Temporal Dancer (3.5e Prestige Class)

Temporal Dancer
"It's not a question of where, but when."

Some time walkers seek to find the beauty in and of time, they seek to bring out the intrigue of the second, and the ponderous depth of the eternity. These time walkers are known as temporal dancers, and within them, lies some of the strangest powers of time. Temporal Dancers tend to be very creative thinkers who can solve any problem given that they have enough time to think about the problem.

Becoming a Temporal Dancer
Temporal dancers are agile and strangely beautiful warriors upon the battlefield, distorting time in such odd ways that few can actually keep up with them. Temporal dancers are often attracted to various forms of art, in the same way that people who create art are attracted to temporal dancers. In as much, Rogues and Bards may be inclined to take a few levels in time walker just to qualify for becoming temporal dancers.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Temporal Dancer.

 (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a temporal dancer gains the ability to distort time around him, giving him an enhancement bonus to his speed, as shown on Table: The Temporal Dancer.

 (Ex): Temporal dancers seem to naturally bring forth extremely paradoxial powers that can confuse even the wisest men. At first level, a temporal dancer may spend a move action and alter his placement in the timeline. After this move action has been taken, the temporal dancer is considered to continously occupy any squares that he moves through between the conclusion of the move action and the beginning of his next turn. In this manner, a temporal dancer may take this move action and then take a 5-foot step, then he is considered to occupy both the square he took the move action in and the square he moved to with the 5-foot step until the beginning of his next turn.

While occupying multiple squares by using time step, the temporal dancer threatens all squares that are within his reach of any square he occupies and may choose to attack from any square that he occupies, though he may still not take any more attacks or actions in a single round than he wound be otherwise able to take. The temporal dancer may in fact flank with himself using time step. Additionally, any special action that does not actually use an action, such as a character using the dodge feat and "designating" a single opponent to use said feat against, then the temporal dancer may in turn "designate" a single opponent for each individual square he occupies. Any damage that is dealt to any square the dancer occupies is subtracted from the dancers maximum hit points. If an attack targets an area (as with some spells) and the temporal dancer occupies multiple squares in the area, then consider him as only being in the area in a single point.

If an oppnent attempts to disarm, bull rush, or grapple the temporal dancer, attempts to sunder an object the dancer is carrying, or otherwise attempts to affect the dancer in a way that can only affect a single target, then consider the temporal dancer as accordingly detrimented in the square that the affect was directed at. Once the temporal dancers turn starts again, then the dancer selects a single square he occupies and instantaneously ceases to occupy any other square he occupied before, any lost hit points the temporal dancer took while using time step remain fixed, while any detrimental circumstance that applied to only a single square the temporal dancer occupied no longer affect him (including the loss of equipment due to sundering) unless the square the dancer chooses to occupy at the beginning of his turn is one that is according detrimented. A temporal dancer may not use time step if he isn't able to move or think properly.

(Note: If the temporal dancer is larger than medium, then replace all instances of 'square' in the above description with 'area', this area being the same size as the area the temporal dancer occupies normally, a temporal dancer may "overlap" himself if this be the case.)

This ability functions exactly like the time walker ability of the same name. The distortion bonus increases by +1 every other level (2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th). If a temporal dancer gets a temporal strike bonus from another source the bonuses on damage stack.

Starting at third level, the temporal dancer may ignore movement penalties caused by difficult terrain.

Starting at fourth level, a temporal dancer retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. (He still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized.)

At fifth level, a temporal dancer gains evasion. If exposed to any effect that normally allows him to attempt a Reflex saving throw for half damage, she takes no damage with a successful saving throw. The evasion ability can only be used if the temporal dancer is wearing light armor or no armor.

 (Ex): The dance of a temporal dancer eventually becomes maddening to behold, turning to a sonnet of strange motion with steps that could never be followed by anyone other than a temporal dancer. A temporal dancer of seventh level or higher can flank enemies from seemingly impossible angles. he can designate any square adjacent to any square he occupies as the square from which flanking against an ally is determined (including the square where he stands, as normal). The temporal dancer can designate the square at the beginning of his turn or at any time during his turn. The designated square remains his effective square for flanking until he is no longer adjacent to it or until he chooses a different square (at the start of one of his turns). The character can even choose a square that is impassable or occupied.

At eighth level, a temporal dancer can no longer be flanked. This defense denies rogues the ability to use flank attacks to sneak attack the dancer. The exception to this defense is that a rogue at least four levels higher than the temporal dancer can flank him (and thus sneak attack him).

