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View Full Version : [PF] PoW/ToB Base Class: The Bushi [P.E.A.C.H.]



Elricaltovilla
2013-12-17, 01:16 PM
The Bushi

The Bushi is the quintessential warrior ascetic. Equal parts warrior, philosopher, leader and artist, the bushi is something all noble warriors strive to become. Where a Fighter or Warblade might seek the physical perfection of their blade and their martial style, the bushi marries that physical perfection with perfection of the spirit.

Role: The bushi is a front line combatant and leader. He excels at melee combat, protecting his allies and leading his followers to victory.

Alignment: Any, although most tend towards lawful.

Hit Die: D10

Starting Wealth: 5d6 x 10 gp (average 175gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances

1st|+1|+2|+2|+0| Quick Draw, Ancestral Oath | 4 | 4 | 1

2nd|+2|+3|+3|+0| Iaijutsu +1d6 | 5 | 5 | 1

3rd|+3|+3|+3|+1| Bushido | 6 | 5 | 1

4th|+4|+4|+4|+1| - | 7 | 5 | 2

5th|+5|+4|+4|+1| Iaijutsu +2d6 | 8 | 6 | 2

6th|+6/+1|+5|+5|+2| Bushido | 9 | 6 | 2

7th|+7/+2|+5|+5|+2| Lightning Swap(PF) | 10 | 6 | 3

8th|+8/+3|+6|+6|+2| Iaijutsu +3d6 | 11 | 7 | 3

9th|+9/+4|+6|+6|+3| Bushido | 12 | 7 | 3

10th|+10/+5|+7|+7|+3| Lightning Counter 1/day | 13 | 8 | 4

11th|+11/+6/+1|+7|+7|+3| Iaijutsu +4d6 | 14 | 8 | 4

12th|+12/+7/+2|+8|+8|+4| Bushido | 15 | 8 | 4

13th|+13/+8/+3|+8|+8|+4| Lightning Counter 2/day | 16 | 9 | 5

14th|+14/+9/+4|+9|+9|+4| Iaijutsu +5d6 | 17 | 10 | 5

15th|+15/+10/+5|+9|+9|+5| Bushido | 18 | 10 | 5

16th|+16/+11/+6/+1|+10|+10|+5| Lightning Counter 3/day| 19 | 10 | 6

17th|+17/+12/+7/+2|+10|+10|+5| Iaijutsu +6d6, Bushido | 20 | 11 | 6

18th|+18/+13/+8/+3|+11|+11|+6| - | 21 | 11 | 6

19th|+19/+14/+9/+4|+11|+11|+6| Lightning Counter 4/day | 22 | 11 | 6

20th|+20/+15/+10/+5|+12|+12|+6| Iaijutsu +7d6, Zen Bushido | 23 | 12 | 7

[/table]

Class Skills: The Bushi's Class Skills are:
(Pathfinder) Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Geography) (Int), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Knowledge (Martial) (Int), Knowledge (Noblility) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis)

(D&D 3.5) Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Geography) (Int), Knowledge (History) (Int), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Knowledge (Martial) (Int), Knowledge (Nobility) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Ride (Dex), Search (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language, Spot (Wis)

Skill Points Per Level: 4+Int modifier (PF), 4+Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level (3.5)

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Bushi are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, the katana and wakizashi, light and medium armor, but not shields.

Maneuvers: A Bushi begins his career with knowledge of four martial maneuvers, the disciplines available to him are Golden Lion, Scarlet Throne, Primal Fury, and Ancestral Awakening* (PF), or White Raven, Iron Heart, Diamond Mind and Ancestral Awakening* (3.5).
*New discipline, detailed below (needs a better name).

Once the Bushi knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see maneuvers readied below). A maneuver usable by the bushi is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. His maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one. He learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown in the table above. The Bushi must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it.

Upon reaching 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the Bushi can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of a maneuver he already knows. He can choose any maneuver he meets the prerequisites for, so long as it does not exceed his highest level maneuver known. He can only swap one maneuver at any given level. The Bushi's initiation attribute is Wisdom.

Maneuvers Readied: The Bushi can ready all four of his starting maneuvers at 1st level, but as he advances in level he must choose which maneuvers to ready. The bushi readies maneuvers by meditating for 5 minutes. The maneuvers he choose remain readied until he decides to meditate again and change them. The bushi does not need to sleep or rest for an extended period of time to ready maneuvers; any time he spends 5 minutes in meditation, he can change his readied maneuvers.

The bushi begins an encounter with all his readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he has used them since he last chose them. When he initiates a maneuver, it is expended for the current encounter, each maneuver can only be readied once and can only be used once per encounter until recovered as described below.

A Bushi recovers his maneuvers by sheathing his blade, taking a brief moment of quiet contemplation. When he sheathes a weapon (normally a move action), he recovers one maneuver. He cannot recover more than one maneuver per round this way, no matter how many weapons he sheathes or how many times he sheathes an individual weapon per round. The bushi cannot recover a maneuver in the same round in which it was used.

Quick Draw: At level 1, the bushi has begun to study the art of Iaijutsu, he gains Quick Draw as a bonus feat. In addition, he can use his Quick Draw feat to resheathe his weapon as swift action instead of a move action.

(3.5)At 7th level, he can resheathe his weapon as a free action a number of times per round equal to his Dex modifier.

Ancestral Oath: At level 1, the Bushi swears an oath to serve an ideal or person and invokes the honor of his ancestors to empower that oath. The wording and nature of the oath are up to each individual Bushi and the subject of their oath, but it provides some notable benefits to the Bushi. So long as the bushi upholds their oath, they gain a +2 bonus to Will Saves and a further +2 bonus against enchantment and suggestion effects. In addition, if the recipient of the Bushi's oath is a person, the Bushi adds an additional +2 to the resulting bonus of aid another check used to aid the recipient of the oath for every 5 levels of Bushi.

At 4th level and every 7 levels thereafter, the power of the Bushi's Ancestral Oath grows. The bushi gains a +2 bonus to one of the following:

-Attack Rolls with Discipline Weapons
-Damage Rolls with Discipline Weapons
-Save DCs of Ancestral Ascension Maneuvers
- AC
- Initiative
- A +10 bonus to land speed (level 11+)

Each of these bonuses may only be selected once.

If the Bushi fails in their oath, they lose the benefits of their Ancestral Oath and cannot make another Ancestral Oath until they have achieved vengeance for their charge.

Iaijutsu: When the Bushi begins his career, he learns to use his sword to make powerful draw cuts that slice deep into his enemies and kill them with a single stroke. At 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter the Bushi does an extra +1d6 of damage with any attack where he draws his blade prior to the strike. The Bushi must make the attack within the same turn as when the weapon is drawn, and only the first strike made with a weapon after it is drawn gains this bonus damage: He cannot benefit from Iaijutsu with this weapon again until he sheathes and re-draws it.

