The Witch-King
2008-12-28, 03:52 PM
Alien Warlord
http://pics.livejournal.com/tw1stedwh1spers/pic/0000btgt
"One moment, the sky was a peaceful azure blue and the next it was a turbulent sea, rent asunder by dark, coiling vorticies out of which poured the invaders' skyships. The fortifications of Silvermount had stood untouched and unbreached for generations, going all the way back to the Goblin Wars. The invaders didn't even try to take the city. One of their great skyships simply hovered over it and holes opened in the bottom. From them poured forth on to the ancient capitol a great shapeless thing, a mass of flesh and eyes and tentacles, like a gibbering mouther, only much, much bigger. Belediel was an elf who served with us in the City Guard; he had even fought with our forefathers during the Goblin Wars. We always turned to him when things got tough. But Belediel just stood there staring at the great roiling thing tearing its way randomly across the city, his eyes and mouth agape and his skin bone white. I ran. We all did."
- Caldur, Guardsman of Silvermount Keep
Alien Warlords are military leaders of nonhuman races, bent on conquest. They are bred and raised from the womb for the purposes of warfare and nothing else.
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Ability | Special
1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Manhunter | +1 level existing spellcasting class
2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Trophy Hunter | -
3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Alien Warcraft | +1 level existing spellcasting class
4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Bewildering Pathways of the Alien Mind | -
5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | - | +1 level existing spellcasting class
6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Howl of the Warrior Brood, Lead Warband | -
7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Alien Tactics | +1 level existing spellcasting class
8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | - | -
9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Soul of the Race | +1 level existing spellcasting class
10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Rally Warband, Alien Flanking Tactics | -
11th | +11 | +7 | +3 | +7 | - | +1 level existing spellcasting class
12th | +12 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Alien Battle Tactics | -
13th | +13 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Adaptable Alien Flanking Tactics, Alien Battle Standard | +1 level existing spellcasting class
14th | +14 | +9 | +4 | +9 | - | -
15th | +15 | +9 | +5 | +9 | That Which Cannot Die | +1 level existing spellcasting class
[/table]
HD: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become an alien warlord, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: The primary requirement is that the character should be of a race the DM truly feels as being alien to the main player character races of his/her game. This can be something as simple as a Locathah or Lizardfolk, a Formian or Thri-Kreen or something as exotic as an Illithid, Githyanki, or Yuan-Ti.
Base Attack Bonus: +3.
Alignment: Any non-good.
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks, Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.
Feats: Leadership, Favored Enemy. Character must also have a feat associated with the character's time of birth such as Born Under A Gibbous Moon or Born Under A Rising Sun (alien warlords are chosen at birth for training according to auspicious signs).
Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient in all simple and martial weapons.
Spells: Must be able to cast 2nd level arcane spells.
Class Skills (4+Int modifier per level): The alien warlord’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (the planes), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: An Alien Warlord gains Heavy Armor Proficiency and an Exotic Weapon Proficiency.
Class Abilities: +2 Racial bonus on Intimidate checks vs. Animals (ordinary ones, not magical beasts) & Humanoids. -2 penalty on Handle Animal checks, -2 on Diplomacy, Perform & Sense Motive checks on Humanoids. +2 on Diplomacy, Perform, & Sense Motive checks on Aberrants and Outsiders.
Manhunter: This works like a Ranger’s favored enemy bonus, except that it applies against all mammalian humanoids (not limited to but specifically including humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and goblinoids). The Alien Warlord gains a +1 bonus to Bluff, Intimidate, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against all humanoids. Likewise, he gets the same bonus to weapon damage rolls against creatures of this type. An Alien Warlord also gets the damage bonus with ranged weapons, but only against targets within 30 feet (the Alien Warlord cannot strike with deadly accuracy beyond that range). The bonus doesn’t apply to damage against creatures that are immune to critical hits.
Trophy Hunter: Choose one of your Favored Enemies and one type of Trophy (listed below). When you personally kill one of that type of creature, you may take the appropriate trophy and gain the listed benefit. Note that not all types of Trophies are available from some types of creatures (i.e., Plants have no hearts).
