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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next The Katana Savant 2.0 (Joke Class - Work in Progress)



Ziegander
2016-12-13, 07:06 PM
The Katana Savant
http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_small/0/1134/1712759-2132440891_full.jpg



Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Sneak Attack


1st
+2
Katanakata, Savant's Secret Shame, Sneak Attack
1d6


2nd
+2
Ostentatious Assault
1d6


3rd
+2
Savantism
2d6


4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement
2d6


5th
+3
Sharpness
3d6


6th
+3
Savant Feature
3d6


7th
+3
Elaborate Parry
4d6


8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
4d6


9th
+4
Improved Sharpness
5d6


10th
+4
Savant Feature
5d6


11th
+4
Heart of a Warrior
6d6


12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
6d6


13th
+5
Greater Sharpness
7d6


14th
+5
Savant Feature
7d6


15th
+5
Bravura Spirit
8d6


16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
8d6


17th
+6
Superior Sharpness
9d6


18th
+6
Savant Feature
9d6


19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
10d6


20th
+6
Blade of Desolation
10d6



HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: d6
Hit Points at 1st Level: 6 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d6 (4) + your Constitution modifier at each level after 1st.

PROFICIENCIES
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple, katana
Tools: Calligrapher's Supplies, Disguise Kit

Saving Throws: Dexterity, charisma
Skills: Choose two of the following: Athletics, Deception, Perception, or Performance

EQUIPMENT
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

A katana.
20 shuriken and a set of caltrops.
An explorer's pack.
A costume (with oni mask), a vial of perfume, and (a) calligrapher's supplies or (b) a disguise kit.

*The Katana. The katana is a two-handed martial weapon that deals 1d8 slashing damage.

KATANAKATA
When you wield a Katana, it gains the finesse and versatile properties (dealing 1d8 damage when used one-handed and 2d6 damage when used two-handed), you gain a +1 bonus to AC, you reroll any 1s and 2s you roll when making a damage roll with it, and your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier (even if you are wearing armor).

SAVANT'S SECRET SHAME
You have advantage on Charisma checks made to convince creatures without proficiency in Insight that not only is the Katana the most beautiful and well-crafted weapon ever made by mortal hands, but that you are yourself a grand master of the glorious martial art of the Katana.

However, creatures that are proficient with Insight have advantage on their checks to see through your nonsense. Against any creature that is not convinced of your outlandish claims you lose the +1 bonus to AC and the ability to reroll 1s and 2s when making damage rolls as granted by your Katanakata feature, and your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier if you aren't wearing armor.

SNEAK ATTACK
As Rogue.

OSTENTATIOUS ASSAULT
Starting at 2nd level, from the beginning of each combat encounter you take part in, you have advantage on Katana attack rolls until you are dealt damage in that encounter, and opportunity attacks made against you have disadvantage until you miss with a Katana attack roll in that encounter.

SAVANTISM
At 3rd level you choose which of the Katana Savant archetypes to embody: The Renaissance Man, the Samurai, the Shinobi or the Spiritblade. The archetype you embody grants you features at 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th levels.

SHARPNESS
Starting at 5th level, any Katana you wield is treated as a magical weapon for the purposes of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Your attacks with a Katana deal double damage to objects.

ELABORATE PARRY
Starting at 7th level, whenever you would be dealt damage by a source you can see, if you are wielding a katana you may use your reaction to roll 1d10 + your level, subtracting the result from the damage you would be dealt. If this would reduce the damage you are dealt to 0, the source of that damage (if a sentient creature) must succeed at a Charisma saving throw or be Stunned until the end of its next turn. If this would not reduce the damage you are dealt to 0, then you must succeed at a Charisma saving throw or be Stunned until the end of your next turn. The DC for these saving throws is 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier.

You must use this ability as soon as you know you will be dealt damage, but before you know how much damage you would be dealt.

IMPROVED SHARPNESS
Starting at 9th level, you score critical hits with Katana attacks on rolls of 19 or 20.

HEART OF A WARRIOR
Starting at 11th level, when you reduce a hostile creature to 0 hit points with a Katana attack, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier + your katana savant level.

As long as you have any temporary hit points you have advantage on Katana attack rolls. However, after your temporary hit points are lost, unless you succeed on a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier), you fall prone and are incapacitated with grief until the end of your next turn.

GREATER SHARPNESS
Starting at 13th level, when you score a critical hit with a Katana you may roll the weapon's damage dice one extra time and add the result to your damage roll.

BRAVURA SPIRIT
Starting at 15th level you may make Charisma saving throws in place of Constitution or Wisdom saving throws. However, if you fail a Charisma saving throw in place of another, you have disadvantage on Katana attacks and cannot use this feature until you complete a short or long rest.

