General Prestige Class : Master of Nine
"Tiger Claw, Shadow Hand, White Raven. All of these are not paths in and of themselves. They are simply steps along the True Path, the Path of which I am master." - Ninefold Sage of Crimson
Some savants of the Nine Disciplines believe that none of the paths are complete, true disciplines in and of themselves. They believe that the nine disciplines are perhaps more appropriately termed the Nine Steps, each a single portion of a true, whole Way. These few masters strive to learn the ~secrets of each path, and in so doing become the masters of nine, using a martial style that combines all of the techniques of the Temple of Nine Swords. Such martial sages are fluid and unpredictable martial artists, capable of switching between styles and techniques to suit each situation.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Master of Nine, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: 10 ranks in four key discipline skills.
- Feats: Adaptive Style, Dodge, Blind-fight, Improved Initiative, Improved Unarmed Strike.
- Martial Maneuvers: Must know at least one maneuver from six different disciplines.
Class Skills
The master of Nine's class skills are Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (local), Martial Lore, Sense Motive, Swim, and Tumble.
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.
Class Features
The master of nine expands his knowledge of martial maneuvers to include all nine martial disciplines. As he advances, he learns ways of combining maneuvers from different disciplines to great effect. Finally, his mastery of all nine disciplines grants him a greater understanding of the path of the martial adept.
Maneuvers: At each odd-numbered level, you gain two new maneuvers known from any of the nine disciplines. At each even-numbered level, you gain one new maneuver known from any of the nine disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. You add your full master of nine levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known.
At each level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Stances Known: At 2nd level and again at 4th level, you learn a new martial stance from any discipline. You must meet a stance's prerequisite to learn it.
Dual Stance (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, you can choose to not lose your current stance when you enter a different stance from another discipline. The amount of time you can spend in two stances is limited. You can use this ability to gain the benefits of two stances for a maximum of 2 rounds per class level each day, split up as you desire among multiple uses and multiple stance pairs.
Perfect Form (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, you initiate your maneuvers with greater fluidity and grace. The save DC (if any) of any maneuver you initiate increases by 1.
Counter Stance (Ex): From 4th level on, whenever you initiate a counter maneuver, you can change your stance as part of the counter's action, even if it is not your turn.
Mastery of Nine (Ex): At 5th level, you have attained mastery of all nine disciplines. You gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls made when initiating any strike maneuver, and your strikes deal extra damage equal to the number of disciplines you readied maneuvers from at the beginning of the day. For example, if you ready maneuvers from six different disciplines, you gain a +6 bonus on damage rolls when you initiate your strikes.
| Master of Nine | Hit Dice: d8 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Maneuvers Known | Maneuvers Readied | Stances Known | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | *0 | +2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Dual stance |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Perfect form |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Counter stance |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Mastery of nine |
Master of Nine Lore
Characters with ranks in Martial Lore can research masters of nine to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including the information from lower DCs.
- DC 10: Some powerful martial adepts study all nine known disciplines. They are sometimes known as masters of nine, masters of the Nine-Petal Blossom, or other such fanciful names.
- DC 15: The master of nine can quickly adapt his style to exploit an weakness a foe possesses. He knows more maneuvers than any other martial adept.
- DC 20: A master of nine is a worthy opponent, or a valued ally. Few possess the breadth of abilities available to a master of nine, and few have the patience or ability to walk the Nine-fold Path
- DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about a specific notable master of nine, the areas where he operates, and the kinds of activities she undertakes.
Setting up a meeting with a master of nine can be difficult, since the masters maintain no chapterhouses or colleges. Instead, the easiest way to find one involves going to any place with a strong focus on the martial disciplines, for the masters often seek out new pupils in such places. At the very least, an experienced martial adept is likely to have some idea where a master of nine can be found.
Playing a Master of Nine
To you, each of the individual styles is incomplete. Each discipline is like a single petal of a flower - beautiful, elegant and finely formed, perhaps, but each grants only a partial understanding of the whole. Masters of nine often speak the Nine-Petal Blossom, the symbolic representation of this concept. You are driven, intent on learning the secrets of the Ninefold Way. You tend to show some small amount of pity for those who don't see the whole picture and focus only on their one style, but you aren't arrogant; you once stood in their place. You simply can't wait for their vision to broaden. Perhaps you can help them.
As a group, masters of nine have no overarching objectives or plans. They are simply a group of martial adepts who have come to understand that as powerful as a single discipline is, when unified, they become something full of power, grace, and beauty. Your standing among other masters is determined by two things: your own progress in mastering the Ninefold Way, and how many others you have instructed in the ways of the Nine-Petal Blossom, teaching them its secrets and setting them on the path. Those who not only have the wisdom to see the Blossom but also to show it to others are well regarded among the masters.
Combat
In battle, you are unpredictable and graceful. You prefer to single out those among your foes who obviously have some knowledge of the techniques of the Sublime Way, so that you can best them. You want to dazzle your foe with a display of martial mastery, for who knows? Perhaps the enemy you battle today shall come to you for the wisdom of the Ninefold Way tomorrow. You also prefer the pure and personal nature of hand-to-hand combat.
Advancement
Your vision was always wide as a martial adept. Perhaps you saw connections between martial styles that seemed to share little in common with one another. You might have even had multiple masters, trying desperately to learn what each of them had to teach without neglecting your advancement with any one of them (you might have even succeeded, drawing the attention of a master of nine). Regardless of the precise details of the past, the masters saw you as someone with the potential to behold the Nine-Petal Blossom, and one of them took you under his wing.
Now, you are one of them. The insights that came with your training were unlike any you had experienced before, though you suspected all along that something like this path must exist somewhere in the world. Now, you are responsible for only two things: your own advancing mastery of the Ninefold Way, and helping to open the eyes of others to its potential.
From this point, you must maintain your edge. Keep advancing in the key skills of the nine disciplines as much as possible. Your feat choices should reflect your amazing mastery of the Nine Ways. Many of the feats in the Tome of Battle might help you, and feats such as Martial Study allow you to further expand your maneuver selection.
Resources
Though the masters of the nine sometimes gather to train together and share their insights, they value self-sufficiency. As such, it is rare that they help one another in anything but the most dire of circumstances. As puissant adepts of martial discipline beyond the skill of most folk, they are happy to aid those who don't share their level of enlightenment however they can, but masters of nine believe that their peers should be capable of handling most situations without aid. Only a threat to the masters as a whole, such as someone systematically hunting down or otherwise persecuting the masters of nine, is likely to cause them to band together.
Source: Tome of Battle