Mythological Figures: Miyamoto Musashi (5E)

Mythological Figures focuses on Fifth Edition builds for persons too big for true history like Achilles and Sir Lancelot, but some individuals absolutely distinguished themselves to an equal status. Perhaps my favorite of these is arguably one of the most skilled people to have ever picked up a sword: Miyamoto Musashi!

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The accomplishments of Musashi are legendary and for good reason. This man wrote the Book of Five Rings, won scores of duels, invented the katana-and-wakizashi style of fighting (“niten'ichi sword style”, on the fly after undoing an ambush, killing the head of a prominent family trying to assassinate him, while fleeing from the surviving soldiers), routinely fought duels using a bokken (wooden sword) against opponents wielding blades (including a guy with a two-handed nodachi known as “The Demon of the Western Provinces”), and finally died like a badass:

At the moment of his death, he had himself raised up. He had his belt tightened and his wakizashi put in it. He seated himself with one knee vertically raised, holding the sword with his left hand and a cane in his right hand. He died in this posture, at the age of sixty-two.​

There is no brief recap able to do Musashi justice and his extremely well-documented life is worth reading up on if you haven’t heard of him before. Consider including him in your next game and see how if the adventurers' mettle is a match for Japan’s most famous ronin!

(Musashi will not be the only samurai in this series--tell us who else needs to get an article in the comments!)

Miyamoto Musashi
Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral fighter (samurai) 18

Armor Class 16 (padded, defensive fighting style)
Hit Points 135 (18d10+36)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	19 (+4)	14 (+2)	13 (+1)	9 (-1)	11 (+0)

Saving Throws Str +9, Con +8, Wis +5
Skills Acrobatics +10, Athletics +9, Insight +5, Intimidation +7
Senses passive Perception 9
Languages Common
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Action Surge (2/short rest). Once on his turn, Musashi can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.

Feats: Maneuver Master (6d6 maneuver dice/short rest). Musashi can expend a maneuver dice to perform a single maneuver with an attack.

• Counter. Musashi can use his reaction to make a melee attack against a creature that misses him with a melee attack, dealing 1d6 additional damage on a hit.
• Disarm. A creature Musashi has hit with an attack takes 1d6 additional damage and makes a DC 18 Strength saving throw or drops one held item of his choice.
• Feint. Musashi can use his bonus action to feint against one creature within 5 feet. He has advantage on his next attack roll against that creature as long as it before the end of his turn. On a hit he deals 1d6 additional damage.
• Lunge. Musashi increases his reach by 5 feet for one attack, dealing 1d6 additional damage on a hit.
• Sweep. Musashi chooses a creature adjacent to his target and within his reach and on a hit, the adjacent creature takes 1d6 damage (of the same type as the weapon attack).
• Trip. Musashi deals 1d6 additional damage and if the target is a creaturesof Large size or smaller, it makes a DC 18 Strength saving throw or is knocked prone.

Feat: Mobile. Musashi can Dash through difficult terrain without requiring additional movement. Whenever he makes an attack against a creature, he doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of his turn.

Indomitable (3/long rest). Musashi can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.

Second Wind (1/short rest). On his turn, Musashi can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+18 hit points.

Warrior Spirit (3/long rest). Musashi can use a bonus action to gain 15 temporary hit points and advantage on weapon attack rolls until the end of his turn. When Musashi rolls for initiative and has no uses of this feature remaining, he regains one use.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. Musashi attacks three times.

Rapid Strike (1/turn). When Musashi has advantage on a weapon attack during his turn, he may choose to roll normally and instead make an additional attack against that target.

Katana. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage if wielded in one hand or 8 (1d10+3) slashing damage if wielded in two hands.

Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.
REACTIONS

Feat: Master of the Sword. Musashi can use his reaction when wielding a sword to gain a +1 bonus to his AC until the start of his next turn or until he is disarmed. In addition, Musashi has advantage on opportunity attacks.

Warrior Undying. Musashi can use his reaction to immediately take one action, bonus action, and move when he is reduced to 0 hit points and not killed outright. This interrupts the initiative order and Musashi is treated as though he were unconscious and dying (taking death saving throw failures when he takes damage during this extra turn). Musashi falls unconscious after taking his extra turn if he has not regained any hit points.

