Here i present a new bard archetype called the spellcloak. it may seem a little imbalanced. but it is an archetype less focused on skills and performance, and more focused on utilizing the coup de grace rules.
Spellcloak (Bard Archetype)
Weapon Proficiency; the Spellcloak adds the wakazashi, kukri and scimitar to her list of weapon proficiencies, these proficiencies replace the longsword, whip, and sap
Break in Artist; (Ex) at 1st level; a Spellcloak adds half her level to perception and disable device checks, and may disable magical traps and haunts with a disable device check. In addition, she may pick locks and both find or disable traps in half the time. In addition, she may take 10 on any perception or disable device check, and treats disable device and survival, as additional class skills. This ability replaces bardic knowledge and well versed
Precision Artist; (Ex) at 1st level When wielding a light weapon, shortbow, or crossbow a Spellcloak gains a competence bonus on damage rolls equal to her bard level. In addition, she receives weapon finesse as a bonus feat. At 2nd level, she applies her dexterity bonus in place of her strength bonus to damage rolls with light melee and thrown weapons, and as a bonus to damage rolls with non-composite shortbows and with crossbows. This ability replaces fascinate bardic performace and the versatile performance ability gained at 2nd level
Evasion; at 5th level; a Spellcloak gains evasion, as the rogue ability by the same name. This ability replaces the lore master use gained at 5th level
Shroud; (Su) at 6th level, a Spellcloak is treated as if she were under the effects of a permanent blur spell that cannot be dispelled. In addition, she may make a stealth check to conceal herself even while observed. This ability replaces the suggestion bardic performance and the versatile performance gained at 6th level
Master of Assassination (Ex); at 10th level, a Spellcloak receives to following perks
1. When wielding a weapon that benefits from precision artist, she may use her bard level in place of her base attack bonus for all intents and purposes pertaining to base attack bonus
2. The spellcloak may make a coup de grace as a standard action
3. A Spellcloak may apply the coup de grace to foes denied their dexterity bonus to armor class in any way
This ability replaces the lore master use gained at 11th level and the versatile performance gained at 10th level
Cloaking Performance; (Su) a 9th level, a Spellcloak may sacrifice 5 rounds of bardic performance in a 10 minute ritual to grant a number of allies equal to herself, plus her bard level, plus her charisma bonus, total concealment that can be maintained during movement. This total concealment lasts for 1 hour. Though individual members may be targeted normally, the total concealment allows any beneficiaries to attack a foe as if they were under the effects of greater invisibility, despite not truly being invisible; it allows them to make stealth checks at their full speed without penalty, and grants everyone affected, a bonus on stealth checks equal to her bard level. This ability replaces inspire greatness and inspire heroics
Improved Evasion; (Ex) at 8th level; A Spellcloak receives improved evasion as per the rogue class feature by the same name. this ability replaces dirge of doom
Improved Shroud (Su); at 14th level, the miss chance provided by a spellcloak’s shroud ability increases to 50%. In addition, she becomes immune to critical hits. she treats any critical hit as a normal hit. This ability replaces the versatile performance gained at 14th level and the frightening tune bardic performance
Performing Staminal (Ex); at 17th level, a Spellcloaks rounds of bardic performance per day from all sources is doubled, this ability replaces the lore master use gained at 17th level and the mass suggestion bardic performance
Lethal Critical (Ex); at 18th level, a Spellcloak may treat any confirmed critical hit she makes as a coup de grace; regardless if it would be otherwise illegal circumstances. This ability replaces the versatile performance gained at 18th level
Master of Anatomy (Ex); a Spellcloak at 20th level automatically confirms any critical threat she makes, in addition, she ignores any immunity or resistances to critical hits the target may have, such as from creature type and armor, and her critical hits, ignore miss chances, and magical defenses derived from the abjuration or illusion schools (such as mirror image, displacement, or the like). This ability replaces deadly performance.