At ninth level, a temporal dancer can take an extra 5-foot step in any round when he doesn’t perform any other movement (except for the first 5-foot step). Like the first, the second 5-foot step does not provoke attacks of opportunity. A temporal dancer can take the extra 5-foot step immediately after taking the first, or wait until the end of his other actions for the round. In all other ways, the rules for taking a 5-foot step apply.

This ability, gained at tenth level, works like evasion (see above). A temporal dancer takes no damage at all on successful saving throws against attacks that allow a Reflex saving throw for half damage. What’s more, he takes only half damage even if he fails his saving throw.

The epic Temporal Dancer gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Temporal Dancer feats) every 5 levels after 10th level.

Epic Temporal Dancer List: Blinding Speed, Epic Dodge, Epic Fortitude, Epic Reflexes, Epic Speed, Epic Will, Extended Life Span, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Manyshot, Perfect Health, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting, Superior Initiative, Swarm of Arrows, Uncanny Accuracy.

Playing a Temporal Dancer
Combat: In battle, temporal dancers are agile warriors who seem to be everywhere at once, vexing even the most weathered veterans with their paradoxial motions across the battlefield. A temporal dancer hardly ever remains in the background, instead running forward, dodging his enemies blows with simple steps, and striking the enemy when they least expect it.

Advancement: Temporal dancers have many possible paths open to them, one temporal dancer may seek to focus upon the art of dancing, and take levels in shadowdancer, becoming a terriblly unplacable form. Another temporal dancer may seek to respect battle, and take levels in duelist to become tricky fighters. Yet another temporal dancer may seek to destory those before them, taking levels in assassin and killing people without mercy.

Resources: While temporal dancers do not actually have an organizations in and of themselves, they might be able to gain aid from organizations that respect artists or powerful warriors, for temporal dancers can fit both of these roles. A temporal dancer would be quick to befriend a travelling bard or a clever rogue for this same reason.

Temporal Dancers in the World
"Am I here? Am I there? Or am I everywhere?"

Theives, artists, killers, these are the rolls most temporal dancers fill. Accordingly, it is not uncommon to see a temporal dancer acting in a play or fighting upon the battlefield, though the latter is respectively more common. Temporal dancers can be found anywhere in time, as long as there is a stage to dance upon, a jewel to take, or an enemy to strike down.

NPC Reactions: Temporal dancers are often greeted with warm smiles and invitations to drinks, for they are easibly recognizable as the entertaining type. Though this may change when someone sees them fight, or even dance, for then the emotions that are called to ones mind are fear and awe for the beautiful and terrible thing before them.

Temporal Dancer Lore
Characters with ranks in gather information can research temporal dancers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Temporal Dancers in the Game
Temporal dancers are wonders. Upon the battlefield they seem to be swarms of motion and blades that tear through all before them without mercy. Yet in person they are calm and even eloquent people who can amaze all around them with their strange abilities. Truly, temporal dancers are wonders in this world.

Adaptation: Temporal dancers can be rearranged to fit any situation. For example, it could be that a guild of temporal dancers is smuggling weapons into a city, in order to destroy the fighter guild across the street that has been stealing their buisness. In another situation, there could only be one temporal dancer in existance, and she is a minotaur. Yet another situation could arise where temporal dancers are a reclusive order that stays in a monastary in the far southern deserts. Truly, temporal dancers can fit any personality and situation.

Sample NPC: Orin Maske grew up in a cold world, always shunned out into the freezing darkness of the night, always powerless as he saw atrocities acted upon those closest to him, always wishing death upon the evil people of the world, but never getting his wish. Until that is, the day he turned 13 he realized that he had a strange power, the ability to go back in time at will. The possibilities rushed through his mind, and so he trained himself, learning to affect time in countless ways, until he eventually found he could make himself occupy 2 places at once with his ability. Upon learning this he began performing the street, quickly earning gold pieces with his "amazing trick" as the poeple called it. Things went this way for a while, until one day a duke took notice, and offered him a place to live and a square meal every day as long as the boy continued to dance for him. Naturally Orin accepted, and lived his life, only ever asking the duke for one thing, for people to punish those who had made his childhood so horrid. The duke had granted him his wish, and had the people Orin pointed out thrown in jail. As time went by, the boy grew, became better at what he did, and eventually left the dukes home, going off to travel, to see the world.

EL 14: