Maven
As warriors gain fame, there are always those who wish to learn their skills. To learn how to be as strong as those in legend. Centuries pass, schools are founded and technique is refined throughout the years. The maven spends their life learning each of the forms, some going so far as to perfect their technique.
Weapon Forms
At 3rd level, as with all understanding people learn the core and grow from there. The player has been trained in the proper footwork, grips, and combinations of strikes to be a force of nature on the battlefield. You have finally found how to calm your mind even during the heat of battle and enter and maintain a trance like state.
Harmony
Choose a melee weapon that you have proficiency with. As long as you are wielding that weapon type you gain the benefits of the selected weapon form. You can select a new weapon type but requires you to have a weapon of that type to practice with during a long rest.
Posture
Adopting a form takes a bonus action and will last until changed or player chooses not to use a form.
Mindset
Adopting a form places the player in a trance like state. On the first instance of damage per turn causes the player to make a constitution saving throw equal to 10 + 1 per 10 damage. On a failed save the player looses the trance and must adopt the form again, while a success causes nothing to happen.
This does not interfere with concentration
Technique
When taking this subclass you gain access to the Initiate section of each of the forms. Adept at 6th level, and Dedicated at 10th,
Skill
If a stance requires a target to make a saving throw the total is equal to 8 + Proficency Bonus + either their Dexterity or Strength Modifier.
A Petal in the Wind
At 3rd level you have found that people enjoy watching your kata, sparring, or practice. When fully engrossed in your activity you would be surprised when you would finish and realize that a crowd had formed around. After each occurrence you have become more comfortable with this inevitability. You gain proficiency in performance and can use your attack or damage modifier instead of Charisma.
Echos of Power
At 7th level, the effort and time training in the forms does more than provide combat superiority. Many practitioners find that their mind and awareness are enhanced by the constant focus that the forms demand. Many find that they are able to perceive reverberations that indicates magic in an area. Or are able to touch and listen in on the thoughts of people around them. The player is able to cast either Detect Magic or Detect Thoughts a number of times per day equal to their proficiency bonus, all expended uses regain on a long rest.
Body and Mind
At 10th Level The player has found that their focus is more pliable and that the battle trance is easier to attain, and can make their mind flow back and forth through the forms. As long as the trance was not broken from a failed saving throw. The player can adopt a form at the beginning of their turn without using a bonus action.
While their mind has sharpened so has their body, the Maven is finding that there body has gained a lithe and limber they cannot account for. The player's jump distance has been doubled, gains proficiency in athletics and acrobatics, and has resistance to falling damage.
Prodigy
At level 15 the player has determined the forms they like best and how to synergize with its own flow of battle. With this kind of experience comes technique and growth. The player can choose two forms that they are a prodigy of. These are the skills and teachings they embody along with the teaching it represents.
Visions of the World
Starting at 18th level, the players concentration has enhanced the players mind and awareness. Allowing them to pick up on the smallest nuances and changes in the world around them. You spend at least 1 minute in meditation analyzing the reverberations of power in the world around you. This allows you to build a model of how events and actions had to have happened. The player sees this as an almost dreamlike, shadowy glimpses of recent events. You can meditate in this way for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom or Intelligence score and must maintain concentration during that time, as if you were casting a spell. Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Select one of the following:
- Object Reading Holding an object as you meditate, you can see visions of the object's previous owner. After meditating for 1 minute, you learn how the owner acquired and lost the object, as well as the most recent significant event involving the object and that owner. If the object was owned by another creature in the recent past (within a number of days equal to your Wisdom score), you can spend 1 additional minute for each owner to learn the same information about that creature.
- Area Reading As you meditate, you see visions of recent events in your immediate vicinity (a room, street, tunnel, clearing, or the like, up to a 50-foot cube), going back a number of days equal to your Wisdom score. For each minute you meditate, you learn about one significant event, beginning with the most recent. Significant events typically involve powerful emotions, such as battles and betrayals, marriages and murders, births and funerals. However, they might also include more mundane events that are nevertheless important in your current situation.
- Individual Reading This requires an action instead of a minute cast time, but lasts for 1 minute. Select a creature you can see. For the duration you know how much health they have, armor class, movement speed, actions they can take, along with any skills that they may have. The target cannot gain advantage against you for the duration.