My Designer's Commentary
the archetype's primary focus is coup de grace, everything ties to augmenting and perfecting it.
the low level damage bonuses, are designed to add a damage bonus intended to make a coup de grace worthwhile. while at the same time, opening options for viable damage in combat without needing to be strength focused.
the abilities all kind of tie off, some of the abilities are gratuitous rogue stuff an assassin would be expected to have, and the stealth abilities, from 6th onward, are there to lead to the 10th level ability, which makes coup de grace worthwhile, by combining with greater invisibility and a move, to inflict a coup de grace ever turn as a standard action.
the shroud abilities, while helping with stealth to set this up, offer a nice defensive boon and save a spell known. making the 10th level ability shine
the 18th and 20th level abilities, combine to turn any critical threat that hits, into a pseudo coup de grace, which combined with the scaling static bonuses, makes a high crit range something worthy of appreciation
but the class features kinda hint at focusing on one trick and adding a bunch of triggers, coup de grace.
but it is also a fairly viable 2WF or archer build due to the static damage gained at levels 1 and 2 and the pseudo full bab gained at 10th level with certain weapons.
a spellcloak has many reasons to stay a spellcloak.
coup de gracing a foe denied dex, as a standard action, also solves the martial mobility issue. but a 2HW or Archery build is still superior.
before 10th level, in fact, even before 6th, a spellcloak isn't much different from a rogue. being a 3/4 bab secondary damage dealer who uses a handful of skills and a few spells.
their damage bonus, is a little less than sneak attack, but applies more often and multiplies on a crit. even if weapon choices are restriced, and if they have fewer potential combat feats than a rogue.
plus, they are a little more M.A.D. than a rogue.
in fact, they depend on all the stats of a finesse ninja and are less circumstance based.
Spellcloak (Bard Archetype); warning, this archetype drastically changes the fundamental focus of the bard class. It is a change as wildly radical to the bard as the Zen Archer is to the Monk, the Samurai to the Cavalier, or the Ninja to the rogue. It takes the bard chassis and uses it to build a magic using assassin
Weapon Proficiency; the Spellcloak adds the wakazashi, sawtooth sabre, katana, kukri and scimitar to her list of weapon proficiencies, these proficiencies replace the standard proficiency with longsword, whip, sap and shields
Blurred Grace; at 1st level when unarmored, a Spellcloak adds her charisma bonus as a dodge bonus to armor class and as a dodge bonus to reflex saving throws, in addition, she is treated as having the evasion class feature of the rogue, but only when unarmored. This ability replaces the bard’s armor proficiency, her ability to ignore arcane spell failure with armor and shields, and the inspire competence bardic performance
Assassin’s Training; (Ex) at 1st level; a Spellcloak adds half her level to perception, survival, and disable device checks, and may disable magical traps and haunts with a disable device check. In addition, she may pick locks and both find or disable traps in half the time. In addition, she may take 10 on any perception or disable device check, and treats disable device and survival, as additional class skills. This ability replaces bardic knowledge and well versed
Precision Artist; (Ex) at 1st level When wielding a light weapon, shortbow, or crossbow a Spellcloak gains a competence bonus on damage rolls equal to her bard level. To get this bonus, the Spellcloak may neither carry a shield, nor wield nor attack with a weapon in her off hand; including off hand unarmed strikes, bladed boots and the like. In addition, ranged attacks with this bonus cannot be combined with rapid shot nor many shot due to the concentration required, nor can this ability be combined with the power attack, piranha strike nor deadly aim feats This ability replaces the fascinate bardic performance and the versatile performance gained at 2nd level
Assassin’s Style; at 1st level; a Spellcloak uses her dexterity bonus in place of her strength bonus to attack and damage rolls with light weapons, rapiers, sawtooth sabres, katana, and scimitars. In addition she adds her dexterity bonus to damage rolls with crossbows and to damage rolls with non-composite shortbows. This ability replaces the countersong and distraction bardic performances
