D&D 5E Agility-based katana wielder: is it possible?

[Meliath1742]

I'll have to do more research but on the surface the idea of a two-handed finesse weapon seems like an oxymoron (think jumbo-shrimp). I'm all for working with my players to create a character that fits their want/needs but sometimes I think the GM has to push back a little. When I think katana, I think Samurai...but I'm old and old fashioned that way ;-)

 

[fjw70]

I agree with others that the reflavored staff is the way to go (changing to slashing damage).

 

[raleel]

Well, when I think agile katana wielder I think Rurouni Kenshin. So you have a character focused on speed, either killing the enemy before they can act, or avoiding most attacks. Also, parrying seems to be a staple of samurai combat in lots of media, though I've heard it isn't very historically accurate. So how does that relate to the mechanical numbers.

We want:
1) A character that runs off of dex.
2) Fast.
3) Tends to block or avoid most attacks.
4) Deadly, but there is usually some sort of massive brute with more raw destructive power.

There IS a style that perfectly represents that. Rapier and shield. Say that wielding his katana in both hands allows him to parry with it, granting a +2 to AC instead of increasing damage. Then price this rare, finely crafted weapon at the same cost as a rapier and shield.
Should the player choose a fighting style, let him choose duelist ones, since his swordsmanship focuses on speed, precision, and deflection as opposed to raw power, making it more similar to swashbuckling styles.
When the party starts running into magic weapons, play up the rare and legendary nature of the katana. Treat it balance wise as though you had given him both a magical sword and shield. So a +1 Katana would grant a +1 to attack and damage. Furthermore, when wielding this weapon with both hands he also gains a +1 to AC.
That would seem to be the simplest to me. The monk one sounded pretty awesome, but that limits it to only a single class option, where as this could be used in many others.

Ok, this is an interesting idea. What you are proposing effectively is a weapon property that is similar to versatile, only instead of stepping up the weapon die, you get +2 AC. Now, if we say that it doesn't actually count as a shield, and thus does not gain the benefits from shield feats, but you can swap to and from "parry mode" with a free action interaction rather than a full action like it takes with a shield, I actually think this works really very well.

I think I like this a lot! That is quite clever. Something like his

Long-grip
When you wield this weapon in two hands, you gain +2 to AC. Furthermore, if the weapon is magical, you may add its magic bonus to you AC as well. You may change between one handed and two handed with Free object interaction.

And then change Duelist in fighter to allow this property to be used. It even avoids being used by Great Weapon Style because it's not versatile or two handed.

 

[Authweight]

I would play a fighter and take the dueling fighting style. It gives you +2 damage with one-handed weapons while you have nothing else in your other hand. Flavor that as wielding the "katana" two-handed for extra damage.

 

[Ashkelon]

Since you are thinking of homebrew material anyway, why not go all the way.

The 5e Warblade

The class has a combat style, Versatile Finesse, that allows you use your Dexterity for attack and damage rolls of versatile weapons.

This allows you to use a longsword in two hands, while using your Dexterity as your primary attribute. That will give you a d10 damage two-handed weapon that is Dexterity based.

The class itself is based off the 3e Warblade from the book, Tome of Battle. Much of the material in that book had an "eastern" flair to it, which is fitting for a player wanting to wield a katana.

 

[Jester David]

The catch is that Dexterity is one of the best stats. It increases your AC, determines how quick you are in combat, is one of the most common saving throws, and has a lot of useful skills. Attacking off Dex is a very good choice as it gives you a lot compared to making another stat your highest.

A katana is good but shouldn't be better than a longsword or a rapier. Being finesse and versatile would be too good. There's no exotic weapons options requiring a feat for slightly better weapons like a bastard sword, so that doesn't work.
This means d6 (versatile d8) would be the best. But I like the 2d4 someone suggested, as the average damage is a hair better. So 1d6/2d4.

 

[Salamandyr]

As long as the player isn't looking for powergame comboes, I'd say just let them use dex if it makes them happy (perhaps require them to have strength 13 or something). Rather than going for a hard and fast rule, just hand wave it as an exception, and move on.

I've never gotten the "katana=finesse" thing myself, but apparently I'm in the minority.

 

[Ashkelon]

The catch is that Dexterity is one of the best stats. It increases your AC, determines how quick you are in combat, is one of the most common saving throws, and has a lot of useful skills. Attacking off Dex is a very good choice as it gives you a lot compared to making another stat your highest.

A katana is good but shouldn't be better than a longsword or a rapier. Being finesse and versatile would be too good. There's no exotic weapons options requiring a feat for slightly better weapons like a bastard sword, so that doesn't work.
This means d6 (versatile d8) would be the best. But I like the 2d4 someone suggested, as the average damage is a hair better. So 1d6/2d4.

Since the katana was traditionally wielded in two hands, why wouldn't a d10 damage, two handed, finesse weapon work. It is weaker than the greatsword or greataxe by a fair bit, but has the advantage of being Dexterity based.

Is dealing ~15% less damage and having 1 less AC worth a +5 bonus to Dex saves, Dex, skills, and initiative. Maybe. It seems like a fair trade to me. If you care about maximizing DPR you would use a greatsword or polearm.

Furthermore, the highest damage builds actually already are Dexterity primary. The dual hand crossbow build for example.

 

[Jester David]

Since the katana was traditionally wielded in two hands, why wouldn't a d10 damage, two handed, finesse weapon work. It is weaker than the greatsword or greataxe by a fair bit, but has the advantage of being Dexterity based.

Limiting the katana to only be used two-handed would work, and would allow the damage to tick up to a d10 and still be balanced.

But a lot of times you see katana being used one-handed. Or paired with a wakizashi. So it depends what aspect of the katana is desired.

 

[Ashkelon]

Limiting the katana to only be used two-handed would work, and would allow the damage to tick up to a d10 and still be balanced.

But a lot of times you see katana being used one-handed. Or paired with a wakizashi. So it depends what aspect of the katana is desired.

While certainly true, I'm pretty sure that historically one would use an early 16th century katan for dual wielding. Those katana were roughly 10 centimeters shorter than katana from other periods. As such, I see no problem having that style of katana simply be a rapier that deals slashing damage.

Fighting with the katana and wakizashi was also an exceptionally rare technique.