DM-Beowulf's page

SHADOWDANCER

Civilized folk have always feared the night, barring themselves behind doors or comforting themselves with bonfires when the shadows grow long, rightfully wary of the creatures that prowl the darkness. Yet long ago, some learned that the best way to conquer an enemy is to embrace it. These were the first shadowdancers.
Shadowdancers exist in the boundary between light and darkness, where they weave together the shadows to become half-seen artists of deception. Unbound by any specified morality or traditional code, shadowdancers encompass a wide variety of adventuring types who have seen the value of the dark. Spellcasters use their abilities to safely cast spells from hiding and then move quickly away, while classes devoted to hand-to-hand combat enjoy the ability to attack foes with the element of surprise. Some even take the name of their kind quite literally, becoming eerie and mysterious performers and dancers, though more often the temptation presented by their talents with deception and infiltration causes shadowdancers to turn to lives of thievery.

Role: Shadowdancers adventure for a wide variety of reasons. Many adventuring parties find shadowdancers valuable members of their teams due to their incredible stealth and ability to surprise enemies with lightning-quick attacks where they're least expected. For this reason, their services are often sought out by those groups in need of scouts or spies.

Alignment: Because of their nature as visually duplicitous tricksters, shadowdancers do not fit comfortably into the lawful category, as many use their talents to avoid the eyes of legitimate authority. Yet though they are allies of darkness, shadowdancers are neither inherently evil nor predisposed to good. To them, the darkness is simply the darkness, without any of the usual moral connotations made by the unenlightened.

Hit Die: d8.
Base Attack Progression: Medium
Fortitude Progression: Poor
Reflex Progression: Good
Will Progression: Good

Requirements
To qualify to become a shadowdancer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Stealth 5 ranks, Perform (dance) 5 ranks.
Feats: Dodge, Mobility.

Class Skills
The shadowdancer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex),Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Stealth (Dex).
Skill Ranks at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

TABLE: SHADOWDANCER
Level Special
1st Darkvision, Shadow Jump, Sneak Attack +1d6, Dancing Shadow
2nd Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Shadow’s Grace 1/day
3rd Shadow Illusion, Hide in Plain Sight
4th Sneak Attack +2d6, Rogue Talent, Shadow Dancing, Shadow Call
5th Improved Uncanny Dodge, Defensive Roll
6th Shadow’s Grace 2/day, Slippery Mind
7th Sneak Attack +3d6, Shadow Walker
8th Rogue Talent
9th Improved Evasion
10th Sneak Attack +4d6, Shadow’s Grace 3/day, Shadow Master

Class Features
All of the following are features of the shadowdancer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shadowdancers are proficient with the club, crossbow (hand, light, or heavy), dagger (any type), dart, mace, morningstar, quarterstaff, rapier, sap, shortbow (normal and composite), and short sword. Shadowdancers are proficient with light armor but not with shields.

Darkvision (Ex): A shadowdancer gains darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. If she already has darkvision, the range increases by 30 feet.

Sneak Attack (Ex): This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 at 1st level and every three levels thereafter (4th, 7th, and 10th). If a shadowdancer gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack.

Shadow Jump (Su): A shadowdancer can teleport to a nearby space as a move action as if using dimension door provided both the starting and ending locations are areas of dim light (her own shadow does not count as an area of dim light). The shadowdancer may still take actions after this movement. This movement does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The shadowdancer must be able to see the space she is moving into. The shadowdancer may not take other creatures with her when she uses this ability. The shadowdancer may move 5 feet for every class level she possesses each time she uses this ability. The shadowdancer may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her charisma modifier. At 5th level, the shadowdancer may use this ability as a swift action.

Dancing Shadow (Ex): A shadowdancer adds half her class level (minimum 1) on all stealth and perform (dance) checks and may make perform (dance) checks in place of acrobatics checks.

Shadow’s Grace (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, a shadowdancer may make a perform (dance) check to replace a saving throw or her AC as an immediate action, even after the results of her original saving throw or the enemy’s attack roll have been revealed. She may use this ability once per day at second level and an additional time per day every four levels thereafter (for a maximum of three times per day at 10th level).

Evasion (Ex): At 2nd level, a shadowdancer gains evasion. If exposed to any effect that normally allows her to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. The evasion ability can only be used if the shadowdancer is wearing light armor or no armor.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 2nd level, a shadowdancer cannot be caught flat-footed, even if the attacker is invisible. He still loses her Dexterity bonus to ACif immobilized. An shadowdancer with this ability can still lose his Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against him.
If a shadowdancer already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Hide in Plain Sight (Su): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. As long as she is within 10 feet of an area of dim light, a shadowdancer can hide herself from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. She cannot, however, hide in her own shadow.

