Dervish Dancer Feats

[Infinite Czar]

Hey everyone. I just got my copy of UC and as I was flipping through it I instantly fell in love with the Dervish Dancer (hereafter referred to as a DD), which is nearly exactly what I wanted my character to do but have been unable to mimic up until now.

So, I'm planning on using my 1 free rebuild (house rule, in case we want to change something about our characters we can only do it once) to retcon my character into a DD.

The setting that we are playing in is a high magic, high power, high level (currently level 13) eastern setting.

I am looking for some particularly nasty or inventive feat combinations that would sync with the DD to make her a force on the battlefield. To give you an idea of the ability of our party one of our characters regularly does several hundred points of damage in a round and the GM has adjusted the difficulty level accordingly. Thus I need something that will allow me to keep up.

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated!

[Abraham spalding]

Dimensional Dervish (from UC) with outflank (you flank with yourself... and you have the outflank feat so you provide better bonuses to yourself)
Wind Stance

[WarDriveWorley]

Abraham spalding wrote:

Dimensional Dervish (from UC) with outflank (you flank with yourself... and you have the outflank feat so you provide better bonuses to yourself)

Wind Stance

I think you mean Dimensional Savant. Dimensional Dervish only allows you to teleport as a swift action during a full attack action.

[Mort the Cleverly Named]

Regardless of the name, I wouldn't recommend the Dimension anything line. To be able to flank with yourself you have to burn 4 feats,and use a 4th level spell slot every time you do it. For a class that already has the ability to move and full attack, this seems pointless.

Your biggest issue is going to be a lack of raw damage, so I'd recommend Arcane Strike and Power Attack (or Piranha Strike). You are probably going to want to either take either Dervish Dance or Two-Weapon Fighting, and investing in a Critical feat at high level is almost a given. If you go Two-Weapon Fighting, get a Glove of Storing so you can cast without dropping a weapon.

In terms of crazy abusive combos, the only thing I can think of is a dip into Master of Many Styles so you can use Panther and Snake Style. Run around the battlefield provoking attacks of opportunity, retaliating for each one. If they miss (which, given your defensive abilities, is quite likely) you get an AoO on them. Oh, and when you are running low on movement, still take your full attack with Dance of Fury. It would be very, very feat heavy and smart enemies would just stop attacking you, but the first time you pull it will be marvelous.

I don't know how your friend is doing several hundred damage a round, but a DD is probably not going to get there. You will, however, be a great skirmisher with gobs of spells, skills, and a whole lot of style.

[Nobody Worthknowing]

Well, there is the apppropriately named "Dervish Dance" feat, and that archetype does give you scimitar proficiency...

If you're going that route and keeping one hand unused, as the feat requires, I strongly would recommend picking up Crane Style and Crane Wing feats (dipping Master of Many Styles Monk if you need to to qualify / short on feats) so you're more survivable in melee. At that point, may want Deflect Arrows, too.

I have to say, though, if the PCs are so crazy broken they're doing hundreds of damage per round, damage dealing is probably not a wise route for you to go. You'll never come close to that as a bard, dervish or not. You'd be better off picking a different class/archetype and focusing on buffing allies or debuffing enemies / battlefield control at that point, so you're not just being completely outdone by the others. Just my opinion.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/dervish-dance-combat

Dervish Dance (Combat)
You have learned to turn your speed into power, even with a heavier blade.

Prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Weapon Finesse, Perform (dance) 2 ranks, proficient with scimitar.

Benefit: When wielding a scimitar with one hand, you can use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls. You treat the scimitar as a one-handed piercing weapon for all feats and class abilities that require such a weapon (such as a duelist’s precise strike ability). The scimitar must be for a creature of your size. You cannot use this feat if you are carrying a weapon or shield in your off hand.

[Prost]

The DD is pretty solid.

I'd go with a Glove of Storing (as it's a solid idea) and get a 2 handed weapon. (Large Bastard Sword)

That + Power Attack gives a solid damage base. With Glove of Storing you can put weapon away, cast, recall weapon. Though the DD is really designed to just cast 1 or 2 spells at start then get rollings.

