Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
Jack is a Samurai (d'uh), but shows various skills and abilities that suggest he also has several levels in Monk, and possibly a couple levels in Ranger. Through sheer number of feats and skills that he has mastered, Jack is most likely Epic level (I will not be statting him using Epic rules, however). Jack may or may not have levels in Weapon Master and Master Samurai.
Jack trained extensively in a broad range of skills, beginning the day Aku returned and single-handedly conquered Japan. Among the skills and feats Jack learned are:
- Ride (from the Arabian sheik)
- While in the desert, Jack learns how to get on a horse's good side. He later uses this same trick on an alien horse. Jack clearly has a few ranks in Animal Empathy, an exclusive skill.
- Jack also performs quite a riding trick, at a young age. He can stand on a galloping horse and maintain his balance. This shows a high Ride skill, but also ranks in Balance.
- Proficiency: Quarterstaff (from the African hunter)
- When the hunter and Jack leave Africa for Egypt, they seem to run most of the distance. Jack has exceptional Endurance.
- Literacy (in Egypt)
- Jack learns how to wrestle while in Greece. He has the Improved Grapple feat, and may also have Close-Quarters Fighting.
- Jack learns archery from Robin Hood himself. He is clearly proficient with the bow. Jack also impresses Robin using the feat Snatch Arrows (requires Improved Unarmed Strike and Deflect Arrows).
- Profession: Sailor (from Vikings)
- Proficiency: Hand Axe (while in Russia)
- Proficiency: Spear and Mounted Combat (while in Mongolia)
- Jack demonstrates Improved Unarmed Strike and Proficiency: Naginata while training in a Shaolin temple. He also shows good Balance again, fighting atop wooden poles.
- When Jack finally returns to reclaim his sword, we see he is already proficient with the Katana. Jack uses the standard two-handed grip, so there is no proof at this point that he has Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Katana.
After battling Aku, Jack is sent thousands of years in the future. Reappearing in mid-air, he'd glad that he spent some ranks in Jump, so that he can reach the ground after a series of jumps from one flying car to another. (Note: This is not Slow Fall, as Jack does not use any nearby vertical surfaces to slow his fall; he is clearly jumping from one car to the next.) In an alien bar much like the Mos Eisley Cantina, Jack gets into a fight with various alien cyborgs with claw-like appendages. Jack's preferred method of dealing with them is to sever their clawed hands, a feat that requires Sunder. Jack also manages to parry and dodge missiles. Unlike Rogues, Samurai are not known for their Reflexes; Jack has learned the importance of Lightning Reflexes.
Now that we have seen Jack's fighting style, it seems highly likely that Jack also has Weapon Focus: Katana, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, and Improved Critical: Katana. Jack does not usually wear armor, and so he surely has Expertise and Superior Expertise. He also has invested in Tumble. Between his skill at unarmed combat, Deflect Arrows, and his ability to Tumble, it seems that Jack picked up a couple levels of Monk while training with the Shaolin.
In the final battle, Jack demonstrates even more skills! Tell me he's not Epic. He's quite Knowledgeable about War, and can craft Weapons, Bow and Arrows, and Traps. He's even a bit of a Calligrapher. Jack fights in Medium Armor on horseback, using the spear as a makeshift Lance, and even Cleaves through some of the robot scarabs.
I haven't reviewed the rest of season 1, but working from memory, Jack shows further talents in his continuing adventures. In Jack and the Three Archers, we find out Jack learned to Fight Blind at the Shaolin temple. In Jack Under the Sea, we see that Jack can Swim. In Jack Learns to 'Jump Good', Jack learns to, um, jump good. Real good. He's reached seventh level as a Monk and can do a Leap of the Clouds. In the episode where the Scotsman returns, Jack performs a Great Throw on one of the Scot's clansmen, to prove his worth. And in Jack and the Smackback, in a gladiatorial arena, Jack shows proficiency with a number of Exotic Weapons, including the nunchakus, as well as Two-Weapon Fighting (again pointing to Ranger skills). Jack also lives off the land, and no doubt has ranks in Wilderness Lore.
In a Rokugan campaign, Jack would hail from the Lion clan. Lions make brave and honorable Samurai. They are trained soldiers, and look the part. Jack may have levels in Akodo Champion, and it's no stretch to think Jack might be immune to fear and be able to Smite Evil. Akodo Champions are also great leaders, but we have not seen Jack actually lead an army into battle (he's never needed an army).
If Jack's katana has any special powers, he's keeping them secret. It's a powerful sword, probably +5, and may have the Bane property. It's unclear exactly why the sword is so effective against Aku; perhaps it's a wizard bane; perhaps a demon bane; perhaps a shapeshifter bane; perhaps a holy weapon that was forged to destroy evil.
Aku
Aku is a wizard with a talent for shapeshifting. This makes him at least Wizard 5/Shifter 10. Aku demonstrates some interesting abilities in the Trilogy, including fiery eye blasts. This may be an unknown spell. I suggest that Aku is an Acolyte of the Skin. At seventh level, Acolytes of the Skin receive the Glare of the Pit, "the supernatural ability to produce fiery rays from his eyes." The abilities of the Acolyte of the Skin are also congruent with what we know Aku is capable of. Aku is unharmed by the weapons that the defenders of Japan hurl at him; this may be due to the Acolyte's damage resistance (although how Aku hurls them back is unknown). Aku also seems to be extremely long-lived, having survived for thousands of years. Between this, and his ability to send Jack into the distant future, Aku shows a high proficiency in magic, and can probably cast ninth-level spells.
Other Characters from Samurai Jack: the Trilogy
Jack's father is also a Samurai. He disarms his son using only his bare hands, and thus may possess Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Disarm.
We know nothing of whatever abilities Jack's mother may possess. She may be a Courtier (from Rokugan).
Sir Colin Bartholomew Montgomery Rothchild III, Sir Dreyfus Alexander (chief of excavation) and Angus McDuffie (artifact aficionado), the three "talking demon dogs," are actually Awakened Dog Experts from a Dragonstar campaign.
