What if Slenderman had a Greatsword?
A Guide to Intimidating Shadow Dancers
Introduction
This guide will follow the basics of many guides that came before it:
Blue means it is a very good choice and should be considered a core part of most builds.
Green means it is still a good choice, but may be a little more situational than it’s blue counterpart.
Orange means it has niche use, but is not optimal.
Red means bad, you should probably avoid this; it is flavor at best.
So, why play a Shadow Dancer? They don’t have full base attack and only get d8 hit dice so they will be sub-optimal frontline fighters, their only good save is reflex so they’ll likely get dominated by your average wizard, they don’t get extra caster levels so they aren’t good mages, and they don’t get any sneak attack die so they don’t make good rogues. What in Asmodeus’s name are the good for?
The answer: Being spooky and hitting things. They also make great scouts, are powerful anti-mages, can dupe any fighter types with their massive stealth, can crush rogue types in melee combat, can use shadow conjuration and evocation to bring of utility and control to fights, and best of all you can debuff the crap out of nearly anyone. While you are capable of filling lots of roles, this build will have you act as a designator for your party, singling out powerful targets and destroying their saves so your mages can annihilate them with save-or-suck spells. Your Hide in Plain Sight and Shadow Jump will give you the ability to close the distance on high value targets, while your fighter like stats will give you the ability to still go toe-to-toe with whatever mooks they drag along.
The main focus of this build is to use your Intimidation skill to debuff high value opponents, combined with other feats and weapon enchantments to further decrease an opponent's rolls. If the target survives, you still deal respectable damage and can finish them off the old fashioned way. The ideal combination is Intimidating on hit (through Cornugon Smash or Enforcer + Blade of Mercy), Riving Strike, and then applying sickened with the Cruel weapon enchantment on your next hit. This will impart a total penalty of -6 save, -4 hit, -4 skill checks, -4 ability checks, and -2 damage on the opponent, on top your normal damage. If they survive the save or suck, they’re still going to have a hard time doing much next round with all of those penalties.
Is there no mage to gank? Don’t have any save-or-suck spells to cast right now? Don’t worry, just turn your attention to whatever martial DPS is causing your party trouble and start beating on them. The debuffs will reduce their overall damage output, make the more susceptible to control spells, and basically make your GM hate you.
Pre-req’s for a Shadow Dancer:
Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes
Acrobatics 5 ranks, Perform (dance) 2 ranks
Three feats is a pretty heavy tax, but they can work towards some possible feat trees (spring attack comes to mind). You’ll be looking for extra feats where you can pick them up if you are planning on going Shadow Dancer at level 6. The acrobatics is good universally and doesn’t hurt you at all, but the Perform ranks are a tax. Since this is a prestige class you’ll have to have a few levels in the boring old core classes first. Let’s take a look at some, shall we?
While still stealthy, you are using a 2h weapon for a reason. You will want good to-hit to make sure that 40+ damage hits the wizard and not a nearby shrub. This is why I do not recommend taking a class with moderate or half base attack. You may get a few spells or class abilities, but those won’t scale with Shadow Dancer class levels and you are losing precious base attack. It is possible to use other classes, but consider them orange text at best. Remember, these are observations made from the perspective of a soon-to-be Shadow Dancer, not my opinion on the base class alone.
Base Class Outline
Bloodrager - My favourite choice for a spooky Shadow Dancer. You basically become an angry slenderman with a sword. It’s downside is that it only gets one good save, compared to a Ranger or Paladin’s two good saves.
Fast movement - Moving faster is always better, and this will allow you to wear medium armor and still run fast enough to ensure the hungry monster eats your gnome bard, and not you.
[Improved] Uncanny Dodge - A very useful class feature to keep you from being caught flat footed (literally).This also means these class levels stack with your Shadow Dancer levels when determining your effective level for rogues who try and flank you. Suck it, rogues.
Blood Rage - This is great buff giving you more damage, accuracy, and saves that you’ll have about 13-15 rounds a day which is plenty for most situations. The downside is you can’t stealth while raging unless you take the trait Coherent Rage (which you should).
Bloodline - There’s basically only one bloodline you should take: the aberrant bloodline. This bloodline gives you an increased 5ft of reach when blood raging at level 4 (adding to the whole angry slenderman feel), and allows your crits to stagger (fort negates). It can also provide you with Combat Reflexes as a bonus feat (albeit at level 6, which can be a small or sizable delay depending on your campaign).
Blood Sanctuary - You really shouldn’t be standing in your ally’s AoE, but sometimes it’s necessary. It does synergize well with Evasion later on if you plan on tattooing some explosive runes on your chest, or some other shenanigans.
