Quellian-dyrae
2018-08-03, 02:45 AM
Old class I had done for a Base Class Challenge a while back. Actually just positing it in its own thread for ease of reference for a game, but critiques are welcome nonetheless!
Sublime Soldier
"I would juggle all nine blades, wielding each at need. They choose instead to give each to a single wielder, and see if they all can fight as one. It is not the path that I walked, but I would not pretend that mine is the only Way." -Emark the Falcon, Master of Nine.
As the path of the martial adept became more common, more and more skilled warriors have turned their training to its exotic styles. For a while, it seemed that the Sublime Way was a path that was to be walked alone. Warblades, with their hunger for personal glory, swordsages with their diversity of nature and style alike, and crusaders with their zealous focus on their cause all are more likely to seek personal improvement rather than teaching a great many students. Indeed, the fall of the Temple of Nine Swords is almost a great warning to the modern martial adept that the way of martial supremacy lies not within organization.
But not all adepts are content to seek only personal mastery, and some have seen potential in studying the Sublime Way in a different way than the average warblade, swordsage, and crusader. Each discipline boasts a number of techniques for attack and defense, after all, and it has been theorized by some that mastery of a single discipline to the exclusion of all others might provide a level of mastery within that field far beyond what any normal adept can produce. Like the difference between a wizard who specializes in enchantment and a beguiler, one assumes that a warrior who focused on one aspect of the Sublime Way as opposed to simply favoring maneuvers from a certain school should be able to reach a greater level of mastery.
The combination of these two schools of thought came together in the minds of three siblings whose long familiarity with the power of the Ki gave birth to what came to be known as the Sublime Army. These three learned their first maneuvers under the tutelage of their grandfather, one of the Masters of Nine, a warrior who blended all nine of the disciplines into a seamless whole. His granddaughters and grandson were not so diverse in their teachings; one mastered the powers of the crusader, commanding the will of the devoted spirit, the command of the white raven, and the resilience of the stone dragon. Another followed the path of a swordsage, learning the subtleties of the shadow hand, the misdirections of the setting sun, and the power of the desert wind. The last, a warblade, bent his focus to the clarity of the diamond mind, the fury of the tiger's claw, and the perfection of the iron heart.
And while no one of them could match their grandfather's vast knowledge of martial lore and breadth of maneuvers, they were capable of performing feats of mastery within their discipline that even their teacher often couldn't match, and displaying specialized martial talents that he couldn't dream of duplicating.
As many powerful warriors do, these three eventually attracted a force of followers seeking to learn their skills. These warriors, many of them novice swordlings with great untapped potential, became the kernel of the Sublime Army. Each warrior took from his or her commander but a third of the knowledge that the adventurer itself possessed, but trained at what it learned with the whole of its discipline. When age finally stilled the swords of the three siblings, what had once been a small force of credibly talented fighters had blossomed into a full army of highly specialized warriors, each commanding incredible, though very narrowly focused, powers.
Today, the Sublime Army is a structured organization which contains nine main divisions: the archers, berserkers, commanders, guardians, infantry, knights, saboteurs, scouts, and skirmishers. Rank is based on mastery of the Sublime Way, not division, but each unit has its role to play in the army. The army also fields a smattering of more conventional martial adepts, and has a few spellcasters and mage knights on call. They are known for individually powerful troops – even the least of their soldiers are alone a match for two or three common warriors – as well as tremendous organization and stunning tactical harmony.
The Sublime Army is not tied to any specific kingdom, and hires out small units for mercenary work. A strongly lawful organization, they are very careful about keeping track of who they are fighting for to ascertain that their members never wind up on both sides of a conflict. The army also offers training to warriors who wish to master an aspect of the Sublime Way. A term of service is always required for initial training, though a soldier who has served its term can later choose to make its own way. As a result, the army has given rise to a number of skilled adventurers.
