A personal take on remastering the Swashbuckler

[Teridax]

At the risk of creating a few threads in too quick a succession, this one is based off of this discussion of the Swashbuckler. The class, in my opinion, has a terrific flavor to it, and a fantastic bit of gameplay in its panache mechanic, but also a few issues:

Panache at early levels is excessively difficult to obtain, to the point where the Swashbuckler may spend most of their actions fishing for panache and then hold onto it without using a finisher the entire encounter. This, among other things, causes some players to consider After You a mandatory feat.

The Swashbuckler's panache-generating skills are essential for them to function, yet those skills don't increase automatically, forcing the player to commit most of their skill increases towards those.

The bones of the Rogue can be clearly seen in the Swashbuckler with Precise Strike and finishers. These, in my opinion, shouldn't be the only use for panache on a class whose flashy moves often have nothing to do with attacking.

The broad changes I'd want of a Swashbuckler rework would be the following:

More reliable access to panache at early levels, even at a tradeoff.

More uses for panache besides finishers.

Better support for the Swashbuckler's panache skills, even at a tradeoff in other class features or trained skills.

Here would be the specifics:

Core Class

Additional trained skills reduced to 2 + Int mod rather than 4 + Int mod.

Panache reworked; see below for full description.

The following class features are removed: precise strike, confident finisher, opportune riposte, vivacious speed, exemplary finisher, continuous flair, keen flair, and eternal confidence. Opportune riposte and keen flair are instead class feats and may be altered (see below).

Stylish tricks reworked: now grants a skill feat for Acrobatics or the trained skill from your Swashbuckler's style at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, rather than just at 3rd, 7th, and 15th level.

New 3rd-level feature: skillful flair. At 3rd level, your proficiency rank in Acrobatics and the trained skill from your Swashbuckler's style automatically increases to expert at 3rd level, master at 7th level, and legendary at 15th level.

New 19th-level feature: swashbuckler mastery. You become a master in swashbuckler class DC (this is just a replacement for eternal confidence).

Panache
You care as much about the way you accomplish something as whether you actually accomplish it in the first place. When you perform an action with particular bravado, you can leverage this moment of verve to perform spectacular, deadly maneuvers. This state of flair is called panache, and you are either in a state of panache or you are not.

You typically gain panache only in combat encounters, and in the following ways:

You succeed on a check, and critically succeed on a normal DC for your level. At least one other creature must have been able to perceive this success for you to gain panache.

An enemy critically fails an attack or ability check against you. You must have been able to perceive this failure for you to gain panache.

You successfully Tumble Through an enemy.

You succeed on one of the actions determined by your Swashbuckler's style.

You use the En Garde! action, listed below.

You successfully perform a particularly daring action, as determined by the GM.

Due to your exceptional agility, you are permanently quickened. You can only use the extra action while you have panache, and you can only use it to perform an action with the panache trait, or contribute an action to an activity with the panache trait. All move actions that you have access to, that lack the exploration or downtime traits, and that don't deal damage have the panache trait, as do the actions determined by your swashbuckler's style. Certain swashbuckler class features or feats may grant you more actions with the panache trait, or add the panache trait to existing actions.

You gain the En Garde!, Use Panache, and Superb Strike actions, listed below.

En Garde! (Single Action)
Swashbuckler
Requirements You haven't yet had panache this turn.
Targets One creature you can see or hear.
With a signature phrase, battle cry, elaborate gesture, or any combination of the above, you make a show of challenging a foe to a duel. You gain panache, and your turn immediately ends, even if you had actions left.

If your challenge included a phrase or cry, this action gains the concentrate and auditory traits. If your challenge included a gesture, this action gains the manipulate and visual traits.

Use Panache (Free Action)
Swashbuckler
Requirements You have panache.
Your next action will be spectacular. You lose panache, and if your next action is to use an action or activity with the panache trait that has you make one or more checks, the result of the check (or checks) is one degree of success better. Critically succeeding on a check in this way does not cause you to gain panache unless the unmodified result would have also been a critical success.