Spell casting - You should be getting about two spells a day and have 3-4 known before you take your first shadow dancer level. I recommend person buff spells like Jump, Feather Fall, Expeditious Retreat, and Long Arm (increased reach to synergize with combat reflexes). It’s not super powerful, but it’s a nice addition. The important part is that it is arcane spell casting, allowing you to take Arcane Strike, followed by Riving Strike more more on-hit debuffs. It comes with Eschew Materials which is standard for arcane spontaneous casters.
Ranger - Another solid choice for a Shadow Dancer. It can use martial weapons, medium armor, has 6 skill points a level, d10 hit dice, two good saves, and some very useful class features. It’s only drawback is the lack of arcane spell casting.
Favored enemy - +2 to hit, +2 to damage against one type of creature is great, and you even get a second favored enemy the level before you can spec into Shadow Dancer. Choose a popular monster type like Undead, Evil Outsider, Magic Beast, Aberration, Humanoid (or whatever you may face in your campaign) and swing away!
Track - While not detrimental, it is situational depending on the GM and the campaign. Not bad, but not good either.
Wild Empathy - Again, not that great. Might be useful if you are trying to sneak past a guard dog in some noble’s manor, but you won’t get much use out of it otherwise. The one minute use time is the real drawback to it.
Combat Style Feat - Shadow dancers are a feat-starved class. Bonus feats are always welcome. Use this to pick up power attack at level 2 for massive damage.
Endurance - Free feat, why not! Useful for outrunning anyone you or your party may anger, but still not really useful to anything you’ll be doing in combat.
Favored Terrain - On long dungeon crawls this could be great. Extra stealth, initiative and perception are always welcome. Sadly, if you’re not in the same area for a good portion of the campaign this goes to waste.
Hunter’s Bond - A class feature wasted on a Shadow Dancer.
Spells - More utility? Yes please! You’ll only have 2/day by level 5, but that’s still 2 more spells than a fighter or barbarian. Not Arcane though, so no riving strike.
Paladin (or Anti-Paladin) - Thematically odd, but in practice quite powerful. While the Lawful-Good (or Chaotic-Evil) alignment restriction may keep some away from it, the only true drawback to this class is the lack of feats and it’s 2 skill points a level. You have to go human or dip into fighter for the extra feat to get power attack. Other than that it has amazing class features, most notably it gets good will saves (the achilles heel of most Shadow Dancers). Even a paladin’s secondary stat (Charisma) is good for a Shadow Dancer, as Shadow Conjuration and Evocation are reliant on it. Let’s look at the class features.
Aura of Good - Let’s the good guys know you’re good, but it also let’s the bad guys know you’re good (in a bad way). It’s a double edged sword, luckily it’s not terribly sharp.
Detect Evil - Find the bad guys for free? Why not.
Smite Evil - Your paladin level to damage, your charisma modifier to AC and to hit, bypass damage reduction, and it’s only a swift action to use. You even get it twice a day by level 4! This is provides a great power boost against tough enemies.
Divine Grace - Your Charisma should at least be a 14 if you’re a paladin, so this is essentially +2 to all saves (higher if you get a headband). Perfect if you’re the party’s anti-mage.
Lay on Hands - A small heal that’s good at low levels, but becomes rather ineffective late game. You’ll be thanking your god though if you find yourself stuck behind enemy lines with no cleric in sight. It’s made better by Mercy which allows you, or your party members, to get rid of minor conditions. A solid ability.
Mercy - See above.
Divine Health - Immunity to anything is great, it just means one less thing to worry about. The only drawback is you won’t be able to call in sick to work.
Channel Positive Energy - Situationally useful is stretching it. Your lay on hands ability will be better 90% of the time. Leave the healing to the cleric, oracle, or anyone with UMD really.
Spells - The selection isn’t as good as Ranger, but it’s still two free spells. I recommend Bless and Protection from Evil. Again, no arcane casting...
Divine Bond - +1 weapon for 5 minutes a day could be useful, but it’s not that great. The mount is just a bad choice for a Shadow Dancer.
Fighter - Yellow if you go full fighter, green if you only take a level or two in it. The real reason you’d take this class is for the feats it gives. With only one good save, and 2 skill ranks a level, you probably should just use this for a single level dip to get an extra feat.
Barbarian - You will have high HP thanks to your d12 hit-dice, but you really should just be taking Bloodrager levels.
Cavalier - You don’t benefit from anything here except the full BaB and possibly the challenge. It doesn’t have enough skill points, it doesn’t have good saves, and it’s class abilities don’t compliment a Shadow Dancer. If this class was a sound, it would be a wet fart that probably left an unpleasant stain in your loincloth.
Ability Scores
Strength is your primary stat, determining your to hit and damage.
Dexterity comes next, as you need this for AC, reflex saves, and stealth. You need at least 13 to take Dodge and Mobility.