Shroud; (Su) at 5th level, a Spellcloak is treated as if she were under the effects of a permanent blur spell that cannot be dispelled. In addition, she may make a stealth check to conceal herself even while observed. At 8th level, the miss chance against enemy attacks increases to 50% as if she had total concealment. This ability replaces the the lore master use gained at 5th level, the dirge of doom bardic performance, the suggestion bardic performance and the versatile performance gained at 6th level
Master of Assassination (Ex); at 10th level, a Spellcloak receives to following perks
1. When wielding a weapon that benefits from precision artist, she may use her bard level in place of her base attack bonus for all intents and purposes pertaining to base attack bonus
2. The spellcloak may make a coup de grace as a standard action
3. A Spellcloak may apply a coup de grace to a flat footed or stunned foeas if they were helpless
4. A Spellcloak may, in addition to making a coup de grace in melee range, do such in the first range increment with a ranged weapon she is proficient with, even if it weren’t melee range
This ability replaces the inspire greatness bardic performance, the lore master use gained at 11th level and the versatile performance gained at 10th level
Cloaked Performance (Ex); a Spellcloak at 12th level or higher may use her bardic performance to grant greater invisibility to a number of allies equal to her bard level. The allies must be within 100 feet of the Spellcloak to receive this bonus and may move at their full speed with no penalty to their stealth check. At 17th level, this performance allows them to ignore difficult terrain. This ability replaces jack of all trades and soothing performance.
Lethal Critical (Ex); at 15th level, a Spellcloak may treat any confirmed critical hit she makes as a coup de grace; regardless if it would be otherwise illegal circumstances. In addition, her critical hits ignore damage reduction of any sort. This ability replaces the versatile performance gained at 18th level, the frightnening tune bardic performance, and the lore master use gained at 17th level
Master of Anatomy (Ex); a Spellcloak at 20th level automatically confirms any critical threat she makes, in addition, her critical hits ignore magic based defenses. This ability replaces the deadly performance performance bardic performance, the.inspire heroics bardic performanceand the mass suggestion bardic performance
a nerfed spellcloak. now modified to be unarmored, which was kinda intentional, but at the same time, with fewer features, more front loaded, even more M.A.D. and with less insane DPR
Interesting concept, however the biggest issue I see with this archetype is that it is a complete munchkin class; you are giving it too many class features at once, power-loaded by design, not by user application; see comments below.
You did warn us that there would be some imbalance, but this almost gives me a headache. I am, however, still compelled to give you some constructive feedback.
First, you should probably turn this into a base class instead of an archetype. You are doing a major overhaul of the bard class mechanically and drastically changing the bard's role.
Spells: Is there a reason for using the bard spell list over another? Again, you are changing the focus so much that many of the spells on the bard's spell list are rendered moot. I would suggest designing your own spell list.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: All of the weapons that you gave the spellcloak are extremely powerful exotic weapons, for free. This is where some of the munchkin element comes in; this is a quick and easy solution to gaining proficiency with some of the best high-crit, damage-dealing exotic weapons available. There is no flavor text for your spellcloak to support having katanas and wakazashis, so I'm assuming it's of Asian flavor? If so, reworking the ninja to have spells may have been a better option. I would highly recommend rethinking this.
Blurred Grace: Again, this wreaks of munchkin. Bonus to AC, CMD, Reflex Saves, and Evasion all at level 1. The rogue and monk don't get evasion until 2nd level; the spellcloak should as well. I see your reasoning for going with CHA to AC because the spellcloak is unarmored, but I would drop the bonus to Reflex. If you turn this into its own class, just give it good Reflex progression.
Assassin's Training: Another munchkin ability. Half level to 3 skills without limitation (ie Perception), Rogue Talent for free, and Skill Mastery Talent for two skills for free, all at 1st level. Neither the Assassin, Bard, Monk, nor Ninja have Survival as a class skill, so why does the spellcloak? I would recommend replacing this ability with trapfinding and leave it at that. You are usurping the rogue in a very rude way.
