Clan Samurai - Rokugan

Samurai are professional warriors, members of the noble class who are trained in the arts of warfare. They are not only trained for their role in society, but they are also born for it—born into a system of allegiance, loyalty, and honor that influences every stage of their lives. A samurai cut loose from this system is no longer a samurai; he is an ordinary fighter, a [background]ronin[/background] with no honor and no standing in society. To become a samurai the character must have a bonus on their Honor attribute.

ADVENTURER

A samurai’s first responsibility is obedience to his lord, usually the head of his family. This is simultaneously an endless source of adventures and a potential hindrance to a life of adventure. A low-level samurai’s lord may command him to investigate a mysterious occurrence or subdue a gang of bandits. If he performs these duties well, his lord will call on him to deal with more significant problems. However, a samurai usually cannot simply disappear on an expedition into the Shadowlands without his lord’s command or at least permission, and if a samurai’s lord has an important mission for him, he must make that his top priority. Whether this is a significant hindrance or not is up to the Dungeon Master.

CHARACTERISTICS

Samurai are distinguished from other Fighter subclasses by their adherence to bushido, a code of honor, loyalty, and obedience. If a samurai remains honorable and true to his code of conduct, his swords — masterwork blades passed down through generations— may awaken in his hands, manifesting increasing magical abilities as the samurai advances in level and invests spiritual energy in them. To a samurai, dishonor is worse than death, and the loss of his swords is possibly the worst dishonor imaginable.

ALIGNMENT Bushido, the code of the samurai, demands strict obedience to standards of behavior and honor. Only lawful characters can adhere to this code and call themselves samurai.

BACKGROUND

Samurai learn their combat techniques and the principles of bushido in established, well-organized schools. 

OTHER CLASSES Samurai consider themselves the pinnacle of the Celestial Order that structures their society. Shugenjas are technically their equals in this order, but in a world where honor is virtually equated with battle prowess, shugenjas have a tenuous hold on that position. Samurai respect only other samurai—as well as other characters (Unicorn barbarians, Crab rangers) who wear the daisho and uphold the code of bushido. They are prone to treating members of other character classes as servants, or sidekicks at best unless such characters are obviously well respected by the samurai’s lord.

CODE OF CONDUCT – BUSHIDO IN ROKUGAN

Bushido is the code of the samurai, the moral and ethical path every true samurai tries to follow. All the clans recognize Akodo’s writings on bushido as a legitimate tool for teaching samurai their proper place in the Celestial Order. In the schools of the Lion, however, a copy of Akodo’s text sits beside a copy of the Tao of Shinsei—but only Akodo’s is ever opened. According to the code of bushido, a samurai must possess seven virtues:

•  Gi (honesty and justice): A samurai deals openly and honestly with others and cleaves to the ideals of justice. Moral decisions do not come in shades of gray, only right and wrong.
•  Yu (heroic courage): A samurai never fears to act but lives life fully and wonderfully. Fear is replaced with respect and caution.
• Jin (compassion): A samurai takes every opportunity to aid others and creates opportunities when none arise. As a powerful individual, a samurai has a responsibility to use that power to help others.
• Rei (polite courtesy): A samurai has no reason to be cruel, and no need to prove his strength. Courtesy distinguishes a samurai from an animal and reveals one’s true strength.
• Meyo (honour): A samurai’s conscience is the judge of her honour. The decisions she makes and how she carries them out are a reflection of her true nature.
• Makoto (complete sincerity): When a samurai has said that he shall perform an action, it is as good as done. He need not make promises; speaking and doing are as if the same.
• Chugo (duty and loyalty): A samurai feels responsible for his actions and their consequences, and loyal to the people in his care. A samurai’s loyalty to his lord is unquestionable and unquestioning.

Alternatively, you could use a more “traditional” version of the bushido code in your game . This form of  bushido is dominated by one particular historical culture (like Japanese culture in Kara-Tur):

A samurai must be of [alignment]lawful[/alignment] alignment, and dishonors himself, his family, and his swords if he ever willingly commits a chaotic act. Additionally, the samurai code of bushido requires that he be obedient to his lord, accept death at any time and face it bravely, avenge any dishonor, and shun any appearance of cowardice. The core principles of bushido are honor, loyalty, and courage. Violating these precepts results in dishonor, which may result in a samurai being stripped of his family name or being asked to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). This code is known as bushido and some of the basic beliefs of this ethic are:

•  The samurai is obedient to his lord.
•  It is a samurai’s right to protest against bad judgements or orders from his lord, and death is the final protest a samurai can make.
•  The samurai is ready to die at any time.
•  There is no such thing as failure, only death or success.
•  To die in the service of one’s lord is the greatest service a samurai can render.
•  No dishonor can go unavenged.
•  Dishonor to lord or family is also dishonor to the samurai.
•  Mercy is not due to the enemy.
•  All debts, both of vengeance and of gratitude, are repaid.
•  Cowardice is dishonorable.
• Using a shield is dishonorable as is wielding a non-samurai weapon (like a ninja-to – fighters lose their proficiency with shield when they pick the Samurai archetype).