Charisma is necessary for most of your class abilities, and to increase your intimidate check. It doesn’t need to be high, just make sure it isn’t negative.
Constitution is a universally good stat that in no circumstance should have a base of below 10. You should definitely aim for a 12 or higher.
Wisdom is next if you’re a ranger. You want no more than a 12 Wisdom base on a ranger, as you won’t be getting any more spells out of it. It is good for the extra will save, but not much else. If you are not a Ranger, it is not a bad stat to have but it’s not needed. If you are not a ranger, do not drop Wisdom below a 10.
Intelligence does not need points, but should not be dropped (especially if the class you are taking has 2 skill ranks a level) The exception for this is with the Human race you can drop it to a 7-8 and not lose much depending on how many skill points your class gives.
Races
You can play any race you’d like to suit the flavor of your character. You can also inject bleach into your eyeball if you really want to. Do what you want, but you probably wouldn’t be reading a class guide if you didn’t want to optimize your build. For simplicity's sake, I’m sticking with Core Races.
Human - Maybe I’m racist, but this is probably the best race ever. An extra feat at level 1 that is desperately needed, an extra skill point every level allowing you to drop intelligence to an 8, and +2 to any stat. You’re going to get darkvision anyway, so normal vision doesn’t hurt you. You can’t go wrong with this race.
Half-Orc - +2 to any stat and dark vision. You might as well play a Human. The only other bonus is if you take the Sacred Tattoo racial trait for a +1 luck bonus to saving throws (does not stack with Shadow Master class feature, remember that). It also has a +2 bonus to intimidate which is very useful. It does lack the a feat, else it would be the top choice for this build.
Half Elf - Sleep immunity is good, +2 to save vs enchantment helps you stay out of the grasps of pesky mages, +2 on perception is great, +2 to any stat is strong, and you get two favored classes. The low light vision is alright, but you get dark vision for being a Shadow Dancer so it’s not a large factor. A little better if you plan to use an Elven Curved Blade (use the Ancestral Arms Training trait to gain proficiency with it), a green pick if you’re going doing anything else.
Dwarf - +2 Constitution is welcome! +2 Wisdom is good for Will saves! -2 Charisma is bad, but not incredibly terrible as it only lowers your Intimidate rolls and DC of your spell-like abilities by 1. You likely won’t be going the paladin or Bloodrager route with this one, but the stats work well with rangers. Another good thing about this class: +2 to saves against spells, spell-like abilities and poisons (doubled with the Steel Soul feat), and they don’t get slowed by wearing medium or heavy armor. The drawback is that they only have 20 foot move speed. If you feel it’s worth getting a -6 to stealth checks, try to pick up full plate (and later mithral full plate) if you’re a Dwarf to get the most out of your flat 20 movespeed. Also considering dipping a level into Barbarian for fast movement.
Halfling - +2 Dexterity is good! +2 Charisma is good! -2 Strength is not. The small size is nice, as you get +4 to stealth and +1 to hit and AC, but the -2 strength and the smaller weapon is pretty major. You could make up for it with the Risky Striker feat? I can only recommend this if you’re going the Paladin route, otherwise stay away.
Gnomes and Elves - Remember the whole “injecting bleach into your eyeball” thing. This is what I’m talking about. Don’t go near these races with a 10 foot stick, they’re just not worth it. You could use Elf for a Elven Curved Blade build, but Half-Elf is just plain better.
Weapon choice
Your full BaB will mean nothing if you don’t have a hulking weapon to swing around. Basically, pick your favourite martial 2h weapon and go to town. Greatswords and high crit weapons are probably the most optimal. A reach weapon like a Glaive will work just as well as long as you don’t find yourself in tight corridors often.
Stat arrays for 2h weapons
Human / Half-Orc / Half-Elf
Bloodrager / Ranger (swap the WIS and CHA depending on class
15 Point-Buy
STR 15+2 DEX 14 CON 13 INT 8 WIS 10 CHA 12
20 Point Buy
STR 16+2 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 8 WIS 10 CHA 12
Paladin
15 Point-Buy
STR 15+2 DEX 14 CON 13 INT 7 WIS 8 CHA 14
20 Point Buy
STR 16+2 DEX 14 CON 14 INT 7 WIS 9 CHA 14
Dwarf
Ranger
15 Point-Buy
STR 17 DEX 13 CON 10+2 INT 10 WIS 10+2 CHA 9-2
20 Point Buy
STR 17 DEX 14 CON 12+2 INT 10 WIS 10+2 CHA 10-2
Halfling
Paladin
15 Point-Buy
STR 16-2 DEX 14+2 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 8 CHA 10+2
20 Point Buy
STR 16-2 DEX 15+2 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 8 CHA 12+2
Elven Curved Blade - Only for those who multiclass into fighter, or are Half-Elf / Human. The great part about this weapon is it’s 18-20 crit range and the fact you have the choice of using Weapon Finesse while still using Power Attack to get -1 to hit for +3 to damage. The drawback, you need a feat to use it (or be a Half-Elf / Human) and another feat to take Weapon Finesse. Doable, but you definitely need fighter levels. For this build, Dexterity is your main stat, and a 13 Strength is a must so that you can take Power Attack (unless you are taking ranger levels, in which case you can stick with a 10 and get it as a combat style feat). It won’t do as much damage as your typical Greatsword build, but it’s stealth and AC will be higher.
