Dual Wielding Miyamoto Musashi like build

[Nosta]

Any idea on how to go about this

or what a decent say level 12 build would look like

also just because Musashi was human dose not mean this character needs to be :)

[firelistener]

Fighter class, with the Samurai subclass. Take the Two Weapom Fighting style and the Dual Wielder feat. No need to multiclass or anything like that, as the regular Samurai is going to have tons of good damage output. You could go with a variant human, but it's not really necessary since Fighters get tons a ability score increases.

[Daelnoron]

Dual Wielding struggles a bit in D&D. It's best application ia probably giving a rogue a second try to get sneak attack damage in, but that wouldn't fit your idea particularly well.

Basically, to make it useful, you need to have "per hit" effects going on.

Fighters get showered in attacks anyway so one more usually doesn't make a difference.

Rangers would be a possibility, Hunters Mark is a good per hit bonus and they get the fighting style, so a Dex Based Ranger wielding two Scimitars (Wakizashis) would be a good possibility. Just pick a Subclass that doesn't use your bonus action, so no Monster Hunter or Horizon Walker and deal with the fact that whenever you apply your Hunters Mark to a new Foe, you won't be offhand attacking.

The other use I find is Barbarians with their Rage Bonus Damage. Again, make sure not to pick a Subclass that has an inbuilt way to spend that Bonus Action and you will be fine. No inherent Fighting Style, may want to dip fighter for that (3 lvls Champion Fighter for increased crit range?). Again, use light weapons and spend your ASIs on Attributes first, one big advantage of TWF is the lack of Feats required to get it off the ground.

Other fringe uses may be Hexblade Bladelocks using Hex similarly to Hunters Mark and using two Weapons via Charisma, or maybe even a Spore Druid, but we're getting pretty far from your concept here.

[Vorpalchicken]

Sadly, the Samurai doesn't work well with dual wielding because bonus actions are needed for its main feature and a bonus action is required for two weapon fighting.

I felt that the Battle Master actually represented samurai well enough before the Samurai subclass was introduced so I would recommend that. May as well go human to get dual wielder out of the way, right off the bat.

[Mongobear]

Are you talking historically accurate Samurai, or Fate/Grand Order servant?

Both would be similar, I guess but one is next to impossible to pull off in d&d.

I agree Fighter-Samurai with all the TWFing support choices is best. I'd even consider Half-Orc for racials, or VHuman for the extra Feat.

Alternatively--Hexblade 12, Half-Elf, BladeLock. Choose the Revenant Blade Feat and use the Double Scimitar as your weapon. Take all the relevant Blade Pact invocations. You're not technically dual wielding, but this is mechanically far superior since the double Scimitar is considered on weapon, for all of your Pact Weapon bonuses.

[NNescio]

Obviously you need the Tavern Brawler feat so you can beat your rival to death with a (whittled down) boat oar.

[qube]

Dual Wielding struggles a bit in D&D. It's best application ia probably giving a rogue a second try to get sneak attack damage in, but that wouldn't fit your idea particularly well.are you mad? Musashi was a ****.

He's litterly the guy who shows up two hours late to a dual, just because it gets the other guy so mad.
and IIRC, He's also one of the few sources that consider an attack while jumping 'valid'.

I'd pick up three levels of rogue (swashbuckler); rapier/shortsword (you know, katana/wakasashi)

...

hmm, now that I think about it, what about champion 5 / swashbuckler 7? using three attacks at 19-20 for that sweet crit sneak attack, while uncanny dodging incomming hits.

[Mongobear]

Oooooh!! What about Kensai Monk?

Wouldn't really benefit from TWFing, but it would have the actual martial arts flavor.

[airless_wing]

Oooooh!! What about Kensai Monk?

Wouldn't really benefit from TWFing, but it would have the actual martial arts flavor.

This is my take as well. Musashi was literally the Kensei during his time. Pick longsword/katana for your first Kensei weapon, and then quarterstaff for the second, and reflavor it as a boat oar.
The Kensai’s at-will defensive options are fantastic for duels as well. Hit once with your staff/sword, once with an unarmed strike, and burn a single ki point for Patient Defence and you’re sitting around at 20 AC and your opponent has disadvantage to hit.

Flavor and mechanic-wise, id go Kensei. Though a good case can be made for fighter.

[GreyBlack]

Are you building like the actual Musashi or like the mythologized Swords Akimbo dude we tend to think of?

Mythologized dude: Pump everything into Dual Wielding, take the Dual Wielder feat, and make a Strength build. Champion fighter.

