Shadowdancer

Obsidian has confirmed that the shadowdancer prestige class will be included in NWN2.

Shadowdancer

Shadowdancer

Description: Operating in the border between light and darkness, shadowdancers are nimble artists of deception. They are mysterious and unknown, never completely trusted but always inducing wonder when met. Rogues, bards, and monks make excellent shadowdancers. Fighters, barbarians, rangers, and paladins also find that shadowdancer abilities allow them to strike at their opponents with surprise and skill. Wizard, sorcerer, cleric, and druid shadowdancers employ the defensive capabilities inherent in the prestige class to allow them to cast their spells from safety and move away quickly. Despite their link with shadows and trickery, shadowdancers are as often good as evil.

Requirements

Skill ranks: Move silently 8, Hide 10, Tumble 5.

Feats: Dodge, Mobility

Class features progression

Hit die: d8

Proficiencies: weapon proficiency (simple), (armor proficiency (light))

Skill points: 6 + Int modifier

Class skills: Bluff, Craft (trap), Diplomacy, Hide, Listen, Move silently, Parry, Search, Sleight of hand, Spot, and Tumble

Base attack bonus progression: Medium

Saving throws	high:	Reflex
	low:	Fortitude, Will

Additional progressions

Level	Features gained
1	Hide in plain sight
2	Evasion, darkvision, uncanny dodge
3	Shadow daze, summon shadow
4
5	Defensive roll, improved uncanny dodge
6
7	Slippery mind
8
9
10	improved evasion

Hide in plain sight

At 1st level, a shadowdancer may attempt to enter stealth mode even while being observed. If the attempt fails, the shadowdancer may try again in 15 seconds.

Darkvision

At 2nd level, the shadowdancer gains darkvision, as the dwarf racial ability.

Shadow Daze

Once per day the shadowdancer may inflict an illusory daze upon a target. This daze lasts for 5 rounds.

Summon Shadow

Once per day, a 3rd level shadowdancer can use summon shadow as a spell-like ability.

Below is the 3.5 Rules for this ability (these rules are not confirmed for NWM2): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow’s alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow cannot be turned, rebuked, or commanded by any third party. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. Every third level gained by the shadowdancer adds +2 HD (and the requisite base attack and base save bonus increases) to her shadow companion.

If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the shadowdancer chooses to dismiss it, the shadowdancer must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the saving throw fails, the shadowdancer loses 200 experience points per shadowdancer level. A successful saving throw reduces the loss by half, to 100 XP per prestige class level. The shadowdancer’s XP total can never go below 0 as the result of a shadow’s dismissal or destruction. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for 30 days.

3.5 Rules comparison

• The parry skill was created by NWN and is not a feature of DnD 3.5, and has returned in NWN2 for the same reasons it was in NWN.
• NWN2 requires tumble ranks instead of perform ranks.
• NWN2 does not require combat reflexes.
• NWN2 grants simple weapons instead of a list of weapons.
• NWN2 does not have/give the following skills as class skills: Balance, Decipher script, Disguise, Escape artist, Jump, Perform, Profession, and Use rope
• NWN2 give the following additional class skills: craft trap and parry.
• NWN2 does not grant shadow jump.
• Details about summon shadow improvement is not listed in the NWN2 descriptions. They may work as in the rules, but the progression could also be different.
• Shadow Daze replaces Shadow Illusion.

External resources

• NWNWiki:Shadowdancer