Ghost Dancer

Lost Classes Codex
Author Richard Farrese
Series Lost Classes
Publisher LPJ Design
Publish date 2006

The Ghost Dancer learns to control the density of his own body, unlocking secrets that make him either as solid as a rock or as intangible as a ghost. As he gains experience in this class, the Ghost Dancer becomes able to use his mastery over his body as a weapon against both the living and the dead. He also eventually learns how to phase through solid materials and even turn his entire self completely ethereal.

Adventures: A Ghost Dancer is a versatile character who enjoys different types of adventures. Because of his often tribal origins, however, he tends to prefer situations where he can explore the wilderness, lost ruins, or remote caves rather than those requiring him to spend long amounts of time in cities and other urban or rural areas. When a Ghost Dancer is not adventuring, he is often found among his people, tending to the sick and wounded, providing sound counsel to the chieftain and his advisors, casting helpful spells and performing ancient rites, and helping his tribe in any other way he can. Because of his extraordinary control over his body, which he can turn into a lethal weapon, the Ghost Dancer rarely shy’s away from battle.

Characteristics: A Ghost Dancer is a divine spell caster who learns how to alter the density of his body. With experience, a Ghost Dancer can augment his weight until he can no longer be moved. He can also temporarily turn parts of his flesh completely intangible. By manipulating his body in such a way, he eventually learns to turn himself completely ghost-like, but only for a limited time.

Alignment: A Ghost Dancer may be of any alignment, as those who take on this prestige class have different beliefs and temperaments. Again because of their typically tribal origins, rare are the Ghost Dancers who are lawfully aligned but such characters do exist. Ghost Dancers tend equally toward good and evil, and many among them are neutral.

Background: The Ghost Dancer class evolved among the barbaric tribes of the humans of the previous Age. During this period, many Ghost Dancers walked upon the world. Most of these men and women were blessed protectors, wise councilors, and skilled healers who held places of honor among their people. Today, the vast majority of Ghost Dancers still hail from the more primitive tribes, but some of the individuals who unlocked the mysteries of this class can also be found among the more civilized societies.

All Ghost Dancers share one thing in common. To a greater or lesser degree, all are divine spellcasters and all have a profound interest in the study of the spirits and their world. While some Ghost Dancers actually enjoy interacting with these entities, most of them prefer to simply study them in the hopes of discovering how to become incorporeal themselves.

Races: Although anyone can become a Ghost Dancer, most of those who take on this Profession hail from the barbaric tribes of the northern hemisphere, and the vast majority of them are humans. In race instances, a member of a highly civilized society such as a learned priest — may unlock the secrets of this class and become a Ghost Dancer, but such individuals are rare.

Other Classes: A Ghost Dancer gets along with anyone who respects his faith. Because he is a highly spiritual character and continues to honor the god he served before becoming a member of this class, a Ghost Dancer is easily offended by those who do not show his deity proper respect. He may even try to convert people to follow his faith, but the Ghost Dancer is usually more interested in mastering his control over the density of his own body and eventually turn himself into a ghost at least temporarily rather than educate the masses or convert people to his religion. Any character with a similar alignment or faith can earn the Ghost Dancer’s friendship, while those with opposed worldviews might earn his enmity.

Hit Die: d8

CLASS REQUIREMENTS

To qualify to become a Ghost Dancer, a character must fulfill all the following requirements:

Alignment: Any.
Race: Any.
Knowledge (Arcana): 8 ranks.
Spellcraft: 8 ranks.
Feats: Skill Focus Knowledge (Arcana).
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells.

GHOST DANCER ADVANCEMENT TABLE
Level	Base Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Special	Spells per Level
1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Density manipulation	1/day +1 level of existing class
2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Ghostly Grin	+1 level of existing class
3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Density manipulation 2/day	+1 level of existing class
4	+3	+1	+1	+4	–	+1 level of existing class
5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Density manipulation 3/day	+1 level of existing class
6	+4	+2	+2	+5	Timeless body	+1 level of existing class
7	+5	+2	+2	+5	Density manipulation 4/day	+1 level of existing class
8	+5	+2	+2	+6	–	+1 level of existing class
9	+6	+3	+3	+6	Density manipulation 5/day	+1 level of existing class
10	+7	+3	+3	+7	Empty body	+1 level of existing class

CLASS SKILLS

The Ghost Dancer’s class skills (and the key ability for each) are Concentration (Constitution), Craft (Intelligence), Heal (Wisdom), Intimidate (Charisma), Knowledge (arcana) (Intelligence), Knowledge (religion) (Intelligence), Profession (Wisdom), and Spellcraft (Intelligence).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier

CLASS FEATURES

All the following are class features of the Ghost Dancer prestige class:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Ghost Dancer gains no new proficiency in the use of any weapon, armor, or shield.