Actual Musashi is quite a bit weirder and a bit more interesting. For this, I would recommend starting with Battlemaster fighter and grabbing Great Weapons for fighting style. I would also recommend the Tavern Brawler feat for proficiency in Improvised Weapons; one of his most famous feats was that he woke up late to go to a duel and forgot his swords, so he took an oar and carved it into a giant bokken. He then killed the opponent in one shot, which sounds like the Great Weapon master feat to me.

You're going to see a bunch of people recommend Samurai. Don't listen to them; Musashi was not your prototypical Samurai and most of the abilities given by the Samurai archetype do not apply to his style of fighting. Read the Book of 5 Rings for a better idea of how Musashi fought if you're interested.

Take the Folk Hero background and enjoy.

[HiveStriker]

Any idea on how to go about this

or what a decent say level 12 build would look like

also just because Musashi was human dose not mean this character needs to be :)
Hi!

This is my take as well. Musashi was literally the Kensei during his time. Pick longsword/katana for your first Kensei weapon, and then quarterstaff for the second, and reflavor it as a boat oar.
The Kensai’s at-will defensive options are fantastic for duels as well. Hit once with your staff/sword, once with an unarmed strike, and burn a single ki point for Patient Defence and you’re sitting around at 20 AC and your opponent has disadvantage to hit.

Flavor and mechanic-wise, id go Kensei. Though a good case can be made for fighter.

While I understand other people suggesting Fighters for the obvious number of attack and high number of feats, and find also Barbarian interesting... I strongly support the choice of Kensei Monk. Reasons:

1. Samurais, while historically people in huge armor and using lances while mounted more often than not, are see through general culture as swift, light/no-armored warriors using high dexterity to find openings and strikes.
Bonus for Monk for Unarmored.
Bonus for Monk for speed and agility (jump).

2. Some swordsmen, even nowadays (although extremely rare and in very precise conditions), are able to break or at least divert an arrow
Bonus for Monk for lvl 4 reaction (just fluff you strike it with blade instead of catching with hand).

3. Samurai were generally good fighters all-around, as such there were also precise enough with a bow.
Bonus for Kensei Monk for the ranged attack-related features.

4. Those warriors are often depicted as people capable of intense focus on the challenge at hand.
Kensei Monk's lvl 11 seems perfect to represent this.

5. Those swordsmen usually had one long katana and one shorter (dont remember the name), that could be used either as a backup weapon or as a defense-focused weapon.
Kensei Monk has the ability to defend with a Monk weapon... But this actually requires an Unarmed Attack which defeats the purpose of dual-wielding. So it's a moot point unless you would have a DM ready to waive that requirement and make it just "make an attack" or "use Attack action with kensei weapon).

So for a straight class, Monk is probably best.
If multiclass is an option, then you could try and get the best of all worlds, still barring any "true magic" option.
OPTION 1 : Fighter 11 as a chassis
Monk 4 -> Kensei, Dual Wielder
Fighter 11 -> Third attack, Mobile or Defensive Duelist.
Finish however you want.
Going Monk all to 9 could be a good choice even if it means a redundant Extra Attack. But it may be actually "too much mobility" for what you're looking for.

OPTION 2 : Kensei 14 as a chassis.
Mainly for Diamond Soul and 1d8 on every attack.
Still 6 levels. Of those, two early in Rogue could be invaluable because Cunning Action does not cost ki.
So Monk 5 -> Rogue 2 -> Monk 14 -> whatever.
You could also grab one level of Fighter for the Two-Weapon Fighting Style.

[GreyBlack]

Hi!


While I understand other people suggesting Fighters for the obvious number of attack and high number of feats, and find also Barbarian interesting... I strongly support the choice of Kensei Monk. Reasons:

1. Samurais, while historically people in huge armor and using lances while mounted more often than not, are see through general culture as swift, light/no-armored warriors using high dexterity to find openings and strikes.
Bonus for Monk for Unarmored.
Bonus for Monk for speed and agility (jump).

2. Some swordsmen, even nowadays (although extremely rare and in very precise conditions), are able to break or at least divert an arrow
Bonus for Monk for lvl 4 reaction (just fluff you strike it with blade instead of catching with hand).

3. Samurai were generally good fighters all-around, as such there were also precise enough with a bow.
Bonus for Kensei Monk for the ranged attack-related features.

4. Those warriors are often depicted as people capable of intense focus on the challenge at hand.
Kensei Monk's lvl 11 seems perfect to represent this.

