Comments on: Adapting the 4e Shadowdancer

By: Astrolounge

Astrolounge — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 04:57:18 +0000

There sort of is a Shadowdancer in 4e. Its a basic class from the Wizard’s website called the Assassin, except it in no way feels like an assassin. It has the “shadow” power source and is described as being someone who sold part of their soul to the shadowfell, and had it replaced with a shard of darkness that grants them powers over shadows. They have the ability to turn into a shade form that allows them to hide very well, they get several powers that relate to manipulating shadow magic, and they even get an At Will power at first level that lets them teleport from being adjacent to one creature, to being adjacent to another creature that’s a fixed number of squares away by warping through the creature’s shadows called Shadow Step. It’s literally the Shadowdancer in everything but name, and I can’t imagine why they didn’t just call it what it clearly is.

By: Joel McMonagle

Joel McMonagle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:20:36 +0000

What do you think of the following alternative? It closely mimics a slight deviation from the standard 3.5e shadowdancer that I came up with a few years ago.

Shadowdancer
Paragon Path
“Your shadow is my advantage.”
Prerequisites: Rogue, trained in stealth and acrobatics

Abilities

Shadowsight (Lvl 11) You gain darkvision.
Shadowmeld (Lvl 11) When you use an action point to take an
extra action, you become incorporeal until the end of your
next turn.
Shadowtrekker (Lvl 11) Add your dexterity modifier to your movement
speed for the purposes of determining overland movement rate.
Shadowwalk (Lvl 16) Whenever you are within dim light or less,
you can gain phasing until the end of your turn as a minor
action.

Powers

Lunge through shadow Lvl 11 Shadowdancer Attack
“You suddenly melt away, only to emerge from within your enemy’s
shadow in a flash of steel.”
Encounter * Weapon, Teleportation Melee attack
Target: One creature
Special: You may teleport up to 5 squares
before the attack. The target of this attack grants
combat advantage to you for this attack.
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC
Hit: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage.

Hide in plain sight Lvl 12 Shadowdancer Utility
“You weave and twist the shadows about you, allowing you to seemingly
disappear.”
Daily * Stance
While in this stance, you can become or remain hidden
(by use of the stealth skill) even if you don’t have
any cover or concealment, and even if your enemies are
fully aware of you.

Shadow Flurry Lvl 20 Shadowdancer Attack
“You are everywhere at once, laying waste to your enemies.”
Daily * Weapon, Teleportation Close Burst 5
Target: Up to five enemies within burst
Attack: Dexterity vs Reflex, up to five attacks
Special: No two consecutive attacks may target the same creature.
Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage
Effect: Before each attack, you teleport to a square of your
choice adjacent to the target within range. You may attack
your targets in any order you choose. After the final attack,
you may then teleport 5 squares.

By: Review: Martial Power | A Butterfly Dreaming

Review: Martial Power | A Butterfly Dreaming — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:36:54 +0000

[...] a side note, the shadowdancer, which I posted a 4e adaptation of recently, is not included in Martial [...]

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:21:05 +0000

It’s worth a try, right?

For what it’s worth, it seems to work out okay in play. And of course he could always make modifications.

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:20:12 +0000

Huge fan of the shadowdancer, I played one in 3.5 and was heartbroken to see that it didn’t come with Martial Powers.

My group is about to restart our old 3.5 campaign with 4e rules. Starting at level 12, so I’ve been getting my character together. I’m torn between the Master Infiltrator prestige and the Cloaked sniper prestige. Because prior to becoming a Shadow Dancer I just hid and snuck around, popping off crossbow shots when appropriate.

And Master Infiltrator seems to be the closest to sneaking around like a shadow dancer.

Now, if only I could get my DM to accept this shadowdancer build…

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:06:42 +0000

Thanks. If there’s a problem, I expect it’ll be in the combination of mobility and combat advantage options. Rogues in general are good at both, but this paragon path offers a couple of freebies beyond what the vanilla rogue is capable of.

By: Scott M

Scott M — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:54:52 +0000

I like the class as presented. I also liked the idea of the Shadowdancer in 3e, but never got a chance to play one. I’m interested in hearing how fun it is to play… and whether your powers work out. So far, just looking, I don’t see any huge flags.