Was there ever an initating arcehrtype for Swashbucklers?

[digiman619]

I'm GMing a Legacy of Fire game that uses PoW extensively and they're about to get a semi-important NPC to help them. The book has her down as a fighter, but judging by her fighting style, she's clearly more of a Swashbuckler as far as classes concerned. Problem is, I want to have her have an initiating archetype, and I can't find one for the Swashbuckler anywhere.

Any thoughts on what I should do?

[legomaster00156]

Not to my knowledge, but the Warlord and Stalker can take the Privateer martial template, if you're looking for a pirate-themed character.

[Ninjaxenomorph]

I don't believe either gunslingers nor swashbucklers have ever received initiating archetypes from DSP. I'd just make her a warlord focused on Scarlet Throne, since that would pretty much make the same thing.

[Sayt]

Path of War was ind evelopment at the same time the ACG was in playtest, and had just been released when POW: E was released, so there aren't any initiator archetype's for hybrid classes yet, other than the Warpriest, as far as I know.

[legomaster00156]

As of the release of Fool's Errand, the Brawler has an initiating archetype. The Polymath template also applies to the Investigator.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

What would the equivalent of losing half the Fighter's bonus feats or half the Rogue's talents be? Honestly I don't think they or Swashbucklers/Gunslingers are strong enough to require losing anything, but that's the precedent.

You could take their feats and Charmed Life, and replace one of their initial deeds with Heroic Recovery from Myrmidon, perhaps. Leave Opportune Parry though, Swashbucklers having a built-in counter (that can block nat20s when PoW counters can't) is cool flavor.

[Kitsuneymg]

Honestly, just take the myrmidon and swap 'em to Cha instead of wisdom, trade med and heavy armor for strong reflex saves, and give 'em the swashbuckler skills. close-enough.png

[Dr_Dinosaur]

Honestly, just take the myrmidon and swap 'em to Cha instead of wisdom, trade med and heavy armor for strong reflex saves, and give 'em the swashbuckler skills. close-enough.png
That's just a Fighter archetype then.

For the Swashbuckler to remain itself, trading its feats, one initial deed, and Charmed Life while keeping most deeds seems fair and opens up a lot of unusual choices for maneuvers. Do you need any "block an attack" counters when you have one built in, for instance

[Serafina]

Charmed Life is highly redundant with Counters.
There are some actually interesting Deeds, but that could just be represented with Amateur Swashbuckler at first, and later with the Devoted Muse (http://archivesofnethys.com/PrestigeClassesDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Devoted%20Mus e) PrC and a one-level Swashbuckler-dip, which would give you 11th-level Swashbuckler-deeds and some nice extras.

[Rynjin]

What exactly are you so attached to the Swasbuckler class (not flavor) for? It's just a Fighter with even worse saves that gets level to damage with rapiers, basically.

You could play a Dervish Defender Warder, for instance, and buckle swashes with the best of them. Or any kind of Warlord. Desperado even gives you grit, and you can then go Sword and Pistol for piratey flavor if you please.

[Serafina]

You could even go with Desperado and just ask if you can take Swashbuckler-Deeds instead of Gunslinger-Deeds, since you already get the unique position of choosing deeds instead of getting them at set levels, including from archetypes. If you don't like the gunplay at all, ask if the rapid reload can be traded out for weapon finesse or deadly agility, and you basically have your Swashbuckler-Initiator right there.

Alternatively, you can just go Warlord (Desperado, maybe Privateer) 5/Devoted Muse 10/Warlord 5, and put feats into Advanced Study to keep up your Initiating.
That'd give you, at 15th level, 7th-level Swashbuckler Deeds, 15th-level Gunslinger Deeds, Charisma-to-AC, Charisma twice to Grit/Panache (plus and extra three), Initiator level 12, and whenever you feint you recover maneuvers, can daze, stagger, confuse or distract your target, and your next attack you can deal extra damage, inspire nearby allies, allow you to move, or give you a free-action feint. If you take the Privateer-archetype, you'll even be able to use that with Dazzling Display too.
You'll be feinting as a move action very often (with a swift action to make it a gambit, if you want to recover maneuvers), but since you rely on standard-action strikes that's surprisingly okay. Your ideal round consists of feinting two enemies as a move action, therefore also Dazing them, then you make a Strike against them and spend 1 panache feint a third target and also daze them. Alternatively, you can of course move and just use Greater Feint to make a swift-action feint, then continue to attack and feint another target or get some other effect.
Oh, and you might want to take the 5th-level Sleeping Goddess stance, to use all that against enemies who are immune to mind-affecting effects.