Golden Eagle and Elven Duelist [PrC]

[amanodel]

A variant and two PrC's for my upcoming Campaign Setting. Are they over- or underpowered, or anything else I should try otherwise?
Comments are most appreciated, I'm bad with PrCs.



Fighter Variant: Woodsman

Class Skills
Add the following skills to the fighter's class skill list: Survival, Heal, Knowledge (nature), Move silently, and Hide. The woodsman gains skill points per level equal to 4 + Int modifier (and has this number x4 at 1st level).

Class Features
The woodsman has all the standard fighter class features, except as noted below.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Woodsmen are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light armor.

Bonus Feats
A woodsman doesn't gain the normal fighter bonus feat at 1st level. Also, add Tracking to the list of fighter bonus feats available to the woodsman.

[hr]

Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagles are the elite guards of the steppe dwelling nomad Carad elves. They are highly disciplined and are loyal to the death. Their bows are amongst the most-feared weapons in the world.

Hit Die
d8.

Requirements
To qualify to become a Golden Eagle, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment
Any non-chaotic.
Base Attack Bonus
+6.
Skills
Ride 5 ranks, Spot 5 ranks.
Feats
Mounted Combat, Weapon Focus (Shortbow), Point Blank Shot.
Special
Must live in the Great Steppes.

Class Skills
The Golden Eagle's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at Each Level
4 + Int modifier.

[tt]
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +1 +0 +2 +0 Mounted Archery
2nd +2 +0 +3 +0 Precise Shot
3rd +3 +1 +3 +1 Called Shot 1/day
4th +4 +1 +4 +1 Eye of the Eagle +1d6
5th +5 +1 +4 +1 Weapon Specialization (Shortbow)
6th +6 +2 +5 +2 Shot on the Run
7th +7 +2 +5 +2 Called Shot 2/day
8th +8 +2 +6 +2 Eye of the Eagle +2d6
9th +9 +3 +6 +3 Far Shot
10th +10 +3 +7 +3 Improved Precise Shot
[/tt]

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Golden Eagles gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons and with light armor.

Mounted Archery, Precise Shot, Weapon Specialization (Shortbow), Shot on the Run, Far Shot, Improved Precise Shot
As the feats, altough the Golden Eagle is treated as having it if he wears no, or light armor, even if he doesn not have the prerequisites.

Called Shot (Ex)
From 3rd level, once per day, a Golden Eagle can make a Called Shot. This adds +20 bonus on attack rolls. This increases to 2/day at 7th level.

Eye of the Eagle (Ex)
The Golden Eagle can pinpoint weakness in his enemies' armor from a great distance, and can profit from it. Whenver he makes a ranged attack with a bow, he can take a Spot check against the target's Armor class + Character level + 1/every 20 feet of distance.
He can choose not to release the arrow immediately, but to continue on aiming. Each turn he does so, he must make a Concentration check vs 15+1/turn. If he fails, the aim is lost. However, if he succeds, his aim becomes better, adding further +2 damage bonus for every consecutive successive turn.


[hr]



Elven Duelist

The elven duelist is a master swordsman, who prepares himself for a Nim'ithil festival, where the best elven swordsmen match each other for the victory. The training requires great dedication and a strong desire. The winner traditionnaly receives great wealth and fame, and the starting year is named after him. They fence naked, only with a small armor guarding their lower bodies. They are known as Ithil'arato, champion of the moon.

Hit Die
d6.

Requirements
To qualify to become an elven duelist, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus
+6.
Race
Must be elf.
Skills
Tumble 5 ranks, Bluff 5 ranks.
Feats
Combat Expertise, Improved Feint.
Special
Must have at least 13 Charisma.

Class Skills
The elven duelist’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (history) (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level
4 + Int modifier.

[tt]
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1st +1 +0 +2 +0 Canny Defense
2nd +2 +0 +3 +0 Bonus Feat
3rd +3 +1 +3 +1 Cruel Strike, Dex, 1d2
4th +4 +1 +4 +1 Enhanced Mobility
5th +5 +1 +4 +1 Swift Strike +1d6, Bonus Feat
6th +6 +2 +5 +2 Cruel Strike, Str, 1d4
7th +7 +2 +5 +2 Elaborate parry
8th +8 +2 +6 +2 Bonus Feat
9th +9 +3 +6 +3 Cruel Strike, Con, 1d6
10th +10 +3 +7 +3 Swift Strike +2d6
[/tt]

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Elven duelists gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons but with no armor.

