How would you play a samurai with all of 3.5 and PF available?

[danzibr]

Suppose you want to play a samurai from 1 to 20. You want your character to do all the stereotypical samurai stuff: mounted combat, archery, chop people up with a katana, chop people up with a katana and wakizashi, be scary. Of course most of playing as a samurai is rp, but hey.

How do you accomplish this? Different versions of Samurai have different features (like PF with mounts, 3.5 with fear), but none combine them all passably. So without necessarily playing a Samurai, how do you stylishly combine the above 5?

[(Un)Inspired]

Cloistered cleric 20.

[Karl Aegis]

From what I've heard of it the Synthesist Summoner does a pretty good job at being a Samurai. Comes with a bound shiki and everything.

[danzibr]

Cloistered cleric 20.
That'd work, but...

[...] how do you stylishly combine the above 5?

EDIT: What's a ``bound shiki''?

[(Un)Inspired]

Cloistered cleric IS the stylish way to do it.

It's a cultured and educated warrior who can focus himself and unleash devastation in melee combat , ranged combat and on horseback. Give him the war and honor domains. It's perfect.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Bushi Warlord 20, both from Path of War (3rd party)

[danzibr]

Cloistered cleric IS the stylish way to do it.

It's a cultured and educated warrior who can focus himself and unleash devastation in melee combat , ranged combat and on horseback. Give him the war and honor domains. It's perfect.
Hmm, that is more stylish than I initially gave it credit for.

Bushi Warlord 20, both from Path of War (3rd party)
Oooh, I'll check this.

[Dusk Eclipse]

quick look at it

Bushi gives access to Mithral current, a discipline wholly focused on iajutsu, pretty standard for a samurai, Warlord is at it's core a charismatic warrior which can lead men, so there you have their role as commanders in the battlefield; it also gives access to Thrashing Dragon the TWF discipline for all your Niten Ichi-Ryu needs, access to Solar wind or Tempest Gale for archery, you can also pick Piercing Thunder (via trait or tradition) if you want to use a spear. For scariness you can go for Black Seraph maneuvers, but they are supernatural and many of them have the [Evil] tag so that could be a problem.

[FocusWolf413]

I would probably do a switch-hitting ranger or a fighter, focusing on archery. A paladin could even work if you want to play up the honor and justice angle. In reality, samurai didn't do any two weapon fighting and their katanas were a side-arm. Their main weapons were bows or polearms. Too much spellcasting would detract from the idea of the samurai.

[Amphetryon]

Ardent 20, anyone?

[Petrocorus]

Crusader and Warblade would be perfectly suitable.

[(Un)Inspired]

I would probably do a switch-hitting ranger or a fighter, focusing on archery. A paladin could even work if you want to play up the honor and justice angle. In reality, samurai didn't do any two weapon fighting and their katanas were a side-arm. Their main weapons were bows or polearms. Too much spellcasting would detract from the idea of the samurai.
In reality? What is reality? How does it relate to D&D?


Ardent 20, anyone?
Yes! Now you're talking.

I kinda want to make a Ronin Warriors villain that a Crusader/Ur Priest/RKV

[Taveena]

Bushi Warlord 20 with Iaijutsu Focus for charisma synergy.

[FocusWolf413]

In reality? What is reality? How does it relate to D&D?


Yes! Now you're talking.

I kinda want to make a Ronin Warriors villain that a Crusader/Ur Priest/RKV

Reality is the thing that samurais come from. I know, it's a crazy concept. It's just insane that something from the real world could ever influence something as pure as D&D.

[(Un)Inspired]

Reality is the thing that samurais come from. I know, it's a crazy concept. It's just insane that something from the real world could ever influence something as pure as D&D.

Reality doesn't seem to be the thing that D&D Samurai come from. I believe they're in Conplete Warrior and a few other books.

As for your statement that "reality is the thing that samurais come from." That's not an answer to any I my three questions.

[Qc Storm]

It's cool guys, some people might want to play a stereotypical samurai (katanas and dual wields) or a historical one (spears and peasant slaying). Both are cool. Yet terribly handled by both 3.5 and PF.

