LifebaneSoulshadow said:
Yes there are the hide penalties for moving to the shadows. However, I've seen a player use the wording of HIPS to avoid moving anywhere.
Since they can HIPS if within 10' of any sort of shadow (I think is how HIPS is worded, dont have it in front of me atm), they feel that they dont actually need to move to the shadow. They just 'invis'/HIPS right where they are.
Then begs the question if they do need to move to the shadow to HIPS, take a -5 penalty for doing so, what size of shadow/darkness of shadow is needed?
Can it be the shadow from the legs of a small chair?
Then more weirdness with the fact that unless a room is BRIGHTLY lit, or when outside of anything before or after noon, there is some sort of shadow, somewhere. Is this basically an ability like one earlier poster mentioned that is basically giving the character 'invisibility-like' since it's a supernatural ability and be done with it? If so, it seems awfully powerful.
Lifebane Soulshadow *
While I don't know who created this class ability, I have read several books that it might have been taken from. "Jack of Shadows" being my favorite of the (somewhat short) list, as it has pretty much ALL of the abilities that the shadow dancer gets.
And yes, you can be standing, in bright light, directly in front of someone, and just vanish without moving at all, as if you've become invisible. You aren't hiding IN anything, you're instead tapping into magic from the shadow plane and becoming invisible, alibeit a lesser invisibility, since you don't get any + to hide from it.
And, as written it's less powerful than a ring of invisibility. Although it IS practically a free ring of invisibility. With a move action you can turn invisible (activate the ring, as it were).
Is it very powerful? Yes. Is it TOO powerful? Definitely not. Especially BECAUSE it's so very, very undefined. If you don't like the definition, change it. You're the DM, and it's overall power is completely up to you. In the book he needed a certain depth of shadow... IE there had to definitely be a light and a dark outline, NOT a blur as light levels gradually change. On the other hand, in the book the character could do NOTHING with his ability if there was not enough light to cast a shadow. Otherwise it's simple darkness. And darkness is not a shadow, it is instead absence of light. At one point the character was held captive in a room basically made of a round mirror, reflecting even the slightest light so as to allow no shadows. He could also, true, have been held in pure dark, but noone wanted to chance that. (Couldn't just be locked up, because of the shadow jump ability.)
Of course, "does the character need to move to hide?"
To hide in plane sight? A simple reading of the words says to me that the character indeed NEEDS to BE in plain sight in order to actually be able to do this. So of COURSE he doesn't need to move. In fact, the character practically has to not move in order to use the ability. Otherwise he's instead hiding in shadows, with a 5 foot adjust, which is aleady something that can be done. Really, there are rules for it. Doing that is the same as not using (or having) the ability in the first place.
On the other hand, that character might want to move after hiding in this manner. Because the henchman on my left has a held action to shoot if he tries to escape. And that henchman's not smart enough NOT to shoot, even if he thinks he's shooting an empty square. Seriously.
But I agree with you. First level, even first level PrC, is pretty darned quick to come up with that ability. I think it's better placed on the assassin, at level eight.
And, really, if it were actually overpowered as an ability per se, why oh why does noone complain about the assassin's use of the same ability?
Could it be because they have access to the actual SPELL, invisibility? Possibly. Once you compare it with the spell it's nothing.
And, of course, the assassin doesn't get it until eighth level.
So.
In conculusion (I just felt the need to say that.)
The way it's written they shouldn't need to move, and any shadow in existence other than their own should work, of any size. They are in no way moving to hide in the shadow, nor are they moving the shadow to hide them. They are, indeed, hiding while remaining in plain sight. While being fully observed. If they need to be IN the shadow, the ability would be written as to say that they need to be within zero feet of a shadow, as opposed to the current statement, which clearly says that they can be ten feet away.
Personally I think we should simplify this, and have the any character with this ability cast no shadow. Then you don't have to include that they can't use their own. Plus I like the feel. And there should be some supernatural price for such a supernatural ability, don't'cha think? And they can always have their shadow companion take over playing shadow sometimes. Lends an interesting and mystical feel to things, I think.
Also:
1) Clearly define "shadow", including the amount needed, for the PC the second the PC hints at wanting to play a class with such abilities in the game. Discuss it up front, agree or lay down a ruling up front. Once you're done this there is no "arguing" as to whether or not there is a shadow, you've defined the situation that such a power can be used in, and now you're stating whether that situation is active. You make the story after all.
2) If you think it's too much for a first level PrC, then move it to a later level. Perhaps have it be limited to one or a few times a day, then get more uses per day, and finally become unlimited. I personally like the feel and idea of that, because I do think it's too much just to give out as is, and it does leave a desire to dip into the class for one level to learn such a powerful ability.
3) If it still bothers you so much that it can be done at all, or if you don't feel capable of clearly defining this yourself, give the PC an irremovable earring of invisibility instead. More powerful, just as unlimited, and better defined.
