Daring Swashbuckler (5e Class)

Daring Swashbuckler

Relying on their rapier wits, chivalric ideals, and raw charisma, the daring swashbuckler galavants across the land, looking for damsels in distress to rescue, dastardly villains to thwart, and precious booty to... well, okay, maybe not all their ideals are all that chivalric. But in the end, the swashbuckler is a combination of outstanding courage, brilliant sword fighting, and resourcefulness that simply can't be matched. Just ask them!

Creating a Daring Swashbuckler

Quick Build

Class Features

As a Daring Swashbuckler you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d8 per Daring Swashbuckler level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Daring Swashbuckler level after 1st

Proficiencies

Armor: Light armor and buckler shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, shortswords, and firearms and explosives (if your campaign allows for them)
Tools: One gaming set, small watercraft vehicles
Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
Skills: Choose four from Acrobatics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a rapier or (b) a scimitar
• (a) a dagger or (b) a buckler shield
• (a) a diplomat's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
• Leather armor, a gaming set, and a pistol and a horn with enough powder and bullets for 50 shots (if your campaign allows them)

Table: The Daring Swashbuckler

Level	Proficiency Bonus	Features	Swagger Points
1st	+2	En Garde, Fighting Style, Panache	—
2nd	+2	Swagger	2+Charisma Modifier
3rd	+2	Swashbuckler's Archetype	2+Charisma Modifier
4th	+2	Ability Score Improvement	2+Charisma Modifier
5th	+3	Flurry of Blades (2)	4+Charisma Modifier
6th	+3	Archetype Feature, Rapier Wit (1)	4+Charisma Modifier
7th	+3	Fortune Favors the Bold	4+Charisma Modifier
8th	+3	Ability Score Improvement	4+Charisma Modifier
9th	+4	Panache (2)	6+Charisma Modifier
10th	+4	Archetype Feature, Ability Score Improvement	6+Charisma Modifier
11th	+4	Flurry of Blades (3)	6+Charisma Modifier
12th	+4	Ability Score Improvement, Rapier Wit (2)	6+Charisma Modifier
13th	+5	Flourish of Steel	8+Charisma Modifier
14th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	8+Charisma Modifier
15th	+5	Archetype Feature	8+Charisma Modifier
16th	+5	Ability Score Improvement	8+Charisma Modifier
17th	+6	Flurry of Blades (4)	10+Charisma Modifier
18th	+6	Archetype Feature	10+Charisma Modifier
19th	+6	Ability Score Improvement	10+Charisma Modifier
20th	+6	Living Legend	Unlimited

En Garde!

While you have a one-handed Light or Finesse weapon in your main hand, you have advantage on any Dexterity save you make. You lose this advantage if your weapons are sheathed, you are disarmed, or otherwise not wielding your weapon.

Fighting Style

You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a fighting style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

• Defense: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

• Dueling: When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

• Two-Weapon Fighting: When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Panache

When wielding a one-handed Light or Finesse weapon, you may use Charisma in place of Dexterity when making attack rolls with such a weapon. At 9th level, you may also add your full Charisma modifier to damage rolls made with any weapon.

Swagger

At 2nd level, you gain an expression of your swashbuckling skill, the points in this pool may be expended to perform special maneuvers or class features. At the end of any encounter, you regain one point of swagger. After a short rest, your swagger pool is completely restored.

You may spend a maximum of 3 points of swagger on any single turn.

If you run out of swagger pool, you gain advantage on any Acrobatics or Athletics checks you make.

The following maneuvers are available to you. Note that while some of these maneuvers are similar to those of a battle master or share the same name, they vary from those maneuvers in notable ways.

Note: For maneuvers that require a saving throw, the DC is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier unless stated otherwise.

