The Flying Swordsman (Athletic Rogue)

Here’s another conversion from my favorite anime/manga of all times to the Spheres of system: say hello to Cyborg 002, everyone!

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P.S. In case you were wondering if I will create material for PF2... I will, but I want to study the system well before. And to PF1 lovers... don’t worry, I plan to continue writing for that, at least for a while!

The Flying Swordsman (Athletic Rogue)

Human rogue (Canny Scoundrel) 1

N Medium humanoid (human, tengu)

Init +3; Senses Perception +4

Defense

AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)

hp 10 (1d8+2)

Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +0

Offense

Speed 30 ft., fly 15 ft. (clumsy)

Melee rapier +3 (1d6, 18-20) or dagger +3 (1d4, 19-20)

Ranged dagger +3 (1d4, 19-20) or light crossbow (1d8, 19-20)

Special Attacks kismet (2), sneak attack +1d6

Martial 

Tradition Rowdy (Equipment: Rogue Weapon Training; Athletics Sphere: Sparrow’s Path; Fencing sphere); PAM Cha

Athletics Sphere - DC 12, Talents Sparrow’s Path, Drawbacks none

- coordinated movement (whenever you take the withdraw action, you regain your martial focus)

- fly package (fly better and resist better in flight)

- sparrow’s path (gain a fly speed equal to half your base speed, with a maneuverability of clumsy)

Equipment sphere - DC 12, Talents Finesse Fighting, Rogue Weapon Training
- finesse fighting (add your Dex bonus on attacks with finessable weapons)

- rogue weapon training (discipline) (proficiency with blade boot, butterfly knife, garrote, hand crossbow, kukri, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, starknife, switchblade knife, sword cane, war razor, and whip. +2 competence bonus to Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal a weapon on your person)

Fencing sphere - DC 12, Talents none, Drawbacks none
- fatal thrust (deal +1d6 precision damage to a target that is flat-footed or has lost its Dex bonus to AC)

Scoundrel sphere - DC 12, Talents none, Drawbacks none
- swift hands (use your Dexterity with dirty trick or steal maneuvers and use your ranks in Sleight of Hand as your base attack bonus for dirty trick or steal maneuvers; apply any enhancement bonuses to your unarmed strikes to dirty trick and steal combat maneuvers)
- marked target (batter a creature as a swift action and inflict a -1 penalty on Perception checks for 1 round; apply trick talents to steal or dirty trick combat maneuvers or Sleight of Hand checks)

Scout sphere - DC 12, Talents none, Drawbacks none
- scout (swift action, identify creature's weaknesses)

Statistics

Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 15

Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 12

Traits Blade Bravado, Fencer

Feats Lovable Scoundrel, Racial Heritage (tengu)

Skills Acrobatics +7/+8, Appraise +5, Bluff +6/+7, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist +7, Fly +7, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +4, Ride +4, Sleight of Hand +7/+9, Stealth +7

Languages Common, Tengu

Gear dagger (2 gp), leather armor (10 gp), light crossbow (35 gp) with 20 bolts (2 gp), 1 vial of liquid life (20 gp), rapier (20 gp), rogue’s kit (50 gp), 1 gp

Special Abilities

Athletics Sphere When you gain the Athletics sphere, you gain one of the following packages with its included abilities. You may take the Expanded Training talent to gain additional packages.

Each package has an associated movement mode and an associated skill. Some abilities require you to be using an associated movement mode to function. When you gain a package, you gain 5 ranks in its associated skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Athletics sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the associated skill you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

If you possess both the (leap) and (run) packages, you gain a competence bonus on Acrobatics checks equal to half your base attack bonus instead of retraining the ranks a second time.

In addition, you gain the following ability:

Athletics: Coordinated Movement Whenever you take the withdraw action, you regain your martial focus.

Athletics: Fly You do not need to make a Fly check to remain flying when moving less than half your speed on your turn and count as being one size larger when determining the effects of wind on you while flying. This does not give you the ability to fly; it simply augments your movement abilities if you possess a means of flight. You may gain ranks in the Fly skill even if you do not possess a means of flight. Associated Movement Mode: Flying. Associated Skill: Fly.

Athletics: Sparrow’s Path (fly)

Prerequisites: Athletics sphere, Fly 3 ranks.

You gain a fly speed equal to half your base speed, with a maneuverability of clumsy. The fly speed only functions during your turn; if you are not on a surface that can support you at the end of your turn, you fall. If you deal damage to a hostile creature with a melee attack during your turn, you may choose not to fall at the end of that turn.

At 8 ranks in Fly, this fly speed becomes permanent. This is a supernatural effect.

Equipment: Finesse Fighting You may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier when calculating your melee attack rolls with light weapons and weapons with the finesse weapon special feature. You may take this talent a total of two times. If taken a second time, whenever you make an attack using your Dexterity bonus on attack rolls and your Strength bonus on melee damage rolls, you may also add ½ your base attack bonus (minimum 1) as a bonus on that damage roll. Associated Feat: Weapon Finesse.

Equipment: Rogue Weapon Training (discipline) You gain proficiency with the blade boot, butterfly knife, garrote, hand crossbow, kukri, rapier, sap, short sword, shortbow, starknife, switchblade knife, sword cane, war razor, and whip. Additionally, you gain a +2 competence bonus to Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal a weapon on your person. At +10 base attack bonus, this competence bonus increases to +4.