Precision Artist: Duelist's precise strike at 1st level, but without the normal limitations (not precision damage). This is extremely powerful (being always active) and does not entirely support the assassin theme. I would consider giving the spellcloak a sneak attack or death attack variant, or at least limiting the ability to be more like the duelist's precise strike, but progress at +1 damage for every 2 spellcloak levels.
Assassin Style: Again, munchkin. Free Weapon Finesse and Dervish Dance/Agility weapon at 1st level. You wanted to make the spellcloak more M.A.D., but so far all I see I need is DEX and CHA. I would remove this ability.
Shroud: Ugh. Perm Blur and Hide in Plain Sight both for free at 5th level. Just... ugh. And this is the nerfed version? Please replace this ability with something else. You are already getting Blur and Invisibility as spells, you don't need them as passives.
Master of Assassination: ... More assassin than the Assassin? And only at level 10? Why? This is the definition of munchkin. 4-in-1 ability, insta-coup de grace. Way too powerful.
Cloaked Performance: Oh right, the spellcloak still has the bardic performance; I had almost forgotten. And until now, the only performance I had was Inspire Courage, an attack and damage bonus. Bardic performance only functions if a bard's allies can see and/or hear the bard. Isn't the spellcloak supposed to be an assassin? Why is he singing, playing an instrument, and dancing then? This completely defeats the purpose. Now onto this ability itself; greater invisibility? full Stealth? ignore difficult terrain? 100ft range? Convenient. Either utilize bardic performance like the Dervish Dancer bard archetype, or remove it all together.
Lethal Critical: This is way too powerful. Please remove it.
Master of Anatomy: Isn't there already a trait with this name? As a capstone ability, it makes sense, but does "ignore magic based defenses" entail? Fortification? I would use your original description, but then add more clarity.
Honestly, you buffed the spellcloak from the original version, not nerfed it. Again, this is all over the place and waaay too powerful. I'm really sorry if I came off sarcastic, I honestly would like to help you in the development of this concept, but I see this type of design all the time and it can become frustrating at times. It is certainly a concept that has some potential to it, and is lacking in the current system; a spell-wielding rogue/assassin or shadow/stealth-centric bard. However, many of the concepts can already be done with existing resources in a much more balanced manner; dervish dancer bard into shadow dancer and/or assassin prc, rogue with levels in wizard, magus with levels in rogue, etc.
If you want to really bring this concept to life, you really need to bring it down to earth for a moment; get it dirty and humble. I really enjoyed the beguiler class from 3.5, which the title of this reminded me of, but I was sorely disappointed. I have been working on a beguiler remake, but just haven't had to time to complete it. The Beguiler might be a good source of inspiration for this archetype as well.
I would also recommend looking to the Dervish Dancer bard archetype for guidance on how to utilize bardic performance in different way. Perhaps utilize bardic performance to aid in your Stealth? Like a shadow dance.
I would love to help you flesh this concept out further, but you need to scrap what you have now and rebuild first. There is way too much that needs to be reworked before I can help you, without doing the work myself. I look forward to seeing this progress.
Spellcloak (Bard Archetype); Draft 3 of a magic using assassin themed archetype
Weapon Proficiency; the Spellcloak adds the wakazashi and kukri to her list of weapon proficiencies, these proficiencies replace the standard proficiency with longsword, whip, sap and shields. Spellcloaks favor small concealable weapons, and know full well, the benefits of a curved knife, even in the west.