Shadow Illusion (Sp): When a shadowdancer reaches 3rd level, she can create visual illusions. This ability functions as silent image, using the shadowdancer's level as the caster level. A shadowdancer can use this ability once per day for every two shadowdancer levels she has attained. The DC for this ability is equal to ½ the shadowdancer’s class level + her charisma modifier.

Rogue Talent: At 4th level, and every four levels thereafter, a shadowdancer gains a special ability that allows her to confound her foes. This functions as the rogue talent class feature. A shadowdancer cannot select an individual talent more than once. If a shadowdancer has the advanced talents rogue class feature, she can chose from the advanced talents list instead.

Shadow Call (Sp): At 4th level, a shadowdancer can create creatures and effects out of raw shadow. This ability functions as shadow conjuration, using the shadowdancer's level as the caster level. A shadowdancer can use this ability once per day at 4th level, plus one additional time per day for every two levels attained beyond 4th (2/day at 6th level, 3/day at 8th level, and 4/day at 10th level). Upon reaching 10th level, this ability functions as greater shadow conjuration. The DC for this ability is Charisma-based.

Shadow Dancing: At 4th level, a shadowdancer gains the ability to use bardic performances as if her bard level were equal to her class level–3. Levels in this ability stack with levels in any other class that grants a similar ability to determine her bard level. The shadowdancer also gains one additional performance type.

Inspire Cowardice (Su): A shadowdancer can use her performance to inspire fear in her enemies, deteriorating their will and weakening their morale. To be affected, an enemy must be within 30 feet of the shadowdancer and be aware of the shadowdancer’s presence but not necessarily be able to see her. An affected enemy takes a -1 penalty on saving throws against fear and figment illusions, attack rolls, and damage rolls. This penalty increases by -1 when the shadowdancer reaches an effective bard level of 5 and every 6 levels thereafter, to a maximum of -4 at 17th level. Inspire Cowardice is a mind-affecting ability. Inspire Cowardice can only use visual components.

Defensive Roll (Ex): Starting at 5th level, once per day, a shadowdancer can attempt to avoid a lethal blow. This functions as the rogue's advanced talent of the same name.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 5th level and higher, shadowdancer can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attackthe assassin by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has assassin levels.
If a character already has uncanny dodge from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum roguelevel required to flank the character.

Slippery Mind (Ex): At 6th level, a shadowdancer becomes resilient to enchantment spells. This functions as the rogue's advanced talent of the same name.

Shadow Walker (Sp): At 7th level, a shadowdancer gains the ability to cast Shadow Walk as a spell-like ability once per day, treating her class level as her caster level.

Improved Evasion (Ex): This ability, gained at 9th level, works like evasion (see above). A shadowdancer takes no damage at all on successful saving throws against attacks that allow a Reflex saving throw for half damage. What's more, she takes only half damage even if she fails her saving throw.

Shadow Master (Su): At 10th level, whenever a shadowdancer is in an area of dim light, she gains DR 10/— and a +2 luck bonus on all saving throws. In addition, whenever she successfully scores a critical hit against a foe who is in an area of dim light, that foe is blinded for 1d6 rounds.

So one approach I took with this reconstruction was a slightly unorthodox look at the Shadowdancer. Most people view the prestige class as a kind of extension of the rogue, but I've always thought of it as thematically more of a combination of rogue and bard. That being said:

Sneak Attack and Performances So, one thing this concept begged for was sneak attack, but what the concept focuses on is more than just rogue-like backstabbing. The decision to make the class integrate dancing as an important mechanic lead me to create a slightly weaker progression of both the bardic ability and the rogue ability.

Hide in Plain Sight at 3rd level I'm actually actively making an attempt to make the class a full commitment rather than a one level dip. Deciding to move Hide in Plain Sight to 3rd level was a big part of this. Moving Darkvision to level one as well as giving them their signature ability - Shadow Jump - out of the gate helps remedy this loss. Which leads me to my next note.

Shadow Jump I completely overhauled this ability. Moving it to level one required that I make it grow much more gradually but pack the same punch at mid levels and more at later levels. Dipping a level in Shadowdancer yields you a move action dimension door 3+stat times per day that you can act after of only 5 feet, something you can dip into wizard for with no movement restrictions as a swift action (albeit without the ability to act afterward). If you can get your charisma modifier to +5 at 15th level (not a difficult task), you can use it to move up to 50 feet per use 8 times per day. Comparable to the original 320 feet of the class.

