Duelist Redux

Design notes: This revision originated from discussions in the Pathfinder Reddit for the Prestige Unchained project. Where I felt the final product of the class in the Prestige Unchained document went just a bit too far from the original class it came from, for the sake of better differentiating it from the PF Swashbuckler, I saw no reason to make that distinction since it was the Swashbuckler that pilfered off of the original PrC, not the other way around. This, and in light of the UnSwashbuckler even more differentiating that class from the Duelist, I decided to keep a copy of this beta-level version of the PrC intact, and let it be our take on the class for our campaign. – Lurk.

Requirements

To qualify to become a duelist, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

• Base Attack Bonus: +4
• Skills: Acrobatics 5 ranks, Perform 3 ranks.
• Feats: Combat Reflexes

Class Skills: The duelist’s class skills are Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Knowledge (Local and Nobility), Perception, Perform, Ride, and Sense Motive.

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Hit Die: d10.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the duelist prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

The duelist is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, plus the whip and scorpion whip. Duelists are proficient with light armor and bucklers. All of the duelist’s abilities only function if she is wearing either light or no armor, and using no shield or a buckler. Her abilities that require a finessable, light or one-handed piercing weapon do not function if she has any weapon in her off-hand besides a light, short-bladed piercing weapon or a whip — or a tankard if using Blade and Tankard divine fighting style.

Features

Canny Defense (Ex): At 1st level, the Duelist chooses either Intelligence or Charisma as her canny defense ability; once this decision is made, it can’t be changed. Her canny defense ability is the key ability for any of her features that apply its bonus.

A duelist adds 1 point of her canny ability bonus (minimum +0) per duelist class level as a dodge bonus to her Armor Class while wielding a finessable, piercing melee weapon. At 3rd level, when she chooses to fight defensively and/or use Expertise, or takes the total defense action, this bonus to AC is doubled. If a duelist is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.

Precise Strike (Ex): At 1st level a duelist gains the ability to strike precisely with a finessable, light or one-handed piercing weapon, so long as she’s wearing light or no armor, and using no shield or a buckler. This precise strike deals bonus precision damage equal to her canny defense ability bonus, and also increases her critical hit confirmation roll by the same bonus. At 3rd level, the duelist may choose to use her Dexterity in place of Strength to damage.

Any creature that is immune to sneak attacks is immune to the additional damage granted by precise strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from the additional damage of a precise strike. This additional damage is precision damage, and isn’t multiplied on a critical hit, and it stacks with other forms of precision damage the duelist may deal on the same attack.

Elaborate Riposte (Ex): At 2nd level, a duelist learns to parry the attacks of other creatures with an elegant flourish, and deliver a decisive counterattack. Whenever the duelist is wielding a finessable, light or one-handed piercing weapon and fighting defensively, she may once per turn spend an attack of opportunity in an attempt to parry an attack against her, or an adjacent ally as an immediate action. The duelist must declare the use of this ability after the attack is announced, but before the opponent’s attack roll is made; she makes an attack roll to oppose the attacker’s roll. This roll applies the special size modifier for combat maneuvers for both the duelist and her target, as well as a –4 penalty when attempting to parry an attack made against an adjacent ally. If the attack is successfully parried, the duelist gets to resolve her parry roll as a normal attack against the opponent.

The duelist may forgo one of her iterative attacks in a full-attack action on any round to be able to parry one additional time before her next turn, but the additional parry is made at the same attack penalty as the attack that was forgone.

En Garde (Ex): At 2nd level, a duelist adds her canny defense bonus as a bonus to her initiative; this stacks with other feats, effects and equipment that add to initiative; the bonus to initiative is not doubled by fighting defensively or taking a full defense action.

Acrobatic Step (Ex): At 3rd level, a duelist gains mobility in circumstances where others would stumble. So long as she’s wearing light or no armor, and not using a shield other than a buckler, she may charge over difficult terrain that normally slows movement, and she gains skill unlocks in Acrobatics as if she had the Signature Skill feat. Depending on the circumstance, she may still need to make appropriate checks to successfully move over the terrain. At 5th level, she can make a 5-foot step even in difficult terrain.

Duelist’s Dance (Ex): At 3rd level a duelist uses her evasive footwork to taunt her opponent, dancing about her target to befuddle their defenses. So long as the duelist is fighting defensively, with a light or one-handed piercing weapon, and wearing light or no armor and not using a shield other than a buckler, she can spend an attack of opportunity to make a 5-foot step between between any of her attacks against the same opponent. The next attack she makes immediately following after a 5-foot step is considered flanking the opponent; further any two squares she moves between with this dance can be considered her attacking square for the rest of that round for the purposes of flanking the same opponent with an ally.

Deflect Missiles (Ex): At 4th level, a duelist gains the benefit of the Cut from the Air feat when using a finessable, light or one-handed piercing weapon. The duelist does not need a free hand to use this feat, and does not need to meet the prerequisites for the feat.

Evasion (Ex): At 4th level, so long as she is wearing light or no armor and not using a shield or using only a buckler, the duelist gains the ability to avoid damage from a spell entirely on a successful Reflex save, like the rogue ability of the same name; if she already has Evasion from another class, this grants the benefits of Improved Evasion instead.

Crippling Critical (Ex): At 5th level, when the duelist scores a critical hit using a light or one-handed piercing weapon, she can apply one of the following penalties in addition to the damage dealt:

• Applies a dirty trick of the duelist’s choosing
• Target is staggered
• Target is sickened
• All of the target’s speeds are reduced by 10 feet (minimum 5 feet)
• –4 penalty on all saves
• –4 penalty to attack rolls
• –4 penalty to Armor Class
• 1d4 points of Strength or Dexterity damage (duelist’s choosing)
• 2d6 points of bleed damage.

These penalties last for 1 minute, except for ability damage, which must be healed normally, and bleed damage, which continues until the target receives magic healing or a DC 15 Heal skill check. If she scores another critical hit upon the same target during the duration of an existing effect, she can not stack the same penalty, though choosing the same penalty will reset the duration of the effect.

Unchaining the VMC

From Rogue Genius’ Genius Guide to Variant Multiclassing, unchaining the base class, requires unchaining the VMC.

Base Attack Bonus:+3
Skills: Acrobatics 4 ranks, Perform 3 ranks.
Feats: Combat Reflexes

Prestige Class Features: A character that chooses duelist as her variant prestige class gains the following features. All of these abilities only function if she is wearing either light or no armor, and using no shield or a buckler. Her abilities that require a finessable, light or one-handed piercing weapon do not function if she has any weapon in her off-hand besides a light, short-bladed piercing weapon or a whip — or a tankard if using Blade and Tankard divine fighting style.

• Canny Defense: At 5th level, the Duelist chooses either Intelligence or Charisma as her canny defense ability; once this decision is made, it can’t be changed. Her canny defense ability is the key ability for any of her features that apply its bonus. She adds 1 point of her canny ability bonus (minimum +0) to her Armor Class while wielding a finessable, piercing melee weapon; she can add another +1 of this bonus at 9th level and every 4th level thereafter. If a duelist is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus. At 9th level, when she chooses to fight defensively and/or use Expertise, or takes the total defense action, this bonus is doubled.
• Elaborate Riposte: At 9th level, the Duelist gains Elaborate Parry and Riposte.
• Acrobatic Step: At 13th level, she gains Acrobatic Step.
• Deflect Missiles: At 17th level, she gains the benefits of Cut from the Air per the duelist ability.
• Capstone: At 19th level, she gains the Crippling Critical feature (this does not cost the 19th level feat).