If you critically succeed on a panache action's unmodified check and improve its degree of success, you get a spectacular success. If a panache action has a spectacular success effect, you use that effect, otherwise you use the effect for a critical success. A spectacular success is a critical success for the purpose of effects that trigger on a critical success, and a success for the purpose of effects that trigger on a success.

Superb Strike (Single Action)
Panache, Swashbuckler
You strike with flair. Make a Strike with an agile or finesse melee weapon or agile or finesse unarmed attack. You can add your Dexterity modifier to the damage roll instead of your Strength modifier. On a spectacular success, you deal quadruple damage.

Styles
As noted in the core class changes, the exemplary finisher class feature is removed.

Battledancer

In addition to the current benefits, you also gain the Focused Fascination feat as a free feat, and targets don't become immune to further attempts to fascinate them.

On a spectacular success when you Perform, targets are also dazzled for 1 minute.

Braggart

In addition to the current benefits, targets don't become immune to further attempts to Demoralize them.

On a spectacular success when you Demoralize a creature, the target is frightened 3 and fleeing for 1 round.

Fencer

In addition to the current benefits, targets don't gain a circumstance bonus to further attempts to Create a Diversion against them.

On a spectacular success when you Feint or Create a Diversion, targets are off-guard until the end of your next turn.

Gymnast

In addition to the current benefits, you gain the Disarming Flair class feat.

On a spectacular success when you Disarm a foe, you can either knock the weapon up to 10 feet away from the target, or Interact to grab and wield the weapon. You must be able to hold the weapon in one hand to use this second option.

On a spectacular success when you Grapple a foe, weapon and unarmed attacks against the target gain a circumstance bonus to their damage rolls equal to the number of weapon damage dice while the target is restrained.

On a spectacular success when you Shove a foe, you push your target up to 20 feet away from you. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.

On a spectacular success when you Trip a foe, weapon and unarmed attacks against the target gain a circumstance bonus to their damage rolls equal to the number of weapon damage dice while the target is prone.

Wit

On a spectacular success at a Bon Mot, the target takes the same status penalty to its attack rolls for the duration or until it issues a retort.

Feats
TL;DR: some class features that would be removed would be feats instead, finishers would be changed to moves that can be used all the time for a lesser effect, some feats would allow panache to be used on other rolls. Some examples:

Opportune Riposte is now a 2nd-level class feat. The feat no longer lets you Disarm a foe, but triggers on a failure if you have panache. Rather than Strike, you make a Superb Strike instead.

New 8th-level class feat: Opportune Panache. When you use your Opportune Riposte, you can instead use another panache action. The action must take exactly one action to perform, and can't target anyone other than the target of your Opportune Riposte.

New 10th-level class feat: Instant Flair. Whenever you would gain panache from critically succeeding on a check from a panache action, you can choose to forgo gaining panache and instead change the result to a spectacular success. You can use this benefit to change the result of subsequent checks made by the same action as well, but you can't retroactively change the result of checks made by that action which have already been resolved.

New 12th-level class feat: Spectacular Defense. You can Use Panache on your saving throws.

Keen Flair is now a 14th-level class feat. The benefit only applies to your Precise Strike.

Current finishers would be removed, and replaced with the following feats:

Dual Flair (Two Actions)
Feat 1
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
Requirements You are wielding two melee weapons, each in a different hand, and each weapon has the finesse or agile trait.
You split your attacks. Make two Superb Strikes, one with each required weapon, against the same target. If the second Strike is made with a non-agile weapon, it takes a –2 penalty. Increase your multiple attack penalty only after attempting both Strikes.

If both attacks hit, combine their damage, and then add any other applicable effects from both weapons. You add any precision damage only once, to the attack of your choice. Combine the damage from both Strikes and apply resistances and weaknesses only once.

