Whipsinger (3.5e Prestige Class)

Whipsinger
"I saw him whirl the whip around and it was like thunder when it cracked and lightning when it struck."

Whipsingers are masters of the whip. The mix their bardic abilities for music and rhythm with their skills with a whip and turn it into a deadly dance. It is not uncommon to see whipsinger be completely surrounded and come out of the fight without taking a hit.

Many bards who favor the whip learn to become whipsingers as they develop their bardic magic.

Becoming a Whipsinger
The main reason that some bards choose to become a whipsinger is that they want to combine their music, magic, and fighting into a single technique.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Whipsinger.

You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained such as bonuses to bardic music and bardic knowledge.

 (Ex): You can now threaten areas with a whip.

When you gain this ability at 1st level, you can threaten 5 feet around you with a whip. At 2nd level, you can threaten 10 feet around you with a whip and at 3rd level you can threaten your full reach with a whip.





 (Su): The gestures of your whip allow you to cast spells in silenced areas. You can attempt to cast a spell while affected by magical silence. Make a Will save against the spell using your ranks in perform (dance) as your base saving throw (even if the spell normally does not allow a saving throw). If you succeed, you are able to cast a spell, otherwise, the spell is lost.

 (Su): Your whip seems to strike your opponents at blindingly fast speeds. Any whip you wield is treated as if it has the Shock property.

 (Su): When your whip snaps against an opponent, it makes a deafening sound. Any whip you wield is treated as if it has the Thundering property.

 (Ex): You are a master of making mundane tasks so much more exciting with the inclusion of a whip. You now have such precision with your whip that you can use it to pick up items and have the item moved to you as a move action or use it to make Sleight of Hand checks to pickpocket at the whip's range.

 (Su): A helpful whip on the back of your ally helps sooth his wounds. You can channel healing spells through your whip, allowing you to use the whip's reach in place of touch range for healing spells.

 (Ex): Your whip deals lethal blows. You can choose to deal lethal damage with a whip. For each odd whipsinger level you have gained (1st, 3rd, and 5th), increase the damage you deal with whips as if you were one size category larger.

 (Ex): You can use your whip to aid you in acrobatic stunts. You can add 2 + the enhancement bonus of your whip to any skill check in which you use your whip as part of the action. The DM must rule what is an appropriate usage of a whip as part of a skill check.

For example: Vincent, holding a +1 whip, attempts to use his whip to latch onto a pillar and swing around the pillar to the top of a dragon's back. The DM has ruled that this is a jump check DC 25. Vincent can add +3 to his his jump check because he is using his whip as part of the action.

 (Ex): With a whirl surrounding you, your whip seems like a fluid part of you: a cascade of color, sound, and motion. You may make an extra attack with your whip during a full attack action, but each attack you make takes a -2 penalty.

 (Su): You can use the cracks and whirs of your whirling whip to create a beat an melody. You can use a perform (dance) for your bardic music abilities and use the sounds of your whip as a verbal component and the motions of the whip as a somatic component for spells.

 (Ex): You no longer provoke an attack of opportunity when you attack an adjacent foe with a whip.

 (Ex): You can extend your reach with a whip. Five times per day as an immediate action, you may treat your reach with a whip as if it were 5 ft. longer. This effect lasts for 1 round.

Playing a Whipsinger
Combat: Whipsingers are excellent support characters, with the capability to specialize in any role they take. Most whipsingers use their threatening reach for battlefield control.

Advancement: Characters that finish this class can often benefit from levels in the Exotic Weapons MasterCW prestige class.

Resources: There are no organized groups of whipsingers and it is usually a self-taught class. Most whipsingers are mercenaries and sell their skills to the highest bidder.

Whipsingers in the World
"Whip it good!"

Using their skills with a whip to get them out of all sorts of near-death encounters, whipsingers are often the type to be found on extremely dangerous adventures.

NPC Reactions: Whipsingers tend to amaze most NPCs with their whip skills. They are often seen as more of a performer than a combatant.

Whipsinger Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (local) can research whipsingers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Whipsingers in the Game
Whipsingers are often the type of adventurer that will go into "The Temple of Doom" or "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" without a second thought.

Adaptation: Any bard that specializes with a whip should be able to master the art of becoming a whipsinger.

Sample Encounter: Vincent, a human whipsinger, is on a quest to capture the pirate king alive. He asks the PCs to help him with his plan.

EL whatever: 7

(Needs a sample bard 4/fighter 1/whipsinger 2 NPC)