Archives of Nethys
There are gaps in reality, minute interstices like the spaces between threads in a cloth. These hidden pockets of the Universe, though not extraplanar, are imperceptible and inaccessible to most, who go about their daily lives without realizing they’re metaphorically stepping over thousands of tiny cracks per day. Time and space act oddly in these gaps, providing hiding places, instantaneous transportation, and escape routes for those who know where to look.
You know where to look.
You’ve studied these small fissures, imbuing yourself with the power to make use of them. Though you may or may not be a formal spellcaster, you use this innate magic to conceal yourself or maneuver into advantageous positions. In a skirmish, you rely on the element of surprise, with your hit-and-run tactics keeping your foes uncertain where the next blow might come from. You’re skilled at sneaking about unseen, getting in and out of places before anyone even notices your infiltration. Thieves and assassins often learn the ways of the veil dancer, but anyone who wishes to rely on stealth and short-range teleportation in combat and exploration might make use of such techniques.
The art of veil dancing was first developed in Nex. Some sources say it was developed by the archmage Nex himself, while others claim it was honed at Nethysian temples by sacred guardians of the faith. From there, the techniques rapidly spread throughout the Inner Sea and the rest of Golarion. Due to the tradition’s association with thievery and assassinations, some are wary of those who openly profess to be veil dancers, though most veil dancers would claim that the practice is merely a tool, one that can be put to either benevolent or malevolent ends.
Veil dancers are more common in places where a large proportion of the population has magical training or exposure to magical energies, such as Nex, Jalmeray, New Thassilon, and the city-state of Nantambu in the Mwangi Expanse. You might have learned the magic formally or developed your abilities on your own. In either case, you pride yourself on your ability to vanish and reappear where people least expect you. For you, distances and heights are no barrier, merely a puzzle to be solved.
Additional Feats
Source Player Core pg. 215Some archetypes include a list of “Additional Feats” that appear in other sources. The list includes each feat’s level, which might be different than normal when gained from the archetype. You can take the feat as an archetype feat of that level, meaning it counts toward the number of feats required by the archetype’s dedication feat. When selected this way, a feat that normally has a class’s trait (such as the fighter trait) doesn’t have that class trait.
Click here for the full rules on Additional Feats.
Veil Dancer Dedication Feat 2
Archetype Dedication Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites trained in Stealth
You’re able to shift yourself into the spaces between to avoid notice. You gain the Part the Veil action.
Part the Veil [two-actions] (concentrate, magical) Requirements You are not observed by any enemies; Effect You phase yourself into the interstices, veiling yourself from physical reality. You become concealed. You can use this concealment to Hide or Sneak as your disassociation from reality makes you difficult to focus on. If you use a hostile action, this effect ends after the action is complete; otherwise, it lasts for 1 minute.
Contingency Leap [reaction] Feat 4
Archetype Concentrate Magical Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Trigger You fall, and there is an edge or handhold within 30 feet.
When imperiled by a fall, you swiftly transport yourself out of danger. You teleport to any edge or handhold in range, stopping your fall. If your destination is one you couldn’t normally stand on (such as a handhold), you must succeed at your choice of an Acrobatics check or a Reflex save, usually at the Climb DC, as Grab an Edge, but you take no damage unless you critically fail.
Dimensional Pilfer [two-actions] Feat 4
Archetype Concentrate Magical Manipulate Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication; expert in Stealth
You have a preternatural ability to whisk items out from under their owners’ noses. Attempt a Thievery check to Palm an Object or Steal an object you can see within 60 feet. If you are veiled, you get a +2 circumstance bonus to this check. If you succeed, the object vanishes from its current location and appears on your person.
Gossamer Blade [one-action] Feat 4
Archetype Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Requirements Your previous action was a successful Strike against an off-guard creature.
Drawing upon your command of intangible spaces, you create an echo of your weapon to resonate through its victim. The creature takes 1d6 persistent force damage per damage dice of your weapon.
Fade Presence Feat 6
Archetype Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
You weave magic around you to mask your presence from observers. Once per hour each, you can cast invisibility and silence as innate 2nd-rank occult spells. You can target only yourself with these spells.
Warp Path [one-action] Feat 6
Archetype Concentrate Magical Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Requirements You are veiled.