Blurred Grace; at 1st level when unarmored, a Spellcloak adds her charisma bonus as a dodge bonus to armor class and as dodge bonus to her CMD. This replaces the Spellcloaks proficiency with armor and also replaces her ability to ignore arcane spell failure with both armor and shields
Break in Artist; (Ex) at 1st level; a Spellcloak adds half her bard level as an insight bonus to any perception or disable device checks she makes, and may disable magical traps and haunts with a disable device check. In addition, she may treat disable device as an additional class skill. This ability replaces the distraction and countersong bardic performances
Precision Artist; (Ex) at 1st level when wielding a light weapon, shortbow, or crossbow a Spellcloak gains a bonus precision damage equal to her bard level. This ability replaces the fascinate, suggestion and mass suggestion bardic performances, and all uses of the lore master ability
Rogue Talents; (Ex;) at 2nd level, 6th level, and every 4 levels after, a Spellcloak receives a rogue talent, chooseable from the rogue talent or ninja trick lists, at 10th level and after, she may choose an advanced talent or master trick. This ability replaces versatile performance
Evasion; at 2nd level, a Spellcloak receives evasion, this works as the rogue ability of the same name with the exception that it only applies when unarmored. This ability replaces well versed
Weapon Finesse; a Spellcloak receives weapon finesse as a bonus feat at 1st level, this ability replaces bardic knowledge
Assassin Trances; (Su) a Spellcloak, rather than performing like a standard bard, invokes trances, assassin trances affect only the Spellcloak herself, taking a swift action to initiate and a free action each round after to sustain. There are no verbal or somatic components to an assassin trance. An assassin trance otherwise functions as a bardic performance for all intents and purposes. The following standard bardic performances are available in the the form of assassin trances at the appropriate levels, Inspire Courage, Inspire Competence, Inspire Greatness, and Inspire Heroics. This ability replaces bardic performance.
Camoflouge Trance (SU) a Spellcloak of 12th level or higher, may use her assassin trance to grant herself the effects of a greater invisbility spell for its duration. This ability replaces soothing performance.
Twist the Wound; (Ex) a Spellcloak of 8th level or higher, treats any light weapon she wields, as if it had the agile weapon property detailed on page 50 of the pathfinder society field guide. In addition, she adds her dexterity bonus to damage rolls with light crossbows, and to damage rolls with non-composite shortbows. This ability replaces dirge of doom and frightening tune
Master of Anatomy (Ex); a Spellcloak at 20th level automatically confirms any critical threat she makes, in addition, her critical hits ignore defenses derived from spells or spell like abilities of the illusion school (Such as displacement or mirror image). This ability replaces the deadly performance performance bardic performance.
i dropped most of the exotic weapon choices, i kept the wakazashi and Kukri. so that Ninja and Hassansin flavors were still workable
gave trapfinding with a different name and slightly different benefits
retained a few more bardic performances, using the dervish dancer archetype as a baseline
dropped a lot of the coup de grace stuff
gave a rogue talent progression
broke up a few abilities at different levels
dropped some other stuff that was redundant
and put the duelist's precision damage limitation on master of precision. it still uses full level, but it should balance out with the fact it is on a 3/4 bab class.
moved Dex to Damage to 8th level. i figure, the precision damage could carry them till then.
decided to go with a trance flavor for the performances, as were found in a few fictional works involving magic using assassins.
should be less imbalanced than it once was.
Spellcloak (Bard Archetype); Draft 4 of a magic using assassin themed archetype
Weapon Proficiency; the Spellcloak adds the Wakazashi and Kukri to her list of weapon proficiencies; these proficiencies replace the standard proficiency with longsword, whip, sap and shields. Spellcloaks favor small concealable weapons, and know full well, the benefits of a curved knife, even in the west.
