Wilwarin

[Aperion]

Weapon Master

There are those dedicated to the art of battle. They hone their skills, perfect their battle techniques, and seek to use a particular weapon, shunning others in order to gain greater precision and ability with it.

Those are NOT Weapon Masters.

A true Weapon Master seeks to not just excel with their weapon of choice, they seek flawless perfection in every aspect of its use. They seek both meditative and technical perfection (and often spiritualperfection as well) to raise their skill beyond what would be considered expertise with a weapon.

It is not enough to know how to cause maximum damage. A weapon Master must find that the line between their hands and the haft and head of their weapon is invisible. Willing the end of their weapon to strike their opponent must be no different than willing their fingers to curl around a wine glass. The weapon becomes part of their body and responds with but a thought as any extremity would. Much of the training to become a true Weapon master dwells not on the back and forth trading of blows, but repetitive perfection in working from prone positions to the weapon being combat ready as quickly as possible. The most mundane tasks from knowing how to sharpen, or clean, or otherwise care for their weapon of choice receives an almost impossible amount of attention. It also includes a great deal of meditation in order to clear the mind of all extraneous thought BUT the weapon so the brain can focus all of its considerable power to using the weapon to its absolute pinacle of power.

An ancient legend tells of a Weapon Master in the service of The Helmsman that once spent a year doing nothing but cleaning his weapon for no other reason than to be able to clean it as perfectly as he could wield it.

Part monk, part fighter, they are both at the same time and also neither. While they share similar qualities in that they learn combat techniques as well as meditative and often spiritual guidance, they are still their own unique entity.

Woe unto anyone facing a Weapon master in single combat.

Training for Weapon Masters can take many forms. Their are Kingdom sanctioned and private academies dedicated to each melee weapon in almost every corner of the world. The more mundane weapons such as long and shortswords tend to have far more students, while schools dedicated to wielding the more unusual weapons like double axes, or scythes can consist of only one or two pupils and a master.

The various churches of Glorwing often also have academies of study to teach the perfection of a weapon, but they are NEVER any weapon outside of the weapon favored by the God they are dedicated too. Justin, The Stag, has no real weapon of choice, but his followers have gravitated toward the spear as a symbol of a hunter in honor of his dedication to hunting evil.

Stats

Hit Die: d10
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Proficiencies: Weapon Masters gain no proficiencies
Primary Save: Reflex
Base Attack Bonus: Full

Requirements

Alignment: Any
Base Attack Bonus: 5
Skills: intimidate 4
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Expertise, Weapon Focus in a melee weapon, Whirlwind attack

NOTE: The requirements for dodge and expertise mean the character MUST have a base dex AND int of 13.