Legendary Swashbucklers (PFRPG)

Now available!

Woohoo, thanks Liz!

If you like swashbucklers, you are going to love this book. Alex really went all out in creating a ton of great content, and I added a few things of my own to round out the book. This is a class that is a lot of fun to play, and this book dials that up to eleven.

I also want to give a shout-out to several new artists (well, new to LG anyway) on this project, including Alyssa Menold (creator of the cover art above), Melissa Gay, and Phill Simpson!

I really did go crazy in this book. :D

Think of the Legendary Swashbuckler as an unchained version of the class. It is completely redesigned, with new class features and deeds supporting classic ones. In most places, it is a straight-up buff to the swashbuckler while keeping the soul of the class in tact (and enhanced).

Examples. The swashbuckler gets an ability called finesse training, which is like the unchained rogue ability of the same name; you pick a few weapons to deal Dex to damage with. The swashbuckler gets this ability more often than the rogue (as she should; she's supposed to be the master of Dextrous fighting), ending with 5 chosen weapons by 20th level.

The biggest change is the concept of personages, which function like a cavalier's order or a sorcerer's bloodline. The personage represents the source of the swashbuckler's panache; the personality trait or goal that defines where her recklessness and bravado stem from. Legendary Swashbucklers include seven choices, including the aristocrat, the buccaneer, the phantom, and the madcap. Each personage has a base ability at 1st level, three more abilities as the swashbuckler levels up, and one unique deed at 3rd level, 7th level, 11th level, 15th level, and 19th level. In order to balance out all of the new deeds (some familiar, some brand-spanking new), I cut some deeds from the base swashbuckler class, so you generally have the same number of deeds as an ACG swashbuckler, but your deeds are better tailored to your personality and background.

The final change that I want to mention is to swashbuckler finesse. It no longer applies only to light and one-handed piercing melee weapons. Instead, at 1st level you pick one fighter weapon group and you can use Weapon Finesse with every melee weapon in that group. This way you can be a buccaneer swashbuckler who can finesse cutlasses at level 1. Or picks if you're a dwarf. Or the elven curved blade or even the quarterstaff if you don't feel you'll need the precise strike deed very much. All of the swashbuckler deeds in the class have been updated to note when they require a weapon that belongs to a fighter weapon group that you have chosen with swashbuckler weapon training, which is a combined version of the ACG's swashbuckler finesse and swashbuckler weapon training abilities. (Same scale, singular name.) You also can pick more weapons with a scaling system that works like fighters selecting their weapon training.

Hope this entices you enough to check out Legendary Swashbucklers! If it does well, maybe I can convince Jason to let me give a similar treatment to gunslingers down the road.... ;-)

Any love for the classic Sword and dagger look?

Hope this entices you enough to check out Legendary Swashbucklers! If it does well, maybe I can convince Jason to let me give a similar treatment to gunslingers down the road.... ;-)

It all sounds great to me, and I'd definitely buy 'Legendary Gunslingers'.

Any love for the classic Sword and dagger look?

Legendary Swashbucklers includes updates for every Paizo archetype to make it compatible with the legendary swashbuckler class, as well as updates for every archetype in my Everyman Options: Swashbuckler product. There's at least one sword and dagger option among all of that.

Dot

Alexander Augunas wrote:

Hope this entices you enough to check out Legendary Swashbucklers! If it does well, maybe I can convince Jason to let me give a similar treatment to gunslingers down the road.... ;-)

It all sounds great to me, and I'd definitely buy 'Legendary Gunslingers'.

I think there's a 100% chance that we'll do a Legendary Gunslingers at some point. If only I could find someone passionate about the project who would like to do it. I wonder where I could find such a person... :)

I think there's a 100% chance that we'll do a Legendary Gunslingers at some point. If only I could find someone passionate about the project who would like to do it. I wonder where I could find such a person... :)

I hear there's this guy named Alex that might have an interest in something like that, but I'm not 100% sure. <_< ... >_>

You may want to look into that.