[Karl Aegis]

Not even the generic samurai uses a wakizashi. Even the complete warrior art for samurai denies the existence of the wakizashi. The mental image of the katana + wakizashi combo being flailed around by a dude in full plate just looks goofy.


https://img.4plebs.org/boards/tg/image/1365/78/1365782913267.jpg

[Arutema]

It certainly does depend on how you define "Samurai", doesn't it?

For a honorable katana-wielding duelist Samurai in PF, I've been pondering either the Daring Champion Cavalier archetype, or a Paladin/Swashbuckler multiclass.

[Telonius]

I'm thinking, Bard/Crusader, maybe with a level of Master of Masks for the Gladiator mask to take care of all of those weird proficiencies you're going to need. The Battle Caster feat from Complete Arcane lets you cast without penalty in armor one category heavier than usual, so you're good for Mithral Fullplate.

[Psyren]

Thirding/whatevering Bushi Warlord. When I think Samurai I don't think psionics or magic. I would rather have a series of Ex abilities with a smattering of Su for the higher-level things.

[Metahuman1]

I'd start by homebrewing an affiliation. Benefits would include some proficiency's and a trick or two to cut down on weapon enchanting costs so that I can keep all the various weapons I'm suppose to use well up to snuff, and some bonus feats.


Then I'd crack open either a Tome of Magic Binder or a Tome of Battle Warblade. If the former, I might add in some benefits like +8 instruments of binding or whatever that item is for pact making and a few binder useful bonus feats to help with locking in those pacts smoothly, and just flavor it as ancestral worship and channeling the power of my honorable fore fathers. If the latter, I might Dip Crusader and/or Swordsage and/or Spirit Lion Totem Whirling Frenzy Barbarian, possibly with Wolf Totem and Trap Killer. Affiliation in this case would get some neat martial adept related feats to ease feat taxing, and might include getting stance mastery, the ability to use Martial Scripts to permanently learn maneuvers during down time, and maybe some bonus maneuvers readied.


Edit: Oh, and the affilation would also get Iai-jutsu Focus as a class skill for either class.

[Heliomance]

Not even the generic samurai uses a wakizashi. Even the complete warrior art for samurai denies the existence of the wakizashi. The mental image of the katana + wakizashi combo being flailed around by a dude in full plate just looks goofy.


Oh really?

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/0/04/Mirumoto_Kojinrue_2.jpg
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2011/181/7/7/l5r___mirumoto_samurai_by_hectorherrera-d3kk4k8.jpg
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/6/6a/Mirumoto_Ishino.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110903221938
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130224215638/l5r/images/thumb/3/3c/Mirumoto_Yonekura.jpg/500px-Mirumoto_Yonekura.jpg

[Karl Aegis]

Oh really?

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/0/04/Mirumoto_Kojinrue_2.jpg
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2011/181/7/7/l5r___mirumoto_samurai_by_hectorherrera-d3kk4k8.jpg
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/l5r/images/6/6a/Mirumoto_Ishino.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110903221938
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130224215638/l5r/images/thumb/3/3c/Mirumoto_Yonekura.jpg/500px-Mirumoto_Yonekura.jpg

I'll take your goofy images and raise you a samurai.

http://images.cdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/94526023/max_h-300+max_w-300/tenra_color_page.JPG

[Seerow]

Thirding/whatevering Bushi Warlord. When I think Samurai I don't think psionics or magic. I would rather have a series of Ex abilities with a smattering of Su for the higher-level things.

I'll fourth it. Dusk Eclipse's post about the disciplines it has access to and how they fit the concept really says everything.

I mean once you have that, throw some feats into Intimidation tricks (Imperious Command and some others I can't think of offhand from 3.5. I'm sure there's more in PF), and skillwise max out Intimidate, Iajutsu, and pick up the never outnumbered skill trick. Have a few skills left over for whatever you feel is appropriate, and plenty of feats left over to support whichever fighting style you personally feel defines Samurai best (just going to sidestep that debate going on in the background here).