Description: The Hand of the Black Rose has a simple purpose: Total fealty to the Imam in his capacity as godservant of their deity, Cyllyl. As few, if any, recognize the Imam's authority, the Hand is kept very busy eliminating political opponents. The Hand do not fight fair, because Cyllyl can not afford to lose. Beyond their nimble and opportunistic style of combat, a Hand has a wide variety of tricks up his or her sleeve. Able to spring from the shadows to inflict mortal damage with a backstab, a Hand is also versed in the art of of poisons, and of debilitating strikes to the eyes and tendons. Cyllyl also brings an ancient knowledge of herbal lore to the Hand, and they make use of phials and poultices to enhance the natural capacities of their bodies, and to poison their victims. The Hand are initiated into the guild through an out-of-body experience where the Hand member to be visits the paradise where Cyllyl resides. Having witnessed such a paradise, the Hand are terrifyingly fanatical in their single-minded goals, fearlessly and foolishly laying down life and limb, all for the will of Cyllyl. Those who find the earthly pleasures more preferable lends their knives for hire. Regardless of their motivation, the Hand of the Black Rose is a terrifying and deadly foe.
Leader bonus: No stat bonus
Champion bonus: 3 EPR. Gains 25% extra damage from assassination skill.
Guild choices for: Hand
Primary Guilds: Alchemist, Bard, Biomancer, Cultist, Druid, Fallen, Fighter, Merchant, Monk, Psionicist, Ranger
Secondary Guilds: Bounty Hunter, Chovihani, Darkfey, Herbalist, Ninja, Ordo Incursus, Shaman, Thuggee, Tohunga, Vodounist
Stat Potential:
Str: none (0/7)
Agi: little (2/7)
Dex: small (3/7)
Con: little (2/7)
Int: tiny (1/7)
Wis: none (0/7)
Per: little (2/7)
Cha: none (0/7)
Point Potential:
HP: average (4/7) HPR: small (3/7)
SP: tiny (1/7) SPR: none (0/7)
EP: small (3/7) EPR: more (5/7)
Category Bonuses:
Alteration Spiritual Spell: little (2/7)
Light Combat Skill: little (2/7)
Nature Combat Skill: little (2/7)
Religious Combat Skill: little (2/7)
Stealth Combat Skill: little (2/7)
Race Matches:
Good: Arakun, Catfolk, Dragonian, Dwarf, Gargoyle, Gorgon, Homarid, Muridan, Papua, Shadow, Treant, Tywimn, Vipyr and Werewolf..
Average: Anakim, Devil, Dhampir, Flynd, Human, Illex, Irrdu, Kizanki, Kreen, Minotaur, Mummy, Selkie, Thuul, Troll, Uruk, Vampire and Vulpin.
Notes
The Hand guild's strength lies in its versatility. A Hand is capable of tanking, blasting, or ranged as the situation sees fit, and can do other roles depending on their secondary and tertiary. They also have a few minor out of combat skills that come in handy, such as dealing with locked doors, enchanting daggers, or adding poison (Hand is the best at applying poison as they get access to the best type, and at picking locks, as they can detect and disarm the rare traps that may be placed on doors or boxes).
The signature ability of a Hand is the ability to become invisible by using Fade to Black or Shadow Form. This can let them navigate hostile areas with ease, or even walk past blockers, when combined with the Sneak skill! Combined with Backstab, they can even solo mobs far bigger than themselves. Of course, this only works on monsters that can't see invisible objects. Hide can also hide you from sight, but it doesn't have any combat advantages since monsters always see through it. Hiding, sneaking and invisibility are immense fun when used around players.
The drawback of the Hand guild is that they lack the power of guilds that specialize in tanking, blasting, or ranged (fighter, mage, and ranger respectively), without having a niche like other hybrids such as psionicist or bard. While Backstab is, per hit, the single most damaging skill in the game, it is slower to use than a mages blasts, and thus yields less damage per time, and while Hands have good hp, their low bulk armor and less effective defensive style (Maneuver rather than Parry) make them slightly less efficient tanks than fighters.
Also see: Hand Newbie Guide
