Building Hattori Hanzo...

[Grynning]

So, my group is starting up a feudal Japan meets high fantasy game next month, and I want to be a master swordsmith, like Hanzo from Kill Bill or Masamune of legends. I decided to go Artificer, since that seems to be the best choice for the crafting part of it. However, I also want the character to be decent at melee, i.e., able to fight with the swords he forges. Artificer's are 3/4 BAB, so they're not terrible at fighting, but the class features really don't synergize with melee very much. I know I want to take at least 5 levels in the class (for Craft Arms and Armor) and advance it as much as possible for the craft reserve points, but I need ideas to beef up the swordfighting aspects of the character. My DM has already said he'll give me the Martial Weapon Proficiency with the Katana for free, so that's covered, but any suggestions on how to make a melee hybrid Artificer would be welcome.

PS: I don't have Magic Item Compendium yet, but plan on buying it soon to give me a nice variety of cool stuff to build into my swords, and I am pretty well aware of how to buy gear, so I am looking more for feat and multi-class suggestions. I am also aware of how broken awesome Artificers can be and how important UMD is, but again, I want to make this guy more melee focused.

[Skjaldbakka]

You are going to need a caster level of 15 to be able to eventually make +5 swords. I would recommend taking a look at "your ultimate sword", and figure out what you the prereqs are to make that sword, that way you can make sure you meet those prereqs. The most obvious prereq being clvl 15. You probably want to make keen weapons, too, which requires the keen edge spell, IIRC. I don't remember how Artificer affects spell requirements for magic items.

I think there is a dwarf PrC that is all about being really good at wielding weapons you crafted yourself. See if you can get your DM to allow a variant version of the class that fits your concept. I think it was in Races of Stone.

[Grynning]

Artificers count as Artificer level +2 for caster level purposes when crafting, and don't need to know any of the spells. So that means, Artificer 13 with 7 levels to play with in a 20 level progression, I guess.
I thought of the obvious fighter dip, but then I was thinking I should go with something that also has Int or Cha based stuff, so maybe Duskblade? Just can't put my finger on what I need to make this guy work...

[Bag_of_Holding]

Artificers gain Retain Essence ability at level 5, which allows them to turn any magic item they come across into craft reserve points equal to the XP required to craft the item. So, you don't really need to advance artificer level for that. However, in order to 'emulate' any spells to craft magical items, you must succeed in DC 20+caster level Use Magic Device check. So it is crucial to keep up on your UMD skill rank, which severely limits your multiclassing possibilities unless you can take the first level of Human Paragon class (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/ra...#humanParagon). This however, will make your already bad BAB even worse, so beware.

[Starbuck_II]

There is an feat in the same book. Gives +insight 1 hit/damage. Attune Magic Weapon: Whenever weilding magical weapon after having in possession for 24 hours at least.

Since Artificers have caster levels, you can take it at 6th.

[Kurobara]

So it is crucial to keep up on your UMD skill rank, which severely limits your multiclassing possibilities unless you can take the first level of Human Paragon class (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/ra...#humanParagon). This however, will make your already bad BAB even worse, so beware.

Or if you can spare a feat instead, take Able Learner (Races of Destiny). Anything that was a class skill ever is now permanently a class skill.

... or actually, come to think of it, rogues aren't half bad in combat and have UMD as a class skill. Maybe if it works with the sort of combat-ness you're looking for, toss in a few levels of that in the space you have to play with.

[Rad]

The Kensai class is also interesting, although they can only craft weapons for themselves.

[the_tick_rules]

he is a crafter of the highest order, but we don't know much else. did he only make them or was he skilled in their use?

[Xefas]

If you have 7 levels to play with, why not take them in Warblade, and do some Diamond Mind maneuvers? They will supplement your low BAB; for instance, Emerald Razor lets you attack as a touch attack, and several of their Nightmare Blade maneuvers rely on Concentration checks for bonus damage.

If you take your first 13 levels in Artificer, and then your 14th in Warblade, then I think you'll already be able to pick up 3rd level maneuvers or lower (though I think most of them require you to already have another maneuver of that kind, so maybe just 2nd or lower).

[UglyPanda]

Hanzo was meant to be the ancestor of another character that Sonny Chiba played which was named the same. The older Hanzo was a ninja/samurai hybrid based off of a historical figure of the same name.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Legend states that Hattori Hanzo was touched by evil spirits ("Oni-Hanzo", or "Devil Hanzo" was his nickname), so you could work in some Warlock or such into his build.

However, it's worth noting that the historical Hattori Hanzo was a ninja, whilst the fictional Hattory Hanzo of Kill Bill was the swordsmith allegedly descended form him.

EDIT: Ironically, ninja'd!

[BardicDuelist]

Why don't you avoid multiclassing and just choose feats that make you better at melee? An artificer can potentially become the most powerful class in the game, so you're not gimping yourself by anymeans.

PA, Matial Study, etc.

[Bag_of_Holding]

Or if you can spare a feat instead, take Able Learner (Races of Destiny). Anything that was a class skill ever is now permanently a class skill.

