Sword Saint

The sword saint masters his mind, body, will, and weapons. He devotes his arm and his life to the service of a master or a greater ideal. Even a sword saint who has risen to the top of his people still sees himself as a servant of a higher power.

Role: Sword saints are consummate melee warriors, and often serve to keep their compatriots following the path of honor.

Alignment: Sword saints cannot be of chaotic alignment. 

HP Roll: d4+3

Requirements

To qualify to become a sword saint, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

BAB: +5 (or if the character has a class with a ki pool, 5 levels in that class)

Skills: Diplomacy and Knowledge (nobility or history) 5 ranks

Feats: Combat Expertise, Weapon Focus (any weapon)

Special: Must swear an oath of service to a lord or an ideal (see Saint's Oath, below).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the sword saint prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A sword saint gains proficiency with the wakizashi, katana, and no-dachi.

Saint's Oath (Su)

A sword saint must swear an oath before witnesses when he first takes this class. Typical oaths include swearing service to a lord of the sword saint's alignment, the sword saint's goddess, or some specific idea or principle the sword saint strives to embody. These oaths are not trivial, and prospective sword saints who try to swear broad or easy oaths find themselves rejected, and can never join this class.

For ideas of appropriate oaths to an ideal, see the list of samurai orders; the Edict of an appropriate order is a good example (and at the GM's discretion, may be chosen as your oath, though you gain none of the benefits of the order). Oaths to a lord or goddess usually include enacting that lord's or goddesses' will, fighting specific foes, or resolving dilemmas facing the polity or church.

A sword saint must strictly adhere to both his oath and his alignment. Should he deliberately violate either, he loses the benefits of this class (except for BAB, base saves, and skill points) and cannot take further levels in it until he atones for his sins. If his alignment and oath are ever in disagreement, then he must choose which to break; should he break his oath, he must swear a new one, following all the stipulations above, and seek atonement from a priest of his alignment. If he chooses to follow his oath, then his alignment changes, and he must seek atonement from a priest of his new alignment. This loss of ability is not from divine disfavor, but because of the sword saint's own guilt and shame at his errors in judgement.

If a sword saint fulfils his oath of service or it no longer applies (e.g. it was to a danshaku who dies of old age, or he resolves an economic crisis he swore to avert), then the sword saint must reflect and swear a new oath. He must do so within one week per sword saint level of the previous oath's expiration. If he does not swear an oath, he is treated as though he broke his oath.

Signature Weapon (Su)

A sword saint gains the ability to imbue a weapon with some of his ki, linking it to his own life force and making it a powerful tool, but for his hands alone. First, he chooses a particular weapon (it must be one in which he has weapon focus). This may be any weapon, such as a bow or dagger; while most sword saints choose some manner of sword, it is not strictly required. The weapon must be of at least masterwork quality. The sword saint must spend 24 hours in meditation with the chosen weapon. At the end of this time, the weapon gains a +1 bonus (stacking with existing bonuses the weapon has). 

At 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the bonus to the sword saint's signature weapon increases by +1. At this time, he may choose to gain a weapon special ability, deducting its cost from the bonus granted by this ability. He may change the chosen special ability each time he levels up.

If another creature wields the sword saint's signature weapon for any reason, it does not gain any of the benefits of this ability; these bonuses are for the sword saint alone. If the weapon is ever lost or stolen, the sword saint must attempt to retrieve it by any means permitted by his oath or alignment. Should he abandon his weapon without exhausting all means available, he is treated as though he broke his oath (see above).

If the weapon is destroyed, the sword saint may repair it or replace it with another, using the same ritual as above. If he replaces it, this does not break his oath - it is not shameful to allow a weapon that broke in service to rest, and this will in fact raise him in the esteem of his peers. The old weapon must be buried or placed in an appropriate meaningful location as a final resting place; it cannot be sold or scrapped (this would count as breaking his oath).

Bonus Feat

At 1st level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the sword saint gains a bonus feat. These bonus feats must be taken from the list of Style Feats or Meditation Feats. He may also choose a Qinggong power, treating his total character level as his quinggong monk level for the purposes of qualifying for these powers.

Ki Pool (Su)

At 2nd level, a sword saint gains a pool of ki points, supernatural energy he can use to accomplish amazing feats. The number of points in the sword saint's ki pool is equal to 1/2 his sword saint level + his Intelligence modifier. He can expend a ki point to perform any of the following acts:

• Gain a +20 ft bonus to land speed for 1 turn (swift action)

• Make an additional attack at full BAB (swift action)

• Add up to 1 point per sword saint level of Int mod to AC until the beginning of his next turn (immediate action)

• Reroll a failed Knowledge check (immediate action)

He may learn additional means of using these points as he progresses.

If he has a ki pool from another class (such as ninja), he sums together his levels from that class and this class to determine the size of his ki pool, and can use it to power abilities from either class. He chooses which ability score modifier (Int or the ability score from his other class) to use when he gains this ability, and this choice cannot be changed later.

Power Surge (Ex)

At 2nd level, the sword saint can attempt to exert his will upon his body, calling forth the hidden strength that is kept for emergencies. He must make a DC 15 Concentration check as a move action; on success, he gains a +4 morale bonus to his Strength score for a number of rounds equal to 1+half his sword saint level. Each time he successfully uses this ability in a 24-hour period, the DC increases by 5.

Although the sword saint is not a caster, he gains a caster level equal to his sword saint level (stacking with other caster levels he may have). He may benefit from any abilities that provide bonuses to concentration, such as the Combat Casting feat. His ability score for concentration is Int.

At 7th level, the morale bonus to Strength granted by this ability increases to +6.

Ki Projection (Su)

At 3rd level, the sword saint adds half his level in this class to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks he makes. He may spend a ki point to increase this to his full class level for a check. He can use this benefit for any such check, even one that is drawn out over several minutes or hours.

At 6th level, he always adds his full level to these skill checks, and may expend a ki point to roll twice and take the best result on such a check.

Withstand (Ex)

At 4th level, a sword saint may make a Concentration check in place of a Reflex saving throw against area of effect spells and abilities. Any Evasion or Improved Evasion ability he has is applied to the result of this Concentration check.

Instill (Su)

At 8th level, a sword saint can imbue an ally with some of his own life force. Once per day, he may take a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity and attempt a Concentration check (DC 10+target's HD) to imbue his spirit to an ally he can touch. He then subtracts up to 1 point per sword saint level from his BAB and any/all of his save bonuses, adding these points to the recipient. Note that this may cause the recipient to gain extra attacks per round, and/or the sword saint to lose attacks per round.

This effect lasts for 1 hour, at which point the transferred power reverts back to the sword saint. The sword saint can also end the effect with a full-round action. Should the target die while this ability is still active, the sword saint must make a Fortitude save (DC 5+target's HD) or perish as well; if he succeeds, the power returns to him immediately. If the sword saint has more than half of his ki points remaining, then he may choose to expend all of them rather than dying on a failed save.

Ki Warlord (Ex)

At 10th level, a sword saint gains great notoriety and renown. Other sword saints revere his accomplishments, and he may temporarily request the services of lower-level sword saints of the same alignment when he encounters them; they may not refuse unless his request is in opposition to their oath.

Additionally, he provides an inspiring presence on the battlefield - allies in 30 feet of the sword saint gain a +1 morale bonus to Will saves, Concentration checks, and Attack rolls. These bonuses are doubled for allies who match the sword saints' alignment on at least one axis.