Saving the Samurai?

[Ashrem Bayle]

I'm going through now and selecting what classes I'm going to allow in future campaigns and I've come to the samurai. Ick!

However, in the tradition of the PHB2 and Unearthed Arcana, it looks like the simple tweak of allowing the player to change the samurai's Two Swords as One, Improved Two Swords as One, and Greater Two Swords as One, to a fighter bonus feat, might be a simple and elegant solution.

Anyone see any other issues? Maybe a good Will save?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Have you considered using the Oriental Adventures Samurai instead? I'm not sure how much updating to 3.5 it would need, but IIRC, it's much more flavorful than the CW (?) version

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

It was indeed, but I no longer have that book and we're using 3.5 only.

 

[XCorvis]

I've never been fond of the samurai. You have to want to fight with two (specific) weapons in heavy armor, and the indimidate/fear effect just doesn't seem that useful. As written, I'm not sure it's worth saving. Personally, I'd prefer to see a radically redesigned samurai. Not all fight with two weapons (most didn't), katanas (what about naginatas, nagamaki and nodaichi?), or heavy armor. They also rode horses a lot, and used the bow.

I think what I'd like to see from the samurai is a set of exotic and specific martia weapon profs (like the monk), a small unarmored defense bonus that's useful when unarmored but not as useful as armor and some actual options in the class (ie take TWF or Power Attack). Quickdraw and improved init are good fits, so I'd keep those.

 

[Land Outcast]

Maybe we could make a revision of the OA Samurai to 3.5 here.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

I've never been fond of the samurai. You have to want to fight with two (specific) weapons in heavy armor, and the indimidate/fear effect just doesn't seem that useful. As written, I'm not sure it's worth saving. Personally, I'd prefer to see a radically redesigned samurai. Not all fight with two weapons (most didn't), katanas (what about naginatas, nagamaki and nodaichi?), or heavy armor. They also rode horses a lot, and used the bow.

Exactly why I think replacing all of their two-weapon fighting abilties with bonus fighter feats would be a simple fix. At that point, if you compare them to fighters, they are about right.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think your best fix, barring finding a copy of OA to work with, is to use the Knight with some tweeks.

 

[Drowbane]

I'm going through now and selecting what classes I'm going to allow in future campaigns and I've come to the samurai. Ick!

However, in the tradition of the PHB2 and Unearthed Arcana, it looks like the simple tweak of allowing the player to change the samurai's Two Swords as One, Improved Two Swords as One, and Greater Two Swords as One, to a fighter bonus feat, might be a simple and elegant solution.

Anyone see any other issues? Maybe a good Will save?

The biggest flaw (at least for those of us who fancy our selves Japanese History buffs) with the CW Samurai is the Two Swords as One!! Duel-wielding Samurai were rare as hen's teeth! Basing all samurai off Miyamoto Musashi is just ridiculous!! Sure, Musashi was one bad-mother... but he didn't represent the Samurai of the time (or any time).

Give the Fighter more skill points and more skill options, and we wouldn't need half a dozen extra specialized fighters!

IMC, I offer up the Stare-down chain as a set of feats... only thing I saw worth taking from the CW Samurai.

And if you really need another base class to represent the Samurai... OA/Rokugan's is your best bet.

 

[Arkhandus]

The absolute ONLY change for converting Oriental Adventures samurai to 3.5 is fixing the name of the Expertise feat to Combat Expertise and the Remain Conscious feat to Diehard, in their list of bonus feat choices. Absolutely none of the OA samurai's stats, skills, or other abilities are 3.0 specific. Only those two feats in their selection of bonus feat options have their names changed in 3.5 (well, Remain Conscious' change into Diehard also involved removing one of its prerequisite feats IIRC, but meh).

I really don't know what would be appropriate though for salvaging the Complete Warrior samurai class into something useable.

 

[Laman Stahros]

Have you considered using the Oriental Adventures Samurai instead? I'm not sure how much updating to 3.5 it would need, but IIRC, it's much more flavorful than the CW (?) version

Could you explain to me what the flavor for the OA Samurai had to do with those crappy mechanics? That was just about the lamest thing I have ever seen. It is nothing more than a fighter with new flavor and one feat pre-chosen from the Book of Exalted Deeds.

P.S. - Not trying to pick on anyone, I just can't understand why people like that class. Maybe it is just because I can't stand Rokugan.