playswithfire
2010-08-29, 10:48 AM
This is the first adept class from my attempt at a follow-on to ToB (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8691736) that I've done a full writeup for. Looking for any comments. It's designed to be the ToB-style replacement for the ranger and, using the adaptation in the third section, the barbarian.
HIT DIE : d12
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known
1st|+1|
2|
2|
0|Muscle Memory +1, Animal Instinct |
2|
2|
1
2nd|+2|
3|
3|
0|Animal Companion|
3|
2|
1
3rd|+3|
3|
3|
1|Combat discipline(feat)|
3|
2|
2
4th|+4|
4|
4|
1| |
4|
2|
2
5th|+5|
4|
4|
1|Muscle Memory +2|
4|
3|
2
6th|+6/+1|
5|
5|
2| |
5|
3|
3
7th|+7/+2|
5|
5|
2| |
5|
3|
3
8th|+8/+3|
6|
6|
2|Combat discipline (weapons)|
6|
3|
3
9th|+9/+4|
6|
6|
3| |
6|
3|
4
10th|+10/+5|
7|
7|
3|Muscle Memory +3|
7|
4|
4
11th|+11/+6/+1|
7|
7|
3| |
7|
4|
4
12th|+12/+7/+2|
8|
8|
4| |
8|
4|
5
13th|+13/+8/+3|
8|
8|
4|Combat discipline (tactics)|
8|
4|
5
14th|+14/+9/+4|
9|
9|
4| |
9|
5|
5
15th|+15/+10/+5|
9|
9|
5|Muscle Memory +4|
9|
5|
6
16th|+16/+11/+6/+1|
10|
10|
5| |
10|
5|
6
17th|+17/+12/+7/+2|
10|
10|
5| |
10|
5|
6
18th|+18/+13/+8/+3|
11|
11|
6|Combat discipline (stance)|
11|
5|
7
19th|+19/+14/+9/+4|
11|
11|
6| |
11|
6|
7
20th|+20/+15/+10/+5|
12|
12|
6|Muscle Memory +5|
12|
6|
7
[/table]
Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Martial Lore, Move Silently, Ride, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble
HUNTSMAN
I have shown many fools that the deadliest sound in the wild is not the roar of the lion or the rattle of the coiled snake, but the silence that comes before before my arrow spills their blood.
-- Kamli, a huntsman
MAKING A HUNTSMANA huntsman is alternately a front-line melee character or a secondary ranged combatant and many can fill both rolls if the need exists, aided by their wide array of stances. Though he cannot replace a cleric or other dedicated healer, the huntsman's Devoted Spirit and Life's Blood disciplines give him the ability to provided limited healing to himself and his allies. A huntsman's skills, martial arts, and animal companion make him a worthwhile addition to any encounter.
Abilities: A huntsman's main concerns with his ability scores are roughly the same as those for any other martial class. He gains some benefit from a high Wisdom score, in terms of both his Will save and his damage output with certain weapons, but he can still be effective without one. He has the choice of focusing on melee or ranged combat, which will determine whether Strength or Dexterity will be of primary importance, though archery-based huntsmen will often take the Weapon Finesse feat for when enemies get within their melee range. Intelligence gives a huntsman the skills he needs to survive alone in the wilderness and to get the most out his martial strikes, and Constitution is as important to him as it is to any character, moreso if he favors melee.
Races: Most huntsmen are humans and half-orcs, though whether that is due to necessity or those species' enjoyment of the hunt is often debated. Most other races are well-represented, however. Elves, half-elves, and halflings who prefer to leave near the wilds often become huntsmen, usually choosing Iron Rain over Tiger Claw to do their hunting from a distance. Dwarves prefer the more traditional martial classes, but the mountainsides and the Underdark have no less need of huntsmen than the darkest forest, and the dwarves that fill this need tend to focus on Devoted Spirit and Twin Spirit. Gnomes find the lifestyle unappealing, but they will occasionally study its Iron Rain and Life's Blood disciplines.
Alignment: A huntsman can be of any alignment, though the time they spend out in the wilderness makes chaotic and neutral huntsmen more common than lawful ones. As such, huntsmen of all alignments will generally feel greater solidarity with other huntsmen than they do with city-dwellers of their own alignment. In times of war, good and evil huntsmen will serve in armies of the same alignemnt, though, in times of peace, the former would prefer to hunt game rather than other sentient species. A neutral huntsman will likely either also hunt game or simply sell his deadly skills to whomever can offer the best price and many of them occasionally learn to regard everyone they meet as little more potential prey.
Starting Gold: 5d4x10 gp (125 gp).
Starting Age: As ranger.CLASS FEATURESOf all martial adepts, huntsmen have the most stances available, which allows them to vary their posture to meet whatever challenges they encounter. Depending on which discipline he focuses on, a hunter can be a mounted charger, stealthy hunter or fierce melee warrior.
