SAMURAI

A human clad in armor as he readies his sword

for his opponents attack. with a quick movement
and a show of fine skills the enemy crumbles to the
ground in defeat, the contest of might, over in a
flash.
A wandering elf passes by an orc obstructing the
road, demanding a toll, with a quick movement the
elf steps past the orc, a few seconds later, the orc
falls lifeless to the ground as the elf sheathes their
blade and continues moving forward down the road
without so much as a word.
A half-elf, armed with only a sword and the
clothes on his back, managing over a busy supply
route keeping a watchful eye for trouble on the road,
knowing a false move can mean danger for the
moving caravan leading to a loss of payment for his
work.
All of these are samurai in their own right,
adventurers who have devoted their lives to the way
of the sword and its principles. Whether they are
fighting for their ruler or have been disgraced to
wander the world, to look for work and redemption,
a samurai is an unparalleled master of the sword
and its teachings of its hold over both life and death.

MASTERS OF THE SWORD

Samurai are driven by their desire to serve the
lord or a noble who rules over their homeland,
whether that be to go out and advance a military
force or to succeed on a request given to them by
their king.
But, not all samurai are able to fulfill their duties,
if their lord loses their life or their position as
someone of high nobility, and they choose to
continue their life with no lord to rule over them,
instead of a death with honor, will wander looking
for work as a mercenary or sometimes turn to a life
of crime sometimes becoming bandits.
 THE SAMURAI
Level Proficiency Focus Points Features
1st +2 - Fighting style, skilled attacker
2nd +2 2 Focus, Honorable Duel
3rd +2 3 Samurai Path Feature
4th +2 4 Ability Score Improvement
5th +3 5 Extra Attack
6th +3 6 Know Thy Enemy
7th +3 7 Samurai Path Feature
8th +3 8 Ability Score Improvement
9th +4 9 Mental Focus
10th +4 10 Ability Score Improvement
11th +4 11 Unshakeable
12th +4 12 Samurai path Feature
13th +5 13 Extra Attack (2)
14th +5 14 Ability Score Improvement
15th +5 15 Path Of The Sword
16th +5 16 Ability Score Improvement
17th +6 17 Samurai Path Feature
18th +6 18 Enemy Sense
19th +6 19 Ability Score Improvement
20th +6 20 Mental Clarity

CREATING A SAMURAI CLASS FEATURES

As you build you build your samurai there are a
few things to think about: where did you get your
training and why are you now wandering the
world? Were you given a task by a king? Were you
interested in the world of dark magic's? Were you
disgraced and forced to wander the lands with
nothing to call home and no one to fight for but
yourself?
You may have been ruthless when it came to
finishing any tasks that had to do with capturing or
killing enemies. You could have sought to gain
knowledge in the mystical, or you could have been
wandering the countryside looking for an especially
high bounty. Your weapon is now one of the few
things you care most about in life, the only thing
that makes the difference when it comes to a fight.
Quick Build
To make a samurai quickly, you first start by
putting your highest stat into wisdom, and then
your second highest in strength if you want to be
focusing on melee items and heavy armor, or
dexterity if you want to use quick movements to
evade attacks with the path of Ronin. Next, choose
the soldier background.
HIT POINTS
Hit Dice: 1d8 per Samurai level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution
modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your
Constitution modifier per samurai level after 1st
Proficiencies:
Armor: light armor, medium armor
Weapons: simple weapons, martial melee
weapons, longbow
Tools: none
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics,
History, Insight, Investigation, Perception,
Religion, and survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition
to the equipment granted by your background:
 a) longsword or b) a martial weapon
 a) leather armor or b) scale mail
 a) a shortsword or b) any simple melee
weapon
 a) an explorers pack or b) a scholars pack

