Shokunin

            The shokunin is  mastercraftsman.  Although members of this class can focus on any type of craft, the vast majority are the highly praised (and highly rewarded) weaponsmiths sought by powerful daimyo to give their clans a crucial advantage in battles against rival clans.  More than a mere worker of iron and steel, the shokunin is favored by the kami, or spirits who inhabit his creations and who can be called upon to aid their descendants – or the shokunin himself.

            Adventures: The shokunin become involved in adventures through the pursuit of excellence in their craft.  It is not uncommon for a budding smith to travel, much as warriors and martial artists do to seek training from masters of many different disciplines.  Shokunin might also be asked to ply their trade near the front of a major battle, there to quickly repair armor and weapons broken during fighting.  Lastly, a shokunin might find himself defending the castle of his lord, since many powerful daimyo stationed their shokunin in their castles, where smiths produced expertly-crafted artifacts for their patrons. 

            Characteristics: The shokunin is often a master of many disciplines, including the creation of all types of armor and weaponry.  He is also a potent combatant, able to wield his creations quite effectively, and his connection with the spirits allows him to call them to his aid.  All of these serve to make the shokunin a revered figure.  Many shokunin are as colorful as the warriors they serve – one such Weaponsmith saw his assistant dip his hand into the water he was using to cool a weapon (to test the temperature and perhaps learn one of the smith’s secrets), whereupon the shokunin snatched the unfinished blade out of the water and cut off the student’s hand with. 

            Honor: The honor of a shokunin is very important.  Many dishonorable smiths earn their living by creating forged replicas of the blades of great masters and passing them off on the unwary.  A shokunin of spotless character can attract powerful kami to inhabit his creations. Many great weaponsmiths – including the Stradivarius of the Katana, the legendary Masamune – were such men, and their honor and integrity lent their swords a holy power on the field.  Lesser masters produces blades that led their wielders to be bloodthirsty and rash; many unfortunates died early deaths because of the character flaws of the shokunin who made their blades. 

            Religion: The making of weapons and armour is an act steeped in religion, and part of the construction of any weapon involves Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies meant to draw helpful kami into the shokunin’s creation.  For this reason, many shokunin are deeply religious, especially revering the Shinto faith with its worship of the of the spirits so vital to the creation of the most powerful weapons.

            Background: Shokunin tend to be members of the artisan class and begin training in the intricacies of their art at a very young age.  Artisans are as secretive about their craft as martial artists, and secrets are usually passed down from father to son.  However, a shokunin with no son might take a worthy youth to pass on his secrets.  Shokunin tend to congregate in provinces containing the best iron ore (which makes the best weapons) – Yamahisor, Settsu, Mino, Musashi, and so forth.

            Legendary weaponsmiths include Amakuni (creator of the first modern katana in 700 CE), Amafuji (another early great master around 750 CE), Jinsoku (10th century), Kikusaku (13th century), Masamune (14th century), Munechika (11th century), Yasutsuna (10th century), Yoshihiro (14th century). 

            Bloodline: Most shokunin descend from the artisan bloodline.  However, some nobles and warriors also become fascinated with this art. 

            Other Classes: Shokunin have a symbiotic relationship with samurai, making the weapons with which the samurai defend their honor and slay their foes.  This special relationship creates an unbreakable bond between these two classes. 

            Role: The shokunin is a unique indibidual, able to produce items that are both priceless works of art and amazing weapons of war.  He is also a competent warrior in his own right, able to call the kami to his aid.  In a party, he can complement many different roles, including those of warrior and rogue. 

 

Game Rule Information

Abilities: Intelligence is the most important ability to the SHokunin since his Craft skills are based on it.  Intelligence gives the Shokunin more skill points, enabling him to master more crafts.  For shokunin who like to test their creations in combat, Strength and Constitution are important.

Honor: A character must have an Hnor score of 20 or more to take a level in this class.

Hit Die: 1d8.

 

Lvl       BAB                Fort     R/W    Special

1          +0                    +2        +0        Maker’s Affinity

2          +1                    +3        +0        Speedy Construction +10%

3          +2                    +3        +1        Masterwork +1 (intermediate quality)

4          +3                    +4        +1        Enhancement +1

5          +3                    +4        +1        Ki 1/day

6          +4                    +5        +2        Speedy Construction +20%

7          +5                    +5        +2        Masterwork +1 (advanced quality)

8          +6/+1               +6        +2        Enhancement +2

9          +6/+1               +6        +3        Tools of the Trade +2, Personal Kami 1/day

10        +7/+2               +7        +3        Ki 2/day

11        +8/+3               +7        +3        Masterwork +2

12        +9/+4               +8        +4        Enhancement +3

13        +9/+4               +8        +4        Speedy Construction +30%

14        +10/+5             +9        +4        Personal Kami 2/day

15        +11/+6/+1       +9        +5        Ki 3/day, Masterwork +3 (masterwork quality)

16        +12/+7/+2       +10      +5        Enhancement +4

17        +12/+7/+2       +10      +5        Speedy Construction +40%

18        +13/+8/+3       +11      +6        Tools of the Trade +4

19        +14/+9/+4       +11      +6        Masterwork +4

20        +15/+10/+5     +12      +6        Ki 4/day, Enhancement +5

 

Class Skills: Appraise (int), Craft (all) (int), Diplomacy (cha), Disable Device (int), Forgery (int), Knowledge (history, nobility & royalty) (int), Open Lock (dex), Profession (wis). 

Skill Points: 6 + Int mod.

 

Weapon & Armour: Weapons (bows, knives, spears & staves, swords), Armor (light, medium).

 

Maker’s Affinity: When wielding an item he crafted personally, the shokunin gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls (in the case of a weapon), reduces the armor check penalty -1 (in the case of armor), or gains a +1 bonus to any skill checks involving the item. 