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a huntsman, you are proficient with simple and martial weapons and light and medium armor and shields (but not tower shields).
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of two martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Devoted Spirit, Life's Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8839707&postcount=24), and Twin Spirit (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40991). You may also choose one of Iron Rain (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8103297#post8103297) and Tiger Claw. Upon reaching 3rd level and every odd-numbered huntsman level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready both maneuvers known at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover either all expended strikes or all expended counters and boosts as a single swift action which must be followed by a melee attack or a standard action to do nothing.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th, you can choose additional stances.
Muscle Memory (Ex): A skilled huntsman reflects on and learns from his past kills to ensure victory in those that follow. You may meditate for 1 minute to designate one creature type (if you choose humanoid or outsider, you must also choose a subtype) that you have made an attack roll against within the last 24 hours gain a +1 on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against the same creature type or subtype. These bonus lasts until you sleep or meditate for another minute. These bonus increases by 1 at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level.
Animal Instinct (Ex): This functions as Wild Empathy, but the huntsman adds his Wisdom bonus instead of his Charisma bonus to the check.
Animal Companion (Ex): At 2nd level, a huntsman gains an animal companion which functions like the druid ability of the same name, except as noted here. The bonuses to hit dice and natural armor are reduced by half at all levels and it does not gain Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, or Improved Evasion. Instead, at 3rd level and above, it gains Share Boosts and, at 12th level and above, it gains Share Stances. Any feat or prestige class which advance's a druid or ranger's animal companion can also advance a huntsman's. At 7th level, he can select a companion from the druid's 4th level alternate animal companion list, treating his level as 6 lower, at 13th he may select from the 7th level druid list treating his level as 12 less and at 19th level, he may select one from the 10th level druid list, treating his level as 18 less.
Share Boosts (Ex): At the huntsman's options, whenever he initiates a boost, he may have it also affect his animal companion if the animal companion is within 10 feet.
Share Stances (Ex): When within 5 feet of the huntsman, his animal companion may, as a move action, initiate any stance the huntsman knows that is of a level lower than his highest level stance. The stance automatically ends if the animal companion moves more than 20 feet from the huntsman.
{table=head]Class Level |Bonus HD |Natural Armor |Str/Dex Adj. |Bonus Tricks |Special
1st- 2nd |+0 |+0 |+0 |1 |Link
3rd- 5th |+1 |+1 |+1 |2 |Share Boosts
6th- 8th |+2 |+2 |+2 |3 |
9th-11th |+3 |+3 |+3 |4 |Multiattack
12th-14th |+4 |+4 |+4 |5 |
15th-17th |+5 |+5 |+5 |6 |Share Stances
18th-20th |+6 |+6 |+6 |7 |[/table]
Combat Discipline (Ex): A huntsman gains several class features to help get the most benefit out of his choice of discipline (Tiger Claw or Iron Rain)
feat: At 3rd level, a huntsman gains either Stalking Tiger* or Rain of Pain*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
weapons: At 8th level, he adds his Wisdom bonus, if positive, to his damage rolls when attacking with the associated weapons of his chosen discipline.
tactics: At 13th level, he gains either Reaping Talons or Adept Archer*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
stance: At 18th level, a huntsman may have two stances active at the same time, but only if one and only one of them is from his chosen discipline.HUNTSMEN IN THE GAMEDepending on their alignment and the manner in which they are first encountered, huntsmen can be aides, rivals or adversaries to a party, in the most extreme cases becoming guides or pursuers. Large huntsmen organizations are rare but some will be found as large hunting lodges or a first line of defense for a smaller nation and may be willing to hire a party for specific missions. Evil huntsmen organizations will often have turned to hunting humanoids rather than game animals and will likely appear as an assassin's guild. A member of such a guild or a huntsman with similar skills can make an interesting recurring villain as he stalks and lays traps for the party at every opportunity, perhaps creating other incidents which he knows will draw the party into a trap.
A huntsman character experts that he will be an asset to his party in any encounter in the wild and particularly in combat, but is aware that he could be a detriment in social encounters within the bounds of cities. As such, you should provide both encounters which have creatures the huntsman is the most familiar with as well as important NPCs who harbor inate distrust of those who choose to live their lives outside of "civilization."
Adaptation
Some huntsmen eschew formal training, relying on brute strength to achieve victory. To create a more barbarian-like huntsman, reduce the huntsman's Reflex save to poor, remove the Combat Discipline class features, and he must choose Tiger Claw instead of Iron Rain. Add Illiteracy, Rage, and Greater Rage as the barbarian class features, except that Rage is usable 1/day at 3rd level and an additional time per day every 5 levels after and Greater Rage is available at 13th level. At 6th level, if the animal companion is within 10 feet of the huntsman when he rages, the animal companion may rage as well.