This is a [class]Fighter[/class] class archetype.

RONIN (EX-SAMURAI) A samurai who becomes non-lawful loses their bonus and proficiency with Honor or violates the tenets of bushido cannot gain new levels as a samurai - advances as a [subclass]Nobushi[/subclass] should they not multiclass out of Fighter. They retains all their abilities, but their ancestral weapons lose any “awakened” magical abilities. If the samurai returns to lawful alignment, they must atone for their violations (see the atonement spell description in the Player’s Handbook) and redeem their honor in order to restore their weapons to their prior status and continue advancing as a samurai.

NOTE:  Orignal work and credit go to Michael Mifsud in DM GUILD.  I only uploaded and tweak this as to use D&D Beyond for virtual Game

Ancestral Daisho

3rd-level Samurai feature The samurai has  the option of awakening the supernatural abilities latent in their Daisho. At any time, a samurai may retreat to a temple or shrine and spend time in prayer in order to awaken the ancestral spirits in their katana or wakizashi. (Most samurai improve their katanas and not their wakizashis). This requires a sacrifice of valuable items worth the amount equivalent to the Magical Item Rarity Table of the item per the DMG pg. 135. The samurai must also abide by the level limits listed on the same table.

For example, to turn a katana into a +1 magical weapon it would require the Samurai to be at least level 3 and sacrifice 500 koku (gp) or worth of goods as a +1 weapon is an uncommon weapon. To add the vicious trait to the weapon, a rare magical trait, the samurai would need to be at least 5th level and sacrifice 5,000 ¥ worth of goods. You may also sacrifice magical weapons in this ritual to transfer the traits to your ancestral daisho.

Before a samurai’s ancestral sword becomes a +1 weapon, it is an ordinary masterwork weapon. Its latent supernatural powers do not cause it to be considered a magic weapon until those powers are awakened. A samurai who loses their ancestral swords is dishonored until they can recover them. Once awakened, they cannot enhance any other daisho in this way.

Upon their death, the daisho looses whatever abilities they attained - reverting back to masterwork weapons awaiting their next bushi.

 Additionally, you gain proficiency with Iaijutsu Skill.

Blades Edge

7th-level Samurai feature When you hold your attack with your ancestral daisho until after you are attacked in the round, you take advantage of the opening and can add a +2 bonus to your attack and damage roll(s). In other words, you [Tooltip Not Found] until after you are attacked in melee combat.

Way of the Sword

10th-level Samurai feature You can the following benefits when wielding your daisho in a certain style:

• Akodo Stance - When wielding your katana two-handed, you add your Honor modifier to your damage rolls
• Mirimoto Stance - When dual wielding your katana and wakizashi together you may add your Honor modifier as a bonus to your attack roll
• Kakita Stance - When wielding your katana, one handed you add your Honor modifier to your AC.

Alternatively, you can select styles taught by Clan dojos.  Work with your DM to determine which are appropriate - these would be one for one substitutions. i.e.  A Crane Clan Samuari might opt to swap out Akodo Stance and Mirimoto Stance for:

• Way of the Crane - Your Daisho gains [weapon properties]finesse[/weapon properties]. Katana sheathed, you may add your Honor modifier to your initiative
• Strike at the Heart - Katana sheathed, gain immediate [reaction]attack of opportunity[/reaction] against any target holding their action within melee. Negating that hold action.

Mask of Fear

15th-level Samurai feature You become immune to fear and inspire fear in your enemies. Starting on your initiative in Combat -  Enemies within 10 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened; they can reattempt a saving throw at the end of  their turn.  A successful save makes them immune for 24 hours to your fear affect.

The DC for this save is 8 + proficiency bonus + Honor bonus.

Samurai and Ronin background as well as Samurai Class enemies are unaffected.

Great Kiai

18th-level Samurai feature You gain the ability of the great kiai, or paralyzing shout. This power draws upon the character’s ki, exploding in a ferocious, warlike shout. The samurai chooses for Strength score, or Dexterity score, or Constitution Score to temporarily raise to 25 for 1 minute.  Additionally, All enemies within 10 feet must succeed at a DC 20 Wisdom save or be stunned for one round.

During this time, if you take damage that reduces you to 0 hit points and doesn’t kill you outright, you can use your reaction to delay falling unconscious, and you can immediately take an extra turn, interrupting the current turn. While great kiai is active taking damage causes death saving throw failures as normal, and three death saving throw failures can still kill you. When the effect of the great kiai expires or the encounter ends (whichever comes first), you fall unconscious if you still have 0 hit points. 

The great kiai can be used only once per day