Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As part of your training as a black dog, you gain proficiency with the hand crossbow. This small, concealable weapon can be an invaluable tool for delivering poisons in battle.

Heir's Mark: Levels in the black dog prestige class count as levels in the dragonmark heir prestige class when determining the caster level for the spell-like abilities of your dragonmark. You can have a maximum of five effective levels in dragonmark heir for the purpose of determining the caster level of your dragonmark.

Improved Hospitality (Ex): You can use the prestidigitation or purify food and drink power of the Mark of Hospitality an additional number of times per day equal to your class level.

Poison Use (Ex): You are trained in the use of poison, and never risk harming yourself when applying poison to a weapon.

Death Attack (Ex): From 2nd level on, if you study a victim for 3 rounds and then make a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, your attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (your choice).

If you do not already have a sneak attack ability, this class feature does not grant you one. Rather, you can make a death attack whenever your opponent is f lanked or when he would be denied his Dexterity bonus to AC. (See the assassin's death attack class feature, DMG 180.

The saving throw against your death attack is DC 10 + your black dog class level + your assassin class level (if any) + your Intelligence modifier.

Dhurinda's Trick (Su): At 2nd level, you learn to magically apply an ingestible poison to nearby food or liquid by expending one use of your prestidigitation or purify food and drink ability. The poison you wish to use must be on your person, and the target object must be visible and within 25 feet + 5 feet per class level. Magic food or liquid (including potions) gets a Will save (DC 10 + your class level + your Cha modifier) to resist the effect, with the dose of poison expended whether used successfully or not. Dhurinda's trick is a full-round action. If anyone is directly observing you, you can conceal your action with a Sleight of Hand check opposed by the observer's Spot check.

Create Poison (Sp): At 3rd level, you learn to produce poisons using the create food and water power of the lesser Mark of Hospitality. By sacrifi cing a single use of the power, you can create one dose of poison. The poisons available depend on your class level, as shown on the table below. Poison created in this manner radiates a faint aura of conjuration and becomes inert after 24 hours if not used.

Poison	Class Level	Type (Save)	Initial/Secondary Damage
Arsenic	3rd	Ingested (DC 13)	1 Con/1d8 Con
Dhurinda's stench	3rd	Ingested (DC 14)	1d4 Cha/2d4 Cha
Oil of taggit	3rd	Ingested (DC 15)	0/Unconsciousness
Id moss	4th	Ingested (DC 14)	1d4 Int/2d6 Int
Black adder venom	4th	Injury (DC 11)	1d6 Con/1d6 Con
Bloody tal	5th	Ingested (DC 15)	1d6 Con/2d4 Con
Medium spider venom	5th	Injury (DC 14)	1d4 Str/1d4 Str

Refi ne Poison (Su): At 3rd level, you learn to refi ne a single dose of poison in your possession by expending one use of your prestidigitation or purif y food and drink power. As a standard action, you increase the poison's saving throw DC by 2. The effect lasts for 1 minute per class level.

Empower Poison (Su): From 4th level on, you can use a standard action to empower a single dose of poison in your possession by expending one use of your prestidigitation or purify food and drink power. The poison's variable numeric effects increase by 50%. The effect lasts for 1 minute per class level.

Lost in the Crowd (Ex): From 4th level on, you are able to use the Hide skill while being observed. As long as at least three creatures larger than you stand within 10 feet in any direction, you can attempt to conceal yourself from view without having cover or concealment.

Dhurinda's Touch (Sp): At 5th level, you can poison your foes with a touch. With a successful melee touch attack, you target a foe with one dose of poison currently in your possession (regardless of the poison's normal method of delivery) by expending one use of your prestidigitation or purif y food and drink ability. You can choose to delay the effect of the poison by up to 5 minutes. You can make a Bluff check opposed by your target's Sense Motive check to conceal the nature of your action, but if you do so in combat, you provoke attacks of opportunity.