Duelist

Duelist is a prestige class in Pathfinder: Kingmaker.

## Description

**Duelists** represent the pinnacle of elegant swordplay. They move with a
 grace unmatched by most foes, parrying blows and countering attacks
with swift thrusts of their blades. They may wear armor, but generally
eschew such bulky protection as their grace allows them to dodge their
opponents with ease. While others flounder on treacherous terrain,
duelists charge nimbly across the battlefield, leaping and tumbling into
 the fray. They thrive in melee, where their skill with the blade allows
 them to make sudden attacks against clumsy foes and to cripple
opponents with particularly well-placed thrusts of the blade.

The path to the duelist is natural for rogues and bards, as those
classes do not rely on armor for defense, although nearly as many
duelists come from the ranks of fighters and rangers. They are often
found in those regions that possess elaborate rules and etiquette for
battle.

## Gameplay

**Role**: The abilities of duelists complement those rogues or bards who wish to
accentuate their fighting prowess but, because of their lack of heavy
armor, are afraid to leap into combat. Duelists fight in the forefront
alongside fighters, barbarians, and other melee combatants, deftly
avoiding the blades of their opponents while expertly targeting their
vulnerabilities.

Alignment: Duelists can be of any alignment, although
since most hail from backgrounds as rogues or bards, they tend to eschew lawful behavior. Lawful duelists are not unheard of, however, and such duelists often adhere to a strict code of honor, refusing to attack unarmed or obviously inferior opponents.

Hit Die: d10.

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + ½ Int modifier.

Class Skills: Athletics (Dex), Perception (Wis), Persuasion (Cha).

## Prerequisites

To qualify to become a Duelist, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

* Skills: Mobility 2
* Feats: Dodge, Weapon Finesse, Combat Mobility
* BAB: 6

## Class features

### **Weapon and Armor Proficiency**

Duelists gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

### **Canny Defense**

When
 wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a duelist adds 1
point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per duelist class level as a dodge
bonus to her Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a duelist is
caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also
loses this bonus.

### **Precise Strike**

A
 duelist gains the ability to strike precisely with a light or
one-handed piercing weapon, adding her duelist level to her damage roll.

When making a precise strike, a duelist cannot attack with a
weapon in her other hand or use a shield. A duelist’s precise strike
only works against living creatures with discernible anatomies. Any
creature that is immune to critical hits is also immune to a precise
strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects a creature from a precise strike.

### **Improved Reaction**

At
 2nd level, a duelist gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks. At 8th
level, the bonus increases to +4. This bonus stacks with the benefit
provided by the *Improved Initiative* feat.

### **Parry**

At 2nd
level, a duelist learns to *parry* the attacks of other creatures, causing
 them to miss. Whenever the duelist takes a full attack action with a
light or one-handed piercing weapon, she can elect not to take one of
her attacks. At any time before her next turn, she can attempt to parry
an attack against her or an adjacent ally as an immediate action. To
parry the attack, the duelist makes an attack roll, using the same
bonuses as the attack she chose to forego during her previous action. If
 her attack roll is greater than the roll of the attacking creature, the
 attack automatically misses. For each size category that the attacking
creature is larger than the duelist, the duelist takes a - 4 penalty on
her attack roll. The duelist also takes a - 4 penalty when attempting to
parry an attack made against an adjacent ally.

### **Enhanced Mobility**

Starting
 at 3rd level, when wearing light or no armor and not using a shield, a
duelist gains an additional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when she moves out of a threatened square.

### **Combat Reflexes**

You
 may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity per round equal
to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.

### **Grace**

At 4th level, a duelist gains an additional +2 competence bonus on all Reflex saving throws.

### **Riposte**

Starting
 at 5th level, a duelist can make an attack of opportunity against any
creature whose attack she successfully parries, so long as the creature she is attacking is within reach.

### **Acrobatic Movement**

At
 6th level, a duelists movement speed is no longer reduced on difficult terrain. Depending on the circumstance, she may still need to make appropriate checks to move over the terrain.

### **Elaborate Defense**

At
 7th level and higher, if a duelist chooses to fight defensively or use
total defense in melee combat, she gains an additional +1 dodge bonus to
 AC for every 3 levels of duelist she has attained.

### **Deflect Arrows**

At
 9th level, a duelist gains the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat when
using a light or one-handed piercing weapon. The duelist does not need a
 free hand to use this feat.

### **No Retreat**

At 9th level, enemies adjacent to the duelist that take a withdraw action provoke an attack of opportunity from the duelist.

### **Crippling Critical**

When
 you confirm a critical hit using a light or one-handed piercing weapon,
 you can apply one of the following penalties in addition to the damage
dealt: reduce all of the target’s speeds by 10 feet (minimum 5 feet),
1d4 points of Strength or Dexterity damage, - 4 penalty on all saving throws, - 4 penalty to Armor Class, or 2d6 points of bleed damage. These
penalties last for 1 minute, except for ability damage, which must be
healed normally, and bleed damage, which continues until the target
receives magic healing.