Is there something PF likewise that is similar to his batojutsu (fast draw skills that usually kill with one move)?
The Iaijutsu features of the kensai match Kenshin's abilities pretty well (he often wins initiative that then becomes a readied action). It will take some refluffing, but using a Shocking Grasp (perhaps changed to force damage) could work pretty well, IMO. You could translate some of his moves into spells, and just determine an appropriate spell level for them.
I have dotted this thread because I am also interested in people's ideas regarding a Kenshin-like character. Personally, I think one or two levels of a reflavoured barbarian might also be useful for the speed. What do you think?
I'd actually go with a slightly modified duelist (so he can use his katana - whether statted as the UCombat katana, brevoyan sword, scimitar etc) with a feat, allowing him to deal non-lethal damage without penalties. For a base class, I'd use fighter (weapon master or swordlord) for a base and possibly a few rogue or ranger levels before the PrC.
Now, duelists don't seem to get a lot of attention, but I think they can work great for Kenshin and a few other characters from that story. What do you get with a duelist:
- extra damage when you use a single, not two-handed weapon. Note this does not preclude actually using the weapon two handed for extra damage, just that it should not be a two-handed weapon.
- extra AC when using light or no armor.
- a bonus to initiative and AC vs attacks of opportunity that stack with the respective feats.
- assorted other goodies that help a mobile combatant with single weapon.
It isn't a perfect fit for every single ability, but I think it covers most bases and I'm not particularly fond of using magic-using classes for what is essentially a highly skilled fighter. I think you can do a decent job approximating the special moves as combinations of feats or class features. If you really, really had to give him special abilities, I'd actually suggest looking up psionics, such as the psychic warrior with the ascetic or weaponmaster path).
To be fair, Kenshin should not have any magical powers. The best representation of what he should be is the Samurai archetype Sword Saint.
The main problem being that it isn't really any good.
I would caution you when trying this to use in a real game that you may be disappointed depending on the campaign. If it is a small group and the DM does not mind making one character shine above the rest, then he can give you some help like better ability scores, access to more items, etc. To make him truly in the scope of Kenshin he should be heads and tails above his companions. I know that he traveled with a small group of friends and sometimes enemies, but that works well for story telling and not so well for role-playing games as nobody likes to be the sidekick.
That being said the Magus (Kensai) would be a good fit, however, as mentioned Kenshin is not a caster. Maybe some monk with samurai would be good, but I would hate to multi-class too much to dilute his effectiveness.
I really liked the iajitsu rules from the Oriental Adventures for 3.0 as it allowed for mental duels and that first strike goodness similar to a sneak attack. Maybe your DM would allow you to bring something like that into play.
Either way, he will be a stat heavy build unless you use items to make up the AC issues he would face for no armor. I will stay tuned to listen to more ideas from thread as well.
I think Monk + Sword Saint + Blade of the Sword Saint (flurry-able katana) would do a nice creation of Kenshin. Deiciding where to break the levels may be a little difficult, and the build we be far from optimal. Probably need to ignore the lawful part of the monk alignment and maybe find an archetype that is more appropriate than the standard since unarmed strikes definitely shouldn't be his thing. The super fast movement and good defense without wisdom are what he really needs from the monk levels.
Weapon Adept is near worthless because you cannot use Perfect Strike with a katana, which would be the core of Kenshin as a character.
I wont go much into alignment arguments, because thats not really the point of this thread, but contextually becoming ronin (leaving behind samurai life) was about the least traiditional or "lawful" thing a samurai could do. To me, Kenshin is thoroughly chaotic good but alignment matters little unless your GM wants to enforce it. There are arguments that could be made that would cast him as LG, NG, or CG.
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As long as you don't mind fluffing a templesword as a katana (glamer it if you want ;-)) you could go with a mix of ninja, monk and fighter.
