Knife Adept

The knife adept is a focused killer who specializes in close combat and the wave and weave of knife fighting. In her hands, daggers and other similar light blades become truly deadly instruments.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Knife adepts are proficient with all simple weapons except firearms, plus all light martial melee weapons and shuriken.

This replaces the ninja's usual proficiencies.

Hidden Blade (Ex)

A knife adept adds 1/2 her level on Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal or covertly draw a light blade, and on Sleight of Hand checks to surprise attack a foe with a light blade.

This ability replaces poison use.

Sneak Stab (Ex)

A knife adept focuses her ability to deal sneak attack damage with knives and similar weapons to such a degree that she can deal more sneak attack damage with those weapons at the expense of sneak attacks with other weapons. When she makes a sneak attack with a bich'hwa, bowie, knife, kunai, punching daggers, or spring blade, she uses d8s to roll sneak attack damage instead of d6s. For sneak attacks with all other weapons, she uses d4s instead of d6s.

This ability is identical in all other ways to sneak attack, and supplements that ability.

Blade Sense (Ex)

At 3rd level, a knife adept is so skilled in combat involving light blades that she gains a +1 insight bonus to AC against attacks made against her with light blades. This bonus increases by +1 for every three levels, to a maximum of +6 at 18th level.

This ability replaces no trace.