... or actually, come to think of it, rogues aren't half bad in combat and have UMD as a class skill. Maybe if it works with the sort of combat-ness you're looking for, toss in a few levels of that in the space you have to play with.

That said, Able Learner doesn't actually work that way. It only reduces the costs for cross-class skills to one, while the maximum rank for the cross-class skills remain the same. IMO it hasn't got much use apart from qualifying for Chameleon PrC.

[MeklorIlavator]

Artificers can create items from other spell lists, correct? Why not a wand of Divine power and some other items of righteous might? It would help you Bab, and not lose you any artificer levels.

[Karsh]

That said, Able Learner doesn't actually work that way. It only reduces the costs for cross-class skills to one, while the maximum rank for the cross-class skills remain the same. IMO it hasn't got much use apart from qualifying for Chameleon PrC.

Except that if you have a skill that was once a class skill, it's permanently uncapped, it's just that it takes 2 skill points to advance 1 point in it. So Able Learner bypasses that problem.

[Starbuck_II]

Except that if you have a skill that was once a class skill, it's permanently uncapped, it's just that it takes 2 skill points to advance 1 point in it. So Able Learner bypasses that problem.

Where did you read this?

[Bag_of_Holding]

Except that if you have a skill that was once a class skill, it's permanently uncapped, it's just that it takes 2 skill points to advance 1 point in it. So Able Learner bypasses that problem.

Unless there's a hidden meaning to 'the maximum number of ranks you can purchase in a cross-class skill remains the same', then AL does not bypass the problem, I'm afraid.

[tainsouvra]

Where did you read this?

Skills

If a skill is a class skill for any of a multiclass character’s classes, then character level determines a skill’s maximum rank. (The maximum rank for a class skill is 3 + character level.)

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/multiclass.htm

[Miles Invictus]

If you have 7 levels to play with, why not take them in Warblade, and do some Diamond Mind maneuvers? They will supplement your low BAB; for instance, Emerald Razor lets you attack as a touch attack, and several of their Nightmare Blade maneuvers rely on Concentration checks for bonus damage.

If you take your first 13 levels in Artificer, and then your 14th in Warblade, then I think you'll already be able to pick up 3rd level maneuvers or lower (though I think most of them require you to already have another maneuver of that kind, so maybe just 2nd or lower).

I would take one of those early levels in a ToB class, just to kickstart the maneuver progression.

[Skjaldbakka]

Probably worth finding out if the DM uses the (cruddy) multi-classing system before doing that. If you'll be taking an XP penalty, the above idea is less helpful.

RE: below

You have a point.

[Miles Invictus]

I assumed that Grynning would be playing a human; in which case, only the third class taken carries a risk of experience penalties.

[Eldritch_Ent]

I wouldn't put him up above level 5... Or say that that sword was vorpal- a simple Masterwork Katana could have done it... If you want that +1 or the like, 5 levels of artificer would do it... But... Eh.

[Ossian]

Yeah, same here. Level 5 works just fine. Perhaps you can do a 2 levels dip in fighter.

You have:
10 RANKS in craft-weaponsmithing+
INT (let's say you are a sheer genius, INT +3)+
top of the line equipment+
hire a good assistant+
any craft boosting feats (skill mastery, e.g.)+
have a pint of "Fox's cunning" before smithing sessions+
any sinergy bonus (another +2) from stuff like "Knowledge - Metallurgy" you have at least 5 ranks in (which happens at level 2).

That's a 25 bonus just to begin with.
Take 10 and you rolled a 35...pretty good.

The Fighter levels give you 3 extra feats (1 for level 6 and 2 for the fighter) for combat fluff, a nice +2 to BAB , +2d10 hp, and all the weap., and armor profics. You are 7th level, and you are a star at making masterwork katanas which you can pretty much use no worse than any bushi in the daymio army, perhaps a lot better.

If then you want the katana to be the equivalent of a curved blade lightsaber +5 of extinghuishing, vorpal and bane of all the bipeds...uhm, the character should not even go adventuring.

I can see the maker of such swords as a skinny guy well into his 80s, dressed in a codpiece, kneeling before a clay oven in a hut, and pounding on yet another katana blade when he is not studying the ancient scroll of Akamurasatashi's weaponmaking techniques. Hattori Hanzo from KB vol 1. screams "I'm a NPC!"

[Grynning]

The thing that inspired the character was the part where the Bride mentioned that Bill was also Hanzo's student - it is heavily implied that he taught Bill Japanese swordsmanship, which in turn indicates that the Hanzo character was once a great warrior as well as a sword-maker.
The DM has confirmed we are starting at level 5, and I've pretty much concluded that I want all 5 of those levels in Artificer (Need Arms and Armor and the Retain Essence to be good at the Crafting). So at this point I won't be multi-classing, so I'm probably going to grab Improved Initiative and Quick-Draw as feats to represent some Iaijutsu training (Also useful all-around, especially for a guy who carries lots of scrolls and wands, as any artificer will). The Katana is still in the works, I'm working with my DM to make it an Item Familiar, so that should be cool.
I guess I'll have to come up with my own (the first?) "Artificer Gish" build as the campaign goes on - I'll let you guys know how it goes