Fencing Sphere Fencers are quick fighters who use nimble footwork and expert feints to open up their target before landing a fatal blow.

When you gain the Fencing sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Bluff skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Fencing sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the Bluff skill you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

Fencing: Fatal Thrust Whenever you make an attack action or an attack of opportunity against a target that is within 30 ft. and that you are flanking, that is flat-footed, or that has lost its Dexterity bonus to AC (such as through a successful feint), you deal an additional +1d6 precision damage to the target. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit. This damage increases by an additional 1d6 precision damage for every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess.

A fencer may apply the effects of a single (exploit) talent to any fatal thrust.

Keen Blades, Keen Eyes, and Keen Wits: At 1st level the canny scoundrel gains the Scoundrel and Scout spheres as bonus spheres, as well as Finesse Fighting from the Equipment sphere, even if she would not normally qualify for it. If she already possesses one or more of these spheres, she may instead choose any talent she qualifies for from the corresponding sphere.

This replaces trapfinding.

Scoundrel Sphere Masters of subtlety and guile, practitioners of the Scoundrel sphere know how to best manipulate opponents into dropping their guard before taking them for everything they have. When you gain the Scoundrel sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Sleight of Hand skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Scoundrel sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the Sleight of Hand skill you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

All practitioners of the Scoundrel sphere gain the following abilities:

Scoundrel: Swift Hands You may use your Dexterity in place of your Strength when attempting a dirty trick or steal maneuver and may use your ranks in the Sleight of Hand skill in place of your base attack bonus when determining your combat maneuver bonus to perform a dirty trick or steal maneuver. In addition, you may apply any enhancement bonuses to your unarmed strikes to your dirty trick and steal combat maneuvers.

Scoundrel: Marked Target You may make a melee touch attack against a creature as a swift action; if this attack is successful, the creature is battered and takes a -1 penalty on Perception checks for 1 round. For every 4 ranks in Sleight of Hand you possess, this penalty is increased by 1.

Whenever you perform a steal or dirty trick combat maneuver, or make a Sleight of Hand check to take an object from a target unnoticed, you may apply one (trick) talent to it. (Trick) talents cannot be applied to maneuvers performed as a free action.

Scout Sphere Training in the Scout sphere teaches you how to hide from danger, identify potential threats and hazards, track opponents through almost any environment, and identify a creature’s key weaknesses. When you gain the Scout sphere, you gain 5 ranks in the Stealth skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Scout sphere (maximum ranks equal to your total Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the Stealth skill you may immediately retrain them, but you do not get to retrain when only temporarily gaining talents, such as through the armiger’s customized weapons class feature.

All practitioners of the Scout sphere gain the following ability:

Scout: Scout As a swift action, you may identify a creature’s weaknesses (DC 10 + creature’s CR) as described under the Knowledge skill, but may substitute a Perception check for the appropriate Knowledge check at a -5 penalty. This only reveals the target’s weaknesses, or lack thereof, (such as damage reduction types and vulnerabilities), and does not reveal any additional information about the target. Once you have succeeded at a scout attempt or Knowledge check against a target, any talents or effects that require you to scout a target may be used against the target for the next 24 hours; after this period you must successfully use the scout ability against the target again to continue benefiting from related effects.

Sneak Attack If a rogue can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage.

The rogue’s attack deals extra damage anytime her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the rogue flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and increases by 1d6 every two rogue levels thereafter. Should the rogue score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.

With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage (like a sap, whip, or an unarmed strike), a rogue can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.

The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. A rogue cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.

Build

The Flying Swordsman is built with a 20-point buy and 140 gp starting wealth. Favored Class Bonus is +⅙ of a new rogue talent. If using a lower point buy, you can lower Strength and Wisdom. If using a higher point buy (or rolling really well), your most important attributes are Charisma and Dexterity. Charisma is your casting statistic and affects the save DCs of all your magic and martial talents and your spell pool, in addition to being a great asset in social situations or to intimidate enemies in combat; Dexterity makes you a great finesse warrior, increases your initiative, and bolsters your AC and Reflex save. Intelligence is important too, to sustain your skill monkey and information gatherer role.

Playing a Flying Swordsman
Flamboyant and roguish, you wave with grace your sword in mid-air and tumble on roofs and walls to conquer treasures and damsels. Your tengu blood manifests in your fencing ability and attitude to trickery, and also in your narcissistic and prideful boasts- but above all, in your inborn power to fly. You are nonetheless devout to your “conspiracy” -your friends- protecting them with your life. Often Luck is your ally in these daring deeds. You always seem to get away with everything.

Future Abilities

Martial Talents Caper, Death from Afar, Derision, Distracting Trickery, Diving Strike, Eagle’s Path, Expanded Training (Leap, Run), Expert Feint, Fatal Opening, Gladiator Sphere, Mobile Striker, Mobility, Moving Target, Powerful Wings, Swift Movement, Target Weakness

Rogue Talents Chance Feats (Defy Fate, Lucky Streak), Combat Trick (Extra Martial Talent), Emboldening Strike, Flying Stunt, Getaway Artist, Improved Evasion, Mien of Despair

Feats Acrobatic, Agile Maneuvers, Barroom Brawler, Dazzling Display, Graceful Flyer, Piranha Strike, Skill Focus (Fly), Violent Display, Weapon Focus (rapier)