Swashbuckler Prestige Class
Hello, and welcome to Explorer Week. Well, not really “welcome,” I suppose, since the week is basically over. There’s just one article left, really. And not a whole one, at that: look, you’ve already used up the first few sentences. Or have I used them up, instead? I can’t really tell. Anyway, today’s workshop offering is a new prestige class, one of the exploratory bent. If you ever wanted to play a fantasy-setting version of Indiana Jones or Sir Francis Drake (the one from the movie), but could never quite find a class/feat combination that really felt right, this class is for you. Will it feel right? I can’t say for sure: after all, I’m sure that the people who made the swashbuckler base class for 3.5, the duelist, the updated Pathfinder version of the duelist, the factotum, and anyone who even touched Complete Scoundrel all hoped to make something that fit right, and they clearly met with varying degrees of success. But I feel confident that, if nothing else, the swashbuckler prestige class presented here is a step in the right direction.
So, try it. Let loose your inner privateer. And then get back to me, because I’d love to hear how it played out at your table.
Swashbuckler
Swashbucklers are dashing, daring ne’er-do-wells who can’t resist the siren call of adventure, danger, and excitement. A sort of “gentleman’s rogue,” swashbucklers often spend their time treasure-hunting: tracking down ancient and lost ruins and then plumbing them for their abandoned treasures. Others choose to explore new frontiers, traveling to strange and exotic lands (and then, typically, delving for treasure in those places, as well). Evil swashbucklers tap even more into this trend of taking things that aren’t theirs, rarely concerning themselves with such petty matters as whether a treasure has a “rightful owner.” Such swashbucklers typically turn to piracy, or, in rare cases, cat-burglary.
Role: Swashbucklers are typically frontline fighters, with little concern about wading into combat and dirtying their hands. Their swashbuckler talents allow them to maneuver around the battlefield, placing themselves where they can do the most good.
Alignment: Though swashbucklers can be of any alignment, almost all of them are some kind of chaotic. Evil swashbucklers tend towards piracy or burglary, as mentioned above, while good-aligned swashbucklers typically restrict themselves to lost or abandoned treasures. The few lawful swashbucklers typically serve some kind of patron, such as privateers sponsored by a king or queen, or treasure-hunters who donate the priceless relics they find to a museum.
Hit Die: d10
Requirements
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Six ranks in at least three of the following: Acrobatics, Appraise, Bluff, Diplomacy, Escape Artist, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge (local), Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Class Skills
The swashbuckler’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex).
Skill Ranks at Each Level: 6 + Int Modifier
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the swashbuckler prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The swashbuckler is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. Swashbucklers gain no additional armor proficiencies.
Treasure Hunting: A swashbuckler adds his class level to any Appraise skill checks he makes. Additionally, with a successful Appraise check (DC 20 + item’s caster level), you can identify the properties of magical items.
Swashbuckler Talent: As a swashbuckler gains experience, he learns a number of talents which aid him and confound his foes. Starting at 2nd level, a swashbuckler gains one swashbuckler talent. He gains an additional swashbuckler talent for every two levels of swashbuckler attained after 2nd level. Unless otherwise noted, a swashbuckler cannot take an individual swashbuckler talent more than once.
Hanging Combat (Ex): A swashbuckler with this talent can do battle while hanging upside-down from a rope, chandelier, ledge, ladder, or similar. By succeeding on a Climb check (DC 10, plus any relevant modifier for the object in question, such as if it is slippery), you can free both hands without falling, supporting yourself with your legs alone.
While hanging in this fashion, you regain your Dexterity bonus to AC and can make actions which require both hands, such as two-weapon fighting, reloading a heavy crossbow, or using a two-handed weapon.
Versatile Charge (Ex): A swashbuckler with this talent can move gracefully about the battlefield, charging through, over, or around terrain that would stop others flat. While making a charge, the swashbuckler can implement a number of actions from the following list equal to his Dexterity modifier (to a maximum of 3 of the following actions): an Acrobatics check to move across narrow or uneven terrain without falling, an Acrobatics check to move through an opponent’s space, an Acrobatics check to jump as part of your movement, or making a single turn of up to 90 degrees. If you have the Dexterity to do so, you can take an individual action multiple times, but this counts against your total number of special actions for that charge.