Spells per Day: A Ghost Dancer continues to gain access to more powerful divine magic while gaining levels in this prestige class. At every new level, the Ghost Dancer gains new spells per day as if he had also increased a level in the divine spellcasting class he belonged to before he added this prestige class. He does not, however, benefit from any other advantages a character of that class would have gained (such as improved saves and hit dice). When he becomes a Ghost Dancer, the character adds 1 level to the level of whatever other divine spellcasting class he has, and then determines the spells per day accordingly. Every level thereafter, the Ghost Dancer adds another level to his original divine spellcasting class to determine the amount of spells he can cast each day.

If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before he became a Ghost Dancer, the player must decide to which class to assign each of these additional levels for the purpose of determining arcane spells per day.

Density Manipulation: The Ghost Dancer’s most important ability is the control he has over the density of his own body. As he gains experience in this prestige class, he uncovers a number of ways to augment or diminish the density of his body, allowing him to use a number of special abilities.

At 1st level, a Ghost Dancer may choose to learn any one of the density manipulation abilities described below. He may select any other ability when he attains 3rd level, 5th level, 7th level, and 9th level. A Ghost Dancer may use any known density manipulation ability once per day at 1st level, and one additional time each day every 2 levels thereafter (twice at 3rd level, three times a 5th level, and so on). Once he knows more than a single ability, he may choose to use the same ability more than once in a single day, each of his known abilities once, or any combination of known abilities as long as he has density manipulation uses remaining in a day. Unless otherwise specified, the following density manipulation abilities may be triggered as a standard action.

Disrupt Living (Su): This ability, which remains active for a number of rounds equaling the Ghost Dancer’s class level, allows the Ghost Dancer’s hand to pass through living flesh (as though they were ethereal), then instantly solidify them for an instant before removing them from inside the target’s body. When the Ghost Dancer uses this ability, he must succeed at a normal melee attack. A successful hit causes the victim 2d4 points of Constitution damage. Constitution points lost from this ability regenerate at a rate of one point per day.

Ghostly Touch (Su): This ability allows the Ghost Dancer to temporarily transmute his arms or hands into ethereal weapons, allowing him to strike ghosts and other ethereal or incorporeal creatures. A Ghost Dancer may also attack a living subject with this ability, allowing him to ignore the victim’s armor bonus to AC and dealing 1d6 points of damage with each successful strike. This supernatural density manipulation ability lasts a number of rounds equal to the Ghost Dancer’s class level + his Wisdom modifier.

Greater Disrupt undead (Sp): The Ghost Dancer may use his knowledge of the spirits and other undead to damage such creatures with a powerful ray of positive energy. This spell-like ability is similar to the disrupt undead spell but deals 4d6 of damage instead.

Immovable (Su): By augmenting the density of his body, the Ghost Dancer becomes virtually immovable. Any attempt to bull rush or otherwise move him automatically fails. Furthermore, the Ghost Dancer gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against any bludgeoning weapon as well as a +4 bonus on all Fortitude saves for the duration of this ability. This supernatural ability lasts a number of rounds equal to the Ghost Dancer’s class level + his Wisdom modifier.

Phase Through (Su): This density manipulation ability grants the Ghost Dancer the capacity to walk through any wall as if he were ethereal. While walking through solid structures, the Ghost Dancer moves at his normal base speed. This supernatural ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Ghost Dancer’s class level or until the Ghost Dancer has completely phased through the surface, whichever comes first. Note that once the Ghost Dancer emerges from the other side, he instantly
regains corporeal form.

Ghostly Grin (Ex): At 2nd level, a Ghost Dancer can subtly distort the features of his face to imitate those of an evil spirit. While the Ghost Dancer’s face does not actually alter (as through magic), it nevertheless takes on a fearsome outlook. The Ghost Dancer gains a +4 bonus on all Intimidate checks.

Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 6th level, a Ghost Dancer no longer takes penalties to his ability scores for aging and he cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that he has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the Ghost Dancer still dies of old age when his time is up.

Empty Body (Su): At 10th level, a Ghost Dancer gains the ability to assume an ethereal state for 1 round per Ghost Dancer class level + his Wisdom modifier per day, as though using the spell etherealness. He may go ethereal on a number of different occasions during any single day, as long as the total number of rounds spent in an ethereal state does not exceed his Ghost Dancer class level + his Wisdom modifier.