Walkers of the Endless Way
"These boots were made for walkin', friend. I just help 'em along with it."
Kiarra of the Soles, a Walker of the Endless Way, shows off her worn boots of striding and springing
She wanders into town covered in the dust and dirt of the road; the only clean thing on her is the gleam of her gold and the white of her smile. She loves to talk - getting her to shut up is the real trick - and spends her coin like water. She doesn't seem to want anything other than a good time.
Then the drow raiders come, and after she stomps them into blood-smeared craters the townsfolk won't let her pay for a thing. It's all on the house.
One part ronin, one part pilgrim, one part wanderlust, the Walkers of the Endless Way are, at their heart, an order of people that just want to see the world (and, sometimes, a whole lot of other worlds). The world being a naturally violent place, the Walkers cultivate the twin arts of fighting and running like hell, and with the (slightly magical, greatly enhanced) aid of their boots of striding and springing strive to live and fight another day.
Becoming a Walker of the Endless Way
A lot of people become Walkers of the Endless Way almost by accident. They take up a life of traveling and meet a member of the Endless Way on the road, or their town is saved by the incidental presence of one of these eternal pilgrims. Perhaps they discover a pair of intelligent boots of striding and springing that wax poetic about their old life on the road with a Walker, or maybe they go out on the lam across the multiverse and take up the mantle of the eternal traveler in order to escape (in)justice. Sometimes a Walker settles down (temporarily) to raise a child - a lot of them adopt orphan wastrels or runaways with the same sort of perpetual shrug to which they approach the rest of their lives - and then takes their offspring on the road with them once they can walk themselves. These 'legacy' Walkers are somewhat more rare, but because they often take so much pride in their heritage they seem more numerous than they really are.
Training-wise, most Walkers were fighters, rogues, initiators (especially swordsages) or clerics, paladins, or crusaders devoted to various gods of travel. Some rangers take up the class, but few druids tend to, and it is true that most Walkers are from races that are famed for their wanderlust - humans, halflings, half-elves, though a substantial minority are from races such as tieflings or drow that want to see the world and know they might need a quick escape from outsiders that don't understand them.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Skills: Jump 9 ranks, Tumble 4 ranks
Feats: Dash or Travel Devotion
Special: Base Attack Bonus +5 or able to initiate third-level or higher martial maneuvers or access to the Travel domain
Special: Must own and wear a pair of boots of striding and springing.
Special: Must walk a Bounded Way with an existing Walker while wearing boots of striding and springing.
The Bounded Way
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It sounds much more simple than it really is, but much about the Walkers does; when someone wants to become a Walker and passes the basic tests (simple things, meant to show the would-be Walker's dedication to travel) the Walker of the Endless Way who is initiating them tells them that they'll walk an Bounded Way - a path as long or short as a single conversation.
Of course, therein lies the rub. The Walker strikes up a conversation with their initiate (most Walkers, if given a chance, will talk and talk and talk) about travel, their ideals, views, experiences, history, random bits of trivia - the conversation can, and probably will, cover any topic, and the initiate has to both keep walking and keep up with the conversation until either the Walker shuts up or dies. If the pair (or group) is waylaid, that's no excuse either - the conversation continues, even if the two are bound and thrown on the back of a wagon.
There's a few known ways to pass the Bounded Way. Simple endurance is one, and some legendary Walkers had to travel for hundreds of miles with no rest in order to get their mentors to shut their mouths. Others have tricked their mentors with riddles, confused them with debate, bored them to tears (making one's mentor beg the apprentice to be quiet is considered very lucky) and, in a few rare cases, simply hit them very hard until they passed out and, thus, had to remain quiet. In the awkward case that an apprentice's mentor dies (sometimes, but not usually, the fault of an exasperated initiate), the initiate is accepted into the order immediately, though it may take some time to make contact with the greater order - assuming they don't arrange for their mentor to be brought back to life, that is.
Class Skills
The Walker of the Endless Way's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentrate (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Any, chosen individually) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (N/A), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex)
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier
Hit Dice: D8
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Maneuvers or Divine Spells
1st|+0
|+2
|+2
|+0
|Seven League Stride|-
2nd|+1
|+3
|+3
|+0
|Footwork|+1 Level of Existing Class
3rd|+2
|+3
|+3
|+1
|Walk it Off|+1 Level of Existing Class
4th|+3
|+4
|+4
|+1
|Footwork|+1 Level of Existing Class
5th|+3
|+4
|+4
|+1
|Spring Into Action|+1 Level of Existing Class
6th|+4
|+5
|+5
|+2
|Footwork|+1 Level of Existing Class
7th|+5
|+5
|+5
|+2
|Eternal Traveler, Cobbler's Knack|-[/table]
Weapon Proficiencies: Walkers of the Endless Way gain no new weapon or armor proficiencies. They are, however, considered proficient with any special attacks they gain from this class.
