Elays
2004-07-19, 10:38 PM
The Shieldless of Elays
Gord the Paladin stood his ground, slowly falling back against the tide of troglodytes. He had been slowly falling back for several minutes, drawing closer and closer to the dwarven colony he had come to defend. Arrows and spears clanged as his tower shield deflected them. Gord was forced to stay behind that shield more and more as the press of his enemies became larger and larger. Finally, Gord managed to dive behind an opening and a portcullis slammed shut in front of the advancing horde. Thankful for the reprieve, Gord turned to meet his rescuers.
A good twenty dwarves stood there, each carrying an axe as tall as their shoulders, with another axe and an urgosh strapped to their back. Advancing as a group, their leader motioned to have the portcullis raised. Gord looked on in amazement as the dwarves deflected arrows with the hafts of their axes and hurling the immense blades at the advancing foes. Gord cried out “Don’t you need shields?”
The dwarves replied in unison, singing out their reply as a battle call.
“WE DON’T NEED NO STEENKING SHIELDS!”
The Shieldless of Elays are the dwarves who have devoted their life to exemplifying a fighting style entirely devoted to the use of axes so large they require two hands to use. This fighting style is known as Elays. This name is actually elven in origin, roughly translated to ‘lucky fool’. This was the nickname of the dwarven hero Pahk Raskarl who, after his many adventures, returned to the clans to found and train others in the Shieldless style. To this day, only the bravest and heartiest of dwarves are allowed into the official ranks of the Shieldless, though many aspirants follow the style on their own.
Requirements:
Race: Dwarf
Feats: Martial Weapon Proficiency(greataxe), Martial Weapon Proficiency(dwarven waraxe), Martial Weapon Proficiency(dwarven urgosh), Armor Proficiency(medium), Power Attack, Weapon Focus(dwarven waraxe AND dwarven urgosh OR greataxe)
Skills: Intimidate 5 ranks
BAB +6
Special: Must have been trained by a current member of The Shieldless
{table]
LevelBABFORTWILLREFLAbilities
1+1+2+0+0Truly Shieldless, Broadside Defense
2+2+3+1+1Axe of Focus
3+3+4+1+1Bat Away, Bound to The Axe
4+4+4+2+2Mighty Throw
5+5+5+3+3Wed to The Axe
Weapon And Armor Proficiency
The Shieldless gain no weapon or armor proficiencies.
Truly Shieldless(Ex)
When a dwarf becomes one of the Shieldless, they hold themselves to a code of discipline and training. At 1st level, as they specialize in training, Shieldless gain a +1 competence bonus to attacks with axes of all sorts. However, if a Shieldless uses any shield they lose all Shieldless bonuses and abilities for a year or until undergoing repeat training with the Master Shieldless.
Axe of Focus(Su)
At 2nd level, the Shieldless has spent so much time training with his axe that he becomes totally focused on its use. From that time, the Shieldless has a –1 to all attack rolls not using an axe. In addition, all axes gain +1 competence bonus to damage when wielded by a Shieldless.
Mighty Throw(Ex)
At 4th level, the Shieldless depends on his axe so much that he often has no time to switch weapons if ranged combat is necessary. As a result, Shieldless gain the ability to throw two-handed axes with a range increment of 15 feet. This is a full round action.
Broadside Defense(Ex)
Using a combination of the broad face of their axe and the haft of their axe, a Shieldless is able to gain much needed defensive capabilities. This provides a shield bonus equal to the character's Shieldless level.
Bat Away(Ex)
At 3rd level, the Shieldless’s training focus with their axe gives them the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat while holding a two-handed axe, whether or not he has the prerequisites.
Bound To The Axe
At 3rd level, the Shieldless selects one of the following: dwarven waraxe, dwarven urgosh, greataxe. The Shieldless gains the Greater Weapon Focus feat with this weapon whether or not he meets the prerequisites.
Wed To The Axe
At 5th level, the Shieldless gains the Weapon Specialization feat with the same weapon selected for the Bound To The Axe class attribute.
Behind The Scenes
This prestige class is based off my character concept of Pahk Raskarl, a Dwarven Barbarian I play. I love the idea of shunning traditional fighter types, but the needed balance just wasn’t there. Elays is Pahk’s actual nickname in game. And yes, “WE DON’T NEED NO STEENKING SHIELDS” is his actual warcry.
