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Manly Man
2013-05-17, 09:11 PM
“Hah! And you call yourself a fighter? Let me teach you a thing or two about what fighting really is.”
-Cecilia Rhys, a sublime fighter

Much as a swordsage may lay claim to having the widest variety of abilities, the warblade may boast about his prowess, while a crusader wields unwavering faith, the sublime fighter will do none of these things. She is devoted to one thing, and one thing alone, and that is to fight. They are not like warblades; they do not solely aim to make names for themselves. They are not like crusaders; they do not use their abilities only to follow some divine ideal. They are not like swordsages; the Sublime Way is not some kind of philosophy. For a sublime fighter, the Sublime Way is to be mastered, developed, and utilized. It is an ore for shaping, from which the most wondrous feats can be forged. They carve their own paths, seeing each discipline as a weapon in its own right, used to swathe through foe upon foe. Practice is the only thing in which a sublime fighter gives herself no choice, all else is but a matter of what it is that she practices and how she uses it.

MAKING A SUBLIME FIGHTER

Sublime fighters are among the best in the world at fighting in the front lines, as are most others who follow the way of the sword. Each and every one of them is different, using different methods and styles to deal the most damage. The possibilities are nigh infinite, some of them preferring to charge forth, others specializing in shredding their enemies with an overwhelming number of attacks, and others still finding more creative ways to lay their opponents into the dirt. Whatever they choose, that is what they will do, and they will be the best at it.

Abilities: While sublime fighters are an extremely diverse bunch, they do need to select an ability to dedicate to the wielding of weapons, whether it be Strength for those who wield larger weapons, or Dexterity for those who use many at once. Constitution is always nice as well, as the tougher they are, the longer they can perform. However, unlike others who follow the Sublime Way, a sublime fighter does not dedicate a specific mental attribute to her fighting, as the way she fights and her way of thinking about it can be based upon her knowledge, her wit, or even just the strength of her personality.

Races: Humans are both among the best and most numerous of sublime fighters. Their penchant for ambition has lead many to success in the life of adventuring. Elves will take on styles based on grace and forethought, while a dwarf or a half-orc would likely follow a path devoted to sheer brute force. Though relatively weak in physical terms, gnomes are known to become sublime fighters and take advantage of their faster thinking, outsmarting any other combatant who dares to approach them. Most other races are not especially common for such careers, but there is always an example of someone who breaks the norm.

Alignment: Sublime fighters may be of any alignment, as all strive to be better, regardless of their motivations for doing so. Most follow the same standards as those other warriors who like to think themselves worthy of the title of ‘fighter’.

Starting Gold: 6d4x10

Starting Age: As fighter.


{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known
1st|+1|+2|+0|+0|Bonus feat, combat mentality|5|3|2
2nd|+2|+3|+0|+0|Instinctual acuity|6|3|2
3rd|+3|+3|+1|+1|Weapons adept|6|4|2
4th|+4|+4|+1|+1|Bonus feat|7|4|2
5th|+5|+4|+1|+1|Broadened Horizons|8|4|3
6th|+6/+1|+5|+2|+2|Twinstrike|8|5|3
7th|+7/+2|+5|+2|+2|Armor aptitude|9|5|3
8th|+8/+3|+6|+2|+2|Bonus feat|10|5|3
9th|+9/+4|+6|+3|+3|Weapons expert|10|6|4
10th|+10/+5|+7|+3|+3|Broadened horizons|11|6|4
11th|+11/+6/+1|+7|+3|+3|Improved twinstrike|12|6|4
12th|+12/+7/+2|+8|+4|+4|Bonus feat|12|7|4
13th|+13/+8/+3|+8|+4|+4|Strength of mind|13|7|5
14th|+14/+9/+4|+9|+4|+4|Armor mastery|14|7|5
15th|+15/+10/+5|+9|+5|+5|Master of arms|14|8|5
16th|+16/+11/+6/+1|+10|+5|+5|Bonus feat|15|8|5
17th|+17/+12/+7/+2|+10|+5|+5|Greater twinstrike|16|8|6
18th|+18/+13/+8/+3|+11|+6|+6|Broadened horizons|16|9|6
19th|+19/+14/+9/+4|+11|+6|+6|Second skin|17|9|6
20th|+20/+15/+9/+5|+12|+6|+6|Bonus feat, supreme twinstrike|18|9|6[/table]

Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Martial Lore, Ride, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Swim, Tumble.


