Duelist (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Duelists represent the pinnacle of elegant swordplay. They move with a grace unmatched by most foes, parrying blows and countering attacks with swift thrusts of their blades. They may wear armor, but generally eschew such bulky protection as their grace allows them to dodge their opponents with ease. While others flounder on treacherous terrain, duelists charge nimbly across the battlefield, leaping and tumbling into the fray. They thrive in melee, where their skill with the blade allows them to make sudden attacks against clumsy foes and to cripple opponents with particularly well-placed thrusts of the blade.

Class Information

This is a merged prestige class.

Prestige Class: Duelist.

Build Classes: Fighter.

A duelists is a fighter that specializes in light armor and weapons.

Role: The abilities of duelists complement those rogues or bards who wish to accentuate their fighting prowess but, because of their lack of heavy armor, are afraid to leap into combat. Duelists fight in the forefront alongside fighters, barbarians, and other melee combatants, deftly avoiding the blades of their opponents while expertly targeting their vulnerabilities.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Abilities

This archetype has all normal class abilities, except as noted.

Class Skills

The duelist's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Swim (Str),

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Armor and Weapon Proficiency

Duelists are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light armor and shields (excluding tower shields).

Canny Defense (Ex)

When wearing light or no armor and not using a large or tower shield, a fencer adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per fencer class level as a dodge bonus to CMD and Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a fencer is caught unarmed or is flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus. A fencer with the Improved Unarmed Combat feat is never considered unarmed.

Dodge & Weapon Finesse

A duelist gains Dodge and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats at 1st level. He need not fulfill the prerequisites of these feats.

Precise Strike (Ex)

A duelist gains the ability to strike precisely in melee with a weapon she can use with Weapon Finesse, adding her duelist level to her damage roll.

When making a precise strike, a duelist cannot attack with a weapon in her other hand or use a shield. A duelist's precise strike only works against living creatures with discernible anatomies. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is also immune to a precise strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from a precise strike.

Mobility

A duelist gains Mobility as a bonus feat at 3rdlevel. He need not fulfill the prerequisites of this feat.

Bonus Feats

At level 4, and every 4 levels thereafter, the duelists chooses a combat feat as a bonus feat. He needs to fulfill the prerequisites of these feats as normal.

Parry

When he or an adjacent ally is attacked in melee, a duelist can make a parry.

At 5h level a duelist learns to parry the attacks of other creatures, causing them to miss. To parry the attack, the duelist makes an attack roll at her best attack bonus. If her attack roll is greater than the roll of the attacking creature, the attack automatically misses. For each size category that the attacking creature is larger than the duelist, the duelist takes a –2 penalty on her attack roll. The duelist also takes a –2 penalty when attempting to parry an attack made against an adjacent ally. The duelist declares the use of this ability after the attack is rolled.

At 5th level, the duelist can parry one attack per round. For every 5 levels, the duelist can parry an additional attack each round.

On an turn after the duelist made a parry, she is staggered.

Riposte

When an attack the duelists parried misses, he can make an attack of opportunity on the attacker if he is within reach. It is possible to parry attacks that would otherwise have missed, just to trigger a riposte.

Cunning Opportunist

At 10th level, the duelist may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity per round equal to his Intelligence bonus. This stacks with the benefits of Combat Reflexes.

Acrobatic Charge (Ex)

At 13th level, a duelist gains the ability to charge in situations where others cannot. He may charge over difficult terrain that normally slows movement. Depending on the circumstance, she may still need to make appropriate checks to successfully move over the terrain.

Aggressive Defense (Ex)

At 14th level and higher, if a duelist chooses to fight defensively or use total defense in melee combat, she can make an attack of opportunity against any opponent who misses her with a melee attack.

No Retreat (Ex)

At 17th level, enemies adjacent to the duelist that take a withdraw action provoke an attack of opportunity from the duelist.

Deflect Arrows

At 18th level, a duelist gains the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat when using a weapon she can use with weapon finesse. The duelist does not need a free hand to use this feat.

Duellist Schools

Agrippa

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Bonetti

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Capo Ferro

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Firentine

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Hard Knocks

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Tibault

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Traditional

• Level 2:
• Level 3:
• Level 6:
• Level 11:
• Level 16:
• Level 20:

Table: Duelist

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						0	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Nature bond, nature sense, orisons, wild empathy	3	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Archery style feat, woodland stride	4	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3	Trackless step	4	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Resist nature's lure	4	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Mystic spellstrike	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
6th	+4	+5	+2	+5	Archery style feat	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	+5	+5	+2	+5	Duelisty	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—	—
8th	+6/+1	+6	+2	+6		4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—	—
9th	+6/+1	+6	+3	+6	Venom immunity	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—	—
10th	+7/+2	+7	+3	+7	Archery style feat	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—	—
11th	+8/+3	+7	+3	+7	Seeker arrow	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—	—
12th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8		4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—	—
13th	+9/+4	+8	+4	+8	Imbue arrow	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—	—
14th	+10/+5	+9	+4	+9	Archery style feat	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—	—
15th	+11/+6/+1	+9	+5	+9	Timeless body	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	—
16th	+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10		4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	—
17th	+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Hail of arrows	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	1
18th	+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+11	Archery style feat	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2
19th	+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Phase arrow	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3
20th	+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Arrow of death	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4