Partly, because they're newbies, and it's interesting to watch people play without any sort of prejudices or preconceived notions as to what you can do in a P&P game.
Partly to embarrass the other people who are also running games and show them what high level play looks like (hint: not what they think it is), and try and get TGD material spread across more players.
One of these other games is 3.5, the other 4e.
So far, the group is just 3 people with the following character concepts:
Magical Girl and Kitty Pet
Human girl (aka, not an adult; or maybe a teenager)
Conduit of the Planes 10/Some PrC
Level, Benefit
1 Sphere [Seduction], Petitioner Immunities [], [Product of Infernal Dalliance]
2 Enhanced Sphere Access
3 Sphere [Seduction], []
4 Bonus Feat [Item Creation Feat: Make Magical Stuff]
5 Sphere [Seduction]
6 Petitioner Skills []
7 Sphere [Fire]
8 Bonus Feat []
9 Sphere [Pyre]
10 Magical Training
11 True Fiend 1
12 True Fiend 2 []
13 True Fiend 3
14 True Fiend 4
Conduit of the Lower Planes
"My powers are more than enough to deal with the likes of you!"
A fiend is more than an individual; he is a representative of a particular brand of evil, and that role carries power with it. To become a Conduit of the Lower Planes is to embrace that role and become a living pathway by which the energies of the Lower Planes can be made manifest. Raw magical power is the result of this process, and a fiend that walks this route refines his mastery of his innate mystical arts to a terrible degree.
Alignment: A character must be non-good to take any levels in Conduit of the Lower Planes. Nothing happens to a Conduit of the Lower Planes if he becomes Good, save that he must look elsewhere for class advancing.
Races: The Conduit of the Lower Planes is only available to creatures with a plane of origin in the Lower Planes. Creatures from the prime material plane whose ancestors were from a Lower Plane may take this class.
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp (100 gold)
Starting Age: As Wizard.
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills: The Conduit of the Lower Planes 's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal(Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills/Level: 2 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Medium (3/4), Saves: Fort: Poor; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good
All of the following are Class Features of the Conduit of the Lower Planes class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Conduits of the Lower Planes are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as the whip, the scourge, and the dire flail. True Fiends are proficient with light armor but not with shields of any kind.
Sphere: The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains basic access to a sphere at every odd numbered level. If the Conduit of the Lower Planes selects a sphere that he already has basic access to, he upgrades it to advanced access. If he already had advanced access, he gains expert access.
Petitioner Immunities: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and is protected by the nature of that plane:
Pandemonium: Sonic Immunity
The Abyss: Immunity to Electricity
Carceri: Immunity to Cold
Hades: Immunity to Fear and Morale Effects.
Gehenna: Immunity to Acid
Baator: Immunity to Fire
Acheron: Immunity to [Compulsion] effects.
Enhanced Sphere Access: At 2nd level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains extra uses of the spell-like abilities that he gains from his Spheres. The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a number of extra uses of any spell-like ability equal to half the number his character level exceeds the minimum character level to use the spell-like ability (rounded up). So if the Conduit of the Lower Planes has a character level of 4, he would gain 1 extra use of a spell-like ability that is granted by one of his spheres at character level 3 and 2 extra uses of any spell-like from one of his spheres with a minimum level of 1. Upon gaining this ability, the Conduit of the Lower Planes immediately gains a number of extra feats that must all have the [Fiend] tag equal to the number of spheres he has expert access to. If he ever gains expert access to another sphere, he also gains an extra [Fiend] feat.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a bonus feat. This feat may be any [Fiend], [Monstrous], or [Item Creation] feat, and the Conduit of the Lower Planes must meet the prerequisites. He gains another such feat at level 8.
Petitioner Skills: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and at 6th level gains abilities from the nature of that plane (this must be the same plane as was chosen at 1st level):
Pandemonium: +10 to Listen checks.
The Abyss: +10 bonus to Survival checks.
Carceri: +10 bonus to Bluff checks.
Hades: +10 bonus to Hide checks.
Gehenna: +10 bonus to Climb checks, if he doesn't already have a climb speed, he gains one equal to half his normal ground speed (bonuses to Climb from having a Climb speed gained in this way would be included in the +10 bonus)
Baator: +10 bonus to Disguise checks.
