RONIN Bushido is a difficult code to follow. It stresses absolute obedience to ones Lord, and absolute honor. When ones Lord is corrupt, these ideals come into clash, and a Samurai must choose one of them. Many Samurai aren't fools, and will not take their own life at the whim of an insane nobleman when it would be throwing it away. While there is life there is hope for regaining ones honor. Assuming you can survive the killers your former Lord will obligingly place in your way as a gift for disobeying him.
Bushido also states that a Samurai who loses his master must take his own life. Many choose to find another master instead, and simply wander until they do. Others never find a master, and find a harsh new world in which they are no longer a soldier-poet, but a paid murderer that affords food and shelter by shedding the blood of other men. Few return from the psychological blow this situation causes and remain as wanderers or criminals for all their days. Some begin to enjoy it, while others strive to redeem themselves.
BECOMING A RONIN To become a Ronin you must simply be a Samurai who has lost his Master. This can be because your Lord had his lands and title stripped from him, he was killed without an heir, or you were sent away from his service for whatever reason. It can also mean you were ordered to commit seppuku, and simply decided not to.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS BAB: +6
Class Abilities: Imposing Presence (Staredown)
Feats: Eyes in the Back of Your Head, Quick Cut, Quick Draw
Skills: Bluff 4 ranks, Diplomacy 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (Local) 4 ranks, Listen 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks
Special: Must have fled or been exiled from the service of your Lord (having fled is far more common). Usually for having disobeyed an order to commit seppuku or one that you found dishonorable, having failed in an important task, or simply because your lord has died or lost his station. Must have at least 1 level in the Samurai Class.
Class Skills The Ronin's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Local, Nobility & Royalty)(Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skills Points at Each Level : 4 + int
Hit Dice: d10
RoninLevel|BAB|Fort Save|Reflex Save|Will Save|Special
1st +1 +0 +2 +2 Ki Pool, Skills of Necessity
2nd +2 +0 +3 +3 Intimidating Blade
3rd +3 +1 +3 +3 Nintai
4th +4 +1 +4 +4 Skills of Necessity
5th +5 +1 +4 +4 Intimidating Blade
6th +6/+1 +2 +5 +5 Nintai
7th +7/+2 +2 +5 +5 Skills of Necessity
8th +8/+3 +2 +6 +6 Intimidating Blade
9th +9/+4 +3 +6 +6 Nintai
10th +10/+5 +3 +7 +7 Folk Hero
Weapon Proficiencies: A Ronin gains proficiency with any one weapon he isn't already proficient with.
Ki Pool: The Ronin's class levels stack with his Samurai levels for purposes of determining how many times per day he can use his Ki Pool and for how many Ki Abilities he has learned. The Ronin cannot take Ki abilities pertaining to his Kenjutsu school unless he can find a new Sensei, which is unlikely. A Ronin may choose from the following School Ki Abilities:
Skills of Necessity (Ex): At various points in his 'career', a Ronin will find himself having to perform acts he once thought beneath him (or even openly criminal) to survive, and he must learn skills he would never have once considered. At levels 1, 4, and 7 he may choose 2 skills from the following list and these are now considered class skills: Balance, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Forgery, Knowledge (Nature), Open Lock, Search, Sleight of Hand, Tumble, or Use Rope.
Intimidating Blade (Ex): As a Ronin you now make use of your abilities to intimidate others more often perhaps than you did as a noble. Beginning at 2nd level, you gain a Circumstance Bonus equal to your Charisma Modifier to all Attack rolls against any opponent you have Demoralized successfully by using Intimidate.
At 5th level if you successfully Demoralize an opponent he is Shaken for the duration of the encounter as opposed to 1 round.
At 7th level you increase the Critical Multiplier of successful Critical attacks against any opponent subject to a Fear condition (Shaken, Frightened, Panicked, etc) by 1. I.E. if your attack normally does x2 damage on a successful critical, it now does x3.
Nintai (Ex): At 3rd level if a spell effect allows for half damage/partial effect on a successful Fortitude Saving Throw, you take no Damage/Effect instead.
At 6th level if a spell effect allows for half damage/partial effect on a successful Willpower Saving Throw, you take no Damage/Effect instead.
At 9th level anytime you successfully make a Fortitude or Willpower Saving Throw, you gain a +2 Bonus against that same power/spell/effect for the next 24 hours.
Folk Hero (Ex): Deserved or not, by the time you can reach 10th level your deeds have given you a legendary reputation. Assuming your campaign uses rules on Ronin automatically being granted outlaw or second class citizen status, you have managed to become an exception to that rule. You gain double your Charisma Modifier on all Charisma Based Skill checks (and his Leadership Score if he has the Leadership Feat).
PLAYING A RONIN You are a desperate man. Legally you aren't allowed to live in a city or be employed there until you find a new master (assuming that ever happens). This gives you almost no options for earning money outside of being a criminal, and sentences you to a life of subsistence survival at best. You'll have to leave and move far from where you are known, change your name, and even then at best you'll get the work no one else wants. You'll also need to avoid anything that could expose you or draw attention to yourself.
Combat: Ronin have many enemies. The government probably wants them dead, the criminals and mercenaries they killed while part of the nobility have relatives who'd like them dead, and the actions they have had to take to survive in their new world have probably earned them more than a little hate from someone. As a result, stealth is now part of their vocabulary. As outnumbered as they are they have little choice to rely on ambush attacks. Many learn the use of unusual weapons, or ones that they would formerly disdain so as not to stand out.
