I've been wanting to try a Swiftstride Shifter for some time now, and I've had this idea for a character in my pocket for a while.
I was tinkering with a character concept based off the romanticized Japanese samurai or ronin, in which the character is a wandering swordsman with mystical elements.
The Shifter race offers a unique backstory, one in which the character's mother or ancestor is a fey spirit, based off the kitsune from Japanese mythology...a fox spirit that assumes the form of a beautiful woman and meddles in human affairs.
As such, the character can evoke some of their mystical bloodline, becoming somewhat fox-like in appearance, when engaging in their swordplay.
I really like the features of the Swiftstride Shifter:
Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
While shifted, your walking speed increases by 10 feet. Additionally, you can move up to 10 feet as a reaction when a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This reactive movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
...my plan is to utilize scimitars or a rapier as a stand-in for romanticized katana-wielding (or the standard dao weapons).
This character is very much Dexterity-based...very light on their feet and evasive, so the statistics of this subrace favors my style of play...and proficiency in "Acrobatics" is a welcome plus.
The additional movement speed + using a Reaction to avoid opportunity attacks essentially gives the character some of the benefits of the Scout Rogue, which I look forward to using quite a bit.
...where I'm struggling is selecting a class.
Swashbuckler Rogue is a nice fit for this character...but the Reaction feature is a tad wasted, since Rogue's already have a regular use for their Reaction. It also lacks the mystical element I'm going for.
Sword Bard seems a STRONG contender...gaining scimitar proficiency, Extra Attack, weapon Flourishes...and since Bard's don't commonly have a use for their Reaction, the Swiftstride feature seems VERY appropriate to a subclass that could benefit from evading their opponent...plus, Flourishes add 10ft of movement, stacking with the subrace, giving them an average 50ft of movement on their turn...60ft, if adding the "Mobile" feat (which I plan to). The Charisma / Dexterity bonus is a natural fit for Sword Bards, as well.
An "Oath of the Ancients" paladin is an interesting choice for me, simply because the flavor lends itself to a character who is deeply attuned to nature, very much like a Japanese spirit. A Dexterity paladin is very do-able; and Paladin features are incredibly strong. Plus...at high levels, the Ancients Paladin can simply live forever...provided that they survive, of course. This gives the character a sense of agelessness...inheriting some of the spiritual power of their fox-like ancestor, maybe? The Charisma bonus is beneficial for paladins, as well.
A "Pact of the Blade" Archfey Warlock is another possibility...perhaps they actually gain their power from a Fey spirit, to whom their lend their sword skills as fealty.
Flavor aside, I'd be curious if anyone has advice on what class suits a Swiftstride Shifter from a mechanical perspective. Maybe I'm not thinking of something.
What about fighter/monk multiclass? Fighter Champion or Samurai + Monk Way of the Kensai
I do think the Longsword is a better weapon to reflavour into a katana-esque weapon but you might be able to get your dm to allow the rapier to be reflavoured into a katana (slashing damage instead of piercing).
What about fighter/monk multiclass? Fighter Champion or Samurai + Monk Way of the Kensai
I do think the Longsword is a better weapon to reflavour into a katana-esque weapon but you might be able to get your dm to allow the rapier to be reflavoured into a katana (slashing damage instead of piercing).
This is perhaps why I am gravitating towards the use of scimitars as the "main" weapon...they are slashing weapons that can be dual-wielded, of necessary.
That, coupled with the fact that Swiftstride Shifter favors both Dexterity & Charisma, is making me lean towards Charisma-based melee classes.
Also if two weapon fighting is the goal, Paladins do not get the two weapon fighting style. You could go withthe stereotypical ranger two weapon build unless charisma based spell casting is also something you want.
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What you're talking about sounds very much like a Fox Hengeyokai from the 3.5e Legend of the Five Rings. I did have a DM let me play one and he was a blast.
I too have been trying to figure out a good way to do this kind of character under 5e rules. What did you finally end up going with?
Mechanically, the general best use for a flat movement speed buff is using it as a replacement for Strength when wearing heavy armor. That generally means fighter, paladin, or cleric (armorers are a special case, since they "fix" the issue differently), but you can multiclass. Biggest problem with multiclassing paladin is you're forced into Strength, defeating the purpose.
My gut says the ideal build here would be a fighter/swashbuckler/hexblade, using the racial reactive movement to enhance booming blade and combining plate armor with a swashbuckler's simple lack of reliance on stealth.
If using the Dedicated Weapon option from Tasha's (or going Way of the Kensei, though that'll take a few levels), I might suggest Monk/Druid. Ok, your +1 Cha won't be as useful but that doesn't have to be a big deal. High movement speed, in tune with nature, you get to add shapechanging to your shifter features, nimble and evasive, mystical. It works.
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Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
My first thought was kensai as well. The monk flavor is heavy on the mystical side. It would use your boost to dex well and charisma boost is always nice for roleplay regardless of class. Alternately I'm less familiar with samurai but dex based fighters work and you literally want to play a samurai ;-)
Greetings all.
I've been wanting to try a Swiftstride Shifter for some time now, and I've had this idea for a character in my pocket for a while.