Here is a sample build at level 15:
Kenshin Build
Human Fighter (Weapon Master) 7 Monk (Ki Mystic, Sensei) 4 Ninja 4
LN Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +10; Senses Perception +25
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Defense
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AC 33, touch 26, flat-footed 28 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +3 natural, +2 deflection, +1 dodge)
hp 115 (7d10+8d8+30)
Fort +17, Ref +19, Will +20; +4 vs. effects that cause you to lose your grip on weapons, +2 bonus vs. effects targetting a Temple sword held by you
Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge
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Offense
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee +3 Ki focus, Merciful Adamantine Temple sword +26/+21/+16 (1d8+13+1d6 non-lethal/19-20/x2) and
. . Temple sword +23/+18/+13 (1d8+8/19-20/x2) and
. . Unarmed strike +20/+15/+10 (1d10+4/x2)
Special Attacks advice: inspire competence +2, advice: inspire courage +1, ki attack speed, ki strike, magic, reliable strike: temple sword (1/day), sneak attack +2d6, weapon training +2: temple sword
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 24, Cha 8
Base Atk +13; CMB +18; CMD 43 (49 vs. Disarm, 49 vs. Sunder)
Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round), Crane Riposte, Crane Style, Crane Wing, Dazzling Display (Temple sword), Dodge, Furious Focus, Improved Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility, Power Attack -4/+8, Quick Draw, Shatter Defenses (Temple sword), Stunning Fist (7/day) (DC 24), Weapon Focus (Temple sword), Weapon Specialization (Temple sword)
Traits Indomitable Faith, Reactionary
Skills Acrobatics +22 (+27 to jump, +26 jump), Appraise +4, Climb +10, Disguise +4, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +6, Knowledge (engineering) +6, Knowledge (geography) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) +10, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (planes) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +25, Ride +8, Sense Motive +11, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +22, Survival +11, Swim +8; Racial Modifiers ki jump (running start), ki mystic - knowledge, no trace +1
Languages Common
SQ ac bonus +9, advice (11 rounds/day), insightful strike, ki defense, ki focus, ki movement, ki mystic - insight, ki pool, ki stealth, maneuver training, merciful, ninja tricks (combat trick, weapon training), poison use, slow fall 20', stunning fist (stun, fatigue), unarmed strike (1d10), weapon guard +2: temple sword
Other Gear +3 Ki focus, Merciful Adamantine Temple sword, Temple sword, Amulet of natural armor +3, Belt of physical might (Str & Dex +4), Boots of striding and springing, Bracers of armor +4, Cloak of resistance +5, Gloves of dueling, Handy haversack (empty), Headband of inspired wisdom +6, Monk's robe, Ring of protection +2, 8440 GP
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TRACKED RESOURCES
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Advice (11 rounds/day) (Ex) - 0/11
Ki Pool (Su) - 0/13
Reliable Strike: Temple sword (1/day) (Ex) - 0/1
Stunning Fist (7/day) (DC 24) - 0/7
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Special Abilities
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AC Bonus +9 The Monk adds his Wisdom bonus to AC and CMD, more at higher levels.
Advice (11 rounds/day) (Ex) A sensei's advice is identical to bardic performance (using oratory), allowing him to inspire courage at 1st level, inspire competence at 3rd level, and inspire greatness at 9th level, as a bard of the sensei's level, usable a total number of rounds
Advice: Inspire Competence +2 (Su) +2 competence bonus for one ally on a skill check.
Advice: Inspire Courage +1 (Su) Morale bonus on some saving throws, attack and damage rolls.
Blind-Fight Re-roll misses because of concealment, other benefits.
Combat Reflexes (5 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Crane Riposte When you deflect an attack, you may make an attack of opportunity
Crane Style Penalty when fighting defensively reduced to -2 and dodge bonus increases by 1.
Crane Wing May deflect one attack per round while fighting defensively or using total defense
Dazzling Display (Temple sword) Intimidate check to demoralize can affect those within 30' who see you.
Furious Focus If you are wielding a weapon in two hands, ignore the penalty for your first attack of each turn.
Gloves of dueling These supple gloves grant the wearer a +4 bonus to her CMD against disarm attacks, attempts to sunder her wielded weapons, and effects that cause her to lose her grip on her weapons (such as grease). The wearer doesn't drop held weapons when panicked or stunned. If the wearer has the weapon training class feature and is using an appropriate weapon, her weapon training bonus increases by +2.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, greater magic weapon; Cost 7,500 gp
Improved Blind-Fight Melee attacks ignore the miss chance for less than total concealment. Invisible attackers within 30' you have pinpointed gain no advantages to hit you with ranged attacks.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Insightful Strike (Ex) At 2nd level, a sensei may use his Wisdom bonus in lieu of his Strength or Dexterity on attack rolls and combat maneuver checks with unarmed strikes or monk weapons. This ability replaces evasion and the bonus feat gained at 2nd level.