List of Weapon Forms
Form 1: Shii-Cho
The most simplistic form, Shii-Cho is the first form taught to initiates. Form I training provides the basic knowledge of weapon fighting principles that is required for practice of all the other form. In combat, Shii-Cho is wild and raw, relying on deliberate tactics. Basic initiates in the style demonstrated rather clumsy performance, though in the hands of a master, Shii-Cho was fluid but highly randomized and unpredictable. Many who dabbled in this form found that the broad sweeping movements and was particularly useful when outnumbered, or fighting a group of enemies.
While in Shii-Cho the player can use the following:
Shii-Cho Initiate
- Pivot As a bonus action you gain AC equal to 1 minus each hostile creature within 5 feet of you until the start of your turn.
Shii-Cho Adept
- Sweeping Strikes When you make a successful melee attack you can deal half the damage rounded up to creatures within reach and 5 feet of the target.
Shii-Cho Dedicated
- Squall If you used Pivot you gain an equal bonus to your attack.
Shii-Cho Prodigy
- Hurricane Attack As an action you can make any number of melee attacks against creatures within 5ft of you, with a separate attack roll for each target. Doing so allows you to use extra attacks.
Form 2: Makashi
Makashi relies on precision and efficiency, it teaches how to defend one's self against an opponent with minimal effort. Form II focuses on jabs and light cuts rather than hack and slash movements. This form finds its footing when dueling is a more of a common sport. That being said, masters of this form have an flow an elegance that many find beautiful.
While in Makashi the player can use the following:
Makashi Initiate
- Deflect If the player is going to be hit by an attack they are aware of. They can use a reaction to add their proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.
Makashi Adept
- Deft rebuke The player can use disengage as a bonus action.
- initiative The player can make an attack of opportunity when an enemy enters their reach, or misses a melee attack.
Makashi Dedicated
- Precision You gain advantage on the first attack of your turn, after the roll you can reroll one of the dice. If the attack is successful you add the oher roll to the damage calculation.
Makashi Prodigy
- Fluid Motion The first attack of opportunity each turn does not require the player's reaction.
Form 3: Soresu
Soresu relies on economy of motion and energy efficiency, form III focuses on strong defensive technique to essentially outlast an opponent, waiting until they began making mistakes due to frustration or fatigue, before taking advantage of these lapses and countering. While in Soresu the player gains the following benefits:
Soresu Initiate
- Barrier On the first melee attack each turn you can take a penalty to your attack damage this turn equal to your proficiency bonus. When you do so you gain the same amount to your AC until your next turn.
Soresu Adept
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Misdirection As a reaction while there are at least 2 hostile targets within 5 feet of the player. When a creature misses you with a melee attack roll, cause that attack to hit one creature of your choice, other than the attacker, that you can see within 5 feet of you.
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Altruism As a reaction if an ally within 10 feet is going to be hit by a weapon attack you can move yourself between the attack and your ally forcing the attack to target instead.
Soresu Dedicated
- Sheltering Aura as a bonus action your can adjust your stance and focus, when you do so allies within 10ft gain the effects of half cover for this turn. This lasts while you are not stunned, charmed, prone, or unconscious.
Soresu Prodigy
- Redirection On your first successful attack each turn you gain +2 to attack for each attack that missed you since the end of your last turn.
Form 4: Ataru
An aggressive style, Ataru is fast-paced and effective against single opponents, though weaker in prolonged combat and confined spaces. Also, it was not recommended for use against opponents ranged combat. Ataru is characterized by acrobatics, such as somersaults and leaping strikes, both for attack and defense. While in Ataru the player gains the following benefits:
Ataru Initiate
- Unexpected Movement when the player succeeds on an acrobatic or athletics check of 10 or higher, the player can move through melee ranges without provoking opportunity attacks. On a failure the player falls prone, on a success the player gains advantage on their next melee attack.
- Physics None of Ataru's benefits can be used while wearing heavy armor.
Ataru Adept
- Endless Cuts After succeeding Unexpected Movement the player can deal their weapons damage to one target they are within reach of. This occurs twice if you are dual wielding.