I was tinkering with a character concept based off the romanticized Japanese samurai or ronin, in which the character is a wandering swordsman with mystical elements.
The Shifter race offers a unique backstory, one in which the character's mother or ancestor is a fey spirit, based off the kitsune from Japanese mythology...a fox spirit that assumes the form of a beautiful woman and meddles in human affairs.
As such, the character can evoke some of their mystical bloodline, becoming somewhat fox-like in appearance, when engaging in their swordplay.
I really like the features of the Swiftstride Shifter:
Ability Score Increase
Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.
Graceful
You have proficiency in the Acrobatics skill.
Shifting Feature
While shifted, your walking speed increases by 10 feet. Additionally, you can move up to 10 feet as a reaction when a creature ends its turn within 5 feet of you. This reactive movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks.
...my plan is to utilize scimitars or a rapier as a stand-in for romanticized katana-wielding (or the standard dao weapons).
This character is very much Dexterity-based...very light on their feet and evasive, so the statistics of this subrace favors my style of play...and proficiency in "Acrobatics" is a welcome plus.
The additional movement speed + using a Reaction to avoid opportunity attacks essentially gives the character some of the benefits of the Scout Rogue, which I look forward to using quite a bit.
...where I'm struggling is selecting a class.
Swashbuckler Rogue is a nice fit for this character...but the Reaction feature is a tad wasted, since Rogue's already have a regular use for their Reaction. It also lacks the mystical element I'm going for.
Sword Bard seems a STRONG contender...gaining scimitar proficiency, Extra Attack, weapon Flourishes...and since Bard's don't commonly have a use for their Reaction, the Swiftstride feature seems VERY appropriate to a subclass that could benefit from evading their opponent...plus, Flourishes add 10ft of movement, stacking with the subrace, giving them an average 50ft of movement on their turn...60ft, if adding the "Mobile" feat (which I plan to). The Charisma / Dexterity bonus is a natural fit for Sword Bards, as well.
An "Oath of the Ancients" paladin is an interesting choice for me, simply because the flavor lends itself to a character who is deeply attuned to nature, very much like a Japanese spirit. A Dexterity paladin is very do-able; and Paladin features are incredibly strong. Plus...at high levels, the Ancients Paladin can simply live forever...provided that they survive, of course. This gives the character a sense of agelessness...inheriting some of the spiritual power of their fox-like ancestor, maybe? The Charisma bonus is beneficial for paladins, as well.
A "Pact of the Blade" Archfey Warlock is another possibility...perhaps they actually gain their power from a Fey spirit, to whom their lend their sword skills as fealty.
Flavor aside, I'd be curious if anyone has advice on what class suits a Swiftstride Shifter from a mechanical perspective. Maybe I'm not thinking of something.
What about fighter/monk multiclass? Fighter Champion or Samurai + Monk Way of the Kensai
I do think the Longsword is a better weapon to reflavour into a katana-esque weapon but you might be able to get your dm to allow the rapier to be reflavoured into a katana (slashing damage instead of piercing).
This is perhaps why I am gravitating towards the use of scimitars as the "main" weapon...they are slashing weapons that can be dual-wielded, of necessary.
That, coupled with the fact that Swiftstride Shifter favors both Dexterity & Charisma, is making me lean towards Charisma-based melee classes.
bard/college of swords might be the better option than a paladin or warlock then.
It's definitely looking mighty appealing...but an Oath of the Ancients Paladin is a strong second choice...
Hmph...then again, paladins enjoy being in the thick of combat...not much reason for them to disengage from opponents...
Also if two weapon fighting is the goal, Paladins do not get the two weapon fighting style. You could go withthe stereotypical ranger two weapon build unless charisma based spell casting is also something you want.
What you're talking about sounds very much like a Fox Hengeyokai from the 3.5e Legend of the Five Rings. I did have a DM let me play one and he was a blast.
I too have been trying to figure out a good way to do this kind of character under 5e rules. What did you finally end up going with?
Mechanically, the general best use for a flat movement speed buff is using it as a replacement for Strength when wearing heavy armor. That generally means fighter, paladin, or cleric (armorers are a special case, since they "fix" the issue differently), but you can multiclass. Biggest problem with multiclassing paladin is you're forced into Strength, defeating the purpose.
My gut says the ideal build here would be a fighter/swashbuckler/hexblade, using the racial reactive movement to enhance booming blade and combining plate armor with a swashbuckler's simple lack of reliance on stealth.
If using the Dedicated Weapon option from Tasha's (or going Way of the Kensei, though that'll take a few levels), I might suggest Monk/Druid. Ok, your +1 Cha won't be as useful but that doesn't have to be a big deal. High movement speed, in tune with nature, you get to add shapechanging to your shifter features, nimble and evasive, mystical. It works.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
My first thought was kensai as well. The monk flavor is heavy on the mystical side. It would use your boost to dex well and charisma boost is always nice for roleplay regardless of class. Alternately I'm less familiar with samurai but dex based fighters work and you literally want to play a samurai ;-)
I'm currently playing a Swiftstride Shifter that's a soulknife rogue it's so fun.....
Realistically all of katana really is, is a long sword with a specific purpose where the European longsword is addressed to whom it may concern