I'm curious - dervish questions

[big teej]

greetings playgrounders,

I have managed to hook two of my players on the idea of playing a dervish (I would casually gauge their interest as "triple what it was")

I've already made a few suggestions to them about how to get into the class, but I'm curious.


what is your favorite way to enter the Dervish Prestige class?

[Hiro Protagonest]

Bard with Snowflake Wardance? Probably wouldn't be too powerful for your group.

[big teej]

Bard with Snowflake Wardance? Probably wouldn't be too powerful for your group.

I'll hazard a guess at "that's in frostburn" and I don't have it :smalltongue:

that said, allow me to clarify.

I'm not looking for suggestions, I'm simply curious how people prefer to get into it.

I don't care if it reeks of cheddar and has no buisness in a party of anything less than 3 wizards.

if that's what you prefer to do to get into the prc. lemme hear it.

[Dusk Eclipse]

These two are my favourite


Swashbuckler 3 / Fighter 2 / Dervish 10 / Tempest 5
The build defines elegance. Optimal cherry picking of base classes that a DM will likely approve (easy role-play justification and there is only 2) and not only completing PrCs (which will make your DM happy), but also synergizing them (which will make you happy). Simple, effective, and non setting specific. All TWF dervishes should meet this standard; if they can’t, you are making your character overly complicated. Note, this does not mean this build is the best; it is sort of like pizza - easy, simple, yet good.

Taken from the Dervish Handbook

And this one from the Revenant Blade Handbook
The Dancing Blade
Quote: "Death is a dance - you just have to know the steps."

The Dervish ends up being able to take a full attack action with a move, then lay out two retributive strikes for each attack an opponent makes on her. With Improved Trip, this can mean she dishes out 4 hits for every one attack of opportunity. Your Revenant feats (4 total with a Zaelshin Tu) should be Great Cleave, Improved Critical, Weapon Specialization, and Improved Trip.

DANCING BLADE - FIRST 5 LEVELS: Hide

Ranger 1: Full ranks into Hide and Move Silently. Bladebearer of the Valenar (1st)

Ranger 2: Full ranks into Hide and Move Silently. Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranger 2)

Darksong Knight Fighter 1: All ranks into Perform - Dance. WP Focus - Valenar Double Scimitar (Fighter 1), Expeditious Dodge (3rd)

Darksong Knight Fighter 2: Mobility (Fighter 2)

Warblade 1: All ranks into Tumble. Grab Wolf Fang Strike, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Douse the Flames, and Battle Leader's Charge.


DANCING BLADE - SECOND 5 LEVELS: Hide

Revenant Blade 1: Karmic Strike (6th). Hero of the Valaes Tairn (+5 to Diplomacy and Gather Info checks with Valenar elves), Ancestral Guidance 1 (Improved Critical, Weapon Specialization from a zaelshin tu).

Revenant Blade 2: Shadow of the Past (class level to Hide and Move Silently checks).

Revenant Blade 3: Ancestral Guidance 2 (Great Cleave).

Revenant Blade 4: Combat Expertise (9th). Giant Slayer (+4 to Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, and damage against giants, speak and write Giant).

Revenant Blade 5: Ancestral Guidance 3 (Blind Fight), Legendary Force (both ends of double scimitar count as two-handed weapons).


DANCING BLADE - LAST 10 LEVELS: Hide

Dervish 1: AC Bonus +1, Dervish Dance 1/day (full move + full attack, +1 to hit and damage, lasts for your ranks in perform), Movement Mastery (take 10 on Jump, Tumble, and Perform check)

Dervish 2: Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (12th). Fast Movement (+5 ft.).

Dervish 3: Spring Attack. Dervish Dance 2/day (full move + full attack, +2 to hit and damage, lasts for your ranks in perform).

Dervish 4: Dance of Death (Cleave while in Dervish Dance).

Dervish 5: Dual Hit (15th). AC Bonus +2, Fast Movement (+10 ft.), Dervish Dance 3/day (full move + full attack, +3 to hit and damage, lasts for your ranks in perform).

Dervish 6: Improved Reaction (+2 initiative).

Dervish 7: Elaborate Parry (+4 AC when fighting defensively), Dervish Dance 4/day (full move + full attack, +4 to hit and damage, lasts for your ranks in perform).

Dervish 8: Combat Reflexes (18th), Fast Movement (+15 ft.).

Dervish 9: Tireless Dance (no longer fatigued after dance), AC Bonus +3, Dervish Dance 5/day (full move + full attack, +5 to hit and damage, lasts for your ranks in perform)

Dervish 10: A Thousand Cuts (double melee attacks for one round, once per day).

You can also swap out the 15th or 18th level feat in favor of Martial Study - Dancing Mongoose, which will add another 2 attacks per round to your dance. You can also use it in combination with A Thousand Cuts to get 18 attacks per round once per day.


DANCING BLADE STRATEGY: Hide

Round 1: Activate your dance. Make your move up and slice away! Power Attack as necessary to add on loads of damage. Make sure you have Karmic Strike active. When your opponent attacks you, pay him back with two hits to his every one. Don't forget to add in Improved Trip if your opponent is reasonably small.