Blurred Grace; (Ex) at 1st level when unarmored, a Spellcloak adds her charisma bonus as a dodge bonus to armor class and as a dodge bonus to her CMD. This replaces the Spellcloaks proficiency with armor and also replaces her ability to ignore arcane spell failure with both armor and shields
Break in Artist; (Ex) at 1st level; a Spellcloak adds half her bard level as an insight bonus to any perception or disable device checks she makes, and may disable magical traps and haunts with a disable device check. In addition, she may treat disable device as an additional class skill. This ability replaces the distraction and counter-song Bardic performances
Precision Artist; (Ex) at 1st level when wielding a light weapon, short-bow, or crossbow a Spellcloak inflicts bonus precision damage equal to her bard level. This ability replaces the fascinate, suggestion and mass suggestion Bardic performances, and all uses of the lore master ability
Rogue Talents; (Ex) at 2nd level, 6th level, and every 4 levels after, a Spellcloak receives a rogue talent, chosen from the rogue talent or ninja trick lists, at 10th level and after, she may choose an advanced talent or master trick. This ability replaces versatile performance
Evasion; (Ex) at 2nd level, a Spellcloak receives evasion, this works as the rogue ability of the same name with the exception that it only applies when unarmored. This ability replaces well versed
Weapon Finesse (Ex); a Spellcloak receives weapon finesse as a bonus feat at 1st level, this ability replaces Bardic knowledge
Shroud Dances; (Su) a Spellcloak, rather than performing like a standard bard, invokes a series of dance like movements that tap into a magical force called the shroud, Shroud Dances affect only the Spellcloak herself, taking a swift action to initiate and a free action each round after to sustain. There are neither auditory nor visual components to a Shroud Dance; a Shroud Dance otherwise functions as a Bardic performance for all intents and purposes. The following standard Bardic performances are available in the form of Shroud Dances at the appropriate levels, Inspire Courage, Inspire Competence, Inspire Greatness, and Inspire Heroics. This ability replaces Bardic performance.
Shrouded Casting; (Ex) a Spellcloak of 9th level or higher, treats any spells she casts as if they were modified by the Silent Spell and Still Spell Metamagic feats without altering the spell’s level nor their casting time. In addition, she may silently activate scrolls and wands as she long as she meets the requirements to activate them; whether by means of having the spell on her list, or beating the appropriate use magic device check.
Camouflage Dance (SU) a Spellcloak of 12th level or higher, may use her Shroud Dance to grant herself the effects of a greater invisibility spell for its duration. This ability replaces soothing performance.
Twist the Wound; (Ex) a Spellcloak of 8th level or higher, treats any light weapon she wields, as if it had the agile weapon property detailed on page 50 of the pathfinder society field guide. In addition, she adds her dexterity bonus to damage rolls with light crossbows, and to damage rolls with non-composite short-bows. This ability replaces dirge of doom and frightening tune
Master of Anatomy (Ex); a Spellcloak at 20th level automatically confirms any critical threat she makes, in addition, her critical hits ignore defenses derived from spells or spell like abilities of the illusion school (Such as displacement or mirror image). This ability replaces the deadly performance Bardic performance.
went with the Shadow Dances idea, calling them "Shroud Dances." the shroud can be explained later. but the basic concept i had in mind, was akin to a hybrid of the darkness beyond the stars, meets the edge beyond all reason, and may open the door for a new religion.
Spellcloak (Bard Archetype); Draft 4 of a magic using assassin themed archetype
Weapon Proficiency; the Spellcloak adds the Wakazashi, Hand Crossbow, and Kukri to her list of weapon proficiencies; these proficiencies replace the standard proficiency with Long-sword, Whip, Sap and Shields. Spellcloaks favor small concealable weapons, and know full well, the benefits of a curved knife, even in the west.
Blurred Grace; (Ex) at 1st level when unarmored, a Spellcloak adds a dodge bonus equal to her Charisma bonus to her Armor Class and to her Combat Maneuver Defense. This replaces the Spellcloaks proficiency with armor and also replaces her ability to ignore arcane spell failure with both armor and shields
Break in Artist; (Ex) at 1st level; a Spellcloak adds half her bard level as an insight bonus to any Perception or Disable Device checks she makes, and she may disable any Magical Traps and haunts with a Disable Device check. In addition, she may treat disable device as an additional class skill. This ability replaces the Distraction and Counter-Song Bardic performances
Precision Artist; (Ex) at 1st level when attacking with a light weapon, short-bow, a hand crossbow, or a light crossbow a Spellcloak inflicts bonus precision damage equal to her bard level. This ability replaces the fascinate, suggestion and mass suggestion Bardic performances, and all uses of the Lore Master ability
Rogue Talents; (Ex) at 2nd level, 6th level, and every 4 levels after (10th 14th 18th 22nd etc.), a Spellcloak receives a rogue talent, chosen freely from the rogue talent or ninja trick lists as long as she meets the requirements, at 10th level and after, she may choose an advanced talent or master trick. This ability replaces Versatile Performance
Evasion; (Ex) at 2nd level, a Spellcloak receives Evasion, this works as the rogue ability of the same name with the exception that it only applies when unarmored. This ability replaces Well Versed
Weapon Finesse (Ex); a Spellcloak receives Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at 1st level, this ability replaces Bardic Knowledge
Shroud Dances; (Su) a Spellcloak, rather than performing like a standard bard, invokes a series of dance like movements that tap into an extraplanar magical force called “The Shroud”, Shroud Dances affect only the Spellcloak herself, taking a swift action to initiate and a free action each round after to sustain. There are neither auditory nor visual components to a Shroud Dance; a Shroud Dance otherwise functions as a Bardic Performance for all intents and purposes. The following standard Bardic Performances are available in the form of Shroud Dances at the appropriate levels, Inspire Courage, Inspire Competence, Inspire Greatness, and Inspire Heroics. This ability replaces Bardic Performance.