You fold space around you, transporting yourself to an unoccupied space you can see within 30 feet. When you arrive, make a melee Strike against one creature within your weapon’s reach. On a critical success, you remain veiled until the end of your next turn or until you take another hostile action.
Dart Between [two-actions] Feat 8
Archetype Concentrate Magical Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 104
Archetype Veil Dancer
Frequency once per 10 minutes
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
In the blink of an eye, you transport yourself and any items you’re wearing and holding from your current space to an unoccupied space within 60 feet that you can see. If this would bring another creature with you—even if you’re carrying it in an extradimensional container—you cannot Dart Between. When you arrive at your destination, you can Part the Veil as a free action, even if you wouldn’t normally meet its requirements. If you are hidden, this action does not cause you to become observed provided you still have cover, greater cover, or concealment from the creatures you were hidden from after the teleportation.
Veil of Eternity Feat 8
Archetype Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
You can remain within the interstices of reality longer. Your Part the Veil has a duration of one hour, though it still ends if you take a hostile action. Additionally, while Avoiding Notice during exploration, you can also Part the Veil.
Interstitial Escape [reaction] Feat 10
Archetype Concentrate Magical Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Frequency once per hour
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Trigger You would be hit by a melee or ranged Strike, and you are not off-guard.
To evade your foe, you shift yourself to another location, teleporting from your current square to another unoccupied square within 30 feet. Additionally, you gain resistance to all damage against the triggering attack equal to 5 + your level.
Translocational Adept Feat 10
Archetype Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Your command over teleportation grows. You can cast translocate as an innate 4th-rank occult spell once per day. At 14th level, the spell is heightened to 5th rank. When you cast translocate this way, you can Part the Veil as a free action when you arrive at your destination, even if you wouldn’t normally meet its requirements.
Aerial Flash [three-actions] Feat 12
Archetype Concentrate Magical Teleportation Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Even creatures who take to the air can’t escape you. You teleport to any square within 60 feet that’s within reach of a creature, then make a melee Strike against that creature. After this Strike, you teleport back to your prior position.
Afterimage [free-action] Feat 12
Archetype Illusion Magical Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Trigger You use an action or cast a spell with the teleportation trait.
You leave behind an afterimage of yourself in your previous square. This afterimage looks like you and can perform simple behaviors to make the deception more plausible but otherwise cannot move or take actions. A creature can distinguish between you and your afterimage easily. Your afterimage automatically fails all checks and DCs and is destroyed if it would take any damage; otherwise, it lasts for 1 minute. Whenever you take the Step action, you can instead teleport to an afterimage instead. If you do, the action gains the teleportation trait, and the afterimage you teleport to is destroyed.
Hush [two-actions] Feat 14
Archetype Magical Source Impossible Magic pg. 105
Archetype Veil Dancer
Prerequisites Veil Dancer Dedication
Requirements You are veiled.
You strike a target and hinder their attempts to call for help. You teleport to a square within 60 feet and make a Strike against a creature; if you hit, it must attempt a Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher. Regardless of the result, the target is then immune to your Hush for 24 hours.
Success The target is otherwise unaffected.
Failure The target takes 10d6 force damage, and the target is affected by a 2nd-rank silence spell for 1 round.
Critical Failure The target takes 15d6 damage, and the target is affected by a 2nd-rank silence spell for 1 minute.
Spring from the Shadows [one-action] Feat 14
Flourish Rogue Source Player Core pg. 176
Archetypes Rose Warden, Shadowdancer, Veil Dancer
You leap from hiding and assail your target. You Stride up to your Speed, but you must end your movement next to an enemy you’re hidden from or undetected by. You then Strike that enemy; you remain hidden from or undetected by that creature until after you Strike. You can use Spring from the Shadows while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if you have the corresponding movement type.
Shelyn's Corner
×Classic Feel
Classic Feel
Classic Feel
The classic look for the Archives of Nethys.
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Book Feel
Book Feel
Book Feel
An alternative feel, based on the Rulebooks.
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Round Feel
Round Feel
Round Feel
A rounded, modern look for the archives.
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Slim Feel
Slim Feel
Slim Feel
A variant of the Round feel, more compact.
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