Conversion
of the 2nd edition speciality priest class, included in the
Forgotten Realms “Demihuman Deities” accessory.
By Axel
Hartmann
any
comments on this conversion should be sent to: hartmann.acki@t-online.de
Sword
dancers are speciality priests of Eilistraee, goddess of the good aligned dark
elves in the Forgotten Realms. Eilistraee is a favored deity for all elves and
the regions of Waterdeep, the High Forest and Silverymoon. Worship of the Dark
Maiden is mostly done through song and dance, though hunting and feasts have a
part as well, and takes ideally place in deep forests on moonlit nights. Sword
dancers help those in need, try to convince drow to abandon their evil ways and
live a peaceful life on the surface, try to contact surface dwellers by
actively seeking them out, bringing them song and joy. Sword dancers hone their
battle skills with swordplay, as Eilistraee’s favored weapon is the sword.
Though the followers of Lady Silverhair try to solve problems by avoiding
unnecessary bloodshed, they do answer violence with swift violence and many of
them are known for holding a grudge against the yochlols, the handmaidens of
Lloth.
Must be
female of neutral good or chaotic good alignment
Base
Attack: +5
Craft
(Swords): +4
Diplomacy
ranks: +6
Knowledge
(Nature): +4
Knowledge
(Religion): +4
Perform
ranks: +4
Wilderness
Lore ranks: +4
Feats: Dodge
Feats: Weapon Focus (any sword)
Patron
Deity: Eilistraee
Special: Bardic Music
Skill
points at each level: 4+Int modifier
The Sword
Dancer’s class skills (and the key abilities for each skill) are:
Animal
Empathy (Cha)
Balance
(Dex)
Concentration
(Con)
Craft
(Swords) (Int)
Diplomacy
(Cha)
Handle
Animal (Cha)
Heal (Wis)
Hide (Dex)
Intuit
Direction (Wis)
Jump (Str)
Knowledge
(Nature, Religion) (Int)
Listen
(Wis)
Move
Silently (Dex)
Perform
(Cha)
Search
(Int)
Sense
Motive (Wis)
Speak
Language (Drow Sign Language)
Spellcraft
(Int)
Spot (Wis)
Tumble
(Dex)
Wilderness
Lore (Wis)
#Weapon
and Armor Proficiency:
A sword
dancer is proficient with all simple weapons and swords, and with light armor
and medium of either drow (treat as magical) or magical make. Wearing armor
heavier than that or nonmagical armor of any kind will interfere with the sword
dancer´s abilities to call the powers of the spellsong and the dancing sword.
#Spellsong:
A sword
dancer casts divine spells in the same way as a bard casts arcane spells,
though she may cast these spells while wearing armor in which a sword dancer is
proficient in. Sword dancers receive bonus spells for high charisma. To cast a
spell, a sword dancer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the level of the
spell. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sword dancer´s spell
is 10 + the spell’s level + the sword dancer´s Charisma modifier. The sword
dancer´s effective casting level is equal to her sword dancer class level. The
ability to cast her spells in this way is granted to the sword dancer as a
divine favor to the worshiper. The sword dancer must be able to move (hands and
shoulders at least) and sing free of magical silencing. Sword dancers are
trained to dodge a single opponent in combat while singing.
#Dancing
Sword:
A sword
dancer can animate her sword to act as a dancing sword (see DMG p. 186). The
sword will fight on its own for 1 round per level of the sword dancer. To
animate the sword, the sword dancer has to perform her song for 1 round, which
does count against her daily limit in bardic music.
#Eilistraee’s
Moonfire
Sword
dancers can cast Eilistraee’s moonfire at will, once per day for every
level of sword dancer they possess (treat as faerie fire, silvery lights
only).
#Smite
Corruptor
Ever vigilant against further corruption of
the peaceful living dark elves on the surface of Faerun, the sword dancer is
graced with a potent offensive power. Once per day, a sword dancer of 2nd
lvl or higher may attempt an alternate form of the paladin’s smite evil
ability. She may add her charisma modifier, if positive, to a single attack and
the resulting damage roll against any evil aligned priest of Lloth or Vhaeraun
or any evil outsider in either deity’s service. As with smite evil, the
attempt will fail and be used up for the day, if the intended target is not of
evil alignment. Smite corruption is a supernatural ability.