Human
Ranger / Other *(changes for ranger)
15 Point-Buy
STR 13 (10) DEX 16(17)+2 CON 12 INT 8 WIS 12 CHA 10
20 Point Buy
STR 13 (10) DEX 17+2 CON 14 INT 10 (11) WIS 12 CHA 10 (12)
Paladin
15 Point-Buy
STR 13 DEX 16+2 CON 12 INT 7 WIS 8 CHA 14
20 Point Buy
STR 13 DEX 17+2 CON 14 INT 7 WIS 8 CHA 14
Half Elf
Ranger / Other *(changes for ranger)
15 Point-Buy
STR 13(10) DEX 16 (17)+2 CON 12 INT 8 WIS 12 CHA 10
20 Point Buy
STR 13(10) DEX 17+2 CON 14 INT 10 (11) WIS 12 CHA 10 (12)
Paladin
15 Point-Buy
STR 13 DEX 16+2 CON 12 INT 10 WIS 8 CHA 12
20 Point Buy
STR 14 DEX 17+2 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 8 CHA 12
A Look at the Shadow Dancer
This is what you’ve been waiting for. The last five levels have been a slog of boring base classes, and now you finally get what you came for. Let’s take a look at what you’ve worked so hard for.
Class Stats: Moderate base attack, good reflex saves, d8 hit dice, 6 skill ranks a level; why aren’t we playing a rogue again? You took this for the class features, not the base stats. Read on and see.
Hide in Plain Sight - This is what allows you to do what you do best. You can now hide in and near areas of dim light, easily setting up flanks or getting the drop on wizards. Your GM will be annoyed that you’re always rolling stealth throughout sessions, but it’s what you should be doing.
Evasion - You are typically going to be the anti-mage of your party, so this is core. You’re no good to you party if you’ve died from one to many stray fireballs while closing on their caster. Works well against traps too. Great class feature overall.
Uncanny Dodge - Not as good as Evasion, but you won’t be flat footed on surprise rounds or when fighting against invisible enemies. This is something that’s always good to have.
Dark Vision - Some Shadow Dancer you’d be if you couldn’t see in the dark. This lets you take races like Human and Half-Elf and not have to worry about not being screwed by in pitch black caves, and extends the vision range of races that already have it. It also lets you use your Shadow Evocation to make use Darkness or Deeper Darkness and not screw yourself (your party might be though).
Rogue Talent (Level 3, 6, 9) - Basically a free feat, which you so desperately need, and gives you access to Intimidating Prowess. The selection is diverse and of quality. A welcome addition.
Summon Shadow - You now have a way to give yourself flanking, scout through walls, and deal strength damage to your opponent. A few good rolls and you’ll reduce your average wizard to a limp pile of fancy clothing and pointy hats. Simply amazing. Just be wary of it dying. A 30 day respawn time and a possible permanent negative level is a pretty hefty penalty for it dying. Remember that it can retreat directly into the floor with a 5ft step if things get hairy.
Shadow Call - Give you the ability to cast Shadow Conjuration 1-4 times a day. There is great utility here, whether you’re covering an escape with a shadow fog cloud or summoning some shadow monsters to distract guards. It’s a very useful class feature, but is dwarfed by Shadow Evocation which comes at 8th level Shadow Dancer. Once you reach level 10 and it becomes Greater Shadow Conjuration, things really start to become fun and it earns the title of being a blue class feature.
Shadow Jump - This is what makes a Shadow Dancer a Shadow Dancer. Sadly, it’s not that great at low levels. You might have one or two uses out of it at level 4, but at higher level the potential is endless. You will need to grab the Dimensional Agility / Dimensional Charge feat to get the most out of this.
Defensive Roll - You have great reflex saves so this is basically a free get-out-of-death free card. Ideally you shouldn’t need it, and you definitely shouldn’t be relying on it, but it might save your life so I can’t discount that it has some use.
Improved Uncanny Dodge - You are no longer able to be flanked (mostly)! Rogues everywhere weep. A great defensive addition to your repertoire.
