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Swordsman

This kit is adapted from the original swordsman kit by Jeremy and is posted here with his permission. I have made some revisions to balance it into my campaign if you would like to see the original I suggest you e-mail him.

Description: The swordsman is the epitome of skill with a particular weapon. Unlike a Weapons Master, they tend to devote themselves to a singular weapon. The need for this kit is one I've felt for a long time. Recently I partook in a battle between two 15th level warriors. The battle was decided almost entirely by who had more hit points. With the exception of a critical fumble, it was impossible not to score damage with every attack even though one of the combatants was in a magical suit of full plate armor and the other was invisible. Another problem I'd like to try to remedy is that of the singularity of warrior's bonuses. There is a great scene in the classic movie The Princess Bride. The Spaniard swordsman Inigo faces several armored guards. Inigo is armored only in light leather armor and yet he manages to fend off and counter attack the blades of all his opponents. In the standard rules (no parrying), no matter what level of skill a standard warrior has with his weapon, how often he is hit is dependent on what he is wearing. A grandmaster Elven blademaster in Elven chainmail with a sword in each hand is easier to hit than a first level fighter in platemail even if the first level fighter is unarmed and without a shield. The final issue this kit shall try to address is that of a warrior learning where and how to hit. As creatures get more hit points they begin to hit as magical weapons. I shall try to incorporate this without making it unbalancing. Some good examples of a swordsman from the movies are Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride, Lancelot from First Knight, Mad Martigan from Willow.

Role: The Swordsman is first and foremost a frontline warrior. However, his fighting style lends itself to open areas where movement is possible. They are not necessarily hulking brutes. They are quick thinkers and great improvisors.

Secondary Skills: Weaponsmithing.

Weapon Proficiencies: Any but the swordsman should acquire specialization in his weapon of choice as quickly as possible.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Weaponsmithing Required: none Recommended: Rogue: Tumbling Warrior: Blind-Fighting, Blacksmithing General: Dancing Wizard: Ancient History (Swordplay).

Equipment: Most swordsmen carry light weapons. That is not to say no swordsman uses a two-handed sword or a large pole-arm, but those that do are generally strong enough to manipulate the blade with their wrists as a finesse weapon as opposed to heaving it in great arcs. Swordsmen may wear any armor and use any shield allowed by their class.

Recommended Traits: Alertness, Obscure Knowledge: Fighting Styles.

Benefits: A swordsman is a student of his weapon. He chooses one weapon type and is particularly faithful to it. His fighting style is one of grace and finesse often-emphasizing accuracy and leverage over power. A swordsman is also skilled at intercepting and redirecting the blows of his opponent. While he may not be able to block them entirely he may be able to redirect them enough so as to allow his armor or shield to take the impact or be able to move enough to make it miss.

For every three levels he advances his armor class against melee weapons improves by 1 when he is using his weapon type of choice. In campaigns that use the optional parrying rules, this benefits translates into a +1 to parry/ 3 levels of experience and the ability to parry/ dodge blows from extremely strong opponents.

Note that this benefit only applies against melee combatants to the front and flank of the warrior when he is armed with his weapon of choice. At no time can the warrior's armor class be better than -10 due to the benefits of this kit.

A swordsman is also a student of his enemy. As a swordsman progresses in level, he is able to overcome the natural immunities of many creatures. In game terms, the warrior is able to harm creatures that require a magical weapon to hit at 6th level. At 10th level, he can hit creatures that require a +1 or better and at 15th level, +2 or better.

Hindrances: A swordsman is so in tune with his weapon of choice, he recieves a -1 penalty when using other weapons. This penalty is applied differently based on the rules in play. If the parrying rules are used, this manifests as a -1 to parry with other weapons. If the base rules are used, this applies to a -1 penalty to AC. Both of these penalties are the result of the swordsman attempting to apply his style to a new weapon that is not balanced the same. As with the benefits, these penalties only apply to melee combat.

Wealth: Standard for the character's class.

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Original content ©1999–2001 Brian D Swedorski. New content ©2025–2026 Jeff. User-submitted material remains the property of its respective authors.