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»Fan Dancer prestige class
 Divine Servant prestige class

Fan Dancer Prestige Class
for D&D 3rd Edition
by Dave Dean
first draft 06-19-2001 after staying up WAY too late
major revision 06-22-01
revision 07-04-01 ("Light as", "Shameless Dance" and "Costume")
major revision 07-10-01 (less stuff, more performance-oriented, adjusted requirements)
(final version... probably)

Description

The Fan Dancer relies on skill and grace, combining battle and dance into a single art form. Using broad curving movements that do not even appear to be a style of combat at first, the Fan Dancer attacks unexpectedly with a deceptively deadly War Fan, confuses the senses with constant motion, and draws opponents into the deadly dance before they even realize what's happening.

Fan Dancers fight unarmored, but decked out in an entertainer's outfit festooned with fringes, tassels, ribbons, veils, feathers, beads, bones, bits of metal, opalescent materials, bold colors and patterns... anything to distract and misdirect an observer from an actual attack. Some choose only the most elegant, graceful and fashionable styles, while the more chaotic might wear any old improvised junk and rags they find... but all can use it to good effect. Their costume is carefully designed to allow freedom of movement, and any foe who tries grabbing a handful of dangling ribbons will find they snap right off without hampering the dancer at all.

Fan Dancers often seek adventure because a good challenge drives their art to ever increasing heights. Of course, money and fame never hurt anyone either.

Nifty real-world info:
http://www.concentric.net/~Budokai/hibuki/tessen.htm
http://www.seishinryu.org.uk/tessen.htm
http://pages.infinit.net/daitoryu/tessen.htm
http://www.samuraiart.com/war_fan.htm
http://home.istar.ca/~wko/battle_of_kawanakajima.html
http://www.shogungallery.com/inv/warrior/kuni3.html

Requirements:
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Tumble: 4 ranks
Bluff: 4 ranks
Perform[Dance]: 4 ranks
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (War Fan), Graceful Step, Ambidexterity
Alignment: any non-lawful.
Race: any.

CLevelBABFortRefWillSpecial
1+1+0+2+0 Artful Defense*, Costume, Light as a Feather*
2+2+0+3+0 Shameless Dance*
3+3+1+3+1 Deflect*
4+4+1+4+1 Magnificent Display*
5+5+1+4+1 Light as a Petal*
6+6+2+5+2 Distracting Flourish*
7+7+2+5+2 Sharper Edge*
8+8+2+6+2 Gleaming Arc*
9+9+3+6+3 Spring in Your Step*
10+10+3+7+3 Light as the Breeze*

*: These bonuses and abilities are available only when wearing the appropriate costume, no armor, no boots, no shield, not visibly wearing/carrying any weapons that are not War Fans, and not mounted, climbing or swimming.

Hit Die: d8

Class Skills: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Jump (Str), Perform[Dance] (Cha), Tumble (Dex), Craft (Int)

Skill points per level: 4 + Int modifier.

Weapon and armor proficiency: None.

Artful Defense*: When your Dex bonus to AC is intact, also add your Charisma bonus to your AC.
 
Light as a Feather*: Your dancing movements cause you to be effectively lighter as long as you are on your feet. You retain your Dex (and Charisma) bonus to AC when you would otherwise be flat-footed, your effective body weight is reduced by 20%, and your footprints count as two size categories smaller than you.
 
Costume: Your costume (a modified entertainer's outfit) draws more attention than usual, penalizing your Hide and Disguise checks by -6 while you wear it. However, it allows you to draw or put away a war fan as a free action.

If your costume includes bells or other noisemaking implements, apply a -8 penalty to Move Silently but a +2 bonus to Perform (Dance) and +2 to Bluff checks when feinting.
 
Shameless Dance*: As part of a move-equivalent action (not a free 5' step), you may attempt to move into the same space as an adjacent opponent, regardless of size. If your opponent's Dex bonus to AC is intact, he gets a free attack of opportunity against you even if he has used his available attacks of opportunity for the round. If you take damage from this attack, your attempt to move into his space fails.

While you share the same space, your "dance partner" cannot apply his Dex bonus to AC against you.

As a standard action, you may attempt to maneuver your opponent out of place. If you succeed on an opposed Bluff check, you and your opponent move togther at up to 20' or your opponent's movement rate, whichever is shorter, in the direction of your choice. You can do this only once to any individual creature.

On your opponent's turn, he may attempt to pin you as if you are grappling, or move out of your space normally.
 
Deflect*: You may choose to wield a second war fan defensively, as a shield with an AC bonus of +2, imposing no armor check or attack penalty. If you do so, you may not attack with your off hand.
 
Magnificent Display*: At just the right moment, you can attempt to distract a foe attacking one of your allies. The attacker must be able to see you and be facing in your general direction. If the attacker fails a Concentration check vs. your Perform skill, he suffers a -4 penalty to his attack roll. Regardless of the result, you may take only a partial action during your next round.

You cannot use this trick to defend yourself, only an ally.
 
Light as a Petal*: As long as you are on your feet, your effective body weight is reduced another 20% (40% overall), your base speed when not running is increased by 10', and your footprints are four size categories smaller than you.

You can also skip across calm water at your base speed or a run. You cannot use this movement to make a charging attack. You must end your movement action on solid land or you fall in and begin swimming, with your Swim check DC increased by 2.
 
Distracting Flourish*: You can feint at an adjacent foe or "dance partner" as a move-equivalent action instead of a standard action.
 
Sharper Edge*: By sharpening the edge of your masterwork or better War Fan, you gain a +1 non-magical bonus to damage.
 
Gleaming Arc*: You are skilled in using your fan(s) to reflect light into the eyes of an opponent. You may choose your opponent each round; he and anyone within 5' of him (other than yourself, but including any of your allies) has a -2 circumstance penalty to attack rolls. Cannot be used if there is insufficient light.
 
Spring in Your Step*: You gain the benefits of the Spring Attack feat.
 
Light as the Breeze*: As long as you are on your feet, your effective body weight is reduced another 20% (60% overall), your base speed when not running increases another 5' (total of 15'), and you leave no footprints on any surface (but can still be tracked by scent).

As a move-equivalent action, you can run (at your base speed) along a vertical surface, such as a wall or tree trunk. Every 5' you move in this way, make a Balance check with a DC equal to your height from the ground, or fall. (For example, to run to the top of a 30' wall, you must succeed at Balance checks with DCs of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 consecutively... good luck.) You must end the movement action upright on a horizontal surface, or fall.
 

New Feat

Graceful Step
Your actions carry a grace that makes every move seem an effortless step in a silent dance.
Prerequisites: Charisma 13+
Benefit: You gain a +2 circumstance bonus on Balance and Perform (Dance) checks.

(Thanks to Liane the Wayfarer for this feat, and the posters on the Official Dungeons & Dragons and 3rdedition.org forums for their comments and suggestions.)