Throughout history, dueling has seen many degrees of acceptability, militarily, legally, and socially. Some cultures or subcultures regard dueling as an honorable and civilized method of settling disputes, but others see dueling as barbaric.
The melee duelist specializes in fighting a single opponent. The melee duelist selects a primary weapon of choice, studying and practicing maneuvers, feints, and tricks to perfection. Competitive duelists train with several types weapons because they may not know ahead of time which types of weapons will be used in a duel. Battlefield duelists expand their abilities to take on small groups because they cannot depend on the luxury of fighting a single opponent in the middle of a skirmish.
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a melee duelist, a character must fulfill the following criteria.- Minimum Level: 7th
- Minimum Base Attack Bonus: +7
- Feats: Melee Defense, Rapid Strike, Weapon Focus with a melee weapon
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Melee duelists have the following game statistics.HIT POINTS
At each level, melee duelists gain 1d8 hit points + their Constitution modifier.
HERO POINTS
Melee duelists gain a number of Hero Points equal to 6 + one-half their character level, rounded down, every time they gain a new level in this class.
| LEVEL | BASE ATTACK BONUS | CLASS FEATURES |
| 1st | +1 | Defense bonuses, talent |
| 2nd | +2 | Master of Movement (1/encounter) |
| 3rd | +3 | Talent |
| 4th | +4 | Master of Movement (2/encounter) |
| 5th | +5 | Talent |
| 6th | +6 | Master of Movement (3/encounter) |
| 7th | +7 | Talent |
| 8th | +8 | Master of Movement (4/encounter) |
| 9th | +9 | Talent |
| 10th | +10 | Master of Movement (5/encounter) |
CLASS FEATURES
The following are features of the melee duelist prestige class.DEFENSE BONUSES
At 1st level, you gain a +4 class bonus to your Reflex Defense and a +2 class bonus to your Will Defense.TALENTS
At every odd-numbered level (1st, 3rd, 5th, and so on), you select a talent. The talent can be selected from the Brawler or Weapon Specialist talent trees (Soldier Base Class), or from the Melee Duelist talent tree below. You must meet the prerequisites (if any) of the chosen talent. No talent can be selected more than once unless expressly indicated.MELEE DUELIST TALENT TREE
You are lethal when fighting with one or more melee weapons.Advantageous Strike: You take advantage of your opponent’s haste. You gain a +5 bonus on attacks of opportunity with melee weapons you are proficient with.
Dirty Tricks: You are not above using a few dirty tricks to win. You can use the feint application of the Deception skill as two swift actions against an opponent you threaten.
Prerequisite: Trained in Deception.
Dual Weapon Flourish I: When wielding only two light melee weapons, whenever you make a single attack as a standard action with one weapon you can make a single attack with the other weapon as a free action against the same target. You apply the normal penalties for fighting with two weapons with this attack.
Prerequisites: Dual Weapon Mastery I, Weapon Finesse.
Dual Weapon Flourish II: When you are wielding only two light melee weapons, once per turn on your turn you can make a full attack as a standard action instead of a full-round action, provided you attack with both weapons during the attack. You apply the normal penalties for fighting with two weapons to both of these attacks.
Prerequisites: Dual Weapon Mastery I, Dual Weapon Mastery II, Dual Weapon Flourish I, Master of Elegance, Weapon Finesse.
Master of Elegance: You may add your Dexterity bonus (instead of your Strength bonus) on damage rolls when wielding a light melee weapon. When you wield a light melee weapon two-handed, you may apply double your Dexterity bonus (instead of double your Strength bonus) to the damage.
Prerequisites: Dual Weapon Flourish I or Single Weapon Flourish I, Weapon Finesse.
Multiattack Proficiency (advanced melee weapons): Whenever you make multiple attacks with advanced melee weapons as a full attack action, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by 2. You can take this talent multiple times; each time you take this talent, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by an additional 2.
Multiattack Proficiency (exotic melee weapons): Whenever you make multiple attacks with exotic melee weapons as a full attack action, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by 2. You can take this talent multiple times; each time you take this talent, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by an additional 2.
Multiattack Proficiency (simple melee weapons): Whenever you make multiple attacks with simple melee weapons as a full attack action, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by 2. You can take this talent multiple times; each time you take this talent, you reduce the penalty on your attack rolls by an additional 2.
Out of Nowhere: Once per encounter, as a free action on your turn, you can make an attack with a light melee weapon after a successful feint.
Prerequisites: Trained in Deception , Weapon Finesse.
Single Weapon Flourish I: When you wield only a single light melee weapon and make a full attack, you can move up to your speed as a free action at any time during your turn.
Prerequisites: Double Attack (advanced melee weapons, exotic melee weapon, or simple weapons), Weapon Finesse.
Single Weapon Flourish II: When you wield only a single light melee weapon, once per turn on your turn you can make a full attack as a standard action instead of a full-round action.
Prerequisites: Double Attack (advanced melee weapons, exotic melee weapon, or simple weapons), Master of Elegance, Single Weapon Flourish I, Weapon Finesse.
Twin Weapon Style: As a standard action, whenever you are wielding two weapons (or a double weapon), you can make one attack with each weapon (or each end of a double- weapon). Each attack must be against a different target.
Twin Weapon Mastery: Whenever you use the Twin Weapon Style talent, you can move 2 squares between each attack. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity.