Shadow Classes: Shadowdancer

Shadowdancer

            “If you thought you saw something in the corner of your eye, then I am ashamed for doing such a poor job.”

            The threats of the Shadowfell are varied, so much so that the regular methods of defence are sometimes rendered useless. How does one defend a small city against a numberless zombie horde?

            A grudging truth that the Doomguard brotherhoods will admit is that their numbers are not great enough to launch an all-out war against the undead of the Shadowfell. Sometimes, more subtle means are needed.

            A Shadowdancer is a being who has mastered the art of manipulating shadows to find the most advantageous position on the battlefield. Some rely solely on stealth, using the shadows as portals to assassinate a target and slip away. Others take a more direct approach, charging headlong into battle to cause mayhem amongst enemy lines, before teleporting away for another assault.

            Whatever their method, a Shadowdancer’s greatest asset is their Shadow. Their Shadow is alive, and, although silent, will often reflect their owner’s emotional state, or steal things of their own accord. With it, they can perform daring acts of acrobatics, turn a gentle caress into a gut-slashing stroke, and escape from impossible situations.

            Although there are others that can act quicker or run faster than them, a Shadowdancer’s manoeuvrability is unrivalled. It only takes one Shadowdancer to create a problem for single enemies or massed forces, and that problem will be abused maliciously by any Doomguard entering the fray.

Class Traits

¨      Role: Shadowdancers teleport around the battlefield, sending enemies into states of disarray. They are one of the most mobile classes, matched only by the Speedster Rogue.

¨      Alignment: Any

¨      Power Source: Shadow

¨      Key Abilities: Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Charisma

¨      Armour Proficiencies: Light Armour

¨      Weapon Proficiencies: Simple ranged, Dagger, Shortsword.

¨      Bonuses to Defence: +2 Reflex

¨      Hit Points at 1^st level: 2d6+ Constitution score

¨      Hit Points per level gained: d6+ Constitution modifier

¨      Healing Surges per day: 7+ Constitution Modifier

¨      Skill Points at 1^st level: (6 + Intelligence Modifier) x4

¨      Skill Points per level: 6 + Intelligence Modifier

¨      Attack Growth: 6

¨      Class Skills: Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Knowledge (Planes), Linguistics, Perception, Perform, Profession, Sense Motive, Stealth, Swim, Thievery, Use Magic Device.

Class Features

Shadow of the Shadowfell (1st level)

Your Shadow is alive. It shares your space on the board, your defences, and has 1hp. Your Shadow cannot be targeted by single target enemy attacks. If you are attacked by an area, burst or blast attack, your Shadow is targeted by the attack as well. A missed attack never damages your Shadow. Your Shadow cannot exist in engulfing light where there is no shadow, such as a desert or an open courtyard at midday. Your Shadow counts as destroyed if you enter such light. If your Shadow is destroyed for whatever reason, you can reconstitute it by spending one minute in meditation.

If your Shadow is active, you access key abilities;

v     You can perform one minor action, such as a mid-combat observation skill check, or drawing or stowing an item, as a free action once per turn.

v     Your Shadow can lift 15lb of items, but can never use the items as weapons.

v     Once per turn, as part of an advanced attack or full attack action, your Shadow attacks one target you hit. The shadow deals 1d6 damage, and deals an additional 1d6 damage for every 5 levels of Shadowdancer you have.

Shadowdance (1st level)

You know how to Shadowdance. Whilst Shadowdancing, you gain a +1 bonus to speed per tier. As a move action whilst Shadowdancing, you may teleport up to half your speed so long as there is a shadow adjacent to you that is not your own. You can perpetuate your dance for as many rounds per day as your Acrobatics skill +4.

Schools of Darkness (1st level)

Choose one of the following schools. Once this choice has been made, it cannot be changed.

Banshee: You gain proficiency with the Longsword. Whilst you are Shadowdancing, enemies adjacent to you suffer a penalty to attack rolls equal to your CHR modifier. When you make an attack with your Shadow, you deal extra damage equal to your STR modifier.

Ghost: Your Shadow counts as an independent creature. It can glide your current speed, and has HP equal to your bloodied value, although missed attacks can now harm it. It heals to maximum health during a short rest. Your Shadow can now carry 30lb of equipment, and shares your skill list. It is an insubstantial creature, and gains an additional Resist Force equal to your CHR modifier. You must be adjacent to your Shadow or an enemy your Shadow is adjacent to in order to activate Shadow attacks. Your Shadow acts when you act, and cannot travel more than 20 squares away from you.

Poltergeist: When you fall from a height, you treat the fall as if it were 10 feet shorter than it actually is. Whilst Shadowdancing, your base movement is reduced by 3, but you may walk on air as if it were solid ground, and the maximum distance of your teleport remains unhindered. If you are stunned, dazed, or rendered unconscious whilst standing or fighting in midair, you plummet to the ground at a rate of 60 feet per round. If you regain your mental faculties before you hit the ground, you can spend a move action to resume Shadowdancing and stop falling. When you attack with your Shadow, you may re-roll the damage die for your Shadow attack only.