Shrouded Casting; (Ex) a Spellcloak of 9th level or higher, treats any spells she casts as if they were modified by the Silent Spell and Still
Spell Metamagic feats while altering neither the spell’s level nor their casting time. In addition, she may silently activate scrolls and wands as long as she meets the requirements to activate them; whether by means of having the spell on her list, or beating the appropriate Use Magic Device check.
Camouflage Dance (Su) a Spellcloak of 12th level or higher, may use her Shroud Dance to grant herself the effects of a greater invisibility spell for its duration. This ability replaces Soothing Performance.
Twist the Wound; (Ex) a Spellcloak of 8th level or higher, treats any light weapon she wields, as if it had the Agile weapon property detailed on page 50 of the Pathfinder Society Field Guide. In addition, she adds her dexterity bonus to damage rolls with light crossbows, to damage rolls with hand crossbows and to damage rolls with non-composite short-bows. This ability replaces the Dirge of Doom and Frightening Tune Bardic Performances
Master of Anatomy (Ex); a Spellcloak at 20th level automatically confirms any critical threat she makes, in addition, her critical hits ignore defenses derived from the effects of spells or spell like abilities from the illusion school (Such as displacement or mirror image). This ability replaces the Deadly Performance Bardic Performance.
fixed some of the editing errors.
i personally recommend draft 4.2 so far. it is the safest for playtesting.
These revisions are a vast improvement. Well done.
I still feel as though the Spellcloak isn't utilizing the bardic performance as much as it could. It still gets all of the buff performances, but it isn't a front-line fighter like the Dervish Dancer.
Performance Ideas:
- Add bonus to Stealth while performing.
- Gain hide in plain sight (shadow dancer version) while performing.
- Gain darkness, centered on the spellcloak, while performing.
- Gain sneak attack while performing.
Shroud Dance: Keep the rules for bardic performance the same. Standard action to start, free to maintain. At 7th level, move action to start. At 13th level, swift action.
Precision Artist: Still not needed, at least not as an always-active ability. Perhaps have it only apply during conditions that allow a sneak attack.
Shrouded Casting: This should have limitations and not be always active; very powerful otherwise. Perhaps uses per day and while in concealment granted by darkness or while using Stealth.
Twist the Wound: This is still sort of munchkin-y. No other class gets this kind of ability. Perhaps make this a bardic performance.
the reasons i kept precision artist and twist the wound passive as they are, and the reason i don't intend to change those 2 abilities includes
Simplicity; a lot of the groups i am going to be sharing the playtests for these archetypes for, aren't very good at tracking changing modifiers, so it was easier to reduce the amount of inconsistent modifiers.
Incentive; it was an incentive to stick with the class for as long as you did. even if they are always on, sneak attack deals 1.75 times this amount on average and can be acquired from something as simple as flanking. plus i figured it didn't make sense that an assassin couldn't activate their precision at will. the extra damage isn't so bad on an unarmored 3/4 bab chassis.
plus it cost them several class features to afford
the reasons that the 9th level ability, Shrouded Casting is always active
Simplicity; as above, makes math less of an issue.