Bushido: At 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 17th level, the Bushi masters one of the principles of Bushido, the code of the warrior. The Bushi selects one principle below to master at each indicated level.

-Righteousness: The Bushi knows right from wrong on an inherent, instinctual level. The Bushi can use Detect Evil at will as a paladin of his level. In addition, if an opponent directly threatens the subject of the Bushi's Ancestral Oath, the Bushi adds his Bushi levels to damage dealt to that opponent.

-Courage: The Bushi becomes immune to nonmagical fear effects. He gains a +4 bonus on saves against magical fear, and can grant this bonus to his allies for a number of rounds equal to his Wis modifier as a swift action.

-Benevolence: The Bushi's kindness and concern for his allies takes on a supernatural quality. The Bushi can spend a swift action to grant allies temporary HP equal to the Bushi's Class levels. These temporary hit points do not stack and last for 1 minute or until lost.

-Respect: The Bushi respects all life, and knows that the strength of his allies support his own strength. Whenever the bushi uses the Aid Another action, he adds +2 to the bonus that he grants his allies.

-Honesty: The Universal Truth speaks to the Bushi, allowing him to detect falsity wherever it may hide. The Bushi can use Discern Lies for a number of rounds per day equal to his character level, these rounds do not need to be consecutive.

-Honor: Honorable combat is the only true test of a warrior, and the bushi knows this. The Bushi may issue a challenge to one foe once per day per Bushi Level. Foes that are challenged must attempt to target the bushi with their attacks or take a -2 penalty to attack rolls. Both the Bushi and the challenged opponent gain a +2 bonus to AC against all attacks that do not originate from either the Bushi or the challenged foe. At 10th level, these penalties and bonuses increase to -4 and +4 respectively.

-Loyalty: The Bushi knows true friend from foe at all times. The Bushi gains the Mettle (3.5) or Stalwart (PF) extraordinary ability. In addition, the Bushi gains a bonus equal to 1/2 his class level to detect whenever anyone tries to disguise themselves as one of the bushi's allies.

Lighting Swap: At 7th level, the Bushi gains Lightning Swap as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisites. (PF)

Lightning Counter: At 10th level, the Bushi learns to react more swiftly to incoming threats. Once per day at 10th level, he can immediately recover and use a Counter maneuver as a free action useable on his opponents' turn. He can do this one additional time per day at 13th, 16th and 19th level.

Zen Bushido: A 20th level Bushi has mastered all of Bushido and attained the perfect enlightenment of the warrior. The Bushi gains the last principle of Bushido and all numeric effects of the Bushi's Bushido Principles are doubled.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-17, 01:18 PM
Ancestral Ascension

Ancestral Ascension is a discipline dedicated to the honor of one’s ancestors. It holds that their spirits guide and protect the disciple and provide the source of his power. The Key Skill for the discipline is Knowledge (History) and its associated weapons are Longsword, Katana, Wakizashi, Falchion and Kukri (3.5). Its associate weapon groups are Light Blades, Heavy Blades, and Monk Weapons (PF).

Some of the maneuvers of this discipline are supernatural in nature. Check the maneuver description to see which maneuvers are supernatural.

1st
Sleeping Serpent- Strike, draw your blade to strike your opponent and deal +1d6 damage.
Double Cut- Strike, attack twice with your weapon.
Rousing Slash- Strike, attack the foe and heal temporary hit points.
Whispers of the Father- Boost, gain an attack bonus equal to your ranks in Kn (History)
Ancient Spirit Stance- Stance, gain +2 AC and +2 Attack
Furious Spirit Stance- Stance, Gain +1d6 damage on attacks with discipline weapons

2nd
Bloody Spirit’s Hunger- Boost, take temporary CON damage to deal bonus damage
Whispers of the Mother- Counter, use Knowledge (History) in place of AC
Shatter the Blade’s Soul- Strike, make a sunder attempt against a foe’s weapon that does not provoke and gains +2 bonus
Blessing of the Ancestral Blade- Strike, attack foe, and if it hits allies within 30 ft gain your Wis modifier to attack and damage rolls for 1 round.
Hold Fast- Boost, Heal an ally a number of temp hp equal to your Knowledge (History) check
Strike of the Cherry Blossom- Strike, Attack a foe at close range and deal +2d6 damage.

3rd
Spirit of the Crescent Moon- Strike, deal extra damage and leave a bleeding wound
Dancing Spirit Stance- Stance, Gain bonus to AC and levitate as the spell.
Avenge the Fallen- Strike, deal extra damage to enemy that killed your ally.
Whirlwind Slice- Strike, attack a foe multiple times and deal increasing damage.

4th
Oath of Guidance- Strike, use Knowledge (History) in place of attack roll, deal +4d6 damage
Spirit Strike- Strike, Attack foe within close range, deal damage equal to 2x Knowledge (History) check.
Ghost of the Fallen- Boost, Summon incorporeal flanking ally for Wis mod rounds
Spirit Guardian- Counter, Become Incorporeal for 1 round.

5th
Secret of the Father- Boost, attack foe’s touch AC and deal extra damage equal to Knowledge (History) roll
Secret of the Mother- Counter, Heal temporary HP equal to damage taken
Symbol of the Ancestor- Strike, Deal +6d6 damage and intimidate all foes within 30 Ft.
Call the Grave- Strike, wave of necrotic energy deals damage to target within close range equal to 3x Knowledge (History) check.
Wailing Banshee Stance- Stance, Gain flight speed equal to movement speed and Ghost Touch on all weapons and armor.

6th
Oath of Justice- Counter, strike foe that just hit you and deal bonus damage equal to the damage you recieved.
Restore the Flagging Spirit- Strike, hit foe and deal +5d6 damage. Allies within 30 ft are healed HP equal to 2x Knowledge (History) check.
Soul Cutter- Strike, resolve your attack against a foe’s touch AC and deal +7d6 damage
Whisps of Mist- Counter, Transform into incorporeal mist and teleport away from your attacker

7th
Tsubame Gaeshi- Strike your opponent three times at once with powerful, deadly blows.
Truth of the Father- Boost, strike your opponent and curse him with an incurable bleeding wound.
Truth of the Mother- Counter, spell, strike, power, SLA or PLA that targets you targets an enemy of your choice instead.

8th
Perfect Stroke- Strike, attack your foe and deal +12d6 damage and possibly slay them
Renew the Soul- Strike, your attack does +8d6 damage and heals all allies within 30 ft equal to 4x your Knowledge (History) check
Spiritual Reincarnation- Counter, When you would be slain by an attack, automatically resurrect 1 round later at full hit points.

9th
Heaven or Hell- Strike, Hit an ally to heal them as heal spell or hit a foe to harm them as harm spell.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-17, 01:20 PM
Ancestral Ascension

1st

Sleeping Serpent
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Your blade seems to leap from its scabbard of its own volition, darting out to strike your enemy in a blur of shimmering steel.

