On his 10th birthday Arashi got what he had always dreamed of - his first sword. He lived in a humble village but he had more than the other children. His father, Izande, was a legendary sword smith able to cast the most brutal weapon of the Samurai - the Katana. The king of his province would always purchase his swords for the best of his warriors when war was imminent.
As Arashi grew older, he was able to meet and befriend these great warriors, who at each passing would train Arashi with his new sword. Many years passed and many great warriors died in the battlefield but Arashi had trained with them all and one day he himself became one of the greatest warriors of all. When he had reached the age of 18, his father crafted him a Katana that he had started when he was 12. He folded, sharpened, and worked the sword between orders for the king. He told Arashi it was his finest sword and that he would have no one but wield it.
Word got out to the king that Izande crafted a sword unlike no other. The king got jealous and traveled to Izande’s black smithy. He demanded he turn over the sword for his personal body guard but Izande refused. In a furious rage, the King killed Izande where he stood. They searched for Arashi and his sword but he was nowhere to be found…
Days after his 18th birthday, Arashi decided to follow his inner spiritual path and traveled far to the west to live with the Monks. They had a great monastery with many books and elders who would pass knowledge down to those who were worthy. Arashi studied with them and fought by their side for 7 years. He had become a great warrior, and an even better tactician. Though he was never wise like the monks, he showed great intelligence in both tactics and enemy weaknesses.
When Arashi returned home, the villagers had explained what happened to him many years ago. Arashi visited his father grave and prayed…
What happens next is more myth than fact, but it is said that once Arashi mourned his father, he took up his father’s blade along with his own and traveled to the king’s palace. The king had hundreds of soldiers and many skilled archers but he somehow managed to maim or kill any that did not flee from his vengeance. In the end, the king sat dead in his thrown, his blood dripping down the blade Izande once owned.
No one knows what happened to Arashi since that day. Some believe he went back to the monastery to live the monks. Others believe he headed north to the great mountains for solace. One thing was for certain, after the king’s death, there was a long lasting peace in the land as it seemed no one wished to invade the province any more.
------------------------------- Arashi the Humble Samurai Human Fighter 14 / Weaponmaster 20 / Monk 6
8 )Fighter Whirlwind Attack (Str) 9)WM Improved Critical-Katana 10)WM 11)WM 12)WM Power Attack (Str) 13)WM 14)WM 15)WM Cleave 16)Fighter (Str) 17)Fighter WS-Katana 18)Fighter Great Cleave 19)Fighter ITWF 20)Fighter (Str) 21)Fighter EWF-Katana, EWS-Katana 22)WM 23)WM 24)WM Great Strength (Str) 25)WM 26)WM 27)WM Great Strength II, Overwhelming Critical-Katana 28)WM (Str) 29)WM 30)WM Great Strength III, Epic Prowess 31)WM 32)WM (Str) 33)WM Great Strength IV, Armor Skin 34)Monk 35)Monk 36)Monk Great Strength V (Str) 37)Monk 38)Monk 39)Monk Great Strength VI 40)WM (Str)
AB 49/44/39/34 (Mundane Katana) Dual Wield AB 45/40/35/30 45/40 (Mundane Katana) Damage Main 1-10+17 15-20x3 +2d6 OC Damage Off 1-10+11 15-20x3 +2d6 OC BAB 30 Base AC 23 HP 468(Max)
Saves: Fort 22 (+4 vs Spells) Reflex 21 (+4 vs Spells) Will 15 (+4 vs Spells)
Hope you guys liked the story. I thought a little background would go a long way to make a build more fun to play. What can I say - When I first bought the HotU expansion, I played a dual wielding katana master and mauled everything. I've always wanted to make one. I saw a lot of the same class combos on search, but none like this one.
For a non dex/cleric build, he has a fabulous AB. I miss toughness, but if you wanted to sacrifice 2 grt str feats, I'd say go for toughness and blindfight. This is a mega feat build and monk at the end provides Imp Knockdown, evasion, tumble, bit of speed, and +2 on will saves.
I don;t make builds with Dev crit since it's disabled on most PWs but Overwhelming crit is good stuff. Grab some keen katanas and at 13-20 threat range, you will be shreading enemies. Even against crit immunes, you still do good damage. Swap in a shield for those boss monsters.
Enjoy!
Edited By griphook on 09/23/05 20:13
Loved the story... haven't built the build yet but it looks as if it can do 2 things... deal damage and look good doing it. The knockdown effect would be nice in an even fight (say against a dragon) let them think they can go toe to toe then, WHAM, beatdown mode. Nice effect to use as a kill shot, Katana users have to kill in style. ... but with all the feats I'm sure we could fit Toughness in somewhere.
You could take monk levels much earlier. Spread them out somewhat. A monk gets Cleave you know. That would free you toughness right there. As for Overwhelming crit, its average 10 extra damage for this guy. 3d6=3-18. Average 10,5. Blind fight will get you further. I think in a build with monk, Drop power attack and overwhelming if you don't want Dev crit. Thats my opinion. It is surely a really solid guy.
About monk levels pre epic. You free up cleave. Get an AC boost earlier. Evasion earlier! And better saves. Monk lvl 2 has +3 on all saves! Consider it at least. The pro's far outweigh the Cons, since the only one I can see is the loss of 1 BAB, and your AB is gooood anyway.
Nice.
Nice story and nice build. I have a similar build (Monk 12/Fighter 6/WM 22)
One thought I had is that I believe WM 20 doesn't give you any advantage over WM 19. So, if you wanted to take advantage of the Monk abilities earlier, you could take your six monk levels at 21-26, then take a 7th level late in life to maximize Tumble. This would give you Improved Knockdown at level 26 instead of 39.
As Grim just pointed out, you could take Monk pre-epic, but this impacts your AB.
Kaliban _________________ This space for rent
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Edited By Talamier on 09/23/05 04:20
Arashi the Humble Samurai Human Fighter 14 / Weaponmaster 19 / Monk 7
AB 48/43/38/33 (Mundane Katana) Dual Wield AB 44/39/34/29 44/39 (Mundane Katana) Damage Main 1-10+17 15-20x3 Damage Off 1-10+11 15-20x3 BAB 29 Base AC 23 HP 526(Max)
Saves: Fort 24 (+4 vs Spells) Reflex 24 (+4 vs Spells) Will 18 (+4 vs Spells)
Thank you everyone for all your help. For 1AB, I think this is a much better build. I dropped OW crit since in exchange, I can get so much more. Even had an extra feat so I threw in Disarm. This should be a fun build
I really don't need disarm though - do you guys think it would be better to replace the last two fighter levels with monk so I can get improved evasion? Seems pretty tempting...
Edited By Talamier on 09/23/05 04:24
Quote: really don't need disarm though - do you guys think it would be better to replace the last two fighter levels with monk so I can get improved evasion? Seems pretty tempting...
Like you said. Oh, and the storys great btw. Love it when people do that little story along with their char. Look at your saves. You improved playability quite a lot here, for the cost of only 1 AB. Not bad.
Finally a Katana build that i like, ty for posting this now my gaming will be more enjoyable.
I am trying this build in the HotU currently and I am surprised at how damn effective it is. Non crit immune enemies fall like flies before this character. Stylish too hehe. Great job!
I am glad everyone is enjoying this build. As I said earlier, I played something similar a while ago when HotU came out and it was a blast through that campaign. He becomes quite a shredding machine after you buff your swords in the Drow city.
I've always wanted to make one. I saw a lot of the same class combos on search, but none like this one.