Sublime Ronin (3.5e Class)

Sublime Ronin

The Sublime Ronin is a wandering samurai who had no lord. Usually trained at a far away secluded temple, they taught him how to use his sword (preferably a katana), the art of iaijutsu, how to use his body and mind to it's full potential and the martial disciplines that he knows.

Making a Sublime Ronin

Abilities: Strength for attack roll and damage, a mental stat for class features and Constitution for hit points.

Races: Any race

Alignment: Any alignment. Ronins don't have to be lawful, they do what they see fit and they aren't bound by any oaths.

Starting Gold: As Fighter.

Table: The Sublime Ronin

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Maneuvers Known	Maneuvers Readied	Stances Known	Speed Bonus
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+0	+2	+2	Sublime Focus, Quick to Act, Bonus Feat	3	3	1	+10ft
2nd	+2	+0	+3	+3	AC Bonus, Quick Draw/Sheathe	4	3	1	+10ft
3rd	+3	+1	+3	+3	Iaijutsu Attacks	5	4	2	+20ft
4th	+4	+1	+4	+4	Iaijutsu Focus, Bonus Feat, Weapon Focus	6	4	2	+20ft
5th	+5	+1	+4	+4	Mind and Body, Delayed Strikes	7	5	3	+30ft
6th	+6	+2	+5	+5	Unshakable Loyalty, Dual Boost	8	5	3	+30ft
7th	+7	+2	+5	+5	Sheathing Critical, Sudden Recovery	9	6	4	+40ft
8th	+8	+2	+6	+6	Bonus Feat, Weapon Specialization	10	6	4	+40ft
9th	+9	+3	+6	+6		11	7	5	+50ft
10th	+10	+3	+7	+7	Razor Wind Slash	12	7	5	+60ft
11th	+11	+3	+7	+7	Improved Sheathing Critical	13	8	6	+60ft
12th	+12	+4	+8	+8	Controlled Delayed Strikes, Bonus Feat	14	8	6	+70ft
13th	+13	+4	+8	+8		15	9	7	+70ft
14th	+14	+4	+9	+9	Ultimate Sharpness	15	9	7	+80ft
15th	+15	+5	+9	+9		16	10	8	+80ft
16th	+16	+5	+10	+10	Ultimate Razor Wind Slash, Bonus Feat	17	10	8	+90ft
17th	+17	+5	+10	+10	Ultimate Sheathing Critical	18	11	9	+90ft
18th	+18	+6	+11	+11	Dual Stance	19	11	9	+100ft
19th	+19	+6	+11	+11		20	12	10	+100ft
20th	+20	+6	+12	+12	Legendary Ronin	40	24	10	+110ft
Class Skills 8 + Sublime Focus modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int),Knowledge (history) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Rope (Dex), Iaijutsu Focus (Dex).

Class Features

Maneuvers: At the levels shown above, you gain a new maneuver known from 4 disciplines of your choice. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. You add your full Sublime Samurai levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At the levels shown above, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Upon reaching 4th level and every even-numbered sublime samurai level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on) you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver and exchange for the new one. You can choose a maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a new maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: You can ready all three maneuvers you know at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready maneuvers by focusing for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to focus again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time in order to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend five minutes in thought, you can change your readied maneuvers.

You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

You can recover a single expended maneuver as a move action, in which you sheathe or unready the weapon you're using. You can recover all maneuvers at once when making a full attack action, in which you use Iaijutsu. Doing this does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Stances Known: At the levels shown above, you learn a new martial stance from the disciplines you chose. You must meet a stance’s prerequisite to learn it.

Bonus Feats: At 1st, 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th level the Sublime Ronin can choose a bonus feat. He can choose general, fighter or martial discipline feats. His full level counts for the preriquisites for fighter feats.

Speed Bonus: Whenever the Ronin wears light or no armor, he gains a bonus to movement speed equal to the table shown above. This movement speed stacks with other classes that give bonus movement speed such as the monk.

Sublime Focus: Choose between being intelligence, wisdom or charisma based. He now uses the selected statistic to calculate his skill ranks per level. You also gain one of the following bonuses:

• Intelligence: You gain the ability to roll knowledge skills twice, using the higher result.
• Wisdom: You gain a +3 insight bonus to your Initiative.
• Charisma: You gain a +3 bonus on all Charisma-based skill checks.

A sublime ronin may use his chosen sublime focus statistic to calculate the DC of his maneuvers.

Quick to Act: A 1st level Sublime Ronin may add half his Sublime Focus modifier to initiative checks.

AC bonus: At 2nd level, the Sublime Ronin may add half his Sublime Focus modifier to his AC when he is unarmored or wearing light armor and unecumbered. This bonus count against touch attacks and when the Ronin is caught flat-footed. This stacks with other class features that give a similar bonus. The bonus is considered a dodge bonus.

Quick Draw and Quick Sheathe: At 2nd level, the Sublime Ronin can draw his weapon and sheathe it after each attack he makes or as a free action that doesn't count against his total actions per round. Yes, that's how fast he sheathes it and unsheathes it. It counts as if the Sublime Ronin had the quick draw and quick sheathe feats for prerequisites.

