The Dragon’s Breath #23

03 December 2003

Adding Prestige Part II:
The Battledancer

by Claudio Pozas

Battledancer

Much like arcane archers, battledancers – or dagorsalka – are paragons of elven culture, blending art, war and magic into one deadly - and beautiful - whole. Focusing their martial prowess into the rapier, a light and fast weapon, they practice fighting postures and sequences that are eerily reminiscent of dancing routines. A battledancer fighting amid a dozen orcs and slaying them with grace and poise is truly a thing to behold.

NPC battledancers are usually knight errants of the elven race, seeking out evil wherever it encroaches. They also serve as living examples of what an elf can achieve. Nearly all battledancers are members of a single brotherhood (whether male or female), and usually have a tattoo on their bodies with the image of an elven cat. Arcane archers, on the other hand, usually bear the tattoo of an elven hawk.

Most battledancers are multiclass fighter/wizard, while fighter/sorcerers are usually from wild elf heritage. Some rogue/wizards join the ranks of battledancers after several tests, while some of the best battledancers are single-classed bards.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements
To qualify to become a battledancer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Elf or Half-Elf.
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Concentration 4 ranks, Perform (dance) 3 ranks, Tumble 3 ranks.
Feats: Combat Casting, Dodge, Light Armor Proficiency, Martial Weapon Proficiency (rapier), Still Spell and Weapon Finesse.
Spells: Ability to cast arcane spells, which must include cat’s grace.

Class Skills
The battledancer's class skills (and the key attributes for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Perform (dance) (Cha), Spellcraft (Int), Tumble (Dex). See Chapter 4 of the Core Rulebook I for skill descriptions.
Skill Points per level: 4 + Int modifier.

The Battledancer

Class Features
All the following are class features of the battledancer prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: The battledancer gains no additional proficiencies when picking up this class.

Spells/Day: At 1st level, and at every three levels thereafter (4th, 7th and 10th), the battledancer advances in his previous arcane spellcasting class. Thus, when one of these levels is achieved, the battledancer gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level is the spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. If the character belonged to more than one arcane spellcasting class, he must choose to which class this benefit applies when achieving a level that advances his spellcasting. Other benefits of higher level do not accrue (such as familiar powers or bonus feats).

Battledance (Ex): Battledancers are required to commit to memory dozens of fighting postures specially designed to handle different situations in a battlefield. The battledancer must remember them all and must be able to choose at a moment's notice the correct posture or sequence to use. These dance-like sequences confer many advantages as the battledancer advances in skill.

At 1st level, when wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a battledancer can add 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per battledancer class level to his Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a rapier. For instance, a 3rd-level battledancer with an Intelligence score of 18 (+4 bonus) can add +3 to his Armor Class. If a battledancer is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.

At 3rd level, a battledancer gains the benefits of the Mobility feat whenever he is wearing light or no armor, even if he doesn't meet the requirements.

At 6th level, a battledancer gains the benefits of the Improved Feint feat whenever he is wearing light or no armor, even if he doesn't meet the requirements.

At the 9th level, a battledancer gains the benefits of the Whirlwind Attack feat whenever he is wearing light or no armor, even if he doesn't meet the requirements.

Spelldance (Ex or Su): At 2nd level, the battledancer masters the art of weaving his spells' somatic components into his martial dance. He ignores the arcane spell failure of light armor (but not shields). This is an extraordinary ability.

At 5th level, the battledancer has grown used to being in the thick of battle, and no longer is distracted by the clashing sounds and violent motion. He can choose to Take 10 on Concentration checks to cast spells defensively. This is an extraordinary ability.

At 8th level, the battledancer's weapon becomes an extension of his own self. As a standard action, the battledancer can cast a one-action touch or ray spell through his blade while he attacks (casting the spell is part of the attack, but he still must cast defensively if he is to avoid an attack of opportunity). The spell affects the foe if he is hit by the weapon. Additional touch attacks can be used in later rounds, but are discharged if the blade touches anything else or is dropped or sheathed. Even though it delivers the effects of touch spells, the attack itself is not a touch attack, so armor, natural armor and shield modifiers still apply. This is a supernatural ability.

Next Week: Our first Counter Stat column, where we create a character
for one of our existing counter images!

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