Trophy Bonus
Head By displaying the severed head, you may add your Favored Enemy bonus to any Intimidate checks against that type of creature. For every head after the first, gain a +1 Morale bonus on the Intimidate check (max +4). Without magical preservation, the head loses its usefulness after 7 days. This is a Supernatural, Mind-Affecting Effect.
Heart You must consume an enemy’s heart within 10 minutes of its death (this takes 1 minute) and make a Fortitude save vs. DC 10 + ½ HD + enemy’s Constitution modifier). If successful, you gain a +2 Morale bonus on attack rolls made against that type of enemy for 10 minutes per HD of the creature. If you eat additional hearts while you still have a bonus, the duration is extended 5 minutes per HD (max 4 hours).
If you fail your Fortitude save, you take the following penalty:
Dragon - Sickened for 1 round per 2 HD
Outsider - 1 hp per HD of damage
Aberration, Magical Beast, Monstrous Humanoid - Nauseated for 1 round per 3 HD
all others - no negative effect
Token By forming crude jewelry out of the enemy’s bones, teeth, etc., you gain a +2 Morale bonus on Fortitude saves vs. the spell-like and supernatural abilities of the designated Favored Enemy. Making the token takes 1 hour and requires a Survival check vs. DC15. The token lasts for ((Survival check - 15) / 2) days (minimum 1 day) without magical preservation. The token takes up the necklace slot.
Pelt Taking the scalp or hide of a Favored Enemy grants you a +2 Morale bonus on attacks made again the same type of enemy in your next encounter with that type of enemy (up to 24 hours). It takes 5 minutes + 5 minutes per size category above Medium to take the pelt. You may take this feat multiple times, each time with a different Enemy / Trophy combination.
Alien Warcraft: An alien warlord can take 10 on Balance, Climb, Concentration, Jump, Perform, Profession, Survival, Tumble, and Use Magic Device checks while on board an alien ship, skyship, spelljammer, giant warbeast, alien siege engine or alien war machine even under stress.
Bewildering Pathways of the Alien Mind: Building on the unique nature of the alien mind and its exposure to vistas in the deep beyond, the alien warlord has received special meditative training from elite War Monks in how to shield his thoughts from intrusion. Attempts to read the Alien Warlord's mind, discern his location or determine his alignment through magic or psionics automatically fail and cause the attempting person to be stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Howl of the Warrior Brood: When your bestial howl rings across the battlefield, it lifts the spirits of your allies. This ability functions as the bard's inspire courage ability. It grants a +2 morale bonus to saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls. This bonus lasts for 5 rounds plus your Charisma bonus. You can howl a battle cry once each day for every level of the Alien Warlord class you have attained.
Lead Warband: As a full-round action, you can give compelling directions. You can bestow a +2 competence bonus on either to hit rolls or skill checks to all allies within 30 feet who can hear you. This bonus lasts 5 rounds plus your Charisma Bonus.
Alien Tactics: Under your command, your allies can take advantage of every opening your enemies present.
As a move action, every ally within 30 ft of you is eligible to make additional Attacks of Opportunity, and even do so while being flatfooted. The total number of additional attacks of opportunity for the Alien Warlord to distribute amongst his minions is equal to his/her/its intelligence modifier. (To be absolutely clear, the minions' total extra attacks of opportunity combined equal the Alien Warlord's Int mod). Additional attacks of opportunity the minions themselves already qualify for (for example, if they should have the Combat Reflexes feat) would not count against this total.
Special: Alien Tactics can be used in place of Combat Reflexes to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. Alien Tactics stacks with Combat Reflexes.
