I’m probably going to rebuild my PFS Core character. Martials in general and rangers specifically seem very common in my local and the PFS Core PbP. I am considering a Shadow Dancer build to be more of a scout / skill monkey and because I’ve never made one before. (I also like the thought of an 'imaginary friend' that can actually hurt people.)
I’m thinking rogue 3 / fighter 2 / shadow dancer 6 before possible retirement.
Now one time I saw a build for an odd shadow dancer that sounded amusing. I can’t remember the exact details. But it actually used a halberd and heavy armor with the shadow line of enhancement. No one expects a sneak attack from hide in plain sight with a halberd from a plate armored beast. I think it had a trait and a feat to improve stealth and the rest was THW combat feats. Not sure if anyone else remembers the details of that build or maybe has seen how well it worked in actual use. Let me know if you have any info.
I see there is a guide to a THW shadow dancer, but I can’t get the link to open anything.
Otherwise I suppose I could do a more traditional Halfling sneak stabber build.
Any thoughts or suggestions? Does a shadow dancer/combat build get past enough of the rogue short comings to function acceptable in PFS as scout and skill monkey yet still able to hold his own in combat?
In the guide ranger is the best to go into shadowdancer due to 2 good saves d10 hps
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Honestly, from a numbers standpoint your best bet is with a pure martial into Shadowdancer, like Fighter or Ranger. Paladin is a little sketchy because of the Code and your undead companion. Fighter helps keep you up to date with build-vital combat feats while still letting you get the situational-at-best feats that are required for the archetype, not to mention the raw number boosts from Weapon Training and Weapon Specialization. Ranger offers a good mix of sneaky skills with a full BaB package and even a little bit of spellcasting as the cherry on top.
I would advise against core rogue. Sneak attacks are hard to pull off in combat and they don't hit all that hard anyhoo, you take a hit to BaB, and the rogue tricks are kind of meh. If this were Unchained then I'd say go nuts, but again, core. Plus Shadowdancer doesn't keep sneak attack scaling, so there's that.
You had the right idea with a 2hander weapon. Stick with that, maybe something with Reach so you can stretch out a bit more past the shadows, and get some Combat Reflexes to help with that decent dex you'll likely be rocking.
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You will have better Saves, more Charisma, for which Shadow Conjuration and Evocation are based off of. Lack of Smite progression does not hurt the build too badly.
Paladin is actually a better martial, all around, than the Fighter.
Now, Ranger is a good choice as well.
I would advise against Fighter, as your Saves will be tough to deal with.
Going Rogue is nearly suicide.
I´m doing a shadowdancer too as my Core character, but building on a barbarian. You can keep the rogue feeling and stealth around, until you freak out.
I would not want a paladin. I don't think they go well with something that runs around with an undead helper all the time. (Anti-paladin though...) Plus I have a hard time reconciling about 1/3 of PF scenarios with the paladin code.
I'm really not too worried about being a martial powerhouse. There almost always seem to be plenty of martial characters. So I really just have to be able to hold my own and not drag down the others.
I wasn't planning on ranger because, as I said, we seem to be over supplied with rangers. However, I might give them another look. Might not seem as 'cookie cutter copy' if I'm eventually aimed at something fairly different in the end.
I haven't found flanking/sneak attacks nearly as difficult to pull off as some suggest. Especially in PFS where it often seems to be 6 of us vs 1 bad guy. However, that is primarily lower level PFS. So it may become more difficult later. Plus nearly the whole point of the PrC is a flanking buddy. But it is also a good point that the sneak attack is not progressing.
I was looking at some rogue because we seem to have been lacking in skill monkey, stealth, opening locks, etc... and core doesn't allow the archtypes that give very much of that to other classes.
I had not considered barbarian/shadow dancer. That just seems hilarious. Hide-in-plain-sight then raging barbarian coming out of the shadows to chop you into pieces. It won't have as many skill ranks as I wanted, but should have a lot of amusement value. This is suddenly becoming a strong contender in my imagination. Hmm... What rage powers work well with this?
I was looking at ways to make the most use of my shadow companion. Is there any way to give the shadow feats or traits? What about the 2 feats they have, can I change those to something else like teamwork feats? I suppose I could get some ghost touch equipment it could use, but that seems horrifically expensive.
Doh! Core = no teamwork feats. Uhm... Yeah, I knew that. I was checking to see how closely you were reading. That's it.
It is basically YOUR shadow. A Paladin of Sarenrae would be very thematical. Where there is light, there are shadows. Your undead shadow serves as a constant reminder of your task to bring light and redemption to the world.
Unrelated since core but would Eldritch guardian alow u to share ur fears with the shadow?