Forgotten Fable RPG™: Sakura, Armsman NPC

by Tim Wallace and Adam Frank

This week’s post is an NPC built using the armsman class and the karajin race. She is presented at two different challenge ratings, CR 3 & CR 8. I was originally going to include a CR 13 version as well, but I ran out of time building her stat block (and I might add it later). I hope you enjoy. --Tim

Sakura, Knight in Training

As a child, the karajin Sakura, joined the Knights of Tempest, an order of soldiers dedicated to the protection and expansion of Tempest, her home kingdom. She was a prodigy, quickly rising through the ranks. About a year before her graduation to full Tempest Knight a warlord attacked her city while many of the Knights were away fighting another neighboring threat. Sakura stepped forward and led the charge of the young knights against the invading forces. Sakura drove back the attacking forces and bested the Warlord in combat.

SAKURA      CR 3

XP 800

Karajin armsman 4

Medium humanoid (human)

Init +2; Senses Perception +7

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DEFENSE

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AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor)

hp 38 (4d10+12)

Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +3

Defensive Abilities agility +1, elysian bronze

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OFFENSE

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Speed 30 ft.

Melee fire-forged steel warhammer +9 (1d8+6/×3+4 precision) or

   cold iron light hammer +7 (1d4+3+4 precision) or

   silver light hammer +7 (1d4+2+4 precision)

Ranged cold iron light hammer +4 (1d4+3) or

   silver light hammer +4 (1d4+3)

Special Attacks deeds (armsman initiative, derring-do, dodging panache, kip-up, menacing swordplay, opportune parry and riposte, precise strike), fire-forged steel, martial flexibility 5/day, panache (2)

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STATISTICS

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Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 13

Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 18

Feats Disarming Threat Deed, Weapon Focus (warhammer), Weapon Specialization (warhammer)

Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +7, Craft (armor) +4, Craft (weapons) +4, Influence +6, Perception +7, Stealth +4, Survival +3

Languages Common

Combat Gear oil of magic weapon, potion of cure moderate wounds, acid neutralizer, alchemist's fire, alkali flask, liquid ice, tanglefoot bag; Other Gear mwk elysian bronze chain shirt, cold iron light hammer, fire-forged steel warhammer, silver light hammer, backpack, waterskin, 21 gp, 7 sp, 1 cp

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Agility +1 Sakura gains a +1 bonus on saving throws made against effects that cause her to become paralyzed, slowed, or entangled.

Armsman Initiative As long as Sakura has 1 panache, she gains +2 initiative (included above).

Derring-Do Sakura can spend 1 panache point after rolling an Acrobatics or Athletics  check to add 1d6 to her result. On a 6, she roll another d6 and add that result too. This process continues as long as she rolls 6 up to a total 4d6.

Dodging Panache When an opponent attempts a melee attack against Sakura, she can spend an immediate action and 1 panache to move 5 feet, gaining a +2 dodge bonus against that attack (though not negating it). All other enemies who threaten her can make attacks of opportunity.

Kip Up As long as Sakura has at least 1 panache, she doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity when she stands up, and she can spend 1 panache to stand as a swift action instead of a move action.

Disarming Threat Deed When Sakura succeeds at an Influence check to force an opponent to act friendly toward her, she can spend 1 panache point to cause the target to regard her with indifference when the duration of the effect expires. A target influenced in this manner is unlikely to report her to authorities.

Elysian Bronze (DR 1/—) Armor made of Elysian bronze also protects its wearer against the natural weapons or unarmed strikes of magical beasts and monstrous humanoids, providing damage reduction as if it were adamantine (1/— for light armor, 2/— for medium armor, or 3/— for heavy armor). It does not provide this protection against creatures of other types.

Fire-Forged Steel If a weapon crafted from fire-forged steel is exposed to 10 points or more of fire damage (such as from an opponent's fireball or by holding it in a campfire for 1 full round), the weapon adds +1d4 points of fire damage to its attacks for the next 2 rounds.

Martial Flexibility Sakura can spend a move action to gain any combat feat she doesn’t possess for 1 minute, as long as she meets the prerequisites. If she uses the ability again before that time, she loses all the feats from the previous use. If the feat has a daily limit and she picks it more than once, it doesn’t reset the limit. Power Attack is a pretty good choice if you’re fighting something you’d rather punch than grapple.

Menacing Swordplay As long as Sakura has at least 1 panache, she can spend a swift action when she hits with a melee weapon to attempt an Influence check to demoralize her opponent.

Opportune Parry and Riposte When an enemy attempts a melee attack against Sakura (but before it rolls its attack roll), Sakura can spend an attack of opportunity and 1 panache to make an attack roll as if she was making an attack of opportunity with a –2 penalty for every size larger than Sakura the enemy is. If Sakura’s result is higher than the enemy’s, the attack misses, and Sakura can then spend an immediate action to make a counterattack against that enemy, as long as she can reach it.

Panache Sakura starts each day with 2 panache, and her total panache can never be higher than 2. She gains a point of panache whenever she confirms a critical hit or reduces a creature to 0 or fewer hit points with her warhammer or light hammer (or other melee weapon she finds), but she doesn’t gain a panache if the creature is lower than 2 Hit Dice or is helpless or unaware.