5. Those swordsmen usually had one long katana and one shorter (dont remember the name), that could be used either as a backup weapon or as a defense-focused weapon.
Kensei Monk has the ability to defend with a Monk weapon... But this actually requires an Unarmed Attack which defeats the purpose of dual-wielding. So it's a moot point unless you would have a DM ready to waive that requirement and make it just "make an attack" or "use Attack action with kensei weapon).

So for a straight class, Monk is probably best.
If multiclass is an option, then you could try and get the best of all worlds, still barring any "true magic" option.
OPTION 1 : Fighter 11 as a chassis
Monk 4 -> Kensei, Dual Wielder
Fighter 11 -> Third attack, Mobile or Defensive Duelist.
Finish however you want.
Going Monk all to 9 could be a good choice even if it means a redundant Extra Attack. But it may be actually "too much mobility" for what you're looking for.

OPTION 2 : Kensei 14 as a chassis.
Mainly for Diamond Soul and 1d8 on every attack.
Still 6 levels. Of those, two early in Rogue could be invaluable because Cunning Action does not cost ki.
So Monk 5 -> Rogue 2 -> Monk 14 -> whatever.
You could also grab one level of Fighter for the Two-Weapon Fighting Style.

I'm not sure how I feel about this because he frequently wore armor in combat. In 1v1 duels, sure, but that was more because of the rules of honor combat in Japanese culture. The legend is that he was buried in his armor, and would prefer to end his combat in one hit.

But, like I said, it depends on whether you want to build for the mythic/legendary martial artist, in which case Monk would be a good idea, or the actual man, which is a fighter through and through.

"You should not have a favorite weapon." ~Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings, Earth chapter, The Benefit of the Two Characters reading "Strategy"

[Kane0]

You want a class that doesn't heavily use Bonus Actions.
Barbarians and Rangers typically devote their first turn to rage or hunter's mark but are otherwise in the clear, fighters and paladins (that aren't using bonus action smites or buffs) are typically more free with their BAs.
Rogues will be using Cunning Action but Swashbucklers can get around that, and Monks will be using Flurries or Ki powers so that's not a great choice.

[GlenSmash!]

I like the Barbarian idea (no surprises there)

Early Miyamoto Musashi style seems to be attack first at swing hard. Advantage on Initiative, Reckless attack, and Rage damage to all melee attacks seem fitting.

The trouble is picking a relevant subclass. Or avoid that altogether by only taking 2 levels in Barbarian.

1 Barbarian/5-6 Battlemaster/1 more barbarian for 2 Barb/5-6 Fighter would be effective at all forms of melee combat. Tavern Brawler and Dual Wielder Feats and TWF fighting style cover all the dueling and combat styles I think.

Think of Rage less as anger, and more of a battle-haze you can turn on in a duel and crush your opponent.

[GreyBlack]

I like the Barbarian idea (no surprises there)

Early Miyamoto Musashi style seems to be attack first at swing hard. Advantage on Initiative, Reckless attack, and Rage damage to all melee attacks seem fitting.

The trouble is picking a relevant subclass. Or avoid that altogether by only taking 2 levels in Barbarian.

1 Barbarian/5-6 Battlemaster/1 more barbarian for 2 Barb/5-6 Fighter would be effective at all forms of melee combat. Tavern Brawler and Dual Wielder Feats and TWF fighting style cover all the dueling and combat styles I think.

Think of Rage less as anger, and more of a battle-haze you can turn on in a duel and crush your opponent.

Maybe Zealot, refluffing the divine stuff to reflect his Kensai status? (E.g. divine focus being him just focusing real hard on the attack)

[GlenSmash!]

Maybe Zealot, refluffing the divine stuff to reflect his Kensai status? (E.g. divine focus being him just focusing real hard on the attack)

I did think of Zealot, and if you make a small change from Radiant/Necrotic, to just bonus weapon damage it works fine. The low cost resurrections is pretty much a ribbon anyway. So it's probably the easiest to work.

It was actually the level 10 ability Zealous Presence that made me question whether or not it was a good fit.

[GreyBlack]

I did think of Zealot, and if you make a small change from Radiant/Necrotic, to just bonus weapon damage it works fine. The low cost resurrections is pretty much a ribbon anyway. So it's probably the easiest to work.

It was actually the level 10 ability Zealous Presence that made me question whether or not it was a good fit.

That can still be fluffed as him inspiring his allies in battle; he was a retainer for a daimyo, so it could be fluffed that way.

