AD&D OA 1st Ed Inspired Kensai Kit Mod

[a.greene]

I believe I posted in the wrong thread, my apologizes...

 

I'm looking for feedback regarding this OA 1st ed inspired kensai kit mod

 

I've been experimenting with the query "fallen" status

 

KENSAI: A kensai is a warrior who has been specially trained to become one with his weapon. They are deadly, fast and have been trained to go into battle without wearing armor. A kensai must maintain his honor. If his honor (reputation) falls below 6, he loses his kensai status, becoming a bushi (fighter) of the same level. He loses all kensai abilities gained to that point, and thereafter advances as a fighter.

Advantages:

- Starts with an Armor Class of 9 at 1st level and gains an additional +1 bonus every 3 levels (to a maximum of +4).

- Gains a -1 bonus to Speed Factor every 4 levels.

- Gains a +1 bonus to all Saving Throws.

- Immune to fear and morale failure.

- May use Kai ability one time per level each day (starts at 1st level with one use).

KAI: All successful attacks within the next 10 seconds deal maximum damage

- 2nd level: Gains a +1 to hit and damage rolls every 3 levels.

- 4th level: May meditate once per day.

MEDITATE: This ability removes fatigue as if user has had a full night's sleep.

- 7th level: Gains a +2 bonus to off hand THAC0, and may use the Fear ability once per day.

FEAR: The mere appearance of the kensai can cause fear in all creatures within a 30-ft radius (saving throw vs. paralyzation is allowed).

- 11th level: Gains the Whirlwind Attack ability once per day.

WHIRLWIND ATTACK: This ability allows the kensai to unleash a flurry of super-fast blows. The ability sets one's number of attacks per round to 10 but's one's THAC0 and damage suffer a 4 point penalty. The whirlwind attack lasts for one round and may not be used in conjunction with Kai.

Disadvantages:

- Alignment restricted to lawful.

- May not dual-class

- May not wear any armor.

- May not use missile weapons.

- May not wear gauntlets or bracers.

[InKal]

well...there's a misconception about the samurai, what he really was. He was NOT an eastern equivalent of a western (white) knight with the code of honor to be protective towards women, childern and generally to be a nice guy protecting the weak. he was not a knihght, a he's bushido code of "honor" was basically this: "even if you know that your master was a total son of a bitch you must still avenge him" - that was samurai code of ...eeehhh.... "honor".

 

I would recommend watching the movie "Ghost Dog" starring Forrest Whitaker as a bushido "samurai" trapped between staying faitfhul to his master or staying a decent human being. on the otehr hand Seven Samurai is one of my favorite movies of all time but it's a mythology not a history.

 

 

about the kit:

immunity to fear - no

well, he jumps in da fight nekkid...makes him more stupid than fearless, imo.

meditate - whatever

seems a little bit redundant, he can simply rest. but sounds cool.

fear - no

who da fck he is?? a nekkid dragon? mere appearance?? just NO.

whirlwind - lol, yes

HLA at lvl 11? ok

 

well, imo kensai is somewhat like a glass cannon, superior damage and low defence. about the honor stuff, I am aware that he is like swordsaint, but imo that dosn't mean he is a saint. he is imo somewhat twisted but fascinating individual who risk his own life and sacrifices his safety in order to kill his enemy so quick that he will not have time to seriously retaliate. well, imo if the opponent is prepared kensai is...

 

KENSAI

 

"a swordsaint who dies in first round"

 

 

in other words "polishing his sword is not only a hobby for a kensai, it is his way of life"

 

srsly, all that honor stuff is a no-no in my opinion. Kensai is about quick efficient killing not about honor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ps. sry for norwish blah blah, not my native blah blah blah

[a.greene]

well...there's a misconception about the samurai, what he really was. He was NOT an eastern equivalent of a western (white) knight with the code of honor to be protective towards women, childern and generally to be a nice guy protecting the weak. he was not a knihght, a he's bushido code of "honor" was basically this: "even if you know that your master was a total son of a bitch you must still avenge him" - that was samurai code of ...eeehhh.... "honor".

 

I appreciate what you are saying, as the thread title suggested I was attempting to recreate the Kensai from AD&D Oriental Adventures 1st ed:

 

"Gaining and maintaining honour are a vital part of the kensai's life; any kensai whose honour falls below his family's honour loses his status in the class. Thereafter the kensai is treated as a sushi of the same level (experience points are adjusted accordingly) and advances in level according to the bush character class."

 

It's complicated and most likely too difficult to implement via the games engine, that being said I was experimenting with other options including scripting a kit change in response to a reputation check ect...

 

I would recommend watching the movie "Ghost Dog" starring Forrest Whitaker as a bushido "samurai" trapped between staying faitfhul to his master or staying a decent human being. on the otehr hand Seven Samurai is one of my favorite movies of all time but it's a mythology not a history.

 

I will check it out...I just finished watching Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, and the Sword of Doom, all very interesting.

