Pinpoint Swordsman (3.5e Class)

Pinpoint Swordsman

The Pinpoint Swordsman gains abilities and feats that allow them to use Dexterity as their primary attribute. The Pinpoint swordsman will lack the sheer ability to soak up damage that other warriors can exhibit, however being able to hold the line and avoid being struck while hitting that critical spot will show that the Pinpoint Swordsman will be able to stand next to their fellow warriors with pride.

Making a Pinpoint Swordsman

The Pinpoint Swordsman excels in combat where she is able to use her dexterity and accurate precise sword skills to take an opponent out of the fight quickly. An immobilized, surrounded, or cornered Pinpoint Swordsman will not be able to soak up as much damage as other warriors and may fall if they allow themselves to be put in this position. In situations where movement is hampered the Pinpoint Swordsman could find herself surrounded and overwhelmed. This class is suited to the slighter races and genders who are not able to compare in brute force to the power or their opponents.

Abilities: The Key attribute for a Pinpoint Swordsman is Dexterity. It affects chance to hit, damage dealt, and defense. A minimum Dexterity of 13 is needed to

become a Pinpoint Swordsman.

Races: All races are eligible to become a Pinpoint Swordsman.

Alignment: Any

Starting Gold: As Fighter

Starting Age: Moderate as Fighter.

Table: The Pinpoint Swordsman

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+1	+2	+0	Weapon Finesse, Pinpoint accuracy, Evaluate Opponent
2nd	+2	+1	+3	+0	Focused Attack +1, Dodge
3rd	+3	+2	+3	+1	swift Parry
4th	+4	+2	+4	+1	Mobility
5th	+5	+2	+4	+1	Swift Riposte +1
6th	+6/+1	+3	+5	+2	swift Parry +1, Spring Attack,
7th	+7/+2	+3	+5	+2	Improved Feint
8th	+8/+3	+4	+6	+2	Improved Critical Range 1, Focused Attack +2
9th	+9/+4	+4	+6	+3	swift Parry +2
10th	+10/+5	+4	+7	+3	Swift Riposte +2
11th	+11/+6/+1	+5	+7	+3	Feint Bonus +1
12th	+12/+7/+2	+5	+8	+4	swift Parry +3
13th	+13/+8/+3	+6	+8	+4	Feint Bonus +2
14th	+14/+9/+4	+6	+9	+4	Focused Attack +3
15th	+15/+10/+5	+6	+9	+5	swift Parry +4, Swift Riposte +3, Feint Bonus +3
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+7	+10	+5	Improved Critical Range 2,
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+7	+10	+5	Feint Bonus +4
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+8	+11	+6	swift Parry +5
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+8	+11	+6	Feint Bonus +5
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+8	+12	+6	Focused Attack +4, Swift Riposte +4,
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Balance(Dex), Bluff(Cha), Hide(Dex), Jump(Str), Listen(Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform(Cha), Sense Motive(Wis), Sleight of Hand(Dex), Spot(Wis), Tumble(Dex).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Pinpoint Swordsman is proficient in light armor and shields, (except for tower shields), as well as all simple and martial weapons.

Class Abilities

Weapon Finesse: The pinpoint Swordsman gains the Weapon Finesse feat at 1st level for all light weapons, this allows her to use her modifier to Dexterity to hit with melee weapons instead of strength. For the swordsman if her strength is 15 or greater this feat can be applied to medium weapons.

Pinpoint Accuracy: The Pinpoint Swordsman can use either Strength modifier or Dexterity modifier when calculating damage with melee weapons. This is because the pinpoint swordsman is able to accurately strike her opponent in less protected/more sensitive areas. Due to the nature of this attack it cannot be used with the Power Attack feat.

Evaluate Opponent: The Pinpoint Swordsman makes an attack that instead of damaging her opponent is used to gauge her opponent's responses. Each time this maneuver is performed the Pinpoint Swordsman gains a bonus +1 to hit and damage versus her opponent because she can accurately predict her opponent's reactions. The maximum bonus allowed is equal to the opponent's Dexterity modifier to defense, if the opponent has no dexterity modifier to defense the maximum bonus is +1/+1.

Focused Attack: The Pinpoint Swordsman has gained in accuracy with their weapons to the point that attempts at called shots are not as challenging, add the Focused attack modifier to hit when making a called shot. This bonus also applies to ranged weapons if the pinpoint swordsman is within 30 feet of her target.

Dodge: At second level the Pinpoint Swordsman gains the Dodge feat.

Swift Parry: Starting at third level, One time per round when the Pinpoint Swordsman is being attacked by a melee attack she can in response roll an attack of her own to parry. The bonus in the table is added to her roll at higher levels. If she meets or exceeds the total rolled by the attacker the attack has been parried and doesn't hit her.

Mobility: The Mobility feat is gained at fourth level.

Swift Riposte: At fifth level the Pinpoint Swordsman has gained in speed and skill to the point that Once per round when she is attacked by an opponent using a melee weapon she can make an attack in response to her opponent's attack after it has been resolved, add the bonus from the table to the attack roll. This ability cannot be used if the Pinpoint swordsman parries the same attack unless she is wielding two weapons or uses a kick.

Spring Attack: At sixth level the Pinpoint swordsman gains the Spring Attack feat.

Improved Feint: At seventh level the Pinpoint swordsman gains the Improved Feint feat. This functions using either the ranks in bluff skill + charisma modifier, or using the Pinpoint swordsman's base attack bonus + her Charisma modifier, whichever is better.

