Desert Dervish Skald Archetype

Design Notes: This is an archetype adaptation of the Dervish prestige class in 3.5e. This reflects a setting in which a dervish is in fact a desert warrior that works themselves into a whirring frenzy, and not a sort of warrior exlusive to a single faith (Serenrae in Golarion). The most logical class to base the archetype off of, being a combination of grace, performance and sheer fury, is the skald, which also adequately reflects the culture of a nomadic, primal desert warrior. The result is a skald analogy of the Dawnflawer Dervish/Dervish Dancer archetpes for the bard.

Wild, exotic, and as dangerous as her whirling blades, the desert dervish epitomizes speed, quickness, and abandon. Her motions appear to be as random as they are graceful, but the steps of her lethal dance play our according to their own rhythm.

Nearly all desert dervishes belong to nomadic cultures. These nomads are not simple wanderers with no roots to call their own – they have their ancient traditions, and their societies simply do not consider permanent settlements an important part of their nature. They are gypsies, keeping their own traditions and forging their own familial and societal bonds while they move throughout the world. Often, these tribes adopt the attitudes and even some of the laws of the lands they live in — for the sake of expedience, if nothing else. The dervish treats fighting styles the same way. A dervish learns the dance of war as she grows up among her family and her tribe. She watches others as she travels, however, and brings new steps to the dance as she goes.

Class skills: The desert dervish adds Perform (dance) as a class skill. This alters the skald’s class skills.

Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: The desert dervish is proficient in light armor, she is not proficient in medium armor or shields. A desert dervish can cast skald spells while in light armor (and not shields) without a chance of arcane spell failure. This alter’s the skald’s armor proficiencies.

Spellcasting: A dervish dancer relies upon graceful movements to affect her spells. Rather than requiring verbal components as would a bard or skald, every spell on the bard spell list available to the desert dervish is treated as having somatic components. A paralyzed or otherwise immobilized desert dervish is otherwise unable to cast her skald spells, even with the Still Spell feat.

Feats that alter the apperance of bardic performance or verbal components — such as Spellsong — instead serve to disguise the somatic gestures of the dervish’s dancing frenzy or somatic components. This alters the standard skald’s spellcasting.

Slashing Finesse: At 1st level, the desert dervish chooses a single slashing weapon type, and she may treat this weapon as a finessable weapon, able to add her Dexterity modifier to attack rolls, rather than Strength. She can also treat this weapon as a one-handed, piercing or slashing weapon for the purposes of abilities and affects that require such a weapon (such as a swashbuckler’s precise strike). If the weapon is a double weapon, both ends of the double weapon must do slashing damage. Every 5 levels thereafter, she may select a different weapon type with which to gain these benefits. Once made, these choices cannot be changed. This replaces bardic knowledge.

Somatic Blades: The desert dervish can make the somatic gestures needed for her skald spells while wielding weapons selected with her slashing finesse ability. This replaces scribe scroll.

Dancing Frenzy: The desert dervish moves chaotically, yet gracefully in her steps and in the whirring actions of her blades and she becomes deadly with the precision of her blows. She can initiate this frenzy as a standard action; maintaining this dance is a free action, and can be done for a number of rounds per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier, and an additional two rounds for each level she gains beyond first. She can only initiate this frenzy while she is wielding the weapon(s) she has chosen with her slashing finesse ability. If she is wielding more than one weapon, any weapon wielded must be one of these chosen weapons. She cannot use a combination of weapons and natural attacks in order to gain the benefits of her dancing frenzy. While dancing in this frenzy, she gains a +1 morale bonus to attack, to Constitution checks, and to Will saves against fear. This bonus increases by +1 at 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter. When she ends her frenzy, she is fatigued for one minute. Ending the frenzy can be done any time as a free action.

She cannot perform a dancing frenzy in any armor heavier than light or if she is using a shield. While dancing, a dervish cannot use skills or abilities that involve concentration or require her to remain still, such as Stealth, or active Perception rolls. A desert dervish with bardic abilites can, however, perform while she dances, and she can cast her skald spells as a bard can do so during a performance, without ending her frenzy. A dervish cannot perform a dervish dance while under the effect of any other rage- or frenzy-like ability.

At 7th level, the desert dervish can start a dancing frenzy as a move action instead of a standard action. At 13th level, she can start a frenzy as a swift action instead.

This ability replaces raging song and inspired rage. All other raging song performances are replaced as indicated below. It counts as bardic performance or raging song for the purpose of prerequisites for feats that modify these features — except for Lingering Performance which cannot be used with this ability — and for spells and effects that trigger on the beginning or completion of a bardic performance.

Sand Strider: At 3rd level, while in her dancing frenzy, the desert dervish can make 5-foot steps in difficult terrain, and her land speed is increased by 5 feet. This speed increases by another 5 feet at 7th level and every 4th level thereafter. This replaces song of marching.

Rage Power: At 3rd level and every 3 levels thereafter, a skald learns a rage power; unlike the standard skald, this rage power only affects the desert dervish when performing her dancing frenzy. This cannot be a rage power that requires the dervish to spend a standard action or greater, or rounds of rage to activate it. For example, she cannot choose terrifying howl (which requires a standard action to activate), but can choose knockback (which is made in place of a melee attack). It can also not be a power that modifies any weapon other than a slashing melee weapon chosen with her slashing finess ability (such as bloody fist), nor a stance power. This alters the standard skald’s rage powers.

Agressive Finesse: At 6th level, the desert dervish is considered to have the deadly agility feat while using one of her weapons chosen with slashing finesse, and counts as having this feat when taking other feats that modify its use, such as two-weapon grace. Further, while in a dancing frenzy, the desert dancer may reduce the elected penalty to her attack rolls for fighting agressively by one point. She may reduce this penalty by an additional one point at 11th and 16th levels. This replaces song of strength.

Effortless Grace: At 7th level, the dervish dancer can take 10 on any Acrobatics check, and can make Acrobatics checks to jump as if she had a running start. This replaces lore master.

Graceful Avoidance: At 9th level, while in her dancing frenzy, the desert dervish adds +1 as a dodge bonus to her AC. This bonus increases by an additional +1 at 14th and 19th levels. This replaces damage reduction.

A Thousand Cuts: At 10th level, while in a dancing frenzy, the desert dervish can make an additional attack at her full attack bonus when making a full attack action. This replaces dirge of doom become a whirling dancer of death a number of rounds per day equal to her Charisma modifier. This replaces dirge of doom.

Whirling Frenzy: At 14th level, the desert dervish can take a full attack action (for melee attacks only) and still move up to her speed. However, she must move a minimum of 5 feet between each attack when using this ability, and she cannot return to a square she just exited (though she may return to that square later during her full attack). The dervish is subject to attacks of opportunity while dancing, but may make Acrobatics checks normally as part of her move. A dervish prevented from completing her move is also prevented from finishing her full attack. This replaces song of the fallen.