Cloak Dance: Why? Has anyone ever used it?

[deuxhero]

It's one of the few feats in the XPH that isn't related to psionics, class features of psionic classes or the book's new skills. While the rest of them are expansions of core stuff (and probably intended for a psywar) Cloak Dance has always left me wondering how it got there. Has anyone used it to good effect?

[Flickerdart]

Cloak Dance is basically a ninja's smoke bomb. The concealment option lets you hide and run behind cover without your opponents knowing where you went (since you are hidden). The total concealment option breaks line of sight to you from opponents, meaning that they suffer a 50% miss chance even if they know where you are, and a 5ft step makes sure that they do not. It's not a super amazing feat (purely defensive actions are generally a waste of time), but it's not total trash.

As for it being out of place, there are a lot of weirdly placed feats in the early books, like Deities and Demigods containing a bunch of general feats that have nothing to do with gods at all.

[Lo77o]

Taking a 5 foot step would break the total concealment by the way.

[rollforeigninit]

I've heard that it can be used by ToB/PoW initiators that rely on standard action strikes. It gives them something to do with their move action. Never have used it though I'd like to.

[Flickerdart]

Taking a 5 foot step would break the total concealment by the way.
It would not. The "action" referred to in the feat means "turn" and is a grandfathered term from 3.0 that you see crop up in a bunch of feats due to 3.5's remarkably poor editing process.

[HammeredWharf]

A riding caster can use it almost every round. However, casters usually have better things to spend feats on.

[deuxhero]

And will struggle to get the skill ranks in perform: dance required

[georgie_leech]

And will struggle to get the skill ranks in perform: dance required

What else is a Wizard going to put those skill points into? Knowledge skills?:smalltongue:

[HammeredWharf]

And will struggle to get the skill ranks in perform: dance required

It's just two ranks. The Hide requirement is more problematic.