| Maestro of the Keen Edge |
| H�rik stepped into the clearing in the forest, the sun glaring brightly off the huge curved blade on his back. A slight breeze ruffled his mud-soaked brown robe that loosely covered his wide, muscular shoulders. �You can stop following me now,� he bellowed out to the wilderness, a flock of birds suddenly rising into the sky. The warrior stared ahead, and from within the shadows of the forest�s canopy a humanoid outline appeared. �You enter my land without invitation,� the shadowy form stated unwelcomingly. It walked into the sun�s revealing light, showing the figure as an elf in foppish, dark clothing. The elf had only one ear, the other apparently having been severed off, a class elven shortbow strapped to his back, and a long staff in hand. �What is it you want, human?� he asked coldly, drawing out the last word. �Your tyranny of the forest warrants enough invitation, elf,� H�rik retorted, equally accenting his last word. �The villagers need lumber to rebuild after the fire� the fire you started. Now you claim this forest and disallow people from using god-given resources?� The warrior�s glare was ice, �You disgust me.� A quick click was the only warning H�rik had as the elf instantly darted forward and pulled out a long sword hidden in the staff as a sheath. The sword whipped forward in a wide arc but H�rik jumped back, missing the blade by an inch. The elf adjusted his grip and brought his blade back in a sweeping uppercut, then instantly jumped backward, all in one fluid motion. H�rik stood motionless as the threads of his brown robes split where the elf�s blade had grazed them. �You once had a good teacher, but you�re mostly self-taught. You don�t extend far enough and your blade hasn�t been sharpened over many battles.� The robes split, and fell to the ground in a brown pile, revealing the blue tunic and black breeches underneath. Across his chest were two rows of daggers in an x-shape and on his thighs two longknives lay sheathed. Adding this to the man-sized sword on his back made him appear quite well armed. Teeth grinding, the elf raised his sword into the air and hissed, �Now!� The thud of bow strings being released hit H�rik�s ears, and he reflexively stepped to the side, a much larger step to the side then one would imagine he could make in one step. Six arrows landed all very close to each other very close to wear H�rik was just standing. In a flash, H�rik spun around and launched several daggers, hissing as they sailed through the air and each one finding its mark. A couple seconds later let the warrior and the elf know that the archers hiding in the canopy of the forest were dead as the corpses fell from the trees and hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Back still turned to the elf, H�rik said, �Do you know what elves� greatest fault is? They always hit their mark, so if they find an opponent who can move faster than the arrow, the opponent can always dodge.� The elf jumped forward with the sword, but H�rik was faster. The warrior grabbed the handle of his greatsword and spun around, parrying the elf�s blade and slicing right through it. The tip of the elf�s sword spun away, but that didn�t stop the elven tyrant as he flashed the blade forward trying to slice into the warrior. H�rik had expected this, and he had also expected the elf to overcompensate on his reach. The elf lunged forward with the blade too far, and H�rik stepped to the side again, narrowly missing the edge of the thin blade and unsheathed one of the longknives on his side. He didn�t attack with it, however, but rather simply unsheathed it at mind-boggling speed. Suddenly, a sonic boom hit the air and the ground rumbled, sending the elf off balance and the elf�s sword flying away as he let it go. The elf fell to the ground hard, and tried to roll over but H�rik was on top of him. The large warrior pressed his boot hard into the elf�s chest, and looked down on him, �I�m going to let you live on the basis that I do not like to kill a man who is unarmed and on the ground. However�� H�rik raised the huge blade and swept it downwards, severing the elf�s right arm off from the elbow. �You will never again use a sword as well or a bow at all. I expect you will leave this forest now.� Hurik pulled a small roll of bandages and dropped it on top of the cringing elf, and slowly walked back into the forest. Maestros of the Keen Edge come in all shapes and sizes, all with different styles. Some use a two-weapon style, while others fight with one hand and one hand free, and others fight with two-handed weapons. All, however, are masters of the cutting blade, great warriors with the sword. They learn many different ways of using the blade, as well as some other skills that will help them in the usage of the sword. The Maestro prestige class can appeal to any combat-oriented person, but rarely appeals to any spellcasting class. Hit Dice: D10 Prerequisites Base Attack Bonus: +9 Feats: Quick Draw, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (any sword) Weapon Proficiency: Proficiency with all simple and martial weapons. Class Skills The class skills for the Maestro of the Keen Edge (and their key ability for each) are Balace (dex), Climb (str), Concentration (con), Craft (int), Jump (str), Knowledge (Tactics) (int), Ride (dex), Swim (str), and Tumble (dex) Skill points at each level: 2 + Int modifier Progression LVL BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Sword Knowledge 2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Counterstrike, Cleave 3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Swordsman Knowledge 4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Keen Slice, Burning Blade 5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Greater Sword Knowledge 6 +6 +5 +2 +2 Tornado of Blades, Falling Strike 7 +7 +5 +2 +2 Great Sidestep, Instant Draw 8 +8 +6 +2 +2 Through Thin Air 9 +9 +6 +3 +3 Sonic Speed 10 +10 +7 +3 +3 Splitting the Earth Class Features Weapons & Armor Proficiency: The Maestro of the Keen Edge gains weapon proficiencies with the bastard sword and the two-bladed sword. Sword Knowledge (ex): A Maestro of the Keen Edge instantly knows the type of any sword he sees, as well as any non-magical qualities of the sword (with the magic quality keen as an exception). The maestro instantly knows how damaging the weapon is, how heavy it is, what type of material it is made out of, and of what quality it is (rusting, average, masterwork, etc). If the sword is of a rare material or odd type, the DM may rule that the Maestro needs to take a check (DC up to the DM's degretion) with a bonus equal to the Maestro's intelligence plus their class level. Counterstrike (ex): A Maestro of the Keen Edge of second level gains the counterstrike ability. By readying an action, a maestro may use the counterstrike ability as a standard action when using a sword. Counterstrike allows the Maestro to parry and then riposte the first successful melee attack made against him. The Maestro readies the attack action against a foe, and when that foe attacks successfully the Maestro may parry by making an attack roll against the opponent�s original successful attack roll. If the Maestro�s attack roll is higher, the Maestro parries the enemy�s attack, negating all damage and is then able to riposte by making another attack roll at a -2 penalty. The action is readied against a single foe, but it may be used against any other foe at a -2 penalty to the parry and riposte rolls. This ability may be used once per day per Maestro of the Keen Edge level. Cleave: The Maestro of the Keen Edge gains the feat Cleave as a bonus feat. If the Maestro already has the feat Cleave, the Maestro gains Great Cleave as a bonus feat instead. Swordsman Knowledge (ex): By examining another swordsman (this being defined as anybody wielding a sword in battle) for one round, the Maestro is able to gain knowledge about their fighting style. By making a wisdom check (DC 15), the Maestro gains a +1 insight bonus on all attack rolls made against this foe for that day. Keen Slice (ex): The Maestro of the Keen Edge of at least fourth level gains Keen Slice as an extraordinary ability. All swords wielded by the Maestro increase their critical threat range by one. For instance, a longsword with a critical of 19-20/x2 becomes 18-20/x2 in the Maestro�s hand. This ability stacks with the bonuses of using a keen weapon, having the Improved Critical feat, or any other critical-effecting ability. Burning Blade (su): By spinning the blade at a high velocity, the Maestro is able to create enough air friction to light the blade of any sword wielded on fire. This requires one move-equivalent action to activate, and the sword stays aflame for one round after being lit, or until the next attack. The next attack made with the burning sword hits deals an additional 1d6 fire damage. Greater Sword Knowledge (ex): The Maestro now has the ability to see all magical qualities of a sword, such as the magical enhancement bonus of a sword, whether or not the sword is intelligent, and any magical abilities the sword has (such as being vorpal or being a frost weapon). As with Sword Knowledge, a DM may require a check for rare magical enhancements. Tornado of Blades (ex): A Maestro of the Keen Edge of sixth level becomes better when fighting with two swords simultaneously. When fighting two-weapon style with two swords, the Maestro reduces the penalty for fighting with two-weapons by one. Falling Strike (ex): When wielding a sword two-handed, a Maestro may add his strength modifier x2 rather than the normal x1.5 to all damage done by the sword. Great Sidestep (ex): A Maestro of the Keen Edge gains the incredible ability to take large steps as easily as normal ones. The Maestro�s five foot step now doubles to become a ten foot step, usable just as easily as a five foot step. Instant Draw (ex): The Maestro of the Keen Edge gains the ability to draw a weapon at speeds that astounds those even with the Quick Draw feat. The Maestro is able to draw and sheath a weapon as many times as he wishes within a single round, and even when it is not his turn. This allows the Maestro to switch between weapons while making a full-attack action. Through Thin Air (ex): The Maestro of the Keen Edge has increased the speed of his sword so much that any blade that he uses gains an additional 1d6 slashing damage. This extra damage is applied after critical modifier. Sonic Speed (su): The Maestro may move a blade at such an incredible speed as that it makes a small sonic boom when it moves. As a standard action, usable once per day per three Maestro of the Keen Edge levels, the Maestro may use Sonic Speed. An attack made while using the ability goes at such an unstable speed that it is made at a -10 to attack, but deals an additional 5d6 if successful. In addition, all people within 10 feet of the Maestro must make a reflex save (DC = 10 + the Maestro of the Keen Edge�s class level) or fall prone. Splitting the Earth (su): At tenth level, the Maestro of the Keen Edge gains the ability to split the ground with his powerful blade, sending a tremor forward. Twice per day, the Maestro may make an attack that splits the ground in front of him, opening it up and sending a powerful surge of energy up to fifty feet forward. Anybody within the path of the surge of energy must make a reflex save (DC 20) or 5d6 slashing damage and 5d6 piercing damage from the exploding ground. This ability does not work exactly the same above ground or underwater, but rather only deals the 5d6 slashing damage and not the 5d6 piercing damage. |
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