Bushi

**Parent Class:** Stalker

**Parent Class:** Warder

**Parent Class:** Warlord

Bushi are honorable and noble warriors who specialize
in Iaijutsu, the art of the draw cut. With a single swing
of his katana, a bushi can cleave through armor, bones
and organs as easily as straw. Bushi follow the code of
bushido and exemplify the virtues of righteousness,
courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor and
loyalty.

#### **Stalker**

* The stalker gives up the ability to recover a single maneuver as a standard action.
* The stalker gives up the blending and improved blending class features.
* The stalker gives up the stalker art at 1st level.
* The stalker can choose to take a bushido in place of a stalker art. This alters stalker arts, but does not make the bushi class template incompatible with archetypes that also alter the stalker arts class feature.

#### **Warlord**

* The warlord gives up the ability to recover a single maneuver as a standard action.
* The warlord gives up their first two bonus feats (at 1st and 6th level).
* The warlord gives up the tactical presence, dual presence, and warlord’s presence class features.

#### **Warder**

* The warder gives up the ability to recover a single maneuver as a standard action.
* The warder gives up their first two bonus feats (at 3rd and 8th level).
* The warder gives up proficiency with heavy armor.
* The warder gives up the clad in steel, steel defense, and born of steel class features.

### **Maneuvers**

A bushi trades one of his available
disciplines for the Mithral Current discipline, and gains
Perform as a class skill. He otherwise learns, readies,
and initiates maneuvers as a standard member of his
base class.

This ability alters maneuvers.

### **Iaido (Ex)**

In addition to his normal maneuver
recovery, a bushi can recover his maneuvers by
sheathing his blade and taking a brief moment of quiet
contemplation. When he sheathes a weapon (normally
a move action), he recovers one maneuver. He cannot
recover more than one maneuver per round this way, no
matter how many weapons he sheathes or how many
times he sheathes an individual weapon per round, nor
can he use a maneuver in the same round it is recovered
in this way. A bushi cannot use this ability to recover a
maneuver in the same round in which it was initiated.

### **Iaido Training (Ex)**

At 1st level, a bushi gains Exotic
Weapon Proficiency (katana) and Exotic Weapon
Proficiency (wakizashi) as bonus feats, even if he does
not meet their prerequisites.

### **Quick Draw (Ex)**

At 1st level, a bushi gains Quick
Draw as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the
prerequisites. In addition, the bushi may sheathe his
weapon without provoking attacks of opportunity.

### **Mixed Combat (Ex)**

At 6th level, a bushi gains Mixed Combat as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the
prerequisites. In addition, the bushi is considered to be
threatening all adjacent squares even if his weapon is
sheathed, and can draw his weapon when making any
attack (including attacks of opportunity).

### **Bushido (Su)**

As a bushi grows in power, he gains
access to abilities through the refinement of his spirit
and his weapon by adhering to the principles of bushido.

A stalker bushi can choose to take a bushido in place
of a stalker art at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th levels.
This ability does not cause the bushi class template to be
incompatible with other archetypes that alter the stalker
arts class feature.

A warlord bushi selects a bushido to
gain at 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 15th levels.

A warder
bushi selects a bushido to gain at 3rd, 6th, 8th, 13th,
15th, and 19th levels.

A bushi gains bushidos from the
following list:

*Benevolence*: The bushi’s kindness and concern for
his allies takes on a supernatural quality. The bushi can
spend a swift action to grant all allies within 30 feet a
number of temporary hit points equal to the bushi’s
initiator level. These temporary hit points do not stack
with other temporary hit points, and last for one minute
or until depleted.

*Courage*: The bushi becomes immune to nonmagical
fear effects. In addition, he gains a +4 bonus on saves
against fear effects, and can grant this bonus to his allies
within 60 feet for a number of rounds equal to his bushi
initiation modifier as a swift action.

*Honesty*: The Universal Truth speaks to the bushi,
allowing him to detect falsehood wherever it may hide.
The bushi can use *discern lies* as a spell-like ability with
a caster level equal to his initiator level. He can use
this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to his
initiation modifier, although these rounds need not be
consecutive.

*Honor*: The bushi knows that honorable combat is the
only true test of a warrior, and that the most honorable
combat is a one-on-one duel. Whenever the bushi hits a
creature with an attack, he gains a +1 bonus on attack
and damage rolls against that creature until the end of
his next turn. This bonus increases by +1 for every four
initiator levels the bushi possesses. A bushi does not get
an additional benefit from attacking a creature multiple
times, although he loses the bonus if he does not attack
the creature for one round.

*Loyalty*: The bushi’s strong sense of loyalty to friends
and allies allows him to instinctively know when they
are in danger. As a standard action, the bushi can mark
an ally, allowing him to know the relative position and
general condition of the marked allies as if they were
under the effects of both a *deathwatch* and a *status*
spell. This mark lasts for a number of hours equal to the
bushi’s initiator level, and functions as long as both the
bushi and the target are on the same plane. The bushi
can activate this ability a number of times per day equal
to his bushi initiation modifier (minimum 1).

*Respect*: The bushi respects all life, and knows that the
strength of his allies support his own strength. Whenever
the bushi uses the aid another action, he uses his bushi
initiation modifier (minimum +2) instead the normal aid
another bonus granted to his allies.

*Righteousness*: The bushi knows right from wrong on
an inherent, instinctual level. He can gains the ability to
use *detect chaos*, *detect evil*, *detect good*, and *detect law*
as spell-like abilities at-will, with a caster level equal to
his initiator level.