Description
Shadowdancers are casters who focus on shadowy elements of magic and on a martial way of life. They are mysterious and unknown to most, rarely trusted and often even discriminated against in the wake of The Longest Year. Despite their apparent link with shadows and trickery shadowdancers are as often good as evil. They may use their incredible abilities as they wish. Shadowdancers seldom stay in one place too long. Some use their abilities to spy. Others operate as thieves, using their abilities to infiltrate past defenses and dupe others. Some even utilize their unique abilities primarily as killers.*Denotes modification from vanilla NWN.
Alignment Restriction: None
Hit Die: d8
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armor
Skill Points: 7 + INT Modifier
Class Skills: All Knowledge, Barter, Bluff, Craft Trap, Decipher Script, Diplomacy, Heal, Intimidate, Perception, Perform, Search, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Taunt, Tumble
Primary Saving Throws: Reflex
Base Attack Bonus: + 1 Levels
Requirements
Skills: Hide 8 Ranks, Move Silently 8 Ranks, Tumble 5 Ranks
Feats: Stealthy
Spellcasting: Must be able to cast 1st level arcane spells
Level Progression
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Feats | Shadow Jump Cooldown | Touch of Shadow Damage | Shadow Evade Concealment | Shadow Evade AC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Touch of Shadow, Darkvision | - | +1 | - | - |
| 2nd | +2 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Blind Fight, Shadow Jump I | 8 minutes | +1 | - | - |
| 3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Shadow Daze | 8 minutes | +1 | - | - |
| 4th | +4 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Shadow Evade | 8 minutes | +2 | 15% | 1 |
| 5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Summon Shadow | 8 minutes | +2 | 15% | 1 |
| 6th | +6 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Swiftened Strikes, Shadow Jump II | 6 minutes | +2 | 15% | 1 |
| 7th | +7 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Darkened Restoration | 6 minutes | +3 | 30% | 2 |
| 8th | +8 | +2 | +6 | +2 | Shadowed Aggression | 6 minutes | +3 | 30% | 2 |
| 9th | +9 | +3 | +6 | +3 | Hide in Plain Sight | 6 minutes | +3 | 30% | 2 |
| 10th | +10 | +3 | +7 | +3 | Master of Shadows | 4 minutes | +4 | 50% | 3 |
- Touch of Shadow:
- All weapon attacks a shadowdancer makes strike with shadow, this grants bonus negative energy damage which scales with the Shadowdancer level. See table for details.
- Shadow Evade:
- Shadow Evade no longer grants damage reduction, however the concealment bonus scales with level, see table for details.
- Shadow Jump:
- The Shadowdancer can target a location nearby, and jump through the darkness to the designated location, immediately granting them Invisibility for 1 round. Cooldown scales with Shadowdancer level, see table for details.
- Shadow Jump reduces threat by 50% for all nearby creatures.
- The Shadowdancer can target a location nearby, and jump through the darkness to the designated location, immediately granting them Invisibility for 1 round. Cooldown scales with Shadowdancer level, see table for details.
- Master of Shadows:
- After Shadow Jumping, adds +2 damage to Touch of Shadow and adds Confusion with a DC 20 vs Will to all of the Shadowdancer's attacks for 5 rounds.
- Summon Shadow:
- Upgraded to a Custom Shadow that scales to a 3rd of the Shadowdancer's class level maximum, copies feats of Shadowdancer but not their spells and only deals 50% damage. Always has 50% concealment. Shadow disappears after 3 rounds + Shadowdancer's level. Has a 15 minute cooldown.
- Hide in Plain Sight:
- HiPS now has a Cooldown: 60 Seconds / 10 Rounds. However, Shadowdancer levels reduce this cooldown by 3 seconds / Shadowdancer Level
- Shadowed Aggression
- After shadow jump, adds +2 damage to Touch of Shadow for 5 rounds, rounded down.
- Swiftened Strikes
- After shadow jump, the Shadowdancer is hasted for 2 rounds.
- Darkened Restoration
- After shadow jump, applies Regeneration 3 for 2 rounds + half Shadowdancer's class level, rounded down.
Traditionally, Shadowdancer held the position as a niche PRC and almost always used as a dip class for others who wanted HiPS in their kit. Additionally, the class theme-to-implementation felt off as the Shadowdancer really had very little utility beyond HiPS. The class kit has been completely overhauled and may seem/feel like a major departure from the traditional class. This is by design and intended to embrace the theme of a class that operates in the shadows, and maximizes their damage and utility with shadow (darkness)-based abilities.