Class Archetype · Beta

Weaponsmith

Prestige Class · d8 HD · Medium BAB · Good Fort/Will · Poor Ref

Created by DJ Yoho; edited by Micah Angelo Miakinkoff-Murzynsky; creative inputs from Ian Cohen, Jeremy Odenwald, and Ron Radke.

This will be one of the featured classes in the upcoming Thunder Mead Games Iconic Paths.

Weaponsmith trains to gain an iron will and a highly critical eye. Weaponsmiths help identify and create legendary weapons. To this end, the Discipline borrows abilities from both Alchemy and Wizardry. Nearly every community places great value on its Weaponsmiths.

Requirements

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

Alignment: Any.

Feats: Skill Focus in Craft (Weaponsmithing) or Craft (Alchemy).

Skills: Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5 ranks, Craft (Alchemy) 5 ranks.

Special: Must have crafted a masterwork weapon.

Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient with at least one martial weapon.

Hit Die: d8.

Skill Ranks per Level: 3 + Int modifier.

Table: Weaponsmith

A Weaponsmith's power comes from his understanding of the steel. He knows that what makes up the blade is in every way as important as the craftsmanship that folds the steel.

Class Features

Weaponsmith's Insight

He has gained new insight into not only the use of weapons he makes but the process used to create them. He adds his level to all Craft (Alchemy) and Craft (Weaponsmithing) checks when constructing a weapon. Furthermore, at 1st level, when wielding a weapon he has created himself, he gains a +1 insight bonus to attack and damage rolls. This bonus increases by +1 for every 4 Weaponsmith levels (+1 at 1st, +2 at 4th, +3 at 8th, +4 at 12th, +5 at 16th).

Weaponsmith's Bond

At 1st level, a Weaponsmith can choose a weapon that he has bonded. The Weaponsmith performs a ritual bonding — with his blood — to a weapon he has crafted, granting it some of his essence during creation. Once bonded, the Weaponsmith creates a special alchemical oil that is a mixture of his blood, sweat, and source material for the weapon (the material need not be from the same source, but must be of the same type — e.g. blue dragon scales). This oil is used for the maintenance of his bond. Maintaining a weapon takes 30 minutes and requires special care and techniques known only to the Weaponsmith. His bonded weapon need only be maintained weekly, with that frequency growing by one week per Weaponsmith level (a 10th-level Weaponsmith need only maintain his weapon every 10 weeks).

While wielding the bonded weapon, the dice for Alchemy Steel effects increase minimum and maximum damage:

• d6 becomes 2d4 (range 1–6 becomes 2–8)

• d10 becomes 2d6 (range 1–10 becomes 2–12)

When not wielded by the Weaponsmith, the weapon loses its bonus alchemical properties.

Alchemy Steel

Starting at 1st level, a Weaponsmith can mix special material into the metal before forming the ingot used to craft his weapons, giving them alchemical magical properties. An equivalent bonus of +1 can be gained at 1st level; the maximum bonus increases by +1 at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels. Properties from the ingot count against the total enchantment bonus of the weapon. However, these alchemical bonuses do not prevent the use of similar enchantments — a sword made with the Shocking property could still receive the Shocking enchantment.

At 5th level, the Weaponsmith's skill with alchemy has increased to the point where he can place multiple base properties in a single ingot.

When crafting a weapon, the Weaponsmith must first create an Alchemy Ingot. He gathers all the materials at the start of the crafting process equal to 25% of the base price for the equivalent enchantments. For the DC to create the ingot, he must succeed on an Alchemy check for each property added. The base DC is listed in the table below. Adding a second property increases the DC by 2 for a similar property, or by 5 for a dissimilar property (attempting to add opposing properties results in automatic failure). DCs are cumulative.

Example: The DC to create a Flaming ingot is 20. To add Flaming Burst, the next check is DC 27 (25 + 2 for similar). To instead add Shocking Burst, the DC would be 30 (25 + 5 for dissimilar). A Flaming + Corrosive + Shocking Burst ingot would cost DCs of 20, 25, and 35.

The Weaponsmith makes 1,000 gp + 100 gp per Weaponsmith level each day while crafting the ingot. Ingots last until forged into a weapon. When forging, the DC equals the highest DC used when making the ingot. Forging costs an additional 25% of the base price, with the same daily progress rate.

Keen Insight (Ex)

Starting at 2nd level, when wielding a weapon he has created, the threat range improves by 1. At 7th level, the bonus improves to 2 and the critical multiplier increases by 1. At 14th level, the threat range improves by 3. This benefit does not stack with any other effect that expands the threat range, such as the Keen enchantment.

Weapons Training (Ex)

Starting at 2nd level, a Weaponsmith can count ½ his total Weaponsmith level as his Fighter level to qualify for Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats. If he has Fighter levels, these levels stack.

Weapon Perfection

A Weaponsmith has become so attuned to the construction of weapons that he can strike freely at inferior craftsmanship. At 3rd level he gains Improved Sunder as a bonus feat, at 6th he gains Greater Sunder as a bonus feat, and at 9th level he gains Sundering Strike as a bonus feat.

Weaponsmith's Refinement

At 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, and 17th levels, a Weaponsmith can choose a specialty in weapon design. Choose one weapon that you can craft; you cannot choose the same weapon more than once. The base damage for that weapon increases by one die step. To all but the Weaponsmith, weapons crafted with this refinement are treated as Exotic weapons. A weapon design cannot benefit from this ability more than once.

Standard damage progression: 1d2 → 1d3 → 1d4 → 1d6 → 1d8 → 2d6 → 3d6 → 4d6 → 6d6 → 8d6 → 12d6.

d10 damage progression: 1d10 → 2d8 → 3d8 → 4d8 → 6d8 → 8d8.

Quick Crafting

At 11th level, the Weaponsmith's mastery of the forge allows him to work with remarkable efficiency. His daily crafting progress for both weapons and Alchemy Ingots doubles to 2,000 gp + 200 gp per Weaponsmith level per day.

Sundering Parry

At 13th level, the Weaponsmith's intimate knowledge of weapon construction allows him to intercept and degrade enemy weapons. Once per round as an immediate action, when an opponent misses him with a melee weapon attack, the Weaponsmith may make a free Sunder attempt against that weapon using his CMB (this does not provoke an attack of opportunity). He gains a bonus equal to his Weaponsmith's Insight bonus on this CMB check.

Alchemical Genius (Ex)

At 18th level, the Weaponsmith's mastery of alchemical metallurgy reaches its apex. All DCs to create Alchemy Steel ingots are reduced by 5. Additionally, the time required to craft an Alchemy Steel ingot is halved — his daily ingot-crafting progress doubles to 2,000 gp + 200 gp per Weaponsmith level per day (this benefit stacks with Quick Crafting for ingot creation, for a total of 4,000 gp + 400 gp per Weaponsmith level per day).

Keen Insight (Legendary) (Ex)

At 19th level, the Weaponsmith's critical eye has reached legendary heights. When wielding a weapon he has created himself, the critical multiplier increases by an additional +1, stacking with the bonus from Keen Insight for a total of +2 to the critical multiplier. This benefit does not stack with any effect that increases the critical multiplier beyond the bonuses already granted by Keen Insight.

Life Bonded Weapon

At 20th level, the Weaponsmith performs a ritual when creating his masterpiece weapon. He can have no more than 1 Life Bonded Weapon. A Life Bonded Weapon has its critical multiplier increased by 1 (this stacks with Keen Insight and Keen Insight (Legendary)).

This weapon automatically confirms all critical hits.

A Life Bonded Weapon's Alchemy Steel alchemical bonus can reach up to +6.

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