Dex Paladin katana aesthetic

[Snig]

Hey guys,

I'm playing a dexterity Paladin (oath of the Watchers) and I am really wanting to have her wield a single katana in combat. I'm thinking of reflavoring a scimitar, or if necessary swapping to strength and using a longsword.

My question is regarding my feat selection at first level as a v. human. I was going to take fighter initiate and choose the two weapon fighting style and just dual wield scimitar but I'm not in love with the twf aesthetic. I also thought about taking polearm master and refavoring a glaive into a katana but again this is cumbersome.

I thought about mechanically two weapon fighting but refavoring it as having just a single weapon and making two attacks? I'm not sure if this would cause any issues?

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make a katana wielding character that used their bonus action to attack?

[kazaryu]

why not just reskin a rapier? the piercing damage? seems like it should be ok to just...ask the dm for a custom katana that is functionally a rapier that does slashing damage. it wouldn't *neccesarily* be realistic, as katana famously could be wielded...or were primarily, wielded, as two-handed weapons. but realism generally doesn't matter IMO. so thats the route i'd go with.

[Snig]

why not just reskin a rapier? the piercing damage? seems like it should be ok to just...ask the dm for a custom katana that is functionally a rapier that does slashing damage. it wouldn't *neccesarily* be realistic, as katana famously could be wielded...or were primarily, wielded, as two-handed weapons. but realism generally doesn't matter IMO. so thats the route i'd go with.

I should have mentioned that I was looking thod to use my bonus action for an additional attack similar to pole arm master or two weapon fighter

[Mastikator]

If you have Eberron RFTLW then you could grab dual bladed scimitar (reskinned/reflavored) and take the Revenant Blade feat. It lets you use dexterity, it lets you make a bonus action attack, it's a two handed weapon (as if using a katana two-handed) and it gives a +1 to AC.

Edit- oh and it's a half-feat, +1 to dex.

[Unoriginal]

Kensei Monk. You say the bonus action Martial Art attack that you get at lvl 1 involves the katana, and at lvl 3 you can use an actual longsword.

[RogueJK]

Kensei Monk. You say the bonus action Martial Art attack that you get at lvl 1 involves the katana, and at lvl 3 you can use an actual longsword.

You could use a Longsword at Monk 2, thanks to Dedicated Weapon from TCoE. That also lets you use DEX for the longsword, since it designates it as a "monk weapon".

Plus, when you use Deft Strike or Focused Aim as part of your Action attack(s), you can make an actual BA sword attack thanks to Ki Fueled Attack.

RAW, this is the best route for getting a Bonus Action attack with a single DEX-based katana (longsword)*.

(*The other RAW options being the terrible combo of Monk 2/Berserker Barbarian 3+, or the slightly less terrible combo of Monk 2+/War Cleric 1+.)


If I were your DM, I'd be fine with a PC investing in TWF and then reflavoring it as making an additional BA attack with a single "katana" (scimitar).

[Unoriginal]

If I were your DM, I'd be fine with a PC investing in TWF and then reflavoring it as making an additional BA attack with a single "katana" (scimitar).

Would you still make the character count as having both hands full while in this "stance"?

[RogueJK]

Likely. It's already a slight power bump due to both hands' attacks using a single magic weapon. Allowing them to then also benefit from a shield or the Dueling fighting style would be another big power bump. Though I guess it'd still be on par with PAM spear+shield. So perhaps it'd be better to just make a Katana Master feat that mirrors PAM. Something like:

Katana Master
You have mastered the art of fighting with the katana, and gain the following benefits:
-When you are wielding a katana (longsword), it gains the Finesse property
-When you take the Attack action and attack with a katana (longsword) wielded in two hands, you can use a bonus action to make another melee attack with the weapon. This attack uses the same ability modifier as the primary attack. The weapon's damage die for this attack is a d4, and it deals slashing damage.

[Skrum]

Polearm Master seems to be the closest...two handed weapon, attack with your bonus action. Could use a "spear" instead, lowering the damage dice to d8 but also getting rid of reach (which I totally understand as being bothersome to the aesthetic). It'll do piercing damage, but switching damage types is a pretty inoffensive ask...though the bonus action attack does bludgeoning.

[Gurgeh]

Polearm Master seems to be the closest...two handed weapon, attack with your bonus action. Could use a "spear" instead, lowering the damage dice to d8 but also getting rid of reach (which I totally understand as being bothersome to the aesthetic). It'll do piercing damage, but switching damage types is a pretty inoffensive ask...though the bonus action attack does bludgeoning.

This is a good idea, though I think you might have meant a pike rather than a spear; D&D spears aren't reach weapons in the first place and only have a base damage die of d6.

But yes, a reskinned glaive would be a pretty straightforward choice here (damage is already slashing). I've done similar with a housecarl-themed character, with the D&D glaive flavoured as a long-hafted Dane axe and it worked fine (though I didn't bother with PAM).

[Witty Username]

I thought about mechanically two weapon fighting but refavoring it as having just a single weapon and making two attacks? I'm not sure if this would cause any issues?

It wouldn't. Ask your DM if they would be willing to make a variant of the Dual wielder feat but two handing a versitile weapon or something. Maybe cut the AC bonus but have it allow a bonus attack with a one-handed weapon wielded in two-hands (it maths to about the same but you take defensive instead of two-weapon fighting).

I would say rapier but slashing or longsword but finesse maps well to Katana. But that is more homebrew.

[LudicSavant]

I'm thinking of reflavoring a scimitar, or if necessary swapping to strength and using a longsword.

Scimitar of Speed has a bonus action attack.

My question is regarding my feat selection at first level as a v. human. I was going to take fighter initiate and choose the two weapon fighting style and just dual wield scimitar but I'm not in love with the twf aesthetic.

If you go for a TWF paladin, it's better *not* to spend feats on twf. Use it on support features instead, you don't need a feat for the BA.

I also thought about taking polearm master and refavoring a glaive into a katana but again this is cumbersome.

Refluff a Revenant Blade instead.

[thoroughlyS]

I agree with Mastikator and LudicSavant. My first thought was also Revenant Blade. I would ask your DM if they allow Custom Lineage to take racial feats, to get this build online at 1st level. If not, then 1st–3rd are going to be a bit of a slog, but those are generally the shortest levels anyway. And nothing's stopping you from using a rapier until you are "strong enough to wield your chosen weapon".