As part of this maneuver, you draw your blade from its sheath. If your attack hits, it deals an extra +1d6 damage.

Double Cut
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One or more creatures
The flash of your blade moves so quickly that you can strike your opponent multiple times before they can react

When you initiate this maneuver, you make two attacks against your choice of one or two adjacent enemies (if you attack two adjacent enemies, each enemy only takes one attack).

Rousing Cut
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
The feel of your blade cutting into your foe renews your fighting spirit, leaving you hungering for more.

If you successfully strike your opponent with a melee attack made as part of this maneuver, you gain 1d6 temporary hit points. These temporary hit points do not stack and are lost before regular hit points. They last for 1 minute or until lost.

Whispers of the Father
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
The voice of one of your legendary ancestors calls to you, showing you the weakness of your opponent.

When you initiate this boost, make a Knowledge (History) check as a free action. Add your result to your attack roll to determine if you hit your opponent.

Ancient Spirit Stance
Ancestral Ascension (Stance)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You step into the first stance of your family's ancient sword techniques. A stance meant to guard the body and open the mind's eye

While in this stance you gain a +2 bonus to AC and a +2 bonus to attack rolls.

Furious Spirit Stance
Ancestral Ascension (Stance)
Level: Bushi 1
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
As you raise your blade horizontally over your head, you can feel the wrath of your kin lining the edge of the blade. They will guide it true to bring death to your foes.

While in this stance you deal an extra +1d6 damage with each hit as long as you are wielding a discipline weapon.


2nd

Bloody Spirits Hunger
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
The oldest of the spirits in your family offer you the greatest aid, but it comes at a terrible price.

When you initiate this boost, you take 1d6 points of temporary CON damage. You add +1d6 damage to your attack for each point of CON damage you take. This Constitution damage lasts 24 hours and cannot be healed by other means. This is a Supernatural ability.

Whispers of the Mother
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
The cry of the ancient matron spirits of your family awakens you at the last second to avoid an incoming attack.

When you initiate this boost, make a Knowledge (History) check as a free action. You may use your result in place of your AC if the result is higher.

Shatter the Blade's Soul
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Every weapon has a soul, and to break that soul breaks the weapon. Knowing this, you strike at your opponent's weapon, breaking its soul.

Make a sunder attempt against your opponent's weapon that deals an extra +2d6 damage and does not provoke an attack of opportunity. You gain a +2 bonus on this attempt.

Blessings of the Ancestral Blade
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You call upon your ancestors to aid your allies in slaying your foes. Your skill with the blade shows them how worthy you are.

When you successfully hit an opponent with this strike, your allies within 30 ft. add your Wisdom modifier to attack and damage rolls until the beginning of your next turn.

Hold Fast
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Close (25ft +5/2 levels)
Target: One creature
Your encouragement in the face of adversity allows an ally to recover themselves temporarily.

When you initiate this boost, make a Knowledge (History) check as a free action. One ally within close range (25ft +5/2 levels) gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the result of your Knowledge (History) check. These temporary hit points do not stack and are lost before regular hit points. They last for 1 minute or until lost.

Strike of the Cherry Blossom
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 3
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25ft +5/2 levels)
Target: One creature
The force of your blade whips up a wind that rushes towards a distant foe to strike them, guided by your ancestral spirits.

When you initiate this strike you target one enemy in close range (25ft +5/2 levels). This attack does an additional +2d6 damage to that target. This is a Supernatural Ability.



3rd

Strike of the Crescent Moon
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 5
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Your blade arcs forth from its sheath, coming down in a swift semicircle, carving a deep gash in your foe

As part of this maneuver, you draw your blade from its sheath. If your attack hits, it deals an extra +4d6 damage and causes the target to bleed damage equal to your Wisdom Modifier. A DC 15 Heal check or any amount of magical healing is enough to end the bleed effect.

Dancing Spirit Stance
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 5
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Your steps become lighter, your movements swifter and more graceful. You can feel your ancestral spirits guiding and lifting your body.

While in this stance, you gain a dodge bonus to AC equal to 1/2 your Initiator Level and are considered to be under the effects of a levitation spell for as long as your remain in this stance (caster level is equal to your Initiator Level). You can suppress or resume the levitation effect at will as a free action. This is a supernatural effect

Avenge the Fallen
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 5
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
Your rage and pain at the loss of an ally echoes throughout your family's history, the spirits of vengeance guide your sword to seek justice for your fallen comrade.

You can only initiate this maneuver against a foe that has slain one of your allies within a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom Modifier. As part of this attack, you move up to 30 ft closer to your opponent (without provoking attacks of opportunity). If your attack hits it deals an extra +1d6 per Initiator Level and ignores any damage reduction your foe has.

Special: On the turn when your ally is slain, you can switch this maneuver for another maneuver of equal or higher level you have readied.

Whirlwind Slice
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 5
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You slash your opponent, then cut them again, and finally a third time, each hit biting deeper and deeper as your blade whips up a mighty wind.

As part of this maneuver you make 3 attacks against your foe. The first attack deals +2d6 damage, the second attack deals +3d6 damage, and the third attack deals +5d6 damage. If any of the attacks miss, you cannot finish the maneuver and the other attacks miss automatically.


4th

Oath of Guidance
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 7
Prerequisites: 1 Ancestral Ascension maneuver
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
You recall the promise of your ancestors to guide you, and you call upon their aid as you strike your opponent.

As a part of this maneuver you must draw your blade from its sheath. Make a Knowledge (History) check in place of your attack roll, and if your attack hits, it deals an extra +4d6 damage.

Spirit Strike
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 7
Prerequisites: 1 Ancestral Ascension maneuver
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft + 5ft/2 levels)
Target: One creature within range
The spirit of your sword leaps forth to strike a distant foe.

Make your attack roll against an opponent within close range. If you hit, make a Knowledge (History) check. Your attack deals damage equal to 2 times the result of your check. This is a supernatural effect.

Ghost of the Fallen
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 7
Prerequisites: 1 Ancestral Ascension maneuver
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Medium (100 ft + 10ft/level)
Target: One ally within range
Duration: Wis Mod rounds
You summon a shadowy spectre of a fallen ancestor to aid you or your allies in striking down their foes.

You summon a spectral ally that serves to aid in flanking your enemies. Choose one ally within range, the spectral ally will follow and support them for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom Modifier. The Spectral Ally always appears in position to flank for the ally they are bonded with, and attacks when they attack. The spectral ally attacks once per round and deals 1d4 points of negative energy damage per Initiator Level as a touch attack using your base attack bonus plus your wisdom modifier as its attack bonus. The spectral Ally cannot be targeted by any spell or effect and cannot be destroyed except by the duration of this Maneuver running out. This is a supernatural effect.


