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Kensai
Ability Requirements: Strength 9
Dexterity 15
Wisdom 12
Prime Requisites: Dexterity,
Wisdom
Races allowed: Human
The Kensai (literally, "sword saint", but in game terms, a true
specialist in a specific melee weapon) is a Warrior subclass. Many
Chinese and Japanese heroes who excelled in one weapon could be
considered to have been Kensai.
Only a human may become a kensai. He must have minimum ability scores
of Strength 9, Dexterity 15, and Wisdom 12. Dexterity and Wisdom are
the prime requisites of the kensai. A Kensai must always be lawful,
but may be good, neutral, or evil. The fierce dedication to his weapon
demands self discipline, which extends to his outlook on life.
A kensai who has Dexterity and Wisdom scores of 16 or more gains a 10
percent bonus to the experience points he earns. The kensai uses the
experience table for rangers/paladins.
A kensai is allowed to use any weapon. However, he chooses one specific
kind (longsword, katana, staff, or whatever) to be his Specialty weapon.
As he gains levels, he gains special abilities only applicable to his
specialty weapon.
The kensai has the following special restrictions:
1. He may not wear armor, or use any magical item that increases his
armor class, as this is contrary to becoming "one" with his weapon.
2. He does not gain 'to hit' or damage bonuses due to high strength
when using his specialty weapon, due to the extremely high degree
of control he must keep over his weapon.
3. He may never use a magical specimen of his specialty weapon.
Again, this would not be a true measure of his skill with the
weapon.
4. Full experience points are earned only when he fights with his
specialty weapon. If he uses another weapon any time during melee
with an opponent, he gains only half experience for that battle.
5. He must train and practice with his specialty weapon at least two
hours per day. Any missed practice must be made up before
advancing to the next level, at the rate of one extra two-hour
session per day of missed practice. Only one day can be made up
per day of extra (4+ hour) training.
6. As a point of honor, the kensai must accept any fair challenge to a
duel with an honorable foe. This need not be a duel to the death.
First blood, or even first draw, is possible.
The kensai also has the following special abilities:
1. Due to the intense mental discipline he imposes on himself, the
kensai makes saving throws versus mental attacks at an additional
+2 on the die roll. If the attack does not normally allow a saving
throw, he has a straight 10% chance of avoiding all effects of
the mental attack. A kensai is immune to all forms of fear.
2. The kensai receives proficiency and fast-draw (Iaijutsu) for his
specialty weapon without having to spend proficiency slots.
Blind-fighting only costs him one proficiency slot.
3. A kensai may choose to Style Specialize in any of the following
styles: Single Weapon, Two Weapon, or Two-Hander. However, he
may not make use of "Weapon Specialization".
4. By training his reflexes to superhuman levels, a kensai increases
his Armor Class by 1 for each experience level he has, up to tenth
level. The kensai also has improved initiative and number of
attacks, as shown in the table below. The initiative bonus is also
used as an additional bonus to saving throws based on dexterity,
and in surprise situations, above and beyond Dexterity effects.
Level Init. Bonus Attacks/Round w/Specialty Weapon
----- ----------- ------------- ------------------
1-4 -1 to roll 1/round 3/2 rounds
5-8 -2 to roll 3/2 rounds 2/round
9-12 -3 to roll 2/round 5/2 rounds
13+ -4 to roll 5/2 rounds 3/round
5. Possibly the most important ability the kensai earns is the ability
to do extra damage and actually affect creatures normally requiring
magical weapons to hit.
At third level, the kensai's specialty weapon has a +1 to hit and
damage, and is treated as a +1 magical weapon. For every three
additional levels, these bonuses are increased by one, to a maximum
of +6 at 18th level.
When a kensai has the option of attacking more than once in a
round, he has the option to sacrifice one or more of his attacks to
increase the effectiveness of another.
By sacrificing one attack, the kensai can increase the
effectiveness of a remaining attack in one of the following ways:
(a) Adding three effective levels to his attack. This improves his
THAC0 by three, and usually increases the "magical" value of
the attack. If the kensai has enough attacks to sacrifice,
this may be taken twice.
(b) Letting the attack do maximum damage if it hits.
By sacrificing two attacks, the kensai can also increase the
effectiveness of a remaining attack in one of the following ways:
(a) He may launch a "whirlwind" attack, attacking all opponents
within a 10 foot radius once in the same round.
(b) He may make a special attack with his weapon that duplicates
the effects of a "Sharpness" weapon. On a natural '18-20',
he can sever or permanently disable the limb of a normal/
armored foe. On a natural '19-20', he can sever (et al)
the limb of a foe of size L or greater. And on a natural
'20', he can cut through / shatter / perforate solid metal
or stone.
6. At the DM's option, a kensai's specialty weapon may be able to
do more damage than it normally would. A wooden sword may do
as much damage as a steel one, or "martial arts weapons" like
bamboo pipes or silk fans might do nontrivial damage. Low-
damage weapons may have other advantages (the aforementioned
silk fan might be able to block attacks, for instance). It
all depends on how whimsical the DM is.
Example: A 9th level Kensai (longsword, 1-8/1-12) is attacked by
ten orcs, led by an ogre. The ogre challenges the kensai to a
duel. The kensai warns the ogre of his skill, but finally
agrees to the duel. With his two-hander style specialization
and weapon bonus, his longsword has a speed factor of 0 (-1,
but can't be less than zero). He rolls a six, adjusted by -3
for his level. The ogre rolls a one, adjusted by +3 for his
size. The kensai goes first.
Wishing to get the combat over as quickly as possible, the
kensai decides to do maximum damage with his first round's two
attacks, sacrificing one. He rolls a hit, and does 16 hp of
damage. The ogre, badly hurt, uses his action to retreat and
orders the orcs to surround the kensai! Not an honorable
move.
The kensai, nonplussed, again gains initiative. The ten orcs
are all within ten feet of him, and he has three attacks coming
to him this round, so he sacrifices two, and does a "whirlwind"
attack. Needing a '3' to hit the AC 6 orcs, he hits nine of
the ten, killing eight and injuring the ninth.
The ogre and remaining two orcs take off running...