Additionally, while you have advantage on Katana attacks, no attack roll has advantage against you while you wield a Katana and are not incapacitated.

SUPERIOR SHARPNESS
Starting at 17th level, when you score a critical hit with a Katana you may roll the weapon's damage dice two extra times and add the results to your damage roll.

BLADE OF DESOLATION
At 20th level, Abjuration magic has no effect against your Katana attacks, and any creature struck by a critical hit from a Katana you wield must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC 10 + your Proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier) or be killed instantly. This effect destroys in one stroke even that which is not technically alive in the first place such as Constructs, Undead, or animated objects.

SAVANT FEATURES

The Renaissance Man
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1e/87/d6/1e87d63defdb5d18b65dc2ca15a8adc2.jpg

BONUS PROFICIENCIES
At 3rd level you gain proficiency in the History skill and double your Proficiency bonus to all History checks made about the Katana, cultures that made or used Katana, and regarding martial lore pertaining to the Katana's use.

The Samurai
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M9cvl2ePrzM/VXShKQholFI/AAAAAAABCEI/1LprwnflPMI/w426-h475/15%2B-%2B1

BONUS PROFICIENCIES
At 3rd level you gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill and with light and medium armor and the Glaive, the Longbow, the O-Dachi, and the Wakizashi. For all purposes regarding your class features you may treat an O-Dachi or Wakizashi as a katana except when specified otherwise.

The O-Dachi. The O-Dachi is a heavy, two-handed melee martial weapon that deals 1d10 slashing damage.
The Wakizashi. The Wakizashi is a light, melee martial weapon that deals 1d6 slashing damage and has the finesse property.

When you wield the O-Dachi it deals 2d8 slashing damage, but it does not gain the finesse or versatile properties. Even though your O-Dachi does not gain the finesse property you may still make Sneak Attacks with it.

When you wield the Wakizashi it deals 1d8 slashing damage, but it does not gain the versatile property.

ANCESTRAL DAISHO
At 3rd level you acquire a wakizashi, a masterpiece curved sword of shorter length and less weight than your katana. You may wield both your katana and wakizashi together, fighting with two weapons as though your katana were light. Further, when you do, you may draw or stow both weapons any time you could draw or stow one, your katana deals 1d10 damage as if you were wielding it in both hands, and when you use your bonus action to make an attack with your wakizashi you may add your ability modifier to the damage roll. Since you treat the wakizashi as a katana, if you wield it and your katana together, you gain an additional +1 bonus to AC from your Katanakata feature.

If you hit an opponent with both your katana and your wakizashi in the same turn you may deal that opponent damage as if struck by a Sneak Attack, but only if you haven't already added your Sneak Attack damage dice to an attack this turn.

IMPROVED TOUGHNESS
Starting at 3rd level, after completing a long rest you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to twice your level.

During a short rest you may expend hit dice to gain temporary hit points. If you do, expend any number of hit dice, rolling 1d10 for each die expended in this way. You gain temporary hit points at the end of your short rest equal to the combined total of any hit dice expended in this way. Hit dice expended to grant you temporary hit points do not also restore lost hit points.

EXTRA ATTACK
Beginning at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

The Spiritblade
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/fd/06/f4/fd06f45184c38a577dee126a31c2ba44.jpg

BONUS PROFICIENCIES
At 3rd level you gain proficiency in the Insight and Nature skills as well as with the Herbalism Kit.

SPELLCASTING
Starting at 3rd level you begin to cast spells like a druid. You learn the Green-Flame Blade cantrip and a single cantrip from the druid spell list. You learn an additional cantrip from either the druid or sorcerer spell lists at 10th level. Your spell slots by level is the same as an Eldritch Knight. You know three 1st level spells, two of which must be chosen from the druid spell list, one may be chosen from the druid or sorcerer spell lists. As you gain levels you learn new druid spells at the same levels as an Eldritch Knight. The spells you learn at 8th, 14th, and 20th level may be chosen from the druid or sorcerer spell lists.

Your spellcasting ability for these spells is Charisma.

DRAW OUT
Also at 3rd level you learn the Find Familiar spell and may cast it as a Ritual, using your Katana in place of the material components (it is not consumed). A familiar you summon in this way has a number of hit points equal to your level plus your Charisma modifier.

TOUGHNESS
Starting at 3rd level, after completing a long rest you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your level.

During a short rest you may expend hit dice to gain temporary hit points. If you do, expend any number of hit dice, rolling 1d8 for each die expended in this way. You gain temporary hit points at the end of your short rest equal to the combined total of any hit dice expended in this way. Hit dice expended to grant you temporary hit points do not also restore lost hit points.