Soul of the Race: "The crab-headed fish-lizard thing from beyond the stars withdrew the many tendrils that obscured its wide gaping maw and threw back its head--and sang. The drow had aligned themselves with the invaders at the beginning, this was before their forces and those of the Illithids were betrayed and hunted down by the invaders. From this blasphemous creature's maw came the most beautiful song I have ever heard, a sour-sweet ballad that spoke of anguish and long suffering. The whole battle seemed to stop for a moment. Even the drow themselves were astonished by it. Then the drow warriors took up the ancient elven war song among their number and hurled themselves at us with an unprecedented and an awesome fury." -- Alfmund Jermanson, Man-at-arms, sole survivor of the Battle of Ravensgate
By concentrating his efforts of command and adapting his methods and tactics to those of an allied race, an Alien Warlord can bestow an additional +2 competence bonus on either to hit rolls or skill checks to a specific race of allies within 30 feet who can hear him at the expense of his class abilities having no effect on his own racial troops for the duration.This bonus lasts up to 5 rounds plus your Charisma Bonus or until you choose to stop.Soul of the Race cannot be used on troops of the Alien Warlord's own race.
Rally Warband: Your presence is enough to grant any allies within 30 feet a second saving throw against fear and charm effects to which they have already succumbed. Even if they fail the second saving throw, any fear effects are less severe: panicked characters are only frightened, frightened characters are only shaken, and shaken characters are unaffected by the fear effect.
Alien Flanking Tactics: You receive a +4 bonus on attack rolls to hit a Flanked opponent (instead of the normal +2).
Alien Battle Training: Your knowledge of fighting lets you lend expertise. At the beginning of each encounter, choose a single feat you have that does not have another feat as a prerequisite. All of your allies gain the benefits of that feat for the duration of the encounter.
Adaptable Alien Flanking Tactics: Designate an opponent as a Swift Action. When adjacent to that opponent, your current hex and one other you threaten count as being occupied by you for purposes of determining whether you and your allies gain Flanking bonuses.
Alien Battle Standard: The mere sight of your banner or other heraldic display is enough to turn the tide of battle. Allies within sight of your personal standard gain the effects of both Howl of the Warrior Brood and Rally Warband (above) as long as the standard is within range and held by you or a member of your species within 10'. If your standard is captured in battle all allies within range aware of its loss suffer a -1 morale penalty to attacks and damage (in addition to the loss of its benefits) until it is recovered.
That Which Cannot Die: An Alien Warlord is not automatically disabled upon reaching 0 HP. When he/she/it reaches 0 HP or less, the Alien Warlord must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the save is failed, he/she/it is disabled. If the save succeeds, the Alien Warlord is at 0 HP and +2 to all attacks. Regardless of damage from this point on, the Alien Warlord is treated as being at 0 HP until he/she/it fails a DC 15 Fortitude save. He/she/it must make an additional such save for every 10 HP of damage the Alien Warlord takes from this point on. If he/she/it fails any one of these saves, the Alien Warlord is disabled. If he/she/it fails any two of them, the Alien Warlord is at -1 HP, losing 1 HP/round as per normal rules and dies at -10 HP.
Playing the Class
"The only force our world had to truly oppose the invaders were the High Elves' fleet of leafships. In secret, following the portents of the High Elven Oracle Masters, the Court of the Eleven Suns had bred plants that served as flying warships for their defense. These living vessels were part animal and part plant, thriving on sunlight and water and capable of communicating their feelings to their elven masters and receiving sensations from the elves in kind. I had heard of the gnomes trying their hand at building flying machines but had never heard of any successes. The dwarves had managed to lift a wizard's tower and the better portion of the hill it was built on but it was too slow to serve as anything but a mobile fortification. The dwarves told us they were building a floating castle on the same principles as they had used to lift the wizard's tower but it wouldn't be complete for years. No, now all our hopes rested on the elves. The dawn broke in crimson and scarlet as the fleet of sleek verdant leafships slid silently and beautifully through the early morning air. As one, the elven host fell upon the invaders' skyships. Ballista quarrels and catapult boulders tore through the air alongside fireballs and lightning bolts as the two sky armadas engaged. In the end, it was the invaders who turned and fled, though theirs were the greater numbers and the fewest dead. Thousands of brave elven warriors had lost their lives and I could still hear the wailing cries of those leafships wounded in the battle. Those that could not be saved were put down. Scores of them had been lost in fire and ruin. Our last means of resisting the invaders was gone and our leaders called the battle a stalemate." -- Captain Aistan, human observer aboard the Light of the Unseen Gem
I gave the Alien Warlord a variety of skills to make the class useful for an NPC villian for the DM. The invaders might arrive from across the sea in ships or from another continent in flying vessels or from out of the distant stars aboard spelljamming skyships. They might even burrow up from under the earth in great warmachines or thunder across the plains riding great war beasts. The Alien Warlord is versatile enough to lead any of these groups of invaders.