Acheron: +10 bonus to Intimidate checks.
Magical Training: At 10th level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes is able to cast magic in a more traditional fashion. He has the spells known and spells per day of a 6th level Sorcerer. The Conduit of the Lower Planes has a caster level of 10, and can take classes that improve spellcasting in order to gain additional spellcasting ability.
"My powers are more than enough to deal with the likes of you!"
A fiend is more than an individual; he is a representative of a particular brand of evil, and that role carries power with it. To become a Conduit of the Lower Planes is to embrace that role and become a living pathway by which the energies of the Lower Planes can be made manifest. Raw magical power is the result of this process, and a fiend that walks this route refines his mastery of his innate mystical arts to a terrible degree.
Alignment: A character must be non-good to take any levels in Conduit of the Lower Planes. Nothing happens to a Conduit of the Lower Planes if he becomes Good, save that he must look elsewhere for class advancing.
Races: The Conduit of the Lower Planes is only available to creatures with a plane of origin in the Lower Planes. Creatures from the prime material plane whose ancestors were from a Lower Plane may take this class.
Starting Gold: 4d4x10 gp (100 gold)
Starting Age: As Wizard.
Hit Die: d6
Class Skills: The Conduit of the Lower Planes 's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal(Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skills/Level: 2 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Medium (3/4), Saves: Fort: Poor; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good
All of the following are Class Features of the Conduit of the Lower Planes class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Conduits of the Lower Planes are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as the whip, the scourge, and the dire flail. True Fiends are proficient with light armor but not with shields of any kind.
Sphere: The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains basic access to a sphere at every odd numbered level. If the Conduit of the Lower Planes selects a sphere that he already has basic access to, he upgrades it to advanced access. If he already had advanced access, he gains expert access.
Petitioner Immunities: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and is protected by the nature of that plane:
Pandemonium: Sonic Immunity
The Abyss: Immunity to Electricity
Carceri: Immunity to Cold
Hades: Immunity to Fear and Morale Effects.
Gehenna: Immunity to Acid
Baator: Immunity to Fire
Acheron: Immunity to [Compulsion] effects.
Enhanced Sphere Access: At 2nd level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains extra uses of the spell-like abilities that he gains from his Spheres. The Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a number of extra uses of any spell-like ability equal to half the number his character level exceeds the minimum character level to use the spell-like ability (rounded up). So if the Conduit of the Lower Planes has a character level of 4, he would gain 1 extra use of a spell-like ability that is granted by one of his spheres at character level 3 and 2 extra uses of any spell-like from one of his spheres with a minimum level of 1. Upon gaining this ability, the Conduit of the Lower Planes immediately gains a number of extra feats that must all have the [Fiend] tag equal to the number of spheres he has expert access to. If he ever gains expert access to another sphere, he also gains an extra [Fiend] feat.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes gains a bonus feat. This feat may be any [Fiend], [Monstrous], or [Item Creation] feat, and the Conduit of the Lower Planes must meet the prerequisites. He gains another such feat at level 8.
Petitioner Skills: A Conduit of the Lower Planes gains his power from a specific lower plane, and at 6th level gains abilities from the nature of that plane (this must be the same plane as was chosen at 1st level):
Pandemonium: +10 to Listen checks.
The Abyss: +10 bonus to Survival checks.
Carceri: +10 bonus to Bluff checks.
Hades: +10 bonus to Hide checks.
Gehenna: +10 bonus to Climb checks, if he doesn't already have a climb speed, he gains one equal to half his normal ground speed (bonuses to Climb from having a Climb speed gained in this way would be included in the +10 bonus)
Baator: +10 bonus to Disguise checks.
Acheron: +10 bonus to Intimidate checks.
Magical Training: At 10th level, the Conduit of the Lower Planes is able to cast magic in a more traditional fashion. He has the spells known and spells per day of a 6th level Sorcerer. The Conduit of the Lower Planes has a caster level of 10, and can take classes that improve spellcasting in order to gain additional spellcasting ability.
