1st PrC Creation Contest (GitP Prestige Class Contest I)-Test My sword, Meet Your End

[JGPyre]

So I'll do the Stat Block for Rikus when I get his character sheet back this weekend. This is pretty much v1.0, balanced but not tested. So feedback would be appreciated. Tomorrow or sometime I'll get links up to the variants that I refer to. But as a starter go to http://www.d20srd.org/ and also my campaign wiki http://tearsofchaos.wikispaces.com , where hopefully soon I will have the detailed Fighting Style rules up and maybe even a recommended fighting style for a sword-wielding member of the class.

Battlepith Soldier

...I wish I had a picture

“All I need is this sword. It’s all I know. And as long as I don’t let go of it I know that I can survive any battle.” –Kyle Rikus, Nessian mercenary.

On the crossroads of warring kingdoms, dozens of small mercenary bands eek out a dangerous lifestyle. Some choose this life of a mercenary, but others, the more unfortunate, are literally born into it. For a child growing up traveling from battlefield to battlefield, knowing no peers but the full-grown mercenaries, there are few paths in their lives. Assuming they survive to the point where they are capable of picking up a weapon, they begin to learn to fight. In order to survive the children absorb everything they can about living through a battle.
By the time that these children reach physical maturity, two things about them almost always hold true. They wield large weapons and are incredibly strong, since when they were small they started learning with weapons that were far too large for them. Furthermore, they see the possession of strength, the power to kill, as the only way of maintaining your existence in the hostility of the world.
Battlepith Soldiers are the survivors of wars that to them have never ceased. They see their sword as the means to secure their desires, and to them improving their ability to fight is the only sign that they are progressing through existence. They are tenacious, versatile, and generally intelligent fighters. In a battle they will be the ones cleaving horses in two, seeking out the strongest enemies, and emerging the hero; outside of combat, however, they tend to be gritty, awkward, and unfriendly.

BECOMING A Battlepith Soldier
Most Battlepith Soldiers are straight fighters before taking the class. Some may have other PrC backgrounds, but the soldiers can also hail from multiclass Paladin or Barbarian roots.

REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a Battlepith Soldier a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus (any two-handed melee weapon), Weapon Specialization (any two-handed melee weapon)
Special: Must have killed >20 opponents in a single encounter.

Class Skills
The Battlepith Soldier's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge(War), Listen, Ride, Spot, Swim. See Chapter 4: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skills Points at Each Level: 2 + int

Hit Dice: d10

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+1

|

+2

|

+0

|

+0

|Battlefield Awareness +1

2nd|

+2

|

+3

|

+0

|

+0

|Block Arrows

3rd|

+3

|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|Counterbalance

4th|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|Battlefield Awareness +2, Unmount

5th|

+5

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|Bonus Feat

6th|

+6

|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|Wide Swings

7th|

+7

|

+5

|

+2

|

+2

|Battlefield Awareness +3

8th|

+8

|

+6

|

+2

|

+2

|Bonus Feat

9th|

+9

|

+6

|

+3

|

+3

|One-on-One

10th|

+10

|

+7

|

+3

|

+3

|Battlefield Awareness +4, Untouchable[/table]

