Prestige Class; Voice of Drendari

author: Phoenix Real
email: phoenix_real@yahoo.com
www: phoenixreal.bravepages.com
date: 2002-10-24, 2003-02-19 (revised)
status: test

Voice of Drendari

Twilight is the eyes and ears of Drendari. He enforces her will on Scarn.  He is not alone among her Faithful in this capacity, however. There are those among her Faithful that become more, that become her very Voice.  Every Shadow Walker in one fashion or another enforces the will of their goddess, from the elusive Shadowdancers found throughout Scarn, to the Rogue/Priests that pay her worship all across Scarn. Shadow Walkers thrive unknown, one or two here and there, doing their goddess her bidding. Her religion is a quiet one, and sometimes completely unknown, even to those who practice the religions of the eight victors. Normally thought of as the patroness of thieves, she is more than that. She is the Mistress of all that lies between Light and Darkness, and her heart is swayed not by either, and only by her own whimsy, much like her father, Enkili. From her mother, Belsameth, the Shadow Child came from the darkness, but she is not of the darkness her mother comes from. 

Across Scarn a secret battle is waged. Shadow Walkers fight a quiet war with their enemies the Penumbral Lords. There are those that would seek to see her fall, those who call her a pretender, those of true evil. Drendari may be mischievous, much like her father, but she is not a creature of evil. The Slarecians took her and tried to pry the secrets of shadow magic from her. They got some away from the Shadow child, and passed these on the Penumbral lords before the Titans and Gods destroyed them. The Penumbral lords and Drendari remain in conflict today. The Shadow Walkers are her champions on Scarn, they are those that fight this battle, giving their lives and taking the lives of their enemies. 

Rogues and Rogue/Priests are not the only people that find the Mistress of Shadows. Some find Drendari through a connection of a different kind.  There are certain individuals chosen by the Lady of Shadows for one reason or another to be more than simply her Faithful. They are individuals who through their lives gain a great attachment to the elusive Mistress of Shadows and to her Shadow Magic. Because of the connection of Drendari to the realm of Shadow Magic, these individuals may be arcane or divine spell casters. They are the Voices of Drendari.

 Among the Shadow Walkers, the Shadowdancers are numerous. Sometimes though the skills of the divine or arcane spellcaster leads them to the path of magic mixed with those shadows. These can attain a closentess to the divine that normal Shadowdancers can never really attain. Clerics, bards, sorcerers, and wizards sometimes find their way to this path, through Drendari's own interest. These individuals are to become Drendari's presence in the realm of Scarn. Where she cannot be, her Voices find themselves aiding those of the Faithful that need help, and punishing those that do wrong against them. They are to become touched by the very essence of shadow and become a direct servitor to their Mistress. They desire beyond even the learning of magic to become their Goddess's mortal warriors.

The Mistress of Shadow has touched them in some fashion. In some way, Drendari has beckoned to them to lead them along the path. This can come in many forms. Drendari may send a Shadow-walker to speak with them, she may speak to them herself, or it may simply be a compulsion to follow the path she lays before them, even if they are not fully conscious of doing so. Some children are marked from birth by her hand, and some children feel the shadows like a comforting blanket in their darkest times, and at one time a child may find themselves unnaturally concealed by the shadows in a time when their life is in great danger. A Voice must have complete understanding of Drendari's enemies, and must be certain that Drendari's enemies are their own. They may never ally themselves willingly with an enemy of the Mistress of Shadow, and if they do, it can only be in a subversive action.

 Wizards and Sorcerers may become the Arcane Voices and clerics may become the Divine Voices, and they all feel keenly their connection to their goddess. Wizards may research for years in old tomes trying to locate shadow magic to fill their spellbooks with. Some wizards may find the chaotic nature of their compulsion to find shadow magic disturbing, but most feel that it is just a part of learning their craft. Sorcerers, to whom chaos is no stranger, may find it easier to channel their energies with a focus of bending shadow to their whim. It is a natural thing for a cleric with the Shadow Domain to consider this path, for they are leading towards that direction. Drendari may sometimes direct any Voice to finding their spells. She may even sometime reveal an especially potent and previously unknown spell to a specially blessed Voice, or one who has proven her worth a great deal. 