Sounds like a decision that might fox you.

But considering the demand, you'd probably better get someone onto that kit soon, eh?

Sounds like a decision that might fox you.

But considering the demand, you'd probably better get someone onto that kit soon, eh?

Ooo, Legendary Punslinger :)

Mister Augunas did a great job with this one. Between the personas and archetypes you should be able to build just about any sort of swashbuckler imaginable.

I only have two really really minor complaints:

1) Why remove the ability to use Charisma in place of Intelligence to qualify for combat feats? Was it deemed too overpowered?

2) Though this probably wouldn't have been the best place for it, I still wish we could have gotten an archetype for Aldori Swordlords. The Aldori dueling sword can be used with Weapon Finesse if you've got the Exotic Weapon Prof., it seems like it'd work with most swashbuckler class abilities as well. Really a minor nitpick, I know, but I would have enjoyed seeing it.

And does the Aldori blade count as Heavy or Light Blades for the fighter weapon groups?

Really again this is a great, great piece of work. I'd buy any more Legendary Classes Mister Augunas does in the future for Legendary Games.

1) Why remove the ability to use Charisma in place of Intelligence to qualify for combat feats? Was it deemed too overpowered?

This is totally biased, I'm aware, but I never thought the "Cha for Int" ability make sense. The fantasy of the swashbuckler is someone who is both charming and witting, and telling swashbucklers that dumping Intelligence is encouraged for the class never made sense. In my opinion, it makes more sense to build options into the class that allow the swashbuckler to break the norm (i.e. with a personage focused around combat maneuvers) rather than breaking the norm for the entire class.

2) Though this probably wouldn't have been the best place for it, I still wish we could have gotten an archetype for Aldori Swordlords. The Aldori dueling sword can be used with Weapon Finesse if you've got the Exotic Weapon Prof., it seems like it'd work with most swashbuckler class abilities as well. Really a minor nitpick, I know, but I would have enjoyed seeing it.

And does the Aldori blade count as Heavy or Light Blades for the fighter weapon groups?

The problem with doing anything Aldori as a 3PP is that you can't call the weapon by its true name, the Aldori Dueling Sword. Most of us shorten it to the "dueling sword," but that's a really unsatisfying name to call a weapon because in theory, every sword is a dueling sword. That said, with the reworkings of the swashbuckler class in Legendary Swashbucklers, building an Aldori Swordlord out of the standard Swashbuckler is MUCH easier because you get to decide what weapons you can finesse and when, thanks to the new swashbuckler weapon training class feature.

Really again this is a great, great piece of work. I'd buy any more Legendary Classes Mister Augunas does in the future for Legendary Games.

At the very least, I'm doing the Legendary Gunslinger ;-). Expect more in the line of personages, save with gunslinger slants rather than swashbuckler ones. (Think of the difference between sorcerer bloodlines and bloodrager bloodlines for an apt comparison.) Also, one of the biggest problems that I, personally, think that the gunslinger has (that doesn't involve the base firearms rules, that is) is the fact that the grit regeneration mechanic doesn't "click" for the gunslinger like it does for the swashbuckler. That's something big that I want to fix; I want to give gunslingers a more reliable means of regenerating grit.

Mister Augunas, thanks for the response.

And let me add I like how you re-did the Picaroon and Musketeer archetypes for the Swashbuckler.

Mister Augunas, thanks for the response.

And let me add I like how you re-did the Picaroon and Musketeer archetypes for the Swashbuckler.

Thanks!

Originally I was going to combine the picaroon and the musketeer into a single personage, but I changed that late-game when I decided that, for the most part, weapon preference wasn't enough of a basis for what I wanted a personage to represent. (The personality quirk that lay at the heart of the swashbuckler's panache.) With that idea, solidified, I split them back up into independent archetypes in the form you see today. :)

I just gave this one a review, and I really hopes it helps to sell some copies of what I consider to be the best support for the swashbuckler I've seen. I also hope you consider doing something like this for the fighter and cavalier classes as well.