Precise Strike As long as she has at least 1 panache point, Sakura adds 4 precision damage to all her attacks with her melee weapons (if she throws her light hammer, she only deals this damage within 30 feet). Precision damage isn’t multiplied on a critical hit and can be prevented by anything that stops critical hits or sneak attacks. She can spend 1 panache as a swift action to double this precision damage to 8 for her next successful attack before the end of her turn.

Sakura, Captain of Tempest

After several successful campaigns Sakura continued her seemingly effortless climb up the ranks in the Tempest military. She had become a master tactician on both the aggressive front and while defending her own city walls. Her soldiers looked up to her, her superiors were confident they could put her on any battlefield with success. Her presence alone was enough to inspire others to incredible feats. She became a legend within her own time. When Sakura reached her 27th birthday she retired from the military. Some thought she would lead a quieter life, perhaps to start a family. On the contrary, Sakura started adventuring. She was looking, so she said, for a final solution to the war her home had known all her life.

SAKURA      CR 8

XP 4,800

Karajin armsman 9

Medium humanoid (human)

Init +2; Senses Perception +7

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DEFENSE

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AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+8 armor)

hp 81 (9d10+27)

Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +5

Defensive Abilities agility +2, elysian bronze

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OFFENSE

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Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)

Melee +1 fire-forged steel warhammer +16/+11 (1d8+9/×3+9 precision) or

   cold iron light hammer +14/+9 (1d4+5+9 precision) or

   silver light hammer +14/+9 (1d4+5+9 precision)

Ranged cold iron light hammer +11 (1d4+5) or

   silver light hammer +11 (1d4+5)

Special Attacks deeds (armsman initiative, armsman's grace, derring-do, kip-up, menacing swordplay, opportune parry and riposte, precise strike, superior feint, targeted strike), fire-forged steel, martial flexibility (swift action) 7/day, panache (4), weapon training (hammers) +2

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STATISTICS

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Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 13

Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 22

Feats Combat Expertise, Disarming Threat Deed, Extra Panache, Field Repair, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (warhammer), Weapon Specialization (warhammer)

Skills Acrobatics +8, Athletics +8, Craft (armor) +11, Craft (weapons) +11, Influence +6, Perception +7, Stealth +5, Survival +6

Languages Common

Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds (2), acid neutralizer, alchemist's fire, alkali flask, liquid ice, tanglefoot bag; Other Gear +2 elysian bronze lamellar (steel) armor, +1 fire-forged steel warhammer, cold iron light hammer, silver light hammer, backpack, waterskin, 371 gp, 7 sp, 1 cp

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SPECIAL ABILITIES

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Agility +2 See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Armsman Initiative See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Armsman's Grace While Sakura has at least 1 panache point, she takes no penalty for moving at full speed when she uses Acrobatics to attempt to move through a threatened area or an enemy's space.

Combat Expertise (+3/–3) Sakura can choose to take a –3 penalty on melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +4 dodge bonus to your Armor Class.

Dodging Panache See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Derring-Do See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Disarming Threat See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Elysian Bronze (DR 2/—) See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Field Repair Sakura takes no penalty for repairs made with improvised materials

Fire-Forged Steel See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Martial Flexibility Sakura can spend a move action to gain any two combat feats she doesn’t possess, as long as she meets the prerequisites, or she can spend a swift action to gain any one combat feat. She keeps the feat for 1 minute. If she uses the ability again before that time, she loses all the feats from the previous use. If the feat has a daily limit and she picks it more than once, it doesn’t reset the limit. Power Attack would be a pretty good choice for a swift action if you are fighting something you’d rather punch than grapple. For a move action, you could consider grabbing two feats in a chain like Combat Expertise and either Improved Dirty Trick or Improved Trip.

Menacing Swordplay See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Opportune Parry and Riposte See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Panache See: Sakura, Knight in Training.

Precise Strike As long as she has at least 1 panache point, Sakura adds 9 precision damage to all her attacks with her melee weapons (if she throws her light hammer, she only deals this damage within 30 feet). Precision damage isn’t multiplied on a critical hit and can be prevented by anything that stops critical hits or sneak attacks. She can spend 1 panache as a swift action to double this precision damage to 18 for her next successful attack before the end of her turn.

Superior Feint While Sakura has at least 1 panache point, she can, as a standard action, purposefully miss a creature she could make a melee attack against with a wielded melee weapon. When she does, the creature is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC until the start of her next turn.

Targeted Strike As a full-round action Sakura can spend 1 panache point to make an attack with a single melee weapon that cripples part of a foe's body. She chooses a part of the body to target. If the attack succeeds, in addition to the attack's normal damage, the target suffers one of the following effects based on the part of the body targeted. If a creature doesn't have one of the listed body locations, that body part cannot be targeted. Creatures that are immune to precision damage are also immune to targeted strikes. Items or abilities that protect a creature from critical hits also protect a creature from targeted strikes.

·       Arms: The target takes no damage from the attack, but it drops one carried item of Sakura's choice, even if the item is wielded with two hands. Items held in a locked gauntlet cannot be chosen.

·       Head: The target is confused for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect.

·       Legs: The target is knocked prone. Creatures with four or more legs or that are immune to trip attacks are immune to this effect.

·       Torso or Wings: The target is staggered for 1 round.

Vital Strike When Sakura uses the attack action, she can make one attack at her highest base attack bonus and roll the weapon's damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision based damage, and other damage bonuses. These extra weapon damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total.