Adventures: Sublime soldiers could adventure for any number of reasons. The modern Sublime Army only rarely masses a full force for war; most contracts are achieved by sending a small group of soldiers to handle tasks deemed within its capability. Likewise, the army has its share of politics and intrigue, and a character seeking to rise through the ranks would have plenty to do proving itself to its superiors and further mastering its discipline. And of course, many warriors with training by the Sublime Army choose to go their own way, and no doubt, anyone seeking such specialized combat training has its reasons.
Characteristics: The characteristics of any given sublime soldier depend on the discipline it has mastered.
The sublime archers are masterful ranged attackers. Although most martial maneuvers are taught on the basis of melee combat, these skilled marksmen have mastered the art of the diamond mind. Their honed concentration allows them to fire with incredible speed and accuracy. In a war, the archers take up tactical positions, scything down advancing troops or concentrating a deadly fire on key targets.
Sublime berserkers are the masters of the tiger claw discipline. They tear into their foes with raging fury, and are among the most feared units of the Sublime Army in the event of a large-scale war, for their savagery – and, thus, their power – only grows the longer they fight. There are relatively few troopers in the army; they are prone to reckless and chaotic activity, so the army subtly discourages them and they do have a tendency to volunteer for - or be assigned to - the most dangerous missions. However, those few that do complete their training and survive their battles are well-respected by their comrades despite their lack of order.
Sublime commanders are the de facto leaders in any major engagement. Masters of the white raven, they are themselves capable fighters, but their greatest advantage is their ability to support their allies with their presence and command. Although the nine divisions of the army are officially equal, great respect is afforded the commanders, for their supportive skills are what make the army as a whole a force to be truly feared.
Sublime guardians focus on keeping their allies safe from harm. Sublime guardians master the devoted spirit discipline, and there are actually two sects within this division. The first, favoring swords and shields, are masters of actively defending their allies. The second group prefer long weapons like spears for forcing the enemy back and striking at those that would attack their friends. In a war, the guardians are often found forming an impenetrable wall of spears and shields, providing a haven for archers as well as wounded allies. Any enemy trying to get through their defense to finish off weakened troops are likely to only get those warriors back on their feet that much faster.
At the heart of any army is the infantry, and this is no less true of the Sublime Army. Though often a thankless job, a position in the infantry ranks of this organization is as sought after as any other unit, for it entails a mastery of the stone dragon. Although the training is tough, these warriors are incredibly resilient and capable of dealing crushing blows to their enemies. The mass charge of the Sublime Infantry is often said to be as terrifying – and as destructive – as a normal force's cavalry blitz.
The sublime knights are a force of elite warriors who focus on engaging and defeating key targets. Masters of their chosen weapons, they utilize the iron heart discipline to enhance their attacks and defenses and allow them to fight beyond normal limits. In war, small groups of these knights band together to seek out powerful enemy forces, scything through lesser foes all the while.
The sublime scouts utilize stealthy skills drawn from the shadow hand discipline. Masters of both infiltration and assassination, they are rarely seen in direct combat. If battle has been joined, though, it is almost certain that the scouts have already played their role, gathering intelligence on the enemy and dispatching important targets before they ever get a chance to fight.
The sublime skirmishers are masters of the desert wind discipline, and they display the speed and destructive capability of a raging wildfire. Extremely mobile and capable of potent area blasts, the skirmishers disrupt enemy formations and soften up tough targets, clearing the way for a finishing assault by infantry, berserkers, or knights.
Finally, sublime saboteurs favor the setting sun discipline, and like most adherents to that study, are of the opinion that the enemy needs only a little help to defeat itself. Cunning and decisive in their actions, they take advantage of every opening to quickly leave their enemies helpless. In war, they tend to focus their efforts on particularly dangerous foes, hampering and crippling them so they cannot lend their strength to the opposing side.
Alignment: The Sublime Army favors the lawful alignments, and tends towards neutrality with leanings towards good. Even within the army, though, the entire berserker division is heavily slanted towards chaos, and individual members are not generally judged on their disposition so long as they can follow orders. The preferences of the army matter even less to former students, so members of the class can be any alignment.
