Borrowed from Cyber-Dave with no permission. Thanks for such an amazing Class, BTW.
Rant: This class is supposed to represent the 'Standard Post-Modern (Gun Kata) Gunslinger' Class. Most 'modern' gunslingers (like 'Hard Boiled''s Tequila) are represented (quite well) by the core Gunslinger class (and a level of Duelist if required), while Cowpoke and Gunslinger can represent a 'John Wayne' kind of Gunslinger.
THE MARTIAL DUELIST
Two sides of a particular coin: the Smiling Soldier and the cold Cleric.
For thousands of years, humans have created martial forms of movement, or katas, designed to maximize their combative potential. These martial arts have traditionally enhanced their practitioner’s hand-to-hand or thrown weapon combat ability.
A thing that Fiction writers devised, with the evolution of technology, was an evolution of techniques. Although many people (so-called 'scholars') took a look at this invented art and scoffed at it, now they are mostly dead or humbled... mostly at the hands of such an art.
Many factions of Coreline use in some way 'Gun Katas', from the powerful Grammaton Clerigy to the most humble of traveling gunslingers. Not every gunslinger can call himself a Martial Duelist, and every Martial Duelist considers himself a martial artist first. As well, not all Martial Duelists shoot to kill, but the most well-known of them at least maim thru trick-shots.
Where the Martial Artist continues to focus on hands and melee or thrown weaponry, the Martial Duelist fuses traditional defensive martial arts with combative motions designed to increase his lethality with a firearm.
The fastest path into this Advanced Class is through a mix of the Fast and Dedicated hero base classes.
[sblock=Martial Duelist]
Requirements
To qualify to become a Martial Duelist, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +2.
Skills: Knowledge (Philosophy and Theology) 6 ranks, Tumble 6 ranks.
Feats: Combat Martial Arts, Defensive Martial Arts, Personal Firearms Proficiency.
Class Information
Hit Die: 1d8
Action Points: 6 + one-half character level, rounded down, every time the martial artist attains a new level in this class.
Class Skills
The Martial Duelist’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (current events, popular culture, theology and philosophy) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (dance) (Cha), Profession (Wis), Read/Write Language (none), Speak Language (none), Spot (Wis), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 3 + Int modifier.
Table: The Martial Duelist
Code:
[b]Class Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special Defense Bonus Reputation Bonus[/b]
1st +1 +0 +1 +1 Hands of a master +1 +0
2nd +2 +0 +2 +2 Moving Target +2 +0
3rd +3 +1 +2 +2 Bonus Feat +2 +0
4th +4 +1 +2 +2 Guns akimbo +3 +0
5th +5 +1 +3 +3 Close combat shot +4 +1
6th +6 +2 +3 +3 Bonus Feat +4 +1
7th +7 +2 +4 +4 Lightning shot +5 +1
8th +8 +2 +4 +4 Master of the gun katas +6 +1
9th +9 +3 +4 +4 Bonus Feat +6 +2
10th +10 +3 +5 +5 Gun-fu +7 +2
Class Features
The following features pertain to the Martial Duelist advanced class.
Hands of a Master
Your mastery of the gun as a weapon transcends the limits of its design. In conjunction with your martial arts training, your guns become a part of your hand. If either pistol whipping or using a rifle butt in melee, you gain the benefits of any unarmed combat feats and you add unarmed strike damage to the weapon damage. For example, if you possess the Combat Martial Arts, Improved Combat Martial Arts, and Advanced martial arts feats then a pistol whip would do base damage of 2d4 with a critical threat range of 19-20/x3 damage. If you possess only the Combat Martial Arts and Improved Combat Martial Arts feats than a rifle butt would do 1d4+1d6 and threaten a critical on a 19-20/x2 damage. When making pistol whips or rifle butts, as when making unarmed attacks, you may choose whether to deal lethal or nonlethal damage with no penalty to your attacks.
Moving Target
Starting at 2nd level, a Martial Duelist learns to master his combative motions, becoming a particularly difficult target to hit when moving. So long as the Martial Duelist moves more than a 5foot step in a round, and is unarmoured and unencumbered, all opponents suffer a –4 to hit him with ranged attacks.
Bonus Feats
At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the Martial Duelist gets a bonus feat. The bonus feat must be selected from the following list, and the Martial Duelist must meet all the prerequisites of the feat to select it.
Advanced Combat Martial Arts, Advanced Firearms Proficiency, Advanced Two-Weapon Fighting, Burst Fire, Dead to Rights, Double Tap, Elusive Target, Improved Combat Martial Arts, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Quick Reload, Shot on the Run, Strafe, Two-Weapon Fighting.
Guns Akimbo
At 4th level you become skilled at delivering massive firearms attacks while on the move. If you have two ranged weapons, as an attack action you may make one attack with each weapon. In addition to the penalties you normally suffer for attacking with two weapons, you suffer an additional –2 penalty on each attack.
Close Combat Shot
At 5th level, a Martial Duelist gains the ability to make a ranged attack with a Medium-size or smaller firearm while in a threatened area without provoking an attack of opportunity.
Lightning Shot
Starting at 7th level, a Martial Duelist can make a flurry of ranged attacks with a personal firearm at the expense of accuracy. With a lightning shot, the Martial Duelist may make one extra ranged attack with a personal firearm in a round at her highest base attack bonus. This attack and each other attack made in the round take a –2 penalty. This ability can only be used when taking the full attack action. The penalty applies to all attacks for one full round, including attacks of opportunity.
Master of the Gun Katas
At 8th level a Martial Duelist has mastered the pattern of movements used to both avoid getting hit while simultaneously shooting in a manner most likely to hit his target. He can push the gun katas to their limits, performing feats that even other Martial Duelists marvel at. When wielding a firearm, unarmored and unencumbered, a Martial Duelist may expend an action point to add his Wisdom bonus (if any) to both his attack bonus and his class defence for one round.
Gun-Fu
At 10th level a Martial Duelist becomes a master of combining motion with attack. He meshes martial arts with gunplay and performs amazing stunts of duelling with firearms. In any round in which a Martial Duelist makes a full-attack using only handguns, as a swift action he may make a single Tumble check (DC 20) to gain ½ his movement rate in movement as a free action. In any round in which a Martial Duellist uses Gun-Fu, he may not also make a five foot step.
[/sblock]
