| Kaizen the Iaidomaster |
“Speed. Accuracy. Lethality.”
Kaizen never sought to be an assassin… it just happened his swordsmanship suited assassination. As a practitioner of iaido his technique relies on first strike. Kaizen’s pragmatic methodology to exploit blindspots, inflict inhumane wounds, and withdraw from reach during duels lead to accusation of dishonor. Yet the core deterministic factor could be Kaizen’s distain for the katana and overwhelming perference for the wakizashi. Thus his options for employment fell into the influence of criminal syndicates and unscrupulous nobles.
Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral
Armor Class 17 (Studded Leather); Initiative +9 (19)
Hit Points 103 (10d8 + 50)
Speed 40 feet
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
| 10 (+0) | 20 (+5) | 16 (+3) | 10 (+0) | 11 (+0) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Dexterity +9, Intelligence +4
Skills Acrobatics +9, Deception +8, Insight +8, Perception +8, Persuasion +4, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +13; Disguise Kit, Poisoner’s Kit, Smith’s Tools, Thieves’ Tools
Senses Blindsight 10 feet, Passive Perception 18
Languages Common, Draconic, Giant, Thieves’ Cant, Undercommon
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP; Proficiency Bonus +4)
TRAITS
Agile Movement. Opportunity Attacks have Disadvantage against Kaizen.
Dash over Difficult Terrain. When Kaizen takes the Dash action on his turn, Difficult Terrain doesn’t cost him extra movement for the rest of that turn.
Evasion. When Kaizen is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, Kaizen instead takes no damage if he succeeds on the saving throw and only half damage if he fails. Kaizen can’t use this feature if he has the Incapacitated condition.
Fog of War. Kaizen gains Advantage on any Dexterity (Stealth) check he makes as part of the Hide action during combat.
Initiative. Kaizen has Advantage on Initiative rolls.
Initiative Swap. Immediately after Kaizen rolls Initiative, he can swap his Initiative with the Initiative of one willing ally in the same combat. Kaizen can’t make this swap if he or the ally has the Incapacitated condition.
Masterful Mimicry. Kaizen can unerringly mimic another person’s speech, handwriting or both if Kaizen has spent at least 1 hour studying them.
Reliable Talent. Whenever Kaizen makes an ability check that uses one of his skills or tool proficiencies, he can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10.
Resourceful. Kaizen gains Heroic Inspiration whenever he finishes a Long Rest.
Sniper. If Kaizen makes an attack roll while hidden and the roll misses, making the attack roll doesn’t reveal his location.
ACTIONS
Sneak Attack. Once per turn Kaizen can deal an extra 27 (5d6) damage to one creature he hits with an attack if Kaizen has Advantage on the roll and the attack uses a Finesse or Ranged weapon. The extra damage’s type is the same as the weapon’s type. Kaizen doesn’t need Advantage on the attack if at least one of his allies is within 5 feet of the target, the ally doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition, and Kaizen doesn’t have Disadvantage on the attack roll.
Surprising Strikes. During the first round of each combat, Kaizen has Advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn’t taken a turn. If Kaizen’s Sneak Attack hits any target during that round, the target takes an additional 10 damage of the weapon’s type.
Cunning Strike. When Kaizen deals Sneak Attack damage, he can add one of the following Cunning Strike effects. Each effect has a die cost, which is the number of Sneak Attack dice Kaizen must forgo to add the effect. Kaizen removes the die before rolling, and the effect occurs immediately after the attack’s damage is dealt.
- Poison (-1d6). To use this effect, Kaizen must have a Poisoner’s Kit on his person. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 17. Failure: The target has the Poisoned condition for 1 minute. At the end of each of its turns, the poisoned target repeats the save, ending the effect on a success.
- Trip (-1d6). To use this effect, the target must be Large or smaller. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 17. Failure: The target has the Prone condition.
- Withdraw (-1d6). Immediately after the attack, Kaizen moves up to half his speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Wakizashi. Melee Attack Roll: +9 to hit, reach 5 feet. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 5) Piercing damage. If Kaizen hits a creature and deals damage to the creature, Kaizen has Advantage on his next attack roll against that creature before the end of Kaizen’s next turn.
Shuriken. Ranged Attack Roll: +9 to hit, range 20/60 feet. Hit: 7 (1d4 + 5) Piercing damage. If Kaizen hits a creature and deals damage to the creature, Kaizen has Advantage on his next attack roll against that creature before the end of Kaizen’s next turn.
BONUS ACTIONS
Cunning Action. On his turn, Kaizen can take one of the following actions: Dash, Disengage, or Hide.
Roving Aim. Kaizen gives himself Advantage on his next attack roll on the current turn, provided that he hasn’t moved during this turn.
REACTIONS
Parry. If another creature hits Kaizen with a melee attack, Kaizen can take a Reaction to add 4 to his Armor Class, potentially causing the attack to miss Kaizen. Kaizen gains this bonus to his Armor Class against melee attacks until the start of his next turn.
Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker that Kaizen can see hits him with an attack roll, Kaizen can take a Reaction to halve the attack’s damage against himself (round down).
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