Feats
Fiendish Cat/Lynx/Panther/Lion/Tiger/Something
1 Natural Weapons, Natural Armor, Attribute Boost [Product of Inf. Dall: Baatezu]
2 Bonus Feat []
3 Attribute Boost []
4 Bonus Feat []
5 Attribute Boost
6 Bonus Feat [], []
7 Attribute Boost
8 Bonus Feat []
9 Attribute Boost []
10 Bonus Feat
11
12 []
Stats:
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills: The Fiendish Brute's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Poor (1/2), Saves: Fort: Good; Reflex: Good; Will: Poor
All of the following are Class Features of the Fiendish Brute class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Fiendish Brutes are proficient only with armor spikes, and aren't inherently proficient with any armor.
Natural Weapons: A Fiendish Brute has 2 claw attacks, one attached to each arm (or its two front legs if it is a quadruped, if it has no limbs at all it grows two vestigial arms that have claws at the end). These claws are natural weapons and inflict damage normal for the creature's size.
Natural Armor: A Fiendish Brute has a natural armor bonus of 3 plus its class level. So a 7th level Fiendish Brute has a natural armor bonus of +10.
Attribute Boost: At 1st level and every odd numbered level afterwards, the Fiendish Brute's physical attributes improve, as if it had gained several character levels. Every time the Fiendish Brute gains an attribute boost, two of his physical attributes irrevocably increase by 1.
Class Skills: The Fiendish Brute's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Poor (1/2), Saves: Fort: Good; Reflex: Good; Will: Poor
All of the following are Class Features of the Fiendish Brute class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Fiendish Brutes are proficient only with armor spikes, and aren't inherently proficient with any armor.
Natural Weapons: A Fiendish Brute has 2 claw attacks, one attached to each arm (or its two front legs if it is a quadruped, if it has no limbs at all it grows two vestigial arms that have claws at the end). These claws are natural weapons and inflict damage normal for the creature's size.
Natural Armor: A Fiendish Brute has a natural armor bonus of 3 plus its class level. So a 7th level Fiendish Brute has a natural armor bonus of +10.
Attribute Boost: At 1st level and every odd numbered level afterwards, the Fiendish Brute's physical attributes improve, as if it had gained several character levels. Every time the Fiendish Brute gains an attribute boost, two of his physical attributes irrevocably increase by 1.
Human Samurai 11-14
This character will use a reboot of an idea I had for being able to play 'shadowrun' in a D&D setting. Most magic items are seriously re-skinned as "cybernetics" or "vibro blades" or "nanite packs".
Level, Benefit
1 Ancestral Weaponry, Pledge of Loyalty []
2 Horde Breaker
3 Kiai! []
4 Whirlwind Attack
5 Ancestral Guidance
6 Blindfighting, Terrible Blows []
7 Iaijutsu
8 Parry Magic
9 Subtle Cut []
10 Blade of Devastation
11 Iaijutsu Focus
12 Cut Magic []
13 Deny Arcane Defenses
14 Final Cut (Pro)*
So... 5 feats; and 4 Bonus Feats, plus class abilities.
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*: This is a program that we use in one of our courses, it's for film editing. The Samurai also becomes a master with film editing, for the luls. They can add an enhancement bonus equal to their Craft ranks, to their Craft checks with art, or theater of any kind.
Items:
-Major Item: Force Longsword of Sharpness [Force damage, srsly, these special properties overlap more than synergize]
-Running Legs [boost run speed; +40' at lvl 14]
-Heaphones of Thunder
-
One of the following, taken from Koumei's excellent Dungeon Crusade D&D Mod:
Sonic Blaster: Assault Firearm, 100' range, 3d6 Sonic damage, endless ammunition, Crit-20/x3; if fired as a Heavy Firearm, 150' range, 4d6 Sonic damage, endless ammunition, Crit-20/x4
Blastmaster: Assault Firearm, 100' range, 6d6 Sonic damage, endless ammunition, Crit-20/x3; if fired as a Heavy Firearm (1-shot), 200' range, 12d6 Sonic damage, endless ammunition, 20' blast (Ref half, DC = attack roll), those who fail are knocked prone and Dazed for 1 round.