Spirit Guardian
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 7
Prerequisites: 1 Ancestral Ascension maneuver
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
For a brief instant, one of your ancestors pulls you into the spirit realm, saving you from harm.

When you initiate this maneuver, you become Incorporeal for 1 round. This is a supernatural effect.

5th


Secret of the Father
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 9
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
The wisdom of your fathers whispers a secret technique to you, one that you can use to strike your foe with any swing of the blade.

You resolve your attack against your opponent's touch AC, then make a Knowledge (History) roll. Add the result of your Knowledge (History) roll to your damage dealt. This damage is multiplied on a critical hit. This is a supernatural effect.

Secret of the Mother
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 9
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
The mother's caress calms the crying child and heals all wounds.

You initiate this counter when you are struck by a damage dealing attack, spell, maneuver, power, SLA, PLA or other effect that does Hit Point damage. You immediately heal damage equal to the damage you took from the triggering effect. This is a supernatural effect.

Symbol of the Ancestor
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 9
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: 1 creature, and all enemies within 30 ft. (see text)
Your ancestral blade glows with a fierce and terrifying light as you cleave into your enemy.

If your attack with this maneuver is successful you do an extra +6d6 damage that ignores damage reduction. You also make a Knowledge (History) Check in place of an intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 ft as a free action.

Call of the Grave
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 9
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft +5ft/2 levels)
Target: 1 creature
A wave of necrotic energy leaps forth from your swing, it rushes towards a nearby foe and drains them of life force.

Target one foe within close range (25 ft +5ft/2 levels). Make a Knowledge (History) check, and deal negative energy damage against that foe equal to 2x the result of your Knowledge (History) check.

Wailing Banshee Stance
Ancestral Ascension (Stance)
Level: Bushi 9
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
The wind whips up around you, driven by your ancestral spirits, who guard you from harm and empower your blade.

You gain a fly speed equal to your land speed with good maneuverability. Your weapons and armor all gain the ghost touch property.

6th

Oath of Justice
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 11
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Justice teaches to take an eye for an eye. In keeping with that philosophy you strike back at your foe with the exact strength and power they struck you, plus a little extra.

When you are struck by a melee attack you can activate this counter to make an immediate counterattack with your weapon that deals bonus damage equal to the damage you took from the triggering attack.

Restore the Flagging Spirit
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 11
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee, 30 ft (see text)
Target: 1 enemy, all allies in 30 ft (see text)
Your furious attacks restore your allies will to fight and endurance.

Make a Knowledge (History) check as part of your attack. If your attack hits, your allies gain temporary hit points equal to 2x the result of this check if your attack hits. This is a supernatural effect.

Soul Cutter
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 11
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: melee
Target: 1 enemy
Your blade seems to slip out of the material world for a split second just as you are about to strike.

You resolve your attack against your opponent's touch AC, and deal an extra +7d6 damage. This is a supernatural effect.

Whisps of Mist
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 11
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
With a sudden shift your form vanishes into a cloud of mist and you reappear far from your enemy.

When you initiate this counter, you become incorporeal for 1 round. For the rest of the round, whenever you are attacked, you can teleport up to your movement speed away from the attack as a free action useable on your opponents' turn. This movement occurs after the attack is resolved.

7th

Tsubame Gaeshi
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 13
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Standard action
Range: Melee
Target: 1 opponent
Three rapid cuts bite deeply into your opponent, striking so fast they seem to come all at once.

As part of this maneuver, you make three separate attacks against your opponent. Each attack uses your full base attack bonus. The first attack does +3d6 damage, the second does +5d6 damage and the last attack does +7d6 damage.

Truth of the Father [curse]
Ancestral Ascension (Boost)
Level: Bushi 13
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
The true nature of your ancestors techniques revealed to you through a powerful cut that leaves your foe to suffer and bleed for an eternity.

When you successfully make an attack using this boost you deal bleed damage to your opponent equal to your Initiator Level. This damage ignores all forms of damage reduction and can only be healed by effects which remove curses.

Truth of the Mother
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 13
Prerequisites: 2 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Whispers of your ancestors reveal secret weaknesses in reality and in your enemies techniques, allowing you to turn them against your foe.

When you are the subject of a spell, spell like ability, power, Power like ability, maneuver, or attack and you activate this counter make an initiator level check opposed by your opponent's appropriate caster, manifester or initiator check. If your check is successful, the opponent responsible for the spell, spell like ability, power, Power like ability, maneuver, or attack instead suffers the effect of their attack.

Special: If your opponent does not have a caster, manifester, or initiator level your opponent uses their character level to make the check.


8th

Perfect Stroke
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 15
Prerequisites: 3 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Standard action
Range: Melee
Target: 1 opponent
Your ancient techniques have shown you the secret to laying a foe low with a single stroke.

You make a single attack against an opponent that does +12d6 damage. In addition, your opponent must succeed on a Fort Save equal to (18+initating stat) or die instantly.

Renew the Soul
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 15
Prerequisites: 3 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Standard action
Range: Melee
Target: 1 opponent
The blessing of vigor your ancestors offer you is shared among your allies who glory in your power.

Make a single attack against a foe that does a bonus +8d6 damage. In addition, if the attack hits, make a Knowledge (History) check as a free action. All allies within 30 ft gain temporary hit points equal to 3x the result of your Knowledge (History) check. This is a supernatural effect.

Spiritual Reincarnation
Ancestral Ascension (Counter)
Level: Bushi 15
Prerequisites: 3 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 Immediate action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Although a mighty foe has lain you low, your connection to your ancestors and to the spirit world bring you back to fight again.

When you are the subject of an attack that would kill you, you can use this counter to return to life 1 round later at full HP, even if your body would be destroyed. Nothing short of a wish or miracle spell can prevent your resurrection by this counter. This is a supernatural effect.

Special: This maneuver cannot be recovered normally in battle. The bush must rest for 5 minutes in order to recover this maneuver.

9th

Heaven or Hell
Ancestral Ascension (Strike)
Level: Bushi 17
Prerequisites: 4 Ancestral Ascension maneuvers
Components:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Melee
Target: Target creature
Your ancestors bless your blade to bring healing light to your allies and terrible harm upon your foes.

When you use this strike to attack an enemy they take damage as if you had used a harm spell, with a caster level equal to your Initiator Level. If you use this strike on an ally they heal as if subjected to a heal spell, with a caster level equal to your Initiator Level. This is a Supernatural Effect.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-17, 04:38 PM
The class itself is ready for P.E.A.C.H.ing although the detailed entries for the new discipline will have to wait til I'm not at work.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-19, 10:49 PM
OK the detailed maneuver list is completed, I'd love some good quality P.E.A.C.H.ing now

Xerlith
2013-12-20, 01:32 PM
Not really in the right mood for a thorough PEACH, but after a quick glance I like what I'm seeing, although I spotted some minor problems:

Does Iaijutsu damage stack with the maneuvers? If yes, then on low levels this means one-shotting almost everything. Later on it loses power.


