Beauty and grace are not the only assets the poledancer has been graced with. Her years of practicing alluring and exotic dances has given her a keen sense of balance and unmatched flexibility. Despite what many make think of her, she is a master of her craft, wielding spears, lances, and polearms with expertise and deadliness. Nothing is more deadly than she who descends upon her foes.
The poledancer is an archetype of the dancer class.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The poledancer mainly focuses on DEX for martial combat and CHA for her class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Weapon and Armor Proficiencies, AC Bonus, Unarmed Strike, Fleet. 2nd – Evasion, Versatile Dance, Dance Talent. 3rd – Beguiling Dance 4th – Dance Talent. 6th – Dance Talent, Rain of Blows, Dancer’s Strike. 8th – Dance Talent. 10th – Dance Talent. 12th – Advanced Dance Talent. 13th – Dance of the Crushing Python. 14th – Advanced Dance Talent, Improved Evasion. 16th – Advanced Dance Talent. 18th – Advanced Dance Talent. 20th – Advanced Dance Talent.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A poledancer gains weapon proficiency with all spears, lances, and polearms as well as light armor.
This ability replaces the dancer’s standard weapon and armor proficiencies.
Jump (Ex)
At 1st level, a poledancer trains for years in the ability to leap astounding and even supernatural distances. The poledancer adds her dancer levels to all Acrobatic skill checks for jumping. A poledancer’s ability to jump with her Acrobatic checks is treated as though she got a running start and has the Run feat, regardless of whether or not she gets a running start. The poledancer may long jump as part of a move action or charge action, allowing her to ignore difficult terrain for the distance she jumps. The poledancer uses her jump’s Acrobatics check to resolve against all opponents CMD while long jumping or high jumping through threatened squares, but takes the +10 to DC for moving at full speed while doing so.
A poledancer’s maximum jump distance is 2x her base speed, as if charging, instead of being limited by her normal base speed (30-foot land speed = 60-foot jump maximum). Starting at 3rd level and for every 3rd level thereafter, the poledancer further increases her maximum jump distance by an additional 10 feet.
Should the poledancer utilize any of her base speed for movement on her turn, subtract that distance from her maximum jump distance to determine the distance she has left to jump.
This ability replaces AC bonus.
Deadly Lancer (Ex)
At 1st level, the poledancer hones the art of leveraging the impact of her jump attacks to devastate foes. The poledancer adds a bonus amount of damage equal to 1d6 + an additional 1d6 for every two dancer levels gained beyond 1st when performing a long jump attack, a high jump attack, or a dive attack with a melee weapon (see below). Additional damage gained from this ability is not multiplied on a critical hit or any class feature that multiplies damage.
Long Jump Attack: The poledancer makes an attack after a successful Acrobatics skill check to long jump at least 10 feet towards her target (whether as part of a charge, or move action).
High Jump Attack: The poledancer makes an attack after a successful Acrobatics skill check to high jump at least 10 feet towards a target (whether as part of a charge, or move action) that possesses a higher altitude. Additionally, for every 10 feet of altitude she achieves with her high jump, the poledancer may move 5 feet horizontally from her starting location towards her target (simulating a diagonal jump).
Dive Attack: As a full-round action, the poledancer can attempt an Acrobatics skill check to high jump into making a dive attack against a target of lower altitude within a horizontal range of half of the poledancer’s achieved altitude. If she is already airborne at the start of her turn due to flight or some other form of movement, she may also make a dive attack from her current altitude as a full-round action against a target meeting the same criteria. Unless otherwise stated, a dive attack cannot be substituted for a combat maneuver.
When performing a dive attack, the poledancer receives a +1 circumstance attack bonus for every 10 feet of altitude difference between her and her target. Additionally, she deals an extra 1d6 damage for every 10 feet of altitude difference (on top of the scaling bonus damage granted earlier in this ability). The total amount of extra damage dice and attack bonus gained from both Deadly Lancer and altitude differences is capped by the poledancer’s level (ex: a 5th level poledancer cannot exceed a +5 attack bonus and 5d6 points of extra damage when performing a dive attack).
Upon a successful dive attack, the poledancer lands within 10 feet of her target, taking falling damage as if she fell from her target’s altitude (if any). If no space is available within this range, she botches her landing, landing prone in the nearest open square.
