My biggest christmas wish for the SD is to give
Perform (dance) some meaning in the class. Being just a
PreReq and then forgetting about it is quite bland.For example a class ability like the following:
Shadowdance(!) (Su):
QFT.
This makes so much sense. The flavor of the SD should be fleshed out further and it's role better defined accordingly. Making the prereqs make sense and giving an actual meaning to shadowdancer's abilites are what PF should do.
I always found the shadow companion and illusion powers to be very cryptic. Why does a SD get those? What for? Why do they have to be dancers? Giving them an ability to actually shadowdance is pure genius.
Aargh, the Post Monster ate my post!!@%&*! Here's a brief recap.
The current SD is focused on recon, but can easily be surpassed at this by a few arcane spells (Invisibility, Dimension Door). In addition, recon by itself isn't a very exciting thing to specialize in. So, either make him better at recon (approach #1), or expand his abilities beyond recon (approach #2).
For approach #2, add things like sneak attack, a better shadow companion, maybe some illusion-making abilities with shadows, or something to do with his performance skills.
For approach #1, add things like the following:
Shadow Visions (Su): The Shadowdancer can see and hear all that transpires within the shadows. He can use this to gain the effects of Clairaudience/Clairvoyance in any shadowed area within 50'. The Shadowdancer can use this to learn about new and hidden shadowed areas. This can be used once per level per day, for up to 10 rounds at a time. A Shadowdancer can use Shadow Jump to move to an area he has only seen using this ability.
Shadow Sight (Ex): The Shadowdancer ignores all but total concealment from light conditions. In addition, the Shadowdancer can see invisible creatures and objects while they are in an area of shadows.
Shadow Whispers (Su): As a move action, the Shadowdancer can cause a visible creature standing in a shadowed area to hear faint, disturbing whispers in the darkness. A target that fails its Will save (DC 10 + level + CHA) is affected. An unfrightened target becomes shaken. A shaken target becomes frightened. A frightened target becomes panicked. These conditions persist as long as the target is in a shadowed area, and for 1d4 rounds thereafter. The SD can use this against a target that is only visible to him using Shadow Visions. The Shadowdancer can use this ability against 1 target per class level per day, but he can use it as many times as he likes against a particular target that day. Once a target successfully saves against this ability, he is immune to it until the next sunset.
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Foremost fix for the shadowdancer would be to bring it in line with the monk abundant step change to be a move-equivalent action.
I agree, summoning shadows is kind of lame. Add enervation to a sneak attack as a standard action, in lieu of Shadow summoning.
Increase either the overall distance of the jumps made during a day, or...go with the previously mentioned shadow-jumping move actions.
I was really let down by the Shadowdancer PrC for Pathfinder, I assume Jason just couldn't think of ways to fix this broken PrC...NO ONE PLAYS THEM as WRITTEN, don't waorry about Backwards compatibility with the Shadowdancer, instead give us something that works.
I'd like to take the opportunity to comment on one of my pet peeves: Hide In Plain Sight should be a higher level ability for Shadowdancers, and it should be a lower level ability for other "Stealth" classes. I personally think that Hide In Plain Sight should be accessible at around 10th level, which is about when normal abilities to Hide prove insufficient and all of your Rangers and Rogues start scrambling to get Rings Of Invisibility to stay relevant.
Oh, I don't know about that. I just retired my 15th level LG shadowdancer, and learned a lot about the class in the process. (This counts as playtesting, IMHO)
There are a LOT of ways around invisibility. Erinyes, True Seeing, See invisibility, Scent, tremorsense, lifesense, Kuo-Toas.
There's only two ways around HIPS. One is a spot check, the other is a 2gp sunrod. A lot of monsters that might have good spellcasting resources do not have good spot checks (I'm looking at you, wizard) and even the ones that do can have trouble keeping up if the player works to buy appropriate magic items, etc...
And if the point of being a shadowdancer is to be discreet, the shadowdancer is ALSO going to pick up a ring of invisibility at that level.
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Here's what I've learned from playing a 3.5 shadowdancer...
HIPS is best when combined with Spring attack. Standard action to move and attack, and move action to hide.
But, if you're making one attack a round at, say, 11th level, you really have to make it count. The 11th level ranger is shooting four arrows, the 11th level fighter is making three power attacks, and the 11th level cleric is casting a 6th level spell like Blade Barrier. And remember, the 11th level bard probably hasted the fighter and ranger, so they do even more damage.
As a rogue/shadowdancer, it's HARD TO HIT. Your BAB is not that good, and even with the minimal bonus for flatfooted, you'll miss a lot. If you decide to go the dex route and take weapon finesse (I did), it's hard to do staggering amounts of damage. I am pleased, however, that sneak attack should work more often.
Being sneaky was a roll of the dice over 8th level. There were a lot of things that monsters could do that a shadowdancer could not counter (Tremorsense, for example).