Samurai Design By Matt Unger

FIGHTING STYLE
You adopt a particular style of fighting as your
specialty, Choose one of the following options. You
can't take a Fighting Style option more than once,
even if you later get to choose again.
ARCHERY
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make
with ranged weapons.
DEFENSE
While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1
bonus to AC.
DUELING
When you are wielding a melee weapon in one
hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to
damage rolls with that weapon,
GREAT WEAPON FIGHTING
When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an
attack you make with a melee weapon that you are
wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and
must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or
a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or
versatile property for you to gain this benefit.
TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING
When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you
can add your ability modifier to the damage of the
second attack.
SKILLED ATTACKER
Whenever you make a melee weapon attack with
one of your samurai weapons, (like longswords,
shortswords, etc.) you may choose to use Dexterity
instead of Strength for the attack and damage roll,
even if the weapon isn't a finesse weapon.
FOCUS
Starting at 2nd level, your mental strength gives
you mastery in fighting in battles, resulting in a
level of focus during the chaos. This focus is
represented in a number of focus points. Your
samurai level determines how many focus points
you have as shown on the Focus Points table. These
points replenish after you finish a short or long rest.
Once per turn, you can spend one focus point, as
a bonus action, to grant yourself advantage on your
next attack you take with one of your samurai
weapons. You must declare you are spending a
focus point before you make your initial attack roll.
Samurai
HONORABLE DUEL
Starting at 2nd level, you force a target to focus
its attention on you for battle. Convincing them to
view you as an enemy worthy of their attention in a
fight. You can spend an action and 1 focus point to
force a creature to make a wisdom saving throw.
Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Wisdom modifier
On a failed save, you compel a creature to fight
you, the creature has disadvantage on all attack
rolls made on creatures, other than you, until the
end of your next turn.
ABILITY SCORE IMPROVEMENT
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 10th,
14th, 16th, and 19th level. you can increase one
ability score of your choice by 2, or you can
increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As
normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20
using this feature.
EXTRA ATTACK
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice,
instead of once, whenever you take the Attack
action on your turn.
The number of attacks increases to three when
you reach 13th level in this class.
KNOW THY ENEMY
Starting at 6th level, you can spend 1 focus point
as a bonus action and the weapon you are currently
wielding gets a +1 bonus to attack and damage
rolls. This number increases to +2 at level 12, and
to +3 at level 18. This skill lasts for 1 minute and
can only have one use active at a time.
MENTAL FOCUS
Starting at 9th level, you can use your action to
spend 1 focus point to end one effect on yourself
that is causing you to be charmed or frightened.
UNSHAKEABLE
Beginning at 11th level, you can reroll a saving
throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the
new roll, and you can't use this feature again until
you finish a long rest
PATH OF THE SWORD
Design By Matt Unger
 At level 15, you can advance towards an enemy
ignoring your surroundings, you no longer have to
spend extra movement to pass through difficult
terrain.
ENEMY SENSE
Starting at level 18, you are so alert to your
surroundings that enemies have a hard time
catching you by surprise, enemies cannot get
advantage against you as a result of being hidden
from you, as long as you aren't incapacitated.
MENTAL CLARITY
Starting at level 20, when you roll for initiative
and you have no focus points remaining you regain
4 focus points.
PATHS
Different samurai have different approaches to the
trials they face on their journeys. The path they
choose reflects on their choices they have made.
PATH OF HONOR
This path focuses on the loyalty to ones "lord" a
samurai exhibited when they served a noble. They
are not ones to question an order and they perform
tasks given to them with precision and skill. They
wear heavy armor and fight with a variety of
weapons and techniques for any situations
depending on what is asked of them. They would
lay down their lives for their lords and serve them
till the day their lords die even going as far as to
end their own lives if ordered to, no task is too great
to please their king.
STRONG FORTITUDE
At 3rd level you gain proficiency in heavy armor,
martial ranged weapons, and your hit die is
replaced with d10s. In addition as long as you are
