I tried to make a slight variant to the playtest samurai, something a bit more honor like and a bit less mounted. Needless to say it flopped, but I thought I might as well present what I came up with to spark some imagination for potential options to mess around with in the future.
Samurai
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The Samurai’s class skills are Bluff, Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Perception, and Swim
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: 1/1 Fort: Good Ref: Bad Will: Bad
Level Special
1st Challenge 1/day, order, honor’s way, devoted heirloom
2nd Order ability
3rd Ijitsu
4th Challenge 2/day, Weapon expertise
5th Banner
6th Bonus Feat
7th Challenge 3/day
8th Order ability
9th Greater honor’s way
10th Challenge 4/day
11th Greater Ijitsu
12th Bonus feat, demanding challenge
13th Challenge 5/day
14th Greater banner
15th Order ability
16th Challenge 6/day
17th Undying Honor
18th Bonus feat
19th Challenge 7/day
20th Supreme Honor
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the samurai.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, plus the katana, naginata, and wakizashi. Samurai are proficient with all types of armor (heavy, light, and medium) and with shields (except tower shields).
Honor’s way (Ex): A samurai uses his honor to raise himself to greatness. Through actions of reserve and humility the samurai can accumulate his honor. Once a day a samurai may give homage to his ancestors or family through praying to a shrine, meditating, or performing a ritual for at least 15 minutes to gain an honor point. A samurai can also gain honor points by defeating a challenged foe or by doing an act that the GM sees exemplary of honor within the samurai’s order. The samurai can accumulate up to the number of points equal to his charisma modifier. These honor points may be used to enhance his social and combat prowess.
Combat presence: As a swift action a samurai can use an honor point to get a bonus to his attack rolls equal to his charisma modifier plus half his level (minimum 1) till the end of his next round.
Social presence: A samurai may add his level to diplomacy or intimidate checks for an hour after using an honor point.
Determined: As a move action, a samurai can spend one use of his honor points to remove the fatigued, shaken, or sickened condition. If these conditions have a duration longer than 1 hour or are permanent, this ability removes the condition for 1 hour, at which time the condition returns.
Resolute: Whenever the samurai is required to make a Fortitude or Will save, he can spend one use of an honor point as an immediate action to roll twice and take the better result. He must decide to use this ability before he rolls the saving throw.
Devoted Heirloom: At 1st level, a samurai inherits an intelligent item that harbors the spirit of the samurai’s family, clan, or order. This item may be a katana, wakazashi, naginata, or longbow. The heirloom is a masterwork weapon intelligent item that grows in power with its wielder. Starting at level 4 the heirloom becomes a +1 magic weapon, and every three levels after either increases its bonus or may use some of its bonus to gain an enhancement. In addition the heirloom may store an unused honor point that may be used at any time.
If the heirloom is every lost or destroyed the samurai loses any stored honor points and the samurai may not accumulate or use honor points until he finds a new weapon to house the spirit of his original. In order to bring the spirit into a new weapon, the samurai must find or have made a non-magical masterwork weapon of the same type as the original and meditate in a ritual for three days. The ritual costs materials worth the samurai’s level times 1000gp.
Ijitsu (Ex): At 3rd level, a samurai gains the ability to use a unique combat maneuver of ijitsu. Ijitsu is a swift action that can only be used when the samurai draws his weapon while within melee range of the target. The samurai does a combat maneuver check against his target; if he succeeds the target is considered flat-footed for the rest of the round. This combat maneuver may be used at the end of a charge, and if it succeeds it will stop any readied action or attack of opportunity in response to the charge. (Being a combat maneuver ijitsu still provokes an attack of opportunity unless the samurai has the feat improved ijitsu.)
Greater honor’s way (Ex): At 9th level, a samurai’s power of honor gain in effectiveness. Whenever someone is effected by an attack or skill enhanced by combat presences or social presence, the target must make a Will save with a DC equal to the samurai’s charisma modifier + 10, or become shaken. This effect does not accumulate to make a target frightened or panicked. Also a samurai may use determined to alternatively remove the exhausted, frightened, nauseated, or staggered condition.
Whirlwind ijitsu (Ex): At 11th level, when using ijitsu a samurai may use an honor point to use the combat maneuver on as many targets within range as he has attacks he can use that combat round. Only one roll needs to be made for all targets of the maneuver when used this way. Also when used with a charge a samurai may spend an honor point to attack foes along the way of the charge while using ijitsu as if you weren’t mobile.
Undying honor (Ex): At 17th level, a samurai will gambit his honor and life on his allies. While in combat a samurai may spend all his honor points with a minimum of 3 as a full-round action to dedicate himself to this battle. From that point on if the samurai goes all out and gives it his all until his death. After that if the samurai and his allies are victorious through defeating, thwarting, or chasing off all enemies the samurai will be revived at the end of combat with 0 hp and is weakened for one week.
Unquestionable honor (Ex): At 20th level, a samurai’s honor is beyond measure and no longer needs to spend honor points on the level 1 honor’s way abilities. However he may spend an honor point as an immediate action in display of his honor to double his attack bonus, damage, or critical range of his next attack he uses. A samurai’s devoted heirloom will not defy its owner, nor can the heirloom be lost, damaged, or destroyed. If anything would happen to the heirloom it simply returns intact in its owner’s possession immediately afterwards.
*I excluded any class features already stated in the original class.