I've begun reading the Wheel of Time series again recently, and I love the little tidbits that R.J. puts in about Blademasters. I've always had a soft spot for those lone/wandering swordsman type characters, and I've been wanting to make a character modeled after a Blademaster.
Now, I had the notion of using a Warblade in D&D, it had manuevers and stances that all sounded like something a Blademaster would use. So what's a good class to use in PF for this type of character? I was thinking of using the Swordlord Fighter archetype, but it's based on using the blade in just one hand, whereas I've always imagined a Blademaster using the sword in both a lot of the time.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
kensai/bladebound magus or do you want full BAB?
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Well, while unfamiliar with The Wheel of Time, the Weapon Master Fighter archetype could easily work. As could Fighter more generally, if you like.
Ranger or Inquisitor could easily be made to work, too, if you want better skills and/or spellcasting. Magus (and especially Kensai) would be good, but they're even more predicated on needing to use a single-handed weapon than swordlords.
Dervish of dawn bard archetype has the skill and flare to be a great blade master. I borrowed a bit from WoT to come up with my own blade masters and an intricate set of rules, traditions, and honor duels. A Dervish of dawn is one of the most famous of these.
@B0sh1 - I was leaning more towards full BAB. I'd considered a Kensai Magus, but I'd rather not use any sort of caster. And from the different builds I've seen for Magus it just seems like they can get to dependant on spell recall to be effective.
@Deadman - Weapon Master looks quite attractive at the moment. Although I was hoping to have something more akin to a Blademasters sword forms included. If all else fails this might be my choice though.
@Byrd - I'm not to familiar with DoD Bards...I'll have to look it up.
The one that doubles inspire courage and gives dervish dance at lvl 1...
Str: 13
Dex: 15 (+2)
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 14 (+2)
Pump your dex above all else.
1) dodge
2)
3) power attack
4)
5) imp unarmed strike
6)
7) crane style
8)
9) crane wing
10)
11) crane riposte
12)
Crane style gives you that much more of a blade master feel. If you have to save feats, take a lvl of MoMS at lvl 3 for imp unarmed strike, crane style, and crane wing. Saves 2 feat slots and slows your inspire courage to +6, but if that's what you need then ok.
How about the dawnflower dervish archetype for fighter? You can easily use a two weapon style with that (the weapon training feature gives enough static bonuses to help make it worth while). Maybe a pair of decent weapons like kukris, or pair a one handed weapon with a light weapin.
The real draw of the class for me is that they get a pseudo pounce at level 11 (one move, full attack minus the highest bab attack). Admittedly, you could also use mobile fighter for the same result, but that alters the weapon training feature makes movement every round a necessity just to get the bonuses. The dawnflower dervish does not carry that baggage, since it only replaces armor training.
The two Dawnflower Dervishes have caught my eye more so than anything. I'll have to do some comparisons and see what style I like most. I'm running a beginner box session with friends soon so that they can learn the ropes, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the advice everyone, it helped a bunch!
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Samurai with ronin order (ultimate campaign) and sword saint archtype from dragon empires primer. Wandering swordsman with no master but still has his own code of honor and some nice sword moves maybe throw in some monk, there are so many archtypes there to blend in. Toss in the performance feats and style feats.
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If you're trying to keep the Wheel of Time flavor anything that requires you to wield your sword in one hand would be out (sorry Sword Saint) ...unless you're looking to play Rand from the last book that is.
Seriously though, if you want a class that gives you sword forms you should check out the Swordmaster I mentioned above. It sounds like it has everything you're looking for; full BAB, sword maneuvers (called Sword Arts), Dex based, Int bonus to AC...it's very cool.
If your DM will not allow 3PP material than, well, you need to have him make an exception. =)
Actually in wheel of time i remember a few forms that required the sword be wielded in one hand, such as Heron Wades in the Rushes, but those stances weren't always exactly advisable to use in combat xD. i would say if you have the option to do so in your campaign i would go with the Swordmaster, it looks awesome to me, and if i weren't playing mainly PFS i would play it, i might look into doing a homebrew just so i can. some things i thought about were certainly the Magus for a "dragon reborn" motif, but i eventually settled on a straight Fighter that has proficiency with and uses a Katana while wearing medium or light armor, still working on the feats and such.
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If you're trying to keep the Wheel of Time flavor anything that requires you to wield your sword in one hand would be out (sorry Sword Saint) ...unless you're looking to play Rand from the last book that is.
What about Sword Saint requires you to use one handed weapons? Katana like Bastard Sword is one or two handed.
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What about Sword Saint requires you to use one handed weapons? Katana like Bastard Sword is one or two handed.If you're trying to keep the Wheel of Time flavor anything that requires you to wield your sword in one hand would be out (sorry Sword Saint) ...unless you're looking to play Rand from the last book that is.
The part that says "The following benefits apply only when a sword saint is using a sword and carrying nothing in his other hand." At least, according to the d20pfsrd.
Which would mean his signature moves all require one hand. Not that it's too much of a big deal. He can just power attack away the rest of the time. But that is not at all what the OP is looking for I believe...
Edit: I see your confusion. I was not implying that a Sword Saint has to use one handed weapons, only that, to accomplish his signature move, a Sword Saint must be wielding a weapon in one hand. My apologies for the misunderstanding.
Well, since they can only use it once per day on the same opponent, I am sure that you could easily just use the sword two handed afterwards. I mean, what? Are you going to resheath the sword so that you could do iaijutsu again? That just seems silly.
Iaijutsu is just a cool and power attack you use at the start of the battle which can also add some status effects. It should hardly dictate your over all fighting style beyond the absence of shields and possibly large, two handed weapons. I am a bit curious now that I mention it: what happens if you tried to use iaijutsu with a greatsword? The ability seems more about drawing than traditional wielding...
If i recall correctly there is actually a Katana form that incorporates Iajutsu repetitively. it involves a series of lightning quick sword draws and feints with resheaths in between and was designed to keep your opponent off their feet. i cannot remember for the life of me the actual name of the form, but its haunting to watch because you never quite see the blade and the strikes are impossibly swift and unpredictable. i had once thought of training myself to do something similar with a single blade and multiple sheaths, to offbalance the target even more. its difficult to predict an attack that comes from a different location every time. if you are a fan of bleach one of the Ex-espada that the gang fought in los noches used a similar style.
I was going for Rurouni Kenshin myself. God... how many people on this forum do not even know what that is?! I feel sorry for you poor deprived children who never got the Toonami afternoon block.
I push for the swordmaster class mentioned above as well. I'm going to be using it soon and can't wait. ;)
I was going for Rurouni Kenshin myself. God... how many people on this forum do not even know what that is?! I feel sorry for you poor deprived children who never got the Toonami afternoon block.
Twas an awesome series, although the live action movie was a bit lacking, IMO. Still, IMO, several of those moves were pretty magical, so a Magus might be more fitting for the Batosi :)
I've played a Sword Saint very briefly during a local session, and I can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't think of that before. It's so obvious, and it fits pretty well. My only issue is that it's an alpha strike character.
Also, that Swordmaster class looks pretty awesome. I'm definitely going to try to get it past my DM (when I find one that is). This area feels like it's devoid of tabletop gamers, and I really don't know if I want to drive to Dallas for a PFS game every weekend.
EDIT: Rurouni Kenshin and Ninja Scroll were both really great to be honest. Another one I liked was Sword of the Stranger. I know it's rather recent but I totally dug it and it's now one of my favorites.