The Bladecraft Skill
"When the sword is once drawn, the passions of men observe no bounds of moderation." - Alexander Hamilton
Bladecraft is a skill, as well as a subsystem. Many blade techniques grant bonus Bladecraft dice to attack rolls, damage rolls, or other situations; the size of a "Bladecraft die" (which may be more than one physical die) is determined by your ranks in the Bladecraft skill.
Bladecraft (Int; Trained Only)You can learn blade techniques, and can use this skill to identify blade techniques as they are being used.
Whenever the effect of a blade technique you use depends on Bladecraft dice, the number of ranks you have in Bladecraft determine the type of dice you roll, as shown on the following table. Bladecraft dice gained as a bonus to damage are not multiplied on a critical hit. The progression of Bladecraft dice continues in the same way beyond 36 ranks. Multiple sources of Bladecraft dice on the same roll stack.
Ranks | | Bladecraft Dice |
1-4 | | 1d4 |
5-8 | | 1d6 |
9-12 | | 1d8 |
13-16 | | 1d4+1d6 |
17-20 | | 1d6+1d6 |
21-24 | | 1d8+1d6 |
25-28 | | 1d4+2d6 |
29-32 | | 1d6+2d6 |
33-36 | | 1d8+2d6 |
Check: You can identify combat styles and sword techniques used by a combatant. Identifying a blade technique used by someone you can see requires no action, and the DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 the user's base attack bonus (rounded down, minimum +0). Identifying the current form someone is in requires no action, and the DC is equal to 20 + 1/2 the user's base attack bonus (rounded down, minimum +0).
You can also make a Bladecraft check when using a technique to retain a previously granted tag. If the technique would have granted a tag of the same type as the tag you are retaining, the retained tag replaces the tag you would have been granted. If the technique does not grant a tag of the same type, you retain the tag in addition to the new tags granted by the technique. The base DC for retaining a tag is 15, +3 for each tag the technique normally grants, -2 if the technique would have granted a tag of the same type. Note that, as this use of the Bladecraft skill is always in combat, you may not take 10 when attempting to retain a granted tag.
Action: None
Try Again: Yes
Special: You gain a +2 bonus on Bladecraft checks to identify a technique or form that you know.
Special: Any character with at least 1 rank in Bladecraft has the ability to learn blade techniques.
Synergy: You gain a +2 synergy bonus to Bladecraft checks for each of the following skills in which you have at least 5 ranks: Autohypnosis, Knowledge (History), or Martial Lore. If you have 5 or more ranks in Bladecraft, you gain a +2 synergy bonus to Concentration, Knowledge (History), and Martial Lore checks.
Note: Bladecraft is a class skill for any class which has full Base Attack Bonus progression.