HIT DIE : d12
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances Known
1st|+1|
2|
2|
0|Muscle Memory +1, Animal Instinct |
2|
2|
1
2nd|+2|
3|
3|
0|Animal Companion|
3|
2|
1
3rd|+3|
3|
3|
1|Combat discipline(feat)|
3|
2|
2
4th|+4|
4|
4|
1| |
4|
2|
2
5th|+5|
4|
4|
1|Muscle Memory +2|
4|
3|
2
6th|+6/+1|
5|
5|
2| |
5|
3|
3
7th|+7/+2|
5|
5|
2| |
5|
3|
3
8th|+8/+3|
6|
6|
2|Combat discipline (weapons)|
6|
3|
3
9th|+9/+4|
6|
6|
3| |
6|
3|
4
10th|+10/+5|
7|
7|
3|Muscle Memory +3|
7|
4|
4
11th|+11/+6/+1|
7|
7|
3| |
7|
4|
4
12th|+12/+7/+2|
8|
8|
4| |
8|
4|
5
13th|+13/+8/+3|
8|
8|
4|Combat discipline (tactics)|
8|
4|
5
14th|+14/+9/+4|
9|
9|
4| |
9|
5|
5
15th|+15/+10/+5|
9|
9|
5|Muscle Memory +4|
9|
5|
6
16th|+16/+11/+6/+1|
10|
10|
5| |
10|
5|
6
17th|+17/+12/+7/+2|
10|
10|
5| |
10|
5|
6
18th|+18/+13/+8/+3|
11|
11|
6|Combat discipline (stance)|
11|
5|
7
19th|+19/+14/+9/+4|
11|
11|
6| |
11|
6|
7
20th|+20/+15/+10/+5|
12|
12|
6|Muscle Memory +5|
12|
6|
7
[/table]
Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, x4 at 1st level): Balance, Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Martial Lore, Move Silently, Ride, Spot, Survival, Swim, Tumble
HUNTSMAN
I have shown many fools that the deadliest sound in the wild is not the roar of the lion or the rattle of the coiled snake, but the silence that comes before before my arrow spills their blood.
-- Kamli, a huntsman
MAKING A HUNTSMANA huntsman is alternately a front-line melee character or a secondary ranged combatant and many can fill both rolls if the need exists, aided by their wide array of stances. Though he cannot replace a cleric or other dedicated healer, the huntsman's Devoted Spirit and Life's Blood disciplines give him the ability to provided limited healing to himself and his allies. A huntsman's skills, martial arts, and animal companion make him a worthwhile addition to any encounter.
Abilities: A huntsman's main concerns with his ability scores are roughly the same as those for any other martial class. He gains some benefit from a high Wisdom score, in terms of both his Will save and his damage output with certain weapons, but he can still be effective without one. He has the choice of focusing on melee or ranged combat, which will determine whether Strength or Dexterity will be of primary importance, though archery-based huntsmen will often take the Weapon Finesse feat for when enemies get within their melee range. Intelligence gives a huntsman the skills he needs to survive alone in the wilderness and to get the most out his martial strikes, and Constitution is as important to him as it is to any character, moreso if he favors melee.
Races: Most huntsmen are humans and half-orcs, though whether that is due to necessity or those species' enjoyment of the hunt is often debated. Most other races are well-represented, however. Elves, half-elves, and halflings who prefer to leave near the wilds often become huntsmen, usually choosing Iron Rain over Tiger Claw to do their hunting from a distance. Dwarves prefer the more traditional martial classes, but the mountainsides and the Underdark have no less need of huntsmen than the darkest forest, and the dwarves that fill this need tend to focus on Devoted Spirit and Twin Spirit. Gnomes find the lifestyle unappealing, but they will occasionally study its Iron Rain and Life's Blood disciplines.
Alignment: A huntsman can be of any alignment, though the time they spend out in the wilderness makes chaotic and neutral huntsmen more common than lawful ones. As such, huntsmen of all alignments will generally feel greater solidarity with other huntsmen than they do with city-dwellers of their own alignment. In times of war, good and evil huntsmen will serve in armies of the same alignemnt, though, in times of peace, the former would prefer to hunt game rather than other sentient species. A neutral huntsman will likely either also hunt game or simply sell his deadly skills to whomever can offer the best price and many of them occasionally learn to regard everyone they meet as little more potential prey.
Starting Gold: 5d4x10 gp (125 gp).
Starting Age: As ranger.CLASS FEATURESOf all martial adepts, huntsmen have the most stances available, which allows them to vary their posture to meet whatever challenges they encounter. Depending on which discipline he focuses on, a hunter can be a mounted charger, stealthy hunter or fierce melee warrior.
Weapon and Armor Profiency: As a huntsman, you are proficient with simple and martial weapons and light and medium armor and shields (but not tower shields).
