Warrior Poet Samurai/Monk assistance and ideas

[Azalily]

Hello, everyone! I am starting playing in a game soon and I will be rolling up a Warrior Poet Samurai, and I was wondering if there are good/optimal ways to build them so I can get maximum anime garbage out of what I'm playing.

The only thing I'm absolutely married to is the Warrior Poet Samurai part, and the fact that I want him to use a katana, but I'm wondering if there are ways to include Monk levels in there to get some good unarmed options, mostly for flavor, without sacrificing too much in the way of usefulness or damage?

We haven't begun the game yet, this is mostly theory at this point, but my stats are good and I've got all the background fluff in mind... I just need to decide where I want to take the build. Any help or advice would be most welcome!

[Gnaeus]

Best way would be Warblade/Unarmed Swordsage. Those classes are better than Samurai and Monk in almost every way. While the claims that Path of War classes are anime are overstated, they can DO anime style stuff better than the tier 5 martials like monk and Samurai. Unarmed Swordsage is strictly a superior monk with more anime stuff.

So, if you are actually are wedded to Monk and Samurai, the Invisible Fist monk ACF replaces evasion, which you can't do in armor, with swift action greater invisibility, which seems kinda anime and also very helpful.

The CW samurai is pretty terrible UNLESS you are making an intimidate fear build. So if you want your anime theme to be making people cower, that works. Otherwise, its hot garbage for most purposes. The Samurai from Oriental Adventures is a bit better, giving you a choice of samurai fighting styles and letting you enchant your own weapon. Under an extremely narrow range of circumstances, it even has beneficial exploits (like if your DM lets you and gives you the circumstances to sacrifice like an enemy altar to recover its value for purposes of enchanting your weapon, free money is always good. Not sure how often that will happen in a general game). Even so, in general, for making a Samurai themed character, Warblade is better than Fighter which is better than any class named Samurai.

[Kurald Galain]

Best way would be Warblade/Unarmed Swordsage.
Psssst, Pathfinder tag.


good/optimal ways to build them so I can get maximum anime garbage out of what I'm playing.
I'm really not sure what you're looking for with "maximum anime garbage", but maybe feats like Flickering Step? Weapon Trick: Stylish Riposte? Two levels of ninja so you can jump ludicrous heights?

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Azalily
I am starting playing in a game soon and I will be rolling up a Warrior Poet Samurai, and I was wondering if there are good/optimal ways to build them so I can get maximum anime garbage out of what I'm playing.

If you haven't come across it yet, Know Direction has a great mini-guide to the Warrior Poet (http://knowdirectionpodcast.com/2018/10/iconic-design-peerless-dancing-from-the-fringe/). You can look through that for the elements you want to keep, and then think about adding some monk into the mix.

[Wintermoot]

Psssst, Pathfinder tag.


I'm really not sure what you're looking for with "maximum anime garbage", but maybe feats like Flickering Step? Weapon Trick: Stylish Riposte? Two levels of ninja so you can jump ludicrous heights?

So look at the Pathfinder equivalent then. Path of War is it? Same thing different name, if your DM approves it, its fun and flavoriffic and certainly gets you that anime martial arts/philosopher warrier vibe while letting you stay relevant with the rest of the party if they are optimized.

Otherwise, I second looking at ninja. Ninja tricks are available for a lot of interesting anime like effects. My favorite when I was a ninja was a trick that lets you avoid an attack and there's a log where you just were. Hilarious.

When I was a ninja I had a feat that let me use my katana as a finesse weapon for sneak attack damage and another that let me get a sneak attack in on a quick draw at the beginning of any combat, but they may have been third party or homebrew. It's been a while.

[Eldonauran]

I was thinking of adding six levels of Sohei (https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Monk%20Sohei) Monk to your Warrior Poet, but your focus on the Katana means you won't be able to get weapon training (and flurry) with it. A Naginata or Glaive would work for both though.

[Drelua]

I was thinking of adding six levels of Sohei (https://www.aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Monk%20Sohei) Monk to your Warrior Poet, but your focus on the Katana means you won't be able to get weapon training (and flurry) with it. A Naginata or Glaive would work for both though.

Nodachis are in the polearm group, that's just a big katana. I had a PFS Sohei, flurrying with a 2-hander and a 15-20 crit range is a fun time. Probably my most anime character, especially when I was chopping bullets and a cannonball out of the air.

[Azalily]

Psssst, Pathfinder tag.


I'm really not sure what you're looking for with "maximum anime garbage", but maybe feats like Flickering Step? Weapon Trick: Stylish Riposte? Two levels of ninja so you can jump ludicrous heights?

Oh, I didn't know Flickering Step existed, and it lead me down a rabbit hole that caused me to re-discover Dimensional Agility and the tree that follows it and... yes, I think I know what I'm going to do now.

[vasilidor]

Also check out Spheres of Might.
If your DM is open to the idea. It gives martials a boost across the board without getting them as strong as tier 1 casters.