Leaping Strike (Ex): A swashbuckler with this talent can use momentum from falling or jumping great distances to lend power to his melee attacks. As part of a charge action, the swashbuckler can jump or fall, making an Acrobatics check as appropriate for the action. For every 10 feet of horizontal jump, or every 10 feet the swashbuckler falls (whichever is higher) during this charge, he gets a +2 bonus to damage if his attack is successful, to a maximum of +12 after jumping or falling 60 feet. Anything which reduces the amount of fall damage the swashbuckler would take (such as a monk’s slow fall class feature or a feather fall spell) also reduces his momentum, and, by extension, the bonus damage (for example, if Eric Delarange fell 30 feet, but used Acrobatics to reduce the damage from the fall, he would only gain a +4 bonus to damage, not +6).
Grapplingbow (Ex): A swashbuckler with this talent can use a bolt or arrow as a makeshift grappling hook, or affix a grappling hook to a bolt or arrow for even greater results. In either case, a length of rope must be attached to the projectile in question, and the maximum range of that projectile is the length of the rope.
If the rope is attached to an arrow or bolt, make an attack roll against the object you want to anchor the bolt into (or one square of that object, if it is larger than 5 square feet). If your attack deals at least one point of damage (after hardness), the projectile is securely anchored, and you can climb the rope, using Climb checks as normal to determine your progress.
Alternatively, you can choose to affix a proper grappling hook to your projectile. Resolve this as normal for using a grappling hook (see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook for more information), except that you use the weapon’s normal range increment (and any magical enhancement or other relevant bonus), and you take a -4 penalty on the attack roll for firing such an unwieldy weapon.
Whipmaster (Ex): A swashbuckler with this talent is a master of the whip, and can put it to unorthodox uses.
Firstly, you can use a whip as a grappling hook. Treat this as a normal grappling hook (see the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook for more information), except that it uses its normal range increment of 15 feet.
Secondly, you can use a whip to grab opponents and pull them towards you as a combat maneuver. If your attack exceeds the target’s CMD, you can pull him or her 5 feet towards you. For every five points your attack exceeds the target’s CMD, you can pull him or her an additional 5 feet. This maneuver can only move targets closer to you, never further away.
Finally, you can whirl your whip at high speeds to create a barrier, making it difficult for your opponents to hit you, as your high-speed movements parry any attacks. When making a full defense action with a whip, you gain an additional bonus to your AC equal to ¼ your base attack bonus, rounded down. This applies to both your touch and flat-footed AC.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a swashbuckler can react to danger before his senses would normally allow him to do so. He cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does he lose his Dex bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. He still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A swashbuckler with this ability can still lose his Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against him.
If a swashbuckler already has uncanny dodge from a different class, he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.
Evasion (Ex): At 3rd level and higher, a swashbuckler can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the swashbuckler is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless swashbuckler does not gain the benefit of evasion.
Favored Terrain: At 3rd level, a swashbuckler may select a favored terrain from the ranger favored terrains table. This works exactly like the ranger favored terrain ability. The swashbuckler gains an additional favored terrain at 6th, and 9th level, and he can increase the bonus from an existing favored terrain as described in the ranger ability. If the swashbuckler has abilities from other classes that only work in a favored terrain (such as a ranger’s camouflage and hide in plain sight abilities), those abilities work in favored terrains selected as a swashbuckler.
Mercantile (Ex): At 4th level, a swashbuckler becomes exceptionally skilled at the fine art of haggling. By successfully raising a merchant’s attitude to helpful with Diplomacy, he can reduce the price of items he buys by an additional 20%, and can increase the sales price of items he sells by an additional 20%. In the event of a failure, the swashbuckler cannot try to use this ability again on the same merchant until he gains another rank in Diplomacy.
Canny Defense (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, when wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a swashbuckler adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per duelist class level to his Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a swashbuckler is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied his Dexterity bonus, he also loses this bonus.
Puzzle Knack (Ex): At 7th level, a swashbuckler has spent so much time plumbing the depths of ancient ruins and tombs that he has developed a sixth sense for the sorts of puzzles and defenses such places typically employ. When faced with a puzzle or riddle, once per day, he may receive a flash of insight, helping him to solve the puzzle. This functions as the spell commune, granting the character one yes or no question per swashbuckler level. Because no creature is actually being contacted, the answers have no bias, and there is very little chance of an “unclear” answer.
Adventure Seeker (Ex): At 9th level, a swashbuckler is so experienced at hunting down rumors and legends about potentially lucrative ruins, temples, and other places of interest, that he seems to have an almost supernatural ability to find such information. He adds his class level to any Diplomacy checks he makes to gather information. Additionally, the time it takes to make such checks is reduced by half.