I just gave this one a review, and I really hopes it helps to sell some copies of what I consider to be the best support for the swashbuckler I've seen. I also hope you consider doing something like this for the fighter and cavalier classes as well.

Jason was talking about doing Legendary Fighters. I think my next Legendary Class's product is going to be Legendary Gunslingers.

I'm honestly not sure what I'd do for cavaliers. The cavalier is an awesome class if you get to use your mount. That's sort of the big "if" button, and a cavalier is as hurt from being unable to use his mount as a fighter is from being unable to use his fighter training weapon (perhaps more so).

The class proper is much the same as in the Advanced Class Guide, though Charmed Life seems oddly worded. It says:

Charmed Life (Ex): At 3rd level, while the swashbuckler has
at least 1 panache point as an immediate action before
attempting a saving throw to add her Charisma modifier to
the result of the save. She must choose to do this before the
roll is made.

I imagine it means that the swashbuckler can apply their Charisma modifier if positive to a saving throw, but I'm not sure if it still has a limited number of uses per day or not.

You add your modifier, so if your Charisma is negative, you penalize yourself when using charmed life. I designed it that way as a deterrent from dumping Charisma as a swashbuckler, which a surprising number of people try to do. (Panache always gives 1 point regardless of your Charisma, for instance.) If you want to be nice, you could add (minimum 0) to this if you'd like. I wouldn't, but you can if you want to.

Also, its uses per day are not limited. You're giving up a point of panache and your swift/immediate action for the turn, both of which are a big deal to a swashbuckler. Charmed life's relative weakness in the standard class is something I specifically wanted to fix in this product.

I'm surprised this used the playtest content for vigilante, considering it might change in Ultimate Intrigue and the fact so many people hated those rules.

Eric Hinkle wrote:

I just gave this one a review, and I really hopes it helps to sell some copies of what I consider to be the best support for the swashbuckler I've seen. I also hope you consider doing something like this for the fighter and cavalier classes as well.

Jason was talking about doing Legendary Fighters. I think my next Legendary Class's product is going to be Legendary Gunslingers.

I'm honestly not sure what I'd do for cavaliers. The cavalier is an awesome class if you get to use your mount. That's sort of the big "if" button, and a cavalier is as hurt from being unable to use his mount as a fighter is from being unable to use his fighter training weapon (perhaps more so).

I will definitely buy both Legendary Fighters and Gunslingers.

And thanks for the explanation on Charmed Life, it makes that much clearer to me.

It's definitely an awesome product. I can actually keep track of the deeds now. Just one problem: between the swashbuckler and the brawler, the old fighter is just getting more and more irrelevant. Maybe it's time it became Legendary too? Maybe place a greater focus on the unrelenting powerhouse or living fortress aspect of the class since this has the nimble duelist role filled?

It's definitely an awesome product. I can actually keep track of the deeds now. Just one problem: between the swashbuckler and the brawler, the old fighter is just getting more and more irrelevant. Maybe it's time it became Legendary too? Maybe place a greater focus on the unrelenting powerhouse or living fortress aspect of the class since this has the nimble duelist role filled?

I don't know what Jason has planned for the Legendary Fighter, but if I were to unchain the fighter, this would be my philosophy:

— The fighter's strength is getting the most out of his feats. That's essentially the heart and soul of the stamina pool mechanic from Pathfinder Unchained, and no one sans the fighter should be able to do it better.

— Fighters should be able to ignore some of the game's feat taxes because they're awesome.

— Fighters are weapon specialists and shouldn't have to wait until Level 5 to begin specializing in weapons.

— The fighter's "niche" is numerical bonuses.

— Martial Flexibility "feels" more like a fighter mechanic then a brawler mechanic.

Mister Augunas, those really all sound like great ideas. I hope they get used in Legendary Fighter, which cannot come out soon enough to satisfy me.