 

Speedy Construction: When determining your progress for a week’s work on an item, multiply any successful skill check by the amount listed on the class table.  This is the actual progress (in sp) for that week’s work. 

 

Masterwork: At 3rd level, the shokunin’s ability o make masterwork items exceeds that of an ordinary craftsman.  As the shokunin rises in level, his ability to make masterwork items improves to a level scarcely imagined by the majority of his peers. 

            At 3rd level, the shokunin is able to give a masterwork item its bonus to an intermediate quality.  For weapons, this means the masterwork bonus can be applied to initiative, for armor to its maximum dexterity, and for chemicals to their saving throw DC.  For other items, the GM should use the above examples to determine what is an intermediate quality.  Regardless of what the bonus is, a masterwork item can only have a bonus to one quality (this changes at 15th level).

            At 7th level, the shokunin is able to give a masterwork item its bonus in an advanced quality.  For weapons, this means damage (or range increment), for armor its armor bonus, and for chemicals to the damage or ability damage inflicted on a failed saving throw.  As above, a masterwork item can still only have a bonus in one area (until 15th level).

            At 11th level, the bonus a shokunin can grant a masterwork item increases to +2.  This increases the value of the item by an additional 600 tn for a weapon or 300 tn for armor and other items.  As this ability improves, the shokunin must increase the value of the item by 300 tn for weapons or 150 tn for other items for each +1 masterwork bonus granted to the item.

            At 15th level, the bonus a shokunin can grant a masterwork item increases to +3 and he may divide the masterwork item increases to +3 and he may divide the total masterwork bonus between different qualities.  This increases the value of the item by an additional 900 tn for weapons and 450 tn for other items.  This means a character crafting a missile weapon could give the weapon a +1 to attack and a +20 ft. to its range increment (for a total bonus of +3), etc.

            At 19th level, the bonus a shokunin can grant a masterwork item increases to +4.  This increases the value of the item by an additional 1,200 tn for a weapon, 600 tn for armor and other items. 

 

Enhancement: There are no item creation feats to craft magic arms and armor in Legends of the Samurai.  This ability is the province of the shokunin alone and the source of his fame; it means that his exclusive services are sought after by even the mightiest Shogun.

            This ability causes a weapon or armor to become an Ancestral Weapon.  The shokunin invites kami into his workshop while crafting the item, and they aid the creation process with their unearthly power.  Because the powers of the kami vastly exceed the abilities of the shokunin, items created in this manner are wondrous beyond anything the shokunin could craft through his earthly skills.

            When crafting the weapon or armor, the shokunin determines what abilities it can have based on his own personal qualities and the type of kami he is able to attract.  In other words, the ability to grant certain item qualities is based on the shokunin’s honor, personality, bloodline, allegiances, and other personal qualities – not on any arcane casting ability.  However, the kami lies dormant in the weapon until an equally worthy wielder happens upon it (as represented by a character taking the Ancestral Weaponry feat).

            Note that only weapons and armor can be granted an enhancement bonus through this ability.  The shokunin may make masterwork items of all kinds, but only weapons and armor may be enhanced magically by him; the making of scrolls, wands, and other magical items is still the province of priests and so forth.

            For an item to be enhanced, the shokunin must first construct a masterwork item of the type to be enchanted.  He then spends an additional day per 1,000 tn value of the final item; this time is spent adding intricate carvings to the item as well as praying and burning incense to invite the kami to inhabit it.  The shokunin spends money equal to one half the price of the item in beautifying it (so the kami will wish to inhabit it) or in the expensive incenses burnt to attract the spirits. 

            There is no XP costs for crafting an item in this way; this “spiritual expense” is paid not by the shokunin but by the wielder of the item, who seeks to awaken the spirits (in the form of the Ancestral Weaponry feat).

            At 4th level, the shokunin may imbue an item with +1 enhancements, with a maximum total enhancement on the item of +1 per two shokunin levels.  Thus at 4th level the shokunin could make an item with up to two +1 enhancements, at 6th level he could make an item with three +1 enhancements and so forth. 

            At 8th level, the shokunin may imbue an item with +2 enhancements.  The total enhancement bonus of the item cannot exceed +1 per two class levels.  Thus at 8th level, the shokunin could make an item with a total enhancement bonus of +4, with no single enhancement being greater than +2 (so two +2 enhancements, four +1 enhancements, one +2 and two +1 enhancements, and so forth).

            At 12th level, the shokunin may imbue an item with +3 enhancements.

            At 16th level, the shokunin may imbue an item with +4 enhancements.

            At 20th level, the shokunin may imbue an item with +5 enhancements.

Ki: At 5th level, the shokunin may use his Ki to temporarily call a kami to any weapon he is wielding.  The kami so attracted is a simple battle kami (granting the weapon an enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls).  The bonus granted is +1 per four class levels (to a maximum of +5).  This kami stays in the shokunin’s weapon for up to one minute per class level before departing.

            At 10th level, the shokunin may use his Ki twice per day.

            At 15th level, the shokunin may use his Ki three times per day.

            At 20th level, the shokunin may use his Ki four times per day.

Personal Kami: At 9th level, the shokunin is so beloved by the spirits that he may call on them to protect thim once per day.  The responding spirit either grants the shokunin a bonus to all saving throws or increases his AC by an amount equal to half the character’s class level.  The kami remains up to one round per class level before departing.

            At 14th level, the shokunin can use this ability twice per day.

Tools of the Trade: A craftsman relies not only on knowledge of his craft, but also on having the appropriate tools for the job.  At the levels indicated, the shokunin has assembled a set of tools granting him the listed bonus to all Craft skill checks.  If these tools are lost or stolen, it takes the shokunin 2 weeks to assemble another set.