Drow Bard/Assassin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Drow Bard/Assassin [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
approachingwinter
07-03-07, 03:11 PM I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series. I'm rolling up a Drow Bard/Assassin on a Neverwinter Nights server and needed to know this for backstory. Thanks!
Zanan
07-06-07, 10:35 AM I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series. I'm rolling up a Drow Bard/Assassin on a Neverwinter Nights server and needed to know this for backstory. Thanks!

Halisstra was a Bard 8 / Cleric 10, no assassin involved.
Zireael
07-07-07, 05:00 AM Bard/Assasin is a good idea, especially for bae'qeshel.
Zanan
07-07-07, 06:22 AM Bard/Assasin is a good idea, especially for bae'qeshel.

... about which we know next to nothing though ;). They could simply have been lorekeepers of the ancient Ilythiiri, you know.
Lord Karsus
07-07-07, 08:26 PM I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series.

-That would be the aforementioned Bae'qeshel.
The Ranger
07-08-07, 01:00 AM Perhaps you're thinking of the Deathsinger, a drow bard/assassin that's sadly never been turned into a PrC. One was featured in Elaine Cunningham's Daughter of the Drow or Tangled Webs (I can't recall which).
Lord Karsus
07-09-07, 10:45 AM Perhaps you're thinking of the Deathsinger, a drow bard/assassin that's sadly never been turned into a PrC. One was featured in Elaine Cunningham's Daughter of the Drow or Tangled Webs (I can't recall which).

-Neither, actually. That was Windwalker. ;)
TomCosta
07-09-07, 08:39 PM And Elaine got the idea from one of the older 3E articles on Drow in Dragon Magazine. They got about a column's worth of generic lore, but were a brilliant idea.
Dielzen
07-09-07, 10:54 PM hmm, actually....back in early 3e days I had a Drow Bard and built a PrC for it based upon that very article (Deathsinger).

Lemme see if I can find it, update it to 3.5 and I'll post it. It was one of my early attempts at PrC creation so it might be pretty rough :embarrass
Dielzen
07-09-07, 11:20 PM can't find it atm...will keep looking tho
Dielzen
07-10-07, 12:19 AM found it!
I just changed the skills and progressions to be 3.5e compliant, the class abilities aren't defined (Ex, Su, Sp), but other than that I think it's compliant, just kinda rough from my early days of PrC creation.

The lore and origins of the concept for this Prestige Class originate with Dragon Magazine #298, page 29.
The most common ways to qualify for this prestige class are Rogue/Assassin and Bard/Rogue. Rogue/Sorcerers are uncommon. Most other multiclass combinations are unlikely to pursue this path, although several esoteric combinations are possible.

Prerequisites:
Race: Drow
Skills: Perform 10 ranks, Hide 6 ranks, Move Silently 6 ranks, Diplomacy 6 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to spontaneously cast 2nd level arcane spells
Sneak Attack: +2d6
Special: A prospective deathsinger must create and perform a song (or poem) about a personally witnessed murder.

The Deathsinger
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +0 +0 +2 +2 Bardic music, sneak attack +1d6, spell access
2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Dirge
3rd +2 +1 +3 +3 -
4th +3 +1 +4 +4 Sneak attack +2d6
5th +3 +1 +4 +4 -
6th +4 +2 +5 +5 -
7th +5 +2 +5 +5 Sneak attack +3d6
8th +6 +2 +6 +6 Improved evasion
9th +6 +3 +6 +6 -
10th +7 +3 +7 +7 Deathsong, sneak attack +4d6
*Each level grants +1 existing spontaneous arcane class, the codeblock took too much work to fit that in properly

