Scoundrel Sphere

As long as you have an ally adjacent to you, you can spend a swift action to have that ally provide you with soft cover until the beginning of your next turn, even if the ally providing soft cover moves. You can use this soft cover to make a Stealth check.

You may use your steal Combat Maneuver Bonus in place of your Sleight of Hand bonus when attempting Sleight of Hand checks.

You channel the fox, weaving expert thievery with grace. You may perform the dirty trick or steal combat maneuver as an attack of opportunity. You cannot apply (trick) talents to a combat maneuver performed this way unless you expend martial focus or spend an additional attack of opportunity.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver as an attack of opportunity, as an immediate action, you may move up to half your base speed. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target of your dirty trick or steal. If you take an action to move during your next turn, subtract the amount of movement you made using this ability from your total movement.

Associated Feat: Fox Trickery.

Special: If you would be granted an attack of opportunity against a target because of a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver you performed, such as a (trick) causing the target to provoke an attack of opportunity, you may not use this talent to perform a dirty trick or steal maneuver as an attack of opportunity.

^{Source: Tandem Talents}

So long as you have martial focus, when you attempt a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver against an enemy threatened by at least 1 ally, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus for each ally threatening that enemy. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Whenever a creature within your natural reach makes an attack against you with a manufactured melee weapon, you can expend your martial focus as an immediate action to perform a steal combat maneuver against that creature to attempt to disarm them of the weapon being used for the attack before the attack resolves, although any bonuses the target possesses against disarm checks, such as wearing a locked gauntlet, apply to their CMD against this maneuver.

While in this stance, whenever a creature within reach misses you with a melee attack, you may expend an attack of opportunity to perform a dirty trick or steal maneuver against that creature as a free action that can be taken outside of your normal turn. You may not use this talent in conjunction with (deflect) talents or any other ability that would grant you an attack or combat maneuver due to a missed attack against you.

As long as you have martial focus, whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver against a creature, you may move up to half your base speed as a free action. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver against a creature, the target cannot make attacks of opportunity against anyone except you for 1 round. For every 5 ranks in Sleight of Hand you possess, the duration of this talent’s effect increases by 1 round.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver against an unaware creature, the target takes a -5 penalty to Perception checks and is unable to participate in surprise rounds for 1 minute in addition to the effect of the dirty trick.

Whenever you successfully perform a Steal or Dirty Trick maneuver against an opponent within your reach, you may make a Sleight of Hand check against their CMD. If successful, the opponent is entangled until the start of your next turn, and you may spend an immediate action to move to any other unoccupied space adjacent to the target creature and regain your martial focus.

Whenever you successfully steal an object from an opponent with the steal combat maneuver, the opponent must make a successful Will saving throw or forget that they owned the stolen object for 1 minute. If the opponent is presented with evidence of their previous ownership of the object (such as the object having their name on it or being reminded of their ownership), they immediately gain an additional saving throw. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, this effect instead lasts for 1 hour, and the creature must make an additional saving throw at the end of its duration or completely forget that they owned the stolen object.

As part of the same action made to sheathe a light weapon, you may attempt a Sleight of Hand check to conceal or hide the weapon, which is made against the Perception checks of creatures observing or frisking you.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, the target of your dirty trick takes a -5 penalty to Diplomacy checks and a -2 penalty to damage rolls for 1 minute, although the penalty to damage rolls can be removed in the same action required to remove the effects of the dirty trick. In addition, if that creature fails a Diplomacy check, they are treated as though they had failed by 10 or more. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, these penalties are doubled and its duration is increased to 10 minutes.

You gain a +1 competence bonus to your dirty trick and steal combat maneuver checks, as well as to your CMD vs. those maneuvers. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 ranks in Sleight of Hand you possess. This bonus does not stack with the bonus to these maneuvers provided by the Improved or Greater Dirty Trick or Improved or Greater Steal feats. Associated Feats: Improved Steal, Improved Dirty Trick.

^{Source: Spheres Apocrypha: Debilitating Talents}

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver against a creature that is currently not affected by a condition inflicted by a previous dirty trick (whether your own or another creature’s), you may expend your martial focus to cause the condition caused by the maneuver remain for 1 additional round after it would be removed.