But the real killer, was seeing my friend Clint play his arcane trickster. At 11th level, he could evade sight and tremorsense with flight and invisibility. He could cast darkvision, and on the whole party too, with use of his free scribe scroll feat. He could dimension door farther than I could, and had the option of sneak attacking with a scorching ray or orb of force, doing damage I could never duplicate. And, since he was making touch attacks, he always hit.
I don't have any strong feelings about what shadowdancer should become, but as it stands now, it's a cut-rate version of arcane trickster. Offering shadowdancer as a supposedly equal PrC is like offering aristocrat as a base class. Might seem cool flavor-wise, but actually not that good.
Did you make use of the Shadow companion at all? I am interested because there seems to be a split (much as there was with Wizards and familiar use) on how people utilized that ability.
Wait... a sunrod rkraus2? That would seem to be of aid to a Shadowdancer not a hindrance The only times a shadow dancer wouldn't be able to use Hide in Plain Sight would be in total light (light emanating from every direction at once)or total darkness (where there is no light at all). Any other condition has at least some shadows. As long as your fighting a corporeal creature there almost always be another shadow aside from yours, other wise cast off a decently sized piece of equipment and light source (sunrod) and you have a hiding spot again.
I do agree with the Shadowdancer who is going whole hog is also going to get a ring of invisibility, for the extra +20 Stealth while on the move.
Wait... a sunrod rkraus2?
At lest at our tables, a sunrod created an area of bright light near the holder of the sunrod.
So, an anemy with a sunrod has a 30' zone in which you cannot hide. A ranged shadowdancer won't care, but a melee shadowdancer is now stuck.
Lose the flat-footed penalty
Lose the +2 from attacking while hidden
Lose all of your sneak attack damage
Become vulnerable to counterattack, because you are visible
That's the kind of inter-game discrepancy I was kind of looking for. My table is a bit more open with the interpretation, as you can read above.
This brings two questions to my mind as a part of rules clarification.
1) How big of a shadow can a dancer use to hide?
2) What kind of lighting conditions negate a dancer's ability?
Actually both of those elements could help limit the effectiveness of a 2 level dip. For example it the HIPS ability starts off as being able to hide in shadow of the dancers size category or bigger, but not in daylight or total darkness, then it will be easier to make consistent rulings. Say ever odd level after 1st decreases the size category by 1, so a medium shadowdancer at 9th level could hide in a Fine shadow (which also gives a length for the shadow for non-creature objects). Lighting conditions can also be more clearly defined.
That's the kind of inter-game discrepancy I was kind of looking for.
There's one more that you'll find fairly quickly. The rules pretty clearly assess a sniping penalty on missile fire that follows a hide-shoot-hide pattern. A very focuses shadowdancer can overcome that with dim opponents and some luck, but it's a big deal.
But does sniping apply to spring attack? It follows the hide-attack-hide pattern, so some say yes. BUT, it's not missile fire if you stab someone with a sword, so some say no.
I'd love to get a clarification on this one, and it's an area where I don't feel I know the designer's intent.
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Oh, and while I'm at it, I had a argument about spring attack for about 30 minutes once, and it became clear only later that his 3.5 PHB had a different description of spring attack than my older printing 3.5 PHB did. Once we knew that, the discussion resolved really fast.
Just so you know....
3.5 FAQ page 45, 6/30/08, goes over all of that. The short of it with a shadowdancer is yes, you can spring attack and stay hidden (with a -20). This goes for any attack (melee or ranged), provided you meet the HiPS conditions.
In pathfinder it is different. They eliminated the -20 for attacking/running/charging, now you can't do it.
For pathfinder a shadowdancer becomes visible during the attack. However with spring attack, or shot on the run, she could make another hide check as part of the second leg of her movement (no action, just part of movement). Her foes would now have a starting point to make a more educated guess where to attack.
A shadowdancer could not make a full attack and remain hidden in pathfinder, as they can in 3.5 at a -20 to their check.
One level of Shadowdancer for Hide In Plain Sight at 6th level, the fastest way you can acquire this ability in the game? Sign me up! I'll take my level and go now, thanks. :)
random ideas:
I never liked the idea of the shadow being an undead, I rather use a copy version of yourself, more like a lesser and simplified version of simulacrum.
adding sudden strike damage would fit better than sneak attack, though this isnt part of core rules.
I'd like to avoid the ability to see through total darkness, it is very uninteresting to have your combats in an area of deeper darkness.
Adding the ability to create darkness (as the spell) or negate light spells seems useful and in flavor of the class.
replace class features you already have with a rogue talent of your choice.
use hide as a swift action as long as you have concealment.
I could see it as a rogue-monk thing, where they end up not wearing armour at all, but getting double their dex to add to their AC, or something like that, and getting other similar slightly Monkish abilities.