Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
First want to thank Joseph Carriker for posting this on the S&SS board. Secondly I think if this is indication of what prestige classes are to come in the first player's Guide, we'll have to enjoy.
So, our original intent was for the Players Guide to Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers to be released before Shelzar: City of Sin - hence, our inclusion of the Eroticist in Shelzar.
Unfortunately, that was not to be so, what with 3.5 and all.
So, to serve as both a useful thing for those who have the Shelzar: City of Sin book, and as something of a preview of the Players Guide to Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers, I am posting both the Shelzari Eroticist and the Eroticist Tradition feat for bards.
I will warn you beforehand, though - neither of these have undergone 3.5 revision yet, and so they may end up looking very different in the end. Fair warning.
SSS_Druid - 04/05/2003
Eroticist [Tradition Feat]
The Shelzari Eroticists perfect their arts of seduction in honor of Idra. They are trained to be able to entrance any observer, no matter how strong-willed. Through sensual movements and suggestions, the bard is often able to charm even hostile opponents.
PREREQUISITES: Bardic Music ability, Cha 13+, Perform 9 ranks.
BENEFIT: By using a daily bardic music ability, the bard may affect a creature she has already fascinated (see the PHB, Chapter 3, ?Bard?) with a charm effect (as the charm monster spell). A Will saving throw (DC equal to the Eroticist?s Perform check) negates this effect. Charm is a spell-like, mind-affecting ability. The eroticist may not have more creatures charmed at any one time greater than her Cha modifier. Charming additional creatures will instantly release others at random.
SSS_Druid - 04/05/2003
SHELZARI EROTICIST (Ser)
Dance. Seduction. Love-making.
These are the crafts and art of the Shelzari eroticist. Highly regarded and able to command incredible wealth for her favors, the eroticist is the absolute epitome of the erotic dancer and entertainer in the city of Shelzar.
Though many members of this prestige class may be found among the various organizations and secret societies dedicated to intrigue and the like, this is not the primary focus of the dedicated eroticist. No, the Shelzari eroticist has taken it upon herself to raise desire and longing to a fever pitch, making art out of seduction.
Few eroticists have much in the way of personal inhibitions, but they aren?t given to gratuitous behavior, either. Many do indeed choose the path of the courtesan, but they are absolute queens of the night. Adoring worshippers gather faithfully at the places where an eroticist performs, hoping to win her attention for the night with praise and gold.
Though most folk think of eroticists as female, there are a number of male eroticists, as well, who do a brisk business courting and entertaining lonely housewives (or the men who seek them out for their charms, as their predilections dictate).
Hit Die: d6
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a Shelzari eroticist (Ser), a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Feats: Eroticist (see Appendix I).
Skill: Bluff 9 ranks, Diplomacy 9 ranks, Perform 9 ranks (must have chosen dance as one style).
Spellcasting: Must be able to spontaneously cast arcane spells.
CLASS SKILLS
The Shelzari Eroticist?s class skills are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Innuendo (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Pick Pocket (Dex), Profession (Wis), Read Lips (Int), Scry (Int), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language, Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis) and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the Shelzari eroticist prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shelzari eroticists gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies. Armor of any type interferes with the Shelzari eroticist?s arcane gestures, which can cause her spells to fail (if those spells have somatic components). Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a ?1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.
Spells per Day: Shelzari eroticists continue to advance in spellcasting ability. When a new Shelzari eroticist level is acquired, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in the spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have received (improved chance of controlling or rebuking undead, metamagic or item creation feats, bardic knowledge). This essentially means that she adds the level of Shelzari eroticist to the level of her other spellcasting class, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a Shelzari eroticist, she must decide to which class she adds her new levels of Shelzari eroticist for purposes of determining spells per day. Levels in this class do not stack for the purposes of familiar advancement.
Shelzari Dance (Ex): The Shelzari eroticist learns to work her bardic magics through dance rather than simply song. The Shelzari eroticist gains the ability to use Shelzari dance 1/day per level in the Shelzari eroticist prestige class. These dances may be used for either the dances unique to this prestige class (see below), or they may be used to perform normal bardic music without words.
Shelzari eroticists may only use Shelzari dance when wearing light or no armor. If she is wearing medium or heavy armor, she may only use bardic music and none of the Shelzari dances. In addition, Perform checks made for Shelzari dances are subject to armor check penalties. The character may fight while dancing, but may not cast spells or activate magic items by spell completion or magic word, due to the concentration involved (but see the dance of the siren, below).
Dances of the Perfumed Blossom: Shelzari eroticists with at least 9 ranks in Perform may perform one of the following dances. Employing any one of these requires the expenditure of a single Shelzari dance use for that day.