Creatures no longer gain a +5 (or higher) bonus to their CMD when you attempt to steal secured items (such as cloaks, pouches, or sheathed weapons) and you may use a steal combat maneuver in place of a disarm combat maneuver (if you would receive a bonus to disarm checks, they apply to steal checks made with this talent). If you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, you can attempt steal checks against closely worn items (except for armor) with a -10 penalty on your combat maneuver check.

A creature affected by your marked target ability takes a penalty to Appraise and Sense Motive checks equal to the penalty to Perception checks from your marked target ability.

Whenever you attempt a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver, you may select one creature within melee reach of your target, treating that creature as an ally for the purposes of flanking until the end of your next turn.

Whenever you provoke an attack of opportunity due to leaving a creature’s threatened square, you gain a dodge bonus to your AC equal to 1/4 your ranks in Sleight of Hand (minimum 1). If an attack of opportunity provoked in this way misses you, you can expend an attack of opportunity to choose to redirect the attack to a creature within the attacker’s reach (other than the attacker themselves), adding a bonus to the attack roll equal to the dodge bonus granted by this talent.

You can always take 10 on Perception checks made against Sleight of Hand checks made within 10 feet. The range of this talent increases by 5 feet per 2 Sleight of Hand ranks you possess. In addition, creatures who successfully use the steal maneuver against you become battered for 1 round.

Whenever you succeed at a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver, you may immediately sheathe your weapon as a free action.

In addition, you may threaten with a hidden weapon as long as you have enough free hands to wield it, drawing the weapon as part of any attack of opportunity a creature may provoke from you.

As long as you have martial focus, creatures affected by a dirty trick combat maneuver you perform must spend a standard action to remove the effects of your dirty trick. Associated Feat: Greater Dirty Trick.

You can use the marked target ability of the Scoundrel sphere at a range of close.

Once per round, as part of the same action used to draw a hidden weapon, you may attempt a feint in combat using Sleight of Hand instead of Bluff. Other feats and abilities that affect a feint still apply to your feint. Associated Feat: Sly Draw

Once per round, as part of the same action used to draw a hidden weapon, you can apply poison to the weapon. To do so, you must already have the poison in hand and must succeed at a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check. Success means the dose of poison is expended and you poison the weapon without drawing attention to your act. Failure means any creatures present can immediately attempt opposed Perception checks to notice your poisoning attempt.

If you fail the check by 5 or more, you also expose yourself to the poison unless you have an ability that would prevent accidental poisoning, such as the (poison) package of the Alchemy sphere, or the poison use ability. Associated Feat: Subtle Poisoner

Whenever you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver, you may replace what you stole with a different item, placing it in either an empty hand or pocket of the creature. If the item you placed on their person is somehow volatile (such as a vial of alchemist’s fire, a thunderstone, or an alchemist’s bomb), you can rig that item to explode as an immediate action (you must choose when to make the item explode within a number of rounds equal to your ranks in Sleight of Hand); you are immune to any damage or effects of explosions triggered in this manner. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, you may choose when to make the item explode within a number of minutes equal to your ranks in Sleight of Hand.

Whenever you successfully confirm a critical hit against a creature, you may expend your martial focus to attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver against that creature as an immediate action, gaining a circumstance bonus on your combat maneuver check equal to the critical multiplier of the weapon that scored the critical hit.

While in this stance, whenever you successfully use a dirty trick or steal combat maneuver against a creature, you also deal damage equal to 1/2 your ranks in Sleight of Hand + your practitioner modifier. At 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, whenever you deal damage with this stance, you can move up to half your speed (this movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from creatures damaged by this talent).

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, you may attempt an Intimidate check to demoralize that foe.

As long as you have martial focus, whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, you may attempt a steal combat maneuver against the same target as a free action.

Whenever you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver, you may steal up to two items from the target of your maneuver instead of one. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, you may instead steal up to three items.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, you may expend your martial focus as a free action to select two different conditions to apply to a creature instead of just one, although both conditions may be removed with the same action. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, you can instead apply up to three conditions. You cannot use this talent to apply conditions that could not normally be applied by a dirty trick (such as with the savage dirty trick rage power).

