SHAMURAI
"I am the greatest swordsman in the land! And, I will prove such upon your broken, bleeding body!"
--Hubert Hawkins, infamous shamurai
The Shamurai is the consummate con artiste, convincing his opponents of his own skill so thoroughly that they never suspect he has only the most basic knowledge of swordplay.
BECOMING A SHAMURAI
Any character who is a fast enough talker can become a Shamurai, but the most common entry is via Bard or Rogue, or occasionally Swashbuckler. DonQuixote's
Jester gains special mention as well.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Bluff 8 ranks, Perform (Weapon Drill) 8 ranks, Sleight of Hand 8 ranks
Skill Tricks: Group Fake-out.
Feats: Improved Feint, Quick Draw.
Class Skills
The Shamurai's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level : 6 + int
Hit Dice: d6
| Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Convincing display, subtlety is king |
| 2nd | +0 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Aha! |
| 3rd | +0 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Subtle lunge |
| 4th | +0 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Yell like a madman |
| 5th | +0 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Improved convincing display |
| 6th | +0 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Didn't expect that, did you? |
| 7th | +0 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Improved aha! |
| 8th | +0 | +2 | +6 | +2 | A telling mistake! |
| 9th | +0 | +3 | +6 | +3 | You're a fool to challenge me! |
| 10th | +0 | +3 | +7 | +3 | Greater convincing display, improved yell like a madman |
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A shamurai gains no new proficiency with weapons or armor.
Convincing display (Ex): A shamurai's signature technique is a method of convincing one's opponent that one knows exactly what one is doing with a blade, even when that is not the case. Once per round, a shamurai may make a special feint attempt against a single opponent as a free action. If he succeeds, he may make an attack against that opponent as a standard action, but using his Perform (Weapon Drill) bonus in place of his attack bonus, as he convinces the opponent that these incredibly basic techniques are the epitome of skill. Skill tricks cannot be used with this feint attempt.
Convincing a particular enemy this way becomes more and more difficult every time the shamurai attempts it. Each time after the first that the shamurai uses this ability against a given opponent in the same combat, the opponent begins to get suspicious, and gains a cumulative +2 bonus on its Sense Motive check.
Subtlety is king (Ex): The tools of a shamurai's trade are his Bluff, Perform (Weapon Drill), and Sleight of Hand skills. He gains a bonus to these skills equal to half his class level, rounded down, minimum +1.
Aha! (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, a shamurai relies on misdirection and poise as protection from his opponent's attacks. Once per round, he may make a Sleight of Hand check as a free action when attacked by an opponent with a melee attack, substituting his check result for his armor class against the attack.
Subtle lunge (Ex): At 3rd level, whenever shamurai uses his Convincing Display ability, he may use his ranks in Sleight of Hand in place of his Strength score (calculating the modifier just as he would an ability modifier) for determining his bonus to damage rolls. He does not gain 1.5 times this bonus when wielding a weapon in two hands.
Yell like a madman (Ex): Upon reaching 4th level, whenever a shamurai makes a feint attempt (other than when using his Convincing Display or A telling mistake! abilities), he may choose to gain the benefit of this ability instead of the normal benefit of a feint. Any creature against whom he successfully feints must fight defensively when attacking the shamurai until the beginning of his next turn. If the creature has Combat Expertise, it may use that feat instead, but must take at least a -4 penalty to its attack roll. Each time after the first that a shamurai uses this ability in combat against a given opponent, that opponent gains a cumulative +2 bonus on the Sense Motive check as they become used to his manic scream.
Improved convincing display: Whenever a shamurai of 5th level or higher uses his Convincing Display ability, as long as he has at least 12 ranks in Perform (Weapon Drill), he may choose to make two attacks as a full-round action instead of one attack as a standard action. He uses his Perform (Weapon Drill) bonus in place of his attack bonus as normal, but makes the second roll with a -5 penalty.
Didn't expect that, did you? (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a shamurai's opponent gains no bonus to its Sense Motive checks on successive uses of Convincing Display as long as the shamurai uses a different weapon each time. Whenever the shamurai uses a weapon he has used before, the opponent gains a +2 bonus for each time the shamurai has used that weapon, as normal (i.e., the shamurai tracks the opponent's bonuses against feints with each different weapon separately).
Improved aha!: At 7th level, a shamurai may use his Aha! ability any number of times per round (though no more than once for a given attack).
A telling mistake! (Ex): Upon reaching 8th level, whenever an opponent misses the shamurai with a melee attack, the shamurai may make a special feint attempt as a free action. If he succeeds, instead of the normal effect, the opponent provokes an attack of opportunity from the shamurai, who may use his Sleight of Hand bonus in place of his attack bonus on the attack roll. Skill tricks may not be used with this feint attempt.
You're a fool to challenge me! (Ex): Beginning at 9th level, a shamurai knows how to capitalize on his reputation. Once per encounter, the first time an opponent attacks the shamurai, he may use his Convincing Display ability as an immediate action (making only a single attack).
Greater convincing display: Whenever a 10th-level shamurai uses his Convincing Display ability, as long as he has at least 17 ranks in Perform (Weapon Drill), he may choose to make up to three attacks as a full-round action instead of one attack as a standard action. He uses his Perform (Weapon Drill) bonus in place of his attack bonus as normal, but makes the second attack roll with a -5 penalty and the third attack roll with a -10 penalty.
Improved yell like a madman: At 10th level, a shamurai gains the benefit of his Group Fake-out skill trick whenever he uses his Yell Like A Madman ability. This is an exception to the rule that a skill trick may only be used once per encounter.
((Fluff stuff to be added...))
Originally posted
here.
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Shamurai (3.5 prc) -- a melee con artist
