[PFS] Dance-centric builds?

[Violinist]

I have a mighty need to make a character focused on dancing, but I've never played or even built anything even remotely Bard-y or Charm-y or whatever else a dancer might be good for.

Perform (Dance). What is it good for? Is there anything else dance-centric fluff-wise (that isn't Dervish Dancer?)?

[Handaxe Beak]

There's always the Janni Style feat chain; it requires Perform (Dance) and Acrobatics ranks to take and the fighting you do with it looks like dancing. Other style feats could also potentially be reflavored as combat dancing.

Bards, of course, make great dancers, as do skalds. Bards (and maybe skalds? I dunno) get access to dance-related Bardic Masterpieces, if you want your dancing to be more directly related to your magic.

Or you could go really simple and just have dance-flavored somatic components for spells. This would probably fit a witch or a magus best, but at this point you could do basically anything you want.

[LoneKnave]

You want this

[Varent]

You could try being a face for your group, go rogue and get the combat style feats, then become a shadowdancer.

Another approach could be to go as a bard and head for shadowdancer again, but use the likes of bardic performance instead of a rogues sneak attack.

It just depends on how you want to play it, but you'll have to focus on combat style feats to get it properly focused so you'll probably have to go as a human.

[pauljathome]

Dervish Dance is one obvious route. And one of the innumerable Dervish archetypes (Dawnflower Dervish Bard being my personal favourite).

You might want to play the Dragon's Demand module for access to a cool (but not at all overpowered) item.

Especially as a follower of Shelyn you can get your day job Perform Dance up to pretty much absurd levels if you so choose (trait for +4, Deific Obedience, Skill Focus, magic item)

There are some bardic masterpieces based of Dance. And of course having an absurd acrobatics score (from Versatile Performance) can be quite useful

[haremlord]

Is there a way to use your Perform (Dance) skill for Bluff (specific Feint) checks besides the mythic path ability of "This Just Might Work"?

I had a similar idea for a character and I ended up with a very unsatisfying build. A snakebite striker brawler with the Snake style and snake sidewind feats, and maxed out dance skill. I didn't get the feel that dance actually played a part in combat.

[LoneKnave]

Bard with versatile performance: dance can use perform:dance for acrobatics. Get Slayer's Feint, it lets you feint with acrobatics.

[Magda Luckbender]

Magda is a dance-centric Human Evangelist-archetype Cleric of Shelyn, the goddess of Beauty and Art. At the start of combat she sometimes begins a polearm battle-dance, which is just Bardic Inspire Courage.

[Violinist]

This is looking like some kind of Bard with maybe a dash of Rogue or something like it.

I'm loving the thought of using Fighting Fans, but not sure how to make those work. I feel like going deep enough into Rogue would gimp the whole Bard side, and I've never even played a Bard to begin with.

I think what I'm really going for with the Bard thing is the whole Bardic Performance thing, and spells. I might just dip Bard and go mostly Rogue. Somehow every character I build inevitably ends up "Mostly Rogue."

I love the thought of Charm/Enchantment-based crowd control of some kind, like the Fascinate Bardic Performance. Might be there's some way to achieve similar effects without the Bard side, I don't know.

[Imbicatus]

Several bard archeytpes give access to rogue talents, so you can use Grig Jig without the rogue dip.

[haremlord]

LoneKnave wrote:

Bard with versatile performance: dance can use perform:dance for acrobatics. Get Slayer's Feint, it lets you feint with acrobatics.

Brilliant, thanks!

Would work great with a Dervish Dancer. :)

[Dennis Deadsky]

Why not be a full bard? Adding Rogue levels to a bard just makes for a weak and ineffectual character. Bards are already the superior rogue! Try something different and be a rogue, not a Rogue.

[Mikaze]

The Spear Dancer feat from Inner Sea Gods is a definite lock for my battledancing character(thanks Kalindlara!). It meshes perfectly with Shelynite concepts.

[blackbloodtroll]

Dawnflower Dervish(no terrible Rogue levels) is good on it's own.

If looking for no casting, then the Whirling Dervish Swashbuckler is an option.

[pH unbalanced]

If you're interested in Fighting Fans and an Enchantment/Charm focus, definitely take a look at Lotus Geisha.

[Kalindlara]

Mikaze wrote:

The Spear Dancer feat from Inner Sea Gods is a definite lock for my battledancing character(thanks Kalindlara!). It meshes perfectly with Shelynite concepts.

<3

I used Spear Dancer for a Mwangi convert of Shelyn - CG cleric 3/monk (martial artist) 2. Basically, an entire build working up to flurrying with a glaive. (I also wanted my Serpent's Skull group to have access to Clarifying Channel.) The build takes a while to come online, though - that campaign is feat-per-level and she still had to work for it.

[Bongo BigBounce]

My Muse-Touched Aasimar Bard, Don Suavios, uses the Flagbearer feat in conjunction with his dancing Bardic Performance to become the buffing color guard for whatever group he is in. Keep in mind that when you are dancing for buffs, people have to be able to SEE you. Be ready with Light and Daylight.

Whatever you choose, I would recommend playing the module Murder's Mark as early as possible

Spoiler:

for a chance to acquire a certain belt.]

[ngc7293]

There are a couple of Masterpieces: Cat-step (allows group to fall a short distance), Dance of 23 Steps (+2 dodge bonus for 1 round)

I would guess that Dance could also be used to perform for the party if you are somehow silenced.

[Skyler Malik]

Flame Dancer Bard and Shadow Dancer Prestige class :)

[Casey Hudak]

There's also the Spell Dancer Archetype for the Elvish Magus. It is an elf specific racial archetype, but it's not like being an elf is bad if you want to play a magus anyway.

[Naennir Ulfr]

If you use Dreamscarred Press's Path of War stuff, then I would suggest the Mithral Current discipline added in the expansion, its associated skill is perform (dance) and it allows you to some tactically cool things. Dance check in place of AC, Dance check to reposition after miss, Dance check instead of Acrobatics to move through threatened squares. Dance checks for tripping. The expansion also adds some feats and traits that enhance Dance's utility.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dKCPPIpRoR9CZv0A35gLDnXl5itgRufjWTq83BI sMfs/edit

[BadBird]

The Dawnflower Dervish trades in the typical Bard's Inspire Courage with a self-focused supernatural "Battle Dance" that doubles Inspire Courage at the cost of it being only a personal effect. So it's pure militarized dancing instead of inspiring through dance. The fact that it can get a +4 to attack and damage from Inspire Courage and another +2 to attack from Heroism by level 5 is pretty nuts - if you don't care so much about Bard stuff beyond just militarized dancing, then you can multiclass easily enough.

[Markov Spiked Chain]

Versatile Performance also gives you Fly. My Halfling Duettist riding a Flying Fox has gotten quite a bit of use out of it for Fly checks. Plus their daytime job as circus acrobats.

[Iliquoi]

There is a spell dancer elven archetype for the magus as well.