The Class In the World
http://pics.livejournal.com/tw1stedwh1spers/pic/0000cww2
"You seek to know your enemy. That is wise. Unfortunately, there is little I can tell you. Your enemy is the one called Solaith, of the Brood of the Venomous Catacombs. Little is known about him. They say that in the breeding pits, he was a particularly aggressive spawnling and that he excelled both in hunting captives in the War Gardens and in his studies with his brood's warrior monks. All I can tell you for certain is that for as long as he can remember, Solaith has always looked up at the stars and known that there was other life among them and that one day he would lead his brood's warriors out amongst them, to conquer, and to feed." --Xenethexus, Outcast Drider Oracle
To be honest, I started this project as a prestige class that might be used for an NPC by the DM but the more I work on it, the more I'd love to see it actually played by someone in a game.
I originally envisioned this class as being one part Predator, one part General Grievous, one part Sarris (the bad guy from Galaxy Quest) and one part Lovecraftian alien menace from the Deep Beyond. I see the Alien Warlord as using elusive tactics like the Viet Cong or Grievous' separatists--fighting according to Sun Tzu's the Art of War. Even when they have the advantage, they never go for a stand up fight. They always seek to attack where the enemy is weakest, hence the flanking tactics. The invaders strike to cut off supply lines, ambush patrols and attack key isolated facilities, not to take or destroy them but to pull the defenders out into the open so that they can be ambushed or their home base, which is now vulnerable, can be destroyed. Enemy strongpoints they either bypass or utterly destroy with overwhelming force. The last thing they ever want is a fair fight.
This is one of my first attempts at a prestige class. Please let me know what you think.
http://pics.livejournal.com/tw1stedwh1spers/pic/0000btgt
"One moment, the sky was a peaceful azure blue and the next it was a turbulent sea, rent asunder by dark, coiling vorticies out of which poured the invaders' skyships. The fortifications of Silvermount had stood untouched and unbreached for generations, going all the way back to the Goblin Wars. The invaders didn't even try to take the city. One of their great skyships simply hovered over it and holes opened in the bottom. From them poured forth on to the ancient capitol a great shapeless thing, a mass of flesh and eyes and tentacles, like a gibbering mouther, only much, much bigger. Belediel was an elf who served with us in the City Guard; he had even fought with our forefathers during the Goblin Wars. We always turned to him when things got tough. But Belediel just stood there staring at the great roiling thing tearing its way randomly across the city, his eyes and mouth agape and his skin bone white. I ran. We all did."
- Caldur, Guardsman of Silvermount Keep
Alien Warlords are military leaders of nonhuman races, bent on conquest. They are bred and raised from the womb for the purposes of warfare and nothing else.
{table=head]Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Ability | Special
1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Manhunter | +1 level existing spellcasting class
2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Trophy Hunter | -
3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Alien Warcraft | +1 level existing spellcasting class
4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Bewildering Pathways of the Alien Mind | -
5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | - | +1 level existing spellcasting class
6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Howl of the Warrior Brood, Lead Warband | -
7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Alien Tactics | +1 level existing spellcasting class
8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +6 | - | -
9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Soul of the Race | +1 level existing spellcasting class
10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Rally Warband, Alien Flanking Tactics | -
11th | +11 | +7 | +3 | +7 | - | +1 level existing spellcasting class
12th | +12 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Alien Battle Tactics | -
13th | +13 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Adaptable Alien Flanking Tactics, Alien Battle Standard | +1 level existing spellcasting class
14th | +14 | +9 | +4 | +9 | - | -
15th | +15 | +9 | +5 | +9 | That Which Cannot Die | +1 level existing spellcasting class
[/table]
HD: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become an alien warlord, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: The primary requirement is that the character should be of a race the DM truly feels as being alien to the main player character races of his/her game. This can be something as simple as a Locathah or Lizardfolk, a Formian or Thri-Kreen or something as exotic as an Illithid, Githyanki, or Yuan-Ti.