Religion: Most members of the Sublime Army see the Sublime Way itself as all the religion they need, and the army is careful not to officially sanction any deity. That being said, as an organization of warriors, the worship of gods of warfare and strength are not uncommon.
Background: As written, the class assumes that the character's background will have at some point brought it at least into contact with the Sublime Army, though whether it remains part of the organization - and if not, why it left - can be useful things to know.
Races: The Sublime Army accepts all kinds. Humans are naturally the most common, followed by hobgoblins, dwarves, and elves, in that order. There are noticeable racial cliques among various divisions in the army - elves favoring archery, dwarves infantry, hobgoblins as knights, orcs as berserkers, and so on. These cliques are somewhat self-reinforcing, encouraging other members of the race to join that division and discouraging members of other races, which is starting to cause just enough friction that the ranking officers are considering trying to do something about it.
Other Classes: Crusaders, warblades, and swordsages all have their place in the Sublime Army, and are afforded no small amount of respect by the soldiers of the nine divisions for their mastery of various styles. The soldiers tend to have a respectful rivalry with spellcasters. Uninitiated warriors, however, tend to be looked down upon by the army as common grunt troops, not even worthy of accepting into such an elite force.
Role: The role of a sublime soldier depends entirely on its discipline, both in an adventuring party and a war-scale conflict.
Adaptation: The Sublime Army can be used (or not) in various ways in different games. Perhaps it split into several competing factions, or is a powerful assembly of warriors running a determined inquisition against magic. Or it may not exist at all, with the various divisions of the class simply being highly specialized martial adepts. Another interesting option for adaptation would be to allow a character to gain its scaling feature and/or discipline abilities from different disciplines as its maneuvers, making it a very customizable warrior class.
Variant Playstyles:
Although maneuvers cap out at level 9, a sublime soldier's maximum maneuver level continues to increase at level 19 and into epic levels. Although in a normal game this capability isn't strictly necessary even at the highest levels, it is presented as an optional rule for progressing sublime soldiers into epic levels.
Sublime soldiers with maximum maneuver levels of 10 or higher can initiate powerful combination maneuvers of epic scope, referred to as Epic Initiations. As a standard action, by spending a single maneuver available, the soldier may make a full attack action. Each individual attack in the action may potentially be replaced with a single martial strike that requires a standard action to perform. All such strikes must be from the same discipline, even if the soldier has learned maneuvers of other disciplines by some means.
The soldier may initiate a total number of levels of maneuvers equal to its maximum maneuver level. No single maneuver may be higher level than half its maximum, rounded up. The same maneuver may be applied to multiple attacks if desired. For example, at 19th level, the soldier could make a full attack replacing the attacks with up to ten total levels of strikes, none of which may be higher than 5th level (so a Sublime Archer could make the first and second attacks a Ruby Nightmare Blade, the third an Emerald Razor, and the fourth a normal attack).
If desired, when making an Epic Initiation, the soldier can apply Boosts without spending the swift action normally required (counting levels of Boosts against its available levels of Strikes). It may also conserve one or more available levels of Strikes and use them until the start of its next turn to initiate Counters without spending the immediate action normally required.
An Epic Initiation ignores the cooldowns of the individual maneuvers used and does not place them on cooldown. However, upon making an Epic Initiation, the soldier becomes must rest for five minutes before doing so again. The single cost of a maneuver available to perform the Epic Initiation covers the cost of all the maneuvers that are part of it.
Beyond Epic Initiation, an epic Sublime Soldier continues to progress its Maneuver Training and Scaling Feature. It receives a bonus Epic feat at 21st level and each four class levels thereafter.
The Path of War supplement has entirely restructured disciplines, although it might be possible, with DM discretion, to use the sublime soldier class with Path of War, simply choosing an existing discipline for purposes of discipline abilities but using Path of War for the actual maneuvers. In this case, the soldier's initiating ability score is its key ability score.
