Dark Knowledge: Foe

Three times per day, an archivist can draw upon his expansive knowledge of monsters, granting his allies benefits against the creatures they face. Doing this counts as a move action. The secrets of dark knowledge pertain only to aberrations, elementals, magical beasts, outsiders, or undead.

An archivist unlocks new dark knowledge abilities as his level increases and can also call upon his dark knowledge more often, gaining one additional daily use for every three archivist levels (4/day at 3rd level, 5/day at 6th level, and so forth).

Using dark knowledge requires a Lore check. The DC of the check is 15. Most of the archivist's dark knowledge abilities increase in effectiveness if he succeeds on his Lore check by 10 or more. Dark knowledge can only be used once against any given creature.

The archivist's dark knowledge can affect a single creature or all creatures of the same race, depending on the effect used. A target creature must be within 60 feet, and the archivist must be aware of the creature's presence, although he need not have a line of sight to it. The effects of dark knowledge last for 1 minute, unless stated otherwise.

Tactics: The archivist knows the general combat behaviors of creatures of that race, granting his allies a +1 bonus on attack rolls made against them. For example, an archivist confronted by corruption eaters who succeeded on his Knowledge (dungeoneering) check would grant his allies the attack bonus against all the corruption eaters they fought in that encounter. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to +2. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to +3.

Puissance: Starting at 5th level, the archivist can use his dark knowledge to help his allies fight off the corrupting influence of other creatures. Allies within 60 feet of the archivist gain a +1 bonus on saving throws against the affected creature's abilities. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, this bonus increases to +2. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, this bonus increases to +3.

Foe: Starting at 8th level, an archivist can direct his allies to attack vital spots of his enemies. On a successful Knowledge check, he grants them a bonus to weapon damage rolls made against the target creatures equal to 1d6 points of damage. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then this bonus increases to 2d6. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then this bonus increases to 3d6.

Dread Secret: By speaking aloud a dread secret of the target creature, an archivist of 11th level or higher can dazzle a target creature for 1 round. Unlike other dark knowledge, this ability can be used only against a single creature. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, then the target is dazed for 1 round. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, then the target is stunned for 1 round (if the target is immune to being stunned but not immune to being dazed, such as most undead, then the archivist can choose to daze the target instead of stunning it).

Foreknowledge: Starting at 14th level, an archivist can better prepare his allies for the attacks of the affected creature, making it harder for the creature to land blows and successfully deal damage. Allies within 30 feet of the archivist gain a +1 insight bonus to Armor Class that applies to attacks by the affected creature only. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 10 or more, this bonus increases to +2. If the archivist succeeds on his Knowledge check by 20 or more, this bonus increases to +3.