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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Benjamin Olson" data-source="post: 7984720" data-attributes="member: 6988941">I disagree on flavor, because in my mind the true swashbuckler is of the "swashbuckler movie" variety, which leans heavily on an interpretation of Western dueling by way of fencing, taken to extreme in the Princess Bride where the two contenders for world's greatest swordsman name off fencing moves while they fight. In any case this requires both the deadliness of a rogue and the strategic skills best embodied by the Battlemaster. A swashbuckler who can neither parry or riposte is unworthy of the name. And the very term "swashbuckler" refers to the use of a buckler, which a pure rogue can't use without grabbing a shield proficiency elsewhere.That said, the D&D "swashbuckler" subclass seems to lean heavier on the literary swashbuckler, who is as much about cunning, acrobatics, and feats of daring do as actual mastery of the blade. Swordplay is emphasized more in movies because it is a lot more effective to choreograph and film a  sword fight than describe one in a compelling manner. The Princess Bride's emphasis on calling out moves and having banter originated in the book where it was probably a conceit to the difficulty of making the written description of the actual fighting interesting, as well as the fact that the book was the work of a screenwriter inspired more by movies than other books.</blockquote>