Improved Critical Range: The Pinpoint swordsman has become so accurate and precise with her sword-work that she threatens a critical more often, widen the threat range of her wielded weapon by 1 at 8th level and by 2 at 16th level. This effect will not stack with the improved critical feat, which is based upon the skill of the wielder, however it will stack with the Keen magical effect but is not multiplied by that effect.

Feint Bonus: A feint bonus is added to the Pinpoint Swordsman's check when performing a Feint.

Ex-Pinpoint Swordsmen

If a Pinpoint Swordsman through age or accident loses Dexterity enough to decrease below 13, the Swordsman finds herself unable to progress in the class any further.

If the loss of Dexterity is such that Dexterity is less than 10 all bonuses to hit and damage gained from this class are halved.

No penalties are incurred if the player chooses to multi-class, or change classes.

Epic Pinpoint swordsmen

Table: The Epic Pinpoint Swordsman

Hit Die: d8

Level	Special
21st	Swift Parry +12, Feint Bonus +12
22nd	Bonus Feat
23rd	Feint Bonus +12
24th	Swift Parry +12/+7 (can parry twice per round), Improved Critical Range 3
25th	Swift Riposte +5, Focused Attack +5, Feint Bonus +14
26th
27th	Swift Parry +14/+9 (can parry twice per round), Feint Bonus +16
28th	Bonus Feat
29th	<Feint Bonus +18
30th	Swift Parry +16/+11 (can parry twice per round), Swift Riposte +6, Focused Attack +6
4 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Swift Parry: At 24th level a Pinpoint Swordsman gains a second parry every round.

Bonus Feats: The epic Pinpoint Swordsman gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Fighter or Rogue bonus feats) at 22nd and 28th level.

Half Elf Pinpoint Swordsman Starting Package

Weapons: Short sword, Dagger,Darts(20)

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty
Balance	4	Dex	—
Bluff	4	Cha	—
Hide	4	Dex	—
Move Silently	4	Dex	—
Spot	4	Wis	—
Sleight of Hand	4	Dex	—
Tumble	4	Dex	—

Feat: Improved Initiative.

Gear: Leather Armor AC+2, MWK Buckler AC+1 Armor check 0.

Gold: 12.

Campaign Information

Playing a Pinpoint Swordsman

Religion: Much like any other warrior the Pinpoint Swordsman tends to follow Gods of battle, valor and war.

Other Classes: Most Pinpoint swordsmen have been misunderstood or had others underestimate them. They will usually find a team where their skills are needed and fill that role. Often they will be quick to notice the contributions of others.

Combat: The Pinpoint swordsman will typically stay on the fringes of battle allowing her to use her movement abilities to avoid getting pinned down. Use of tumbling and appropriate tactical movement in battle is key. Her role in battle hinges upon how many opponents she is facing. If confronted with one or two opponents she can use her ability to dodge and parry to avoid one or block the attacks from one while attacking the other. The tactic in a large battle will be to use spring attack to keep from engaging too many enemies at once, or use of terrain to try to deal with one or two attackers at a time.

Advancement: This class can be easily applied to multi-class Rogues, Monks, and Fighters. The bonuses that apply for using a light/medium weapon in this class still apply to unarmed attacks. Several levels of Pinpoint Swordsman would also serve to battle harden a rogue or assassin. It could also be a very good class for a swashbuckler who has lost social skills or is going through a bout of depression.

Pinpoint Swordsmen in the World

“	Yes I did stab it in the eye... but it had pretty big eyes!!	”
—Anya Dancingsword, Half Elven Pinpoint Swordsman

You find the Pinpoint swordsman amongst professional fighters everywhere, often they will be the thin quick fighter who darts in dealing devastating damage to the

enemy. Bringing their skills in as part of a team opens a lot of doors for the Pinpoint swordsman, both as a scout, flanking fighter, and defensive fighter.

Daily Life: From the typical grind of soldier to the adventuresome life of a duelist or adventurer or outlaw the Pinpoint Swordsman can fit into all these roles

and more.

Notables: Anya Dancingsword Level 10 Pinpoint Swordsman

Organizations: Typically Pinpoint Swordsmen are mentored by another swordsman during their youth. No large organization of them exists, however they do tend

toward military service and a few will often be found amongst the troops or at military reunions.

NPC Reactions: Most NPCs see this as just another fighter, however they may be disbelieving because the Pinpoint Swordsman will often lack the heavy build of

many fighters.

Pinpoint Swordsmen Lore

Characters with ranks in Gather Information, Knowledge: Military tactics skills can research Pinpoint Swordsmen to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Gather Information or Knowledge:Military tactics

DC	Result
5	They are a fighter that relies on quickness instead of strength.
10	They can move so quickly that they can block an attack in mid swing.
15	Their accuracy with a sword makes it so that they can hit something that would be almost impossible for a typical fighter.
20	They are able to anticipate a foe so well that they can block almost any attack.

Pinpoint Swordsmen in the Game

Adaptation: A character that doesn't have the strength but still wants to be a front-line fighter.

Sample Encounter: A drunk fighter attempts to bully someone who doesn't look strong in a bar. Turns out that that character is a Pinpoint Swordsman and the PC

finds they have bitten off more than they can chew.

Sample Character

EL : <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter.->.

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