Dervish of the Dark Dance (3.5e Prestige Class)

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Dervish of the Dark Dance.

“	No, not today. Today you will suffer as I have suffered.	”
—Nassim, Human Dervish of the Dark Dance, The Dark Dance, by Elminster

The Dervish is a beautiful warrior who, with her twin scimitars, strikes fear in the hearts of her enemies. But all Dervishes know of the dark forbears of their past. The Dervishes of the Dark Dance. Many years ago, when the Humans began to unlock the secrets of Blade Dances, There were two distinct styles of the Nomadic Dervish Tribes. The female warriors practiced the Dervish form we know today. The males, however, practiced an altogether different style. It utilized a Single Greatsword, but was no less potent. As prideful males are want to do, they declared war on one another. Years of combat led to nothing but heavy losses on all sides, until the Female Warriors could bear no more. Taking up arms against their own tribes, they eradicated their Greatsword Wielding bretheren. From that day forward, no male was to ever practice the Greatsword Style of the Dervish Dancers. Only the Grandmother of Dervishes, the supreme master of the Dervish style, was permitted to practice it. However, it is not unknown for the Grandmother of Dervishes to secretly train a male of her tribe in the Dance of the Dark Blade to keep the tradition alive in case of some surprise tragedy.

Becoming a Dervish of the Dark Dance

Characters pursue the Dervish of the Dark Dance prestige class usually for one reason and one reason only. They think Greatswords are totally sweet and want to be able to kill even more baddies with them.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Any
Base Attack Bonus:	+5.
Skills:	Perform (Dance) 3 ranks, Tumble 3 ranks
Feats:	Power Attack, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus (Greatsword)

Table: The Dervish of the Dark Dance

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Dark Dance 1/day, Movement Mastery, Dark Blade +1
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Fast Movement +5 ft.
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Weapon Specialization (Greatsword) Dark Dance 2/day, Dark Blade +2
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Dance of Death
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Dark Dance 3/day, Fast Movement +10 ft. Dark Blade +3
6th	+6	+5	+5	+2	Bonus Feat
7th	+7	+5	+5	+2	Dance of Destruction, Dark Dance 4/day, Dark Blade +4
8th	+8	+6	+6	+2	Fast Movement +15
9th	+9	+6	+6	+3	Dark Dance 5/day, Dark Blade +5, Tireless Dance
10th	+10	+7	+7	+3	Thousand Cuts
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) The Dervish’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Dervish of the Dark Dance.

Dark Dance (Ex): A Dervish of the Dark Dance can utilize his Dark Dance a number of times per day. While Dancing, the Dervish of the Dark Dance may full attack at the end of the charge, but between each attack, he must make a five foot step (However, he must not move farther than his normal move rate.). He may not reenter a square he just exited, but he may return to it later in his dance. The Dervish's dance lasts a number of rounds equal to his 1/2 his ranks in Perform (Dance), rounded down, and at the end of his Dance, he is Fatigued, if he is currently in a Barbarian Rage, he is not fatigued, but will be exhausted at the end of the Rage unless he has Tireless Rage. If the Dervish of the Dark Dance has levels in Dervish, he may add his amount of Dark Dances per day to his amount of Dervish dances per day which is utilized by both classes. Thus, Dervish1/Dervish of the Dark Dance 3 could use either one of his dances three times per day. Unlike a normal Dervish, a Dervish of the Dark Dance may use his Dark Dance in conjunction with a rage or frenzy ability.

Movement Mastery (Ex): At first level, the Dervish of the Dark Dance is confident in his control over his body. He may take 10 on Jump, Perform (Dance), and Tumble checks, even if adverse conditions would normally prevent him from doing so. If the Dervish of the Dark Dance already has this ability (Such as from the normal Dervish Class), or one with the same effects, he instead gains a +4 untyped bonus to Jump, Perform (Dance), and Tumble Checks.

Dark Blade (Ex): At 1st level, if a Dervish is wielding a Greatsword when he enters his Dance, he gains a +1 morale bonus to hit and damage. This bonus increases by +1 at every odd class level.

Fast Movement (Ex): At Levels 2, 5, and 8, the Dervish of the Dark Dance's movement speed increases by 5'.

