A little guide on this class who is so often despised and too quickly judged by the sole value of its 1st level ability.

The ShadowDancer class is a fantastic complement to many builds. Be it tank, dex tank, sneaker, archer, all can greatly benefit from the fantastic abilities of the shadowdancer. Only a spellcaster can be reluctant to take those levels, because of the loss of spell power. Yet even to them, it can be useful.

Requirements :
-Hide 10, Move Silently 8 and Tumble 5 : Not too difficult for most builds, since SD is mostly for dex based classes, and those classes often include those skills.
-Dodge, Mobility : Some feats interesting for dex classes again, and a small synergy with the dwarven defender and weapon master class.

Hit Dice : 1D8. Pretty good for a class that is not a tank. It's better than the rogue and assassin, which the shadowdancer is often compared and linked. It doesn't cripple a tank build's hp to take a few levels of SD on a tank.

BAB Progression : 3/4 per level. As good as a bard, rogue, cleric or monk. You would need a fighting class to get a 4th attack per round, but it's ok, since you generally won't need more than 10 levels of SD.

Prefered save : Not sure, but i'm convinced it's Reflex. Totally fitting the concept, and greatly helping with Evasion.

Skill points per level : 6. The second best, behind rogues. Truely awesome.

Class skills :
Hide : Useful, especially with Hide in Plain Sight.
Listen : Interesting on servers where true-seeing isn't found on permanent items, and enemies hide or invis themselves.
Move Silently : Useful, especially with Hide in Plain Sight.
Persuade : Nice to have.
Pick Pocket : Well, i don't rely on it, but it's good to have it as an option.
Search : Interesting for spotting traps. A single skill point in disabe trap can make this skill worthful.
Spot : See Listen.
Tumble : Really good, especially for tanks and spellcasters.

Class abilities :
-Hide in Plain Sight (Level 1) : The overpowered feat of this class. I won't comment.
-Evasion (Level 2) : That's unarguably a feat that is worth taking 2 SD levels, and the fact there are other feats coming along makes it even better. Your reflex save will be boosted by the SD levels, and even with a full plate, you take full advantage of this feat on a tank or cleric.
-Uncanny Dodge (Level 2) : Very important on a dex tank, and lacking to rangers and fighters, this feat can save your life. This is another feat that can worth taking levels in SD.
-Darkvision (Level 2) : Bugged last i was told, it's a little bonus if you can make it work.
-Shadow Daze (Level 3) : Another little bonus of minor value.
-Summon Shadow (level 3) : Again, a little cherry on the cake.
-Shadow Evade (Level 4) : This always seemed weak to me, although the concealment can help tanks. DR seems too low to be of any use.
-Defensive Roll (Level 5) : I never found that feat useful. But it's another goodie of the class.
-Slippery Mind (Level 7) : Nice feat to counter the many mind effects, and a perfect match since in most builds, Will Save will be your weakness. Useless on Uber PW where mind spell immunity is common.
-Improved Evasion (Level 10) : Well, THAT's the stuff. This single feat is worth the sacrifice of 10 levels for most builds (except builds who already have evasion).

Multiclass Combinations :
-Rogue : Classic combo. It's mainly useful to take SD for HiPS, the rest being redondant, unless you only have a few rogue levels (< 10).
-Assassin : Same as rogue.
-Ranger : A must have for a ranger, Uncanny Dodge being the most important. Evasion will be useful to the ranger too, given his most often high dex.
-Fighter : A dex fighter can greatly benefit from the SD feats, although the skill requirements are hard to meet. Skill points and skill selection can help make a more interesting character.
-Weapon master : See Fighter. Also, the feats synergy is an interesting aspect, making a X/Weapon Master/Shadowdancer a viable combination.
-Barbarian : A nice addition, advantages and disadvantages being in the middle of a debate between Fighter and Ranger.
-Monk : HiPS can be very useful to a monk, although i don't explain how a lawful character can use such ways in life. Uncanny dodge is useful too. Requirements aren't difficult to meet, although the dodge and mobility feats aren't very useful to a monk, and he can have more critical feats.
-Bard : Being often dex based (especially when archer), the bard can really use Uncanny dodge and Evasion, and HiPS is nice to help this class. The skill points can also match the wonderful skill selection of bards who don't have too much skill points.
-Arcane Archer : Given AA often fights unarmored, and have a very high dex (except wisdom based AAs), they could really use Uncanny Dodge, and take full advantage of Evasion. HiPS is for them the cherry on the cake.
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If you call IGMS, Harm, Mestil's acid shield, the Bigby hands or Devastating Critical balanced in your post, don't expect me to like you.

I'm sorry about my bad english, I'm french.
In every lie lies a part of truth.
Quote: Posted 12/07/04 15:51:16 (GMT) -- Agifem

-Monk : HiPS can be very useful to a monk, although i don't explain how a lawful character can use such ways in life. Uncanny dodge is useful too. Requirements aren't difficult to meet, although the dodge and mobility feats aren't very useful to a monk, and he can have more critical feats.

Overall a very nice sum up. However I think that you miss the background to the class. Shadowdancers are not thieves, their abilities are very useful to thieves and spies etc that is all. Imagine the mystical, almost magical monk who is able to fight and disappear in plain sight only to reappear beside you giving you a flurry of blows. This is an extension of the whole idea of Empty Body - one of the highest and best monk skills.

Just my 2cp.

Syrath I consider myself open-minded, but i still have a hard time understanding how a rogue, an assassin or a shadowdancer can be lawful. The ability to hide, generally to strike from behind, is typically unlawful to me.
But it's an endless debate, and totally unsuited here. Thanks for the feedback though.
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If you call IGMS, Harm, Mestil's acid shield, the Bigby hands or Devastating Critical balanced in your post, don't expect me to like you.

I'm sorry about my bad english, I'm french.
In every lie lies a part of truth. Speaking of monk/shadowdancers, remember that 5 lvls of shadowdancer gets defensive roll, so combining that with 9 monk lvls for improved evasion takes care of the feat reqs for Epic Dodge. That along with Uncanny Dodge at lvl 2 is rather nice.
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Edited By Yar Stardawg on 02/10/05 16:10

What are the stats on the summoned Shadow? Do those stats change per level up?


Thanks
Quote: Posted 02/10/05 21:46:52 (GMT) -- Bromium

What are the stats on the summoned Shadow? Do those stats change per level up?


Thanks

Check my post further down the list about shadowdancers for the shadow stats.

Syrath