Whirling Dervish

Exotic, fanatical, and as deadly as his spinning blades, the whirling dervish epitomizes speed, quickness, and frenzy. By trusting his life to Gaspar, a dervish is able to pour all of energy into offensive might, becoming a truly frightening opponent. Native to Thorek, the whirling dervish is partially the result of the ineffectiveness of metal armor in frozen climates. His unique and impressive fighting style relies upon no armor whatsoever, instead incorporating a number of leaping twirls and spins.

The dervish’s fighting style is both breath-taking and frightening to behold, a fact which has not gone unnoticed by the clergy of Gaspar. Their stranglehold on Thorek exists partially due to the wide leeway they allow the dervishes, granting them to the power to enforce laws within the snowbound country. Though this practice tends to create corruption among their ranks, most clerics of Gaspar admit that it is a small price to pay for keeping the masses in check. It typically takes only a few displays of a dervish’s power each year to keep the more rebellious members of society in check, and many citizens fear the dervishes more than the priests that command them. The priests, for their part, would have it no other way.

Hit Dice: d10

Requirements

In order to qualify to become a Whirling Dervish, a character must meet the following criteria.

Region: Thorek

Alignment: Any non-good, non-chaotic.

Deity: Gaspar

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Skills: Jump 4 ranks, Tumble 4 ranks.

Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus (Scimitar)

Special: The character must be accepted and trained as a whirling dervish by the clergy of Gaspar, an honor granted only to those who have proven their allegiance and loyalty to the faith.

Class Skills

The Whirling Dervish‘s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Tumble (Dex). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+2	+2	+0	Armor of Faith, Slashing Blades
2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Whirlwind, Uncanny Dodge
3	+3	+3	+3	+1	Whirling Frenzy 1/day
4	+4	+4	+4	+1	Frightful Presence, Ice Walker
5	+5	+4	+4	+1	Improved Whirlwind, Fanatic
6	+6	+5	+5	+2	Whirling Frenzy 2/day
7	+7	+5	+5	+2	Enhanced Mobility, Improved Uncanny Dodge
8	+8	+6	+6	+2	Spinning Charge
9	+9	+6	+6	+3	Whirling Frenzy 3/day
10	+10	+7	+7	+3	Cyclonic Whirlwind

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Whirling Dervish prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Whirling dervishes gain no further weapon or armor proficiency.

Armor of Faith (Su): When not wearing light or no armor or using a shield, a duelist adds 1 point of Wisdom bonus (if any) per dervish class level to his Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a dervish is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.

Slashing Blades (Ex): The dervish receives extensive training in the alternate use of scimitars, and as a result, may treat scimitars as if they were light weapons.

Whirlwind (Ex): The dervish quickly masters the art of spinning and twirling while he attacks with his scimitars, enabling him strike at opponents who surround him. Begging at 2nd level, while the whirling dervish is wearing light or no armor and is wielding a scimitar, he is treated as if he possessed the Whirlwind Attack feat.

Uncanny Dodge (Su): Starting at 2nd level, a whirling dervish retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. He still loses any Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If the dervish possesses uncanny dodge from a previous class, he gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Whirling Frenzy (Ex): At 3rd level, the dervish gains the ability to enter a whirling frenzy, enabling him to attack his opponents as he leaps and spins through the air. While in a whirling frenzy, the dervish may take a full attack action (for melee attacks only) and still move up to his speed. However, he must move a minimum of 5 feet between each attack while using this ability, and he cannot return to a square he just exited. The dervish is subject to attacks of opportunity while in a frenzy, but he may tumble normally as part of his move. A dervish prevented from completing his move is also prevented from completing his attack.

If a dervish wields a scimitar as part of his frenzy, he gains a bonus on his attack and damage rolls. This bonus is +1 for every two class levels the whirling dervish possesses.

A dervish may only enter a whirling frenzy while wielding a scimitar. He cannot enter a whirling frenzy in medium or heavy armor, or while wielding a shield. While in a whirling frenzy, a dervish cannot use any skills or abilities that involve concentration or require him to remain still, such as Move Silently, Hide, or Search. A dervish cannot enter a whirling frenzy while under the effects of another rage or frenzy ability.

