Eilistraean Sword Dancer (2024)

Followers of Eilistraee value independence and choice as inviolate. Their clerics welcome and accept beings of all races who desire to see all people living in harmony, without pointless discrimination or wars, and work towards that goal. They try to bring happiness and merriment everywhere they go, lifting people's hearts with kindness, gaiety, songs, jests, dancing, and revelry.  They respond violence with swift violence, thus quickly removing dangers and threats, so that the fewest might be hurt.

The worshipers of Eilistraee mostly consist of those drow who have escaped the danger and darkness of the Underdark, and Lolth's evil, taking back their place in the surface world. However, in line with her ideals, Eilistraee welcomes beings of all races (though, among her non-drow followers, elves, humans, and especially half-elves are the most numerous). They cherish the desire of seeing all races living in harmony, without pointless discrimination or wars, and work towards that goal (and those among them who were drow also fight to build their own place on the Realms above).

Eilistraean communities are often of matriarchal nature, however, as opposed to Lolth's, theirs are nurturing matriarchies, meant to empower all—males and females alike— to thrive on the surface world, and characterized by a very loose hierarchy. In fact, the clerics of Eilistraee, commonly known as Sword Dancers, act as an extension of Eilistraee's own motherhood of the drow, and take the role of teachers, protectresses, and diplomats. The priestesses aid their people in learning to live and forge their own path in a hostile world, and to rediscover a sense of belonging and community. They also protect their people from danger, and seek to build a place for them to live by establishing friendships and relationships with other races. The Eilistraeans are also known to offer aid and shelter to those who come asking for them (no matter the race), and even to actively travel to other places in order to bring food, cures, arts, and practical help where there is need.

Many followers of Eilistraee, and especially her clerics, strive to learn and promote the arts—with a soft spot for music and dance—as well as teaching them and passing along the knowledge of particular pieces, songs, or dances learned during travels or created by them. They also take care of broken musical instruments, or craft new ones. Those who don't know an art, are often instead known to support bards by hiring them when they can afford it. This is part of their way to promote joy and merriment in their communities and during their travels.

Despite their efforts, the faithful of Eilistraee, are frequently little known and poorly understood by inhabitants of both the Realms Above and the Underdark. Her worshipers are figures of myth and superstition and have been the targets of prejudice and wild mistruths. Some surface dwellers believe they are the disguised vanguard of the Spider Goddess's plan to take over the surface, while those drow who follow Lolth or other evil deities sometimes suspect them of being surface elf spies and saboteurs posing as drow as a prelude to invasion. Most non-elves could not comprehend the existence of a good drow deity, while surface elves can be uncomfortable considering it, finding Eilistraee a threat to their doctrine that the dark elves were wholly to blame for the Crown Wars and other ancient tragedies.

Eilistraee is most commonly worshiped in Cormanthor among the drow there, in the Dalelands among the half-elves, and also in Waterdeep and Skullport. She also has followers (mostly humans, elves, and half-elves) living in Silverymoon and its surroundings. All her worshipers are typically of a good nature.

The Dark Dancer is worshiped through song and dance, if at all possible in the surface world under the moon (preferably in wooded places). Worship of her is ofttimes accompanied by a feast.

Dark Maiden's Grace

You gain proficiency with Greatswords, Longswords, Rapiers, Scimitars and Shortswords, and treat them as finesse weapons.

You also gain proficiency in Performance skill, as well as with Smith's Tools, if you don’t already have it.

You also use Charisma as your primary Spellcasting-Attribute instead of Wisdom.

Bladedance

You can invoke Eilistraee's grace by performing a Bladedance, provided that you aren’t wearing medium or heavy armor or using a shield. It graces you with supernatural speed, agility, and focus.

You can use a bonus action to start the Bladedance, which lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are incapacitated or if you don a shield. You can also dismiss the Bladedance at any time (no action required).

While your Bladedance is active, you gain the following benefits:

• You gain a bonus to your AC equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).
• Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
• You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.
• You gain a bonus to any Constitution saving throw you make to maintain your concentration on a spell. The bonus equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of +1).

You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain one expended use when you finish a short rest, and all expended uses of it when you complete a long rest.

Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips in place of one of those attacks.

Chosen of Eilistraee

• You gain resistance to radiant damage and damage dealt by silvered weapons.
• You cannot be raised as undead in the event of your passing.
• You no longer need to sleep, and you can't be forced to sleep by any means.  To gain the benefits of a long rest, you can spend 8 hours doing light activity such as reading or meditating.
• You no longer need material components to cast spells that restore life (such as Revivify or Resurrection) if performing the ritual under moonlight.
• You can perform a defensive flourish and direct your magic to absorb damage while your Bladedance is active. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to expend one spell slot and reduce that damage to you by an amount equal to five times the spell slot’s level.