DM help, Unarmored npc swordsman

[Swaoeaeieu]

Hello all, i come before the board looking for help.

I have noticed as a DM it is a lot of fun to use npc with a build or abilities the players arent familliar with. As my players are mostly only familiar with the 'usual' roles in an rpg.
Another thing i like to do immensely is using DSP materials like Path of War to show players Mundanes can have Nice Things. But having a fight where i need to controll multriple enemies, and some are using maneuvers or spells get me all headachy and whatnot, so i would like to limit it.

What i need advice on today is a new NPC i wanted to build. I was basing her on Tashigi (http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Tashigi) from One Piece. A skilled master of a katana, deflecting attacts, and one hit strikes. But i am at a loss on how to properly build it. The giant ammount of Pathfinder material out there blinding me with all them tree in front of the forest.

So do the pathfinder users of the playground have some ways to make something that ticks off a few of these ideas?
I was thinking:
- Light or no armor, getting armor bonus from somewhere else.
- Something like Iaijutsu, or something that can be fluffed as such.
- Little to no bookkeeping, maneuver recovery and such being complicated and slowing down the game for me as DM
- In One Piece, this character is smart and loved by all her crew, so maybe Int or Cha as a usefull stat.
- Dex based fighting.
- Max level 7, we are still low level.

Also i think i should note, i am using Lemmy's custom weapons (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?500649-Lemmy-s-Custom-Weapon-Generation-System), so any weapon could be made to be finnessable or a monk weapon, so there are Lots of ways to accomplish this build, i just cant put the pieces together.

Any ideas how to make a swordsmaster, or is my idea unclear? I welcome any and all input you can give me.

Thanks in advance!

[Elricaltovilla]

Your starting point will probably be the Mithral Current Discipline (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/disciplines-and-maneuvers/mithral-current-maneuvers/), which is all about quick drawing and iaijutsu. If you want, there is also a class template (archetype that fits multiple classes) called the Bushi (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/path-of-war/classes/martial-class-templates/bushi-template/) that can be applied to the Stalker, Warder and Warlord classes from the original PoW. It will provide the necessary bonus feats, a draw/sheathe recovery mechanic, and some useful class features that make being a quick drawing character much easier.

As for building an NPC, just pick 5-6 maneuvers (a good mix of strikes, counters and boosts) that look cool, and a stance you like. Those will be your NPC's readied maneuvers. All you need to track then is which ones have been used up. No need to worry about anything else, as it won't come up.

[CharonsHelper]

The easiest way to do it would just be an Unchained Monk with the Scaled Fist archetype (uses CHA instead of WIS) and use Slashing Grace to get Dex to Damage. (Or - I think Path of War has an OP version of Dex to Damage too.)

You could go Umonk 3 / Urogue 4 if you want the Dex to Damage x1.5 & without burning the feat.

You could easily fluff a monk ability as Iaijutsu, especially if you get the enchantment to use Stunning Fist through your sword.


The other option is to go with a Swashbuckler for the deflection abilities, but using all of their Panache abilities might be a headache while DMing. (Actually - Swashbucklers mix quite well with an Unchained Monk / Scaled Fist dip.)

[Krazzman]

(Actually - Swashbucklers mix quite well with an Unchained Monk / Scaled Fist dip.)

Came to mention this. Swashbuckler 5/Scaled Fist1/Free Style Fighter3/Scaled Fist some more.... you now should be able to flurry with your sword( while you are in the Dragon Style(or any other you qualified for) and Ascetic Style).