Raven: You gain the Raven Queen's Blessing Channel Divinity power. Whilst Shadowdancing, you can move over surfaces that would not otherwise support your weight, such as water, acid, or lava, and difficult terrain, but you cannot run over air. You do not suffer damage from running over these surfaces, but ending your turn over these surfaces means you fall into them. There is an exception; you can, if you make a double move action to Run twice, continue to run over a period of several turns without stopping, allowing you to cross things such as a body of water. When you make an attack with your Shadow against a bloodied target, you gain a bonus to your attack rolls equal to your INT modifier.

Spectre: The critical threat range of Daggers you wield increases by 1. While you Shadowdance, any teleport move you make turns you insubstantial until the end of your next turn. When you make a full attack action with your Shadow, your Shadow attack deals an additional INT modifier damage on a critical hit for every Shadow damage die you have.

Scorpion: You gain proficiency with the Rapier. You Mark targets you attack with your Shadow. Whilst Shadowdancing, you gain a bonus to AC equal to your CHR modifier. If a marked target damages you, you may teleport to a square adjacent to the target as a free action.

Spider: You gain Two Weapon fighting as a bonus feat. While you Shadowdance, you gain Spider Climb equal to your INT modifier. When you make a full attack action with your Shadow, you can slow the target you hit.

Wraith: You can hide in plain sight, so long as there is sufficient shadow near you, excluding your own. Whilst Shadowdancing, when you make a successful Stealth check to hide, you become invisible until you move. Like other forms of invisibility, this grants you a +10 bonus to Stealth checks to remain hidden. When you attack with your Shadow, the target of the attack suffers ongoing bleed damage equal to your STR modifier.

             

Dance Steps (2nd level)

At 2nd level, and every 2nd level thereafter, you may choose a Dance Step from the following list. Unless otherwise mentioned, you can only take a Step once.

Advancing Footsteps: Increase your Speed by 1 whilst Shadowdancing. You can take this Step multiple times to a maximum of 3 times.

Attunement: Increase the number of rounds you can perpetuate your Shadowdance by 2. You can take this Step without limit.

Breakneck Charge: Increase your speed whilst charging and Shadowdancing by your STR modifier.

Bend Distance: When you are hit with an attack that deals damage on a miss, you only take 1/4 damage instead of 1/2 damage.

Catch the Edge: When you throw a Dagger as part of a ranged attack, you can catch it with the hand you threw it.

Combat Dilettante: You gain a Combat Feat you meet the prerequisite for.

Dancer's Finesse: You gain the Weapon Finesse feat.

Dark Adept: Add another damage dice your Shadow attack.

Dark Destiny: Your Shadow attacks deal an additional 1 point of damage per damage die.

Dark Destroyer: Your Shadow damage die size rises by 1.

Dark Reaping: Your Shadow attacks gain the Brutal 1 trait.

Defending Shadow: If you are hit by a single target attack, and your Shadow is adjacent to you if you belong to the Ghost school, you can opt to have your Shadow become the target of the attack instead.

Evade the Light: You gain a +2 bonus to Reflex. You can take this step multiple times, each one adds +1 Reflex.

Fast Stealth: Whilst Shadowdancing, you suffer no penalty to Stealth checks to move at full speed.

Freedom of Form: As part of your teleport action, you can stand up or fall prone.

Graveyard Stand: If you recover from the dying status, you may stand up as a free action as soon as you regain consciousness.

Harrowing: If your Shadow is destroyed for whatever reason, you gain a +2 bonus to your attack and damage rolls until the end of your next turn.

Kill the Light: As a minor action whilst Shadowdancing, you can snuff out all minor sources of light in the room you currently stand in, but not magical light.

Lightwalker: The environmental requirements to activate your abilities are reversed; to summarise, you work at your best in bright light instead of pitch darkness.

Multidirectional Defence: Whilst Shadowdancing, you do not grant combat advantage to one pair that is flanking you.

Nighteyes: You gain Low-Light vision. If your race choice already has that, you gain Darkvision instead.

Retaliate!: You gain a bonus to your Initiative roll equal to your INT modifier if you are ambushed.

Rogue Relations: You gain a Rogue talent you qualify for from the Rogue Talent list.

Shadow Mending: As a free action, you can destroy your Shadow to spend a healing surge.

Shadow Stitching: Requires Shadow Mending. After you use Shadow Mending, you gain Regeneration equal to your STR modifier.

Single Edge Slaying: Whilst you wield a Light Blade in one hand and your other hand is free, the critical threat of the weapon rises by 1.