Slippery Mind - Chances are, unless you took the paladin route, your will saves are pretty bad. Like, wet fart bad. This gives you a second save against enchantment spells, giving you a second chance to behead that pesky wizard. Ideally you shouldn’t need this, but it’s nice to have.
Shadow Power - Shadow Evocation is the best thing since sliced bread for a Shadow Dancer. You can use this to cast Darkness in a lit area and yourself somewhere to stealth, and get DR 10/- once you obtain your capstone.
Improved Evasion - Automatically half damage on failed reflex saves. Now all those fireballs between you and the enemy wizard mean diddly-squat. Wizards fear you, fighters envy you, and monks laugh because they’ve had this for 6 levels now. Stupid monks... *grumble grumble grumble*
Shadow Master - A tenth level ability that is blue, does that surprise you? DR 10/- and +2 luck bonus to saves when in areas of dim or lower light, which you can now make thanks to your Shadow Evocation 2/day, and your criticals blind for 1d6 rounds. This ability works better with 19-20 or 18-20 crit weapons, but it’s good any way you spin it. Simply amazing, and definitely worth the wait.
Feats
These are what turns this from a sneaky fighter, into a night terror that
Core feats - These are needed.
Dodge, Mobility (after Dodge), Combat Reflexes: Prereq’s for the class. These should go without saying.
Power Attack: This is where most of your damage will be coming from.
Weapon Finesse*: Only needed if you are using an Elven Curved Blade Build
Cornugon Smash/Enforcer: This is what allows you to intimidate enemies on hit. (If you can’t take Cornugon Smash, pair Enforcer with the trait Blade of Mercy). Enforcer is slightly less optimal since it forces you to deal nonlethal damage, but does have the benefit of working even if you aren’t power attacking.
Arcane strike / Riving strike: If you went the Bloodrager route, this gives you scaling damage by spending your swift action (which is otherwise unused by this class) and causes your targets saves to be reduced by 2 until the beginning of your next turn. No save.
Good Feats - These feats should be considered before others.
Additional Traits: You will need this if your group does not play with traits. See traits list for what traits to pick.
Intimidating prowess: Add your strength score to intimidate. Very useful, and it synergizes with rage.
Iron Will: If your GM is throwing too many casters at you, this is a worthwhile pick up for non-paladins.
Improved Initiative: Going before the mage could save your party a lot of trouble. A fairly well-rounded feat
Furious Focus: If you find yourself really needing to get that initial hit off, take this. Removing the minus to hit that Power Attack applies effectively gives you +1-4 to hit depending on level.
Improved Critical: More damage is great, and it synergizes with Shadow Master. Not that worthwhile if you’re using a weapon that only crits on a 20, but great otherwise. Keen weapons can also replace this, so it’s a judgement call on whether you take this or spend some money on a magic weapon.
Spring Attack: Good for positioning. Lets you move towards the enemy backline while still getting an attack off, but ideally you can just use the next two feats to achieve a similar effect.
Dimensional Agility*: Allows you to retain unspent actions after Shadow Stepping, and is a prereq for...
Dimensional Charge*: This will allow you to Shadow Jump to dive into back lines without eating AoO’s. A great buff to your combat mobility.
Questionable Feats - They work, but there are better choices.
Weapon Focus: +1 to hit is good, but there are better things you could use the feat for. It loses all effectiveness if you happen to lose your weapon of choice.
Raging Vitality: This is a nice boost to your survivability if you have high CON and are playing a Bloodrager, but not necessary.
Cleave: This is a decent choice with your lower than average BAB, but only works if your enemies stand next to each other, and it imparts a -2 to your AC.
Vital Strike: You’ll be a one-hit-wonder, or a complete flop. You really should be trying to get two consecutive hits off to apply your sickened condition though.
Blind Fight: If you have a way to make a Fog Cloud (oh wait, Shadow Conjuration) then this will give you a leg up on your enemies. It essentially gives you 25% miss chance vs total concealment, and 4% vs partial. Even better if you have a reach weapon, as you can hit enemies flat footed by standing 10 feet away from them (they can’t see you, or the attack coming until it’s too late).
Critical Focus: Good on 19-20 or 18-20 crit range weapons but not worth it until you get Improved Critical. The real reason for this is to gain access to...
Staggering Critical: Rob a fighter of their precious full round attack, or prevent a retreat. It guarantees at least one round of the staggered condition on a successful critical, longer if they fail the fortitude save. This could save your party upwards of 100 damage due to a full round attack being replaced by a standard action. Not so useful against mages, as they can always dimension door or teleport away instead of relying on movespeed.
Toughness: Only take if you’re starving for HP.
Skill Focus (Stealth or Intimidate): +3 and later +6 to either skill is quite powerful, but there are better uses for a feat. Both of these skills should already be very high, but if you really need that extra +3 or +6, then this is not a horrible choice.