Bardic Spells I was tempted to progress spell-casting, but ultimately it seemed in poor taste since the class was designed as a bit of a mesh of bards and rogues. I completely nixed the shadow companion (since it was always either a pain or completely overpowered depending on the encounter), but I added some handy spell-like abilities and bardic performance to keep the feel of a dancer. In theory, I believe this balances the loss of the shadow companion and adds some nice flavor to the class.

Nothing! That’s right, I’m not banning any classes or class combos. However, be warned, I can smell an outright powergamer a mile away. So I don’t mind if you’re a summoner or a barbarian alchemist or whatever, but every decision you make had better be reflected in your story and in your personality and if you build something deliberately to be better than everyone else I will not look favorably on you.

If you choose to be evil, I expect you to understand that this does not give you the okay to disrupt the flow of the game.

Note: All bonuses are trait bonuses.

-Wasteland Wanderer: +2 to all survival checks and +2 to fortitude saves against hot or cold environments. This bonus to survival checks improves to +4 to find food and water. Survival is always a class skill for you. You’ve been wandering the wastelands for a long time and have learned well how to stay alive.
-Wasteland Bandit: +1 to initiative and +1 to attack and damage during a surprise round. Never flat-footed in a surprise round you take part in. The wasteland is an unforgiving place and some cannot meet its demands without learning the murder-trade. You’ve gotten pretty good with ambushes.
-Scarred: (Pre-requisite: 64+ years old) You gain a +2 on all intimidate checks and intimidate is always a class skill for you. Once per day a creature you cause to gain the shaken condition instead becomes frightened or frightened becomes panicked. You may also begin play being able to read and write all of your base languages (racial and intelligence gained languages). You were alive during the fall and the explosion did not kill you, but it left you with scarring in places difficult for you to hide. Most people resent you for it, but most fear you.
-Runaway Slave: (Pre-requisite: non-human) You have a +4 to disguise yourself as a human. Further, you gain DR 1/- that stacks with all other DR/- you might have. This DR increases to DR 2/- against nonlethal damage. The humans of the wastes are unforgiving with their superstitions. You happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and served some time with particularly narrow-minded humans. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Since then you’ve learned to be more cautious with your appearance.
-Ruined City Dweller: +2 to survival and perception in cities and a +1 knowledge (engineering) checks. You also get a +2 to knowledge (geography) with respect to cities. One of these skills is always a class skill for you. You have spent most of your days in the massive concrete jungles produced by the wasteland.
-Knower of the Lost Arts: +2 to all caster-level checks and may make a sleight of hand check against an opponent’s perception check + (the level of the spell * 2) to cast a spell unnoticed, but it only works on opponents who do not believe in magic. You are the only person capable of casting spells you have ever met and you do your best not to let people know you’re casting spells. The reaction could result in your death.
-Racist (Pre-requisite: Human) You get a +1 to attack against humanoids with no human heritage. Further, you get a +2 to intimidate these races. You’ve been raised among the racist and narrow-minded humans and can’t seem to shake the feeling that maybe they were right.
-Scholar of Old: (Pre-requisite: 80+ years old) Choose 3 knowledge skills. You get a +1 to each of them and one is a class skill for you. Once per day when you fail a knowledge check, you may choose to reroll before any information is given and you must take the second roll, even if it is worse. You also begin play able to read and write all of your base languages known (racial + intelligence modifier). You were scarred like all people that were present during the fall, but you were luckily not scarred as badly as some or the scarring is in more hidden locations. You were a learned person before the world stopped valuing that sort of thing.
-Mechanic: +2 to all drive checks, craft (mechanics) checks dealing with vehicles, and knowledge (engineering) checks dealing with engines or vehicles. You may also use a swift action to keep control of a vehicle every round instead of a move action action. You’ve been working in mechanics for some time and, while you don’t currently have a vehicle, you really know how to work one. Driving Rules

First: Any monk can pick up style feats (provided they meet all style feat prerequisites), improved maneuver feats, or the feats listed as monk bonus feats. At 6th level they can pick up greater maneuver feats.

Weapon Finesse: All rogues receive weapon finesse as a bonus feat at level 1.
-I don’t like feat taxes.

Weapon Focus: Weapon Focus and Improved Weapon Focus apply to entire fighter weapon groups, not single specific weapons. Note: Weapon Specialization still only applies to specific weapons.
-Makes the feat a little more versatile.

Agile Maneuvers: No longer a feat, everyone has this option.
-Feat tax.

Combat Expertise: Change the prerequisites to: +1 BAB.
-Because why shouldn’t a 20th level fighter with 10 int be considered an expert in combat? This is begging people to spread themselves thin for something that’s already a borderline feat tax.