Base Attack Bonus: +3.
Alignment: Any non-good.
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks, Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.
Feats: Leadership, Favored Enemy. Character must also have a feat associated with the character's time of birth such as Born Under A Gibbous Moon or Born Under A Rising Sun (alien warlords are chosen at birth for training according to auspicious signs).
Weapon Proficiency: Must be proficient in all simple and martial weapons.
Spells: Must be able to cast 2nd level arcane spells.
Class Skills (4+Int modifier per level): The alien warlord’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (the planes), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: An Alien Warlord gains Heavy Armor Proficiency and an Exotic Weapon Proficiency.
Class Abilities: +2 Racial bonus on Intimidate checks vs. Animals (ordinary ones, not magical beasts) & Humanoids. -2 penalty on Handle Animal checks, -2 on Diplomacy, Perform & Sense Motive checks on Humanoids. +2 on Diplomacy, Perform, & Sense Motive checks on Aberrants and Outsiders.
Manhunter: This works like a Ranger’s favored enemy bonus, except that it applies against all mammalian humanoids (not limited to but specifically including humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and goblinoids). The Alien Warlord gains a +1 bonus to Bluff, Intimidate, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against all humanoids. Likewise, he gets the same bonus to weapon damage rolls against creatures of this type. An Alien Warlord also gets the damage bonus with ranged weapons, but only against targets within 30 feet (the Alien Warlord cannot strike with deadly accuracy beyond that range). The bonus doesn’t apply to damage against creatures that are immune to critical hits.
Trophy Hunter: Choose one of your Favored Enemies and one type of Trophy (listed below). When you personally kill one of that type of creature, you may take the appropriate trophy and gain the listed benefit. Note that not all types of Trophies are available from some types of creatures (i.e., Plants have no hearts).
Trophy Bonus
Head By displaying the severed head, you may add your Favored Enemy bonus to any Intimidate checks against that type of creature. For every head after the first, gain a +1 Morale bonus on the Intimidate check (max +4). Without magical preservation, the head loses its usefulness after 7 days. This is a Supernatural, Mind-Affecting Effect.
Heart You must consume an enemy’s heart within 10 minutes of its death (this takes 1 minute) and make a Fortitude save vs. DC 10 + ½ HD + enemy’s Constitution modifier). If successful, you gain a +2 Morale bonus on attack rolls made against that type of enemy for 10 minutes per HD of the creature. If you eat additional hearts while you still have a bonus, the duration is extended 5 minutes per HD (max 4 hours).
If you fail your Fortitude save, you take the following penalty:
Dragon - Sickened for 1 round per 2 HD
Outsider - 1 hp per HD of damage
Aberration, Magical Beast, Monstrous Humanoid - Nauseated for 1 round per 3 HD
all others - no negative effect
Token By forming crude jewelry out of the enemy’s bones, teeth, etc., you gain a +2 Morale bonus on Fortitude saves vs. the spell-like and supernatural abilities of the designated Favored Enemy. Making the token takes 1 hour and requires a Survival check vs. DC15. The token lasts for ((Survival check - 15) / 2) days (minimum 1 day) without magical preservation. The token takes up the necklace slot.
Pelt Taking the scalp or hide of a Favored Enemy grants you a +2 Morale bonus on attacks made again the same type of enemy in your next encounter with that type of enemy (up to 24 hours). It takes 5 minutes + 5 minutes per size category above Medium to take the pelt. You may take this feat multiple times, each time with a different Enemy / Trophy combination.
Alien Warcraft: An alien warlord can take 10 on Balance, Climb, Concentration, Jump, Perform, Profession, Survival, Tumble, and Use Magic Device checks while on board an alien ship, skyship, spelljammer, giant warbeast, alien siege engine or alien war machine even under stress.