In a mixed game with Pathfinder basic rules but access to D&D 3.5 content, make the following changes:
Hit Die and Skill Points: Traditionally, HD is tied to BAB in Pathfinder. The sublime soldier should retain its full BAB. It is suggested to just keep HD and SP as-is to better differentiate the different types of soldiers. For a more strictly accurate conversion, increase the disciplines with a d8 HD to a d10, and reduce their skill points from 6 to 4, or just have all sublime soldiers use a d10 HD and 4 SP.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (History, Martial, Nobility) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str). Diamond Mind should use Perception rather than Concentration. Shadow Hand uses Stealth in place of Hide. Desert Wind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, and Tiger Claw all use Acrobatics rather than their normal key skills. Although if you want to diversify, you could change it to Desert Wind uses Fly (and add Fly as a Sublime Soldier class skill), Iron Heart uses Knowledge (Martial), Stone Dragon uses Survival, and Tiger Claw retains Acrobatics.
Favored Class Bonuses:
Human: +1/6 of an additional Maneuver Available.
Elf: +1/6 of an additional Instinctive Stance.
Half Elf: +1/6 of an additional Diverse Training.
Dwarf: +1/6 of an additional Extended Counter.
Gnome: +1/6 of an additional Synergistic Boost.
Halfling: +1/6 of an additional Scaling Feature increase.
Half Orc: +1/6 of an additional Opportunistic Strike.
The different soldier types of the Sublime Soldier class are actually quite distinct. Although their abilities follow a set pattern, the only capability that they all really share is Maneuver Training (and even then, it's a list of options). Multiclassing the different Sublime Soldier classes should be quite possible, with two important adjustments:
1) You have one pool of maneuvers available per encounter, which is equal to 2 + the total number of Maneuver Training abilities you acquire.
2) You use the Key Ability and recovery method of your first sublime soldier class only (any class features or maneuvers that call out the the other class's Key Ability instead use that one).
So, for example, a Sublime Archer 6/Sublime Knight 6 would have 4 maneuvers available per encounter, access to 5th level Diamond Mind and Iron Heart maneuvers, two Maneuver Training options, access to Basic and Adept Discipline Abilities from both classes, Hypercognition 30', +15' range increment, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Quick Draw, and three mastered weapons or armors. By comparison, a straight Sublime Archer 12 would have 5 maneuvers available, access to 6th level Diamond Mind maneuvers (but no Iron Heart), three Maneuver Training options, Basic, Adept, and Expert Sublime Archer abilities, Hypercognition 60', and +30' range increment.
For Gestalt sublime soldiers, Maneuvers Available is a gestalted resource, but otherwise all class features stack. A Sublime Archer 12//Sublime Knight 12 would have 5 maneuvers available per encounter, access to 6th level Diamond Mind and Iron Heart maneuvers, six Maneuver Training options, access to Basic, Adept, and Expert Discipline Abilities from both classes, Hypercognition 60', +30' range increment, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Quick Draw, Weapon Mastery, Improved Critical, and Greater Weapon Focus, and six mastered weapons or armor.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Sublime Soldiers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Sublime soldiers are warriors first and foremost, and so Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are all important to varying degrees. Some maneuvers and special abilities involve other stats; as a good rule of thumb, a guardian should consider investing in Charisma, while soldiers focusing on the swordsage-specific disciplines (skirmishers, saboteurs, and scouts) may want to consider Wisdom.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: Varies.
Starting Age: As Wizard.
Starting Gold: As Fighter.
Class Skills
The Sublime Soldier's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are...
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (History, Nobility and Royalty) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at First Level: Varies.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: Varies.
SUBLIME SOLDIER
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+1
*
*
*Maneuvers, Basic Discipline Ability.
2nd
+2
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
3rd
+3
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
4th
+4
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
5th
+5
*
*
*Adept Discipline Ability.
6th
+6
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
7th
+7
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
8th
+8
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
9th
+9
*
*
*Expert Discipline Ability.
10th
+10
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
11th
+11
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
12th
+12
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
13th
+13
*
*
*Master Discipline Ability.
14th
+14
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
15th
+15
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
16th
+16
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
17th
+17
*
*
*Grandmaster Discipline Ability.