Signature Skill (Intimidate): Only if you’re GM is using these rules. It allows you to possibly frighten or panic enemies which is very powerful CC.
Bad feats - These should be obvious. I really don’t need to go over these, just use common sense and you should never pick one of these. Honestly you don’t have many feats to spare anyway so you should never run out of blues and greens to choose from.
Rogue Talents
You’re only going to get three of these (unless you multiclass into rogue for whatever reason), so this list will be short.
Great Talents: The best of the best.
Quick Stealth - Lets you move your full speed and stealth. When combined with Hide in Plain Sight, you can literally jog down a street undetected.
Combat Trick - A combat feat. What more do you need to know?
Strong Impression - It gives you Intimidating prowess which is a net 4-8 bonus on intimidate checks (depending on level, magic items, race, rage, etc). Not useful if you choose the DEX based ECB build.
Weapon Training - Gives you weapon focus, and lets you save Combat Trick for a different feat.
Good Talents: The slightly worse than the best, but still strong.
Stand Up - Free action stand up from prone can be useful against pesky trippers the GM might use to defend the wizards.
Expert Leaper - Jump checks are a pretty common thing in most campaigns, and this makes them all the easier! A solid choice.
Canny Observer - +4 to perception rolls makes this a solid choice.
Okay Talents and the Rest: Basically everything else. Just stick to the blue and green choices.
Magic Items
Everyone loves magic items. From weapons to scrolls, from wands, to ioun stones, they give you the power to tackle any obstacle. Here are the magical items that any good 2h Shadow Dancer should have.
Magic Weapon - Along with +X to hit and damage, it’s not particularly hard to get DR /magic, so you better be packing at least a +1 weapon as soon as possible. 2,000 gold should not be that much by level 5 or 6. Anything higher than a +1 is obviously welcome as well.
Enchantments
-Keen gives you Improved Critical for +1 Enhancement Bonus. A great, and rather inexpensive way, to save a feat.
-Cruel applies sickenned to any enemy you strike who is already shaken. If you can get two hits in a row, this can really ruin an enemy’s day. The temp HP on kill is a nice bonus too.
-Agile is needed for the ECB build to keep your damage competitive, otherwise ignore it.
-Furious is great for Bloodragers / Barbarians once you have a base +2 weapon. I would take Cruel over this if given the choice.
-Ghost Touch is good if you’re facing a lot of incorporeal creatures, but a waste otherwise.
-Bane has the same drawback as Ghost Touch, though it’s more flexible as it is not just limited to incorporeal creatures. If you know what you’re going to fight ahead of time, this is a good choice.
-Holy / Unholy / Axiomatic / Anarchic is good unless your GM is a troll that makes you fight neutral / neutral aligned enemies frequently. 2d6 extra damage on every attack against enemies of a certain alignment really adds up.
-Wounding is a trap. Don’t take it, you shouldn’t be hitting targets a huge number of times anyway so the bleed won’t do much damage anyway.
-Speed is definitely worth it if you can afford it to help get off your second hit to apply shaken. Ideally your party caster should be providing a haste spell for that though.
-Brilliant Energy is expensive, but well worth it. Hitting touch is a feeling very few fighters get to experience, other than Gunslingers. Stupid Gunslingers... *grumble grumble grumble* If you have the cash, pick this up.
Magic Armor - 1,000 gold is not that much for +1 to AC, considering the alternatives. A good pick up around level 3-4. Anything higher is welcome if you find it or feel you need it.
Enchantments
-Shadow for +5 to stealth is good for you class and it is thematically appropriate. It also doesn’t cost a +1, but it does cost 3,750 which is pretty significant at lower levels.
-Fortification is good for those with horseshoes stuffed up their butt. Negating criticals will troll all those chaotic evil GMs to no end. First level does not cost all that much at +1, but heavy fortification will cost you a pretty penny at +5.
-Spell Resistance is not worth it in my eyes as it is cost a +5 bonus to get a measly 19. A 10th level mage overcomes that with a 9, less if they are an Elf or have Spell Focus.
Wonderous Items
Belt of Strength / Dexterity - If you are not using an Elven Curved Blade then you’ll want the Strength belt more, but a Dexterity belt is still good for you so don’t pass it up. If you are using an Elven Curved Blade, Dexterity is the obvious choice. Don’t expect anything higher than a +2 for a while.
Belt of Constitution - You should not be taking that many hits, so a lower hit points shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The 4,000 is better spent on +2 armor, or a different +stat item. If it’s all you got on hand though, it’s worth wearing.
Headband of Charisma - Blue if you’re a Paladin, green otherwise. If you’ve taken the paladin route, this is +1 to all saves and +1 to AC against your smite target, and +1 to Charisma based checks. If not, you just get +1 to the DC of your Shadow Conjuration and Evocation. Again, don’t assume you will be getting anything higher than a +2 for a long while.
