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Martial Archetypes |
A human in stolen sec-force armor holds her shield before her as she charges the corpo bastards that showed up to bust the protest. An elf in fetish leather behind her peppers the massed security forces with bullets from a rifle painted hot pink. The artificiate nearby runs calculations on the best use of their allies' force, feeding trajectories and tactical advice to them through their earpieces.
A jerboan in riot armor interposes his shield between a titan's massive steel girder club and his companions, deflecting the deadly blow. His companion, a wukong armed with twin machetes, launches from the ground, scampering across the massive foe to seek a weak spot in its defenses.
A nayaling smiles at the hovering camera drone, waving to their adoring fans before spitting out a mouthful of blood. They circle for advantage, trying to get on the knife-wielding hobo's blind side. The hobo offers no such niceties, though, screaming in meth-induced rage before charging.
All of these characters are ronin, warriors who rely on their skill, strategic ability, and tactical acumen to overcome challenges. Though they are all very different, they all share an unparalleled mastery of weapons and armor, and a thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. Ronin are well acquainted with death, both meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.
Battle-Hardened Specialists
Ronin learn the basics of all combat styles. Every ronin can pick up a sword, shoot a gun, and wear the heaviest of armor with competence. Beyond that basic degree of familiarity, each ronin specializes in a certain style of combat. Some harry foes from afar with guns, some focus on fighting with two weapons at once, some augment their martial skill with tech, and some just beat people's faces in with the biggest club they can find. This combination of broad general ability and extensive specialization makes ronin superior combatants regardless of where they might find themselves fighting.
Trained for Danger
Any idiot can pick up a gun and make it go bang, but hardly any of them are ronin. The vast majority of corporate security forces, gangbangers, and wasteland warriors are relatively untrained combatants with only the most basic sort of battle skills. Corporate security officers, highly-trained bodyguards, and similar individuals are more likely to be ronin.
Some ronin wind up on the outs with the former employers, becoming freelancer warriors for hire. Dangerous jobs like exploring old ruins, clearing out mutant infestations, and bounty hunting are second nature for a ronin, not all that different from the life they left behind. The freedom to choose how they risk their lives is often worth it to ronin who abandoned the stifling strictures of the corporate hierarchy.
Proficiency
Level Bonus Features
1 +2 Fighting Style, Second Wind
2 +2 Action Surge (one use)
3 +2 Martial Archetype
4 +2 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
5 +3 Extra Attack
6 +3 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
7 +3 Martial Archetype feature
8 +3 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
9 +4 Indomitable (one use)
10 +4 Martial Archetype feature
11 +4 Extra Attack (2)
12 +4 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
13 +5 Indomitable (two uses)
14 +5 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
15 +5 Martial Archetype feature
16 +5 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
17 +6 Action Surge (two uses), Indomitable (three uses)
18 +6 Martial Archetype feature
19 +6 Ability Score Improvement, Martial Versatility
20 +6 Extra Attack (3)
As a ronin, you gain the following class features.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per ronin level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per ronin level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Civilian weapons, military weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two skills from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) ceramiron armor or (b) nanofilm armor, combat rifle, and 20 bullets
- (a) a military weapon and a shield or (b) two military weapons
- (a) a heavy pistol and 20 bullets or (b) two light pistols and 20 bullets
- (a) a delver's pack or (b) a hobo's pack
Fighting Style
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can't take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
- Blind Fighting. You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within this range, you can effectively see anything that isn't behind total cover, even if you're blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.
- Defense. While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
- Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.
- Great Weapon Fighting. When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
- Gun Fu. When making a ranged attack with a one-handed weapon while you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature, you do not have disadvantage on the attack roll. Your ranged attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover against targets within 30 feet of you. You have a +1 bonus to attack rolls on ranged attacks.
- Interception. When a creature you can see hits a target, other than you, within 5 feet of you with an attack, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a civilian or military weapon to use this reaction.
- Protection. When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield.
- Pugilism. Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on a hit. If you aren't wielding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 increases to d8.
- Rifleman. You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with two-handed ranged weapons.
- Tactical Technique. You learn one maneuver of your choice from among those available to the Tactician archetype. If a maneuver you use requires your target to make a saving throw to resist the maneuver's effects, the saving throw DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice). You gain one superiority die, which is a d6 (this die is added to any superiority dice you have from another source). This die is used to fuel your maneuvers. A superiority die is expended when you use it. You regain your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest.
- Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon. In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.
- Two-Weapon Fighting. When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Second Wind
You have a limited well of stamina that you can draw on to protect yourself from harm. On your turn, you can use a bonus action to regain hit points equal to 1d10 + your ronin level. Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
Action Surge
Starting at 2nd level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.
Martial Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate in your combat styles and techniques. Choose one of the Martial Archetypes detailed at the end of this class. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 6th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
You can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.
Martial Versatility
Whenever you reach a level in this class that grants the Ability Score Improvement feature (as detailed above), you can do one of the following, as you shift the focus of your martial practice:
- Replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to ronin.
- If you know any maneuvers from the Tactician archetype, you can replace one maneuver you know with a different maneuver.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
The number of attacks increases to three when you reach 11th level in this class and to four when you reach 20th level in this class.
Indomitable
Beginning at 9th level, you can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
You can use this feature twice between long rests starting at 13th level and three times between long rests starting at 17th level.
Different ronin choose different approaches to perfecting their fighting prowess. The Martial Archetype a character chooses to emulate reflects their approach.
Martial Archetypes
- Hardlight Warrior [Echo Knight]
- Special Operative [Psi Warrior]
- Tactical Sniper [Arcane Archer]
- Techno-Blade [Eldritch Knight]