Skills:
The deathsinger’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Class Features:
All of the following are class features of the deathsinger prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Deathsingers gain no weapon or armor proficiency.
Spellcasting: At each level, deathsingers gain new spells per day and/or spells known as if they had also gained a level in whatever class granted them the ability to spontaneously cast 2nd level arcane spells.
Bardic Music: Deathsingers add their class level to their levels in bard to determine how many uses of bardic music they may use each day. Deathsingers do not gain access to new songs beyond what they have earned in their bard class. Should the deathsinger not possess the bardic music ability prior to becoming a deathsinger, they may only use their daily uses to power abilities granted by the deathsinger prestige class.
Sneak Attack: This functions exactly as the rogue class ability and stacks with it.
Spell Access: At each level of deathsinger you gain a bonus spell added to your list of spells known for the class you add that level’s spellcasting ability. Should you be advancing bard spellcasting you may choose any spell on the assassin list of a level no higher then one lower than your maximum casting level as a bard. This spell is added to your bard known list at a level equal to that of it’s placement on the assassin spell list. Should you be advancing assassin spellcasting, you may choose any spell on the bard list of a level no higher than two higher than your current maximum casting level as an assassin. This spell is added to your assassin known list at a level equal to that of it’s placement on the bard spell list, minus two. Should you have levels in both bard and assassin, this class ability grants you no benefits.
Dirge: At 2nd level, deathsingers gain a new bardic music effect. Unlike other bardic music effects, this song may be added to another song (such as inspire courage), costing two daily uses to use in such a manner. While a dirge is being played, any spells cast by allies with the Darkness or Death descriptors have any applicable Save DCs changed to the results of a Perform check (rolled by the deathsinger). In addition, any such spells inflict a -2 circumstance penalty to Spell Resistance on any opponents able to hear and understand the deathsinger. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to concentration plus five rounds. If combined with a bard’s music, the dirge lasts as long as the bard music, then ends.
Improved Evasion: This ability functions as the rogue class ability of the same name.
Deathsong: At 10th level, deathsingers gain another bardic music effect. As with dirge, this ability may be used in conjuction with another baric music effect at the cost of two uses of your bardic music ability. Although you may combine both music effects granted by this class, you may not combine both with a music effect from the bard class. For as long as you maintain concentration on this song, you gain the benefits of the death knell spell for any creature that dies while able to hear and understand your song. Unlike the spell, you do not have to touch the creature to gain the benefits, and you may stack the benefits for as many creatures as die in range of your song. It should be noted that if a fight starts to go poorly for a deathsinger, it’s common for them to start singing this song and kill one (or more) of their allies, and use the benefits to escape.
Zanan
07-10-07, 04:10 AM Which Dragon etc. is that PrC from?

Edit:
The lore and origins of the concept for this Prestige Class originate with Dragon Magazine #298, page 29.

... well, those who can read are clearly at an advantage! Though this place only gives inspiration, not the PrC as such. So where's that from?
Lord Karsus
07-10-07, 10:26 AM Which Dragon etc. is that PrC from?

Edit:

... well, those who can read are clearly at an advantage! Though this place only gives inspiration, not the PrC as such. So where's that from?

-Dielzen said that he "built [the] PrC".
Dielzen
07-10-07, 06:23 PM Aye, and like I said it was one of my early PrC creations. The spell access portion is a bit lengthy and convoluted, but I think it's clear enough to understand. Other than that and the lack of ability classifications (too lazy to look at 'em right now) I think it's a reasonable PrC.

I might have to reread the Lireal series to get more inspiration to fine-tune it, but too many other things on my plate atm.
Zanan
07-11-07, 03:40 AM Aye, and like I said it was one of my early PrC creations. The spell access portion is a bit lengthy and convoluted, but I think it's clear enough to understand. Other than that and the lack of ability classifications (too lazy to look at 'em right now) I think it's a reasonable PrC.

I might have to reread the Lireal series to get more inspiration to fine-tune it, but too many other things on my plate atm.

Well, it looks like being a "level 7+" PrC (requirements), who could be more powerful than others. Generally, I'd tone it down to 5 levels and shed 1 spellcasting level for the goodies gained.
Zandilar
07-14-07, 07:36 PM Heya,

found it!
I just changed the skills and progressions to be 3.5e compliant, the class abilities aren't defined (Ex, Su, Sp), but other than that I think it's compliant, just kinda rough from my early days of PrC creation.

Bravo for putting in the work. :) I'm sure someone'll find it useful. :)

However, I don't think this helps the OP, as they were talking about rolling a character on an NWN server - and there's severe limits as to what you can actually do with regards to character classes - unless you're the DM/Developer, you can't alter or add any classes, PrC or otherwise.

