DMG Prc 2.0: The Shadowdancer

As I note on my thread on the duelist, I'm redesigning some or all of the prestige classes in the DMG, for streamlining and playability. This one attempts the shadowdancer, which I also think is badly in need of revision.

The shadowdancer attempts to provide a class that gives a clear reason for particular characters to take it. The biggest difference is that it has been written as a five-level prestige class and no longer really attempts to provide the same kind of defensive abilities that many core classes already get. Instead, it provides a clear focus on using shadows to greatly enhance tactical options on combat. If successfully designed, my shadowdancer should:

• Allow a range of characters to interestingly distinguish themselves from other characters with a thematically unified range of abilities while retaining the core identities they gain from base classes.
• Facilitate stealthy or subtle combat tactics. Note that a fifth-level shadowdancer with a sneak attack ability have the ability to perform a full sneak attack against an opponent from anywhere on the battlefield. This should be one of the class's main selling points for many characters.
• Provide abilities that are useful in a wide range of encounters.

Here's the revised shadowdancer.

Prerequisites:

• Skills: Move Silently 8 ranks, Hide 12 ranks, Perform (dance) 8 ranks.
• Feats: Dodge, Mobility.
• Special: Must have spent at least twenty-four hours awake and alone, in a place with no light at all.
  

Hit Die: d8.
Base Attack Progression: Fair (as rogue).
Good Saves: Reflex.
Class Skills: Balance, Bluff, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Perform, Profession, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Tumble, Use Rope.
Skill Points Per Level: 6 + Int modifier. Hide in Plain Sight (Su)
You can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as you are within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, you can hide yourself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind.

You cannot, however, hide in your own shadow.

Darkvision (Ex)
You gain darkvision out to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white but otherwise identical to normal sight.

Shadow Illusion (Sp)
When you reach 2nd level, you can create visual illusions. This ability’s effect is identical to that of the arcane spell silent image and may be employed a number of times per day equal to your Charisma bonus. If you don't have a Charisma bonus, you can use this ability once per week.

Shadow Jump (Su)
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to travel between shadows as a move action, moving instantly from your current location to another spot within range. Initiating a shadow jump provokes an attack of opportunity. The magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow. You always arrive exactly at the spot you desire, whether by simply visualizing the area or by stating direction and distance. You can bring along any objects you’re touching as you start to jump, so long as their weight doesn’t exceed your maximum load. You can’t bring along other creatures. If you try to jump to a place that is already occupied by a solid body, or that doesn’t have any shadow, the jump fails.

You can jump up to a total of 20 feet each day in this way; this may be a single jump of 20 feet or two jumps of 10 feet each. Every levels higher than 2nd, the total distance you can jump each day doubles (40 feet at 3rd, 80 feet at 4th, and 160 feet at 5th). This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment.

If you take another move action in the same round, you can move both before and after your shadow jump (so long, of course, as the total distance you move with your normal move action doesn’t exceed your speed).

Shadow Strike (Ex)
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to make surprising attacks after a jump. When you use your shadow jump ability to position yourself next to an opponent, that opponent loses his Dexterity bonus against any melee attacks you make during that round.

Tenebrous Mantle (Su)
At 4th level, you can expend one of the daily uses of your shadow illusion ability (as a swift action) to surround yourself with shifting shadows for 1d4 rounds. While this ability is in effect, you gain concealment.

Quicken Jump (Su)
At 5th level, you may perform a shadow jump as a swift action. Performing a quickened jump reduces your jumping distance for that day by 30 feet, in addition to the distance covered by your quickened jump. (Thus, a quickened 50-foot jump counts as a 80-foot jump against your limit, leaving you with 80 feet remaining for the day.) Quickened jumps don't provoke attacks of opportunity, unlike other shadow jumps.

Alternatively, you may perform a quickened jump in the middle of a normal move action, moving both before and after you make the jump. Doing so counts as both a (single) move action and a swift action.

(Note that I've revised the shadowdancer from the originally-posted version. They can now use shadow illusion a number of times per day equal to their Charisma bonus, and at 4th level can expend one of those uses to give themselves concealment for a short time (instead of their earlier slippery mind ability.)

That seems like an awful lot of supernatural abilities for those truly mundane prerequisites. I'd think "able to cast 1st-level arcane spells" would work, because you can satisfy that with a single feat (Soul of the North or its ilk)

This is an interesting adaptation of a class I've often been interested in, but have never taken.

I like the the "Special" requirement, and that the class doesn't lose too many skill points compared to a rogue. It's also a more compact class, which is nice.

One thing I never liked about the original version was that the dancing ability required for the class isn't incorporated into its class abilities. Perhaps you could do that here?

In this case, you could have Tenebrous Mantle tied to your dance skill. What comes to mind is the Dervish Dance ability of the Dervish class, and changing the duration to 1 round per 2 (or 3) ranks in the skill. This would firther emphasise the movement-based aspect of the character in addition the shadow stuff.

You could also make it more into a "battle method" ability like that of the Dervish Dance, Rage, Frenzy, etc. Just and idea though, as your class is excellent as it is. Thanks for sharing!

Machiavelli said:

That seems like an awful lot of supernatural abilities for those truly mundane prerequisites.

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No more so than the original class.

Sound of Azure said:

One thing I never liked about the original version was that the dancing ability required for the class isn't incorporated into its class abilities. Perhaps you could do that here?

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Thanks for the feedback!

That's an neat idea. Tenebrous mantle is a pretty strong ability, and if you let it last too long a moderately charismatic shadowdancer would be able to get concealment practically all the time, which (since it's not a signature ability of the class) is something I want to avoid. It's definitely designed as the kind of ability you only use once in a while, when you really need it. The hope was that by tying it (via shadow illusion) to Charisma, you're at least preserving some of the "dancer" aspect of the class...

Though what do you think of tying shadow jump to Perform (dance)? You could limit the jumping distance to 5 feet per rank when you get the ability, boosted to 10 feet per rank at 4th level?

comrade raoul said:

No more so than the original class.

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You are absolutely right, of course, but the point was to improve upon the original. My suggestion is that the original lacks justification for its thoroughly magical abilities. The shadowdancer works best with secondary martial classes, specifically but not exclusively rogues, yet it has a much higher level of magical ability than those base classes. So... where'd the magic come from? Perhaps it came from a level in a primary spellcasting class? No, that's not in the prerequisites and would significantly reduce the mechanical strengths of the character, despite its tidy thematic sensibility.

The minor magical ability feats in Complete Arcane may make great prerequisites. Although, assuming the feats are taken in the progression given by D&D RAW, not a suped-up houserule (nothing wrong with those, though), the character may be short on feats.

So how about ranks in Knowledge: Arcana, perhaps? At 6+Int ranks per level, the Shadowdancer can easily make up for cross-classing those prerequisite ranks, and rogues won't be hard pressed, either.

Also, shadow Illusion should have a caster level given.


Okay, that's all. My impressions: it's a very intriguing PrC that may work well with lots of character ideas. I liked the original Shadowdancer, despite its shortcomings, and this version provides the same flavor I was interested in, with greatly improved mechanics.

Machiavelli said:

Also, shadow Illusion should have a caster level given.

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It's assumed that caster level = class level for PrC abilities (and normal class abilities) unless otherwise stated.

...and yet "what's the caster level for x?" is among the most frequent questions asked. Just put it in there, it doesn't take up much space and adds alot to clarity of rules.