Bewildering Pathways of the Alien Mind: Building on the unique nature of the alien mind and its exposure to vistas in the deep beyond, the alien warlord has received special meditative training from elite War Monks in how to shield his thoughts from intrusion. Attempts to read the Alien Warlord's mind, discern his location or determine his alignment through magic or psionics automatically fail and cause the attempting person to be stunned for 1d4 rounds.
Howl of the Warrior Brood: When your bestial howl rings across the battlefield, it lifts the spirits of your allies. This ability functions as the bard's inspire courage ability. It grants a +2 morale bonus to saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls. This bonus lasts for 5 rounds plus your Charisma bonus. You can howl a battle cry once each day for every level of the Alien Warlord class you have attained.
Lead Warband: As a full-round action, you can give compelling directions. You can bestow a +2 competence bonus on either to hit rolls or skill checks to all allies within 30 feet who can hear you. This bonus lasts 5 rounds plus your Charisma Bonus.
Alien Tactics: Under your command, your allies can take advantage of every opening your enemies present.
As a move action, every ally within 30 ft of you is eligible to make additional Attacks of Opportunity, and even do so while being flatfooted. The total number of additional attacks of opportunity for the Alien Warlord to distribute amongst his minions is equal to his/her/its intelligence modifier. (To be absolutely clear, the minions' total extra attacks of opportunity combined equal the Alien Warlord's Int mod). Additional attacks of opportunity the minions themselves already qualify for (for example, if they should have the Combat Reflexes feat) would not count against this total.
Special: Alien Tactics can be used in place of Combat Reflexes to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability. Alien Tactics stacks with Combat Reflexes.
Soul of the Race: "The crab-headed fish-lizard thing from beyond the stars withdrew the many tendrils that obscured its wide gaping maw and threw back its head--and sang. The drow had aligned themselves with the invaders at the beginning, this was before their forces and those of the Illithids were betrayed and hunted down by the invaders. From this blasphemous creature's maw came the most beautiful song I have ever heard, a sour-sweet ballad that spoke of anguish and long suffering. The whole battle seemed to stop for a moment. Even the drow themselves were astonished by it. Then the drow warriors took up the ancient elven war song among their number and hurled themselves at us with an unprecedented and an awesome fury." -- Alfmund Jermanson, Man-at-arms, sole survivor of the Battle of Ravensgate
By concentrating his efforts of command and adapting his methods and tactics to those of an allied race, an Alien Warlord can bestow an additional +2 competence bonus on either to hit rolls or skill checks to a specific race of allies within 30 feet who can hear him at the expense of his class abilities having no effect on his own racial troops for the duration.This bonus lasts up to 5 rounds plus your Charisma Bonus or until you choose to stop.Soul of the Race cannot be used on troops of the Alien Warlord's own race.
Rally Warband: Your presence is enough to grant any allies within 30 feet a second saving throw against fear and charm effects to which they have already succumbed. Even if they fail the second saving throw, any fear effects are less severe: panicked characters are only frightened, frightened characters are only shaken, and shaken characters are unaffected by the fear effect.
Alien Flanking Tactics: You receive a +4 bonus on attack rolls to hit a Flanked opponent (instead of the normal +2).
Alien Battle Training: Your knowledge of fighting lets you lend expertise. At the beginning of each encounter, choose a single feat you have that does not have another feat as a prerequisite. All of your allies gain the benefits of that feat for the duration of the encounter.
Adaptable Alien Flanking Tactics: Designate an opponent as a Swift Action. When adjacent to that opponent, your current hex and one other you threaten count as being occupied by you for purposes of determining whether you and your allies gain Flanking bonuses.
Alien Battle Standard: The mere sight of your banner or other heraldic display is enough to turn the tide of battle. Allies within sight of your personal standard gain the effects of both Howl of the Warrior Brood and Rally Warband (above) as long as the standard is within range and held by you or a member of your species within 10'. If your standard is captured in battle all allies within range aware of its loss suffer a -1 morale penalty to attacks and damage (in addition to the loss of its benefits) until it is recovered.