Iaijutsu Attacks: When the Sublime Ronin reaches 3rd level, he takes advantage of his Iaijutsu technique. Whenever he attacks someone and uses the Iaijutsu technique against them, he must roll a Iaijutsu skill check (d20 + ranks in Iaijutsu skill + Dexterity Modifier). Take the total amount of the skill check and divide it by four (4). That's the total d6 dice he gets to roll for extra damage against his opponent. (i.e. a skill check of 20/4 = 5 so 5d6 dice, always round down). At 9th level, he divides it by 2 and may add his BAB to the skill check. At level 15 he may use the full check without dividing it. A Sublime Ronin may use Iaijutsu even when using maneuvers.

Iaijutsu Focus: At 4th level, when the Ronin uses Iaijutsu he may add his class levels to attack rolls and damage rolls.

Weapon Focus: The Ronin becomes an expert with the weapon of his choice. He gains at 4th level the Variant Weapon Focus feat. At level 8th he gains the Variant Weapon Specialization.

Mind and Body: A level 5th Ronin can add half his Sublime Focus modifier to all his physical skill checks and ability checks.

Delayed Strikes: At 5th level the sublime Ronin's strikes are so fast that his opponents don't notice... until it's too late. You may choose to delay the damage on a successful strike up to 5 rounds from when you made the attack. The damage is not applied until the duration is up, where it comes all of a suddenly in one mass. It counts as a single attack for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. You may choose to apply the damage even when it's not your turn as long as it's in the round that you selected for it to be applied.

Unshakable Loyalty: At 6th level, you may half add your Sublime Focus to your saves as a morale bonus.

Dual Boost: At 6th level, the Ronin may use two boosts as a swift action at the same time, provided he has them readied.

Sheathing Critical: At 7th level, whenever the Ronin scores a critical hit while using Iaijutsu, he can multiply the bonus damage he gets from the skill check.

Sudden Recovery: At level 7th, the Ronin can recover an expended maneuver as a free action. He can use this ability Sublime Focus modifier per encounter.

Razor Wind Slash: When the Ronin reaches level 10, he may make use a full attack action to strike opponents in a line equal to half his movement speed. This attack requires one attack roll and all the modifiers count in the attack, including Iaijutsu bonus and can even critical if the d20 is in the critical threat range. He may also use maneuvers this way, any maneuvers used with it are burned out and cannot be refreshed until he meditates and rests for 1 minute. When using this ability, the Ronin ends up the the end of the line, adjacent to an enemy. He doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity with this movement.

Improved Sheathing Critical: A 11th level Ronin's critical threat range is lowered by 1 whenever he uses Iaijutsu. So a 19-20 threat range becomes a 18-20, and this new critical threat range is double by feats and other things. So a 18-20 critical becomes a 15-20 with the Improved Critical feat.

Controlled Delayed Strikes: At level 12th the Ronin has ultimate control with his delayed strikes. He may choose to apply the damage as a free action whenever he wants up to Sublime Focus modifier days since the attack. You may even choose to apply the damage when it's not your turn.

Ultimate Sharpness: At 14th level, your weapon has been folded over 1000 times, able to destroy even tanks with a single blow, which is why the Americans never invaded Japan and their superior steel. Well, while it won't help with hardness it is capable of bringing down force effects such as wall of force, treating them as if they had hardness equal to their caster level and 5 hp per caster level.

Ultimate Razor Wind Slash: At level 16th, whenever the Ronin uses his razor wind slash, he does damage equal to his full attack adding the full Iaijutsu damage bonus for all attacks. He can move along with his attack faster than the eye can see. The range of the line now is equal to his movement speed and he can still use maneuvers when using this ability, hitting all of his enemies. Also now his maneuvers aren't expended until he rests. He just has to recover them.

Ultimate Sheathing Critical: At 17th level, the Ronin's critical multiplier is increased by one step when using Iaijutsu (a x2 becomes a x3). This stacks with other effects that increase the weapons multiplier.

Dual Stance: At 18th level, the Ronin may benefit from the bonuses of two stances at once. When using a swift action to change a stance, he may choose to change both of them.

Legendary Ronin: A 20th level Sublime Ronin becomes a Legendary Ronin. He doubles his maneuvers known and readied. He also doubles all his modes of movement (land, flying etc.). He gains one extra attack when using Iaijutsu and he can initiate two maneuvers at the same time. Also, whenever he makes a critical strike when using maneuver, the maneuver's damage now get multiplied as well.

Epic Sublime Ronin

Table: The Epic Sublime Ronin

Hit Die: d10

Level	Special
21st	Epic Iaijutsu Attacks, Epic Initiator
22nd
23rd	Bonus Feat
24th
25th	Bonus Feat
26th
27th	Bonus Feat
28th
29th	Bonus Feat
30th
8 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Epic Initiator: You can now cast Epic Manuevers.

Epic Iaijutsu Attacks: Your dice from your Iaijutsu now double.

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