Lightning Counter: At 10th level, the Bushi learns to react more swiftly to incoming threats. Once per day at 10th level, he can immediately recover and use a Counter maneuver as a free action. He can do this one additional time per day at 13th, 16th and 19th level.

You may want to change this to "free or immediate action". As it is now, you can only use the free action counters on your turn, which I guess defeats their purpose. :smallamused:


Quick Draw: At level 1, the bushi has begun to study the art of Iaijutsu, he gains Quick Draw as a bonus feat. In addition, he can use his Quick Draw feat to resheathe his weapon as swift action instead of a move action. At 7th level, he can resheathe his weapon as a free action a number of times per round equal to his Dex modifier (3.5).


Why the (3.5) tag? If I remember correctly, sheathing the weapon in Pathfinder is also a move action.

Also, the chassis. This blows the Warblade and Swordsage out of the water.
Full BAB, two good saves, Swordsage maneuver progression AND a recovery mechanic seem a bit too good. And we get to another problem:


The bushi recovers one maneuver whenever he performs an Iaijutsu strike. To perform an Iaijutsu strike, the Bushi draws his sword (using the quick draw feat) and makes a single attack or martial strike against a foe, then quickly resheathes his sword. The bushi cannot recover a maneuver in the same turn in which he expends it. If the Bushi uses his Iaijutsu strike multiple times in a round, he still only recovers one readied maneuver.

Quick Draw: At level 1, the bushi has begun to study the art of Iaijutsu, he gains Quick Draw as a bonus feat. In addition, he can use his Quick Draw feat to resheathe his weapon as swift action instead of a move action. At 7th level, he can resheathe his weapon as a free action a number of times per round equal to his Dex modifier (3.5).

The Iaijutsu strike mechanic is badly worded. And why does he have to resheathe the blade? What if he already used his swift action for something else? Is it an action different from a normal attack? If so, how can he make multiple Iaijutsu attacks? Maybe you should clarify. I can figure out the mechanic with not much problem, but I think it needs to be presented a bit more clearly.

Other than that, I like it. The discipline seems quite nice, I can feel some heavy inspiration in Devoted Spirit and Diamond Mind though. :smallbiggrin:

Finally - the Path of War is already released? How come I missed it? :smallconfused:

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-20, 02:11 PM
Not really in the right mood for a thorough PEACH, but after a quick glance I like what I'm seeing, although I spotted some minor problems:

Well thank you for taking the time to look it over, even if its only quick


Does Iaijutsu damage stack with the maneuvers? If yes, then on low levels this means one-shotting almost everything. Later on it loses power.

Yes it's meant to stack with maneuvers. This is a design choice even if its a little OP at low levels.


You may want to change this to "free or immediate action". As it is now, you can only use the free action counters on your turn, which I guess defeats their purpose. :smallamused:

I changed it to "free action useable on your opponents' turn" so that should clear up any issues with counters eating up your 1 immediate action and free actions not being useable on your opponent's turn. Hopefully.


Why the (3.5) tag? If I remember correctly, sheathing the weapon in Pathfinder is also a move action.

It is, but at 7th level in Pathfinder the Bushi gains the Lightning swap feat which doesn't exist in 3.5, the text at the end (from 7th level on) just allows the bushi to use Lightning Swap at 7th level in 3.5 without having to go outside of 3.5 for a feat.


Also, the chassis. This blows the Warblade and Swordsage out of the water.
Full BAB, two good saves, Swordsage maneuver progression AND a recovery mechanic seem a bit too good. And we get to another problem:



The Iaijutsu strike mechanic is badly worded. And why does he have to resheathe the blade? What if he already used his swift action for something else? Is it an action different from a normal attack? If so, how can he make multiple Iaijutsu attacks? Maybe you should clarify. I can figure out the mechanic with not much problem, but I think it needs to be presented a bit more clearly.


I'm unsure of how to reword it so it makes more sense. Right now, from 1st-7th level, the Bushi has to make a choice between recovering a maneuver and using their swift action for something else. The reason he has to resheathe the blade is because that's how Iaijutsu works in real life. Iaijutsu is the art of the draw cut, draw the blade from the sheath, cut your opponent and resheath the blade all in one fluid motion.

I know the chassis is a bit on the powerful side for 3.5. It matches up much better with Path of War characters, who are (like most things in Pathfinder) a little bit stronger than their 3.5 counterparts. Anything that strikes you as particularly broken?



Other than that, I like it. The discipline seems quite nice, I can feel some heavy inspiration in Devoted Spirit and Diamond Mind though. :smallbiggrin:

I'm glad you like it. The discipline is meant to be kind of general in nature so it borrows a bit from every other discipline. Hopefully it's not too overpowered in that way.


Finally - the Path of War is already released? How come I missed it? :smallconfused:
There is a preorder available with downloadable PDFs for the base classes available. There is still a lot of beta work going on though.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 02:20 PM
Requesting one more time for a nice little P.E.A.C.H.ing and would be happy to return the favor!

caledscratcher
2013-12-22, 04:37 PM
This looks like a really fantastic class, and I already have someone lined up to play it in a game I'm starting in a month or so. However, I have one major gripe: 4th level and 18th level. Just... dead levels are not a thing that I approve of in almost any circumstances. I don't 100% know what could be put in in those levels, but my thought would be an expansion on the ancestral oath. It just... seems like something that is gained, then kind of forgotten. I'd say to give something to expand on it at 4th, then again every seven levels later.

Also, once this has been PEACHed a bit more, I'd like to know if I could make an archetype or two for this, just for fun. :)

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 05:16 PM
This looks like a really fantastic class, and I already have someone lined up to play it in a game I'm starting in a month or so. However, I have one major gripe: 4th level and 18th level. Just... dead levels are not a thing that I approve of in almost any circumstances. I don't 100% know what could be put in in those levels, but my thought would be an expansion on the ancestral oath. It just... seems like something that is gained, then kind of forgotten. I'd say to give something to expand on it at 4th, then again every seven levels later.

Also, once this has been PEACHed a bit more, I'd like to know if I could make an archetype or two for this, just for fun. :)

I agree that dead levels are terrible, but I have no idea what to put there. At least 4th level gives you a new stance and maneuver known. But 18th is awful I agree.

Please let me know how you like the class. I'm eager to hear how it plays out. That is really the biggest compliment I could get!

Seerow
2013-12-22, 05:28 PM
4th and 18th level both get a new maneuver known, and 4th gains a new stance.

Not every level needs a class feature when you gain potent active abilities you can use every level.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 05:37 PM
4th and 18th level both get a new maneuver known, and 4th gains a new stance.