Maneuvers or Divine Spells: At every level except first and seventh, the Walker of the Endless Way continues to advance either maneuvers learned and readied or divine spells as though she had also gained a level in a previous initiating or divine spellcasting class. She does not gain any of the other benefits of a level in that class (such as additional uses of turn undead, or additional stances known) except for an effective increase in initiating or spellcasting level. If the Walker of the Endless Way has more than one initiating or divine spellcasting class, she must choose which one to apply this benefit to at any; once chosen, her choice for that level may not be changed, though the Walker is free to apply this benefit to a different class each time she gains it if she so wishes. This benefit may not be applied to classes that advance both maneuvers and spellcasting, such as the Ruby Knight Vindicator.
Seven League Stride (Ex): A Walker of the Endless Way learns how to make the most out of slight edges, to ignore fatigue and want, and to high-tail it when things get too rough for her tastes. She increases any bonuses to her movement speeds (including examples such as the Dash feat, boots of striding and springing, or an expeditious retreat spell, but not sources that grant entirely new forms of movement such as a fly spell) by 50% (rounded down, to a minimum additional bonus of five feet). Additionally, she is immune to exhaustion, though she may still become fatigued.
Footwork (Ex): The Walkers of the Endless Way bond closely with the tool of their trade - the famous and much-loved boots of striding and springing. Through practice, advice and sometimes just twisting the magic of the boots around until it breaks to their will like a wild horse, they unlock new uses and techniques for their footwear. At second level and every two levels thereafter (fourth, sixth), the Walker may choose a Footwork ability, provided she meets its prerequisites (if any). Footwork abilities only function if the Walker is wearing a pair of boots of striding and springing, and do not function if the boots are rendered inoperable (but see the Extraordinary Footwear Footwork ability). A Walker of the Endless Way may only select any given Footwork ability once.
Footwork Abilities
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Springing Dodge (Ex): Once per encounter, as an immediate action, the Walker may make a Jump check (with all the normal benefits and pitfalls of making a Jump check, including moving the distance indicated by the check result). This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal; however, if the Walker uses Springing Dodge in response to an attack or spell and her Jump check takes her out of her attacker's reach or range, or out of the spell's range or area (as appropriate), she suffers no ill effects from the attack or spell whatsoever.
Extraordinary Footwear (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way's boots of striding and springing function even in an antimagic field; furthermore, they cannot be suppressed by dispel magic and similar effects and cannot be disjoined.
Spring Attack (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way gains Spring Attack as a bonus feat, even if she doesn't meet the prerequisites.
Quick Step (Ex): Whenever the Walker of the Endless Way makes a five-foot step, she may choose to move up to ten feet (she can still only make one five-foot step per round, even if she only chooses to move five feet).
Leaping Combat (Ex): Once per encounter, if the Walker of the Endless Way would make a skill check as part of a martial maneuver, she may substitute Jump for the normal skill used.
Agile Charge (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way may change direction freely while charging or running (this power does not alter any of the other benefits or limitations of charging and running).
Unimpeachable Stride (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way may walk (or run) on liquids and solids that would not otherwise support her weight (such as water, or falling paper) at her normal land speed. As long as the Walker continues to move or stand on such a surface, she doesn't take damage or penalties from it (such as thick mud counting as difficult terrain, or damage from standing on a lake of acid), though she takes damage as normal if she chooses to swim within or immerse herself in a dangerous substance.
Snap Kick (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way gains Snap Kick as a bonus feat, even if she doesn't meet the prerequisites. Furthermore, she increases the damage dealt by her bonus attack from the Snap Kick feat by one die step.
Traveler's Freedom (Ex): The Walker of the Endless Way may activate a freedom of movement effect on herself as a swift action. This is identical to the spell, save that it is treated as an extraordinary ability. This effect can last for a number of rounds per day equal to the Walker's class level, but she may choose to split it up into increments as small as one round if she so chooses.
Walker's Network (Su): The Walker of the Endless Way may communicate telepathically with any being wearing boots of striding and springing. This telepathic communication operates over any distance, even if the two beings are on separate planes of existence, but does have some limitations:
- The Walker must either know the being she wishes to communicate with (at a minimum, she must know their name) or else broadcast her message to any and all other Walkers of the the Endless Way.