Weapon Specialization (Greatsword): At 3rd level, the Dervish of the Dark Dance gains Weapon Specialization (Greatsword) as a bonus feat. If he already has this feat, he may choose another feat that he qualifies for.

Dance of Death (Ex): At level 4, the Dervish of the Dark Dance may utilize the Cleave Feat when he enters his dance. He does not need to move 5' to use the extra attack if he does not wish to. If the Dervish already has this ability from another Class, or if he has the Cleave Feat, he instead gains use of the Great Cleave feat while dancing.

Bonus Feat: At 6th level, the Dervish of the Dark Dance gains a bonus feat from the Fighter Bonus Feat list. His levels in Dervish of the Dark Dance stack with Fighter to determine which bonus feats he qualifies for.

Dance of Destruction (Ex): At 7th level, when using a Greatsword, the Dervish of the Dark Dance adds 2x his Strength Mod to damage rolls, instead of 1.5 x Strength Mod.

Tireless Dance (Ex): At 9th level, the Dervish of the Dark Dance is no longer fatigued at the end of his Dance, if he is Raging while dancing, however, he will still be fatigued by the rage unless he has Tireless Rage.

Thousand Cuts (Ex): When a dervish reaches 10th level, once per day he may double the number of melee attacks he makes while performing a full attack action (whther in a dervish dance or not). If a dervish uses this ability in conjunction with his Dark Dance, he can make up to two attacks between moves. The Dervish also gains the benefits of the great cleave feat with slashing weapons while performing a thousand cuts, even if he does not meet the pre-requisites. He does not have to move 5 feet before making any extra attacks granted by this ability. A Dervish using this ability can receive an extra attack from the haste spell, but the bonus provided by the spell do not stack with the bonuses granted by the class. If he already has this ability, or if he has the Great Cleave feat, he also gains the following ability;

Supreme Power Attack: When using a Greatsword and utilizing the Power Attack feat, the Dervish gains +3 damage for each point of BAB he sacrifices.

Campaign Information

Playing an Dervish of the Dark Dance

Combat: Dervishes of the Dark dance are just what they were when they entered their prestige class. Warriors. Stick them on the front line and watch them slice and dice.

Advancement: It is not Uncommon for Dervishes of the Dark Dance to learn the techniques of their Sisters, the Dervishes. Some study so they can exact revenge upon those who nearly wiped out their greatest warriors. Others learn to keep the Traditions alive if the Grandmother of Dervishes falls in battle.

Resources: Dervishes of the Dark Blade can expect no help from Normal Dervishes, unless teh Dervish of the Dark Dance also has levels in Dervish. However, they can expect help from any other Dervish of the Dark Blade. Since there are so few of them, many are overjoyed to see someone else who is keeping their dying art alive.

Dervishes of the Dark Blade in the World

“

And that's what happens to someone who says I'm just doing "a fruity little dance."

”

Dervishes of the Dark Dance are primarily loners who either work Directly for the Grandmother of Dervishes, or have learned the secret art from another Dervish of the Dark Dance who escaped the fate of their now dead bretheren.

NPC Reactions: Most NPC's will regard the Dervish as a Travelling Dancer or Warrior. But usually not both. Some, however, can be mistaken for Bards.

Dervish of the Dark Dance Lore

Characters with ranks in knowledge (history) can research Dervishes of the Dark Dance to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

knowledge (history)

DC	Result
11	Dervishes of the Dark Dance utilize a Sword Dance, similar to a normal dervish.
16	Dervishes of the Dark Dance were nearly wiped out by other Dervishes in a war hundreds of years ago.
21	The Grandmother of Dervishes sometimes trains a Male Champion of her Tribe in the Dark Dance.
26	A result of 26 or higher can bring out information about specific Dervish of the Dark Dance, lore about them, their location, and recent activities.

Dervishes in the Game

Dervishes of the Dark Dance can be encountered as Mercenaries, but it's rather unlikely. Usually, they serve as secret guardians to temples in their homeland. Due to their rarity, the most likely way to find a Dervish of the Dark Blade is to meet with the Grandmother of Dervishes.

Sample Encounter: Nassim (3.5e NPC)

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