Doom Siren: Assault Firearm, 50' Cone of 6d6 Sonic damage, Ref half (DC = attack roll), endless ammunition, those who fail the save must pass a Will save or be Frightened for 1 round.
-
Samurai
"My ancestors had words for people who would do such a thing. They were not nice words."
The war torn countrysides of many a land are held together with tremendous amounts of dedicated work by masters of weaponry and honor. These martial specialists represent the structure of society by their very existence, and beat the living crap out of any who would dare to stand against it.
At least, that's the idea. In truth, there are those who take upon the mantle of the Samurai only to betray its ideals. Those who trample the fabric of the social network they are supposedly sworn to protect.
Alignment: The Samurai can be of any alignment. All of them must maintain the veneer of honor and civility, though there is no reason that they have to actually be Lawful.
Races: The Samurai is primarily found in societies where the law of the land is held in primacy over other things. So while a Samurai himself does not have to be Lawful, Lawful races bear the vast majority of Samurai.
Starting Gold: 4d6x10 gp (140 gold), plus one masterwork weapon
Starting Age: As Fighter.
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: The Samurai's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Good (1/1), Saves: Fort: Poor; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good
Level, Benefit
1 Ancestral Weaponry, Pledge of Loyalty
2 Horde Breaker
3 Kiai!
4 Whirlwind Attack
5 Ancestral Guidance
6 Blindfighting, Terrible Blows
7 Iaijutsu
8 Parry Magic
9 Subtle Cut
10 Blade of Devastation
11 Iaijutsu Focus
12 Cut Magic
13 Deny Arcane Defenses
14 Final Cut
15 Iaijatsu Master
16 Reflect Magic
17 Blade of Souls
18 Deny Armor
19 Iaijutsu Grandmaster
20 Scrolls of Wisdom
All of the following are Class Features of the Samurai class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as a single Exotic weapon appropriate to the Samurai's tradition. Samurai are proficient with Light and Medium Armor, but not with shields of any kind.
Ancestral Weaponry: Every culture with a Samurai tradition has a signature weapon that Samurai from that culture use. Whether it is the Spiked Chain of the Hobgoblin Khanate of Khadun or the Katana of the Human Empire of Rokugan, the weapon serves as a symbol of the office and prowess of the Samurai.
A samurai can only have one weapon designated as his Ancestral Weapon at a time, and this weapon must be a masterwork weapon exalted by the Samurai's warrior culture. He must perform a 24 hour ritual to call his ancestral spirits into the weapon and designate it as his Ancestral Weapon. This ritual costs 100 gp in incense and offerings, and once performed grants the following abilities:
-Counts as his Ancestral Weapon for all Samurai abilities.
-Has a minimum enhancement bonus to attack and damage equal to his level divided by three (maximum of +5 for a samurai of 20th level or lower).
-The Ancestral weapon has double HPs and +10 Hardness, and has the Ghost Touch special
property.
Example: Bandy Humaido is a halfling samurai, and his people greatly extort the halfling skiprock as a weapon of war – but because the skiprock is thrown weapon ammunition, it is inappropriate as an Ancestral Weapon (which, of course, you could only have one of). As such, Bandy instead draws the power of his ancestors into a short sword.
Pledge of Loyalty:
Samurai pledge their loyalty to a Lord, a figure of temporal power and head of a noble family or clan. To retain this Lord, they must follow this Lord's orders and uphold any Code of Conduct the Lord obeys. As long as a Samurai does these two things, he cannot be forced to act against his Lord or Lord's family by mind-affecting effects.
Samurai who have broken their vows to their lord are called ronin, while samurai who have never been pledged to a lord or are unwilling to do so are weaponmasters called kensai, sword saints, or simply "master swordsman" or other descriptive title. Regardless of their name, Samurai without a Lord receive a +4 bonus against mind-affecting effects.
Horde Breaker: A Samurai gains Horde Breaker as a bonus feat at 2nd level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Kiai! (Ex): At 3rd level, a Samurai may convert a successful strike into a confirmed critical hit. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his half his Samurai level +2. This ability is a free action that is declared after the strike is rolled and confirmed as a hit, but before damage is rolled. This ability cannot be used on Attacks of Opportunity.