[rbstr]

I like Barbarian with 2-4 levels of Fighter. I think Battlemaster is probably best...maybe Cavalier.
It is unfortunate the neat/good barbarian subclasses are varieties of mystical.

If you want to do 2-4 levels or barb and then mostly fighter cavalier starts looking better.
Yes, it has a build in bonus-action attack, but it has to be triggered and only goes Str mod times a day. You're gonna mostly be TWFing with its limited activation
Then the level 7 Warding Maneuver is a great duelist-type thing. (And gives you neat extra protection you when you reckless attack).

[HiveStriker]

I'm not sure how I feel about this because he frequently wore armor in combat. In 1v1 duels, sure, but that was more because of the rules of honor combat in Japanese culture. The legend is that he was buried in his armor, and would prefer to end his combat in one hit.

But, like I said, it depends on whether you want to build for the mythic/legendary martial artist, in which case Monk would be a good idea, or the actual man, which is a fighter through and through.

"You should not have a favorite weapon." ~Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings, Earth chapter, The Benefit of the Two Characters reading "Strategy"
Hmm. If armor is part of the character then indeed Monk is out, we don't want nerfing ourselves here.
I do think speed was part of him though.
So maybe just 3 levels of Rogue for Cunning Action and Swashbuckler benefit, on top of a Fighter chassis?

[Corsair14]

It has been a long time since I read it, but from what I remember, he never wore armor but was good enough to never need it. I had a hard time reading it and not imaging it like an old school Japanimation(I dislike the current term) series complete with stereotypes of bumbling oaf, annoying girl and overly loud grandma. Anyway his class to me is very obviously a Kensai and think that's the direction you should be looking in.

[GreyBlack]

It has been a long time since I read it, but from what I remember, he never wore armor but was good enough to never need it. I had a hard time reading it and not imaging it like an old school Japanimation(I dislike the current term) series complete with stereotypes of bumbling oaf, annoying girl and overly loud grandma. Anyway his class to me is very obviously a Kensai and think that's the direction you should be looking in.

I don't have any firm proof after 30 seconds of googling, but William Scott Wilson, one of the foremost biographers of Musashi, notes that during the Sekigahara events, he likely wore armor and participated as a unit commander. I find it unlikely that he didn't wear armor, but again. 30 seconds of googling and it's been 5-10 years since I last did a deep dive into the Book of Five Rings.

[HiveStriker]

I don't have any firm proof after 30 seconds of googling, but William Scott Wilson, one of the foremost biographers of Musashi, notes that during the Sekigahara events, he likely wore armor and participated as a unit commander. I find it unlikely that he didn't wear armor, but again. 30 seconds of googling and it's been 5-10 years since I last did a deep dive into the Book of Five Rings.
To be honest I was more on the side of Corsair, that Musashi was more akin to an armorless ronin at least for the period in which he really made a name for himself.

Wouldn't you, by chance, mix him up with Musashibô Benkei? Who, him indeed, was an army leader wearing armor and died proudly standing in it...

[GreyBlack]

To be honest I was more on the side of Corsair, that Musashi was more akin to an armorless ronin at least for the period in which he really made a name for himself.

Wouldn't you, by chance, mix him up with Musashibô Benkei? Who, him indeed, was an army leader wearing armor and died proudly standing in it...

In the meat space, I've done more than my share of research on this; I think I've read the Book of Five Rings 50-60 times, the Book of Void over 100; I've read 4 different translations. While in University, I was also a TA/research assistant to the philosophy department creating a new Asian syllabus, and offered my services for Japanese philosophy. So, no. I'm not confusing the two.

Musashi, for his part, is more renowned for his dueling prowess than for his military acumen. However, he was a part of multiple military campaigns during his life, including the war between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa and participating in the Shimibara Rebellion. As such, given his extensive military service, I find it highly unlikely that such a man who, in his 21 precepts and his warning to know the benefits of all war implements in the Book of Earth (including firearms!), that such a man would not wear armor.

This is why I'm asking whether we want to look more at the mythologized figure we in popular culture associate with Musashi or the actual, historical figure. There's overlap, but not as much as one would believe.

[qube]

Musashi, for his part, is more renowned for his dueling prowess than for his military acumen. However, he was a part of multiple military campaigns during his life, including the war between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa and participating in the Shimibara Rebellion. As such, given his extensive military service, I find it highly unlikely that such a man who, in his 21 precepts and his warning to know the benefits of all war implements in the Book of Earth (including firearms!), that such a man would not wear armor.
Not to mention, if you show up without armor, you look like an idiot (best case, you look like the one guy who overslept and didn't know there was a battle)

And if you look like an idiot, that reflects poorly on your commander

... and if there's one thing I know about japanese culture, that's just not done.