Ataru Dedicated
- Battle Momentum Once per turn after your succeed Unexpected Movement you can use a bonus action to shove a creature within reach. The DC cannot be lower than the most recent successful athletics or acrobatics check.
Ataru Prodigy
- Gymnast you can use the dodge as a reaction but it only lasts as long as the event the player is reacting to.
- Application Once per turn after succeeding Unexpected Movement your next attack deals additional damage equal to The DC level of Unexpected Movement.
Form 5: Djem So
Shien/Djem So was developed by practitioners of Form III who felt that the defensively minded form unnecessarily extended time spent in combat by forcing its users to wait for an opportunity to strike rather than create their own openings. Form V combat was characterized by its focus on ending a fight as quickly as possible by not giving the opponent the opportunity to fight back. This ebodied the ideal that "The best defense is a good offense".
While in Djem So the player can use the following:
Djem So Initiate
- Full Force At the beginning of your turn gain you have a number of d6 equal to your proficiency bonus, and expire at the end of your turn. These dice can be used after rolling attack to but before the DM says if the the attack hits to increase the players to hit, included in the damage dice, or rolled to increase a DC or competition check the player forces on a target that is from a melee action.
- Exertion Whenever the player rolls a 1-4 on an attack they gain disadvantage on their next attack.
Djem So Adept
- Follow Through When you kill a target with a melee attack you can deal the remainder of the damage to a different target within 5 feet of the first.
- Overwhelm Once per turn when you succeed on a weapon attack you can use a bonus action to force a creature that is up to one size larger than you to make a strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Djem So Dedicated
- Exploit When you have advantage or critically strike Full Force die used toward damage increases to a d8.
Djem So Prodigy
- Battle Hardened Exertion only occurs on a roll of 1.
- Thrive Your first attack each turn has advantage, also if you land a killing blow your next attack this turn has advantage.
Form 6: Niman
This fighting style was a hybrid style created by effectively combining elements of the preceding weapon forms into a single, generalized form. Niman balanced out between the various specializations of the other forms, covering many of the basic moves, but focusing on overall moderation. This resulted in a fighting style that lacked a significant advantage, but also lacking any serious drawbacks, and thereby not leaving adherents as exposed as some of the more aggressive or specialized forms. It tends to be favored by those who choose to dedicate themselves to the powers around them.
While in Niman the player gains the following benefits:
Niman Initiate
- Pragmatic If you are proficient with a melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your spells.
- Types of Strength When you make a melee weapon attack that you are proficient with, you can use either your wisdom or intelligence modifier, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for the attack and damage rolls. This cannot be used with heavy weapons.
Niman Adept
- Spatial Awareness The player does not suffer disadvantage for casting a spell within 5 feet of a hostile creature.
- Deflect If the player is going to be hit by a weapon attack they are aware of. They can use a reaction to add their proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.
Niman Dedicated
- Tactical Mind If you cast a spell or cantrip that requires an action you gain the benefit of extra attacks.
- Disruption striking a target causes them to have disadvantage against the next spell induced saving throw, concentration check, or spell ability they use.
Niman Prodigy
- SynergyWhen you cast a cantrip you can increase the damage by half rounded up.
- Diligence Your Spell save DC is increase by 2.
Form 7: Juyo
This form originated in techniques rejected from Shii-Cho, techniques considered too aggressive and frenzied. In the long centuries following, the techniques that would come to constitute Juyo were sometimes practiced openly, sometimes in secret. This form is in no question the most aggressive and unpredictable form. The most difficult aspect practitioners of this form is deal with, is that of maintaining the pin point focus required to make use of the teachings.
While in Niman the player gains the following benefits:
Juyo Initiate
- Stalker's Fury Once on each of your turns when you miss with a weapon attack, you can make another weapon attack as part of the same action.
Juyo Adept
- Crunch You can make a Weapon attack using a a bonus action.
Juyo Dedicated
- Vehemence As a reaction to a melee weapon attack you can try and make an opportunity attack against the attacker. If your attack total is higher than the opposing attack it is negated and you strike the target. If your attack is lower the attack fails.
Juyo Prodigy
- Thousand Cuts As long as you do not have disadvantage when making an attack action the player can take a -5 for damage. When you do so you can make an additional weapon attack as part of the same action. This additional weapon attack suffers from the the same penalty.