Whenever you successfully perform a steal or dirty trick combat maneuver, you can attempt a reposition combat maneuver against the target of the successful steal or dirty trick as a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

^{Source: Spheres Apocrypha: Debilitating Talents}

Whenever you successfully perform a steal or dirty trick combat maneuver the target must succeed at a Will save or lose their martial focus. On a failed save, you may regain your martial focus as an immediate action.

When you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver against a target, you may make a single attack against that target with any weapon you possess as a free action. Creatures damaged by this attack are battered for 1 round. You may select this talent a second time; if you do, you may also apply it to successful dirty tricks.

As long as you have martial focus, you may attempt a dirty trick combat maneuver against a creature within 15 ft. of yourself, +5 ft. per 4 ranks in Sleight of Hand you possess. For every 10 ft. you are from a creature, you take a -2 penalty on your combat maneuver check.

^{Source: Spheres Apocrypha: Debilitating Talents 2}

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, you may also inflict the battered or fatigued conditions to a creature when selecting a condition to apply to the affected creature.

At 5 ranks in Sleight of Hand, you may expend your martial focus as a free action whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver against an opponent. If you do, you may choose to inflict a greater condition than the original condition chosen, lasting for the normal duration.

Associated Feat: Dirty Trick Master.

^{Source: Diamond Spheres: Erudition & Esoterica}

When you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver against a target, you can expend your martial focus as an immediate action to use the stolen object (if possible). This generally involves drinking a stolen potion, applying a stolen oil or poison to a weapon, throwing a splash weapon, etc., but only as long as it could be used as a standard action or faster.

Whenever you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver the target must make a successful Reflex save or treat all creatures as having concealment until the end of its next turn. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, this instead becomes total concealment.

You quick eyes often lead your deft hands into picking up a small, purring companion. Often one that doesn’t belong to you.

Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 5 ranks, Scoundrel sphere (Master Thief).

You may perform the steal combat maneuver against a target that has another creature secured on their person (such as a familiar inside of a satchel or a creature riding atop a mount).

A creature you attempt to steal this way must be at least 2 sizes smaller than you. If successful, you steal that creature. An unwilling creature stolen this way is treated as being subject to a successful grapple combat maneuver.

A grapple combat maneuver performed and maintained using this talent is unique; you may perform steal combat maneuvers in place of grapple combat maneuvers to maintain this unique grapple and do not gain the grappled condition until the start of your next turn after initiating this unique grapple, allowing you to move normally and bring a grappled creature with you during your movement the same turn you steal them before continuing to grapple them normally.

Note: There is normally no check to hide a creature on your person; even a familiar stored away in a satchel would need to attempt checks to be hidden. For the purposes of this talent, a character may identify that there is a creature hidden on the target’s person with a Perception check (DC 10 + the target’s Sleight of Hand bonus), such as inside a satchel or coat pocket.

^{Source: Spheres Apocrypha: Debilitating Talents 2}

Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 10 ranks, Scoundrel sphere (Savage Tricks (trick))

Whenever you use the Savage Tricks talent to inflict a greater condition upon a creature, you may choose to inflict an even more intense condition when expending your martial focus.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Sleight of Hand 7 ranks.

Whenever you successfully perform a dirty trick combat maneuver, the effects of that dirty trick are treated as a curse with a caster level equal to your ranks in Sleight of Hand, and a spell level equal to 1/2 your ranks in Sleight of Hand (maximum 9th) for the purposes of being able to remove it. This does not extend the duration of the dirty trick’s effect. A creature may only be cursed by this talent once per day. This is a supernatural effect.

Prerequisites: Sleight of Hand 10 ranks, Scoundrel sphere.

When you gain this talent, designate a container in a specific location (such as a safe or crate in a specific warehouse). This container becomes your “hot pocket”. You may spend 8 hours studying a container to designate it as your new hot pocket. If a hot pocket is substantially moved, such as to another building or generally more than 30 feet, it stops being your hot pocket until you spend time to designate it as your hot pocket again. Whenever you successfully perform a steal combat maneuver, you may expend martial focus to teleport the stolen item to your hot pocket. Your hot pocket must be on the same plane as you when you teleport it with this effect. When you possess 15 or more ranks in Sleight of Hand, you may teleport objects to your hot pocket even if it is not on the same plane as you. This is a supernatural effect.