Add in Arcane Strike

Start with round 1 Dance of a Hundred Cuts. At 13th level that is +4 Hit, Damage, +AC, and Acrobatics for that Tumble check you will be making a ton of. (It's Morale, but that means you don't have to worry about Heroism or the like)

Swift action to get your Rain of Blows Dance going for another +3 Hit, +AC and Reflex (So +7 Hit, +4 Damage, +7 AC, + 7 Reflex) You also are now Hasted so have 3 Attacks. With Fleet you're at +25 speed so you can tumble for 25 feet a turn which is usually plenty.

Second turn you are all set, can use Swift for Arcane strike. Make 3 power attacks.

That's 2d8 + 4 for DoHC + 3 for AS + 9 for Power Attack before counting str and enhancement. If those are even moderately competent you can do 75 + 6d8 damage a turn if you hit three times. Given you have a new +4 to hit After the power attack before you worry about things like flanking, weapon focus, etc you should have at least 2 solid attacks in a turn.

Take Gallant Inspiration (2nd level, Verbal only, Immediate action spell that adds +2d4 to failed attack and skill. Great for you AND allies) and Saving Finale (1st level spell, reroll save if under Bardic Performance. Less usefully as only applies to you. Also has Somantics, so need to use Glove of Storing to put sword away at times)

While this is certainly not the highest DPR build you could dream up, it only takes 3 feats (EWP, Arcane Strike, and Power Attack) and 3 spells, (1st, 2nd, and a 4th) with just 1 round of prep. Gallant Inspiration does cut into your next round Arcane Strike, but Hitting vs 3 to 9 points of damage is a solid trade off.

Given you can have all the feats this requires by 5th level and tons of spells still to chose you can eek a lot more into the build. Discordant Voice is another solid choice. If you want to be super nice you can spend 1st round casting Haste for the party (won't help you) and then buff self 2nd turn and then get to the whomping. But if they can get haste from other source I wouldn't worry about it.

[Chickengun]

I thank you for this amazingly solid advice. Any ideas for a Dervish Dance (Dex/Chr) melee character? I am considering the following:

Circling Mongoose (Combat)

You keep your opponent on the defensive as you circle around threateningly.

Prerequisite(s): Dex 13, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, base attack bonus +6.

Benefit: When you are adjacent to a foe, as a full-round action, you can take a full-attack action to make melee attacks against the foe, moving 5 feet before each attack. You must move 5 feet before each melee attack you make, and can't exceed your maximum speed, exceed your maximum number of attacks in a round, or attack any other target until the beginning of your next turn.

You must remain adjacent to the foe, and your movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal unless you succeed at the appropriate Acrobatics checks. If your first attack against the foe hits, you are considered to be flanking the foe on your second attack. Subsequent attacks made as part of the full-attack action continue to be treated as if you were flanking the foe until one of your attacks misses, at which point your attacks are treated normally.

Normal: A character without this feat is limited to only one 5-foot step during a full attack, taken before, after, or between attacks.

Canny Tumble (Combat)
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Your acrobatic prowess distracts your foes.

Prerequisite(s): Dodge, Mobility, Acrobatics 5 ranks.

Benefit: When you use Acrobatics to move through an opponent's threatened area or space without provoking an attack of opportunity from that opponent, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on your next melee attack roll against that opponent and that opponent is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC, as long as you make that attack before the start of your next turn.

Piranha Strike (Combat)

You make a combination of quick strikes, sacrificing accuracy for multiple, minor wounds that prove exceptionally deadly.

Prerequisites: Weapon Finesse, base attack bonus +1.

Benefit: When wielding a light weapon, you can choose to take a -1 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all melee damage rolls. This bonus to damage is halved (-50%) if you are making an attack with an off-hand weapon or secondary natural weapon. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and for every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by -1 and the bonus on damage rolls increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before the attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage. This feat cannot be used in conjunction with the Power Attack feat.