Headband of Wisdom - +1 to will saves are nice and Wisdom based checks. but that’s the extent of the use. You don’t get anything else from it even if you’re a Ranger. It’s cheaper to buy a Cloak of Resistance.
Headband of Intelligence - You have 6 skill points a level and are probably a human, chances are you don’t need more. Wear it’s the only thing you can get your hands on, but let your wizard have first dibs.
Mithral Armor - Not technically a magic item, but it’s still needed. The reason you want this is to decrease armor check penalty and move speed restrictions. Optimal on breastplate armor as it effectively turns it into light armor so it no longer slows your move speed and removes the check penalty altogether.
Cloak of Resistance - A cheap way to get a good amount of saves not a whole lot of money. Considering your saves (most notably your will save) will be bad, this is a must have.
Ring of Protection - A little on the expensive side, but once you have +1 or +2 armor these are worth the investment.
Amulet of Natural Armor - Due to the type of bonus they give for the same price, a Ring of Protection is better by a notch. Still a good pick up if you have +1 or +2 armor already and a Ring of Protection.
Minor Shadow Head Piercings - +5 to intimidate for 3750 gold is a pretty fair trade, and will make applying your debuffs even easier.
Gloves of Dueling - If you happened to take enough Fighter levels to get weapon training, you might as well pick these up. They’re a bit expensive, but they’re strong. They’re orange because of the number of Fighter levels you need to gain use full of these items.
Eversmoking Bottle - Enemies can’t hit what they can’t see, the same goes with mages. Combine this with Blind Fight for a winning combination. Your party might not like you though.
Boots of Speed - The Haste rounds are good for the movement speed bonus, as this lets you chase down targets or get into position faster, and the extra attack is good for the same reason as listed for the Speed enchantment. At 12,000 gold it’s not very easy to get your hands on. If you’re on a budget, you can instead get...
Boots of Striding and Springing - +10 ft move speed is amazing, and can give you that little extra boost you need to close on the enemy mage. The +4 to acrobatics check when jumping is welcome too.
Boots of the Cat - Super fun to leap off building, cliffs, airships, or dragons, land on your feet, and take minimal damage. Survive a 200+ft fall at level 3. Only fun though, not super useful in most circumstances.
Cloak of Elvenkind - For only 2,500 you get +5 to stealth checks. It’s good, but remember that this uses up the same slot as a Cloak of Resistance, and does not stack with Shadow Armor. Weigh your options carefully before choosing, though if you only have access to this it is still a good choice.
Gloves of Arrow Snaring - Not needed, but if it saves you from getting hit by an arrow every turn it’s made itself useful. You want all the damage mitigation you can get, and this is a viable option.
Winged Boots - Lets you catch up with those pesky wizards who think they can outsmart you with a simple fly spell. Pricey at 16,000, but well worth it. The only real drawback is you’ll need to put ranks in fly to use it efficiently.
Cloak of the Bat - Cloak of Elvenkind but better, but it’s also more expensive. It’s all depends on how much treasure that dragon had in his hoard.
Rope of Entanglement - Expensive at 21,000, but it’s just one command away from completely disabling your average caster. Be wary a thug doesn’t slice through it, or all you’ll be left with is two pieces of rope you overpaid for.
Skills
The skills you need
Acrobatics - Need for your prestige class, and also almost always useful. Don’t hesitate to invest past the 5 ranks needed.
Intimidate - How are you going to spook people if you’re not spooky? Max this.
Stealth - The enemy can’t hit what they can’t see (well actually they have a 50% miss chance, but you get what I mean). Definitely needed for getting the drop on enemies. Max this
Perception - If you don’t have this maxed on almost every character you play, shame on you.
Perform (Dance) - The feat tax. Stop after the initial 2 points.
Additional useful skills
Climb/Swim - May or may not be useful depending on your campaign. Worth 1 point at least to get the +3 from class skill
Disable Device - If your party lacks a dedicated rogue type, you can fill in that gap
Sense Motive - Never bad to have, though generally more optimal to let a WIS based party member cover this if you can.
Linguistics - You never know when you will need to read some Gnomish in a pinch. Maybe invest 1-2 points to get an extra common language used in your campaign.
Diplomacy/ Bluff - For situations you can’t intimidate your way out of.
Everything else - Chances are you’re party will have the other skills you need, or they’re just plain useless. If you really want to play up a flavor aspect of the character, just invest more point in Perform (Dance). Otherwise stick with the blue and green skills.