-------------

however, to be fair, there's a difference between army service and dueling.

[NNescio]

I don't have any firm proof after 30 seconds of googling, but William Scott Wilson, one of the foremost biographers of Musashi, notes that during the Sekigahara events, he likely wore armor and participated as a unit commander. I find it unlikely that he didn't wear armor, but again. 30 seconds of googling and it's been 5-10 years since I last did a deep dive into the Book of Five Rings.

Folklore holds that he's buried in his armor (in full oyoroi battle regalia) in the village of Yuji near Mount Iwato. Can't find any actual contemporary accounts verifying this though. But he was a samurai (retainer to Lord Tadatoshi in Kumamoto) and had a massive salary with his own retainers plus his own castle, so I see no reason why he wouldn't have armor.

Also in the Book of Fire Musashi pooh-poohed fancy finger/wrist/arm tricks as "trivialities" because "all those tiny tricks would hardly matter when considering the benefit of full armor (on the battlefield)."


先、世間の人毎に、兵法の利を、ちいさくおもひなして、或ハゆびさきにて、
手くび五寸三寸の利をしり、或ハ扇をとつて、ひぢより先の先後のかちをわきまへ、又ハしなひなどにて、わづ かのはやき利を覚へ、
手をきかせならひ、足をきかせならひ、少の利のはやき所を専とする事也。(...)

殊に六具かためてなどの利に、ちいさき事、思ひいづる事にあらず。

As such, I agree; I don't see why he wouldn't wear armor on the battlefield.

--


It has been a long time since I read it, but from what I remember, he never wore armor but was good enough to never need it. I had a hard time reading it and not imaging it like an old school Japanimation(I dislike the current term) series complete with stereotypes of bumbling oaf, annoying girl and overly loud grandma. Anyway his class to me is very obviously a Kensai and think that's the direction you should be looking in.

I... don't see how one can get that impression from reading the Book of Five Rings. In any case, Kensei is more like a Shaolin warrior monk instead of a Japanese one, despite the name.

[CNagy]

I'm not sure how I feel about this because he frequently wore armor in combat. In 1v1 duels, sure, but that was more because of the rules of honor combat in Japanese culture. The legend is that he was buried in his armor, and would prefer to end his combat in one hit.

But, like I said, it depends on whether you want to build for the mythic/legendary martial artist, in which case Monk would be a good idea, or the actual man, which is a fighter through and through.

"You should not have a favorite weapon." ~Miyamoto Musashi, Book of Five Rings, Earth chapter, The Benefit of the Two Characters reading "Strategy"

You could go 8/4 Kensei/Samurai. Then you have proficiency with all armor/shield, simple/martial weapons. Grab the longsword and longbow as Kensei weapons. Most of the time you are an unarmored wandering swordsman, and in times of war you can don some Medium armor or whatever (though it'd obviously still be better to be unarmored mechanically.) (If UA is in play, Brute is also an option instead of Samurai.)

[GreyBlack]

You could go 8/4 Kensei/Samurai. Then you have proficiency with all armor/shield, simple/martial weapons. Grab the longsword and longbow as Kensei weapons. Most of the time you are an unarmored wandering swordsman, and in times of war you can don some Medium armor or whatever (though it'd obviously still be better to be unarmored mechanically.) (If UA is in play, Brute is also an option instead of Samurai.)

To agree with that, I'd want maybe some extraordinary feats with the longbow? If you were to make it so he could have 2 melee weapons, I'd think that'd make more sense. It is very DM dependent though and, honestly, I'm still not a big fan of that. Maybe it's just my reading but he seemed a bigger fan of ending the fights in one stroke than in whipping his sword around real quick.

I'm still a fan of the Zealot Barbarian build here; he can wear up to medium armor but doesn't need to, you can make sudden massive blows to end the fight quickly, it's a Strength based class (a big plus for Musashi's style), and, to be honest, he never struck me as a particularly diplomatic or peaceful guy like a monk.

[GlenSmash!]

To agree with that, I'd want maybe some extraordinary feats with the longbow? If you were to make it so he could have 2 melee weapons, I'd think that'd make more sense. It is very DM dependent though and, honestly, I'm still not a big fan of that. Maybe it's just my reading but he seemed a bigger fan of ending the fights in one stroke than in whipping his sword around real quick.