Whirlwind Attack: A Samurai gains Whirlwind Attack as a bonus feat at 4th level.
Ancestral Guidance(Sp): At 5th level, a Samurai may seek guidance from his ancestors. This counts as a commune effect that can be used once a day. A samurai can also seek guidance from other peoples' ancestors if they are available. This works like a speak with dead effect that may be used once per day.
Blindfighting: A Samurai gains Blindfighting as a bonus feat at 6th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Terrible Blows (Su): At 6th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon bypasses Damage Reduction and ignores Hardness.
Iaijutsu (Ex): When a 7th level Samurai has the Edge on an opponent, he may take an attack of opportunity against that opponent as an immediate action at any time.
Parry Magic (Su): At 8th level, a Samurai may use his Ancestral Weapon to parry magic targeted at him. When the Samurai is targeted by a spell or supernatural ability, he may take an Attacks of Opportunity against the targeted effect. If he can make an attack roll against an AC equal to the spell or effect's DC with this Attack of Opportunity, the effect does not affect him.
Subtle Cut A Samurai gains Subtle Cut as a bonus feat at 9th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose another [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Blade of Devastation (Su) At 10th level, the Samurai may attack enemies within his reach through objects and walls, his Ancestral Weapon automatically destroying any unattended object or wall in the way with a Hardness less than 20. As a result, enemies do not gain cover bonuses against an attacking Samurai. This effect can also pierce [force] effects.
As a standard action, he can also destroy unattended objects of any Hardness with a successful Ancestral weapon attack, or dispel up to a 10' by 10' section of a [force] effect.
Iaijutsu Focus (Ex): At 11th level, a Samurai may make up to his per round limit of Attacks of Opportunity against any opponent(s) that he threatens as an immediate action.
Cut Magic (Su): At 12th level, a Samurai may attack ongoing spell effects by attacking the square they are in for Area of Effect effects or the object or person for targeted effects (which does damage as normal to the object or person). This attack is handled like the Samurai's Parry Magic ability, but it only dispels a 10' by 10' section of an Area of Effect spell or spell-like ability.
Deny Caster Defenses (Ex): At 13th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from spells or spell-like abilities.
Final Cut(Ex): At 14th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon gains the Vorpal Special quality, even if it is not a slashing weapon.
Iaijatsu Master(Ex) : At 15th level, any enemy struck by a Samurai's Attacks of Opportunity must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to 10 + half the Samurai's HD +the Samurai's Wisdom bonus or be dazed for one round. A successful save against this effect makes the enemy immune to this effect for five rounds.
Reflect Magic(Su) : At 16th level, an spell effect that would be dispelled by a successful use of the Samurai's Parry Magic ability can instead be reflected back on the caster, as per a spell turning effect.
Blade of Souls: At 17th level, any enemy killed by a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon has his soul sucked into it, and this enemy cannot be raised, resurrected, or otherwise returned to life until the Ancestral Blade is broken. Each time the Ancestral Weapon takes a soul, the Samurai gains a single bonus use of his Kiai! ability that must be used before the next sunrise.
Deny Armor(Su): At 18th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from armor or natural armor.
Iaijutsu Grandmaster (Ex): At 19th level, any Attack of opportunity made by the Samurai is automatically a confirmed critical hit.
Scrolls of Wisdom: At 20th level, the Samurai has reached the pinnacle of his art, and he may compose a treatise of his collected wisdom. If he spends one month composing this treatise, he may distribute it and spread his wisdom. Anyone who reads this treatise gains a +2 competence bonus to attack characters with Samurai levels, but a -8 penalty to attack the writer of the treatise.
In addition, a Samurai who writes his treatise no longer takes ability penalties for aging as long as one copy of the treatise exists.
"My ancestors had words for people who would do such a thing. They were not nice words."
The war torn countrysides of many a land are held together with tremendous amounts of dedicated work by masters of weaponry and honor. These martial specialists represent the structure of society by their very existence, and beat the living crap out of any who would dare to stand against it.
At least, that's the idea. In truth, there are those who take upon the mantle of the Samurai only to betray its ideals. Those who trample the fabric of the social network they are supposedly sworn to protect.