Early game
Your early levels are going to be pretty standard affair, you’re playing a big dumb fighter. Hit things, and maybe do a bit of sneaking with your higher-than-average stealth score. It’s not terribly complicated. This lasts until level 5 (maybe 6 if you wait for the bloodline feat), that’s when the fun begins.
Shadow Dancers Level By Level
Shadow Dancer level 1
This can feel like the worst level of Shadow Dancer since you only get skill points, +1 ref, and Hide In Plain Sight. It’s made more awkward if you don’t have dark vision since you can now hide in darkness, but can’t see through it. Use this level to familiarize yourself with the stealth mechanic, annoying your GM as much as possible by constantly asking if there’s areas of low-light, and rolling stealth if there is. Also keep hitting things.
As a rule of thumb moving forward, the odd level of Shadow Dancer are pretty underwhelming (with the exception of level 3) while the even levels are where all the fun stuff happens.
Shadow Dancer level 2
This is where things get better. Not only do you actually get access to Evasion, Uncanny Dodge (if you didn’t already have it), and dark vision (if you didn’t already have it), you also are probably getting your 7th level feat allowing you to take Cornugon Smash (or Enforcer). Take this level to familiarize yourself with the rule for demoralizing, and annoying your GM by making them calculate the demoralize DC for all of the enemies (10+HD+WIS mod). Between this and your stealth rolls, your party member’s patience is probably wearing thin. Memorize your skill checks and modifiers to expedite the process if possible.
Shadow Dancer level 3
This level brings with it some juicy perks. The rogue talent can be used to pick up either Intimidating Prowess or Arcane Strike. I’d suggest getting Arcane Strike to set up to get Riving strike next level, but if you feel you really need that boost to your Intimidate you can take Intimidating Prowess. You also get access to Shadow Illusion which isn’t huge, but can be useful for hiding from enemies, and Shadow Call which is baller. Having your own Peter Pan shadow flanking buddy to slap enemies with strength damage on top of being intimidated is super powerful. You also get your second +1 ability score which is a nice bonus.
Shadow Dancer level 4
Take Riving Strike if you took Arcane Strike last level, else pick something from the feat list you think will be useful. You unlock Shadow Jump but you only have 40ft/day, but that’s still enough to break out of a cell or get into flanking with an ally. You also get access to Shadow Call, which gives you the ability to cast (practically) any conjuration spell that’s 3rd level or lower.
Shadow Dancer level 5
You’re halfway there. Sort of. The upside is you get +1 BAB and +1 to all saves this level which is nice, and Improved Uncanny dodge is also a welcome feature, but defensive roll is pretty lackluster. You also get another use of Shadow Illusion. Wooooo...
Shadow Dancer level 6
A feat, another Rogue Talent, another use of your Shadow Call, and your Shadow step range is doubled to 80ft/day. Overall a pretty good level. Your build can start to deviate here as needed. If you took Riving Strike at level 9 your core build is complete, use your future feats to tune your character to your play style. This build remains relevant into high levels as long as you’re able to hit your targets and intimidate them reliably. Between your 2h weapon, high strength, power attack, magic items, and (possibly) rage your damage will still be respectable even if you come up against targets that can’t be intimidated/sickened. The good news is that Riving Strike works on anything you can deal damage to, so you’ll always have that.
Shadow Dancer level 7
Another boring level. Slippery Mind and another use of Shadow Illusion. The plus side is that you get your 3rd ability score increase. Moving on.
Shadow Dancer level 8
Your Shadow Jump distance is doubled again, you get another use of Shadow Call, and you get access to Shadow Power which is lit AF fam. You now have access to (practically) every evocation spell that is 4th level or lower. I would use this mostly to cast darkness when no areas of dim light present themselves. On top of that you also get another feat, which is always welcome. If you haven’t already, consider picking up Dimensional Agility in preparation to get Dimensional Assault along with your capstone.
Shadow Dancer level 9
You only get a rogue talent at this level, but at this point your choice of talents is rather slim. You also get another use of Shadow Illusion, but that’s about it.
Shadow Dancer level 10
You made it, and now to be rewarded. On top of getting a feat, your shadow jump range is now a whopping 320ft/day, you gain an extra use of Shadow Power, an extra use of Shadow Call which is also upgraded to Greater Shadow Conjuration (access to all conjuration spells 6th level or lower), and you get Improved Evasion. To top it all off, you receive DR 10/- and a +2 luck bonus to all saving throws when in areas of dim light, and if you confirm a critical against a creature in an area of dim light they are blinded for 1d6 rounds. No save.
If you’ve made it this far I shouldn’t have to tell you how to play your character. Sneak around, hit things, scare people. Happy hunting
Levels 16-20
Just keep taking whatever martial class you first took levels in. Chances are you won’t make it this far, not many campaigns do. The core build was complete around level 9, just use some common sense and you shouldn’t have issues moving forward.