Not every level needs a class feature when you gain potent active abilities you can use every level.

I agree but I think the fewer dead levels a class has, the more they stand out.

caledscratcher
2013-12-22, 06:41 PM
Ehhh, I go by the philosophy that even if there are maneuvers and stances gained at those levels, it's nice to have something in the "special" column. I mean, looking at the Stalker and Warlord PDFs, neither has a single dead level, and (given that I primarily design for Pathfinder) I feel that that is a very well-set example. My advice would be something along the lines of an addition to Ancestral Oath that states:


At 4th level, and every 7 levels thereafter, the bushi's oath grows mightier. He may choose to gain a +2 bonus to any of the following, so long as he upholds his oath. He may only select each of these once.

-Attack rolls
-Damage rolls
-AC
-Fortitude
-Reflex
-Will

Starting at 11th level, he may also choose to gain a +10 foot bonus to his base land speed.

Just a simple idea. :)

Craft (Cheese)
2013-12-22, 07:04 PM
Hey look, it's a Samurai class that doesn't suck! Awesome. I do have some questions though about Iaijutsu though:

(Under "Maneuvers Readied")


The bushi recovers one maneuver whenever he performs an Iaijutsu strike. To perform an Iaijutsu strike, the Bushi draws his sword (using the quick draw feat) and makes a single attack or martial strike against a foe, then quickly resheathes his sword (this is normally a move action, but class features and feats may change this).


Iaijutsu: When the Bushi begins his career, he learns to use his sword to make powerful draw cuts that slice deep into his enemies and kill them with a single stroke. At 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter the Bushi does an extra +1d6 with any attack where he draws his blade (using the quick draw feat) prior to the attack.

The first passage says that an iaijutsu strike requires you to sheathe your sword. The second passage just says you need to draw your blade prior to the attack. Do I need to sheathe my blade afterward to get the damage (that would be really weird)? How about to recover the maneuver?

I assume that "prior to the attack" means within the same turn as the attack. Is this interpretation correct? Because, technically, if you draw your sword an hour before you attack with it, you drew it "prior to the attack"...

You can get multiple Iajutsu strikes in a round if you draw multiple weapons, but what about iterative attacks you make with the same weapon? What if you sheathe and pull out the same weapon multiple times in a round?

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 07:06 PM
That's definitely a possibility, although I am a little leery about further boosting this class's already great saves.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 07:16 PM
Hey look, it's a Samurai class that doesn't suck! Awesome. I do have some questions though about Iaijutsu though:

(Under "Maneuvers Readied")





The first passage says that an iaijutsu strike requires you to sheathe your sword. The second passage just says you need to draw your blade prior to the attack. Do I need to sheathe my blade afterward to get the damage (that would be really weird)? How about to recover the maneuver?

I assume that "prior to the attack" means within the same turn as the attack. Is this interpretation correct? Because, technically, if you draw your sword an hour before you attack with it, you drew it "prior to the attack"...

You can get multiple Iajutsu strikes in a round if you draw multiple weapons, but what about iterative attacks you make with the same weapon? What if you sheathe and pull out the same weapon multiple times in a round?

Well not sucking was design goal #1 so I'm glad I succeeded there.

Iaijutsu as a recovery method requires you to resheathe the blade after the strike, but to get the damage bonus you only need to draw the blade. I can see how that would be confusing.

Iterative attacks that take advantage of the iaijutsu mechanics rely on the lightning swap feat to function or the swift action sheathing of quick draw (prior to level 7). Yes it can be done and its a core feature of the class.

Seerow
2013-12-22, 07:33 PM
Just read through the new maneuvers. Heaven or Hell seems to be on the strong side for its level. As a balance comparison, compare to Strike of Righteous Vitality. It comes 4 levels later, and only acts as Heal (can't be used to Harm). The downside? You don't get to make an attack while using the heal, and it has a 5ft longer reach.


I'm not familiar with the Pathfinder stuff, but in reference to the 3.5 balance point, that seems like it should be a higher level ability. Either split into two separate maneuvers at 8th level, or kept as is at 9th level would be appropriate.

Some of the lower level abilities seem a bit on the strong side, but nothing else really stands out. I would however recommend clearing up the wording on your healing maneuvers. "Heal an amount of temporary hp" is really weird. You should either be granting temporary HP, or healing actual HP..

caledscratcher
2013-12-22, 07:55 PM
That's definitely a possibility, although I am a leery about further boosting this class's already great saves.

Well, if you're leery about the whole saves thing, you can always just cut off the FORT, REF, and WILL options, and maybe put an expansion to it that gives a bonus to maneuver DCs, that can only be taken from 11th level on? Just thinking in text, here.

Craft (Cheese)
2013-12-22, 07:58 PM
Iaijutsu as a recovery method requires you to resheathe the blade after the strike, but to get the damage bonus you only need to draw the blade. I can see how that would be confusing.

I see: In that case, you should remove the mention of iaijutsu strikes from the maneuver recovery method to avoid confusion. Rewrite the fluff to say something like "A Bushi recovers her maneuvers by sheathing her blade, taking a brief moment of quiet contemplation. When she sheathes a weapon (normally a move action), she recovers one maneuver. She cannot recover more than one maneuver per round this way, no matter how many weapons she sheathes."


Iterative attacks that take advantage of the iaijutsu mechanics rely on the lightning swap feat to function or the swift action sheathing of quick draw (prior to level 7). Yes it can be done and its a core feature of the class.

Ah, okay. To clarify this though, I'd rewrite the ability like this:

"When the Bushi begins his career, he learns to use his sword to make powerful draw cuts that slice deep into his enemies and kill them with a single stroke. At 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter the Bushi does an extra +1d6 of damage with any attack where he draws his blade prior to the strike. The Bushi must make the attack within the same turn as when the weapon is drawn, and only the first strike made with a weapon after it is drawn gains this bonus damage: He cannot benefit from Iaijutsu with this weapon again until he sheathes and re-draws it."

One nitpick though: It'd be nice if we could get some immediate action counter-like abilities based around this idea of drawing your weapon quickly, since real-life Iaijutsu is primarily a self-defense tactic IIRC.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-22, 08:05 PM
I see: In that case, you should remove the mention of iaijutsu strikes from the maneuver recovery method to avoid confusion. Rewrite the fluff to say something like "A Bushi recovers her maneuvers by sheathing her blade, taking a brief moment of quiet contemplation. When she sheathes a weapon (normally a move action), she recovers one maneuver. She cannot recover more than one maneuver per round this way, no matter how many weapons she sheathes."



Ah, okay. To clarify this though, I'd rewrite the ability like this:

"When the Bushi begins his career, he learns to use his sword to make powerful draw cuts that slice deep into his enemies and kill them with a single stroke. At 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter the Bushi does an extra +1d6 of damage with any attack where he draws his blade prior to the strike. The Bushi must make the attack within the same turn as when the weapon is drawn, and only the first strike made with a weapon after it is drawn gains this bonus damage: He cannot benefit from Iaijutsu with this weapon again until he sheathes and re-draws it."