Ki Attack Speed (Su) By spending 1 point from her ki pool, a ninja can make one additional attack at her highest attack bonus, but she can do so only when making a full attack.
Ki Defense (Su) A monk can spend 1 point from his ki pool to give himself a +4 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round.
Ki focus Channel ki attacks through weapon.
Ki Jump (Running Start) (Su) Jumping is always counted as being at a running start.
Ki Movement A Ninja can spend 1 point to increase her speed by 20 feet for 1 round.
Ki Mystic - Insight (Ex) 1 Ki point: +4 Insight bonus to an ability or skill check.
Ki Mystic - Knowledge (Su) If the monk has at least 1 point of ki in his ki pool, he gains a +2 bonus on all Knowledge skill checks.
Ki Pool (Su) You have a ki pool equal to 1/2 your monk level + your Wisdom modifier.
Ki Stealth A ninja can spend 1 point from her ki pool to give herself a +4 insight bonus on Stealth skill checks for 1 round.
Ki Strike, Magic (Su) If you have ki remaining, unarmed strikes count as magic to overcome DR.
Maneuver Training (Ex) CMB = other BABs + Monk level
Merciful +1d6 damage, but all damage is nonlethal.
Mobility +4 to AC against some attacks of opportunity.
No Trace +1 (Ex) Survival DCs to track you are at +1, gain +1 to Stealth when you are stationary and not acting.
Poison Use You do not risk poisoning yourself accidentally while poisoning a weapon.
Power Attack -4/+8 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Quick Draw Draw weapon as a free action (or move if hidden weapon). Throw at full rate of attacks.
Reliable Strike: Temple sword (1/day) (Ex) Reroll attack roll, critical confirmation, miss chance or damage roll for your chosen weapon
Slow Fall 20' (Ex) Treat a fall as shorter than normal if within arm's reach of a wall.
Sneak Attack +2d6 +2d6 damage if you flank your target or your target is flat-footed.
Stunning Fist (7/day) (DC 24) You can stun an opponent with an unarmed attack.
Stunning Fist (Stun, Fatigue) (Ex) At 1st level, the monk gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. At 4th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the monk gains the ability to apply a new condition to the target of his Stunning Fist. This conditio
Unarmed Strike (1d10) The Monk does lethal damage with his unarmed strikes.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex) Retain Dex bonus to AC when flat-footed.
Weapon Guard +2: Temple sword (Ex) +2 CMD vs. Disarm and Sunder or other effects targeting your chosen weapon.
Weapon Training +2: Temple sword (Ex) +2 to hit and damage with your chosen weapon.
About 8000 gold are left. You could use it to make the sword look different (katana), buy small items, consumables, ...
When you use furious focus and power attack, you do 1d8+25+1d6 nonleathal if you let the merciful property activated.
You deflect attacks thanks to crane style for the small cost of 1 attack bonus and can even counterattack.
Finally, mobility and ki lets you move around rather freely, and improved blind-fight lets you ignore shadow concealment and standard defenses like blur.
Finally, you got lots of skills to play around.
Maybe this gives some ideas :-)
Oh, and you can intimidate to make them flatfooted thanks to shatter defenses, when you surprise someone you do sneak attack, thus fitting the assassin theme.
You're also good at intimidating, which is a trait of Kenshin as someone already noted.
Finally, the small part of the teacher theme that he displays links well into the sensei theme, advice would primarily be used for others.
It says "when wielding a monk weapon" I assume that the list is there because those were the monk weapons at the time. The Sword Saint Katana mentioned above is a monk weapon, so he can use perfect strike with it.
The ability doesn't say when wielding a monk weapon at all. Go read the Perfect Strike feat. It says:
Perfect Strike (Combat)
When wielding a monk weapon, your attacks can be extremely precise.
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Wis 13, Improved Unarmed Strike, base attack bonus +8.
Benefit: You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). You must use one of the following weapons to make the attack: kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, and siangham. You can roll your attack roll twice and take the higher result. If one of these rolls is a critical threat, the other roll is used as your confirmation roll (your choice if they are both critical threats). You may attempt a perfect attack once per day for every four levels you have attained (but see Special), and no more than once per round.
Special: A weapon master monk or zen archer monk receives Perfect Strike as a bonus feat at 1st level, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. A monk may attempt an perfect strike attack a number of times per day equal to his monk level, plus one more time per day for every four levels he has in classes other than monk.
