Beast Dancer

###### Home -> Classes -> Beast Dancer

Most Druids are able to tap into the magic of Leylines to take the shape of animals, but other users of Sylvan power feel how that magic flows through all living things and by focusing on that flow they learn to enhance and fight alongside their animal companion to a greater degree. The majestic movements between their animal companion and themselves has been compared to a dance, garnering these warriors the name of Beast Dancers.

**Hit Die**: d8

**Starting Wealth**: 2d6 × 10 gp (average 70 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

**Class Skills**

The Beast Dancer’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (dance) (cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.

## **Class Features**

The following are the class features of the Beast Dancer.

```
**Weapon and Armor Proficiency**

```

Beast Dancers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons.

Beast Dancers are proficient with light armor and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor. A Beast Dancer may also wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as though it were steel.

Beast Dancers are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones.

A Beast Dancer who wears prohibited armor or uses a prohibited shield is unable to cast spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.

```
**Blended Training**

```

Whenever the Beast Dancer would gain a magic talent from her class levels (not the 2 bonus talents gained when first gaining the casting class feature), she may instead gain a combat talent. A Beast Dancer uses her casting ability modifier as her practitioner modifier.

```
**Bonded Companion (Ex)**

```

At 1st level, a Beast Dancer forms a bond with an animal companion. A Beast Dancer may begin play with any of the animals listed in Animal Choices. If the animal she wishes to make a bond with is not on the table, work with her GM to find an animal on the table that is closest and use it's stats. This ability functions like the druid animal companion ability (which is part of the nature bond class feature). The Beast Dancer’s effective druid level is equal to her Beast Dancer level. If a character receives an animal companion from more than one source, her effective druid levels stack for the purposes of determining the companion’s statistics and abilities.

A Beast Dancer may teach her companion hunter’s tricks from the skirmisher ranger archetype instead of standard tricks. The animal companion can use skirmisher tricks when commanded, a number of times per day equal to half its Hit Dice plus its Wisdom modifier.

Most animal companions would normally increase in size as the druid gains levels but Bonded Companions do not, instead they gain the ability to change size at-will (see below).

If a Beast Dancer releases her companion from service, she may gain a new one by performing a ceremony requiring 24 uninterrupted hours of prayer in the environment where the new companion typically lives. This ceremony can also replace an animal companion that has perished.

```
**Casting**

```

A Beast Dancer may combine spheres and talents to create magical effects. A Beast Dancer is considered a Mid-Caster. She must use her Wisdom as her casting ability modifier. (Note: all casters gain 2 bonus talents and may select a casting tradition the first time they gain the casting class feature.)

```
**Spell Pool**

```

A Beast Dancer gains a small reservoir of energy she can call on to create truly wondrous effects, called a spell pool. This pool contains a number of spell points equal to her level + her casting ability modifier (minimum: 1). This pool replenishes once per day after roughly 8 hours of rest.

```
**Improved Empathic Link (Su)**

```

The Beast Dancer gains an empathic link with her Bonded Companion. This functions like an empathic link with a familiar, except the Beast Dancer can also see through a companion’s eyes as a swift action, maintaining this connection as long as she likes (as long as the companion is within 1 mile) and ending it as a free action. The Beast Dancer is blinded while maintaining this connection.

```
**Nature Training (Ex)**

```

A Beast Dancer counts her total Beast Dancer level as both druid levels and ranger levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats, traits, and options that modify or improve an animal companion.

```
**Wild Empathy (Ex)**

```

A Beast Dancer can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The Beast Dancer rolls 1d20 and adds her Beast Dancer level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.

The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the Beast Dancer and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

A Beast Dancer can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check.

```
**Beast Dance (Su)**

```

At 2nd level, the Beast Dancer lives up to their title by truly being able to fight as one creature with their Bonded Companion. Whenever the Beast Dancer uses her Improved Empathic Link to see through her companion's eyes while within 30ft of her companion she can choose to start a Beast Dance as a swift action. While under the effects of Beast Dance, the Beast Dancer does not suffer the negative effects of being blinded by the Improved Emphatic Link.

During a Beast Dance the Beast Dancer's Bonded Companion counts as having any Teamwork Feats that the Beast Dancer has, they do not need to meet the prerequisites for the feats. In addition the Beast Dancer and her Bonded Companion can take simultaneous movement actions during a Beast Dance. For example, the Beast Dancer can move behind an enemy and their Bonded Companion can move in front of them in order to flank before either of them takes their standard actions to attack. Alternately, the Beast Dancer can move partially, have their companion move, then finish their movement afterwards for example.

When starting a new Beast Dance, the Beast Dancer may choose up to one Animal Aspect and one Nature Form they have to be active for it's duration.

This ability lasts a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Wisdom modifier that do not need to be consecutive. If the Beast Dancer gets farther than 30ft from her companion while under the effects of Beast Dance the effect immediately ends and both become stunned for 1 turn. The Beast Dancer can maintain their Beast Dance as a free action at the beginning of any turn after they active the ability.

```
**Animal Aspect**

```

Starting at 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter, the Beast Dancer may choose one Animal Aspect from the list of options to add to her available abilities when starting a Beast Dance.

List of Animal Aspects

```
**Teamwork Feat**

```

At 3rd level the Beast Dancer gains a bonus teamwork feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. The Beast Dancer must meet the prerequisites of the selected bonus teamwork feat.

```
**Nature Form**

```

Starting at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the Beast Dancer may choose one Nature Form from the list of options to add to her available abilities when starting a Beast Dance.

List of Nature Forms

```
**Alter Companion Size (Su)**

```

At 6th level, the Beast Dancer gains the ability to focus the magic of the Leylines that flow through their Bonded Companion to change its size. By spending a full-round action while touching their companion, the Beast Dancer can change their size up to one category larger or smaller than their starting size. Any barding or other gear worn by their companion changes size with them.

At 13th level, the Bonded Companion can change up to two size categories from their starting size.

Bonded Companions use regular size modifiers except with ability score modifiers, Bonded Companions use the below table to adjust their ability scores when changing size. Carrying capacity for larger and smaller creatures do not change from their normal rules. The damage dice based on size remains the same as well.

```
**Draped in Hides (Ex)**

```

Although still prohibited from wearing metal armor, the Beast Dancer has spent most of their life using heavy animal hides and other natural materials such as wood and bark to both protect them from the elements as well as protect them in combat. Over time, training and living with these materials has allowed the Beast Dancer to move more freely within them, causing her to take no penalties to movement for wearing medium armor that is not made of metal.

At 8th level, the Beast Dancer's comfort in heavier armor has grown even further. Anytime she is wearing light or medium armor that is not made of metal, reduce the armor check penalty by 1 (minimum 0).

```
**Greater Empathic Link (Su)**

```

At 14th level, the range of the Beast Dancer’s empathic link with her Bonded Companion increases to 10 miles. If the companion is within 1 mile, the Beast Dancer can communicate with it telepathically.

```
**capstonePlaceholder**

```

Description