One nitpick though: It'd be nice if we could get some immediate action counter-like abilities based around this idea of drawing your weapon quickly, since real-life Iaijutsu is primarily a self-defense tactic IIRC.

Those are some great rewrites, thank you! I'll edit those in when I'm not on my phone.

As for your nitpick, the lightning counter ability is meant to emulate the defensive focus of real world iaijutsu. If it works how I intend it to work, the bushi is the only class that can execute multiple counters per round.

Durazno
2013-12-23, 01:22 AM
If Iaijutsu stacking with maneuvers is overpowered at early levels, you might make it so that the Bushi gains the ability to have them stack at some later point, perhaps as part of the Iaijutsu progression.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-23, 01:51 AM
If Iaijutsu stacking with maneuvers is overpowered at early levels, you might make it so that the Bushi gains the ability to have them stack at some later point, perhaps as part of the Iaijutsu progression.

It might be overpowered because of the ease of getting Iaijutsu damage onto regular attacks and maneuvers, not just that it stacks with maneuvers. I'd ask for a more objective viewpoint on that.

But I'll be honest, I still lean towards it being a feature, not a bug. I'm not fond of low level play I find it a rather dull slog until about the 8-10 level range where monsters and characters (should) have enough interesting abilities to use throughout the day that 15 minute adventuring days become a non-issue.

I've gone ahead and used the rewording Craft(Cheese) provided, so hopefully the recovery mechanic and Iaijutsu Strike abilities are better worded.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-23, 06:06 PM
I've moved some of the maneuvers around and reworded others. I think this is just about all set.

Eldaran
2013-12-27, 07:01 AM
I think the class is too strong. The base chassis of the class is very good, usually classes with bonus damage don't get full BAB, in addition they have a lot of maneuvers known/readied and a strong recovery mechanic to go with it. I know in PF BAB and HD are coupled, but I'd consider bumping them down to a d8 at the very least, and maybe give them slightly less maneuvers known. Or even give them 3/4 BAB if you keep the maneuvers as is.

As for the maneuvers, Ancestral Ascension is an extremely strong discipline. It seems like it has way too much going for it. It has ranged attacks, high damage, healing, buffing, strong counters, and strong boosts. Most disciplines tend to focus on only two things. Look at Devoted Spirit, it has decent healing but its damage is fairly weak (outside of one maneuver) and it has ok buffing and debuffing, but no ranged and weak counters and boosts.

Ancestral Ascension also does everything too well:

Ghost of the Fallen adds 1d4 damage per level per attack as a swift action and lasts for at least a few rounds. So at level 11 if you're hasted it's adding up to 44d4 per round!

Call of the Grave is Greater Insightful Strike, at range, and 50% more damage, and two levels sooner.

Restore the Flagging Spirit heals for more than Rallying Strike, but adds 5d6 damage on top of it. I'd drop the damage, and/or lower the healing to 1x the check.

Soul Cutter is pretty strong, touch attack is basically a guaranteed hit, and 7d6 damage on top seems too much.

Tsubame Gaeshi is crazy damage, three attacks at full BAB, as a standard action, with +7d6 on top of base damage and Iajitsu? I can't think of any maneuver that even comes close to that.

Truth of the Father is a guaranteed kill against anything that doesn't have Wish or Miracle. The bleed should at least be healable with a caster level check.

Truth of the Mother needs an opposed attack roll, or opposed intitiator vs inititator/CL check. Maybe even with a bonus to your check. Having it work without chance for failure is too strong and uninteresting.

Perfect Stroke does a bunch of damage, then forces a save or die with an average DC of 42. Why?

Renew the Soul is pretty damn good healing. I'd remove the damage bonus or lower the healing to 2x or 3x the check.

Spiritual Reincarnation is basically immortality, with no drawback or chance to fail like Immortal Fortitude. I don't even know how to balance that, maybe come back at 1/4 HP rather than full.

The lower level maneuvers seem pretty well balanced, but almost all the higher level ones are too good, and again having so much in one discipline seems imbalanced. I'd look at other maneuvers of the same level to draw comparisons, and remember that everything you're doing is getting Iaijutsu on top.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-28, 07:12 PM
I think the class is too strong. The base chassis of the class is very good, usually classes with bonus damage don't get full BAB, in addition they have a lot of maneuvers known/readied and a strong recovery mechanic to go with it. I know in PF BAB and HD are coupled, but I'd consider bumping them down to a d8 at the very least, and maybe give them slightly less maneuvers known. Or even give them 3/4 BAB if you keep the maneuvers as is.

The maneuvers known/readied I'd be fine with lowering, trading around the BAB and HD would make sense but I'm reluctant to do it due to the Bushi's narrow focus. Right now, the Bushi is among the most MAD classes in the game. They're going to want strength, at least until they can get deadly agility (which is only available in Pathfinder), they need dexterity because of Initiative, Reflex Saves, and AC, Constitution is obviously important, Wisdom is their Initiator Stat, and their signature discipline is keyed off of Intelligence. About the only Stat they can safely dump is Charisma, and even that can be risky if you want to be a social Bushi.

Their recovery mechanic is actually not that good. They can only ever recover one maneuver per round. Its easy to work into their attack routine, but they can't spam and recover the same maneuver anyway.


As for the maneuvers, Ancestral Ascension is an extremely strong discipline. It seems like it has way too much going for it. It has ranged attacks, high damage, healing, buffing, strong counters, and strong boosts. Most disciplines tend to focus on only two things. Look at Devoted Spirit, it has decent healing but its damage is fairly weak (outside of one maneuver) and it has ok buffing and debuffing, but no ranged and weak counters and boosts.

I've been told to look at devoted spirit a lot, and that's probably what I ought to do.


Ancestral Ascension also does everything too well:

Ghost of the Fallen adds 1d4 damage per level per attack as a swift action and lasts for at least a few rounds. So at level 11 if you're hasted it's adding up to 44d4 per round!

That ought to be 1d4 damage per 2 IL. I guess I forgot about that.


Call of the Grave is Greater Insightful Strike, at range, and 50% more damage, and two levels sooner.

Part of the problem with running damage off of skill checks is that they're much lower in Pathfinder. There are no custom items of +30 to Knowledge(History), and the key skill for these checks is Intelligence which a Bushi probably won't invest much in. But lowering the damage isn't too difficult.


Restore the Flagging Spirit heals for more than Rallying Strike, but adds 5d6 damage on top of it. I'd drop the damage, and/or lower the healing to 1x the check.

I'd rather drop the damage than lower the healing, personally.


