Sevatin Duelist (3.5e Prestige Class)

Duelist

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Often hailing from the the Sevatin island Nagai, the duelists are some of the most famous of Sevatim's swordsmen. While rarer and less potent than they are thought in the western countries, they are formidable fighters, relying on retaliation, parrying, and feinting with a Sabre and Sabreknife. These swords come in pairs, with both handles carved out of the same piece of cherry. As a pair the swords are referred to as Daishō. Amongst Sevatin Kenshi, duelists are actually relatively low tier.

Becoming a Duelist

Most Duelists are reserved and watchful, and have lightning reflexes. Rogues are a natural choice because of sneak attack, but any skill based class can become a duelist. Dexterity is extremely important, allowing duelists to hit and not get hit back. Charisma is useful to improve feinting.

Entry Requirements

Base Attack Bonus:	+3.
Skills:	Bluff 7 ranks, Sense Motive 7 ranks, Balance 4 ranks
Feats:	Dodge, Weapon Finesse, Two Weapon Fighting

Table: The Duelist

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+2	+0	Kenshi Daishō, Feint
2nd	+1	+0	+3	+0	Sneak Attack 1d6
3rd	+2	+1	+3	+1	Parry
4th	+3	+1	+4	+1	Sneak Attack 2d6
5th	+3	+ 1	+4	+1	Riposte
Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level) .

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the duelist.

Kenshi Daishō: While wielding a Sabre in one hand and a Sabreknife in the other, a duelist gains a +5 bonus to his Base Attack Bonus. This bonus does not grant any additional attacks, and may not exceed his Hit Dice, but does allow him to qualify for feats as though he had a higher BaB. However, any feat that he only qualifies for because of the bonus to his Base Attack Bonus does not have any effect unless the duelist is wielding his Daishō. If the duelist has the same dodge target for three consecutive rounds, the target becomes his Aitente. Against his Aitente, the duelist gains a +2 insight bonus to attack and AC (this replaces the normal +1 from Dodge), as well as a +1 bonus to feint attempts. All duelist abilities require the duelist to be wielding a Sabre in one hand and a Sabreknife in the other.

Feint (Ex): A duelist may, as a swift action, forfeit his ability to attack with his Sabreknife for one turn in exchange for the ability to make feint attempts with his Sabre as free actions for one turn. The duelist is also treated as having the feat Improved Feint.

Sneak Attack: This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name, except that the Duelist may only use his sneak attack on feints and when flanking. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 at 4th level. If the duelist gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, it functions normally and the bonuses on damage stack.

Parry (Ex): A third level duelist may choose to forfeit as many of his offhand (Sabreknife) attacks as he has, in exchange for the ability to, when he is attacked, make a parry attempt. For every attack he gives up, he gains two parry attempts. He must declare the attempt before the attack roll is made. He then makes his own attack roll (with his Sabreknife) at a -3 penalty. If his roll exceeds his opponents attack roll, the opponents attack misses. If his roll fails by 3 or less, the duelist gains a +1 dodge bonus against the attack that he failed to parry.

If the duelist gives up his ability to attack with his offhand to feint, he may still convert one of his offhand attacks into a parry attempt. However, that parry attempt takes twice the normal penalty to attack.

Riposte (Ex): A final level Duelist may choose to forfeit as many of his main-hand (Sabre) attacks as he has, in exchange for the ability to, after a parry attempt, make an attack of his own on the opponent that he parried the attack of. For every attack he gives up, he gains one riposte attempt, unless he gives up all of his attacks in which case he gains one extra riposte attempt at his highest Base Attack Bonus. If the parry attempt was successful, the duelist's riposte (main-hand attack) does not allow his target to use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If the parry attempt was a failure (but the attack still missed), the duelist may still riposte, but his target may still use his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If the parry attempt was a failure and he was still hit by the attack, he gains a -1 to hit, as well. When riposting against his Aitente, the duelist may make a feint attempt if his parry failed. If he succeeds, he does not suffer from the -1 to hit if he was struck with the attack.

Ex-Sevatin Duelists

Playing a Duelist

Combat: Most duelists prefer one on one or two combat to mass brawls, due to the fact that they can only attempt to parry so many attacks. In a brawl, a duelist will rely more on flanking and feinting, as well as staying away from more powerful opponents. He will avoid at all costs being on the "inside" of a group of enemies, and will maneuver to avoid it. A duelist in a brawl will attempt to kill weaker foes first, allowing him to focus more completely on tougher foes...

Advancement:

Resources:

Duelists in the World

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NPC Reactions:

Duelist Lore

Characters with ranks in can research to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
11	.
16	.
21	.
26	.

Duelists in the Game

Adaptation:

Sample Encounter:

EL whatever:

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