A warrior of the sword. A swordsman focuses on unleashing the true potential in his swordplays and using his warrior spirit to fuel his skills and perfecting the style. Instead of learning to lead others, he instead focuses purely on his skill with swords.
The swordsman is an archetype of the sword saint class.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The swordsman mainly focuses on STR for martial combat and CHA for their class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Limit Break (Perfect Parry), Swordplay, Defensive Focus. 3rd – Warleader. 7th – Armor Training. 9th – First Blood. 19th – Deathless Defenses. 20th – Last Blood.
Limit Break (Su)
At 1st level, a swordsman receives the Limit Break (Swordplay: Balance Asunder).
Swordplay: Balance Asunder (Su): This Limit Break allows the swordsman to use two swordskills at the same time. (Any additional effects from Pressure Release only apply to one swordskill.) He can use these even if he has already used them for the encounter nor do they count against his use for the encounter. He can choose the same swordskill to use twice or use different combinations of swordskills.
This ability replaces the Limit Break (Perfect Parry).
Swordplay (Su)
This ability functions the same as normal, except a swordsman gains less swordskills (see below), and may use any swordskill he knows without needing to ready them. Each swordskill can still only be used once per encounter but can be regained through the swordsman’s Sword Pressure ability.
| Level | Swordskills Known |
|---|---|
| 1st | 1 |
| 2nd | 2 |
| 3rd | 2 |
| 4th | 2 |
| 5th | 3 |
| 6th | 3 |
| 7th | 3 |
| 8th | 4 |
| 9th | 4 |
| 10th | 4 |
| 11th | 5 |
| 12th | 5 |
| 13th | 5 |
| 14th | 6 |
| 15th | 6 |
| 16th | 6 |
| 17th | 7 |
| 18th | 7 |
| 19th | 7 |
| 20th | 8 |
This ability modifies swordplay.
Sword Pressure (Su)
At 1st level, the swordsman gains a reservoir of energy that he can draw upon to fuel his swordplay and enhance his weapon. This pool has a number of points equal to half his sword saint level (minimum 1) + his Charisma modifier. The pool refreshes once per day when the swordsman rests for a full 8 hours.
At 1st level, a swordsman can expend 1 point from his sword pressure as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 3rd, the weapon gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 19th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon enhancement to a maximum of +5. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves.
At 5th level, these bonuses can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: brilliant energy, dancing, earthen, earthen burst, flaming, flaming burst, frost, icy burst, jetstream, jetstream burst, keen, roaring, roaring burst, shining, shining burst, shock, shocking burst, speed, or vorpal.
Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property’s base price modifier. These properties are added to any the weapon already has, but duplicates do not stack. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided when the sword pressure point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the swordsman uses this ability. These bonuses do not function if the weapon is wielded by anyone other than the swordsman.
A swordsman can only enhance one weapon in this way at one time. If he uses this ability again, the first use immediately ends.
While his sword is enhanced with his sword pressure, as a swift action, he can spend 1 point of his sword pressure to regain a swordskill he has already used for the encounter,
This ability replaces defensive focus.
Sword Focus (Ex)
At 3rd level, a swordsman gains Martial Focus as a bonus feat even if he doesn’t meet the prerequisites. The weapon group chosen must be heavy blades or light blades. At 5th level and every four sword saint levels thereafter, he gains a Weapon Mastery feat as a bonus feat for the selected weapon group. He still must meet the prerequisites of any bonus feat.
- Blades, Heavy: ankus, chakram, double chicken saber, double cutlass, double walking stick katana, dueling sword, elven curve blade, estoc, falcata, falchion, flambard, greatsword, great terbutje, greatsword, katana, khopesh, klar, knight sword, longsword, nine-ring broadsword, nodachi, rhoka sword, sawtooth sabre, scimitar, scythe, seven-branched sword, shotel, sickle-sword, switchscythe, temple sword, terbutje, and two-bladed sword.
- Blades, Light: bayonet, butterfly knife, butterfly sword, chakram, dagger, deer horn knife, dogslicer, dueling dagger, gladius, hunga munga, kama, katar, kerambit, kukri, machete, madu, manople, pata, quadrens, rapier, sanpkhang, sawtooth sabre, scizore, shortsword, sica, sickle, spiral rapier, starknife, swordbreaker dagger, sword cane, wakizashi, and war razor.
This ability replaces warleader.
Pressure Release (Su)
At 7th level, the swordsman can unleash built up energy in his sword to enhance his swordskills. When he uses a swordskill, as a free action, he can lower the rounds of the enhancement applied from his Sword Pressure ability for an added effect, enhancing his swordskill. Any effect can only be applied once, but multiple effects can be applied as long as the sword has the rounds left. This can only be done once per enhancement. This ability can only be used once per activation of sword pressure.
- Increase range by 10 feet for 3 rounds of enhancement.
- Increase radius, burst or cone by 10 feet for 3 rounds of enhancement.
- Increase swordskill damage by one die for 6 rounds of enhancement.
- Increase DC of swordskill by 1 for 6 rounds on enhancement.
This ability replaces armor training and deathless defenses.
Improved Pressure Release (Su)
At 9th level, the swordsman can release the energy of his sword to blow through defenses. He can spend 4 rounds of the enhancement of an active sword pressure to have his swordskill bypass 5 points of damage reduction or elemental resistance.
This ability replaces first blood.
Arm of the Thunder God (Su)
At 20th level, the swordsman’s prowess is unmatched by any but the thunder god himself. The DC of his swordskills is increased by 2, and the cost of rounds from his pressure release and improved pressure release abilities is now halved.
This ability replaces last blood.