Soul Cutter is pretty strong, touch attack is basically a guaranteed hit, and 7d6 damage on top seems too much.

Soul Cutter is a 6th level maneuver, and as comparison, there are several 6th level maneuvers in Path of War that do the same or higher bonus damage. Murderous Reflection(Shattered Mirror) does +7d6 and adds your opponent's strength modifier to attack and damage rolls, Charge of the Battle Panthera(Primal Fury) adds +12d6 on a charge, Rending Claws does 2 weapon attacks with a bonus 8d6 on top, Steel Axe Kick does +10d6 and Save or Stuns. So I don't think its too out of line for the level as far as Path of War is concerned


Tsubame Gaeshi is crazy damage, three attacks at full BAB, as a standard action, with +7d6 on top of base damage and Iajitsu? I can't think of any maneuver that even comes close to that.

Tsubame Gaeshi was originally the 9th level maneuver for the discipline. I haven't settled on how to alter the damage yet.


Truth of the Father is a guaranteed kill against anything that doesn't have Wish or Miracle. The bleed should at least be healable with a caster level check.v

I'm thinking of changing it to a [curse] effect so that it can be removed by effects which remove curses.


Truth of the Mother needs an opposed attack roll, or opposed intitiator vs inititator/CL check. Maybe even with a bonus to your check. Having it work without chance for failure is too strong and uninteresting.

I'll be adding a skill check vs caster level check once my holidays are over.


Perfect Stroke does a bunch of damage, then forces a save or die with an average DC of 42. Why?

Because I haven't settled on how to scale the DC properly and because it's the "Perfect" cut. It's supposed to be powerful.


Renew the Soul is pretty damn good healing. I'd remove the damage bonus or lower the healing to 2x or 3x the check.

Probably going to lose the damage bonus.


Spiritual Reincarnation is basically immortality, with no drawback or chance to fail like Immortal Fortitude. I don't even know how to balance that, maybe come back at 1/4 HP rather than full.

How about a Special: clause that says it can only be used once per encounter?


The lower level maneuvers seem pretty well balanced, but almost all the higher level ones are too good, and again having so much in one discipline seems imbalanced. I'd look at other maneuvers of the same level to draw comparisons, and remember that everything you're doing is getting Iaijutsu on top.

The damage scale is on par with maneuvers from the Path of War which has a generally higher damage output. I'm having difficulty balancing between Path of War's power level and Tome of Battle's Power level.

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-31, 02:11 AM
I've updated the maneuvers Eldaran suggested I look over and turned all the healing from the discipline into temporary hit points except the 9th level maneuver.

I'd like to make sure that Avenge the Fallen and the Lightning counter class feature both work properly and aren't overpowered. Any thoughts?

Mavakith
2013-12-31, 07:36 AM
This is a great japanese themed Samurai-ish ToB class..
The Iaijutsu is a great additional as well.. very nice!

For the maneuvers, have you consider taking a look at "Samurai Shodown" for inspiration?

Maybe a PrC or two based on those characters or something?

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-31, 11:54 AM
This is a great japanese themed Samurai-ish ToB class..
The Iaijutsu is a great additional as well.. very nice!

For the maneuvers, have you consider taking a look at "Samurai Shodown" for inspiration?

Maybe a PrC or two based on those characters or something?

I have never played Samurai Showdown so I wouldn't even know where to begin, but thank you for the suggestion.

Mavakith
2013-12-31, 03:17 PM
well i mean.. Samurai Shodown was just an example..
there are various Samurai games out there for inspiration..

If i see a nice bushido initiator class and a discipline that comes with it i'd like some of the maneuvers to stay in tune with tradition..

maneuvers like: Issen, Iaijutsu, swordwave, etc..

thats just me being asian.. hahaha.. :smalltongue:

Elricaltovilla
2013-12-31, 03:32 PM
well i mean.. Samurai Shodown was just an example..
there are various Samurai games out there for inspiration..

If i see a nice bushido initiator class and a discipline that comes with it i'd like some of the maneuvers to stay in tune with tradition..

maneuvers like: Issen, Iaijutsu, swordwave, etc..

thats just me being asian.. hahaha.. :smalltongue:

Well, I am not Asian. But I was thinking of making a second discipline without all the supernatural fluff so if you'd like to help with that I'm listening.

Mavakith
2014-01-01, 02:36 AM
most traditional martial arts in Chinese / Japanese culture have supernatural fluff when the power level is mid - high..

but i guess we could work the fluff as it is the result of master swordsmanship and pinnicle strength, reflexes and endurance due to Ki?

and yes i would be delighted to help~
where to start?

Nihilarian
2014-02-02, 03:21 PM
I like the class, but glancing at the lower level maneuvers I see a couple of problems.

Furious Spirit Stance will probably never be taken. Because of Power Attack and Piranha Strike, +2 Attack means +4/+6 guaranteed damage (which gets multiplied on a crit, unlike FSS). This means that on average Ancient Spirit Stance deals more damage. And it has a +2 bonus to AC tacked on, to boot.

Bloody Spirits Hunger: 1-6 Constitution damage for 1-36 damage? Lasts for 24 hours? Can't be healed? Yeah, this is terrible. The Con loss translates to up to 18 points of unhealable HP damage at 3rd level, crippling you for the day if not outright killing yourself. The damage to yourself gets worse the higher level you are, but you'll never deal more than 36 points of damage to the enemy. Oh, and you can do it multiple times per day in case you really want to die.

Overall a cool class though.

Elricaltovilla
2014-02-02, 03:34 PM
I like the class, but glancing at the lower level maneuvers I see a couple of problems.

Furious Spirit Stance will probably never be taken. Because of Power Attack and Piranha Strike, +2 Attack means +4/+6 guaranteed damage (which gets multiplied on a crit, unlike FSS). This means that on average Ancient Spirit Stance deals more damage. And it has a +2 bonus to AC tacked on, to boot.

That's really only true in 3.5. Pathfinder's Power Attack is more tightly controlled about how much of a penalty you can take, so especially at lower levels Furious Spirit Stance is a better damage source.


Bloody Spirits Hunger: 1-6 Constitution damage for 1-36 damage? Lasts for 24 hours? Can't be healed? Yeah, this is terrible. The Con loss translates to up to 18 points of unhealable HP damage at 3rd level, crippling you for the day if not outright killing yourself. The damage to yourself gets worse the higher level you are, but you'll never deal more than 36 points of damage to the enemy. Oh, and you can do it multiple times per day in case you really want to die.

Overall a cool class though.

I definitely undpowered Bloody Spirits Hunger, but I'm unsure of how to make it more viable. I guess its just gonna be the one trap option I let slip past me.

I'm glad you like the class at least, I've noticed that the big problem I'm having is trying to make it balanced for both Pathfinder and 3.5. On the surface they don't seem that different, but there's a bunch of little fiddly things that make it difficult to balance.