MYSTIC ARTS
Starting at 6th level you may treat your Katana as a Ring of Spell Storing (DMG, pg. 192). Your Katana may hold up to 5 levels worth of spells at a time. Additionally, whenever you hit with a Katana attack that had advantage you may forgo your Sneak Attack damage to cast a stored spell on the target of your attack as a bonus action. If the stored spell would require a spell attack roll, it automatically hits, but the target is entitled to any saving throws the spell allows as normal.

Your familiar is considered your Katana. It may use the Attack action on its turn if you did not use the Attack action on your turn. If it does, resolve the attack as though you were attacking with your Katana, making the attack roll yourself using your ability modifier and Proficiency bonus and dealing damage as your Katana would. You may deal Sneak Attack damage with your familiar, or deliver spells stored in your Katana in this way.

GHOST-SLAYER
At 10th level you gain the ability to see 60ft into the ethereal plane while on the material plane, and vice-versa. Attacks with your Katana can strike creatures on the ethereal plane while you are on the material plane, and vice-versa. Furthermore, if you strike the illusionary form of a sentient creature with your Katana that creature must succeed at a Charisma saving throw (DC 8 + your Proficiency modifier + your Charisma modifier) or suffer damage as if it had been struck by your Katana, though all damage that it would normally deal is converted into Psychic damage.

RAPID STRIKE
Starting at 14th level you have learned to trade accuracy for swift strikes. If you have advantage on a weapon attack against a target on your turn, you can forgo that advantage to immediately make an additional weapon attack against the same target as a bonus action.

SPIRITWALKER
At 18th level you gain the ability to magically shift from the material plane to the ethereal plane, and vice-versa, as a bonus action. When you do, your familiar shifts with you. On the ethereal plane, if you are below half your maximum hit points you regain a number of hit points at the start of your turn equal to your Charisma modifier. If your familiar is on the ethereal plane and below half its maximum hit points, it regains a number of hit points at the start of its turns equal to your Charisma modifier.

Steel Mirror
2016-12-13, 09:16 PM
A great concept that fills a hole that 5E has had for a while now. I do have a few concerns.

*For Ostentatious Assault, I think the character should have to call out their attacks in order to benefit from the feature, or at least make Bruce Lee style yells and screams. I'm also a little worried about the "until you miss with a Katana attack roll" part of the feature, because at high levels a competently built character simply can't miss with a katana. Might end up a bit unbalanced. But we'll have to see.

*I like the line of Sharpness class abilities, but I think I'd rename them to "Sharpness", "Sharpnesser", "Sharpnessest", and "Sharpocalypse". It helps avoid confusion and reflects the true power of the ultimate blade.

*You never mentioned the fact that katana are folded 6 million times in order to make them the deadliest blades on earth. People will want to know that, so you should put it in the class description somewhere. For realism.

I like what you've got, I'll keep coming back to check up and see what the archetypes are. :smallwink:

lunaticfringe
2016-12-13, 09:24 PM
Lol, good job.

I'm surprised Crits while wielding a Katana don't insta-kill by slicing the target in half. Remember there is no such thing as Overpowered while homebrewing Katanas & Katana using Classes.

Rynjin
2016-12-13, 09:28 PM
0/10 no references to glorious Nippon steel and how it's folded over 1000 times for maximum sharpness.

Ziegander
2016-12-14, 04:24 AM
Base class is finished.

While this is a joke class, I do want it to be serviceable and relatively balanced. No overt jokes are included just yet, but feel free to write up some fluff for me to use.

As for the archetypes, the Spiritblade is going to be a 1/3 caster with druid spells and Find Familiar which is a spirit drawn from their katana. It'll have silly mysticism features. Ninja is straight forward. Expect invisibility, misty step, and extra proficiencies. Renaissance Man will gain proficiency in History with advantage regarding Katanas, cultures that use Katanas, etc, and is your filthy Renn fest katana grognard with some bardic abilities. Then Samurai is going to be your phony medium-armored, ancestral daisho dual-wielder with moar dakka.

JackOfAllBuilds
2016-12-14, 06:07 AM
Re: Samurai

ALWAYS NEED MOAR DAKKA
http://orig10.deviantart.net/a90a/f/2010/252/e/0/dakka_by_khaotixdemon-d2yekrh.jpg

Ziegander
2016-12-14, 10:24 AM
The Spiritblade is up. Working on the Samurai next.

ANCESTRAL DAISHO
At 3rd level you acquire a wakizashi, a masterpiece curved sword of shorter length and less weight than your katana. When you wield a wakizashi it deals 1d8 slashing damage. You may wield both your katana and wakizashi together, fighting with two weapons as though your katana were light. Further, when you do, you may draw or stow both weapons any time you could draw or stow one, your katana deals 1d10 damage as if you were wielding it in both hands, you gain an additional +1 bonus to AC, and when you use your bonus action to make an attack with your wakizashi you may add your ability modifier to the damage roll.