I'm still a fan of the Zealot Barbarian build here; he can wear up to medium armor but doesn't need to, you can make sudden massive blows to end the fight quickly, it's a Strength based class (a big plus for Musashi's style), and, to be honest, he never struck me as a particularly diplomatic or peaceful guy like a monk.

Yeah I can't imagine a guy who overpowered his enemies and batters them to death with heavy wood implements as a Monk either.

Slowfall, purity of body, Tongue of the sun and moon, timeless body, and empty body all seem way harder to re-fluff than the Zealot stuff.

Edit: The OP's question specifically was about level 12.

[Willie the Duck]

To agree with that, I'd want maybe some extraordinary feats with the longbow? If you were to make it so he could have 2 melee weapons, I'd think that'd make more sense. It is very DM dependent though and, honestly, I'm still not a big fan of that. Maybe it's just my reading but he seemed a bigger fan of ending the fights in one stroke than in whipping his sword around real quick.

I'm still a fan of the Zealot Barbarian build here; he can wear up to medium armor but doesn't need to, you can make sudden massive blows to end the fight quickly, it's a Strength based class (a big plus for Musashi's style), and, to be honest, he never struck me as a particularly diplomatic or peaceful guy like a monk.

Honestly speaking, Champion Fighter or Barbarian with Dual Wielder feat (just so that he can wield two un-light weapons together, whether one does so often or not is immaterial) and a decent Strength and Dexterity is probably most spot on. D&D 3e and later's weird thing were they want to make you focus on either Dex-based fighting or Str-based fighting is probably a poor fit for the character. He was a 2e style fighter who rolled well for both stats.

[Corsair14]

Kensai should have never been a monk subclass in the first place. In its original incarnation back in Oriental Adventures, the Sword Saint was its own class and was strictly a weapons master in a specific weapon. I always think of Garret Jax from Wishsong of Shannara when I think of a non-Japanese Kensai if anyone has read it. I think Musashi is the perfect example from actual Japanese culture.

My book isn't in the break room anymore, maybe I brought it home so I couldn't look it up. I know 10 years ago when I read it, the only large scale battle I remember him fighting in was the battle in the beginning where he and his childhood friend were conscripted as Yari Ashigaru and they end up running away from the battle. Not sure if that was Sekigahara. I remember, than and the final duel, plus them drinking ridiculously large amounts of saki in every village.

[NNescio]

Kensai should have never been a monk subclass in the first place. In its original incarnation back in Oriental Adventures, the Sword Saint was its own class and was strictly a weapons master in a specific weapon. I always think of Garret Jax from Wishsong of Shannara when I think of a non-Japanese Kensai if anyone has read it. I think Musashi is the perfect example from actual Japanese culture.

Yeah, the 2e OA Sword Saint is a dead ringer for Musashi.



My book isn't in the break room anymore, maybe I brought it home so I couldn't look it up. I know 10 years ago when I read it, the only large scale battle I remember him fighting in was the battle in the beginning where he and his childhood friend were conscripted as Yari Ashigaru and they end up running away from the battle. Not sure if that was Sekigahara. I remember, than and the final duel, plus them drinking ridiculously large amounts of saki in every village.

I... don't think that was the Book of Five Rings (an actual philosophical/martial arts/tactics manual written by Musashi himself). Likely it was the Vagabond manga series.

[GlenSmash!]

Kensai should have never been a monk subclass in the first place.

Preach it. A Fighter subclass with Unarmored Defense and bonuses for using a specific weapon or type of weapon (like Improved Fighting styles maybe?) would have fit the fiction a lot better.

[GreyBlack]

So... I guess the moral of the thread is that Musashi is a 2e fighter, Kensei should never have been a monk subclass, and we've all read way too much esoteric Japanese philosophy.

Did I miss anything?

[Mikal]

I'd recommend using a UA Brute Fighter with some Barbarian, to increase your offhand attack ability
Alternatively, the bloodhunter class with Brute as well, though that does lower your HP total so it's a danger.

[GlenSmash!]

Brute is a good call for adding damage attacks made with any kind of weapon including improvised, and beefing up the TWF bonus action attack.

[Corsair14]

Yeah, the 2e OA Sword Saint is a dead ringer for Musashi.



I... don't think that was the Book of Five Rings (an actual philosophical/martial arts/tactics manual written by Musashi himself). Likely it was the Vagabond manga series.

I would have to hunt it down. I know it was a blue hard backed book, almost a 1000 pages, fairly small font