Master of the Flamberge

“You call that trifle a sword? This is a sword!”

The master of the flamberge is a warrior completely dedicated to mastering the greatsword. In combat, the master of the flamberge’s blade is a whirling storm of steel, cleaving through the heaviest armor, dealing resounding blows and striking with such force and focus that even some supernatural defenses are useless against them.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements

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

• Base Attack Bonus: +5
• Ability Scores: Str 18
• Feats: Martial Weapon Proficiency (greatsword), Weapon Focus (greatsword), Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder
• Special: May not have weapon focus in any other weapon besides the greatsword. Must have studied under the tutelage of a master of the flamberge for one month.

Class Skills

The class skills for this class (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (dungeoneering, engineering) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier

Table: The Master of the Flamberge

Class Level	BAB	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+0	+1	+0	+0	Greatsword Discipline, Greatsword Speed
2nd	+1	+2	+0	+0	Cleave Armor +1
3rd	+2	+2	+1	+1	Greatsword Defense
4th	+3	+3	+1	+1	Improved Power Attack
5th	+4	+3	+1	+1	Cleave Armor +2, Greatsword Mental Focus (cold iron, alchemical silver, or magic)
6th	+5	+4	+2	+2	Stunning Blow
7th	+6	+4	+2	+2	Phenomenal Greatsword Speed
8th	+7	+5	+2	+2	Cleave Armor +3
9th	+8	+5	+3	+3	Crippling Strike
10th	+9	+6	+3	+3	Greatsword Mental Focus (cold iron, alchemical silver, magic, or adamantine)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the master of the flamberge prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A master of the flamberge does not gain any additional weapon or armor proficiencies. However, they disdain the use of weapons other than the greatsword and suffer penalties when using them (see below).

Greatsword Discipline (Ex)

Because of the time and discipline required to master the greatsword to such a high level, the master of the flamberge must neglect practice with other weapons and with shields. Because of this, his skill with them decays and he suffers a –2 penalty to attack rolls with all other weapons and suffers an additional –1 armor check penalty to attack rolls when using shields. These penalties apply even if the master of the flamberge is proficient with these other weapons or shields. Furthermore, masters of the flamberge are forbidden from ever taking the Weapon Focus feat for any type of weapon other than the greatsword or they lose all their prestige class abilities. Masters of the flamberge consider this a small price to pay for the incredible skill they gain with their great blades.

Greatsword Speed (Ex)

Through extensive strength and technique training, the master of the flamberge gains a +1 enhancement bonus to his initiative when using a greatsword. This stacks with the Improved Initiative feat.

Cleave Armor (Ex)

At 2nd level, the master of the flamberge becomes an expert at using the greatsword to cut through the weak points of heavy armor. When using a greatsword against opponents wearing heavy armor or those with a natural armor bonus of +5 or more, the master of the flamberge gains a bonus to his attack roll. This bonus is +1 at 2nd level and increases at 5th and 8th level.

Greatsword Defense (Ex)

At 3rd level, when using the fighting defensively standard action with a greatsword, the master of the flamberge gains a +3 dodge bonus to his AC. Normally, fighting defensively only provides a +2 bonus. When using total defense, he gains a +5 dodge bonus instead of +4.

Improved Power Attack (Ex)

At 4th level, the master of the flamberge’s power attack becomes more powerful. He re-rolls all 1’s on his damage dice when using the Power Attack feat.

Greatsword Mental Focus (Su)

At 5th level, the master of the flamberge’s mental focus with greatswords reaches a supernatural level and he gains the ability to bypass certain types 62 of damage reduction. He may choose one of the following types of damage reduction: cold iron, alchemical silver, or magic. Once chosen, the type cannot be changed. From this point on, any greatsword used by the master of the flamberge counts as if it were made of that type of material whenever he uses it against opponents with that type of damage reduction. Furthermore, if the master of the flamberge obtains a greatsword actually made out of a special material different than his mental focus choice, the weapon is considered to have both types. Thus, a master of the flamberge with the supernatural ability to bypass alchemical silver and who is wielding a magic greatsword can bypass both silver and magic damage reduction.

At 10th level, his mental focus increases and he may choose another type of damage reduction to bypass from the previous list, or he may choose adamantine.

Stunning Blow (Ex)

At 6th level, the master of the flamberge gains the ability to use his greatsword to deliver a stunning blow to his opponents. He may use a standard action to take a single attack, and must declare that he is using this ability before making the attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). Stunning Blow forces a foe damaged by the attack to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 the master of the flamberge’s character level), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw is stunned for 1 round (until just before the master of the flamberge’s next turn). The master of the flamberge may attempt a stunning attack once per day for every four levels of the prestige class he has attained, but may make only one stunning attack per round. Thus, a character with eight master of the flamberge prestige class levels could use the ability twice per day. This ability may not be combined with Power Attack or Crippling Strike.

Phenomenal Greatsword Speed (Ex)

At 7th level, the master of the flamberge’s disciplined training gives him even greater speed with his weapon. Twice per day he can call upon his inner reservoir of strength to get one additional attack per round when using the full attack option with a greatsword. However, after making this additional attack he is fatigued for 2d4 rounds.

Crippling Strike (Ex)

At 10th level, the master of the flamberge can deliver devastating blows that cripple his opponents. Once per day, he may use one of his attacks to make a crippling strike with his greatsword. An opponent damaged by this attack must make a DC 22 Fortitude save or suffer 1d6 points of temporary Strength or Dexterity damage (master of the flamberge’s choice).