I don't know what Jason has planned for the Legendary Fighter, but if I were to unchain the fighter, this would be my philosophy:

— The fighter's strength is getting the most out of his feats. That's essentially the heart and soul of the stamina pool mechanic from Pathfinder Unchained, and no one sans the fighter should be able to do it better.

— Fighters should be able to ignore some of the game's feat taxes because they're awesome.

— Fighters are weapon specialists and shouldn't have to wait until Level 5 to begin specializing in weapons.

— The fighter's "niche" is numerical bonuses.

— Martial Flexibility "feels" more like a fighter mechanic then a brawler mechanic.

Especially when you look at the sheer number of combat feats (some of which can be a little situational)! Even without a lot of the excellent third party products out there, there's just too many to choose from.

As for the weapon/fighting style specialization and disregarding feat taxes, sounds like something similar to the ranger's combat style ability would be in order.

And of course...bravery and the capstone.

I'd agree that martial versatility feels like should always have been a fighter class feature. I tried to incorporate something like it with the Martial Versatility feats in the ARG for humans, and those are nice enough, but when PF was written it was trying to keep pretty close to its 3.5 roots and something like that was probably too big a departure to enter into the conversation.

Of course, with the Legendary Fighter, all bets are off... :)

Reviewed first on endzeitgeist.com, then submitted to Nerdtrek and GMS magazine and posted here, on OBS and d20pfsrd.com's shop.

Coming back here, let me also say that I enjoy the idea behind the Heightened Blade archetype, which allows for something like oracle curses for non-spellcasters. The way it's done it can be easily reworked for, say rogues or cavaliers that want the archetype as well.

Heck, I'd buy a whole (though very likely short) PDF that used more of the oracle curses this way, like wolfscarred face or others.

Interesting idea...

This book is amazing! Definitely worth the purchase.
I did notice a few oddities though, and I have a several questions.
First of all, there were a few minor differences between the regular and Legendary swashbuckler that I'm not sure were intentional.
- Craft is no longer a class skill, which struck me as odd because EVERY class has Craft as a class skill.
- Bonus Feats did not receive a descriptive section. I assume the regular rules still apply (combat feats only, Swash levels count as Fighter levels, trade one out every 4 levels), but as written there's nothing to go off of.
- Opportune Parry and Riposte's incompatibility with Signature Deed has been removed, was that intentional? I certainly hope it was.
- The Daredevil Personage's Daredevil's Dart give the character the ability to use Spring Attack at level 7, but then at level 10 they gain the Spring Attack feat. What was the point of that?
- How does the Ronin's Favored Weapon Training interact with weapons like the Estoc, Bastard Sword, or Flambard that use either Martial or Exotic proficiency? "She gains proficiency with that weapon if she wouldn’t normally be proficient with it" Swashbucklers are proficient with them two-handed already, does this make them proficient with them one-handed?
- The Ronin's Resolve ability replaces Uncanny Dodge. What happens at 8th level when they gain Improved Uncanny Dodge?
- The Ronin's Order Abilities feature reads: "Beginning at 2nd level, Beginning at 4th level, the ronin may..." I assume the "2nd level" bit isn't supposed to be there since bonus feats only start at 4th level..
- The Vainglorious archetype (I love this one, it's like qinggong Swashbuckler!) lists Dodging Panache in the level 3 list. Shouldn't this be Daring Stride, its replacement?
- Inspired Blade's Inspired Focus seems really weird in practice. They only gain the benefits of swashbuckler weapon training with weapons they have Weapon Focus with. It looks like they still accrue weapon groups every four levels that they can't benefit from until they take Weapon Focus again, and furthermore, Finesse Training still applies to weapons in selected groups. (Strength to hit and Dex to damage, I've never seen that before!) Was Inspired Blade supposed to get another Weapon Focus feat for free when they select a new weapon group?
Thanks in advance for clarification.

- Craft is no longer a class skill, which struck me as odd because EVERY class has Craft as a class skill.

That's an error.