- The communication is language-only; that is, the Walker may imply emotions by tone and inflection just as if speaking, but she cannot broadcast images or pure emotional input.
- The recipient of the Walker's message cannot reply unless they have this ability or have their own means of communicating over the distance in question.
The telepathy granted by this ability is otherwise just like normal speech, and requires no more concentration than carrying on a conversation.
Walk It Off (Ex): Starting at third level, the Walker of the Endless Way no longer requires rest to recover hit points or heal ability damage (though the process does not take any less time; she simply no longer requires rest and relaxation to heal naturally). Additionally, she becomes immune to disease and environmental damage (including damage from severe weather, temperature extremes and planar traits, but not damage from area-of-effect spells or traps).
Spring Into Action (Ex): Leaping boldly into the fray is, of course, another use of the boots that the Walkers favor, and at fifth level she perfects the art; the Walker adds a +4 competence bonus to her Initiative modifier as long as she is wearing a pair of boots of striding and springing. The Walker of the Endless Way may also take an additional move action whenever she is acting during a surprise round.
Eternal Traveler (Ex): A Walker of seventh level is transformed by the Endless Way she walks into a being with the potential to be as eternal as it is; she ceases aging entirely (gaining neither further benefits nor penalties) and will never die of old age. Furthermore, she bonds deeply with her boots of striding and springing; they cannot be removed or destroyed by any means unless she deliberately chooses allow this to occur (she cannot be compelled magically to do so, either, though mundane persuasion could theoretically work).
Cobbler's Knack (Su): As handy as their boots of striding and springing are, most Walkers of the Endless Way recognize that other kinds of magical footwear exist and are useful. Luckily at level seven, the Walker learns a technique that means they don't have to choose; by meditating for ten minutes over a pair of magical boots, the Walker adds their effects to their worn boots of striding and springing (so a Walker that meditated over a pair of boots of the winterlands in this fashion would benefit from both the effects of boots of striding and springing and boots of the winterlands). This does not remove the enchantment from the pair of boots meditated upon in this fashion. A Walker of the Endless Way may only have one set of benefits added to her boots in this fashion at a time, but she may change what set of benefits that is at any time simply by meditating over a new pair of boots (thereby adding that benefit in place of the former one).
Playing a Walker of the Endless Way
Walkers of the Endless Way are hard to generalize about, because the only thing they truly all have in common is a love of travel. Why does your Walker travel? Are they running from something - a grifter or cheat on the run from some horrifying cosmic justice - or searching for something? Do they walk for the simple sake of walking? Do they want to see the multiverse, meet the gods, or find some long-lost lore? Once you decide what called your Walker to the Way, a lot of how they behave will settle out on its own.
Combat: Walkers tend to fight like initiators or clerics do - but with that in mind, their class features place an emphasis on mobility that can greatly alter your available tactics. The ability to attack from new angles or spring into advantageous positions makes melee especially attractive for Walkers, and most invest in it to some degree.
Advancement: Most Walkers of the Endless Way advance as initiators or clerics, though a small minority choose to advance as rogues or factotums instead.
Resources: Given how loosely connected this order is, the Walkers don't provide much in the way of monetary resources to their members. However, information flows through the Walker's Network on a near constant basis, riding on the winds of psychic gossip; the Walker's Network counts as a masterwork tool for any Gather Information and Knowledge checks a Walker of the Endless Way attempts. Additionally, the Endless Way enjoys a positive relationship with many nations and with organizations such as the League of Boot and Trail, and may be able to expect discounted services from these organizations.
Walkers of the Endless Way in the World
"Ever since Licentia got those boots she's been off on 'special assignments' and spending time with Primies. That ain't right, y'know?"
Grotax, Barbazu watchman, remarks on an Erinyes Walker of the Endless Way
The Walkers, they get around. Although their numbers are spread thinly over their area of operation (notably: everywhere), they move around so much that most folks have at least made passing note of them. Mostly, the word on the street is good - almost all Walkers are mostly peaceful individuals who don't normally bother their fellow sapient being unless bothered first. A few take up a life of traveling altruism, but almost none of them go the opposite route - probably because the moment word spreads of such a villain over the Walker Network, the Walkers of the Endless Way gather to hunt that person down and end them. The Walkers are well aware that their positive reputation could easily change - especially since their membership is so cosmopolitan - and have no desire to garner a bad name for themselves.