Canny Defense (Ex)
When not wearing armor or using a shield, an elven duelist adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per duelist class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a duelist is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.

Bonus Feat
At 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels the elven duelist can choose a bonus feat from the list of fighter bonus feats.

Enhanced Mobility (Ex)
When wearing no armor and not using a shield, an elven duelist gains an additional +4 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when she moves out of a threatened square.

Cruel Strike (Ex)
Whenever an elven duelist beats his opponent's AC by more than 4, he temporarely drain his opponent Dex score by 1d2 + 1/every two points he bet his opponent AC. The attribute penalty lasts for 1d4 turns + the elven duelist's Wis modifier. At 6th and 9th level the damage increases, and the elven duelist can decide the type of ability drain. Multiple drains from the same kind do not stack, the largest penalty counts only. He must use a sword to use this ability.

Elaborate Parry (Ex)
At 7th level and higher, if a duelist chooses to fight defensively or use total defense in melee combat, she gains an additional +1 dodge bonus to AC for each level of duelist she has. He must use a sword to use this ability.

Swift Strike (Ex)
Whenever the elven duelist's opponent is flat-footed, or his dexterity bonus to his AC is otherwise denied, he can deal extra damage with his attack. This attack is similar to the rogue's sneak attack. He must use a sword to use this ability.

[amanodel]

Err... anyone?

[The_Shaman]

Cruel strike requires no save, I see... it seems a little powerful, I must say. For the rare character (but not rare NPC) with 10-12 constitution, a lucky strike means instant death - even better, get yourself a true strike with 1 level of mage and drain 14 constitution.

Why not just use the standard SRD duelist? Actually, I'd even adapt some of the abilities to allow light armor (but not elaborate parry).

Also, the woodman seems to be a bit too close to the ranger. It doesn't seem too powerful or something - although the extra skill points and class skills don't hurt either - but a fighter/scout multiclass could be just as good for the concept you are going at.

[Matthew]

I would replace the Fighter Bonus Feats with either a list of Woodsman Bonus Feats or a fixed Feat progression tailored to the class. I would prefer the former, but see the benefits of the latter. I don't know much about Prestige Classes and relative power level, so I can't help much there. I can't say I like the idea of an Elven Duelist, but that is a conceptual problem, not a mechanical one.

[amanodel]

About woodsman: I indeed wanted to resurrect the 3.0 ranger in some fashion. Basically I modified the "Thug" fighter variant's class skills, so mechanically it must be nearly balanced. Scout is PHB2, which isn't OGL, so I can't use that in my own world.

About the elven duelist: In this world elves are not moon-dancing poetry-singing hippies, but have a rather militaristic and sometimes cruel tradition, and I wanted to go with that. The simple duelist class is neat, but I wanted to do some more twisted thing for them. The save for the Cruel Strike ability was in my mind, but I simply couln't decide what the Save target number should be. I want them without any armor, because duelist goes way to unbalanced if he can wear a +2 chain shirt (+6 AC). I'd like to make them overpowered, but utterly fragile at the same time (hence the low hd).

The true strike issue indeed beats me. (For context, the elven duelist in this world specilize for a one-on-one combat without any magical aid. I want this to be a prestige class. Like olympicons, but with a lot of chance to die. It's for superhero characters, what other sort of figher build would have 13 cha (a prerequisite) anyway? ) What about maximizing the ability drain bonus from [high attack dice- AC difference] ? Like saying attack minus AC, but maximum 4. And adding a fort save based on 15 plus [attack-AC]. It would be like the one who gets the first hit, can win easily in such a duel, but I'm not sure what would happen against an ogre or a bunch of dwarves.

About the Golden Eagle, anyone? He's a feat juggernaut, but I don't believe he's overpowered. Archery lays low on higher levels.