A dervish may enter a whirling frenzy only once per encounter. A whirling frenzy lasts for a number of rounds equal to the dervish’s class level, though he may end his frenzy prematurely if he wishes. At the end of the frenzy, the dervish becomes fatigued for the duration of the current encounter. The dervish may enter a whirling frenzy once per day at 3rd level, twice per day at 6th level, and three times per day at 9th level.

Frightful Presence (Ex): By 4th level, the whirling dervish’s unique fighting style becomes so refined and fluid as to inspire fear in those who witness it. When the dervish uses the Whirlwind Attack feat, opponents with 30 feet of him must succeed on a Will saving throw (DC 10 + his class level + his Charisma modifier) or become panicked for 2d6 rounds (if they have 4 HD or less) or shaken for 2d6 rounds (if they have 5 HD or more). Any foe that successfully resists this effect cannot be affected by the same whirling dervish’s frightful presence for 24 hours.

Ice Walker (Su): Life in the frozen lands of Thorek, combined with his devotion to the unforgiving tenants of Gaspar, forges the dervish into a tough survivor. Beginning at 4th level, he gains a +8 bonus on any Fortitude saves made to resist frostbite, hypothermia, and the effects of cold temperatures upon his body.

In addition, the dervish gains the ability to walk unhindered across snow, as if he weighed no more than a feather. The dervish no longer suffers movement penalties for moving across areas of snow or ice.

Improved Whirlwind (Ex): At 5th level, the dervish’s skill improves to the point where he may use the Whirlwind Attack feat as a standard action rather than as a full attack action. This ability may only be used if the dervish is wearing light or no armor, and only while he wields a scimitar.

Fanatic (Su): As a whirling dervish advances, he becomes more fully indoctrinated into the tenants of Gaspar. Eventually, he comes to believe that the priests of Gaspar can do no wrong, and his mind caves when confronted by their commands. Starting at 5th level, the dervish automatically fails saving throws against any mind-affecting divine spell cast by a priest of Gaspar.

This willingness to submit to the control of Gaspar’s clergy carries a significant boon, however; any healing or beneficial spell cast upon him by a priest of Gaspar is considered to be affected by the Maximize Spell feat, with no adjustment to the spell’s level.

Enhanced Mobility (Ex): When wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a dervish gains an additional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when he moves out of a threatened square.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 7th level, a whirling dervish can no longer be flanked. This defense denies rogues the ability to use flank attacks to sneak attack the dervish. A rogue at least four levels higher than the dervish may still flank him as normal. The dervish’s class levels stack with levels in any other class that grants him uncanny dodge for the purposes of determining what level rogue may flank him.

Spinning Charge (Ex): A 8th level whirling dervish gains the ability to leap at an opponent while spinning and twirling his deadly blades. He may charge over difficult terrain that normally slows movement without penalty, though, depending upon the circumstances, he may still need to make appropriate checks to successfully move over the terrain. In addition, after charging an enemy, the dervish may use the Whirlwind Attack feat in lieu of making a single attack against that opponent. If he does so, he adds the +2 bonus for charging to his attack rolls against every opponent he attacks with that feat.

Cyclonic Whirlwind (Su): At 10th level, the dervish gains the ability to slice through the air as he makes a whirlwind attack, causing the wind to bite into distant opponents as if it were a blade. When the dervish uses the Whirlwind Attack feat while armed with dual scimitars, he may make one additional attack against each opponent adjacent to the area his whirlwind attack affects. On a successful attack, these creatures take damage equal to twice the base damage of the dervish’s scimitar (typically 2d6 for Medium creatures and 1d4 for Small creatures). No additional modifiers are applied to this damage.

Ex-Whirling Dervishes

A whirling dervish who willingly changes alignment or betrays Thorek or the clergy of Gaspar immediately loses all supernatural abilities granted by this class, and his former allies will no doubt seek to end his life. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his actions (see the atonement spell on page 201 of the Player’s Handbook).

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