They train among the shadowdancers, though they are much different. They, like Shadowdancers, learn performance, but these individuals all learn some form of vocal performance to spread their goddess's tenets to all, though not obviously so. These may be stories that make people, without their knowledge, feel kindly towards the Mistress of Shadow, or they may simply be songs of fun and laughter, though all are tinged with a shadow of the Mistress in them.

Though, with most things, Drendari's granted power comes with a cost.  Drendari may choose to enlist any Voice's aid in a venture with other Shadow-walkers or on her own. The Voice has the affinity to Drendari and will accept any quest to aide the Mistress of shadow, and becoming the agent of Drendari that they so desire to be. Drendari has a lot to do with the mortal world, and at any point may send a special boon to an especially brave and heroic Voice for exemplary service in her name.

Hit Dice: d6

Requirements

Alignment - Any Chaotic
Knowledge Arcana (or Religion)- 10 ranks
Hide - 6 ranks
Move Silently - 6 ranks
Perform (Any Vocal) - 5 ranks
Concentration - 5 ranks
Feats - Dodge, Mobility

Special - Must be able to cast arcane or divine spells of 3rd level, one of which must be Shadow Strike if the character is arcane, and must have access to the shadow domain if divine. Must have Drendari as a patron.  Must be connected to Drendari is a special way, either having met with a direct servant of Drendari or have been marked by the Shadow Goddess in some way.

Other: As all Shadowdancers are technically members of the Shadow-walkers, Voices of Drendari band together with their fellows to battle Penumbral Lords and their followers. A cleric of Drendari in good standing, and, obviously, Drendari's Herald, can direct the Shadow Mage to undertake some great task or dangerous mission. Failure to do so means loss of all the Voice's granted powers until official atonement, or until the Voice has otherwise regained the goddess's good graces.

Class Skills

Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Knowledge Arcana (Int), Knowledge Religion (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points Per level - 4 +Int Modifier

Shadowdancer Mage Abilities Chart

Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Special
1 +0 +0 +2 +1 Shadow Magic Specialization, Shadow Magic Mastery, Hide in Plain Sight
2 +1 +0 +3 +1 +1 Caster Level, Evasion
3 +2 +1 +3 +2 Summon Shadow, Darkvision
4 +3 +1 +4 +2 +1 Caster Level, Shadow Illusion
5 +3 +1 +4 +2 Shadow Jump (20 ft), Uncanny Dodge (Dex to AC)
6 +4 +2 +5 +3 +1 Caster Level, Summon Shadow
7 +5 +2 +5 +3 Shadow Jump (40 ft), Uncanny Dodge (No Flank)
8 +6 +2 +6 +3 +1 Caster Level Drendari's Ally
9 +6 +3 +6 +4 Summon Shadow
10 +7 +3 +7 +4 +1 Caster Level, Drendari's Blessing

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: club, crossbow (hand, light or heavy), dagger (any type), dart, mace, quarterstaff, rapier, sap, short bow (normal and composite), and short sword. Shadowdancer Mages are not proficient with shields or armor.

Hide in Plain Sight: Voices, like Shadowdancers, can use the Hide skill even while being observed. As long as they are within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, Voices can hide themselves from view in the open without anything to actually hide behind. They cannot, however, hide in their own shadows. Hide in plain sight is a supernatural ability.

Shadow Magic Mastery: At each level, beginning at level 1, the Voice chooses 10 spells, levels 0-9, that will be subject to their Specialization effects. This means sorcerer's or wizards will gain extra spells known or inscribed, and divine casters will have access to spells that may be arcane in nature. 

This starts with a 0 level spell at level 1 Shadowdancer Mage, and continues up to a 9th level spell when the Shadowdancer Mage attains 10th level.  Thus, at 10th level, the Shadowdancer Mage will know one extra shadow magic spell for each of the 10 spell levels (0 to 9th). 