CLASS FEATURES

The sublime fighter is not as endowed in terms of breathing room when it comes to their selection of maneuvers as swordsages may be, but they do still enjoy a great variety of options, and in some ways, are even more flexible than any other practitioners. They can be superior to crusaders at holding the line and withstanding blows for their allies, just as much as they have the possibility to be even better at dishing out damage than a warblade. Their freedom of choice also has a strong gravity to be felt as well, and so they pick and choose wisely.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A sublime fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and all armor and shields, including tower shields.

Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. Unlike other martial adepts, you are not restricted to any particular disciplines, and are allowed to decide upon four from which to pick your maneuvers.. The only exception is that you cannot choose to have more than one of the following disciplines: Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, and Shadow Hand. The dedication it takes to unlock these disciplines makes it impossible to master them for those who are not of incredible experience levels.

Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, on the table below). A maneuver usable by a sublime fighter is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not invoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.

You learn addition maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on the table below. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. See Table 3-1, page 39 of the Tome of Battle, Book of Nine Swords, to determine the highest-level maneuvers you can learn.

Upon reaching 4th-level, and at every even-numbered sublime fighter level after that (6th, 8th, 10th and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You choose a maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with another one of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th-level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: You can ready three of five maneuvers you know at 1st-level, and as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to meditate again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to change your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in exercise, you can change your readied maneuvers.

You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you may have used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

You can recover a maneuver by not using a maneuver of the same level for as many rounds as the maneuver has levels. For example, when you use a 3rd-level maneuver, you must wait for three rounds before you can use another one, though you may use maneuvers of another level, even if it’s a higher level, before then.

Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of two 1st-level stances from any discipline available to you. At 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th level, you can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All the stances you know are available at all times, and you can change the stance you currently use as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in the stance description.

Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn new stances in place of ones you already know.

Bonus Feats: At 1st level, a sublime fighter gets a bonus combat-oriented feat in addition to the feat that any 1st-level character gets and the bonus feat granted to a human character. The sublime fighter gains an additional bonus feat at 4th level and every four sublime fighter levels thereafter (8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th). These feats must be drawn from the feats listed as fighter bonus feats. A sublime fighter must still meet the prerequisites for the feat.

These feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets every three levels. A sublime fighter is not limited to the list of fighter bonus feats when choosing these feats.

Combat Mentality: At 1st level, a sublime fighter must choose between Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. This will be the ability used to determine the effects of other class features. At 1st level, the save DC of your sublime fighter maneuvers is 10 + maneuver level + the chosen ability modifier, if higher than the maneuver's normal DC. At 3rd level, a sublime fighter adds her chosen ability modifier to her attack rolls. At 5th level, it is added to her damage rolls.

Instinctual Acuity (Ex): At 2nd level, a sublime fighter adds her Combat Mentality bonus to her Reflex saves and to her Initiative as a morale bonus.

Weapons Adept (Ex): A 3rd-level sublime fighter has become a skilled warrior who is able to adapt her current knowledge of weapons to allow her to use other, stranger weapons. She is now proficient with any exotic weapon that is not race-specific, e.g. orc double-axe, dwarven waraxe, etc.

Broadened Horizons: At 5th level, a sublime fighter has grown in her understanding of the Sublime Way even further. She may now select another discipline from which she can select more maneuvers, though she must still meet the requirements, and she is still restricted to only one of Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, and Shadow Hand.

At 10th and 18th level, she may select another discipline, and has no restrictions on which disciplines she can take.

Twinstrike (Ex): At 6th level, a sublime fighter has become skilled enough in her studies to be able to perform two strikes at once, though this technique is still in pupation. When performing a strike maneuver, a sublime fighter may choose one other strike maneuver to perform in immediate succession, each as a separate attack, though it must be a 1st-level strike, and neither can require more than a standard action to initiate. If she does not know any 1st-level strikes then she may use one of the lowest level she knows. Both levels of maneuvers are subject to the waiting period between the usage of another of their respective levels.

Armor Aptitude (Ex): At 7th level, a sublime fighter has grown accustomed to the armor she wears while fighting, learning each and every last detail of it, how it restricts her movement, and where to optimize its usage. All armor she wears reduces the Armor Check penalty by her Combat Mentality bonus, and increases her maximum Dexterity bonus by the same value. This effect does not stack with other bonuses to each respective area from another class’ features, or from the material properties (mithral, for example).

Weapons Expert (Ex): A 9th-level sublime fighter’s understanding of weaponry has matured to the point that no weapon is out of her reach. With but a flourish or two, she may become proficient with any weapon she holds.

