Drow Fencer

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Drow Fencer (CR 15)

There are many Drow males who are trained in the arts of the blade for various purposes. Over the long years of their immortal lives, Drow Fencers have gained incredible skill with their blades, and are as all Drow men, immensely loyal to the Matriarchs who rule their society.

That said, Drow Fencers are often overlooked by the Matriarch's, in favor of the much more powerful, flashy, and interesting Drider's and Dragloth's. Fencers are often kept around more as toys and baubles than as significant additions to their martial forces, a state of affairs which quietly irks every Fencer ever born.

As a result, Fencers tend to be quite aggressive when they are allowed into battle. They will plunge to the attack fearlessly, looking to land a Stop-Thrust, get an opponent disarmed and alone, and kill them mercilessly with their Blademaster skills.

Fencers are always exceptional specimens of Drow manhood, and move with balletic grace and speed at all times. As a result, they are quite popular with the Matriarch's, even if they lack the sheer army-shattering might of the Driders or the flashy, scary powers of the Dragloths.

GENERAL

CR 15 Hit Dice 22

XP 51,200

LE Medium Fey (Drow)

Init +7; Senses Standard Darkvision 60 ft, Perception +23

DEFENSE

AC 37 (41 with Blademaster), touch 21, flat-footed 31 (35 with Blademaster) (+10 armor, +6 dex, +6 natural, +5 deflection)

hp 328

Fort +16, Ref +18, Will +14

Aura: -

SR: -

Special Defenses: Evasion: If a Reflex save is allowed to take half damage, a Fencer takes no damage on a successful save.

Immunities: -

Weaknesses: vulnerable to Cold Iron

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft.

Space / Reach: 5 ft. / 5 ft.

Single Melee Drow Rapier +24 (+28 with Blademaster) (3d8+8/17-20x2), plus Languishroot Poison

Full Melee 3x Drow Rapier +24 (+28 with Blademaster) (3d8+8/17-20x2), plus Languishroot Poison

Ranged Hand Crossbow +24 (3d8+8/x2), plus Languishroot Poison

Special Attacks Blademaster, Stop-Thrust, Venom Sheathe, Languishroot Poison

Action Points 0

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 19

Base Atk +15; CMB +24; CMD 32

Feats Improved Critical EFFECT: +1 Critical range (added into above), Improved Disarm EFFECT: +2 CMB for Disarms, no attack of opportunity

Skills Diplomacy +23, Sense Motive +23, Survival +23

Languages Common, Undercommon, Awnsheghlien

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Blademaster (Ex)

Any time the fencer is only threatened by a single enemy, he gains a +4 martial bonus to his attack rolls and a +4 martial bonus to his AC. The to-hit bonus applies only to melee attacks. The armor class bonus only applies to AC or flat-footed AC, not touch AC. If no enemies threaten the fencer, or more than one enemy threatens the fencer, this bonus is lost.

Stop-Thrust (Ex)

Once per round as a swift action, the fencer may attempt to make a Disarm maneuver against a foe they can reach with their Drow Rapier. They get +2 on this CMB roll and do not provoke attacks of opportunity due to their Improved Disarm feat. If the Disarm roll is successful, the fencer may Push their victim back two squares, possibly putting the dropped weapon out of their reach.

Venom Sheath (Ex)

As a swift action, the fencer can reapply poison to his rapier. This is done with a practiced flourish, as the blade is slid through a slotted cup-like device on his belt, near the sword's sheath. The cup-like device contains 10 doses of Languishroot poison, and can be refilled outside of combat.

As with all poisoned weapons, the poison is used up each time a target is struck by the blade, and new poison must be applied.

Languishroot Poison (Ex)

poison (injury); Save Fortitude DC 24; Onset 1/round for 2 rounds; Effect 1d4 Dex damage and 3d6 points of non-lethal physical damage; Cure 1 save.

TREASURE

sell value of approximately 18,750 gp

COMBAT TACTICS

Drow Fencers are smart and dangerous melee combatants. In all cases, they will try to maneuver into melee combat as fast as possible, and then they will use their Stop Thrust ability to disarm their victims and push them away from their allies, so they gain the benefits of their Blademaster ability. Fencers will always try to break up clusters of opponents in this fashion, acting the opposite of most melee foes who are looking for flanks. Note that if they are having trouble getting their Blademaster ability to work, they will seek and use flanks without hesitation.

If there are significant ranged attackers, and especially area of effect ranged attackers, they will trust to their Evasion ability to keep them fighting. If a ranged attacker is able to pierce their Evasion ability, one or two of them will attempt to poison them with their hand crossbows.

Once combat is begun, Fencers will seek to spread out their foes, poison, and kill or capture them. If the combat goes poorly, Fencers will not hesitate to retreat as long as there is no compelling reason to remain in the battle. If there is a reason to fight to the death, Fencers will do so, and seek to spend their lives fruitfully.