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[dave2008]

Also, despite what many have said here (and in your previous posts), I appreciate the restraint you show in providing Ability scores, especially when stating real people!

 

[Tony Vargas]

Also, despite what many have said here (and in your previous posts), I appreciate the restraint you show in providing Ability scores, especially when stating real people!

Agreed.

I question whether any RL person needs 18 levels, too, but with 5e Proficiency, not the problem it would've been in 3.x, either.

I'm no scholar of MM lore, but the impression I've often gotten from many of the stories I've heard is that he was something of an iconoclast in a hide-bound era. That he very often did the unexpected.

 

[Morrus]

Also, despite what many have said here (and in your previous posts), I appreciate the restraint you show in providing Ability scores, especially when stating real people!

It's one of the things I've noticed about these columns - apparently all historical and mythological figures have to have the same identical six 18s.

 

[Mike Myler]

Aye I've been wont to give out +4 (or higher) ability modifiers because I think that oversimplifies the myth and makes them outshine PCs, which they're already geared to because they're already figures of myth--Musashi here gets to be first so his AC isn't shot. There are a few on the list due high ability scores (and a couple I think are going to get lofty) but I want to avoid making that the trend.

 

[Mike Myler]

Another great addition, thank you!

Some formatting notes:

I think Rapid Strike should be a trait, not listed as an action. That seems to be how 5e handles things like this.

Master of the Sword and Warrior Undying would probable go under a separate "Reactions" heading, but I could see them being listed as traits too. But reactions (like the Marilith's "Parry") tend to get their own heading.

Upon review aye, if it isn't specifically an attack (or directly attack related like a solar's flying sword) it goes up in traits--that's my bad and a tendency to group relevant things together. Reactions are under their own heading but it wasn't bolded and underlined (also fixed). Good looking out!

 

[dave2008]

Upon review aye, if it isn't specifically an attack (or directly attack related like a solar's flying sword) it goes up in traits--that's my bad and a tendency to group relevant things together. Reactions are under their own heading but it wasn't bolded and underlined (also fixed). Good looking out!

No worries, and not a big deal. I always feel a little odd about pointing out format issues that, truth be told, don't really matter. We all understand what you are getting at.

 

[Mhyr]

Muso Gonnosuke would be awesome! He was one of the few surviving a duel with Musashi and returned with a new weapon (the jo) challenging him for a rematch. Some say the second duel was a draw, some say Gonnosuke became the only one to beat Musashi.

 

[Kobold Boots]

Dr Masaaki Hatsumi would be great for your next article.

While it's unlikely that he'd hear of his game stats, should he, I'd fully expect him to politely ask Morrus to take it down through an intermediary. Statting living people without consent isn't a good practice, and while he's not generally litigious, it's gauche.

If you're going to do it, do it privately.

Be well
KB

 

[Kobold Boots]

Mythological figures are the primary focus of the article; some major historical figures might be the secondary focus; but we're not going to do stats for living people.

Thank you. Should have read down before replying.

 

[Jay Verkuilen]

if you read The Book of Five Rings you know that he has more than 9 in wisdom and 11 in charisma.
This guy was a fine observator and got a strong dedication to victory and training.
And probably it is by these two scores that he got famous.
For a legendary character I would go for 18 wis and 18 charisma.

As I recall, he wrote those at the end of his life. The game doesn't really support gaining a substantial amount of Wisdom but I think that would fit well with the story. His early life was in the pursuit of being the ultimate warrior seemingly at the exclusion of all else, but at the end he turned to reflection. Of course, if you want him to be more wise, the Kensai Monk would be a good choice---in fact I suspect that might be a better build than Samurai.

Edit: From refreshing my memory, evidently he practiced other "arts" throughout his life, so my recollection of "his early life was in the pursuit of being the ultimate warrior seemingly at the exclusion of all else" is wrong although it seems hard to separate fact from legend with Musashi, and many other historical figures. So he should certainly have skill in Perform, for instance. Whether he's the most amazing natural talent at it in the world, as represented by a high stat, isn't necessary, although he seemed to be notable.

So maybe Wis 9 seems too low.