"The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them. You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain; if you wish to control others, you must first control yourself."

These words were spoken by a man long ago, one whose mastery of the martial arts was second only to his understanding of the world. He was born neither wise nor fearsome, but his trials and study of the world as it was in his time sharpened his mind, spirit and body, until he became legend.

Regardless of your knowledge of his life and teachings, you have found yourself walking a path resonant with his. Though your paths may not be identical, you can both call yourselves wanderers, warriors, and wise men. Though you are capable of delivering many swift strikes, you have learned that often you do not need to; one decisive blow is sometimes all you require to attain mastery over your foes.

Rōnin Arms

As you travel and train, you learn to wield weapons that you might otherwise never wield. You gain proficiency in the katana (longsword), dai-katana (greatsword), and naginata (glaive).

Steadfast Stance

You are not one to rush through a fight. You have learned that to be hasty is to be careless, and carelessness leads to the grave.

When in combat, you can choose not to attack a target when you have the opportunity to. Every time you do so, you gain one ki point. This does not apply to attacks that would come from Flurry of Blows, but you can gain two ki points by withholding both your main attack and your extra attack once you reach level 5.

In addition, you learn to always maintain your guard in battle, searching for an opening in your opponent's defenses. When you are hit by an attack roll, you may either spend one ki point or use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your Armor Class, potentially deflecting the attack and causing it to miss. You must be holding your weapon with both hands in order to use this feature; you cannot use this feature if you have already used Deflect Missiles in this turn.

Rhythm of Battle

The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win.

You can now choose to withhold your Flurry of Blows using your Steadfast Stance, expending your bonus action to gain two ki points. You can do this a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier. You regain expended uses of this feature at the end of a long rest.

Opportune Strike

You win battles by knowing the enemy's timing, and using a timing which the enemy does not expect. If you think only of hitting, springing, striking or touching the enemy, you will not be able actually to cut him. More than anything, you must be thinking of carrying your movement through to cutting him.

When you use your Steadfast Stance to gain ki, your first attack on your next turn is made at advantage.

In addition, when you take the Attack action, you can spend five ki points in order to attempt a mighty blow. If the attack hits, you deal additional d6's of damage equal to your proficiency bonus. For example, if you land an Opportune Strike at level 5 with a longsword, your attack deals 1d8+3d6 damage.

 

Opportune Strike Table

Level 5 - 3d6

Level 9 - 4d6

Level 13 - 5d6

Level 17 - 6d6

Samurai

No man is invincible, and therefore no man can fully understand that which would make him invincible. Get beyond love and grief; exist for the good of Man. Though you give up your life, do not give up your honor.

You have mastered your path. Though you may still be a masterless rōnin, you have the heart of a samurai. When you raise your sword in defense of others, you are filled with the vigor and strength of all those whose paths echo your own.

Anytime you enter combat in order to defend any living creature which cannot adequately defend itself, you immediately gain 10 ki points. You can use this feature once before you finish a long rest.

In addition, the cost of your Opportune Strike is reduced from 5 ki points to 3 ki points.