18th
+18
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
19th
+19
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
20th
+20
*
*
*Epic Discipline Ability, Scaling Feature.
Sublime Soldier
"I would juggle all nine blades, wielding each at need. They choose instead to give each to a single wielder, and see if they all can fight as one. It is not the path that I walked, but I would not pretend that mine is the only Way." -Emark the Falcon, Master of Nine.
As the path of the martial adept became more common, more and more skilled warriors have turned their training to its exotic styles. For a while, it seemed that the Sublime Way was a path that was to be walked alone. Warblades, with their hunger for personal glory, swordsages with their diversity of nature and style alike, and crusaders with their zealous focus on their cause all are more likely to seek personal improvement rather than teaching a great many students. Indeed, the fall of the Temple of Nine Swords is almost a great warning to the modern martial adept that the way of martial supremacy lies not within organization.
But not all adepts are content to seek only personal mastery, and some have seen potential in studying the Sublime Way in a different way than the average warblade, swordsage, and crusader. Each discipline boasts a number of techniques for attack and defense, after all, and it has been theorized by some that mastery of a single discipline to the exclusion of all others might provide a level of mastery within that field far beyond what any normal adept can produce. Like the difference between a wizard who specializes in enchantment and a beguiler, one assumes that a warrior who focused on one aspect of the Sublime Way as opposed to simply favoring maneuvers from a certain school should be able to reach a greater level of mastery.
The combination of these two schools of thought came together in the minds of three siblings whose long familiarity with the power of the Ki gave birth to what came to be known as the Sublime Army. These three learned their first maneuvers under the tutelage of their grandfather, one of the Masters of Nine, a warrior who blended all nine of the disciplines into a seamless whole. His granddaughters and grandson were not so diverse in their teachings; one mastered the powers of the crusader, commanding the will of the devoted spirit, the command of the white raven, and the resilience of the stone dragon. Another followed the path of a swordsage, learning the subtleties of the shadow hand, the misdirections of the setting sun, and the power of the desert wind. The last, a warblade, bent his focus to the clarity of the diamond mind, the fury of the tiger's claw, and the perfection of the iron heart.
And while no one of them could match their grandfather's vast knowledge of martial lore and breadth of maneuvers, they were capable of performing feats of mastery within their discipline that even their teacher often couldn't match, and displaying specialized martial talents that he couldn't dream of duplicating.
As many powerful warriors do, these three eventually attracted a force of followers seeking to learn their skills. These warriors, many of them novice swordlings with great untapped potential, became the kernel of the Sublime Army. Each warrior took from his or her commander but a third of the knowledge that the adventurer itself possessed, but trained at what it learned with the whole of its discipline. When age finally stilled the swords of the three siblings, what had once been a small force of credibly talented fighters had blossomed into a full army of highly specialized warriors, each commanding incredible, though very narrowly focused, powers.
Today, the Sublime Army is a structured organization which contains nine main divisions: the archers, berserkers, commanders, guardians, infantry, knights, saboteurs, scouts, and skirmishers. Rank is based on mastery of the Sublime Way, not division, but each unit has its role to play in the army. The army also fields a smattering of more conventional martial adepts, and has a few spellcasters and mage knights on call. They are known for individually powerful troops – even the least of their soldiers are alone a match for two or three common warriors – as well as tremendous organization and stunning tactical harmony.
The Sublime Army is not tied to any specific kingdom, and hires out small units for mercenary work. A strongly lawful organization, they are very careful about keeping track of who they are fighting for to ascertain that their members never wind up on both sides of a conflict. The army also offers training to warriors who wish to master an aspect of the Sublime Way. A term of service is always required for initial training, though a soldier who has served its term can later choose to make its own way. As a result, the army has given rise to a number of skilled adventurers.
Adventures: Sublime soldiers could adventure for any number of reasons. The modern Sublime Army only rarely masses a full force for war; most contracts are achieved by sending a small group of soldiers to handle tasks deemed within its capability. Likewise, the army has its share of politics and intrigue, and a character seeking to rise through the ranks would have plenty to do proving itself to its superiors and further mastering its discipline. And of course, many warriors with training by the Sublime Army choose to go their own way, and no doubt, anyone seeking such specialized combat training has its reasons.
