Elven High Guard Fighter Archetype

Elves are most renowned for their skill with magic and forest lore. However, within the ranks of their warriors are those specifically trained in combat with the weapons of their elven heritage, and are the upper echelon of their defensive forces since the earliest days before the Crown Wars. The high guard merges elven agility with the specialized training of elven melee weapons to create a deadly and efficient guardian for their coronal and/or councilors.

Adapted from Elghinn Lightbringer’s racial archetypes, reflavored for the Forgotten Realms and mechaics tweaked.

Requirements

This archetype requires the character to be of at least half elven blood.

Class Features

The high guard has the following class features.

Proficiencies

A high guard is proficient in all light and medium armor, and all shields except tower shields, as mobility is required for their fighting techniques. However, they may use mithril armor of any sort with no proficiency penalties — even for what would otherwise be heavy armor.

He is also proficient in all martial weapons, and treats any exotic weapon with ‘elven’ in the name as a martial weapon. These include (but are not limited to) the elven forked spear, elven leafblade, elven thornblade, and elven thinblade, and any combination or variant of these weapons. This replaces the fighter’s armor and weapon proficiencies.

Graceful Guardsman (Ex)

At 1st level, a high guard may use his Dexterity modifier instead of his Strength for both attack and damage rolls while wielding any exotic or martial melee weapon with “elven” in the name (hence referred to as elven melee weapons). This ability replaces the bonus feat gained at 1st level.

Defensive Maneuvers (Ex)

At 2nd level, a high guard gains a +1 bonus to any combat maneuver checks made with an elven melee weapon. This bonus also applies to the high guard’s CMD when defending against disarm and sunder attempts made against an elven melee weapon. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd. This ability replaces bravery.

Elven Weapon Training (Ex)

Starting at 3rd level, a high guard is specially trained to use the weapons of his ancestry to greater finesse. Whenever he attacks with an elven melee weapon, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), a high guard gains an additional +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls when using an elven melee weapon. This ability replaces armor training.

Aggressive Parry (Ex)

A high guard is trained to be mobile, and the movements of his weapon are used as a deflective barrier against oncoming attacks. At 5th level, when a high guard makes a full attack with an elven melee weapon, he gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC against melee attacks until the beginning of his next turn. This bonus increases by +1 every five levels after 5th. This ability replaces weapon training 1.

Blade Keening (Ex)

A high guard is taught to find the chinks in an opponent’s defenses, and to strike where it hurts. Starting at 9th level, whenever a high uses any elven melee weapon, it is treated as if it had the keen special weapon property. This ability replaces weapon training 2.

Adaptive Weapon (Ex)

The continued training and practice of keening his weapons is honed to the point that even magical defenses or unearthly resilience show their weaknesses to him. At 13th level, any elven melee weapon in a High Guard’s hands is treated as any material for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. This ability replaces weapon training 3.

Whirlwind Offesive (Ex)

The high guard becomes a torrent that cuts through an advancing line of foes. At 19th level, the high a high guard can make a full-attack with his elven melee weapon in combination with a single move action, taking the attacks at any point during his movement, but must move at least 5 feet between each attack. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal. This replaces weapon training 4.

Elven Weapon Mastery (Ex)

At 20th level, whenever a high guard makes an attack with an elven melee weapon, all critical threats are automatically confirmed and its damage multiplier is increased by 1. In addition, he cannot be disarmed while wielding an elven melee weapon. This ability replaces weapon mastery.