I am currently building a samurai with the sword saint template and though I normally have little problem building melee combatants, I'm somewhat at a loss. Mostly it's because I don't want to just have my options be "I hit. I hit. I challenge. I hit."
While grinding the meatbags that are monsters into hamburger is plenty fun, I want to have more options in combat. The obvious choice here is doing something Combat Maneuver related but... I'm looking for something that will be a bit more dynamic, or at least interesting than "I trip. I sunder. I disarm".
Right now I am looking at the Dazzling Display/Shatter Defenses/Deadly Stroke feat chain with Wave Strike in there and while it is slightly more interesting than "I hit. I hit. I hit." since it needs to be set up to be effective, it ends up being "I Intimidate. I hit. Con bleed!" and I want a few more options under my belt.
The other issue I am having is optimizing the iaijutsu strike attack of the sword saint. I realize that it has the opportunity to come into play rarely because of all the restrictions layed on it (must have weapon sheathed, must not have attacked enemy before during this encounter, can only be used on a target of challenge, can only be used 1/day on said target) so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas beyond Power Attack in getting the most out of it.
Stats are: Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 13. Yes, I know that's not optimized for 25 point buy but I'm not looking to dump my stats down.
3 levels in two-handed fighter would give you a little more oomph on your ijaijutsu attack. It would also give you a small boost to your sundering, should you use it. I would also consider critical focus feats for that free crit threat that you get 1/day.
He is a samurai3 levels in two-handed fighter would give you a little more oomph on your ijaijutsu attack. It would also give you a small boost to your sundering, should you use it. I would also consider critical focus feats for that free crit threat that you get 1/day.As a magus however he must fight with one hand free, as I'm assuming he's not looking into giving up spell combat.
I am currently building a samurai with the sword saint template
Well you've got sunder, disarm, feint, and of course the various maneuvers of the template itself. What more are you looking for?
Mostly seeing if anyone has seen any feat chains that let you do something outside the norm for a melee fighter that would allow me to do something other than hit or use a combat maneuver. Even better, one that lets me set people up for more devastating strikes or unorthodox uses of combat maneuvers. I know it's very vague but I really can't think of any combat related feats for a melee combatant that isn't "Attack" or "Combat Maneuver". Perhaps status effects and such like shaken, dazed, paralyzed, stunned and such. I know the Critical feats allow some of those but are there other feats?
3 levels in two-handed fighter would give you a little more oomph on your ijaijutsu attack. It would also give you a small boost to your sundering, should you use it. I would also consider critical focus feats for that free crit threat that you get 1/day.
Good suggestion but I'd rather not multiclass. I've never been a fan and it makes me wait for my samurai skillZ. I'm planning on the critical feats later, namely Staggering Critical.
Actually, I just looked over the Chevalier prestige class. For maximum damage, I would pick up 3 levels in that to get 1/day smite evil. That means you have, assuming 17 in samurai and 3 and chevalier, +37 to an evil foe for the duration of a combat. +57 on the first hit against an evil undead, dragon, etc.
As a magus however he must fight with one hand free, as I'm assuming he's not looking into giving up spell combat.
You're probably thinking the kensai magus archetype. Understandable, as "kensai" and "sword saint" mean pretty much the same thing if I'm not mistaken. :D
Actually, I just looked over the Chevalier prestige class. For maximum damage, I would pick up 3 levels in that to get 1/day smite evil. That means you have, assuming 17 in samurai and 3 and chevalier, +37 to an evil foe for the duration of a combat. +57 on the first hit against an evil undead, dragon, etc.
Actually a solid suggestion. I may be able to free up some points, though the flavor of the PrC really isn't this character at all. That, in itself, is important to the GM (and me).
Actually, I just looked over the Chevalier prestige class. For maximum damage, I would pick up 3 levels in that to get 1/day smite evil. That means you have, assuming 17 in samurai and 3 and chevalier, +37 to an evil foe for the duration of a combat. +57 on the first hit against an evil undead, dragon, etc.Actually a solid suggestion. I may be able to free up some points, though the flavor of the PrC really isn't this character at all. That, in itself, is important to the GM (and me).
What is this character? That would help if you want thematic suggestions. :P
EDIT: A character for Jade Regent; He is a swordsman trained in an archaic Minkain fighting style that follows the philosophy of ichimeiyo (basically like bushido). Very honorable and stoic, a pretty SERIOUS BUSINESS, GUYS! kinda guy. Honour, courage, valor, perfecting the way of the sword, all that fun stuff. A ronin as he's never pledged himself to a lord, just a way of life. Pretty archetypal Japanese-wandering-swordsman-with-honor.
What I have right now is the following:
1st: Weapon Focus (katana), Dazzling Dispay [human bonus feat]
3rd: Intimidating Prowess or Wave Strike
5th: Blind-Fight (Jade Regent, lots of ninja apparantly)
6th (samurai bonus): Shatter Defenses
7th: Iron Will or Power Attack
9th: Greater Weapon Focus (katana)
11th: Deadly Stroke
12th (samurai bonus): Critical Focus
13th: Staggering Critical
15th+: ???
Equipment trick (scabbard) stuff could be fun. (from Armory)
I would look at the bladed scabbard from the adventurer's armory. I was also thinking of a sword saint and I thought it would be cool how he would initially fight with his blade in its scabbard until he encountered a worthy foe, and then Ijitsu strike then.
EA: I also like the equipment trick, fun flavor for the character.
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I would look at the bladed scabbard from the adventurer's armory. I was also thinking of a sword saint and I thought it would be cool how he would initially fight with his blade in its scabbard until he encountered a worthy foe, and then Ijitsu strike then.
EA: I also like the equipment trick, fun flavor for the character.
OO I Like that Idea..