• Cheap Shot: When attempting to attack a creature, you may spend two points of swagger in order to perform a cheap shot. If your attack is successful, choose one of the following tricks: Ear Slap (deafen), Eye Poke (blind), Foot Stomp (immobilize), or Low Blow (stun, male only). Status effects from this maneuver last a single round and are only effective if the target is not immune to critical hits and has the appropriate body parts. Once you use this maneuver against a creature, you must complete a short or long rest before you can attempt to use it against that same creature again.

• Disarm: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can spend one point of swagger to attempt to disarm the target, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it is holding. The target is allowed a Strength save. For an extra point of swagger, you can force their save to be disadvantaged. On a failed save, it drops the object you choose. The object lands on the ground of you, the target, or any unoccupied or unobstructed square within ten feet of the target.

• Evasive Footwork: When you move, you can expend two points of swagger, gaining your Charisma modifier to your AC until you stop moving.

• Feint: You can spend two points of swagger and use a bonus action on your turn to feint, choosing one creature within 5 feet of you as your target. You have advantage on any rolls you make against that creature with your next Attack action.

• Flourish: Rather than make an attack, you may choose to spend one point of swagger to make a brilliant flourish with your weapon in an attempt to dissuade your opponent from attacking. Your would-be attackers are allowed a Wisdom save. If they fail their save, they cannot make an Attack action against you on their following turn.

• Heartseeker: When making an attack against your opponent, you may spend two points of swagger to aim your blade for the target's most vital area, and turn a regular successful strike into a critical hit.

• Manchette: On a successful attack, you may spend two points of swagger to target the opponent's weapon arm. Cutting deep into the muscle and severing its attachment to the bone, the target's damage with that arm is halved until the wound is mended. This includes damage from two-handed weapons — but for dual-wielders, damage from the other arm is not affected.

• Parry: When another creature damages you with a melee attack, you can spend one point of swagger to use your reaction to reduce the damage by the total of your Dexterity and Charisma modifiers.

• Play Dead: After receiving a damaging hit, you may spend one point of swagger to use your reaction to channel your inner actor and pretend to die a vivid and melodramatic death. Falling to the ground and considered prone. Upon doing so, make a Deception or Performance check (your choice) against your attackers — if successful, they assume you have been brutally slain, and will react accordingly.

• Rally: On your turn, you can use a bonus action and spend one point of swagger to bolster the resolve of one of your companions. When you do so, choose a friendly creature who can see or hear you. That creature gains a bonus on their next attack roll or save equal to your Charisma modifier.

• Riposte: When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction and spend one point of swagger to make a melee weapon attack against the creature. If you hit, you may add your Dexterity modifier to the attack's damage roll.

• Taunt: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can spend one point of swagger to attempt to goad the target into attacking you. The target is allowed to make a Wisdom saving throw. For an extra point of swagger, you can force their save to be disadvantaged. On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on all attack rolls against targets other than you until the end of your next turn.

Swashbuckler Archetypes

Starting at 3rd level, you begin to develop a distinct flavor and style which pervades all you do. Here is where you truly commit to the path of shenanigans which you may or may not entirely recall in the morning! You gain features from your selected archetype at 3rd, 6th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level. Select from the archetype list below.

Ability Score Increase

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of you choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Flurry of Blades

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn, but only if you are wielding a Light or Finesse weapon in your main hand. The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 17th level in this class.

Rapier Wit

At 6th level, you gain advantage on Deception or Persuasion checks (choose one). At 12th level, you gain advantage on checks made with both skills.

Fortune Favors the Bold

Starting at 7th level, whenever you make a saving throw, you can spend one point of swagger to gain a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1). If the saving throw is successful, you regain that point of swagger.

Flourish of Steel

At 13th level, when taking an Attack action with a one-handed Light or Finesse weapon and miss any of your attacks, you regain one point of swagger. No matter how many attacks you have as part of your Attack action, you only gain the benefits of Flourish of Steel once per turn.