Weapon Proficiencies: Battlepith Fighters choose from a total of four weapon group feats, in addition to basic weapons. [In the standard system, read as “Simple and Martial Weapon Proficiency."] He is proficient with all types of armor and shields, though he rarely uses a shield.
Battlefield Awareness: Having taken part in countless battles, the Soldier has developed a sort of sixth sense for how battle flows during the conflict of two forces. When faced with 12 or more total opponents at the beginning of an encounter (or at any point during the encounter), he is treated as having met the conditions for battlefield awareness, and receives the following bonuses: +1 to Initiative, +1 Insight bonus to AC, +1 Insight bonus to Reflex Saves, and he may make 1 additional attack of opportunity per round. At 4th, 7th, and 10th levels these bonuses each increase by 1. The total Battlefield Awareness modifier affects many of the Battlepith Soldier’s other abilities as well.
Combat Expertise: The Soldier receives this feat for free at first level, even if he does not meet the normal prerequisites for it.
Block Arrows: The Soldier has become adept at avoiding the hail of arrows that he sometimes finds raining down upon him. Often he uses the best piece of cover that he has around to shield him from the barrage, his own weapon. At higher levels, he is capable of striking projectiles out of the air with his huge weapon with blinding speed. When a ranged projectile weapon scores a hit on the Soldier, the soldier may choose to make a Reflex save against a DC = 15 + the bonus to-hit that fired the shot to block the projectile. For example, a standard bowman (+3 to hit) is much easier for the Soldier to avoid than the volley of a master archer (>+15 to hit). He may deflect a block a number of projectiles every round equal to his Battlefield Awareness modifier squared. This ability is active even when the normal encounter conditions for Battlefield Awareness are not met.
Counterbalance: The Soldier has attained considerable enough strength and skill with their weapon that they feel comfortable using one of even greater size. With a two-handed melee weapon in which he is proficient, the Soldier uses their off-hand to help stabilize the great weight of a weapon one up to one size category larger than the Soldier, allowing him to use the larger weapon with perfect proficiency.
Unmount: By striking a the mount of a rider with his huge weapon, he can force the mount to stumble or jerk and pitch its rider, assuming he doesn’t kill the mount outright with his swing. When the Soldier hits an opponents mount with a two-handed melee weapon, the rider must make a Ride check against a DC 15 + Damage Dealt or be pitched from her mount, taking 1d6 falling damage and landing prone 10’ from the Battlepith Soldier. The rider gets a +2 on her Ride check if she is using a Military Saddle.
Bonus Feat: The Soldier gains a bonus feat to be selected from the list of Fighter Bonus feats.
Wide Swings: With incredible strength and skill, the Soldier is able to shear down soldiers in his path like stalks of wheat. Each attack that the Soldier makes can strike an additional target adjacent to the first target and still within reach of his blade. First he must hit with his original attack using a two-handed melee weapon, which deals full damage to the first target, the weapon then carries through to the adjacent target. The same to-hit result is used as the first attack, -5. If this second attack is still sufficient to hit the target’s AC, it takes ½ the damage of a normal attack (rounded down), if there is an additional adjacent target within reach, the swing can travel through to that target, with a total modification to the original to-hit roll of -10, and a total damage of ¼ normal, further targets still reduce the to-hit roll by -5 every iteration, but the damage remains at ¼ normal. Precision or burst-based effects, such as Sneak Attack, Critical Hits, damage from a flaming burst weapon, etc. to not carry through to the secondary and tertiary targets. Furthermore, abilities that rely on a ‘per attack’ rubric, such as Great Cleave and Haste, only count the initial hit as an attack. Note that this ability does not need to drop the first target to affect adjacent targets. The maximum number of additional targets (not including the one that the first attack was rolled against) that can be hit in one attack is equal to the Soldier’s Battlefield Awareness modifier. This ability functions normally even when the normal conditions for Battlefield Awareness are not met.
One-on-One: After countless trials, the skills that the Soldier has absorbed on the battlefield begin to apply to all combat situations he finds himself in. His Battlefield Awareness bonuses now apply to all encounters.
Untouchable: When the Soldier is wielding his weapon of choice, very few opponents are foolish enough to try to attack him. In any round in which he performs a full attack action wielding a two-handed melee weapon any opponent within 30 feet and with 10 or more HD less than the Soldier must make a Will Save against an Intimidate Check from the Soldier or be Frightened for 5d6 rounds. Those with 5 to 10 HD less than the Soldier make the same save, but become Shaken upon a failure instead of frightened for 5d6 rounds. This is a Frightful Presence Extraordinary ability and its use is optional.