 

 

about the kit:

immunity to fear - no

well, he jumps in da fight nekkid...makes him more stupid than fearless, imo.

meditate - whatever

seems a little bit redundant, he can simply rest. but sounds cool.

fear - no

who da fck he is?? a nekkid dragon? mere appearance?? just NO.

whirlwind - lol, yes

HLA at lvl 11? ok

 

I appreciate the feedback, thank you

 

Meditate was a creation (inspired from IWDEE)

 

The HLA (whirlwind) at level 11 was a direct copy form the kit text, I am in favour of the whirlwind modification in KR which doubles the APR instead of setting it to 10, I have also edited it to prevent usage of the kai ability concurrently, all while restricting the class from dual classing.

[subtledoctor]

Wait... does this "meditate" thing mean you can click a button and get all your 1x/day abilities back??

[Jarno Mikkola]

Wait... does this "meditate" thing mean you can click a button and get all your 1x/day abilities back??

MEDITATE: This ability removes fatigue as if user has had a full night's sleep.

Nope, just removes the fatigue points... via opcode 93. Assuming...

[a.greene]

Nope, just removes the fatigue points... via opcode 93. Assuming...MEDITATE: This ability removes fatigue as if user has had a full night's sleep.

 

You've assumed correctly...I converted the IWDEE priest spell Unfailing Endurance to an innate ability

 

Its kind of a BS ability but I was trying to be true to the PnP kit:

 

"Beginning at level 4 they can meditate. This enables them to rest, gaining the equivalent of two hours of sleep for each hour spent in meditation. During such meditation, they are fully alert, sufficiently to keep watch if desired, and may more immediately to any other activity."

[subtledoctor]

I actually like it this way. Not the most powerful thing sin the world, but it adds character, which is always good. Plus it gives them the fairly unique benefit of remaining fully effective after a Haste spell.

[a.greene]

I actually like it this way. Not the most powerful thing sin the world, but it adds character, which is always good. Plus it gives them the fairly unique benefit of remaining fully effective after a Haste spell.

 

Those where some of my thoughts as well...it was about my attempts to recreate an ability rather than emphasize power gaming.

[a.greene]

A revised version (v2.0) of my kensai kit mod based on the AD&D Oriental Adventures 1st edition ...if you're interested, download it, play it, and let me know what you think.

 

KENSAI: A kensai is a warrior who has been specially trained to become one with his weapon. They are deadly, fast and have been trained to go into battle without wearing armor. (Note: Despite its common name, a Kensai may use any melee weapon with which he is proficient.) Gaining and maintaining honour is also a vital part of the kensai's life; any kensai whose reputation falls below 6 loses his status in the class. Thereafter the kensai is treated as a fighter and advances in level according to the fighter class. (He loses all of the abilities he had as a kensai.)

 

Advantages:

- Starts with an Armor Class of 9 at 1st level and gains an additional +1 bonus every 3 levels.

- Gains a -1 bonus to Speed Factor every 4 levels.

- Gains a +1 bonus to all Saving Throws.

- Immune to fear and morale failure.

- May use Kai ability once per day per level (starts at 1st level with one use).

 

KAI: All successful attacks within the next round deal maximum damage.

 

- 2nd level: Gains a +1 to hit and damage rolls with any melee weapon every 3 levels.

- 3rd level: Attacks are treated as a +1 magical weapon. This enchantment improves to +2 at level 5, +3 at level 8, +4 at level 10, and +5 at level 12.

- 4th level: May meditate once per day.

 

MEDITATE: This ability removes fatigue as if the kensai has had a full night's sleep.

 

- 7th level: Gains a +2 bonus to off hand THAC0, and may Intimidate opponents once per day.

 

INTIMIDATE: All enemies within a 10-ft radius must save vs. paralyzation or run away in panic for 4 rounds.

 

- 11th level: Gains the Whirlwind Attack ability once per day.

 

WHIRLWIND ATTACK: This ability allows the kensai to unleash a flurry of super-fast blows. The ability sets one's number of attacks per round to 10 but's one's THAC0 and damage suffer a 4 point penalty. The Whirlwind Attack lasts for one round and may not be used in conjunction with Kai.

 

- 15th level: Gains the Improved Critical ability.

 

IMPROVED CRITICAL: This passive ability increases the critical hit chance by 10%.

 

Disadvantages:

- May not dual-class

- May not wear any armor.

- May not wear gauntlets or bracers.

- May not use magical or missile weapons.

- Alignment restricted to lawful.

 

Change log

v2.0

BG2EE version released

Improved critical ability added

Various text editing

 

v1.9

Various text editing

 

v1.8

Repackaged to include a proper windows installation pathway

Armor class bonuses changed to set base AC to value

SoD content added

Various text editing

 

v1.7

Ability changes:

Deathblow (special ability) trailed but not implemented (yet)

 

v1.6

Ability changes:

Reduced duration of Kai ability from 10 seconds to 1 round (6 seconds)

Restricted the use of other innate abilities while using Whirlwind Attack

To hit and damage bonus new only effect melee weapons

Various text editing

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vj3667bbpc9ftxc/Kensai%20Kit%20Revision%20v2.0.zip?dl=0