Incentive; a reason to take 9 levels of this archetype, and if you honestly went 9 levels for this ability, you might as well stick with bard, it's not like you will benefit from metamagic anyway, and what can a bard spell really do besides mess around with combat numbers slightly?
honestly, besides a silent and stilled haste, what else can you really do?
the reason that shroud dance is a swift action to activate.
you give up the biggest benefit of bardic performance, sharing it with the whole party,
Just because it is simple doesn't mean it is correct or balanced. You could say that sneak attack applied on every attack, no matter the circumstances, just because it is simpler that way. Metamagic feats don't affect a spell's level, because its simpler that way.
Assassin's are supposed to be stealthy, cunning killers. This is why the Assassin's Death Attack requires you to study a target before striking. Precision Artist gives me the impression that the archetype is more of a duelist; even then the Duelist's Precise Strike only adds a maximum of +10 precision damage to each attack, not +20 like you are suggesting. This extra damage needs to be lessened (maybe +1 per two bard levels) and made conditional, or just give the spellcloak sneak attack. If you wanted to apply CHA to damage rolls as bonus precision damage all of the time (to a maximum of 1 CHA point to damage per bard level; like Duelist's Canny Defense), that would be more balanced.
The spellcloak's ability to always cast all of his spells without moving or speaking means that he will never provoke attacks of opportunity while casting, unless an opponent makes a successful Spellcraft check. That is extremely powerful. The magus gets the ability to cast a metamagic spell without adjustment, but that is only 1 metamagic feat, usable only once per day, at the cost of a magus arcana selection. You are suggesting 2 metamagic feats, all of the time, for free, just by leveling.
It's not hard to keep track of an ability that can only be used 3 + CHA modifier times per day, or only used while shroud dancing.
Finally, the Dervish Dancer's battle dance requires a move action to start and stop, and that only applies to the bard herself. Shroud Dance should be no different.
Just because it is simple doesn't mean it is correct or balanced. You could say that sneak attack applied on every attack, no matter the circumstances, just because it is simpler that way. Metamagic feats don't affect a spell's level, because its simpler that way.
Assassin's are supposed to be stealthy, cunning killers. This is why the Assassin's Death Attack requires you to study a target before striking. Precision Artist gives me the impression that the archetype is more of a duelist; even then the Duelist's Precise Strike only adds a maximum of +10 precision damage to each attack, not +20 like you are suggesting. This extra damage needs to be lessened (maybe +1 per two bard levels) and made conditional, or just give the spellcloak sneak attack. If you wanted to apply CHA to damage rolls as bonus precision damage all of the time (to a maximum of 1 CHA point to damage per bard level; like Duelist's Canny Defense), that would be more balanced.
The spellcloak's ability to always cast all of his spells without moving or speaking means that he will never provoke attacks of opportunity while casting, unless an opponent makes a successful Spellcraft check. That is extremely powerful. The magus gets the ability to cast a metamagic spell without adjustment, but that is only 1 metamagic feat, usable only once per day, at the cost of a magus arcana selection. You are suggesting 2 metamagic feats, all of the time, for free, just by leveling.
It's not hard to keep track of an ability that can only be used 3 + CHA modifier times per day, or only used while shroud dancing.
Finally, the Dervish Dancer's battle dance requires a move action to start and stop, and that only applies to the bard herself. Shroud Dance should be no different.
i play in 5 absurdly high powered groups, only one of which is full pathfinder
but all of them have 3.5 elements.
maybe i shouldn't have posted this
it shows how munchkin all 5 of my groups are, and 3 of my DMs, have me design munchkin traps to ensnare PCs with.
spellcloak was a sample of a way to ensare munchkins.
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Hmm. I was actually really intrigued by the concept. I'd love to be able to play a spellcaster/assassin kind of character in the style of Dishonored (for example) that works at first level without having to multiclass. I'd be interested if anyone had any thoughts about bringing this archetype down to a balanced level.