Playing a Battlepith Soldier
Battlepiths are born and raised on the battlefield. They have survived countless skirmishes, battles, raids, and other challenges. Generally they are most at home while wielding their sword or on the campaign trail, and have little patience for bureaucracy and indecision. Their overarching goals for adventuring vary, but it is not uncommon to have Battlepiths who simply know nothing other than swinging their swords and improving their skills; without much thinking as to their life aspirations these individuals may simply plod along as warriors.
Combat: : In a fight battlepiths are powerful forces capable of taking on huge groups of weaker opponents simultaneously. Though they lack the damage capacity against groups possessed by spellcasters, their defensive capabilities and toughness allow them to act more independently in a battle without the need for the support and protection of the rest of the army. The Battlepith shines fighting against large groups of weaker opponents who are still threatening enough to overwhelm normal characters. He is a perfect figurehead for an army because of his ability to do a great job avoiding being 'targeted' in the conventional way. He is resistant to projectile attack and dominates weaker opponents in melee.
Advancement: Because they are granted the combat expertise feat at first level, a Battlepith Soldier is eligible to take any of a large series of Fighting Styles to further augment his abilities. Combined with bonus feats selected from the standard fighter set, and you have a niche fighter, slightly more capable of dishing out damage against a single monstrous opponent, but who truly shines more than bonus feats along could allow when presented with a battlefield to fight upon. The Battlepith Soldier may be built as a support-fighter for an corps, a figurehead, or even a one-man army out to do god-knows-what.
Resources: I like to construct PrCs based on simple concepts that build off of themselves to discourage class dipping (though Combat Expertise as a bonus feat may be asking for dipping, but I don’t really play with munchkins so it should be ok). As a result, the only books required to utilize the Battlepith Soldier to its fullest are the core rulebooks. I use a variety of variant rules in my personalized campaign setting, which are linked to above for the setting’s wiki. These optional variants are mostly covered in Unearthed Arcana. The Fighting Style system that I use is adapted from Quintessential Fighter, but is not required for use of this class. Although I haven’t converted the rules, the crew combat rules in “Seas of Blood” may be a convenient way to handle large numbers of opponents on a traditional battlefield. Though I haven’t uploaded them yet, I have a set of rules for “PCs fighting crews” that streamlines the flow of battles where a few heroes are taking on a horde of weaker enemies, still allowing the enemies to be quite strong.

Battlepith Soldiers in the World
“T-that’s him… that’s hundred-man Gatts!” –Awed Footsoldier