That Which Cannot Die: An Alien Warlord is not automatically disabled upon reaching 0 HP. When he/she/it reaches 0 HP or less, the Alien Warlord must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If the save is failed, he/she/it is disabled. If the save succeeds, the Alien Warlord is at 0 HP and +2 to all attacks. Regardless of damage from this point on, the Alien Warlord is treated as being at 0 HP until he/she/it fails a DC 15 Fortitude save. He/she/it must make an additional such save for every 10 HP of damage the Alien Warlord takes from this point on. If he/she/it fails any one of these saves, the Alien Warlord is disabled. If he/she/it fails any two of them, the Alien Warlord is at -1 HP, losing 1 HP/round as per normal rules and dies at -10 HP.
Playing the Class
"The only force our world had to truly oppose the invaders were the High Elves' fleet of leafships. In secret, following the portents of the High Elven Oracle Masters, the Court of the Eleven Suns had bred plants that served as flying warships for their defense. These living vessels were part animal and part plant, thriving on sunlight and water and capable of communicating their feelings to their elven masters and receiving sensations from the elves in kind. I had heard of the gnomes trying their hand at building flying machines but had never heard of any successes. The dwarves had managed to lift a wizard's tower and the better portion of the hill it was built on but it was too slow to serve as anything but a mobile fortification. The dwarves told us they were building a floating castle on the same principles as they had used to lift the wizard's tower but it wouldn't be complete for years. No, now all our hopes rested on the elves. The dawn broke in crimson and scarlet as the fleet of sleek verdant leafships slid silently and beautifully through the early morning air. As one, the elven host fell upon the invaders' skyships. Ballista quarrels and catapult boulders tore through the air alongside fireballs and lightning bolts as the two sky armadas engaged. In the end, it was the invaders who turned and fled, though theirs were the greater numbers and the fewest dead. Thousands of brave elven warriors had lost their lives and I could still hear the wailing cries of those leafships wounded in the battle. Those that could not be saved were put down. Scores of them had been lost in fire and ruin. Our last means of resisting the invaders was gone and our leaders called the battle a stalemate." -- Captain Aistan, human observer aboard the Light of the Unseen Gem
I gave the Alien Warlord a variety of skills to make the class useful for an NPC villian for the DM. The invaders might arrive from across the sea in ships or from another continent in flying vessels or from out of the distant stars aboard spelljamming skyships. They might even burrow up from under the earth in great warmachines or thunder across the plains riding great war beasts. The Alien Warlord is versatile enough to lead any of these groups of invaders.
The Class In the World
http://pics.livejournal.com/tw1stedwh1spers/pic/0000cww2
"You seek to know your enemy. That is wise. Unfortunately, there is little I can tell you. Your enemy is the one called Solaith, of the Brood of the Venomous Catacombs. Little is known about him. They say that in the breeding pits, he was a particularly aggressive spawnling and that he excelled both in hunting captives in the War Gardens and in his studies with his brood's warrior monks. All I can tell you for certain is that for as long as he can remember, Solaith has always looked up at the stars and known that there was other life among them and that one day he would lead his brood's warriors out amongst them, to conquer, and to feed." --Xenethexus, Outcast Drider Oracle
To be honest, I started this project as a prestige class that might be used for an NPC by the DM but the more I work on it, the more I'd love to see it actually played by someone in a game.
I originally envisioned this class as being one part Predator, one part General Grievous, one part Sarris (the bad guy from Galaxy Quest) and one part Lovecraftian alien menace from the Deep Beyond. I see the Alien Warlord as using elusive tactics like the Viet Cong or Grievous' separatists--fighting according to Sun Tzu's the Art of War. Even when they have the advantage, they never go for a stand up fight. They always seek to attack where the enemy is weakest, hence the flanking tactics. The invaders strike to cut off supply lines, ambush patrols and attack key isolated facilities, not to take or destroy them but to pull the defenders out into the open so that they can be ambushed or their home base, which is now vulnerable, can be destroyed. Enemy strongpoints they either bypass or utterly destroy with overwhelming force. The last thing they ever want is a fair fight.
This is one of my first attempts at a prestige class. Please let me know what you think.