Advancement: Ronin are an individualistic lot. Some do their best to regain their former position. Some end up as criminals, and discover they enjoy no longer having to hide their true sociopathic nature. Others decide to abandon the hypocrisy of their former life, while still attempting to maintain the ideals they have always believed in (without worrying about social restrictions too implausible to maintain). A few simply resign themselves to their fate as killers, and drown their sorrows in sake and the blood of anything crossing their path.
Resources: Few Ronin have a great amount of resources. Almost all without fail are quite broke unless they are willing to become criminal and murder for hire. Ronin who become heroic can occasionally ask favors of those they are helping or have helped in the past, but for the most part you are entirely on your own.
RONIN IN THE WORLD "It is truly regrettable that a person will treat a man who is valuable to him well, and a man who is worthless to him poorly." To be a Ronin and not have committed seppuku upon the loss of your master is considered to be the height of shame by the nobility. Any Samurai or other noble would just as soon spit on you as look at you, and you must avoid them if you do not wish to have fights you need to avoid for fear of being arrested and executed. In some cases you are officially banned from living in cities in the hopes you will die in the wilderness, and as such the life of a criminal is impossible to avoid. It is possible to redeem oneself, but it is very rare indeed for any Ronin to once again become Samurai. Even peasants feel free to heap humiliation upon the Ronin, and most only find acceptance as Yojimbo (bodyguards), Watari-Kashi (mercenaries), monks, or assassins for the Yakuza (though some of these are less respected than feared).
Daily Life: Much of your time is spent avoiding people who want to kill you for past indiscretions, people trying to create confrontations to humiliate you (which will get you caught by your would-be killers), people who want you dead for reasons you haven't learned yet, and really just about everyone else. While still trying to earn enough to survive. Lets face it you're pretty much screwed.
Notables: Tominaga (Lawful Good Male Human Samurai 6/Ronin 6) was once a Samurai of great renown, now fallen into disrepute with the passing of his former master during a coup which tarnished his name. Running from the Law (which is now composed largely of his former masters enemies), Tominaga ekes out a living taking on risky tasks no one else will do, such as killing demons.
Organizations: Ronin rarely have any form of organization dedicated to their cause on anything other than a temporary basis (the legend of the 47 Ronin for example). Occasionally they do have a formal organization dedicated to protecting against roving bands of Ronin bandits (i.e. the Gonin Gumi), but unless they belong to a criminal or mercenary group (or are bodyguard to a particularly powerful individual) they have no real backup. Ronin are on their own.
NPC Reaction The Ronin are almost universally despised. Samurai hate you as you're a living symbol of their potential for failure. The criminals hate you because you used to be considered as better than them while massacring them at will, and the peasants for much the same reason. Once you're no longer a Samurai you learn the world is a much harsher place for the lower castes, and they're only respectful to you while you're around. Now that you've fallen, they can freely indulge in trying to vent all their frustrations on you. Even those willing to hire you still look down on you since they know they have you by the short hairs.
RONIN IN THE GAME The Ronin are a despised group, and any player wanting to become one will have to realize that he's in for a world of pain. Virtually everyone he encounters will feel obligated to provoke him since they know he can't fight back without risking discovery. Make sure to discuss this with the player beforehand so he doesn't feel you're singling him out.
Adaptation: This is pretty much tailored for a pretty grim, gritty campaign. Ronin aren't funny, and their lives are prime examples of bleak despair.
Encounters: Ronin can be encountered just about anywhere. Many form roving bands of highwaymen in the forests that pick on anything that comes their way, or join the Yakuza as muscle. A few of the more famous and capable become bodyguards to those rich enough to openly flout the rules of society by having a fallen Samurai as their pet killer.
Sample Encounter EL 12: The PC's are approached by what looks like a possible brigand who asks for help in destroying a particularly disturbing cult grown up around a family of Oni.
TominagaLawful Good Male Human Samurai 6/Ronin 6
Init +2,
Senses: Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common
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AC , touch , flat-footed (+2 Dex, )
hp 78 (12 HD)
Fort +8,
Ref +9,
Will +10
Nintai
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Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee Base Atk +12,
Grp +14
Atk Options Imposing Presence, Intimidating Blade (+2)
Combat GearKi Abilities Known Bear Slayer, Improved Weapons Training, Monster Slayer, Oni Slayer, Yokai Slayer, Weapons Training,
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Abilities Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 15
SQ Ki Pool 14/day, Skills of Necessity (Balance, Knowledge: Nature, Search, Tumble),
Feats Far Shot, Improved Quick Cut, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (Katana), Quick Cut (B), Quick Draw (B), Indomitable Soul (B), Iron Will (B)
Skills Balance +6, Bluff +6, Climb +6, Diplomacy +6, Hide +6, Intimidate +6, Jump +6, Knowledge (Local, Nature) +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Ride +6, Sense Motive +4, Survival +4, Tumble +6
PossessionsEPIC RONIN Hit Die: d10
Skills Points at Each Level : 4 + int
Bonus Feats: The Epic Ronin gains a Bonus Feat every 2 levels higher than 20th
EX-RONIN Once he has been accepted by a new master (and can gain new levels of Samurai), the Ronin can no longer take levels in the Ronin Prestige Class until he has been thrown out by the aforementioned new master and is a Ronin once more.