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of two martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Devoted Spirit, Life's Blood (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8839707&postcount=24), and Twin Spirit (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40991). You may also choose one of Iron Rain (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8103297#post8103297) and Tiger Claw. Upon reaching 3rd level and every odd-numbered huntsman level thereafter, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready both maneuvers known at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you are able to ready more, but you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You may recover either all expended strikes or all expended counters and boosts as a single swift action which must be followed by a melee attack or a standard action to do nothing.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to you. At 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th, you can choose additional stances.
Muscle Memory (Ex): A skilled huntsman reflects on and learns from his past kills to ensure victory in those that follow. You may meditate for 1 minute to designate one creature type (if you choose humanoid or outsider, you must also choose a subtype) that you have made an attack roll against within the last 24 hours gain a +1 on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against the same creature type or subtype. These bonus lasts until you sleep or meditate for another minute. These bonus increases by 1 at 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level.
Animal Instinct (Ex): This functions as Wild Empathy, but the huntsman adds his Wisdom bonus instead of his Charisma bonus to the check.
Animal Companion (Ex): At 2nd level, a huntsman gains an animal companion which functions like the druid ability of the same name, except as noted here. The bonuses to hit dice and natural armor are reduced by half at all levels and it does not gain Share Spells, Evasion, Devotion, or Improved Evasion. Instead, at 3rd level and above, it gains Share Boosts and, at 12th level and above, it gains Share Stances. Any feat or prestige class which advance's a druid or ranger's animal companion can also advance a huntsman's. At 7th level, he can select a companion from the druid's 4th level alternate animal companion list, treating his level as 6 lower, at 13th he may select from the 7th level druid list treating his level as 12 less and at 19th level, he may select one from the 10th level druid list, treating his level as 18 less.
Share Boosts (Ex): At the huntsman's options, whenever he initiates a boost, he may have it also affect his animal companion if the animal companion is within 10 feet.
Share Stances (Ex): When within 5 feet of the huntsman, his animal companion may, as a move action, initiate any stance the huntsman knows that is of a level lower than his highest level stance. The stance automatically ends if the animal companion moves more than 20 feet from the huntsman.
{table=head]Class Level |Bonus HD |Natural Armor |Str/Dex Adj. |Bonus Tricks |Special
1st- 2nd |+0 |+0 |+0 |1 |Link
3rd- 5th |+1 |+1 |+1 |2 |Share Boosts
6th- 8th |+2 |+2 |+2 |3 |
9th-11th |+3 |+3 |+3 |4 |Multiattack
12th-14th |+4 |+4 |+4 |5 |
15th-17th |+5 |+5 |+5 |6 |Share Stances
18th-20th |+6 |+6 |+6 |7 |[/table]
Combat Discipline (Ex): A huntsman gains several class features to help get the most benefit out of his choice of discipline (Tiger Claw or Iron Rain)
feat: At 3rd level, a huntsman gains either Stalking Tiger* or Rain of Pain*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
weapons: At 8th level, he adds his Wisdom bonus, if positive, to his damage rolls when attacking with the associated weapons of his chosen discipline.
tactics: At 13th level, he gains either Reaping Talons or Adept Archer*, even if he does not meet the prerequisites.
stance: At 18th level, a huntsman may have two stances active at the same time, but only if one and only one of them is from his chosen discipline.HUNTSMEN IN THE GAMEDepending on their alignment and the manner in which they are first encountered, huntsmen can be aides, rivals or adversaries to a party, in the most extreme cases becoming guides or pursuers. Large huntsmen organizations are rare but some will be found as large hunting lodges or a first line of defense for a smaller nation and may be willing to hire a party for specific missions. Evil huntsmen organizations will often have turned to hunting humanoids rather than game animals and will likely appear as an assassin's guild. A member of such a guild or a huntsman with similar skills can make an interesting recurring villain as he stalks and lays traps for the party at every opportunity, perhaps creating other incidents which he knows will draw the party into a trap.
A huntsman character experts that he will be an asset to his party in any encounter in the wild and particularly in combat, but is aware that he could be a detriment in social encounters within the bounds of cities. As such, you should provide both encounters which have creatures the huntsman is the most familiar with as well as important NPCs who harbor inate distrust of those who choose to live their lives outside of "civilization."
Adaptation
Some huntsmen eschew formal training, relying on brute strength to achieve victory. To create a more barbarian-like huntsman, reduce the huntsman's Reflex save to poor, remove the Combat Discipline class features, and he must choose Tiger Claw instead of Iron Rain. Add Illiteracy, Rage, and Greater Rage as the barbarian class features, except that Rage is usable 1/day at 3rd level and an additional time per day every 5 levels after and Greater Rage is available at 13th level. At 6th level, if the animal companion is within 10 feet of the huntsman when he rages, the animal companion may rage as well.