If you hit an opponent with both your katana and your wakizashi in the same turn you may deal that opponent damage as if struck by a Sneak Attack, but only if you haven't already added your Sneak Attack damage dice to an attack this turn.

JeenLeen
2016-12-15, 03:55 PM
A serious critique, about a power I think is vague or perhaps misleading:


KATANAKATA
When you wield a Katana, it gains the finesse and versatile properties (dealing 1d8 damage when used one-handed and 2d6 damage when used two-handed), you gain a +1 bonus to AC, you reroll any 1s and 2s you roll when making a damage roll with it, and your AC equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier (even if you are wearing armor).

Would this mean: assume Dex 10 and Cha 10 for simplicity. If wearing full plate and using a katana, your AC is 10 instead of 18, since this 'overwhelms'/'cancels out' the AC boost from the armor. That is, a specific trumps general, since this states it sets your AC to 10+Dex+Cha even when wearing armor.
If that is not what you intended, I would say instead that this functions in addition to any bonus from armor, like "If wearing armor, your AC is equal to your base value when armor + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier. Medium and heavy armor does not limit your Dexterity modifier."

I recommend this based on the fact (or at least the ruling I've been told) that things like Mage Armor (AC becomes 13 + Dex when no armor) don't stack with things like Unarmored Defense (10 + Dex + X), that is, these don't become 13 + Dex + X if used together.

Also state if it works with shields or not, regardless of the intention about how armor interacts with the power, akin to how Unarmored Defense states it with Barbarian and Monk.

Ziegander
2016-12-15, 06:37 PM
A serious critique, about a power I think is vague or perhaps misleading:


Would this mean: assume Dex 10 and Cha 10 for simplicity. If wearing full plate and using a katana, your AC is 10 instead of 18, since this 'overwhelms'/'cancels out' the AC boost from the armor. That is, a specific trumps general, since this states it sets your AC to 10+Dex+Cha even when wearing armor.
If that is not what you intended, I would say instead that this functions in addition to any bonus from armor, like "If wearing armor, your AC is equal to your base value when armor + your Dexterity modifier + your Charisma modifier. Medium and heavy armor does not limit your Dexterity modifier."

I recommend this based on the fact (or at least the ruling I've been told) that things like Mage Armor (AC becomes 13 + Dex when no armor) don't stack with things like Unarmored Defense (10 + Dex + X), that is, these don't become 13 + Dex + X if used together.

Also state if it works with shields or not, regardless of the intention about how armor interacts with the power, akin to how Unarmored Defense states it with Barbarian and Monk.

I had intended it, in the case that you for some horrible reason have Dex 10 and Cha 10, to set your AC to 10, even if you're wearing plate mail, yes, but I'll probably "fix it," so that it reads, "while you aren't wearing armor or carrying a shield, your AC equals," etc...

AtlanteanTroll
2016-12-15, 07:24 PM
This seems fairly overpowered given the number of dead levels in the the base classes.

Very fun, though!

Ziegander
2016-12-15, 08:16 PM
This seems fairly overpowered given the number of dead levels in the the base classes.

I'm not sure I follow? Barbarians, Fighters, Monks, and Rogues have no dead levels.

Though, I will admit, I'm not sure the Samurai is balanced, especially with Extra Attack, and even the base class with it's "as much advantage as you can manage + sneak attack" class feature focus, but some quick number crunching tells me the Samurai is only slightly stronger than a standard GWM Fighter and probably can't match the burst damage of a Paladin.

Sicarius Victis
2016-12-19, 12:49 AM
You know, even being a joke class, this isn't half bad.

Inchoroi
2016-12-19, 07:26 PM
You know, even being a joke class, this isn't half bad.

I was thinking the same thing...

My 14 year old self, lo those many years ago, shed a little tear. I'd like to see it finished and polished and perfectly balanced--just so I can use it in a game, and wait for someone to finally realize what it is I'm playing, just to see their face fall in agony and terror.

Morphic tide
2016-12-22, 09:09 AM
Let's brainstorm other Savantisms.

Off the top of my head, there's Ninja and the whole Anime Flash Step thing. Also, maybe a Duskblade style one representing the nonsensical Anime trope of crazy attacks coming out of sword slashes. You can also borrow a bit from Pathfinder archetype design philosophy and have a few just strait up ripping abilities from other classes with one or two tricks that tie the features into the main class. 1/3 Warlock progression, anyone?

In more normal critique, the class is somewhat overpowered as it mostly obsolesces the Rogue if you use a Ninja Savantism. Largely because it gets the full Sneak Attack progression on top of whatever other things that this thing has.