Gord the Paladin stood his ground, slowly falling back against the tide of troglodytes. He had been slowly falling back for several minutes, drawing closer and closer to the dwarven colony he had come to defend. Arrows and spears clanged as his tower shield deflected them. Gord was forced to stay behind that shield more and more as the press of his enemies became larger and larger. Finally, Gord managed to dive behind an opening and a portcullis slammed shut in front of the advancing horde. Thankful for the reprieve, Gord turned to meet his rescuers.
A good twenty dwarves stood there, each carrying an axe as tall as their shoulders, with another axe and an urgosh strapped to their back. Advancing as a group, their leader motioned to have the portcullis raised. Gord looked on in amazement as the dwarves deflected arrows with the hafts of their axes and hurling the immense blades at the advancing foes. Gord cried out “Don’t you need shields?”
The dwarves replied in unison, singing out their reply as a battle call.
“WE DON’T NEED NO STEENKING SHIELDS!”
The Shieldless of Elays are the dwarves who have devoted their life to exemplifying a fighting style entirely devoted to the use of axes so large they require two hands to use. This fighting style is known as Elays. This name is actually elven in origin, roughly translated to ‘lucky fool’. This was the nickname of the dwarven hero Pahk Raskarl who, after his many adventures, returned to the clans to found and train others in the Shieldless style. To this day, only the bravest and heartiest of dwarves are allowed into the official ranks of the Shieldless, though many aspirants follow the style on their own.
Requirements:
Race: Dwarf
Feats: Martial Weapon Proficiency(greataxe), Martial Weapon Proficiency(dwarven waraxe), Martial Weapon Proficiency(dwarven urgosh), Armor Proficiency(medium), Power Attack, Weapon Focus(dwarven waraxe AND dwarven urgosh OR greataxe)
Skills: Intimidate 5 ranks
BAB +6
Special: Must have been trained by a current member of The Shieldless
{table]
LevelBABFORTWILLREFLAbilities
1+1+2+0+0Truly Shieldless, Broadside Defense
2+2+3+1+1Axe of Focus
3+3+4+1+1Bat Away, Bound to The Axe
4+4+4+2+2Mighty Throw
5+5+5+3+3Wed to The Axe
Weapon And Armor Proficiency
The Shieldless gain no weapon or armor proficiencies.
Truly Shieldless(Ex)
When a dwarf becomes one of the Shieldless, they hold themselves to a code of discipline and training. At 1st level, as they specialize in training, Shieldless gain a +1 competence bonus to attacks with axes of all sorts. However, if a Shieldless uses any shield they lose all Shieldless bonuses and abilities for a year or until undergoing repeat training with the Master Shieldless.
Axe of Focus(Su)
At 2nd level, the Shieldless has spent so much time training with his axe that he becomes totally focused on its use. From that time, the Shieldless has a –1 to all attack rolls not using an axe. In addition, all axes gain +1 competence bonus to damage when wielded by a Shieldless.
Mighty Throw(Ex)
At 4th level, the Shieldless depends on his axe so much that he often has no time to switch weapons if ranged combat is necessary. As a result, Shieldless gain the ability to throw two-handed axes with a range increment of 15 feet. This is a full round action.
Broadside Defense(Ex)
Using a combination of the broad face of their axe and the haft of their axe, a Shieldless is able to gain much needed defensive capabilities. This provides a shield bonus equal to the character's Shieldless level.
Bat Away(Ex)
At 3rd level, the Shieldless’s training focus with their axe gives them the benefit of the Deflect Arrows feat while holding a two-handed axe, whether or not he has the prerequisites.
Bound To The Axe
At 3rd level, the Shieldless selects one of the following: dwarven waraxe, dwarven urgosh, greataxe. The Shieldless gains the Greater Weapon Focus feat with this weapon whether or not he meets the prerequisites.
Wed To The Axe
At 5th level, the Shieldless gains the Weapon Specialization feat with the same weapon selected for the Bound To The Axe class attribute.
Behind The Scenes
This prestige class is based off my character concept of Pahk Raskarl, a Dwarven Barbarian I play. I love the idea of shunning traditional fighter types, but the needed balance just wasn’t there. Elays is Pahk’s actual nickname in game. And yes, “WE DON’T NEED NO STEENKING SHIELDS” is his actual warcry.