Alignmentwise, I'd go with neutral, but that shouldn't imo be that much of an issue for non-divine casters. Anyway, what level range are we trying to stat him for? I'm generally loath to give any more or less realistic mortal warrior double-digit levels.
I dont think barbarian fits here. Himura never raged. In the anime when he goes in the Manslayer state of mind he does not rage it is just that his killing intent returns back.
I see your point, but that might also just be a question of flavour. Not all barbarian archetypes in PF are necessarily frothing at the mouth (urban barbarians do not give off that vibe to me, for example). In any case, the monk/ninja levels that some others have suggested do a better job of giving both the mechanics and the flavour for Kenshin.
Makamu
Well since i am new into Dnd and pathfinder some friend of mine suggested me to check the book of nine swords if my GM would allow old Dnd Books.
What we really want to do is create a swordsman who is ultra fast and agile and he has good analyze skills so I assume it means high dex and wis!
I would not go with caster like swordmen too as by no means Himura Kenshin used magic. He was just fast and agile and his Hiten Mitsurugi style also made him a good enemy skill analyzer so he could react proper before an enemy!
All of his sword moves are basically flavoured versions of the 9 basic hits kenjutsu has.It was just that they were fast and the whole non leathal katata made them very cool.
The only moves that i would love to transfer to PF are his final 2 moves Kuzuryusen which is basically an attack on the 9 spots that i mentioned on the same time(DAT FAST :P ) and his ultimate move Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki which is actually a very fast fast draw attack.(The second phase of the skill troubles me the one he used on Makoto Shisio).
Also the reverse blade katata does not exist in PF!
Besides that i dont think that Keshin should be a ronin he never had samurai status to begin with he was just a very skilled swordsman and a man slayer.
Any other ideas?
I feel the same about the Wis + Dex focus :-)
That's why I went for the mix in the sample build above - one of the things it allows you to do is use Wis to attack. The build above does not wear any armor, and you can simulate bursts of speed with ki.Reverse katana is one of the things you don't have in PF, correct. But in the end it's just a nonlethal sword, which I would simulate with the merciful special ability :-)
I don't think you need book of nine swords - Pathfinder feats like the style feats like crane wing and crane riposte allow you to pretty much get everything he is capable of IMO.
Besides that i dont think that Keshin should be a ronin he never had samurai status to begin with he was just a very skilled swordsman and a man slayer.
Any other ideas?
It's a bit iffy when we try to conflate fluff with character class. Yes, ideally the samurai class should reflect the samurai archetype (or all of them), but it is not really necessary. Take the class archetypes with a grain of salt - it may be that Kenshin's best mechanical representation comes from a class with a very unfitting name. It is all a matter of getting the typical abilities right. Don't feel dissuaded from a certain class just because Kenshin wasn't that - for example, I think he could work fairly well as a non-magical urban ranger (FE humans for the win).
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Other Gear +3 Ki focus, Merciful Adamantine Temple sword, Temple sword, Amulet of natural armor +3, Belt of physical might (Str & Dex +4), Boots of striding and springing, Bracers of armor +4, Cloak of resistance +5, Gloves of dueling, Handy haversack (empty), Headband of inspired wisdom +6, Monk's robe, Ring of protection +2, 8440 GP
Never see, The Battousai wearing a headband or using a ring.
I see your point, but that might also just be a question of flavour. Not all barbarian archetypes in PF are necessarily frothing at the mouth (urban barbarians do not give off that vibe to me, for example). In any case, the monk/ninja levels that some others have suggested do a better job of giving both the mechanics and the flavour for Kenshin.Makamu
I know this is an old thread, but I was on the same build today and found it while digging. Urban Barbarian actually makes a lot of sense for Kenshin's Manslayer mood.
While these urban barbarians' rough edges are smoothed into civility, they can use their primal nature and upbringing to move with the ebb and flow of civilization's natural rhythms.
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Controlled Rage (Ex): When an urban barbarian rages, instead of making a normal rage she may apply a +4 morale bonus to her Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution. This bonus increases to +6 when she gains greater rage and +8 when she gains mighty rage. She may apply the full bonus to one ability score or may split the bonus between several scores in increments of +2. When using a controlled rage, an urban barbarian gains no bonus on Will saves, takes no penalties to AC, and can still use Intelligence-, Dexterity-, and Charisma-based skills. This ability otherwise follows the normal rules for rage.