I'm having difficulty narrowing down a direction for my now level 5 Arcane Duellist.
He's certainly going Dimensional Dervish from 11-15, but I'm looking for something that will synergise well.
I'm thinking he'll apply to join the Twilight Talons later on, so I thought possibly Shadow Dancer for two levels.
Here's the stat-block @ level 5 (minus 5th level feat)
Male Half-Elf Bard (Arcane Duelist) 4 Fighter 1
CG Medium Humanoid (Elf, Human)
Init +5; Senses Low-Light Vision; Perception +9
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DEFENSE
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AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+5 armor, +3 Dex, +1 deflection)
hp 35 (1d10+4d8+5)
Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +3
Immune sleep; Resist Elven Immunities
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OFFENSE
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Spd 30 ft.
Melee +1 Curve blade, elven +11 (1d10+8/18-20/x2) and
Unarmed Strike +9 (1d3+5/20/x2)
Special Attacks Bardic Performance (standard action) (15 rounds/da, Bardic Performance: Distraction, Bardic Performance: Fascinate (DC 14), Bardic Performance: Inspire Competence +2, Bardic Performance: Inspire Courage +1
Bard (Arcane Duelist) Spells Known (CL 5, +9 melee touch, +7 ranged touch):
2 (2/day) Mirror Image (DC 14), Allegro (DC 14)
1 (4/day) Cure Light Wounds (DC 13), Forced Quiet (DC 13), Restful Sleep (DC 13), Timely Inspiration (DC 13)
0 (at will) Resistance (DC 12), Message, Prestidigitation (DC 12), Detect Magic, Lullaby (DC 12), Unwitting Ally (DC 12)
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STATISTICS
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Str 18/20, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 14
Base Atk +4; CMB +9; CMD 23
Feats Arcane Strike, Bard Weapon Proficiencies, Combat Casting, Furious Focus, Power Attack -2/+4, Weapon Focus: Curve blade, elven
Traits Elven Reflexes, Magical Knack: Bard (Arcane Duelist)
Skills Acrobatics +6, Climb +4, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Perception +9, Perform (Dance) +9, Perform (Sing) +6, Ride +2, Stealth +10, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +10
Languages Common, Elven
SQ Bardic Performance: Rallying Cry (Su), Elf Blood
Combat Gear +1 Chain Shirt, +1 Curve blade, elven; Other Gear Belt of Giant Strength, +2, Ring of Protection, +1
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Arcane Strike
Bardic Performance (standard action) (15 rounds/day)
Combat Casting +4 to Concentration checks
Elven Immunities +2 save bonus vs Enchantments.
Elven Immunities - Sleep
Furious Focus
Low-Light Vision
Magical Knack: Bard (Arcane Duelist)
Power Attack -2/+4
If I'm going to go Shadow Dancer I need to decide now as it'll require three feats I don't have. Master Spy could work too, I wonder what people think?
I would keep going with Arcane Duelist if I were you. You miss out on a bunch of cool things in that Archetype if you bail out. Your character is built for melee, and you have skills as well, you should be able to do whatever you need to do. Dipping into Prestige classes will keep you from getting Dimensional Dervish. Stay the course and it will pay off.
If you are bored with your character, ask you GM if you can make a new one from the ground up.
You're not the first person to suggest this.. You may be right..
I agree to just keep going with Arcane Duelist. I think a prestige class will just water down what you can do.
At the very least, you should take another level of Fighter because Magical Knack isn't doing anything for you at the moment. If you don't plan on taking any more Fighter levels, then you should pick a different trait. It only functions as long as the +2 bonus doesn't raise your caster level (which is 4+2 = 6) above your current Hit Dice (which is 5).
It's currently keeping Arcane Strike @ it's natural progression.
But yes, I will be taking another level of Fighter at around 12th.