Hatashiai

Some fighters avoid the open battlefield, preferring instead to focus their studies on the art of entertaining a crowd with their swordplay. Hatashiai are deadly warriors, capable of standing alone against many opponents at once, or of dueling a fellow master with aplomb. Most hatashiai start their careers as samurai, but other paths also lead to this study.

Role: Hatashiai are dedicated melee combatants with extravagant personalities, able to injure both the body and the spirit of their foes through steel and intimidation.

Alignment: Hatashiai can be of any alignment. 

HP Roll: d4+3

Requirements

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

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Intimidate and Perform (kata) 5 ranks

Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dazzling Display, Weapon Finesse

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the hatashiai prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A hatashiai is proficient with all light and heavy bladed weapons, and with light and medium armor (but not shields).

Precise Strike (Ex)

A hatashiai gains the ability to strike precisely with a bladed weapon (i.e. belonging to the Light or Heavy Blades weapon groups), adding her hatashiai level to her damage roll. This is precision damage, not multiplied on a critical hit.

When making a precise strike, a duelist cannot wield two weapons (not even a double weapon) or use a shield. A duelist’s precise strike only works against living creatures with discernible anatomies. 

Showmanship (Ex)

When the hatashiai attempts to inflict a fear effect using her weapon, such as by using the Dazzling Display or Dreadful Carnage feats, she may use her skill in Perform (kata) instead of Intimidate. She gains an insight bonus to the Perform (kata) check equal to the enhancement bonus of the weapon used (e.g. a +2 katana would grant a +2 bonus to the check).

Once per day, the hatashiai can use Dazzling Display as a move action, rather than a full-round action. When she uses this ability, the demoralize effect is extended by 1 round. She can use this ability one additional time per day at 4th level, and every 3 hatashiai levels thereafter. At each of these levels, the demoralize effect is extended by an additional round.

Parry (Ex)

At 2nd level, any time the hatashiai takes a full-attack action with a weapon that qualifies for Precise Strike, she can forego one or more attacks. At any time before her next turn, she can attempt to parry an attack against her by expending one of the held attacks and one attack of opportunity. To parry the attack, the hatashiai makes an attack roll, using the same bonuses as the attack she chose to forego during her previous action.  If her attack roll exceeds the incoming attack roll, the strike is deflected The hatashiai must declare the action when the attack is declared, before the result is announced.

The hatashiai gains a +4 bonus to the parry against opponents at least 2 sizes smaller than her, and takes a -4 penalty against opponents at least 2 sizes larger.

Quick Reactions (Ex)

At 2nd level, hatashiai gain a +2 bonus to initiative checks. She also adds her hatashiai level to Perception checks to act in the surprise round.

Strike from the Hand

At 3rd level, the hatashiai gains the Improved Disarm feat, regardless of whether she meets the requirements. If she already has this feat, she may immediately retrain it for another feat she would have qualified for at the level it was taken.

At 6th level, she gains the Greater Disarm feat, following the rules above.

At 9th level, any time the hatashiai successfully disarms an opponent, they provoke an attack of opportunity from her.

Evasion (Ex)

At 5th level, the hatashia gains the Evasion ability, as the shugenja class ability of the same name. If she already has Evasion, she gains Improved Evasion instead.

Riposte (Ex)

At 5th level, when the hatashiai successfully parries an attack using her Parry ability, she may make an attack of opportunity against the foe she parried.

Flashing Steel (Ex)

At 8th level, on any round where the hatashiai makes a Perform(kata) check to demoralize, she may use the check result as her AC and flatfooted AC until the beginning of her next turn. The hatashiai must be wearing light or medium armor and not wielding a shield to benefit from this ability.