Desert Dreamwalker (3.5e Prestige Class)

Desert Dreamwalker

“	Few can use these powers at all, so I'm going to make the best of it and combine it with my blades. I do it for the Clan, for those I love.	”
—Alliandra, human scout upon finding out she has unusual powers

Most people dream, but only a few find themselves awake while dreaming, able to create and control this hidden world while dreaming. The most powerful (or trained) can even learn to affect the real world while half-awake. When they are also trained warriors, these abilities can be used to help focus the mind and even be able to foresee how to avoid dangers or how to hit the enemy in its most sensitive spots. These are the Dreamwalkers, people of all races that can almost supernaturally save their allies or kill their enemies.

Becoming a Dreamwalker

Dreamwalking is a unique talent that few possess and fewer still learn to control. A Dreamwalker can come from any kind of background, from an arcane caster to a divine caster to a rogue to a simple fighter, but to become more than that, they need to be able to fight without thinking about it and they need to be able to be aware of both their body and those things in the world of thoughts and dreams.

Requirements

• Base Attack Bonus: +4
• Skills: Concentration 4 ranks
• Feats: Iron Will, Spring Attack

Class Skills

Hit Die: d8

The dreamwalker’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Table: The Desert Dreamwalker

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+2	+2	Ambidexterity (-3/-1), Autohypnosis, Dreamwalking (Detect)
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+3	Awareness I, Improved Catch
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+3	Dreamwalking (Spy), Focused Fighting
4th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Awareness II, Fast Acrobatics
5th	+3	+1	+4	+4	Dreamwalking (Locate)
6th	+4	+2	+5	+5	Ambidexterity (-2/0), Awareness III
7th	+5	+2	+5	+5	Dreamwalking (Empathy)
8th	+6/+1	+2	+6	+6	Awareness IV, Two-Weapon Spring Attack
9th	+6/+1	+3	+6	+6	Dreamwalking (Foresight)
10th	+7/+2	+3	+7	+7	Dreamwalking (Magic)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Desert Dreamweaver.

Ambidexterity (Ex): A dreamwalker needs to be more aware of herself and her weapons, so she learns to work/fight with either hand. At 1st level, her attack penalties for fighting with two weapons are lessened by 1 (from –4 to –3, or from –2 to –1 if the off-hand weapon is a light weapon). At 6th level, the attack penalties are lessened by another 1 (from –3 to –2, or to +0 if the off-hand weapon is a light weapon). The character loses this ability when fighting in medium or heavy armor. (Based on the ability of the same name from Complete Adventurer p.81.)

Autohynposis (Ex): A dreamwalker can use Concentration for Autohypnosis checks, including Ignore Caltrop Wound, Memorize, Resist Dying, Resist Fear Effect, Stabilize Self, Tolerate Poison, Willpower, and a new use: Resist Mind-Affecting.

Resist Mind-Affecting: In response to any mind-affecting effect, she makes a saving throw normally. If she fails the saving throw, she can make a Concentration check on her next round. If her Concentration check beats the DC of the mind-affecting effect by 10+, she shrugs off the effect. On a failed check, the effects continue normally, and she gains no further attempts to shrug off that particular effect.

Dreamwalking (Sp): Starting at 1st level, a dreamwalker is able to use the world of dreams to search the real world, get a glimpse into what other creatures are feeling and thinking, and even to foresee dangers, to help herself or her allies. While using these abilities, she remains conscious and aware of her immediate surroundings, but it does require focus and concentration (as if casting a spell). As she gains levels, she gains new ways to gain knowledge through the world of dreams and it becomes easier for her to use all of the abilities, letting her use them quicker and more often. See the section below for details on the usage and specifics of Dreamwalking.

Awareness (Su): The dreamwalker can use her connection to the supernatural world of dreams to increase her ability to perceive things around her, move in the world to avoid dangers, or to help her better understand what others want (or don't want). So at levels 2, 4, 6, and 8, the dreamwalker can get a competence bonus of +1/2 Dreamwalker levels (rounded down) to 2 skills, from the following list: Balance, Climb, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (any), Listen, Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, and Tumble. The 8 skills that receive the competence bonus must be different and cannot be changed once chosen.

Ex. At 2nd level, a character picks Balance and Diplomacy to get a +1 bonus to. At 4th level, she now chooses Escape Artist and Gather Information and gets a +2 bonus to all 4 skills. At 6th level and then 8th level, she can pick 2 more each level and the bonus on all of the chosen skills rises until, at level 10 Desert Dreamwalker, 8 skills get a +5 competence bonus.

Improved Catch (Ex): At 2nd level, a dreamwalker has grown more in tune with her weapons, so she can take better advantage of a weapon with the returning ability. When she makes a ranged attack with a returning weapon, she can move after the attack and the weapon will still return to her as long as line of sight exists between her and the weapon at the beginning of her next turn. (Based on the ability of the same name from Races of the Wild p.136.)

