So to further clarify, Shadowdancers do not step into a shadow and out of another. They can be shrouded by shadows to create an illusion of invisibility, but the strength of their illusion is based on how well they themselves can physically hide (h/ms). It is a mental ability that allows them to physically control the shadows,
shadowdaze and shadow evade may be seen as a spell (mechanically in the game they have to cast for it to go off), it could be explained that it is a mental force of will that controls the shadows into a more physical and solid form? Or are you saying that it actually is a spell?
- Hide in Plain Sight: this is a combination of being good at hiding and using whatever is available as cover, as well as a form of invisibility (so a combo of magic and physical means)- Shadow Daze: a spell- Summon Shadow: a shadow is summoned from a lower frequency world, see here http://forums.layonara.com/layonara-server/126742-cosmology-faq.htmlThese are not undead (although NWN says they are). They are also not "shadow elementals" (i.e. they are not creatures of solidified shadow).- Shadow Evade: spell, kind of like a concealment spell, but then more like blending in with shadows instead of becoming blurry
Can a caster counterspell these abilities?
well no need for counter spelling when you have the right spell to see through it.
Sounds like someone Nerfed the Shadow Dancer...
People should not read any more into it than what Ed wrote above.
Seems like people with Trueseeing up would not be able to see people in stealth since people in stealth usually have to resort to hiding behind some physical barrier to not be seen. But hiding behind a boulder and being caught by someone with Trueseeing would make that someone have X-Ray vision. But that's for regular rogues... I guess people hiding by useing the shadows would be seen with the sight.
Nipping it in the bud so that everyone does not have to have TS to see the sneaky one would be a great advantage..
In D&D mechanics, non HiPS hiding requires obstacles and True Seeing does not reveal such, but then neither can a hiding rogue walk out in the open and remain hidden. Shadowdancers can use any shadow to hide within under D&D mechanics and this is listed as a "supernatural" ability. The spell True Seeing does not, as I said, reveal hidden opponents, only those that are invisible or otherwise cloaked in Illusion magic.NWN mechanics differ, in that the engine cannot support line-of-sight for determination of whether someone is hiding successfully or not, nor does it support the presence of real shadows (especially since you can turn them off in the client for performance reasons). Because hiding, whether HiPS or not, allows someone to "sneak" in the open, then True Seeing was altered by Bioware to reveal hidden PCs and other hidden creatures for reasons of balance.So yes, while what you said "makes sense", it's not how NWN was implemented.
No...There is no "counterspell" for HiPS. Shadowdancers don't know "spells". They have abilities that tap the Al'Noth on a more instinctual level, which is why Ed mentioned Sorcerers in his parallel rather than wizards. So no, there will be no RPed "countering" of HiPS. True Seeing pierces through it, but that's exactly the mechanics we have had since the beginning.As I said, Shadowdancers do not mechanically work any differently than they did before. People should not read any more into it than what Ed wrote above.
HiPS is a combination of hiding really well and a magic effect like invisibility. That's not saying they're casting Invisibility.
Speaking purely mechanically, no, you can't "Counterspell" Shadowdancer abilities.Speaking in a more IC means, the art of Counterspelling involves knowing what is being cast and working against that. Even those few Shadowdancer abilities that are being described as partially or fully a magical effect are not, in actuality, the same as the spell to which they are similar.
Ed's guidelines above do not change the game mechanics at all, nor will there be any scripting or other changes to the modules as a result. These are just to tell people OOCly what these abilities are to allow so that those who play Shadowdancers can properly RP them, or perhaps more importantly, not RP things that are incorrect for our setting.
Shadowdancers don't know "spells". They have abilities that tap the Al'Noth on a more instinctual level, which is why Ed mentioned Sorcerers in his parallel rather than wizards. So no, there will be no RPed "countering" of HiPS. True Seeing pierces through it, but that's exactly the mechanics we have had since the beginning.
But if shadowdancers tap into the Al'Noth. Then how are they effected by magic dead places such as The Great Rift?