The landsknecht are elite mercenaries, traveling warriors for hire who serve as auxiliary forces for armies the world over. Landsknecht are proficient with many different weapons and military tactics, but many prefer to use a sword and shield or to simply wield a sword in a one handed style.
Whether in companies of their own or as elite individual soldiers, the title of landsknecht carries with it the weight of battlefield experience and martial supremacy.
The most elite landsknecht serve as bodyguards to kings, generals and standard bearers, where their skill at fending off large numbers of enemies makes them especially suited for such tasks. Such soldiers often command double or even triple the pay of their peers, and their skill at arms more than makes them worth the cost.
Entry Requirements
Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Feats: Quick Draw, Combat Reflexes.
Martial Arts: One Mithral Current or Scarlet Throne maneuver known, initiator level 5th.
| Base Attack Bonus | Fort Save | Ref Save | Will Save | Special | Martial Arts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +1 | +1 | +1 | +0 | Threatening demeanor, strength of arms | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +0 | Never outnumbered, uncanny dodge | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +3 | +2 | +2 | +1 | Surprising strike 1/day | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +1 | Superior reach | +1 level of existing class |
| 5th | +5 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Improved uncanny dodge, mobile attacker | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | +6 | +3 | +3 | +2 | Surprising strike 2/day | +1 level of existing class |
| 7th | +7 | +4 | +4 | +2 | Silver crown strike | +1 level of existing class |
| 8th | +8 | +4 | +4 | +2 | Bait the dragon | +1 level of existing class |
| 9th | +9 | +5 | +5 | +3 | Surprising strike 3/day | +1 level of existing class |
| 10th | +10 | +5 | +5 | +3 | Stance of assured victory | +1 level of existing class |
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Acrobatics, Arms Lore, Athletics, Intimidate, Insight, Persuasion, Perform, and Profession
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A Landsknecht gains no proficiency with any type of weapon, armor, or shield.
Martial Arts
At 1st level, you gain access to either the Mithral Current or the Scarlet Throne martial discipline in addition to any you already possess and may select techniques from them when you learn a new technique.
At each landsknecht level, you progress any martial arts class you already possess. If you possess more than one such class, you must decide to which class you add each new level of progression.
Threatening Demeanor
Your fierce reputation and extensive training follows you wherever you go. Even unarmed, you engender fear and awe from those around you. Starting at 1st level, you are considered to be threatening all squares within reach of your weapon, even if it is sheathed.
Strength of Arms
At 1st level, you learn to deliver maximum power with your one-handed weapons. As long as you only attack with a single weapon wielded in one hand during a round, you add 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier to damage instead of your Strength modifier, as if you were wielding the weapon in two hands.
Never Outnumbered
Your elite training makes you ideally suited for fighting against the odds. Starting at 2nd level, you gain a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls whenever you threaten two or more opponents. This bonus increases by +1 at 5th level and again at 8th level.
Uncanny Dodge
At 2nd level, you gain the ability to react to danger before your senses would normally allow you to do so. You cannot be caught flat-footed, nor do you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. You can still be caught flat-footed if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against you.
If you already have uncanny dodge from a different class, you automatically gain improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
Surprising Strike
At 3rd level, your combat prowess is such that you can initiate strikes with only the slightest preparation. Once per day, you can use a strike with an initiation action of 1 standard action in place of an attack of opportunity. You can use this ability twice per day at 6th level, and three times per day at 9th level.
Superior Reach
At 4th level, as long as you only attack with a single weapon wielded in one hand during your turn, you increase your melee reach with that weapon by 5 feet.
Improved Uncanny Dodge
At 5th level and higher, you can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack you by flanking you, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than your class level.
If you already have uncanny dodge (see above) from another class, the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank you.
Mobile Attacker
When you reach 5th level, you master the ability to attack on the run, taking advantage of any opening your maneuverability creates. Once per round, when you take a move action or initiate a maneuver that allows you to move as part of its action, you may make a melee attack as a free action against an opponent you threaten at any point during that movement.
You can use this ability a number of times per encounter equal to your initiation modifier.
Silver Crown Strike
At 7th level, you learn one of the most powerful secret techniques known to man. You add Silver Crown Strike to your maneuvers known, even if you cannot normally learn a maneuver of its level. You can ready and initiate this maneuver as normal.
Silver Crown Strike
Strike
Level: Scarlet Thone and Mithral Current 7 Prerequisites: Lansknecht level 7th Action: 1 standard action Range: Melee attack Target: One creature Duration: Instantaneous With a single swing of your blade, you strike your foe with the force of a thousand blows. Although you only swing your sword once, you make a number of attacks with a single weapon against the target as if you had made a full attack against them. These attacks deal weapon damage as normal, except that the damage from all hits is totaled before applying damage reduction, resistances, or immunities.
If any of the attacks is a successful critical hit, the total damage from the entire strike is multiplied. You can only confirm one critical hit in this way.
If you drew your weapon as part of this strike, you gain a circumstance bonus on critical confirmation rolls for these attacks equal to your initiation modifier.
Bait the Dragon
At 8th level, your confidence and skill is such that you don’t just seize openings from your opponents—you create them. As a swift action, you can choose to take a –4 penalty to AC for one round. If you do so, any melee attack made against you for one round provokes an attack of opportunity from you. These attacks of opportunity are resolved after the attack that provoked them.
Stance of Assured Victory
At 10th level, a landsknecht learns the ultimate stance of military combat. This is an 8th-level stance of the Mithral Current and Scarlet Throne disciplines. To enter this stance, you must abandon a martial stance you are currently using as a swift action.
While in this stance, you and your allies within 30 feet gain a circumstance bonus on attack rolls equal to your initiation modifier.
In addition, whenever an opponent within 30 feet of you attacks an ally, they provoke an attack of opportunity from any ally other than the target who is also within 30 feet of you. This attack of opportunity can be made even if the opponent is not within that ally’s melee reach. An attack can only provoke one such attack of opportunity in this way.