The Voice may pick from any shadow magic spells known, including those known by Penumbral Lords. If Drendari looks favorably upon the Shadow Mage, the mistress may even pass on some spell previously unknown. 

Shadow Magic Specialization: The Voice can cast extra shadow magic spells equal to one spell level per day per level of Voice of Drendari. Each spell level used (0 level counts as 1/2 a level) inflicts 1d4 subdual damage on the caster. For example: a 10th level Shadow Mage could cast 10 extra total levels of shadow magic spells (10 1st level spells, or 2 third level and one fourth level spells, etc.), but in doing so would incur 10d4 in subdual damage. Note that this ability actually allows the Shadow Mage to cast a spell above her previous caster level, but if she does so, all subdual damage is doubled.

At 2nd Level and every other level thereafter a Voice of Drendari adds a level of spellcasting ability to their level. They gain no other benefit such as metamagic or item creation feats. This means that the Shadowdancer mage may add their levels of Shadowdancer Mage to their spellcaster levels for determining damage for levels in which they have gained spells in.

Evasion: At 2nd level, a Voice of Drendari gains evasion. If exposed to any effect that normally allows her to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage (such as a fireball), she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. The evasion ability can only be used if the shadowdancer is wearing light armor or no armor.

Darkvision: At 3rd level, a Voice of Drendari can see in the dark as though she were permanently under the affect of a darkvision spell. This is a supernatural ability.

Uncanny Dodge: At 5th level and above, the Voice of Drendari retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) if caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. At 7th level , the Voice of Drendari can no longer be flanked. Another rogue at least four levels higher can still flank.

Shadow Illusion: When a Voice of Drendari reaches 4rd level, she can create visual illusions from surrounding shadows. This spell-like ability is identical to the arcane spell silent image and may be employed once per day.

Summon Shadow: At 3rd level, a Voice of Drendari can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer. The summoned shadow cannot be turned, rebuked, or commanded by any third party. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the Voice of Drendari. Every third level gained by the Voice of Drendari allows her to summon an additional shadow and adds +2 HD (and the requisite base attack and base save bonus increases) to all her shadow companions.

If a shadow companion is destroyed, or the Voice of Drendari chooses to dismiss it, the Voice of Drendari must attempt a Fortitude saving throw (DC 15). If the saving throw fails, the shadowdancer loses 200 experience points per shadowdancer level. A successful saving throw reduces the loss by half, to 100 XP per prestige class level. The Voice of Drendari's experience can never go below 0 as the result of a shadow's dismissal or destruction. A destroyed or dismissed shadow companion cannot be replaced for a year and a day.

Shadow Jump: At 5th level, the Voice of Drendari, as shadowdancers, gains the ability to travel between shadows as if by means of a dimension door spell. The limitation is that the magical transport must begin and end in an area with at least some shadow. The Voice of Drendari can jump up to a total of 20 feet each day in this way, although this may be a single jump of 20 feet or two jumps of 10 feet each. At 7th level this amount increases to 40 feet per day. This amount can be split among many jumps, but each one, no matter how small, counts as a 10-foot increment. (A 6th-level shadowdancer who jumps 32 feet cannot jump again until the next day.)

Drendari's Ally: +2 attack bonus and saving throw bonus versus Penumbral Lords or agents thereof, or any creatures who have proclaimed themselves enemies of the Mistress of Shadows. 

Drendari's Blessing: At 10th level, the Voice of Drendari may become the servitor of their mistress. Not only does the Voice of Drendari revere their goddess, but they become the earthbound agents of her. They gain the ability to communicate with all divine servitors of Drendari, and thus are the closest as any being on Scarn can become to being her direct missionaries. This blessing is granted to only the most faithful of Drendari's followers, and at DM discretion, the non-pious will not be granted this favor. She is considered an outsider and gains those benefits. She is also able to cast at will any 0 level shadow magic spell.