Living Legend

At 20th level, word of your deeds have spread far and wide, and your tales - both famous and infamous - have reached ears across the Seven Seas. Books have been written and songs have been sung of your exploits, and have finally made you into something of a celebrity. Your Dexterity and Charisma scores both increase by 4. Your maximum for those scores is now 24. Additionally, you no longer need to spend points of swagger in order to use your swagger abilities, although you are still limited to a total value of 3 points per turn.

The Pimpernel

Donning a mask and fighting injustices behind a secret identity, you are that masked man!

Bonus Tool Proficiencies

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with the disguise kit and thieves tools

Secret Identity

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level you can develop a costumed alter ego. All creatures that aren't aware of the disguise have disadvantage and a -3 penalty on any attempts to discern your true identity.

If a nearby creature ever discerns your true identity, you can expend one point of swagger and make a DC 15 Charisma saving throw, if successful the target no longer believes that you and your secret identity are one and the same.

Second-Story Work

At 6th level You gain the ability to climb faster than normal; climbing no longer costs you extra movement. In addition, when you make a running jump, the distance you cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Dexterity modifier.

Shield of Blades

At 10th level you've become adept at defending yourself with "light" or "finesse" weapons. While wielding at least one such weapon, you may spend a point of swagger to gain a +2 bonus to AC for each weapon you are wielding with the "light" or "finesse" category (up to 2, or up to the number of usable limbs for some homebrew races) for one round.

Brilliant Riposte

At 15th level, when successfully using the feint, parry or riposte maneuvers, you may immediately make an attack against the attacker as a reaction. You may also spend a point of swagger to gain one additional reaction per turn.

The Elusive Bandit

At level 18 you have become so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren't incapacitated, but only while you have a Light or Finesse weapon in your main hand.

Dread Pirate

Thugs and cutthroats in every port lay claim to the title "pirate," but actually making a fortune through piracy is no easy task. A dread pirate, however, has mastered every aspect of larceny on the high seas. His network of contacts tells him when a particularly valuable cargo is shipping out. After a flawless ambush at sea, he swings aboard the target ship on a rope, rapier in hand. Once he and his shipmates have overpowered the prize vessel's crew, they liberate the cargo and make their escape. Later, the dread pirate meets representatives from the black market in some isolated cove and sells his newly acquired cargo for a handsome profit.

Bonus Tool Proficiencies

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with navigator's tools and waterborne vehicles.

A Fearsome Reputation

At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Intimidation, and your proficiency bonus is doubled for any skill check you make with it. At 7th level, you gain this benefit with two other Charisma-linked skills with which you are already proficient.

Rigging Monkey

Starting at 3rd level, a life of sailing has given you considerable expertise when it comes to climbing. You gain a climb speed equal to your land speed, and proficiency in Athletics.

A Tolerance to Rum, Grog, and Iocane Powder

At 6th level, you gain advantage on all saving throws against poison and to resist the lingering effects of poisons.

Legendary Greed

Starting at 10th level, your insatiable lust for treasure has honed the mind and raised suspicion. You have advantage on Intelligence checks for remembering where and how to find treasure hordes, and have advantage on Insight checks when determining the truthfulness behind any statement involving treasure.

Dreadful Aura

At 15th level, as a bonus action, you may spend a point of swagger to force all enemies within 60 feet to make a Wisdom saving throw (with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier). On a failure, the target is frightened until the end of your next turn. If any enemy is within 5 feet of you when they become frightened, they provoke an attack of opportunity and remain frightened whether you hit or miss.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Belay That!

At 18th level, when a creature within 30 feet that you can see begins to take an action, you may spend one point of swagger to use your reaction to make a melee or ranged attack (as appropriate) against that creature. On a hit, the creature takes no damage, but they lose their next round of action, either this turn or the next turn depending on whether or not they have already had their turn.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Multiclassing

Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Swashbuckler class, you must meet these prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Charisma 13

Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Swashbuckler class, you gain proficiency with rapiers and scimitars, and one skill of choice from their skill list.

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