wearing heavy armor and no shield, you can add
your Dexterity modifier to your armor class (max
2).
BENEVOLENCE
Starting at 3rd level, as a bonus action you can
perform an "act of kindness" for one willing
creature, you can choose one other creature, within
10 feet of you, that can see or hear you, and heal
them equal to 1d10 + your samurai level, this
Samurai
increases to 2d10 at level 12, you can perform this
skill a number of times equal to your Wisdom
modifier. When you finish a long rest you regain all
expended uses.
COURAGE
Starting at 7th level, you are confident in your
fighting prowess, so much so that you feel you can
handle multiple enemies at the same time. When
you use your Honorable Duel skill you may select
an additional target beyond the first, this number
increases to 3 at level 10, and to 4 at level 15.
Additionally, While you are conscious you are
immune to being frightened or magically paralyzed.
SHARP REFLEXES
Starting at 12th level, the duration of your
Honorable Duel becomes 1 minute on each target.
Additionally, if a target of your Honorable duel
casts a spell that would cause you to make a
dexterity saving throw to take half damage when
you succeed, you can use your reaction to spend
1focus point and take no damage instead.
UNYIELDING SPIRIT
Starting at level 17, when you are reduced to 0 hit
points and are not killed outright, you can choose to
spend 2 focus points and drop to 1 hit point instead.
PATH OF THE RONIN
The Ronin is a samurai whose lord has passed on
or has been removed from power, resulting in their
own dishonor. A samurai who chooses to continue
life without following a noble and without ending
their own life, to save face, soon after becomes a
Ronin. A Ronin is a wandering samurai, with no
ties to a king or noble, and chooses to continue
living on his own. A Ronin sometimes lives life day
to day as a mercenary or can be hired as a body
guard for a rich ruler of a small settlement of land
or a trade caravan, while some end up turning to a
life of crime such as a bandit or an organized crime
group.
UNARMORED MASTER
When you choose this path at 3rd level, while you
are wearing no armor (you can wear common
clothes) and not wielding a shield, your AC equals
10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom
modifier.
Additionally, your speed increases by 10 feet
while you are not wearing armor or wielding a
shield. This bonus increases to 20 feet at 12th level
Design By Matt Unger
BATTLE SENSE
Starting at 3rd level, when you are wielding a
weapon you are proficient with and another
creature hits you with a melee weapon attack you
can use your reaction to spend 1 focus point to
quickly position your blade to parry the attack
increasing your AC by your proficiency bonus for
that attack possibly causing it to miss you. You can
declare this skill after you see the roll, but before
the DM says whether the attack hits or misses.
Additionally, when you hit with a melee attack
you can spend 1 focus point and use the Dodge
action as a bonus action.
QUICK STRIKE
Starting at 7th level, when you dash towards an
enemy and move at least 10 feet or more in a
straight line, you can use a bonus action to make a
melee attack with a samurai weapon as you pass the
creature, this movement does not provoke
opportunity attacks.
CHAIN STRIKE
Starting at 12th level, when you make a dash
action and move at least 10 feet in a straight line
you can spend 1 focus point and make a melee
attack against a creature, you may then move past
that creature, this movement does not provoke
opportunity attacks, and if there is another creature
at least 15 feet away from your first attack target,
you may move up to an additional 10 feet and use a
bonus action to attack the second creature.
SPELLCASTING
When you reach 3rd level, your blade has given
you supernatural powers by your curse granting you
the ability to cast spells.
Cantrips
You learn 3 cantrips: minor illusion (this spell does
not count towards your cantrips known) and 2 of
your choice from your samurai spell list. You learn
an additional cantrip at level 10.
Spell Slots. The Cursed Blade Spellcasting table
shows how many spell slots you have to cast your
spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these
spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or
higher. You regain all expended spell slots when
you finish a long rest.
Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher. You
know three 1st level samurai spells of your choice.
Spellcasting Ability. Wisdom is your
spellcasting ability for your samurai spells, since
you learn your spells through careful contemplation
and the knowledge that your blade bestows upon
you. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers
to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use
your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving
throw DC for a warlock spell you cast and when
making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
your Wisdom modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus
+ your Wisdom modifier

