[thereaper]

Objective

Spoiler

I set out to make a T3 melee class. ToB is the standard for T3 melee, and by that metric the class is nowhere near as versatile. However, it does have an excellent chassis (d12 HD, fighter proficiencies, full BAB, 4 skill points, a decent skill list, and even all good saves).

My hope is that the great saves, heavy armor, and spell resistance make the class tough enough to partially make up for its lack of options (compared to a ToB class, anyway). However, it's capable of all the standard melee tricks, and can incorporate its powers into its full attack routine (note that none of the abilities say they can't be done in a full attack). Effectively, it's a defensive juggernaut with standard melee full attack potential that can throw out Save or X effects at the same time (to say nothing of its power to inflict ability damage, dispel, or sunder armor). It also has some minor utility powers, bonus feats, and just enough skill points to do something small outside of combat.

Nuts and bolts of the class

Spoiler

The Chassis: No matter what I did, there was no way this class was going to be as versatile as a specialized caster, so I would have to make up the difference in power. Making the base chassis incredibly hardy was a simple but effective way to begin that process. The 4 skill points give it some much-needed non-combat potential (however slight).

Mythic Speed, Mythic Jump, Mythic Endurance, and Mythic Survival: Not only do these have some utility value, but I wanted to go for a Greek hero kind of thing here (think Achilles), and being able to jump twice as far as any normal man (for example) is a great way to showcase that.

Mythic Rage: It's a nice, consistent buff for when you don't want to do anything special, and it gives low-level players something combat-oriented to do with their adrenaline.

Mythic Mass: For players who might want to play as a grappler or use an alternative combat maneuver (no, not the ToB kind, the other one).

Hamstring Hack: The first special attack. The effect is mainly useful for keeping something from running away from you and ripping your mage's face off.

Mythic Healing: An emergency heal, but one weak enough that its use is not desirable except in...well, emergencies.

Bonus Feats: These serve not only to differentiate various characters, but also encourage the use of alternative combat maneuvers.

Mythic Strike: It inflicts ability damage, and creates a (slight) reason to use different damage types (piercing being the winner for this one).

Sunder Armor: If I'm going to have a class that does things that happen in real life but aren't supported in the game like lopping off body parts, sundering armor is a logical thing to have as well. Note that this one doesn't require adrenaline surges, allowing you to have a Save or X even if you're out of adrenaline.

The Upgrades to Mythic Speed/Jump, Mythic Defense, and Timeless Body: Filler.

Dispelling Strike, its upgrades, Spell Resistance, Never Surrender, and Ignore Force: Caster counters, to make the class a little more competitive.

Blinding Blow: This is the adrenaline Save or X that targets reflex saves. It's heavily debilitating with most weapons, and with bludgeoning ones it's practically a Save or Die unless the monster has a way of getting healed (blindness means needing to listen for where to swing and eating total concealment, blindness and deafness means you have no way of even knowing where to swing).

Dismember: A Fortitude-targeting slashing-only special attack that heavily debilitates the target in a way that is very hard to cure (Regenerate is a 7th level spell, and this comes online at 10th level). Since most monsters have good fort saves, the DC is higher than for the other special attacks.

Ignore Damage Reduction: Gives the class a way to get around one of the classic physical counters, without removing that counter completely (adrenaline is limited, after all).

Mythic Preparation: A unique advantage for the class (less susceptibility to surprise attacks, and the ability to always go first if you're doing the surprising and the enemy somehow gets to act during the surprise round anyway).

Behead: The big slashing-only Save or Die. It may seem underpowered, but keep in mind; the player is doing this in addition to his full attack, not instead of it.

The epic progression is pretty self-explanatory, I'd say. And the feat is just in case the player feels they absolutely, positively need more adrenaline surges.