Is the Dervish overpowered?

[Someone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't a dervish just keep doing circles around his intended target, 5' at a time? Most opponents will NOT have combat reflexes, so that's just 1 op-attack that round, to the dervish's 6 or 8.

Notice that moving can only cause one AoO anyway, and that´s supposing the dervish doesn´t tumble, as the previous post said. The most suspicious ability is precisely that: he can move forward, full attack and move away, like a spring attack but combined with a full attack. I don´t know if that ability is too powerful.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

Dervish may not be too bad but it sure is fun to gawd your charicter up with gypsy with bells when everyone else is sneaking.

I think a pure fighter into straigh dervish isnt too bad. You dont get alot of skill ranks so you blow alot of cross class skills to qualify. but a monk fighter barbarian can get stronger then intended becuse dervish levels give you good reflex so your a pain to blaster casters. you also have uncanny dodge so you dont go flat footed so you dont loose all your nifty dodge points. Starting with monk at first level you can easly get skill points to qualify for dervish. all this at a loss of 1 bab. and 2 feats. I would trade feats for evasion and uncanny dodge any day of the week. The only down side is that you get into dervish levels at level after level 6 rather then 5.

 

[IcyCool]

Greataxe wielding barbarians make scary dervishes.

 

[Darthjaye]

Well, the big problem with barbarian dervishes is that you cannot rage and use the dervish dance. The Monk 6/ Fighter 2 or just plain Human Monk 8 is a much better compliment to the Dervish anyways. You take WF: Kama and you get to use your unarmed attack bonus with em and they count towards almost all of the dervish abilities. If you go 6-8 levels of Monk you get that sweet 20 ft monk speed bonus and add the +15 ft from the dervish levels and you got yourself a pretty quick dervish.

 

[Darthjaye]

Notice that moving can only cause one AoO anyway, and that´s supposing the dervish doesn´t tumble, as the previous post said. The most suspicious ability is precisely that: he can move forward, full attack and move away, like a spring attack but combined with a full attack. I don´t know if that ability is too powerful.

Well, yes, but he has to 5 ft move between each attack and somewhere in there he may provoke from his targets friends or not have enough squares to keep attacking the same target. Plus there's the thing that at beginning levels that dance ain't gonna last long and even at higher levels it doesn't last long enough. It's half your ranks not half you skill level so that's gonna be a quick "snoopy dance of death".

 

[IcyCool]

Well, the big problem with barbarian dervishes is that you cannot rage and use the dervish dance.

Well, I guess I have to ask the question. Why not?

 

[Darthjaye]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't a dervish just keep doing circles around his intended target, 5' at a time? Most opponents will NOT have combat reflexes, so that's just 1 op-attack that round, to the dervish's 6 or 8.

Yeah and it works noice if you've been hasted and have the high move. You move around him and try to keep another target within reach in case you drop him so you get the cleave attack ability granted by the class. If you do this and he drops before your out of attacks and movement, and there is a target to cleave to, you start circling him next. Great thing about the attack bonus granted by the dance is you can almost counter your Expertise or Defensive Attacking penalties. Elaborate Parry makes this altogether gruesome. Take Leadership and get yourself a Bard companion to sing and give you another +2 to Hit and Damage (+3 if he takes that spell Inspirational Boost from Complete Adventurer) and you got yourself a nice combo. By 9th Dervish level (and your Bard friend in tow) Your AC bonus is something like +3 from dervish class +7 from attacking defensively +5 from combat expertise. Not too bad for a -9 to hit which can be all but countered by the dance bonus of +5 and the aforementioned Bard giving another +3. All that and you get a +8 to damage.

Another sweet feat to take is Elusive Target that works well with the dance.

 

[Darthjaye]

Well, I guess I have to ask the question. Why not?

You skipped the last line of the second to last paragraph about the dervish dance didn't you?

It says "A dervish may not perform a dervish dance while under the effect of a rage or frenzy ability".

Me, I went with one of Monte's classes out of Arcana Evolved. I used 6 levels of Unfettered and now up to 5 levels of Dervish. It's a good mix that maximizes my BaB, gives me a d6 of sneak damage, lots of skill points and skills to chose from, and a few extra abilities. Makes use of a higher intelligence too with their ability to parry versus 1 opponent (adding their Intelligence bonus up to a max of half their level in AC) and eventually at 9th level of Unfettered they can gain Evasion. Not a bad class to compliment the Dervish if your GM allows it. Better IMO than the Swashbuckler or even the Monk.

 

[TheEvil]

Well, the big problem with barbarian dervishes is that you cannot rage and use the dervish dance. The Monk 6/ Fighter 2 or just plain Human Monk 8 is a much better compliment to the Dervish anyways. You take WF: Kama and you get to use your unarmed attack bonus with em and they count towards almost all of the dervish abilities. If you go 6-8 levels of Monk you get that sweet 20 ft monk speed bonus and add the +15 ft from the dervish levels and you got yourself a pretty quick dervish.

Actually, since they are both enhancement bonuses, no stack, same problem the scout runs into. Still a good combo though.

 

[Darthjaye]

Actually, since they are both enhancement bonuses, no stack, same problem the scout runs into. Still a good combo though.

Hmm, I'm thinking the uncertainty of that may have been why I went with the Unfettered class I mentioned before. But the other abilities the Scout or Monk gain may still make either of those builds worthwhile. So far the build I'm working with is interesting enough. I'm tempted to add levels of Tempest to it and see how it works out.