Characteristics: The characteristics of any given sublime soldier depend on the discipline it has mastered.
The sublime archers are masterful ranged attackers. Although most martial maneuvers are taught on the basis of melee combat, these skilled marksmen have mastered the art of the diamond mind. Their honed concentration allows them to fire with incredible speed and accuracy. In a war, the archers take up tactical positions, scything down advancing troops or concentrating a deadly fire on key targets.
Sublime berserkers are the masters of the tiger claw discipline. They tear into their foes with raging fury, and are among the most feared units of the Sublime Army in the event of a large-scale war, for their savagery – and, thus, their power – only grows the longer they fight. There are relatively few troopers in the army; they are prone to reckless and chaotic activity, so the army subtly discourages them and they do have a tendency to volunteer for - or be assigned to - the most dangerous missions. However, those few that do complete their training and survive their battles are well-respected by their comrades despite their lack of order.
Sublime commanders are the de facto leaders in any major engagement. Masters of the white raven, they are themselves capable fighters, but their greatest advantage is their ability to support their allies with their presence and command. Although the nine divisions of the army are officially equal, great respect is afforded the commanders, for their supportive skills are what make the army as a whole a force to be truly feared.
Sublime guardians focus on keeping their allies safe from harm. Sublime guardians master the devoted spirit discipline, and there are actually two sects within this division. The first, favoring swords and shields, are masters of actively defending their allies. The second group prefer long weapons like spears for forcing the enemy back and striking at those that would attack their friends. In a war, the guardians are often found forming an impenetrable wall of spears and shields, providing a haven for archers as well as wounded allies. Any enemy trying to get through their defense to finish off weakened troops are likely to only get those warriors back on their feet that much faster.
At the heart of any army is the infantry, and this is no less true of the Sublime Army. Though often a thankless job, a position in the infantry ranks of this organization is as sought after as any other unit, for it entails a mastery of the stone dragon. Although the training is tough, these warriors are incredibly resilient and capable of dealing crushing blows to their enemies. The mass charge of the Sublime Infantry is often said to be as terrifying – and as destructive – as a normal force's cavalry blitz.
The sublime knights are a force of elite warriors who focus on engaging and defeating key targets. Masters of their chosen weapons, they utilize the iron heart discipline to enhance their attacks and defenses and allow them to fight beyond normal limits. In war, small groups of these knights band together to seek out powerful enemy forces, scything through lesser foes all the while.
The sublime scouts utilize stealthy skills drawn from the shadow hand discipline. Masters of both infiltration and assassination, they are rarely seen in direct combat. If battle has been joined, though, it is almost certain that the scouts have already played their role, gathering intelligence on the enemy and dispatching important targets before they ever get a chance to fight.
The sublime skirmishers are masters of the desert wind discipline, and they display the speed and destructive capability of a raging wildfire. Extremely mobile and capable of potent area blasts, the skirmishers disrupt enemy formations and soften up tough targets, clearing the way for a finishing assault by infantry, berserkers, or knights.
Finally, sublime saboteurs favor the setting sun discipline, and like most adherents to that study, are of the opinion that the enemy needs only a little help to defeat itself. Cunning and decisive in their actions, they take advantage of every opening to quickly leave their enemies helpless. In war, they tend to focus their efforts on particularly dangerous foes, hampering and crippling them so they cannot lend their strength to the opposing side.
Alignment: The Sublime Army favors the lawful alignments, and tends towards neutrality with leanings towards good. Even within the army, though, the entire berserker division is heavily slanted towards chaos, and individual members are not generally judged on their disposition so long as they can follow orders. The preferences of the army matter even less to former students, so members of the class can be any alignment.
Religion: Most members of the Sublime Army see the Sublime Way itself as all the religion they need, and the army is careful not to officially sanction any deity. That being said, as an organization of warriors, the worship of gods of warfare and strength are not uncommon.