Most Battlepiths slowly build a reputation for themselves by consistently surviving nearly impossible battles, being massively outnumbered, or going missing for weeks. Famed soldiers known to have killed hundreds with their swords may be Battlepiths, but they are just as likely (especially at lower levels) to be an ordinary or elite soldier in a mercenary corps or the regular army. They just happened to survive. At some point, though, it becomes hard for any commander to ignore the strength of the Battlepith. Few battlepiths end up leading, as it removes them too much from the action of the fighting; also, they usually aren’t capable of thinking about war on such a macro scale, preferring to perfect the tactics of combat rather than those required for an army to win a battle.
Daily Life: As mentioned before, these Soldiers are only truly comfortable on the Battlefield. They find themselves constantly progressing towards the next challenge, the next war, the next job. Encountering a Battlepith away from the campaign trail will likely be when he’s relaxing before or after a job. They tend to be hostile to people they don’t know, and it’s not too hard to provoke one to a fight, although it’s rarely a good idea.
Notables: Kyle Rikus: born into a guild of mercenaries, his young father wasn’t ready to retire from his quest to master the spear. Since his mother died in childbirth, he was dragged from guildhouse to guildhouse of the Blacksteel Fighters, slowly visiting cities all over the continent. His father and other members of the guild filled him only with their own passions, combat. He learned to hold a dagger as a sword before he could talk, and was using a longsword in sparring practice by the time he was 7 and fought in his first battle at 14. After joining the guild at 16, Rikus was transferred away from his father for the first time. However, after a fight with the guildmaster, left the path of the Blacksteel Fighter to go pursue his own path. Knowing nothing but how to wield his (now) large sword, he set off for the borderlands of the Paladin Empire, where mercenaries were in high demand thanks to an explosion of prospecting for gold and silver in the nearby hills. In this land of powerful thieves bands, resentful indigenous orc and human tribes jockeying to get their territory back, and scheming nobles from the west, Rikus earned a reputation as a powerful and capable mercenary. The rumor is that he gets the job done, always.
High Chief Lugsov Durkos: Sometimes a warrior’s capabilities simply place him into an echelon of respect and power above what a normal soldier could achieve. Leading his small tribe in every battle that he fought, the halberd-wielding Lugsov Durkos became the first orc of the 3rd Age to unite the tribes of the southern continent of Gamgoron. Further, leading the united orc tribes against the powerful Solemn Order of Vishnu, he threw down the Graying Device that blocked out the Suns and Moons, killed the High Arbiter of the Order, and sent them into a decline from which they would never recover. Durkos is said to have been ruthless, cold, and bluntly unintelligent outside of battle. He talked rarely, and had few comrades. However, since he spent so much of his time in battle, followers flocked to his cult of ability, though he never asked for their help nor provided them with blades. Companies formed themselves under his movements, and he gave no orders, only picked up his giant axe and left for the next battle, leaving those who wished to follow him to come along if they desired.
Organizations: The Battlepith Soldier is a niche PrC. This means that from the role-playing perspective a Battlepith Soldier and a Fighter, Ranger, or Barbarian are capable of walking exactly the same path. Taking levels in the Battlepith Soldier prestige class does not restrict the character in any way from joining some organizations or walking his own path. That said, because almost all Battlepith soldiers have roots in regions that are rife with strife, often as a part of mercenary bands, they are most commonly found as members (not usually leaders) of mercenary corps. They may also be a part of an elite troop of a more permanent army, though such a battalion usually strays too far from battle for the Battlepith’s liking.

NPC Reaction
As with any character, an NPCs reaction is completely determined by the air that the character exudes. One could imagine a friendly Battlepith warrior, or one who simply opens every conversation with an invitation to some competition of strength or battle prowess. Generally, though, Battlepith warriors have a demeanor that earns the indifference and sometimes scorn from NPCs, especially those of higher classes. Because most Battlepiths value only strength as a testament to individual worth, they value nobles generally lower than themselves, often sparking tensions with their employers.

Battlepith Soldiers IN THE GAME
Battlepiths are statistically probably a little stronger than traditional fighters, depending upon the optimization of feats in the standard fighter and the niche that you want to fill. Otherwise, Battlepiths don't break any rules. Though their Wide Swings ability may seem strong at first glance, the number of chances that one gets to affect multiple targets is severely limited unless you're in the right setting (a battlefield-esque environment).
Adaptation: Since Battlepith Fighter is a niche-based PrC, not an Organization-based or or other Special PrC, it is easy to adapt the class to find utility anywhere in a campaign setting where a war-torn region might give rise to the type of person that meets this class' archetype. Alternately, the flavor could easily be whipped around to be something else, perhaps give the feeling of heroic barbarians wading through hordes of goblins... etc.
Encounters: The most likely place to encounter a Battlepith Soldier is on the battlefield (surprise!). It's also possible that a Battlepith may be serving as the strong right hand of an Mercenary group's leader sent out to hunt the PCs or a solo warrior traveling through perilous terrain on his way to find his next battle.

Sample Encounter
Give an example of how one might encounter a member of this PrC.
EL x: Give the encounter level and description of a sample member of this class and a stat block for him/her.


Name
alignment/Gender/Race/Levels
Init +0, Senses: Listen +, Spot +,
Languages
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AC , touch , flat-footed ()
hp ( HD)
Fort +, Ref +, Will +
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Speed ft. ( squares)
Melee
Base Atk +, Grp +
Atk Options
Combat Gear
Spells Prepared
Supernatural Abilities
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Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
SQ
Feats
Skills
Possessions