Single Edge Parry: As part of an advanced attack action, you gain a +2 bonus to AC while you wield a light blade in one hand and your other hand is free.

Steady Skills: When you spend a standard action to make a skill check, you may take 10 for the check, even if you would be distracted.

Trap Training: You gain the Trap Finding Feat from the Rogue feat list.

Twin Blade Attack: Whilst wielding two Daggers, you gain a +1 bonus to all melee damage rolls.

Twin Sword Dervish: Whilst wielding two Shortswords, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and opportunity attack rolls.

Underhanded Jump: When you teleport to leave a square adjacent to an enemy, enemies adjacent to the square you left suffers a penalty to their next attack roll equal to your INT modifier.

Vestige of Faith: You learn either Lolth's Strike, Olidammara's Jump, or Sehanine's Retrbution as a Channel Divinity power. You do not have to worship the God in question, but your alignment must be one step from that of the god's.

Wisp Dodge: Whilst Shadowdancing, the first single target ranged attack against you in the encounter, weapon or magical, suffers a penalty to hit equal to 2x DEX your modifier.

Advanced Steps

At 10th level, you add the following list to the steps you can learn.

Advanced Single Edge Slaying: Whilst you wield a Light Blade in one hand and your other hand is free, the critical threat of the weapon rises by 1.

Advanced Single Edge Parry: As part of an advanced attack action, you gain a +2 bonus to AC while you wield a light blade in one hand and your other hand is free.

Advanced Twin Blade Attack: Whilst wielding two Daggers, you gain a +1 bonus to all melee damage rolls.

Advanced Twin Sword Dervish: Whilst wielding two Shortswords, you gain a +1 bonus to AC and opportunity attack rolls.

Blood and Wit: You gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat. You may take this step multiple times, with no limit.

Break the Light: Requires Kill the Light. As a minor action whilst Shadowdancing, you can snuff out all minor sources of light in the room you currently stand in, including magical light.

Enduring Shade: Once per encounter, when your Shadow is destroyed by an attack, it survives with 1 hit point.

Fallingdown: Whilst Shadowdancing, you fall from great heights at a rate of 60ft per round, and you suffer no damage when you land.

Gloaming Cut: As an advanced attack action, you can inflict ongoing damage to the target equal to your INT modifier.

Lethal Jump: When you teleport to leave a square adjacent to an enemy, enemies adjacent to the square you left grant combat advantage until the beginning of their next turn.

Ranged Legerdemain: You can perform Thievery and Disable Device checks from 6 squares away. Your Shadow must be active for you to use this ability, and you cannot take 10 or 20 for these skill checks. Any object manipulated must be able to be carried by your Shadow.

Resist Blindness: If an effect Blinds you, you may make an immediate saving throw against the effect.

Ride the Twilight: You can destroy your Shadow to gain a +20 bonus on your next Acrobatics or Jump check, and your jump distance is not limited by your speed.

Shadow Image: As a standard action, you can destroy your Shadow to create false images of yourself. The number of false images is equal to the number of Shadow damage die you have. Your images move in your turn, and may move as you are able to. The images have your defences -5, but disappear if struck. They cannot attack. The images are only visual effects. They make no sound or offer no smell, and leave no traces. Enemies suffer a -5 penalty to Perception checks for every image you have active for attempts to spot you.

Slaughter: Once per day as a full attack action whilst Shadowdancing, you can teleport, if able, to an enemy within teleport range and make one of your attacks per round against it. You may keep teleporting and attacking with this action, so long as there is at least one enemy remaining and you have unused attacks per round.

Trick the Trap: If you trigger a single target trap, you can redirect the attack to your shadow before the attack is rolled.

Voracious Edge: If you score a critical hit with a melee attack, you can use your Shadow attacks on the target of the critical hit, even if you didn't make an advanced attack action or a full attack action.

At 20th level, you may choose one of these three steps to learn instead of one from the previous lists. You can only ever learn one of these 20th level steps.

Perfect Darkness: As a standard action, you can extinguish all light from a room you currently occupy, even magical light. If something is aflame, such as an Efreet or a burning item, the subject still burns, but emits no light. Whilst Shadowdancing, any target you strike in total darkness becomes blinded and rattled (save ends).

Perfect Janus: Your Shadow cannot be destroyed by bright light. It now takes one full round action to reactivate your shadow instead of one minute of meditation. The amount of weight your shadow can carry rises by 5lb, and the damage die size of your shadow attacks rises by 1. When you score a critical hit, the maximum damage is also applied to your Shadow attacks.

Perfect Shadowjump: Whilst Shadowdancing, you can teleport up to your original movement speed.   You do not have to see where you want to teleport to in order to make the move so long as you have seen it before, however, if you try and the space is occupied, the move fails, but the action is still consumed. If you grab a target, ally or enemy, while you teleport that target teleports with you.

[Kudos to mineworker.deviantart.com for the picture]