Background: As written, the class assumes that the character's background will have at some point brought it at least into contact with the Sublime Army, though whether it remains part of the organization - and if not, why it left - can be useful things to know.
Races: The Sublime Army accepts all kinds. Humans are naturally the most common, followed by hobgoblins, dwarves, and elves, in that order. There are noticeable racial cliques among various divisions in the army - elves favoring archery, dwarves infantry, hobgoblins as knights, orcs as berserkers, and so on. These cliques are somewhat self-reinforcing, encouraging other members of the race to join that division and discouraging members of other races, which is starting to cause just enough friction that the ranking officers are considering trying to do something about it.
Other Classes: Crusaders, warblades, and swordsages all have their place in the Sublime Army, and are afforded no small amount of respect by the soldiers of the nine divisions for their mastery of various styles. The soldiers tend to have a respectful rivalry with spellcasters. Uninitiated warriors, however, tend to be looked down upon by the army as common grunt troops, not even worthy of accepting into such an elite force.
Role: The role of a sublime soldier depends entirely on its discipline, both in an adventuring party and a war-scale conflict.
Adaptation: The Sublime Army can be used (or not) in various ways in different games. Perhaps it split into several competing factions, or is a powerful assembly of warriors running a determined inquisition against magic. Or it may not exist at all, with the various divisions of the class simply being highly specialized martial adepts. Another interesting option for adaptation would be to allow a character to gain its scaling feature and/or discipline abilities from different disciplines as its maneuvers, making it a very customizable warrior class.
Variant Playstyles:
Although maneuvers cap out at level 9, a sublime soldier's maximum maneuver level continues to increase at level 19 and into epic levels. Although in a normal game this capability isn't strictly necessary even at the highest levels, it is presented as an optional rule for progressing sublime soldiers into epic levels.
Sublime soldiers with maximum maneuver levels of 10 or higher can initiate powerful combination maneuvers of epic scope, referred to as Epic Initiations. As a standard action, by spending a single maneuver available, the soldier may make a full attack action. Each individual attack in the action may potentially be replaced with a single martial strike that requires a standard action to perform. All such strikes must be from the same discipline, even if the soldier has learned maneuvers of other disciplines by some means.
The soldier may initiate a total number of levels of maneuvers equal to its maximum maneuver level. No single maneuver may be higher level than half its maximum, rounded up. The same maneuver may be applied to multiple attacks if desired. For example, at 19th level, the soldier could make a full attack replacing the attacks with up to ten total levels of strikes, none of which may be higher than 5th level (so a Sublime Archer could make the first and second attacks a Ruby Nightmare Blade, the third an Emerald Razor, and the fourth a normal attack).
If desired, when making an Epic Initiation, the soldier can apply Boosts without spending the swift action normally required (counting levels of Boosts against its available levels of Strikes). It may also conserve one or more available levels of Strikes and use them until the start of its next turn to initiate Counters without spending the immediate action normally required.
An Epic Initiation ignores the cooldowns of the individual maneuvers used and does not place them on cooldown. However, upon making an Epic Initiation, the soldier becomes must rest for five minutes before doing so again. The single cost of a maneuver available to perform the Epic Initiation covers the cost of all the maneuvers that are part of it.
Beyond Epic Initiation, an epic Sublime Soldier continues to progress its Maneuver Training and Scaling Feature. It receives a bonus Epic feat at 21st level and each four class levels thereafter.
The Path of War supplement has entirely restructured disciplines, although it might be possible, with DM discretion, to use the sublime soldier class with Path of War, simply choosing an existing discipline for purposes of discipline abilities but using Path of War for the actual maneuvers. In this case, the soldier's initiating ability score is its key ability score.
