New Archetype - The Dervish

Art by Alexey Aparin

In the arid desert, no enemy is as feared as the whirling dervish. Most individuals only see the flash of a blade and a quick blur before their blood splatters across the sands. These spinning warriors prefer to wear light or no armor and wield scimitars with deadly precision, dancing throughout the battlefield to deliver devastating blow after devastating blow.

The dervish is an archetype for the swashbuckler class. The dervish receives the following abilities:

Weapon Finesse (Ex): Like the base swashbuckler, the dervish receives Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat at 1st level. However, the dervish receives the benefits of the feat when wielding a scimitar.

Deeds: The dervish swaps three of the normal swashbuckler deeds for the following deeds:

Desert Stride: At 7th level, as long as the dervish has at least 1 panache point, he can move through 10 feet of difficult terrain as if it were normal terrain. This ability replaces the Swashbuckler's Grace deed.

Rapid Attack: At 11th level, a dervish can spend 1 panache point to combine a full attack with a single move. He must forgo the attack at his highest bonus but may take the remaining attacks at any point during his movement. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. This ability replaces the Bleeding Wound deed.

Lighting Strike: At 15th level, as part of a full attack, the dervish can spend 2 panache point to make one additional attack. This attack is at the dervish's highest attack bonus. This ability replaces the Dizzying Display deed.

Fast Movement (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the dervish increases his base speed by 10 feet. Every four levels beyond 2nd, his speed increases by an additional 10 feet. This ability replaces Agile.

((For those of you who are very astute readers, you should realize this archetype is based on the Dawnflower Dervish archetype from the Inner Sea Primer. I always liked the archetype, felt like it would be a perfect fit for my swashbuckler, and decided to adapt it. I hope you all like it.))