If the dive attack misses, the poledancer suffers falling damage as if she fell from her starting altitude and lands in the nearest available square next to her target as if she charged on foot. The poledancer cannot use a Fly skill check to negate this falling damage.
Any movement that is part of a dive attack does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and any distance traveled that is part of a dive attack does not contribute to the poledancer’s maximum jump distance.
This ability replaces fleet.
Polearm Familiarity (Ex)
When wielding a spear, lance, or polearm, a poledancer can use her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier on melee attack and damage rolls. She may treat such weapons as a one-handed piercing weapon for all feats and class abilities that require such a weapon. The weapon must be for a creature of the poledancer’s size. A poledancer cannot use this ability if she is carrying another weapon or a shield in her off-hand.
This ability replaces unarmed strike.
Alluring Performance (Ex)
At 2nd level, a poledancer gains the ability to execute an alluring performance in addition to her battle dance ability. An alluring performance is exactly like a battle dance with the following exceptions.
A poledancer can use an alluring performance to recreate the effects of any of her known battle dances, but she focuses the performance on only a single target within range. While other creatures see and hear a poledancer’s alluring performance, only the target of this ability is affected by it. A poledancer cannot have a battle dance and an alluring performance in effect at the same time. Every round spent engaged in an alluring performance counts against the total number of rounds per day she can use her battle dance, and she cannot use this ability if she does not have any more rounds of battle dance left for that day.
Starting an alluring performance is a move action; at 10th level, it becomes a swift action.
When a poledancer uses her alluring performance ability to emulate inspire courage, inspire greatness, or inspire heroics, any bonuses to AC or on ability checks, attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks increase by +1. For example, a poledancer using inspire heroics as an alluring performance would grant her target a +5 morale bonus on saving throws and a +5 dodge bonus to AC, instead of the usual +4 bonuses.
This ability replaces versatile dance.
Working the Poles
Starting at 2nd level and every two dancer levels thereafter, a poledancer takes a poledancer talent from the poledancer’s poledancer talent list in place of a dance talent.
These abilities replace dance talents and advanced dance talents.
Super Jump (Ex)
At 2nd level, the poledancer can empower her jump to send her soaring, emulating the ability to fly. By activating this ability at the start of her jump as a free action, the poledancer lowers the Acrobatics high jump DC multiplier from 4 to 1 for that jump (ex: a high jump of 20 feet would be lowered from an Acrobatics DC of 80 to an Acrobatics DC of 20). Additionally, the poledancer receives a +10 bonus to Acrobatics for that jump. The poledancer suffers no falling damage for the vertical distance she high jumps when using this ability.
The poledancer can use this ability a number of times per day equal to her dancer level, and no more than once per round.
This ability replaces evasion.
Poledancer Stance (Ex)
At 3rd level, a poledancer gains a +1 deflection bonus to AC as long as she is wearing no armor or light armor and is wielding a spear, lance, or polearm. This bonus increases by 1 for every four dancer levels after 3rd to a maximum of +5 at 19th level.
This ability replaces beguiling dance.
Swinging Pole (Su)
At 6th level, a poledancer can use her battle dance to speed up her attacks. When making a full attack action, she may make one extra attack with any spear, lance, or polearm that she is holding, as though under the effects of a haste spell. She also gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC and on Reflex saves. At 9th level, and every three dancer levels thereafter, these bonuses increase by +1, to a maximum of +5 at 18th level. These bonuses do not stack with the haste spell.
This ability replaces rain of blows.
Polearm Training (Ex)
At 6th level a poledancer gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with spears, lances, and polearms. This bonus increases by +1 for every six levels beyond 6th.
This ability replaces dancer’s strike.
Flinging Impact (Su)
At 13th level, a poledancer can use her battle dance to improve her spear, lance, and polearm’s critical range. All attacks she makes with her spears, lances, and polearms are treated as though she had the Improved Critical feat.
This ability replaces dance of the crushing python.
Polearm Defense (Ex)
At 14th level and higher, if a poledancer chooses to fight defensively or use total defense in melee combat, she gains an additional +1 dodge bonus to AC for every three levels of dancer she has attained.
This ability replaces improved evasion.