Alignment: The Samurai can be of any alignment. All of them must maintain the veneer of honor and civility, though there is no reason that they have to actually be Lawful.
Races: The Samurai is primarily found in societies where the law of the land is held in primacy over other things. So while a Samurai himself does not have to be Lawful, Lawful races bear the vast majority of Samurai.
Starting Gold: 4d6x10 gp (140 gold), plus one masterwork weapon
Starting Age: As Fighter.
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: The Samurai's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (all skills individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skills/Level: 4 + Intelligence Bonus
BAB: Good (1/1), Saves: Fort: Poor; Reflex: Poor; Will: Good
Level, Benefit
1 Ancestral Weaponry, Pledge of Loyalty
2 Horde Breaker
3 Kiai!
4 Whirlwind Attack
5 Ancestral Guidance
6 Blindfighting, Terrible Blows
7 Iaijutsu
8 Parry Magic
9 Subtle Cut
10 Blade of Devastation
11 Iaijutsu Focus
12 Cut Magic
13 Deny Arcane Defenses
14 Final Cut
15 Iaijatsu Master
16 Reflect Magic
17 Blade of Souls
18 Deny Armor
19 Iaijutsu Grandmaster
20 Scrolls of Wisdom
All of the following are Class Features of the Samurai class:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Samurai are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as a single Exotic weapon appropriate to the Samurai's tradition. Samurai are proficient with Light and Medium Armor, but not with shields of any kind.
Ancestral Weaponry: Every culture with a Samurai tradition has a signature weapon that Samurai from that culture use. Whether it is the Spiked Chain of the Hobgoblin Khanate of Khadun or the Katana of the Human Empire of Rokugan, the weapon serves as a symbol of the office and prowess of the Samurai.
A samurai can only have one weapon designated as his Ancestral Weapon at a time, and this weapon must be a masterwork weapon exalted by the Samurai's warrior culture. He must perform a 24 hour ritual to call his ancestral spirits into the weapon and designate it as his Ancestral Weapon. This ritual costs 100 gp in incense and offerings, and once performed grants the following abilities:
-Counts as his Ancestral Weapon for all Samurai abilities.
-Has a minimum enhancement bonus to attack and damage equal to his level divided by three (maximum of +5 for a samurai of 20th level or lower).
-The Ancestral weapon has double HPs and +10 Hardness, and has the Ghost Touch special
property.
Example: Bandy Humaido is a halfling samurai, and his people greatly extort the halfling skiprock as a weapon of war – but because the skiprock is thrown weapon ammunition, it is inappropriate as an Ancestral Weapon (which, of course, you could only have one of). As such, Bandy instead draws the power of his ancestors into a short sword.
Pledge of Loyalty:
Samurai pledge their loyalty to a Lord, a figure of temporal power and head of a noble family or clan. To retain this Lord, they must follow this Lord's orders and uphold any Code of Conduct the Lord obeys. As long as a Samurai does these two things, he cannot be forced to act against his Lord or Lord's family by mind-affecting effects.
Samurai who have broken their vows to their lord are called ronin, while samurai who have never been pledged to a lord or are unwilling to do so are weaponmasters called kensai, sword saints, or simply "master swordsman" or other descriptive title. Regardless of their name, Samurai without a Lord receive a +4 bonus against mind-affecting effects.
Horde Breaker: A Samurai gains Horde Breaker as a bonus feat at 2nd level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Kiai! (Ex): At 3rd level, a Samurai may convert a successful strike into a confirmed critical hit. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his half his Samurai level +2. This ability is a free action that is declared after the strike is rolled and confirmed as a hit, but before damage is rolled. This ability cannot be used on Attacks of Opportunity.
Whirlwind Attack: A Samurai gains Whirlwind Attack as a bonus feat at 4th level.
Ancestral Guidance(Sp): At 5th level, a Samurai may seek guidance from his ancestors. This counts as a commune effect that can be used once a day. A samurai can also seek guidance from other peoples' ancestors if they are available. This works like a speak with dead effect that may be used once per day.
Blindfighting: A Samurai gains Blindfighting as a bonus feat at 6th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose a [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Terrible Blows (Su): At 6th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon bypasses Damage Reduction and ignores Hardness.