Precise Disarm (One Action)
Feat 2
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
You attempt to knock a weapon out of your opponent's hand with a deft strike. Make a Superb Strike. The attack deals no damage, but instead may disarm the target based on the result of your attack roll.

Spectacular Success You knock the item out of the target's grasp. You can either knock the weapon up to 10 feet away from the target, or Interact to grab and wield the weapon. You must be able to hold the weapon in one hand to use this second option.
Critical Success You knock the item out of the target's grasp. It falls to the ground in the target's space.
Success You weaken your target's grasp on the item. Further attempts to Disarm the target of that item gain a +2 circumstance bonus, and the target takes a –2 circumstance penalty to attacks with the item or other checks requiring a firm grasp on the item. The creature can end the effect by Interacting to change its grip on the item; otherwise, it lasts as long as the creature holds the item.
Critical Failure You lose your balance and become off-guard until the start of your next turn.

Right Between The Eyes (One Action)
Feat 2
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
You attempt to knock your foe off-balance with a well-placed blow to the head. Make a Superb Strike. The attack deals no damage, but may instead knock the target off-guard or even stun them based on the result of your attack roll.

Spectacular Success The target is off-guard for 1 round, stunned 1, and can't take reactions for 1 minute.
Critical Success The target is off-guard and can't take reactions for 1 round.
Success The target can't take reactions for 1 round.

Line Them Up, Knock Them Down (Two Actions)
Feat 4
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
With a single attack, you strike at two foes, one behind the other. Make a Superb Strike. If you succeed, make another Superb Strike against a foe adjacent to and directly behind the first target. Increase your multiple attack penalty only after attempting all Strikes.

Bleeding Finisher (One Action)
Feat 8
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
Your blow inflicts profuse bleeding. Make a Superb Strike. Rather than deal its normal damage, the attack inflicts persistent bleed damage based on the result of your attack roll.

Spectacular Success Double damage.
Critical Success Normal damage.
Success Half damage.

Thwarting Attack (One Action)
Feat 10
Panache, Swashbuckler
Prerequisites Superb Strike
Your attack hinders your foe instead of harming them. Make a Superb Strike, and choose clumsy, enfeebled, or stupefied. The attack deals no damage, but may instead weaken the target based on your choice and the result of your attack roll.

Spectacular Success The target suffers 4 of the chosen condition for 1 round, and remains at 2 of the condition for 1 minute.
Critical Success The target suffers 2 of the chosen condition for 1 round, and remains at 1 of the condition for 1 minute.
Success The target suffers 1 of the chosen condition for 1 round.

Swashbuckler Archetype

While the archetype still grants you the ability to gain and use panache like a swashbuckler, it does not permanently quicken you (the main benefit would be therefore empowering your Acrobatics checks and checks with another skill based on your swashbuckler style).

Finishing Precision, Swashbuckler's Riposte, and Swashbuckler's Speed removed. Instead, you can get the Spectacular Style feat at 4th level which unlocks the spectacular success effect (or effects) of your swashbuckler style.

The new Swashbuckler Resiliency feat at 4th level would grant additional Hit Points based on your number of swashbuckler archetype class feats, in the same way as other resiliency feats.

The TL;DR to all this is:

The Swashbuckler would have more options and actions when they have panache, and easier access to panache in exchange for a bit of raw speed.

The class would have a greater range of ways to spend panache, including much more combat support and access to even better defenses.

The class would be an ultra-specialist at their panache-generating skills, gaining auto-scaling proficiency and extra skill feats in exchange for a bit of breadth.

Effectively, the Swash would be extra at pretty much everything they do: they'd have more actions, they'd succeed more, and they'd get to do even more on super-special crit successes. Their damage wouldn't necessarily be amazing overall (though quad damage would certainly look spectacular), but they'd have incredible action economy, combat support, and defense to make up for it.