The OP, if I was reading rightly, wanted fluff not crunch.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
approachingwinter 07-03-07, 03:11 PM	I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series. I'm rolling up a Drow Bard/Assassin on a Neverwinter Nights server and needed to know this for backstory. Thanks!
Zanan 07-06-07, 10:35 AM	I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series. I'm rolling up a Drow Bard/Assassin on a Neverwinter Nights server and needed to know this for backstory. Thanks! Halisstra was a Bard 8 / Cleric 10, no assassin involved.
Zireael 07-07-07, 05:00 AM	Bard/Assasin is a good idea, especially for bae'qeshel.
Zanan 07-07-07, 06:22 AM	Bard/Assasin is a good idea, especially for bae'qeshel. ... about which we know next to nothing though ;). They could simply have been lorekeepers of the ancient Ilythiiri, you know.
Lord Karsus 07-07-07, 08:26 PM	I can't remember the name of the type of Bard that Halisstra was in the War of the Spiderqueen series. -That would be the aforementioned Bae'qeshel.
The Ranger 07-08-07, 01:00 AM	Perhaps you're thinking of the Deathsinger, a drow bard/assassin that's sadly never been turned into a PrC. One was featured in Elaine Cunningham's Daughter of the Drow or Tangled Webs (I can't recall which).
Lord Karsus 07-09-07, 10:45 AM	Perhaps you're thinking of the Deathsinger, a drow bard/assassin that's sadly never been turned into a PrC. One was featured in Elaine Cunningham's Daughter of the Drow or Tangled Webs (I can't recall which). -Neither, actually. That was Windwalker. ;)
TomCosta 07-09-07, 08:39 PM	And Elaine got the idea from one of the older 3E articles on Drow in Dragon Magazine. They got about a column's worth of generic lore, but were a brilliant idea.
Dielzen 07-09-07, 10:54 PM	hmm, actually....back in early 3e days I had a Drow Bard and built a PrC for it based upon that very article (Deathsinger). Lemme see if I can find it, update it to 3.5 and I'll post it. It was one of my early attempts at PrC creation so it might be pretty rough :embarrass
Dielzen 07-09-07, 11:20 PM	can't find it atm...will keep looking tho
Dielzen 07-10-07, 12:19 AM	found it! I just changed the skills and progressions to be 3.5e compliant, the class abilities aren't defined (Ex, Su, Sp), but other than that I think it's compliant, just kinda rough from my early days of PrC creation. The lore and origins of the concept for this Prestige Class originate with Dragon Magazine #298, page 29. The most common ways to qualify for this prestige class are Rogue/Assassin and Bard/Rogue. Rogue/Sorcerers are uncommon. Most other multiclass combinations are unlikely to pursue this path, although several esoteric combinations are possible. Prerequisites: Race: Drow Skills: Perform 10 ranks, Hide 6 ranks, Move Silently 6 ranks, Diplomacy 6 ranks Spellcasting: Ability to spontaneously cast 2nd level arcane spells Sneak Attack: +2d6 Special: A prospective deathsinger must create and perform a song (or poem) about a personally witnessed murder. The Deathsinger Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1st +0 +0 +2 +2 Bardic music, sneak attack +1d6, spell access 2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Dirge 3rd +2 +1 +3 +3 - 4th +3 +1 +4 +4 Sneak attack +2d6 5th +3 +1 +4 +4 - 6th +4 +2 +5 +5 - 7th +5 +2 +5 +5 Sneak attack +3d6 8th +6 +2 +6 +6 Improved evasion 9th +6 +3 +6 +6 - 10th +7 +3 +7 +7 Deathsong, sneak attack +4d6 *Each level grants +1 existing spontaneous arcane class, the codeblock took too much work to fit that in properly Skills: The deathsinger’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex). Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier. Class Features: All of the following are class features of the deathsinger prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Deathsingers gain no weapon or armor proficiency. Spellcasting: At each level, deathsingers gain new spells per day and/or spells known as if they had also gained a level in whatever class granted them the ability to spontaneously cast 2nd level arcane spells. Bardic Music: Deathsingers add their class level to their levels in bard to determine how many uses of bardic music they may use each day. Deathsingers do not gain access to new songs beyond what they have earned in their bard class. Should the deathsinger not possess the bardic music ability prior to becoming a deathsinger, they may only use their daily uses to power abilities granted by the deathsinger prestige class. Sneak Attack: This functions exactly as the rogue class ability and stacks with it. Spell Access: At each level of deathsinger you gain a bonus spell added to your list of spells known for the class you