Iaijutsu (Ex): When a 7th level Samurai has the Edge on an opponent, he may take an attack of opportunity against that opponent as an immediate action at any time.
Parry Magic (Su): At 8th level, a Samurai may use his Ancestral Weapon to parry magic targeted at him. When the Samurai is targeted by a spell or supernatural ability, he may take an Attacks of Opportunity against the targeted effect. If he can make an attack roll against an AC equal to the spell or effect's DC with this Attack of Opportunity, the effect does not affect him.
Subtle Cut A Samurai gains Subtle Cut as a bonus feat at 9th level. If the Samurai already has this feat, he may choose another [Combat] Feat instead, but only if he meets the prerequisites of that feat.
Blade of Devastation (Su) At 10th level, the Samurai may attack enemies within his reach through objects and walls, his Ancestral Weapon automatically destroying any unattended object or wall in the way with a Hardness less than 20. As a result, enemies do not gain cover bonuses against an attacking Samurai. This effect can also pierce [force] effects.
As a standard action, he can also destroy unattended objects of any Hardness with a successful Ancestral weapon attack, or dispel up to a 10' by 10' section of a [force] effect.
Iaijutsu Focus (Ex): At 11th level, a Samurai may make up to his per round limit of Attacks of Opportunity against any opponent(s) that he threatens as an immediate action.
Cut Magic (Su): At 12th level, a Samurai may attack ongoing spell effects by attacking the square they are in for Area of Effect effects or the object or person for targeted effects (which does damage as normal to the object or person). This attack is handled like the Samurai's Parry Magic ability, but it only dispels a 10' by 10' section of an Area of Effect spell or spell-like ability.
Deny Caster Defenses (Ex): At 13th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from spells or spell-like abilities.
Final Cut(Ex): At 14th level, a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon gains the Vorpal Special quality, even if it is not a slashing weapon.
Iaijatsu Master(Ex) : At 15th level, any enemy struck by a Samurai's Attacks of Opportunity must make a Fortitude save against a DC equal to 10 + half the Samurai's HD +the Samurai's Wisdom bonus or be dazed for one round. A successful save against this effect makes the enemy immune to this effect for five rounds.
Reflect Magic(Su) : At 16th level, an spell effect that would be dispelled by a successful use of the Samurai's Parry Magic ability can instead be reflected back on the caster, as per a spell turning effect.
Blade of Souls: At 17th level, any enemy killed by a Samurai's Ancestral Weapon has his soul sucked into it, and this enemy cannot be raised, resurrected, or otherwise returned to life until the Ancestral Blade is broken. Each time the Ancestral Weapon takes a soul, the Samurai gains a single bonus use of his Kiai! ability that must be used before the next sunrise.
Deny Armor(Su): At 18th level, a Samurai attacking with his Ancestral Weapon ignores any AC bonuses on his targets that come from armor or natural armor.
Iaijutsu Grandmaster (Ex): At 19th level, any Attack of opportunity made by the Samurai is automatically a confirmed critical hit.
Scrolls of Wisdom: At 20th level, the Samurai has reached the pinnacle of his art, and he may compose a treatise of his collected wisdom. If he spends one month composing this treatise, he may distribute it and spread his wisdom. Anyone who reads this treatise gains a +2 competence bonus to attack characters with Samurai levels, but a -8 penalty to attack the writer of the treatise.
In addition, a Samurai who writes his treatise no longer takes ability penalties for aging as long as one copy of the treatise exists.
Some sort of Geomancer, or something. Maybe something with terrain control effects; and charm monster.
Level, Benefit
1 Sphere [Dominion], Petitioner Immunities [ [], [Product of Infernal Dalliance]
2 Enhanced Sphere Access
3 Sphere [Dominion], []
4 Bonus Feat [Item Creation Feat: Make Magical Stuff]
5 Sphere [Dominion]
6 Petitioner Skills []
7 Sphere [Bubbles]
8 Bonus Feat []
9 Sphere [Sleep]
10 Magical Training
11 True Fiend 1
12 True Fiend 2 []
13 True Fiend 3
14 True Fiend 4