^{Source: Expanded Spheres: Weaves of War}

Prerequisites: Barroom Sphere (Take to Go), Scoundrel Sphere

If you expend your martial focus, you may attempt a disarm or steal combat maneuver as an attack of opportunity as part of using Take to Go rather than picking up an item.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere.

When performing a steal combat maneuver, rather than steal an item, you may expend your martial focus to steal their Charisma. If successful, the creature suffers a -4 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks for 10 minutes. They are unaware of this penalty. For every 4 ranks in Sleight of Hand you possess, this penalty increases by -2. When you have at least 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, this penalty lasts for one hour. This is a supernatural effect.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Sleight of Hand 7 ranks.

You may expend your martial focus to perform a steal combat maneuver as a full-round action. Rather than steal an object, you may force the target to make a successful Will saving throw or have their attitude towards you improved to friendly for a number of minutes equal to your ranks in Sleight of Hand. If the target is in combat, is already hostile to you, or is aware you are using this ability, they gain a +5 bonus to this saving throw. This is a spell-like, mind-altering (charm) effect.

You may only have a number of creatures charmed at a time equal to your practitioner modifier; if you attempt to charm another, the creature you have had charmed for the longest is no longer charmed. Once a creature has been affected by or made a saving throw against this talent, they cannot be affected by it again for 24 hours.

You may only affect creatures who share your creature type with this talent. When you possess 10 or more ranks in Sleight of Hand, you may target any creature regardless of creature type (except for those immune to such abilities).

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Sleight of Hand 3 ranks.

When performing a steal combat maneuver, rather than steal an item, you may expend your martial focus to harness an understanding of the creature’s appearance and behavior. You gain a +10 bonus on Disguise checks to disguise yourself as that creature for 1 hour. This bonus does not stack with the benefit to Disguise checks granted by polymorph effects. In addition, targets gain half the usual benefit to their Perception checks based on familiarity with the target. This is a supernatural effect.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Sleight of Hand 5 ranks.

When performing a steal combat maneuver, rather than steal an item, you may expend your martial focus to attempt to steal ranks in one skill that the target possesses. This does not grant you knowledge of what skills the target possesses; you must either know or guess a skill with ranks in order to steal them. If successful, the target loses all of their ranks in that skill for 1 round per rank in Sleight of Hand you possess, and you gain an equal number of skill ranks in that skill for the same duration (this cannot grant you more ranks in that skill than your total number of Hit Dice).

At 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, the duration increases to 1 minute per rank you possess. If something would dispel or otherwise end this effect prematurely on either you or the target, the effect ends for both. This is a supernatural effect.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Sleight of Hand 9 ranks.

When performing a steal combat maneuver, rather than steal an item, you may attempt to transfer an ongoing spell effect from that target to yourself for 1 round per rank in Sleight of Hand you possess. At the end of this duration, the effect ends on yourself and returns to the creature it was stolen from. Time spent stolen still counts against the effect’s duration, and if the effect’s duration expires while it is stolen, it ends as normal. At 10 ranks in Sleight of Hand, the duration increases to 1 minute per rank you possess.

This functions with spell effects with a target of ‘self’, but does not otherwise function with spell effects that would consider you an invalid target (for example, if the effect only targets specific creature types). This is a supernatural effect.

Prerequisites: Scoundrel sphere, Steal Skill, Sleight of Hand 7 ranks.

Whenever you use the Steal Skill talent, you may choose to steal a feat or talent (magic or combat) instead of a skill. Associated feats and talents count as each other for this purpose, as do skill ranks and talents that provide skill ranks. The target’s CMD is increased by 2 for every feat or talent the target possesses that has the targeted feat or talent as a prerequisite. Likewise, the target’s CMD is also increased by 2 for every talent the target possesses in a sphere if you are trying to steal the base sphere. This is a supernatural effect.