Street performer, warrior, assassin – a Master of Blades can be any or all of these. She is a master of small thrown weapons - daggers, darts, knives, shuriken, whatever she can lay her hands on becomes a weapon that she can throw with deadly accuracy. Unlike other assassin-types, the Master of Blades tends to work out in the open – after all, she has to get fairly close to her victim.
Rogues are most likely to become Masters of Blades, though some rangers and fighters also follow this path, becoming more dangerous with both melee and ranged weapons. The odd bard or monk has been known to be a Master of Blades.
Hit Die: d6.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Master of Blades (MoB), the character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Sleight of Hand 12 ranks, Acrobatics 10 ranks
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Weapon Group Proficiency (thrown weapons)
Class Skills
The Master of Blades' class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perception (Wis) Perform (Cha), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Stealth (Dex).
Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int modifier
Table 1: The Master of Blades
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Ambidexterity |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Fast draw |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Combat throw, +1 ranged attack |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Increased damage die |
| 5th | +3 | +2 | +4 | +2 | Razored eye |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Manythrow, +1 ranged attack |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Improvised weapon |
| 8th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +3 | Extended range |
| 9th | +6 | +3 | +6 | +3 | Wall of blades, +1 ranged attack |
| 10th | +7 | +4 | +7 | +4 | Angled throw |
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Master of Blades.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Masters of Blades gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.
Ambidexterity (Ex): The Master of Blades is skilled at throwing weapons with either hand and suffers no penalty when throwing with either or both hands. She still suffers normal penalties for using two weapons in melee, however.
Fast Draw (Ex): The Master of Blades can draw a hidden thrown weapon as a free action instead of a move action.
She can also, once per combat, draw and fling a Tiny or Small thrown weapon as a single attack, catching the target flat-footed (sneak attack damage applies).
Combat Throw (Ex): A Master of Blades can make ranged attacks with thrown weapons without provoking an attack of opportunity.
+1 Ranged Attack: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels, a Master of Blades gains an additional ranged attack each round when using thrown weapons, which can be made with either hand and is at her highest base attack bonus.
Increased Damage Die (Ex): All weapons thrown by the Master of Blades deal damage as if they were one size larger - 1d2 becomes 1d3; 1d3 becomes 1d4; 1d4 becomes 1d6.
Razored Eye (Ex): The Master of Blades is trained to fight in all environments, including total darkness or (more often for performers) blindfolded, and against targets of all sizes. She gains a sense of her surroundings through sound, smell, and vibration (blindsight) to a range of 15 feet, enabling her to fight normally when she cannot see. Beyond that range, she gains the benefit of the Blind Fight feat. Invisibility is no protection from blindsight, but the Master of Blades cannot see ethereal creatures.
Additionally, the Master of Blades' penalties to hit targets smaller than she is are halved (round down).
Manythrow (Ex): The Master of Blades can throw two Tiny weapons of the same type at once with one hand (at a -2 penalty for each) at a single target within 30 feet. At 9th level, she can add another weapon, at another -2 penalty to the roll. Regardless of the number of weapons thrown, the Master applies precision-based damage (such as sneak attack damage) only once. If she scores a critical hit, only the first weapon thrown deals critical damage; all others deal normal damage.
Improvised Weapon (Ex): A Master of Blades can use any small, sharp object as a thrown weapon – shards of glass or metal, sharp pieces of wood, arrows, bolts, etc. The weapons deal damage according to their size and type – shards of glass or metal would be treated as shuriken or knives; bolts or arrows would be treated as darts, etc. The Master is still limited to her normal number of attacks.
Extended Range (Ex): The Master of Blades adds one range increment to that of all thrown weapons; in addition, the attack penalty for each range increment is reduced by -1 (in effect, the first range increment is doubled).
Wall of Blades (Ex): As a full-round action, the Master of Blades can make a single ranged attack against one enemy per point of her Dex bonus within 20 feet of her at her highest base attack bonus.
Angled Throw (Ex): The Master of Blades' deadliest (and most impressive) ability, the angled throw enables her to bank thrown weapons around corners to strike targets in hiding. This requires a standard action, as the Master must set herself and calculate the proper angles. She also suffers a -6 penalty to the attack roll in addition to any other modifiers, but sneak attack damage applies, if the opponent is caught flat-footed. She can angle the weapons up to 90 degrees (and only along a flat plane – around a corner, but not over an obstacle), and they are still subject to their maximum range increments.