Combat Maneuvers: I am grouping combat maneuvers. Now if you decide to take improved [combat maneuver], you get multiple. They are Improved Agile Maneuvers (Trip, Disarm, Dirty Trick, Reposition, and Steal) and Improved Power Maneuvers (Bull Rush, Overrun, Drag, Grapple, and Sunder). Improved Agile Maneuvers requires Combat Expertise or Piranha Strike and Improved Power Maneuvers requires Power Attack or Combat Expertise. Note: Greater versions of these feats still require that you choose specific combat maneuvers.
-Most of these never get used and even the ones that do have limited use, so why not get more bang for your buck?

Improved Two-Weapon Fighting: Replace this feat and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);

Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Prerequisites: Two-Weapon Fighting, BAB +6, Dex 17
Benefit: In addition to the standard single extra attack you get with an off-hand weapon, you get a second attack with it, albeit at a –5 penalty. At 11th level, you get a third attack with your off-hand weapon, albeit at a –10 penalty.
Normal: Without this feat, you can only get a single extra attack with an off-hand weapon.
-Feat tax. This second feat invests you into TWF without requiring you to sell your soul again in 5 levels.

Dodge: Replace Dodge and Mobility with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);

Mobility
Prerequisites: Dex 13
Benefit: You gain a +1 dodge bonus to your AC. This bonus increases to +5 against attacks of opportunity caused when you move out of or within a threatened area. A condition that makes you lose your Dex bonus to AC also makes you lose the benefits of this feat.
-Talk about feat taxes. Dodge is weak on its own and mobility is mediocre at best. Together they’re a solid feat and give easier access to spring attack and whirlwind attack. Might also make shadowdancer and duelist more attractive.

Point-Blank Shot: Replace Point-Blank Shot and Precise Shot with the following feat (you count as having both for the purposes of prerequisites to other feats, classes, etc);

Precise Shot
Benefit: You no longer take the -4 penalty for shooting into melee. You also get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
-I hate feat taxes.

-Drive and Pilot are now skills. Both are dex based and they’re class skills for everyone.

-Diplomacy works differently in my games than the book outlines. No need to worry about it, that’s for me to do. This is just a buffer for ‘But I rolled a 57, the Orc should be giving me a footbath! It says so in the rules!’ because that’s just not how I roll.

-Perception is a bit different to help alleviate some of the DM intervention and skill-taxiness of perception. It will be used to spot ambushes and notice disguises and stuff like that, but I will have none of this ‘Crap, the whole party rolled a 1. How am I supposed to further the plot?’ stuff. I will also tell you everything you see in a room. A better perception roll will have nothing to do with that. If I tell you there are certain things in the room and you don’t see the trap coming, I’m sorry.

-This campaign in specific has a special material that can be added to the padding of armor: Kevlar. It increases touch AC against guns equal to half of the armor bonus provided by the armor. The increase in cost is 50% of the normal price of the armor (doesn't increase the cost to enchant assuming you have the ability). Any magical bonus to armor also increases this bonus. Example: Kevlar Fullplate provides +9 armor and +4 touch AC vs guns. +1 Kevlar Fullplate provides +10 armor and +5 touch AC vs guns.

-All guns in the Paizo rules exist and will mainly be what you run into, but different guns exist than those. More on that as the campaign progresses.

-1s and 20s are not auto failures or successes. 1s will be counted up from -5 and 20s from 25. If you can succeed by rolling a -5, you win. If you fail even though you got a 25, you probably shouldn’t have been trying the thing.

-Languages: Anytime you pick up new languages (whether it be from a rogue talent, the linguistics skill, or otherwise) you may choose to either learn to speak a new language or learn to read and write a language you can already speak. Also, all languages that exist in Pathfinder exist in my world, but replace all of the human languages with worldly languages (like French, Russian, English, etc.). English is ‘Common’.

-Currency: Normally in this game I like to disregard currency and force my players to barter, but I imagine that process will take exorbitant amounts of time on a PbP so I will keep currency the way it is. In the game when you are going to buy/sell something, though, ask me how much it is going to cost/make because it will depend heavily on where you are. I'm going to go ahead and say that it's the standard gold used in the book.

I'm taking level 1 in monk. This is not negotiable. My character's parents were killed by witches, or at least that's what she (yes, she) has been told. She was found hiding under a bed by some monks who raised her. She had a more chaotic nature than most monks, but she managed. They told her they think her parents were killed by a magic-user of some sort and refused to let her seek revenge, so she naturally snuck out and is doing that anyway. She has since been a conduit of good, hunting undead and evil magic-users hoping to find a clue about her parents' murderer.

One of her most telling quotes is 'To any evil-doers I might encounter, remember this; the only difference between me and a paladin is that I don’t have a silly code holding me back from killing every last one of you.'