- Bonus Feats did not receive a descriptive section. I assume the regular rules still apply (combat feats only, Swash levels count as Fighter levels, trade one out every 4 levels), but as written there's nothing to go off of.

It should follow the same rules as the ACG Swashbuckler in this regard.

- Opportune Parry and Riposte's incompatibility with Signature Deed has been removed, was that intentional? I certainly hope it was.

If I remember correctly, this book came out before Paizo's errata did, so its less "the incompatibility has been removed," and more "the incompatibility didn't exist when we created the product." That is, assuming I remember it correctly.

Having sat at the table with a Paizo swashbuckler who was optimized for panache regain, my answer is No. The deed should remain incompatible with Signature Deed.

- The Daredevil Personage's Daredevil's Dart give the character the ability to use Spring Attack at level 7, but then at level 10 they gain the Spring Attack feat. What was the point of that?

That's an oversight on my part. The deed needs a line that basically says, "If you have Spring Attack already, you can spend 1 panache point to use Spring Attack against an adjacent foe, and you do not need to move at least 10 feet when using Spring Attack." Basically, you get the feat by spending panache before 10th level, and at 10th level you spend panache to make the feat better. I'll talk to Jason and see what we can make happen.

- How does the Ronin's Favored Weapon Training interact with weapons like the Estoc, Bastard Sword, or Flambard that use either Martial or Exotic proficiency? "She gains proficiency with that weapon if she wouldn’t normally be proficient with it" Swashbucklers are proficient with them two-handed already, does this make them proficient with them one-handed?

She would gain proficiency with its use as a one-handed weapon. There's no need to penalize flavorful weapons like the estoc when as written, the ronin can pick an elven curve blade with no questions asked.

- The Ronin's Resolve ability replaces Uncanny Dodge. What happens at 8th level when they gain Improved Uncanny Dodge?

As per the archetype rules in Pathfinder RPG: Advanced Class Guide, she would gain uncanny dodge.

- The Ronin's Order Abilities feature reads: "Beginning at 2nd level, Beginning at 4th level, the ronin may..." I assume the "2nd level" bit isn't supposed to be there since bonus feats only start at 4th level.

"Beginning at 2nd level," should be omitted. You get the ability at 4th level.

- The Vainglorious archetype (I love this one, it's like qinggong Swashbuckler!) lists Dodging Panache in the level 3 list. Shouldn't this be Daring Stride, its replacement?

Yes.

Inspired Blade's Inspired Focus seems really weird in practice. They only gain the benefits of swashbuckler weapon training with weapons they have Weapon Focus with. It looks like they still accrue weapon groups every four levels that they can't benefit from until they take Weapon Focus again, and furthermore, Finesse Training still applies to weapons in selected groups. (Strength to hit and Dex to damage, I've never seen that before!) Was Inspired Blade supposed to get another Weapon Focus feat for free when they select a new weapon group?

Nope. Its supposed to be suboptimal unless you spend feats on it.

One more thing, what's the deal with Swashbuckler's Grace and Superior Feint? They're not present on the list of deeds at level seven, but the Rapscallion and Picaroon archetypes still list them to be swapped out. Superior Feint was relocated to be a Vagabond's Personage Deed, but it seems silly and unintended that only vagabonds can be Picaroons.

Will this be available in print?

One more thing, what's the deal with Swashbuckler's Grace and Superior Feint? They're not present on the list of deeds at level seven, but the Rapscallion and Picaroon archetypes still list them to be swapped out. Superior Feint was relocated to be a Vagabond's Personage Deed, but it seems silly and unintended that only vagabonds can be Picaroons.

I have to second this question. I'm embarassed it took me this long to notice just how few deeds the baseline legendary swashbuckler gets at 7th level. Was that intentional?

Will this be available in print?

It already is!

It's a long shot here, but I was wondering if this product was going to get an update with the errata Mr. Augunas provided above. In addition, to echo Bashamo and Eric Hinkle, is the base Legendary Swashbuckler only supposed to have 1 deed (Targeted Strike) gained at 7th level?

CB

Bump.