Round 2: Rinse and repeat till all your enemies are slain.

[Tvtyrant]

I am thinking something with either Binder or Swordsage, in order to get Paimon or shadowblade.

Maybe Duskblade 13/Dervish 7 to move while channeling a spell?

[DarthPeleus]

The only issue I have with Dervish is the limit on number of times you can dance. Though last time I played I recall using monk/fighter/warblade.
EDIT: Recommend you get swashbuckler lvls, and perhaps a dip into Bloodclaw Master so your offhands recieve full str. Don't believe you can use scimitars if you do that though.

For a dual-wielder, I prefer the idea of a shadowpouncer, but they don't really get anywhere until late game :(

Or for another swordmaster type you could go for factotum/iaijutsu master. I've seen people do some pretty wicked stuff with iaijutsu and cha synergy in general.

[Darrin]

what is your favorite way to enter the Dervish Prestige class?

Race: Human, Silverbrow Human, Azurin, Hadozee, Strongheart Halfling

Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Barbarian 1 or Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Swashbuckler 1.

Trap Expert ACF (Dungeonscape)
Spiritual Connection ACF (Complete Champion)
Whirling Frenzy + Spirit Lion Totem (if Barbarian)

I'd also consider a Frostblood Orc/Half-Orc and go Ranger 3/Fighter 1/Barbarian 1, taking Dragonborn of Bahumat after Ranger 3 to swap Endurance for a bonus feat I couldn't take at level 1 and swapping Track for Dragon Wings or Dragon Tail (this also adds Fighter as a favored class to prevent multiclass penalties).

But then I usually skip Dervish and just take Oversize TWF + Travel Devotion.

[Dr.Epic]

fighter/rogue

Yeah, it's simple.

[JackRackham]

Scout synergizes well enough with Dervish, too. Extra damage on each hit (+AC) if you move 10ft in a turn, initiative bonus, a couple bonus feats. Scout/Swordsage (for more initiative and assassin's stance) would work. A Rogue/Swashbucler (with Daring Outlaw) or a Rogue/Scout (with whatever feat in Complete Scoubdrel allows Rpgue to progress skirmish) would do nicely depending on whether you're going for damage potential or realistic damage output. Factotum could work, insofar as it works with everything.

Oh yeah, about scout, + to movement speed as well.

EDIT: oddly enough, Monk would synergize pretty well, too. Especially if you houserule that it gets full BAB (I would if antyone actually wanted to play it. It's the least one could do.)

[Mystify]

Scout combines well. I always dual weild with it. You can take some fighter for bonus feats, a dip into swordsage to get a shadow hand stance, then the shadow hand strike to get dex to damage, and some swashbuckler for int to damage. Now you get yo run around the battlefield hitting everything for str+dex+int damage and lots of attacks.
Monk with verstile strike so they can make their unarmed strikes slashing could work, but you are unlikely to have enough monk to make flurry better than dual wielding.

There is also a prestige class, I forget what it was called or what book its in, that lets you treat both ends of a double weapon as a 2-handed weapon. That allows you a huge power hike in dual wielding, which then hikes the power on the dervish.

A dervish tripper can be fun. Run around the battlefield, tripping and stabbing everyone.

[Greenish]

There is also a prestige class, I forget what it was called or what book its in, that lets you treat both ends of a double weapon as a 2-handed weapon.Revenant Blade, Player's Guide to Eberron.

[Eldariel]

Scout 4/Ranger 2 is a simple, efficient route (Swift Hunter of course). Goes well into Scout 4/Ranger 6 after finishing Dervish.

[Mystify]

Revenant Blade, Player's Guide to Eberron.

Thats the one, thanks.

[gorfnab]

Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground XXII - Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576#post11377594)

Here is a basic Dervish Build I have had some minor success with.

Human Scout 5/ Ranger 2/ Dervish 10/ Scout 3
Feats:
1. Expeditious Dodge or regular Dodge, Mobility
3. Weapon Finesse
4. B: Combat Expertise
6. Weapon Focus Scimitar
7. B: Two Weapon Fighting
9. Improved Two Weapon Fighting
12. Swift Hunter
15. Greater Two Weapon Fighting
18. *Open Feat*
20. B: Improved Skirmish

*Open Feat Options* - Improved Critical Scimitar (decent as usual), Elusive Target (negates Power Attackers), Improved Buckler Defense (nice AC boost, take a few levels earlier if necessary), Combat Reflexes (extra attacks, somewhat situational depending on the game), Deadly Defense (combos with Elaborate Parry), Flay Foe, or Nemesis (great for Arcane Hunter ACF)

The last level of Dervish can be dumped if necessary (A Thousand Cuts is 1/day anyways) for a level of Whirling Frenzy Pounce Barbarian (take the Barbarian level at level 8 before entering Dervish). This then means you could take Extra Rage (set to Whirling Frenzy) as your 18th level feat (or at 12 or 15 if you move Swift Hunter and GTWF around).