Saturday Potpourri: The Highborn Rake (Swashbuckler Archetype)

The Highborn Rake

Be the man a peasant or a king, honor it is not in the blood.  For some, honor is for fools compelled to keep up appearances by their fear of what others think. The highborn rake has forsaken the high society into which he was born in favor of freedom.  He will seize the day anyway he can.

The highborn rake is an archetype of the swashbuckler class.

Class Skills

The highborn rake gains Handle Animal as a class skill but does not gain Perform as a class skill.

This ability alters the swashbuckler’s class skill list.

Bonus Feats

In addition to combat feats, a highborn rake’s bonus feats at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level can come from the following list: Animal Affinity, Antagonize, Cosmopolitan, Deceitful, Deceptive Exchange, Deft Hands, Manipulative Agility, Persuasive, and Skill Focus.  This alters the bonus feat class ability.

Deeds

The highborn rake gains the following deeds, each of which replaces an existing deed.

Goading Insult (Ex): At 1st level, as a standard action, the highborn rake can spend 1 panache point to unleash a torrent of insults, goading an enemy into single combat.  The highborn rake makes an intimidate check against the target. The target must be within 30 feet and clearly see and hear the highborn rake. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the opponent’s Hit Dice + it’s Wisdom modifier. If the target is trained in Sense Motive, the DC is instead equal to 10 + the opponent’s sense motive bonus, if higher. Upon success, the target enters a duel with the highborn rake. The target cannot withdraw from the duel for 1 round + 1 round for every 5 by which the check beat the DC.

This deed replaces derring-do.

Rakish Trickery (Ex): At 3rd level, when a highborn rake has at least 1 panache point, he may perform a dirty trick combat maneuver. Doing so does not provoke an attack of opportunity. The highborn rake may spend 1 panache point to substitutes his Charisma modifier for his Strength modifier when calculating his CMB for this attack.

This deed replaces kip-up.

Malignant Grace (Ex): At 7th level, when a highborn rake has at least 1 panache point, he gains a damage bonus equal to his Charisma modifier when attacking enemies affected by his goading insult, rakish trickery or superior feint.  Also, he may, as a swift action, spend 1 panache point to gain this damage bonus against enemies demoralized by his menacing swordplay.

This deed replaces targeted strike.



About mmiller

Mike Miller first discovered RPG’s in the days of TSR. The mention of a beholder or mind flayer still twists his guts with nervous dread, though now with a tinge of nostalgia. He had no publishing experience prior to writing for the OGN, but has long enjoyed creating histories and legends for his homebrewed worlds.

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