#Evensong
A new song
for bardic music, which is available at 4th level. Worshipers
of Eilistraee try to let out all of the gathered emotions of the day with an evensong.
An evensong is a personal thing, often wordless and done in private. From her
personal experience with the original evensong comes the sword dancer´s
ability to perform the bardic music equivalent of the 2nd lvl
cleric spell Calm Emotions (see PHB p. 182). The evensong is absolutely
identical to the mentioned spell, with the notable exception, that the will
save is rolled against the sword dancer´s perform check instead of the usual
caster’s DC.
#Magic
Missile
At 6th
level sword dancers can cast magic missile twice per day as a sorcerer
of 7th level (4 missiles). This is a supernatural ability.
#Turn
Lycanthropes
At 8th
lvl the sword dancer’s song can turn lycanthropes, as a paladin of the same
level can turn undead. This does not require the sword dancer to make a
perform check, though she has to sing, which does count against her count
against her daily limit in bardic music.
#Sword
Dance
From 9th
lvl on, whenever a sword is finished or first taken into use by a worshiper of
the Dark Maiden, a sword dancer tries to call down the blessing of the goddess
upon it. This is done by planting the blade point-down on the ground, out of
doors and by night and dancing. The sword dance circles the blade and involves
the sword dancer drawing blood from each of her limbs by dancing momentarily
against the blade. If successful (perform check against DC 25, repeatable), the
blade glows with a silvery radiance. For three month it is considered blessed
(see bless weapon, PHB p. 180). The attempt counts against the sword
dancer’s daily limit for bardic music.
#Greater
Spellsong
When two
sword dancers sing and dance they may each swap a spell of identical level
against a single spell of one level higher. This enables two sword dancers to
cast a single 5th lvl spell. The 5th lvl spell must be one
of their deity’s domain spells: dispel law, charm monster, commune
with nature, dispel evil, dispel law, teleport. Only one of the sword
dancers will act as the actual caster of the spell, while interrupting or
silencing either of them will lead to the failure of the spell. Both lower
level spells are lost in the casting of the higher level spell.
Class Level |
Base Attack
Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Special |
Lvl 0 |
Lvl 1 |
Lvl 2 |
Lvl 3 |
Lvl 4 |
1 |
+0 |
+0 |
+2 |
+2 |
Spellsong
lvl 1, dancing sword, Eilistraee’s moonfire |
2 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
2 |
+1 |
+0 |
+3 |
+2 |
Smite
corruptor |
3 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
3 |
+2 |
+1 |
+3 |
+3 |
Spellsong
lvl 2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
- |
- |
4 |
+3 |
+1 |
+4 |
+4 |
Evensong |
3 |
2 |
1 |
- |
- |
5 |
+3 |
+1 |
+4 |
+4 |
Spellsong
lvl 3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
- |
6 |
+4 |
+2 |
+5 |
+5 |
Magic
Missile |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
- |
7 |
+5 |
+2 |
+5 |
+5 |
Spellsong
lvl 4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
+6/+1 |
+2 |
+6 |
+6 |
Turn
Lycanthropes |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
+6/+1 |
+3 |
+6 |
+6 |
Sword
dance |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
+7/+2 |
+3 |
+7 |
+7 |
Greater
spellsong |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
Sword
Dancer’s Spells:
The sword
dancer has full access to Eilistraee’s domain spells, as well as to the ranger
spells and all druid orisons. As sword dancer are divine spellcasters there is
no limit to the spells they know. Eilistraee’s domains are: charm, chaos, elf,
good, moon and portal. The domain spells in ascending order:
Charm: charm person, calm emotion,
suggestion, emotion
Chaos: see PHB p.163
Elf: true strike, cat’s grace, snare,
tree stride
Good: see PHB p. 164
Moon: Eilistraee’s moonfire, moonbeam,
moonblade, emotion
Portal: summon monster 1, analyze portal,
dimensional anchor, dimension door