealth mage receives Outflank as a bonus feat. At 12th level, when the stealth mage spends stealth points to remove components from a spell he's casting, he removes both its verbal and somatic components. At 16th level, the stealth mage can lose a prepared spell as a swift action to regain a number of stealth points equal to the spell's level. If a stealth mage attempts to cast a spell when his stealth pool is empty, he must make a concentration check (DC 20 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell.
Diminished Casting: The stealth mage casts one fewer spell of each level per day. If this reduces the number of spells at a certain level to 0, he may cast spells of that level only if he receives bonus spells of that level from having a high ability score or from his arcane school.
Subterfuge School: Stealth mages all select the subterfuge school, a new illusion focused school, as their arcane school. This otherwise functions as and replaces the wizard's arcane school ability.
Thief's Spellbook (Ex): A stealth mage finds less time to research new spells, but has mastered an obfuscatory manner of scribing those he learns. At 1st level, the stealth mage incorporates elements of a personalized secret code into his arcane writings. Creatures with whom he does not share this code take a -4 penalty on skill checks involving the stealth mage's spellbook. The stealth mage's non-cantrip spells take one extra page each in his spellbook, and he gains only one new spell in his spellbook at each level after 1st. In all other respects, a stealth mage's spellbook functions as a normal wizard's spellbook.
Talents: At 1st level, and again at 4th level and every three levels thereafter, a stealth mage gains either a rogue talent for which he qualifies or an exploit (evasion, uncanny dodge, and improved uncanny dodge). A stealth mage must must select evasion before he can select uncanny dodge and uncanny dodge before selecting improved uncanny dodge. At 13th level, the stealth mage can choose advanced rogue talents whenever he could choose a rogue talent. In the case of the improved evasion talent, the stealth mage must have evasion to select it. A stealth mage treats her level as her rogue level for the purpose of qualifying for talents with level-dependent requirements and calculating the effects of any talent or exploit he's chosen. This ability replaces Scribe Scroll and all bonus feats.
Rogue Initiate (Ex): At 6th level, the stealth mage treats his level - 5 as his rogue level for the purposes of flanking creatures with improved uncanny dodge. This penalty decreases by 1 at 11th and 16th levels, at which point the stealth mage uses his level - 3 as his rogue level.
Tricky Spells (Su): Starting at 9th level, a stealth mage can cast his spells without their somatic or verbal components, as if using the Still Spell and Silent Spell feats. Spells cast using this ability do not increase in spell level or casting time. A stealth mage can use tricky spells 3 times per day at 9th level, and one additional time per three levels thereafter, to a maximum of 6 times per day at 18th level.