Daily Life: Most obviously, Walkers travel. What that means from Walker to Walker can vary extremely wildly, though. Some choose to find exotic environments and travel to the bottoms of oceans, into deep underground caverns, or attempt the void of space in Spelljammers. Others delve into every nook and cranny of foreign cities, set out on quests to taste every dish cooked under the sun, or visit other planes of existence. Sometimes a Walker holes up for a year or two (longer if they need to raise or give birth to a child, though most become parents by acquiring a gaggle of orphans and strays that follow them about) but even the longest-lived ones normally get restless inside of a decade and set out to find somewhere new once again.
Notables:
Licentia, Traveling Devil
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Even for the Walkers, Licentia is an odd one. As an Erinyes, Licentia was never quite satisfied with her place in Baator and often wondered if she might serve better in another capacity. A Walker passing through to see the sights struck up a whirlwind romance with the she-devil and then left, leaving Licentia heartbroken and longing for revenge. Eventually the Erinyes had a pair of boots of striding and springing made and set off to find her erstwhile lover. She's still looking.
In the meantime, Licentia's seen more of the multiverse than she ever thought possible and thoroughly fallen in love with travel. It took her awhile to unlearn the habit of cruelty for its own sake, but Licentia found shaking that particular behavior to be crucial to her own survival in most parts of the multiverse. Where once she was an average devil, now Licentia has studied under dozens of different warriors and scholars and grown well beyond her origins. She still isn't certain about how that makes her feel, or what she's going to do to (or with) her former lover when she finally tracks that Walker down.
Licentia travels for the joy of it and is eager to learn and experience new cultures. She respects laws and order and strives to obey local law when she can, and struggles daily to fit into other societies in order to better understand them. She still has a cruel streak that sometimes shines through, especially when she's angry. She is lawful neutral.
Kiarra of the Soles, Wandering Ronin
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Kiarra's got a great reputation up and down her home world. A traveling warrior, Kiarra goes places and makes friends and helps them with their problems. She loves to fight and drink and make love, almost always to excess and never without enjoying every single second of it. Kiarra's relatively new to the whole 'Walker' thing but she's proud to be part of the association - her mother was a Walker of the Endless Way, and Kiarra considers this part of her family legacy.
The trouble tends to be that Kiarra, while clever and bright, is also impulsive and reckless and easily tricked. More than once she's ended up fighting on the wrong side or making a situation worse because of her gullibility and tendency to act without proper information. She does a lot of good, but she also does a lot of incidental harm, and it's hard to explain that to her without a fight breaking out.
Kiarra lives to enjoy her freedom and genuinely loves and respects other people, regardless of their species. She doesn't really trust authority or laws, but figures it's better to walk away than start a fight about it (unless it'd be a really fun fight). She is chaotic good.
Organizations: While the Walkers refer to themselves as members of 'The Endless Way', this is less of an organization than the name implies; essentially, it's a catch-all phrase for anyone who can listen in on the Walker Network. There are certainly no membership dues, almost no formalized rules and no real obligations - though most prospective Walkers are warned that tarnishing the reputation of the Endless Way as a whole may be met with 'corrective violence'.
With that in mind, many Walkers do formally join organizations such as the League of Boot and Trail, participate in churches of travel gods, join or found historical societies or otherwise seek to turn a profit from their wanderlust. Since most Walkers are both happy to go anywhere they're sent and self-reliant as field agents, they become valued members of these organizations and can also often incidentally turn a profit selling (or fencing) the things they find on their journeys.
NPC Reaction
Since Walkers of the Endless Way are likely to be relatively rare in any given location, many people don't have an off-the-cuff reaction to their presence. With that mind mind, many Walkers make friends by sharing their stories of exotic places, bringing the recent news of the world, or solving local problems, which means that a town or city is more likely to have a positive memory of the last Walker that came through than a negative one.
Walkers of the Endless Way in the Game
Walkers of the Endless Way gain quite a bit in the way of mobility, which can affect how they conduct combat. Their ability to cover long distances quickly is also something that may prove hard to showcase, but otherwise they continue to behave much like members of the class(es) they had before taking levels in this one.
Adaptation: The Walkers were written deliberately to be able to drop into almost any campaign setting as-is. With that in mind, some adaptations may include removing the focus on boots of striding and springing or making their organization a more formal one with concrete goals and ideas.
Encounters: Walkers of the Endless Way are a diverse bunch, and thus it's difficult to generalize about how a group might encounter one. They may be fleeing from the law (or a mob of angry fathers), exploring the same dungeon as the party, enlisting the aid of the party as mercenaries or even moonlighting as a traveling assassin - anything in which mobility and agility is valuable.
Re: GitP Prestige Class Contest XXXIV: Items of Power
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