In a mixed game with Pathfinder basic rules but access to D&D 3.5 content, make the following changes:
Hit Die and Skill Points: Traditionally, HD is tied to BAB in Pathfinder. The sublime soldier should retain its full BAB. It is suggested to just keep HD and SP as-is to better differentiate the different types of soldiers. For a more strictly accurate conversion, increase the disciplines with a d8 HD to a d10, and reduce their skill points from 6 to 4, or just have all sublime soldiers use a d10 HD and 4 SP.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (History, Martial, Nobility) (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str). Diamond Mind should use Perception rather than Concentration. Shadow Hand uses Stealth in place of Hide. Desert Wind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, and Tiger Claw all use Acrobatics rather than their normal key skills. Although if you want to diversify, you could change it to Desert Wind uses Fly (and add Fly as a Sublime Soldier class skill), Iron Heart uses Knowledge (Martial), Stone Dragon uses Survival, and Tiger Claw retains Acrobatics.
Favored Class Bonuses:
Human: +1/6 of an additional Maneuver Available.
Elf: +1/6 of an additional Instinctive Stance.
Half Elf: +1/6 of an additional Diverse Training.
Dwarf: +1/6 of an additional Extended Counter.
Gnome: +1/6 of an additional Synergistic Boost.
Halfling: +1/6 of an additional Scaling Feature increase.
Half Orc: +1/6 of an additional Opportunistic Strike.
The different soldier types of the Sublime Soldier class are actually quite distinct. Although their abilities follow a set pattern, the only capability that they all really share is Maneuver Training (and even then, it's a list of options). Multiclassing the different Sublime Soldier classes should be quite possible, with two important adjustments:
1) You have one pool of maneuvers available per encounter, which is equal to 2 + the total number of Maneuver Training abilities you acquire.
2) You use the Key Ability and recovery method of your first sublime soldier class only (any class features or maneuvers that call out the the other class's Key Ability instead use that one).
So, for example, a Sublime Archer 6/Sublime Knight 6 would have 4 maneuvers available per encounter, access to 5th level Diamond Mind and Iron Heart maneuvers, two Maneuver Training options, access to Basic and Adept Discipline Abilities from both classes, Hypercognition 30', +15' range increment, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Quick Draw, and three mastered weapons or armors. By comparison, a straight Sublime Archer 12 would have 5 maneuvers available, access to 6th level Diamond Mind maneuvers (but no Iron Heart), three Maneuver Training options, Basic, Adept, and Expert Sublime Archer abilities, Hypercognition 60', and +30' range increment.
For Gestalt sublime soldiers, Maneuvers Available is a gestalted resource, but otherwise all class features stack. A Sublime Archer 12//Sublime Knight 12 would have 5 maneuvers available per encounter, access to 6th level Diamond Mind and Iron Heart maneuvers, six Maneuver Training options, access to Basic, Adept, and Expert Discipline Abilities from both classes, Hypercognition 60', +30' range increment, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Quick Draw, Weapon Mastery, Improved Critical, and Greater Weapon Focus, and six mastered weapons or armor.
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Sublime Soldiers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Sublime soldiers are warriors first and foremost, and so Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are all important to varying degrees. Some maneuvers and special abilities involve other stats; as a good rule of thumb, a guardian should consider investing in Charisma, while soldiers focusing on the swordsage-specific disciplines (skirmishers, saboteurs, and scouts) may want to consider Wisdom.
Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: Varies.
Starting Age: As Wizard.
Starting Gold: As Fighter.
Class Skills
The Sublime Soldier's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are...
Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (History, Nobility and Royalty) (Int), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points at First Level: Varies.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: Varies.
SUBLIME SOLDIER
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+1
*
*
*Maneuvers, Basic Discipline Ability.
2nd
+2
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
3rd
+3
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
4th
+4
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
5th
+5
*
*
*Adept Discipline Ability.
6th
+6
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
7th
+7
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
8th
+8
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
9th
+9
*
*
*Expert Discipline Ability.
10th
+10
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
11th
+11
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
12th
+12
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
13th
+13
*
*
*Master Discipline Ability.
14th
+14
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
15th
+15
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
16th
+16
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
17th
+17
*
*
*Grandmaster Discipline Ability.
18th
+18
*
*
*Scaling Feature.
19th
+19
*
*
*Maneuver Training.
20th
+20
*
*
*Epic Discipline Ability, Scaling Feature.