Improved Twinstrike (Ex): 11th-level sublime fighters are on the way to slowly but surely mastering the technique of using two strikes in one round. The second strike may now be of 3rd level or lower. Using two strikes of the same level doubles the waiting period.

Strength of Mind (Ex): So refined has the mind of a 13th-level sublime fighter become that her Combat Mentality bonus now is added to her Will saves and all skills tied to that ability as a morale bonus.

Armor Mastery (Ex): At 14th level, a sublime fighter’s understanding of her armor has become so acute that it is treated as one category lighter whenever beneficial (such as a spell or class feature that requires heavy armor). This does not stack with the benefits of mithral armor, or other materials that treat the armor as lighter. Light armor is still treated as light armor.

Master of Arms (Ex): A 15th-level sublime fighter has grown so familiar with the handling of weapons that feats that specify a single weapon (such as a longsword or greataxe) to apply to all similar weapons ( all swords, axes, spears, maces, and so forth). As long as she has the feats for it (such as Weapon Focus in two different weapons), she may select a different type of weapon for each application of the feat.

Greater Twinstrike (Ex): At 17th level, a sublime fighter’s skill with the Twinstrike technique has become even more awesome than ever. She may now use up to a 6th-level strike maneuver when performing another strike maneuver. As well, the waiting time for her maneuvers to be usable again is reduced by 1 round.

Second Skin (Ex): By the time a sublime fighter has reached 19th level, armor provides so little hindrance that she may as well be wearing none at all. All penalties associated with wearing armor, save for the weight, are reduced to 0, and she now has no limit to her maximum Dexterity bonus. Also, she adds her Combat Mentality bonus to the armor bonus, stacking with all initial armor bonuses and enhancement bonuses (if any). She also gains a dodge bonus equal to her Combat Mentality bonus.

Supreme Twinstrike (Ex): At 20th level, a sublime fighter has truly and utterly mastered the ability to perform two strikes at once. She may now use two strike maneuvers of any level, and the waiting period before being able to use maneuvers of the same level again is reduced by three instead of one.

Notes:

First and foremost, this class was made after getting an idea from reading this particular thread (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19573526/Analyzing_the_Fighter_vs._The_Warblade) on the WotC forums, though not necessarily on that page. Also, I assume that this class seems to be a tad overpowered. This was actually intended, since I've always found it to be better to have a lot more than necessary and just shave it off until it fits, rather than try to add more to it. The lack of dead levels is what I was aiming for the most here.

genericwit
2013-05-18, 05:10 PM
This is extremely powerful. It's basically better than a gestalt swordsage/fighter.

Just food for thought; I would never allow this in a non-gestalt campaign, not even in a high-power campaign.

Manly Man
2013-05-19, 04:06 PM
This is extremely powerful. It's basically better than a gestalt swordsage/fighter.

Just food for thought; I would never allow this in a non-gestalt campaign, not even in a high-power campaign.

And I said I aimed to have this be stronger than it should be, so that it's easier to adjust things properly by trimming off a thing or two until it fits better, rather than trying to add more to it, which usually comes out as terribly clumsy in my experience.

The main thing that I think I overdid it on is how they get to pick their own disciplines, or at least the amount of them that they have. What would be your suggestions on that?

sirpercival
2013-05-19, 05:59 PM
Man I was hoping this was a redirect link to the warblade page. That woulda been hilarious.

Prime32
2013-05-19, 07:34 PM
Combat Mentality: At 1st level, a sublime fighter must choose between Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. This will be the ability used to determine the effects of other class features. At 3rd level, a sublime fighter adds her chosen ability modifier to her attack rolls. At 5th level, it is added to her damage rolls.Selecting it before it does anything is kind of odd. Can I suggest this at 1st level? "The save DC of your fighter maneuvers is 10 + maneuver level + the chosen ability modifier, if higher than the maneuver's normal DC".


Weapons Adept (Ex): A 3rd-level sublime fighter has become a skilled warrior who is able to adapt her current knowledge of weapons to allow her to use other, stranger weapons. She is now able to use any exotic weapon that is not race-specific, e.g. orc double-axe, dwarven waraxe, etc.Technically anyone can use any weapon, they just won't be proficient with it. :smalltongue: And why not those weapons? They're not any harder to use.


Twinstrike (Ex): At 6th level, a sublime fighter has become skilled enough in her studies to be able to perform two strikes at once, though this technique is still in pupation. When performing a strike maneuver, a sublime fighter may choose one other strike maneuver to perform in immediate succession, each as a separate attack, though it must be a 1st-level strike. If she does not know any 1st-level strikes then she may use one of the lowest level she knows. Both levels of maneuvers are subject to the waiting period between the usage of another of their respective levels.So... if I use a standard action strike, I can then use a full-round action strike for free? Also the variable level restriction is pretty metagame-y.