add that level’s spellcasting ability. Should you be advancing bard spellcasting you may choose any spell on the assassin list of a level no higher then one lower than your maximum casting level as a bard. This spell is added to your bard known list at a level equal to that of it’s placement on the assassin spell list. Should you be advancing assassin spellcasting, you may choose any spell on the bard list of a level no higher than two higher than your current maximum casting level as an assassin. This spell is added to your assassin known list at a level equal to that of it’s placement on the bard spell list, minus two. Should you have levels in both bard and assassin, this class ability grants you no benefits. Dirge: At 2nd level, deathsingers gain a new bardic music effect. Unlike other bardic music effects, this song may be added to another song (such as inspire courage), costing two daily uses to use in such a manner. While a dirge is being played, any spells cast by allies with the Darkness or Death descriptors have any applicable Save DCs changed to the results of a Perform check (rolled by the deathsinger). In addition, any such spells inflict a -2 circumstance penalty to Spell Resistance on any opponents able to hear and understand the deathsinger. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to concentration plus five rounds. If combined with a bard’s music, the dirge lasts as long as the bard music, then ends. Improved Evasion: This ability functions as the rogue class ability of the same name. Deathsong: At 10th level, deathsingers gain another bardic music effect. As with dirge, this ability may be used in conjuction with another baric music effect at the cost of two uses of your bardic music ability. Although you may combine both music effects granted by this class, you may not combine both with a music effect from the bard class. For as long as you maintain concentration on this song, you gain the benefits of the death knell spell for any creature that dies while able to hear and understand your song. Unlike the spell, you do not have to touch the creature to gain the benefits, and you may stack the benefits for as many creatures as die in range of your song. It should be noted that if a fight starts to go poorly for a deathsinger, it’s common for them to start singing this song and kill one (or more) of their allies, and use the benefits to escape.
Zanan 07-10-07, 04:10 AM	Which Dragon etc. is that PrC from? Edit: The lore and origins of the concept for this Prestige Class originate with Dragon Magazine #298, page 29. ... well, those who can read are clearly at an advantage! Though this place only gives inspiration, not the PrC as such. So where's that from?
Lord Karsus 07-10-07, 10:26 AM	Which Dragon etc. is that PrC from? Edit: ... well, those who can read are clearly at an advantage! Though this place only gives inspiration, not the PrC as such. So where's that from? -Dielzen said that he "built [the] PrC".
Dielzen 07-10-07, 06:23 PM	Aye, and like I said it was one of my early PrC creations. The spell access portion is a bit lengthy and convoluted, but I think it's clear enough to understand. Other than that and the lack of ability classifications (too lazy to look at 'em right now) I think it's a reasonable PrC. I might have to reread the Lireal series to get more inspiration to fine-tune it, but too many other things on my plate atm.
Zanan 07-11-07, 03:40 AM	Aye, and like I said it was one of my early PrC creations. The spell access portion is a bit lengthy and convoluted, but I think it's clear enough to understand. Other than that and the lack of ability classifications (too lazy to look at 'em right now) I think it's a reasonable PrC. I might have to reread the Lireal series to get more inspiration to fine-tune it, but too many other things on my plate atm. Well, it looks like being a "level 7+" PrC (requirements), who could be more powerful than others. Generally, I'd tone it down to 5 levels and shed 1 spellcasting level for the goodies gained.
Zandilar 07-14-07, 07:36 PM	Heya, found it! I just changed the skills and progressions to be 3.5e compliant, the class abilities aren't defined (Ex, Su, Sp), but other than that I think it's compliant, just kinda rough from my early days of PrC creation. Bravo for putting in the work. :) I'm sure someone'll find it useful. :) However, I don't think this helps the OP, as they were talking about rolling a character on an NWN server - and there's severe limits as to what you can actually do with regards to character classes - unless you're the DM/Developer, you can't alter or add any classes, PrC or otherwise. The OP, if I was reading rightly, wanted fluff not crunch.