Dance of Steel: Many Shelzari eroticists, forced to defend themselves in the oft-seedy districts of Shelzar and other cities, learn to quickly feint and strike with hand-held blades, whirling and spinning in order to confuse their opponents. This dance allows the Shelzari eroticist to use Bluff in order to feint in combat as a move-equivalent action (rather than the normal standard action it requires). Additionally, while using this dance, light slashing or piercing weapons gain a +1d4 bonus to damage if the opponent is denied their Dexterity bonus.
Dance of Wind: A Shelzari eroticist can perform the dance of wind, dancing wildly and unpredictably, enhancing her ability to fight defensively or use total defense. If she?s fighting defensively, the dodge bonus to AC is doubled (to +4). If she?s using total defense, her dodge bonus increases to +8 and she may make a Perform check in place of a Tumble check to avoid attacks of opportunity if she moves through a threatened area.
If the Shelzari eroticist has the Expertise feat, she gains a +2 dodge bonus to AC for every +1 BAB sacrificed, to a maximum of +10 AC. The effects of the dance of wind end when the eroticist stops dancing.
Dance of the Veiled Promise: A Shelzari eroticist can perform this dance to better dispose others toward her. For an hour after performing this dance (which takes at least 10 full rounds), she gains a +2 competence bonus to all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Innuendo and Sense Motive checks against those who witnessed the dance.
Dances of the Radiant Lotus: At 4th level, Shelzari eroticists with at least 12 ranks in Perform may perform one of the following dances. Use of any one of these requires the expenditure of a single Shelzari dance use for that day.
Dance of the Entranced Soul: A Shelzari eroticist can perform this dance to charm a single target. Treat this as charm monster. The target must make a Will save against a DC equal to 13 + the dancer?s Charisma bonus to negate the effect. The dance of the entranced soul is a spell-like, mind-affecting charm ability.
Dance of the Siren: A Shelzari eroticist may perform any of the Shelzari dances she knows, while using normal bardic music as well. This permits the Shelzari eroticist to use one of her dances (requiring the expenditure of a daily Shelzari dance use) as well as a use of bardic music (requiring the expenditure of a daily bardic music use). This is incredibly exhausting to do, however, requiring a Concentration check (DC 15) for the first round of performance. This check must be made every round, and every additional round of performance increases the DC by one.
Dance of the Stone Heart: A Shelzari eroticist can break the enchantments and charms placed by others (whether a supernatural or spell-like ability) with the dance of the stone heart. This dance works as per break enchantment, but only for the purposes of breaking charms and other mind-affecting charm supernatural and spell-like abilities. This dance will not dispel transmutations, curses, or petrification. A Shelzari eroticist with 18 or more ranks in Perform can break a geas or quest.
Acclaim of the Masses: At 7th level, the Shelzari eroticist has gained such popularity that she has drawn to herself a loyal following. She is treated as having gained the Leadership feat, with her cohort being someone who has sworn to defend her. Her followers are a broad variety of different folk, all of whom are slavishly devoted to her. The Shelzari eroticist may gain this ability even if she already has the Leadership feat. However, count only the character?s levels in Shezari eroticist towards gaining followers (cohort is determined normally).
Dance of the Stolen Heart: At 10th level, a Shelzari eroticist with 18 or more ranks in Perform can transfer control of the enchantments and charms placed by others to her. This works as the dance of the stone heart, but instead of dispelling the charm, it?s now in effect as if the Shelzari eroticist had cast it.
ADVANCEMENT
BAB: As Bard.
Good Saves: Reflex
Spells per Day: +1 level to existing class (every level)
1st: Dances of the Perfumed Blossom, Shelzari Dance
4th: Dances of the Radiant Lotus
7th: Acclaim of the Masses
10th: Dance of the Stolen Heart
(As an aside, this prestige class was written by E. Deirdre Brooks.)
SSS_Druid - 04/05/2003
Heck, while I'm at it, I might as well give you the description of the tradition as a whole:
SHELZARI EROTICISTS
Having sprung up within the sin-filled city of Shelzar, this style is not so much a bardic convention as an adaptation among bards of the city. With all of the heady distractions and amusements offered in Shelzar, bards must resort to drastic measures to attract an audience. Shelzari eroticists perform intricate and serpentine dances in diaphanous, even transparent, garb, designed to heat the blood of any observer. These performers excel at seducing and entrancing observers, often with the hope of divesting rich patrons of their heavy purses.
The eroticist style is quite popular in the temples of Idra and among Idra?s Courtesans. Many initiates simply pick-up the style through observation, but the true masters train for years among Idra?s clergy.
Favored Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Eroticist (see Appendix I), Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Skill Focus (any below) and Spell Focus (Enchantment).
Favored Skills: Balance, Bluff, Diplomacy, Jump, Perform (dance, percussion instruments, sing), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand and Tumble.
Favored Spells: Any spell that charms or entrances others.
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