FINAL STRIKE
At 17th level, when you make a melee attack
against a creature and hit, if there is no other
creatures within 5 ft of you or the creature, you can
spend 2 focus points and have the creature make a
constitution saving throw (DC8 + Proficiency +
Dexterity) on a failed save you deal double damage
dice to the creature (example; if a greatsword is 2d6
+modifiers then the damage becomes 4d6+
modifiers)

PATH OF THE CURSED BLADE

Samurai who follow the path of the cursed blade
have come into possession of a blade with a terrible
dark magic about it, or perhaps it has come into
possession of them instead. Followers of this path
are bound to their weapons and its magical forces.
Samurai who have taken this path delve into dark
magic's and uses this darkness to fuel themselves
and cast this magic.
Samurai Design By Matt Unger
 Cursed Blade -Spell slots per spell level-
Samurai Level Cantrips Known Spells Known Spell Slots Spell Level
3rd 2 3 2 1
4th 2 4 2 1
5th 2 4 2 1
6th 2 4 3 2
7th 2 5 3 2
8th 2 6 3 2
9th 2 6 3 2
10th 3 7 4 3
11th 3 8 4 3
12th 3 8 4 3
13th 3 9 4 3
14th 3 10 4 3
15th 3 10 4 3
16th 3 11 4 4
17th 3 11 4 4
18th 3 11 4 4
19th 3 12 4 4
20th 3 13 4 4

CURSED LINK
Starting at 3rd level, you have learned a dark
ritual that curses a sword causing the blade to
become magically bonded with you. You perform
this ritual over the course of one hour, which can be
done during a short rest. The ritual consists of
modifying your blade through a dark forging
process. The weapon must be within your reach
during the ritual the conclusion of which you
complete the forging process of the blade and it is
cursed and bound to you.
When you are cursed with this weapon you
cannot be disarmed of it while you are conscious.
You gain the flaw:
"The blade and you have a strong desire to be
together, so much so that being apart by more than
a few feet causes you to become focused on nothing
more than the retrieval of this blade."
You also create a mark that magically appears on
your body (like that of a tattoo) that symbolizes
your link to your weapon.
When the blade is out of your grip and is within a
30 foot range you can use a bonus action to call the
blade and have it harmlessly fly through the air
landing safely in your hands.
You can only have one weapon bonded to you
through this method and creating a bond with
another weapon causes the previous "blade" to
break and become unusable and unrepairable.
AFTERIMAGE
Starting at 3rd level when you cast the minor
illusion cantrip you can make an image of yourself
that resembles you and mimics your movements.
When an attack is made against you and misses
you, if your illusion is within 5 feet of you, you can
use your reaction to spend 1 focus point and dispel
the illusion, causing it to vanish and you may attack
the creature that missed you. Giving off the
appearance that the creature attacked the illusion
thinking it was you.
CURSED SHADOW
Starting at level 7, as a bonus action, you can
spend 2 focus points to create a shadowy blade
resembling your cursed weapon which lasts for 1
minute. Each turn as a bonus action you can have
the shadowy weapon make a melee spell attack, on
a hit the target takes Necrotic damage equal to 1d8
+ your Wisdom modifier.
SHADOW COPIES
At level 12, when you cast minor illusion as a
cantrip you can make 3 illusionary copies of
yourself instead of just one, when a creature attacks
you while you are within five feet of a copy, the
creature has disadvantage on all attack rolls.
You can use this skill a number of times equal to
your Wisdom modifier. You regain all uses after a
long rest.

Samurai Design By Matt Unger

CURSED POSSESSION
At level 17, as an action, if you are below half
your hit points, you can spend 4 focus points and
activate your curse to take control over your mind
and body causing markings to appear on your body
and you attack anything you see as an enemy. You
have resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and
piercing damage while "marked" and at the
beginning of each of your turns the curse has
control, you heal hit points equal to 1d8 + your
Constitution modifier, you also have advantage on
all wisdom saving throws while this effect is active.
This ability can only be used if you are in combat
and not at 0 hit points.

Samurai Design By Matt Unger

CURSED BLADE SPELLS

Cantrips (0 level)
blade ward
booming blade
frostbite
green flame blade
guidance
mage hand
magic stone
minor illusion
ray of frost
sword burst
true strike

1st level
armor of agathys
arms of hadar
expeditious retreat
hex
ice knife

2nd level
absorb elements(abjuration)
blur
crown of madness
cloud of daggers
darkness
darkvision
heat metal
magic weapon
silence
warding wind

3rd level
bestow curse
fear
flame arrows
melf's minute meteors
nondetection
remove curse

4th level
confusion
freedom of movement
hallucinatory terrain
phantasmal killer
storm sphere

Samurai Design By Matt Unger