I appreciate the theme of the class, but it seems really brutal at low levels (Sidenote: what happens when you miss an Acrobatics throw?). What was this ability set like in the originating campaign? What about the experience curve? This is in some ways a balance concern, as I’m comparing them to the Assassin up through Assassin 4 / Nightblade 3. The Assassin hit dice affect this comparison- are they d4 or d6?
Assassin hit dice are 1d6. The 1d4 was errata that’s been fixed.
If you miss an Acrobatics throw to get behind the enemy, you simply didn’t find an opening to flip - there’s no penalty.
1st level Nightblades generally focus on missile fire and trying to look for backstab opportunities. They also can do light scouting in the wilderness. They are not very survivable, but then, no one is.
From about 2nd to 6th level Nightblades serve as secondary casters, archers, and increasingly superior flankers/backstabbers.
At about 7th level they become very formidable as they can cast invisibility on themselves, flip behind enemies 1 in 3 combat rounds for triple damage, etc.
Thanks for the reply! That clarification on the Acrobatics throw actually changes my read on the class a lot.