Armor Aptitude (Ex): At 7th level, a sublime fighter has grown accustomed to the armor she wears while fighting, learning each and every last detail of it, how it restricts her movement, and where to optimize its usage. All armor she wears reduces the Armor Check penalty by her mental score modifier, and increases her maximum Dexterity bonus by the same value. This effect does not stack with other bonuses to each respective area from another class’ features, or from the material properties (mithral, for example).You need a less vague term than "her mental score modifier" for the class features like this, like "her Combat Mentality bonus".


Armor Mastery (Ex): At 14th level, a sublime fighter’s understanding of her armor has become so acute that it is treated as one category lighter. This does not stack with the benefits of mithral armor, or other materials that treat the armor as lighter.Add "whenever beneficial" so that abilities that function only in heavy armor don't turn off.

Manly Man
2013-05-19, 09:29 PM
Man I was hoping this was a redirect link to the warblade page. That woulda been hilarious.

I was actually considering to do that for the introduction. :smallamused:


Selecting it before it does anything is kind of odd. Can I suggest this at 1st level? "The save DC of your fighter maneuvers is 10 + maneuver level + the chosen ability modifier, if higher than the maneuver's normal DC".

Good idea, and implanted.


Technically anyone can use any weapon, they just won't be proficient with it. :smalltongue: And why not those weapons? They're not any harder to use.

The main reason I'd done that was because it's a boundary that is, for the most part, quite clear (then again, pretty much everything in D&D is up for debate). Would you please suggest what could be done to improve the idea? Maybe something similar to what I've got for the Master of Arms feature?


So... if I use a standard action strike, I can then use a full-round action strike for free? Also the variable level restriction is pretty metagame-y.

I need to re-read the ToB a bit more, I guess; none of the maneuvers I've taken with any of my characters are full-round actions, so I must have not noticed them, or simply just didn't remember them. As for the level restrictions, it's supposed to represent how hard it is to be able to fit that much action into one... well, action. I suppose there are other ways this can be done, but it's the simplest way I can think of that also meshes well with their maneuver recovery mechanic. Changing it a bit anyway, though.


You need a less vague term than "her mental score modifier" for the class features like this, like "her Combat Mentality bonus".

Done, I think (may have missed one or two, but I'm pretty sure I didn't).


Add "whenever beneficial" so that abilities that function only in heavy armor don't turn off.

Done.

As well, I restricted the selection on disciplines just a tad, making them only be able to take one of the specialist disciplines until 10th and 18th.

Manly Man
2013-05-20, 02:56 PM
Figure I may as well give making a sample character a try.

Cecilia Rhys
CR 10
Female human sublime fighter 10
NG Medium humanoid
Init +9; Senses
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven

AC 24, touch 18, flat-footed 19 (Dex +5, armor +6, shield +3,
hp 69 (10 HD)
Fort +8 Ref +10 Will +3

Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), base speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 mithral heavy spiked shield of bashing +14 (2d6+4), +1 mithral light shield of bashing +14 (1d8+4)
Base Atk +10; Grp +11
Atk Options Shield bash, twinstrike
Combat Gear 3 potions of cure serious wounds, 1 potion of haste

Maneuvers and Stances Known (IL 10th)
Stances- Punishing Stance (1st), Bolstering Voice (1st), Absolute Steel Stance (3rd), Dancing Blade Form (5th)
Strikes- Leading the Attack (1st), Emerald Razor (2nd), Mountain Hammer (2nd), Ruby Nightmare Blade (4th), Mithral Tornado (4th)
Boosts- White Raven Tactics (3rd)
Counters- Moment of Perfect Mind (1st), Shield Block (2nd), Wall of Blades (2nd), Iron Heart Focus (5th)
Disciplines- Devoted Spirit, Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, White Raven

Abilities Str 15, Dex 21, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 8
SQ None
Feats Improved Initiative, Improved Shield Bash, Two-Weapon Fighting, Shield Specialization (heavy), Agile Shield Fighter, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Combat Reflexes, Shield Ward
Skills- Balance +16, Concentration +14, Diplomacy +12, Intimidate +12, Search +13, Spot +11, Tumble +16
Possessions- Combat gear plus +2 mithral chain shirt, Heward's handy haversack, boots of striding and springing, ring of sustenance, gloves of dexterity +4, belt of giant's strength +2, 410 gp