Focused Fighting (Ex): A dreamwalker has learned to combine her enhanced senses to attack with both weapons in one strike. As a standard action, she can make a melee attack with her primary weapon and her off-hand weapon. Both attacks use the same attack roll to determine success, using the worse of the two weapons' attack modifiers (with two-weapon fighting penalties included). If her primary weapon is one-handed or light and her off-hand weapon is light, this attack receives a -4 penalty or, otherwise, it receives a -10 penalty. If she fails a DC 15 Concentration check, her off-hand weapon does not hit while her primary weapon receives the attack penalties. If she, however, succeeds a DC 25 Concentration check, the -4/-10 penalties are not applied.

Each weapon deals its normal damage. Damage reduction and other resistances apply separately against each weapon attack. When you make this attack, precision-based damage (e.g. sneak attack or skirmish) is applied only once. If a critical hit occurs, only the weapon in the primary hand deals the extra critical damage while the off-hand weapon deals normal damage. This can be used in Spring Attack or other similar feats.

Fast Acrobatics (Ex): Using her supernatural senses, a dreamwalker can know where to step to avoid danger. She ignores the normal –5 penalty when making a Balance check while moving at her full normal speed. She can climb at half her speed as a move action without taking a –5 penalty on her Climb check. Finally, she can tumble at her full speed without taking the normal –10 penalty on her Tumble check. (Based on the ability of the same name from Complete Adventurer p.83.)

Two-Weapon Spring Attack (Ex): An 8th level dreamwalker has honed her ability to fight with two weapons while using the world of dreams to aid herself, so that when she makes a spring attack, she can attack once each with two different weapons as an attack action. She can attack one or two separate creatures and this does not provoke an attack of opportunity from one of the creatures she attacks (her choice of which). You must move at least 5 feet both before and after you make your attack. (Based on the ability of the same name from Complete Adventurer p.82.)

Dreamwalking

Dreamwalking is a spell-like ability and, thus, is magical and works just like a spell (though it is not a spell and so has no verbal, somatic, material, focus, or XP components). It goes away in an antimagic field and may be subject to dispel magic and spell resistance. Using any of the abilities while threatened provokes attacks of opportunity (it is possible to make a Concentration check to use a spell-like ability defensively and avoid provoking an attack of opportunity, just as when casting a spell) and it can be disrupted just as a spell can be. It cannot be used to counterspell, nor can it be counterspelled. For dispelling, the dreamwalker’s caster level is equal to her character level, in all other cases, "caster level" equals her number of dreamwalker levels.

Table: Dreamwalking Abilities per Day and Activation Times

Level	# per day						Activation Time
	Detect	Spy	Locate	Empathy	Foresight	Magic
1st	2	—	—	—	—	—	full round
2nd	2	—	—	—	—	—	full round
3rd	3	2	—	—	—	—	standard action
4th	3	2	—	—	—	—	standard action
5th	4	3	2	—	—	—	standard action
6th	4	3	2	—	—	—	move action
7th	5	4	3	2	—	—	move action
8th	5	4	3	2	—	—	move action
9th	6	5	4	3	2	—	minor action
10th	6	6	5	4	3	2	minor action

Detect

This ability acts like a hybrid of Detect Animals or Plants, Detect Metals and Minerals, and Detect Snares & Pits, but has a slightly different and larger list of things you can focus on to find. Each round, you can turn to detect in a new area or choose a new thing to detect. This ability can penetrate barriers, but 5 feet of stone, 1 inch of uncommon metal, 1 inch of lead, or 15 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.

Activation time: See table above
Range: Long (400' + 40'/caster level)
Area: Cone-shaped emanation
Duration: Concentration, Up to 10 min/caster level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You must first think of what you are detecting: compass direction, a kind of animal, a kind of plant, a kind of metal, a kind of mineral, openings (large enough for a medium creature to fit through without squeezing), or potable water. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you search a particular area or focus on a specific kind of thing.

1st round: Presence or absence of the specified thing in the area.
2nd round: Number of the specified things and location of each. If any are outside of your line of sight, you discern its direction but not its exact location.
3rd round: You discern more details, depending on what you're looking for:

• Animals/Plants: The condition of each individual and, if it's out of your line of sight, distance to it. Normal: Has at least 90% of full normal hit points, free of disease; Fair: 30% to 90% of full normal hit points remaining; Poor: Less than 30% of full normal hit points remaining; Weak: 0 or fewer hit points remaining, afflicted with a disease in the terminal stage, or crippled; If a creature falls into more than one category, the ability indicates the weaker of the two.
• Metal/Mineral: Approximate weight of the target material and distance to it.
• Openings: Size of openings (how large of a creature can fit through without squeezing) and distance to each.
• Potable water: Whether it is still or flowing and how much there is (if flowing, how much moves past in one minute).

Special (compass direction): You know the direction of north from your current position, effective in any environment in which "north" exists, but it may not work in extraplanar settings.

Spy

Activation time: See table above
Range:
Target/Area:
Duration:
Saving Throw:
Spell Resistance:

Locate

Activation time: See table above
Range:
Target/Area:
Duration:
Saving Throw:
Spell Resistance:

Empathy

Activation time: See table above
Range:
Target/Area:
Duration:
Saving Throw:
Spell Resistance:

Foresight

Activation time: See table above
Range:
Target/Area:
Duration:
Saving Throw:
Spell Resistance:

Magic

Activation time: See table above
Range:
Target/Area:
Duration:
Saving Throw:
Spell Resistance:

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