I was looking at Equipment Trick (combat scabbard) this morning. It's strange that the bladed one is similar to a scimitar (1d6/18-20 damage) but the regular one is an improvised weapon (1d6/x2; Bludgeoning). That hasn't been errata'd has it?
Using the combat scabbard as a weapon fits nicely, he doesn't draw his blade unless he's going to put the murder on someone; it's just too bad that it's an improvised weapon. Still, Catch Off-Guard is not a bad feat. Not enough feat slots to do everything I want as a samurai! ARGH! I might have to look into fighter, though I'd really rather not.
@Josh: I had a tentative secondary build going with Improved Init. Right now he has a +4 without the feat (Reactionary + 14 Dex).
How can we expand on the "Fighting with your sword sheathed" Idea? I really like the Image it puts in my head. Maybe Mix with Monk?
Same here. Watched "Sword of the Stranger" last night and the ronin fought like that.
Catch-Off Guard + Combat Expertise + Improved Disarm + Deadly Stroke while using a regular combat scabbard allows you to do double damage + 1 Con bleed as a standard action, mixing in with Shattered Defenses (a prereq) you're looking at making your opponent flat footed against you until the end of your next turn which opens up a possibility of an iaijutsu strike the next turn followed by another Deadly Stroke. All by 11th level as a human. Because you're attacking people with your scabbard, you're pretty much always set up for an iaijutsu strike as long as you don't hit the person you want to use that ability against. You can throw in Improvised Weapon Mastery at 12th level (bonus feat) to up the scabbard damage to 1d8/19-20 bludgeoning. Enchant it with the defending property.
If you're going the Dazzling Display route, think of picking up Order of the Cockatrice. It gets some fitting bonuses. Nobody said you can't be a greedy samurai, trying to steal all the glory to impress his lord (or lady)
How can we expand on the "Fighting with your sword sheathed" Idea? I really like the Image it puts in my head. Maybe Mix with Monk?Same here. Watched "Sword of the Stranger" last night and the ronin fought like that.
Catch-Off Guard + Combat Expertise + Improved Disarm + Deadly Stroke while using a regular combat scabbard allows you to do double damage + 1 Con bleed as a standard action, mixing in with Shattered Defenses (a prereq) you're looking at making your opponent flat footed against you until the end of your next turn which opens up a possibility of an iaijutsu strike the next turn followed by another Deadly Stroke. All by 11th level as a human. Because you're attacking people with your scabbard, you're pretty much always set up for an iaijutsu strike as long as you don't hit the person you want to use that ability against. You can throw in Improvised Weapon Mastery at 12th level (bonus feat) to up the scabbard damage to 1d8/19-20 bludgeoning. Enchant it with the defending property.
I was looking at the Combat Scabbard http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons#weapons-martial. It is listed as a one handed Martial weapon, which I think means anyone with Martial Weapon expertise can use it as a weapon. Of course this is off the PFSRD, so there might be information you are getting from the Adventure's Armory that further clarifies it.
In the most recent errata it has the improvised weapon quality which applies a -4 penalty on attack rolls without Catch Off-Guard.
In the most recent errata it has the improvised weapon quality which applies a -4 penalty on attack rolls without Catch Off-Guard.
Cool, good to know, thanks!
Hmm. I'm wondering how I can implement this to good effect.
The obvious choice is the sharpened combat scabbard. It's only a single damage die less than the katana and has the same critical threat range, it just doesn't have the deadly property. The only problem I have with this thing is I couldn't imagine how you would wear it without hurting yourself. Part of the reason to sheathe a weapon, besides to protect it, is to carry it without hurting yourself and the sharpened combat scabbard seems very counter intuitive. That being said, it is a great way to open up combat while still having the option of using the iaijutsu strike.
The other option is using the regular combat scabbard. The problem with it though is that it is an improvised weapon that does 1d6 bludgeoning damage with a x2 critical, threaten only on a natural 20. Nowhere near as good as the sharpened version, yet it is a little less far fetched than carrying a blade in a scabbard as sharp as it is. The other bonus is that with Catch Off-Guard, you treat your opponent as flat-footed against all your attacks as long as he is unarmed. This synergizes very nicely with Deadly Stroke but it is heavily feat intensive. Especially if I take Improvised Weapon Mastery later to increase the damage to 1d8 and the threat range to 19-20 but it hardly seems worth it.
I really like the visuals, I think I've found his fighting style but I'm wondering if anyone has some feat recommendations. Are there any other feats out there that people are aware of that do something neat when your opponent is flat-footed to take advantage of the improvised weapon quality of the combat scabbard?
If its not for PFS you could try to convince your GM to let you use a aldoran dueling sword, take EWP and other according feats. I think that is a nice synergy and fits very well actually. And when you got aldoran dueling master feat you really rock.
I like the katana more because it works better with a high Strength character, doesn't require a feat (EWP) for a samurai and has an 18-20 critical threat range.
Aldori Dueling Mastery just gives you a +2 bonus to your initiative check (and only when wielding the weapon) and gives you a small shield bonus. Not really worth 5 feats, one of which is Weapon Finesse, at least in this case.
If you are playing a kensai magus however, it's not bad at all IMO since you get two of those feats for free and are going to be wielding a weapon with one hand anyways.
Little late to the party... but had you considered using opening volley with the equipment trick Hurl Scabbard? You'd have free ranged attack always prepped... and you could carry a spare normal scabbard that you could re-sheath your katana in.
Actually Samarai and sword saint work as a switch hitter.
Walk around with your bow in hand. Shoot people. Hell, you could even challenge a dude from.ranged and arrow him ( getting your damage bonus) then when he attacks you, quickdraw (you get this for free) and iajutsu strike!
If you take cornugan smash you would have auto- intimidated him and can follow up with a Deadly stroke.