Goonthegoof
2010-07-17, 07:16 AM
I've finally finished writing the class changes to most of the melee classes, in which I'm trying to boost them to about tier 3. There's no way I can make them competetive with caster classes without totally rewriting them, but I'm trying to get the base classes to somewhere near the power of the ToB classes without changing them too much. Comments and criticism welcome, I'm aware that I'll have made several mistakes trying to balance the classes.
MONK
Focused Strike: Beginning at fifth level a monk may opt to use his wisdom modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage with monk weapons.
Stunning fist may be used an additional number of times per day equal to your wisdom modifier, and is granted as a bonus feat at level one. At level 1 the monk may either choose improved sunder or improved grapple as a bonus feat.
Full BAB instead of 3/4
Flurry of blows can also be used on a standard action attack.
Slow fall does not require presence of a wall, and monks can run on water for a distance equal to the distance they can ignore with slow fall.
Quivering palm may be used once per day, and can be reused by sacrificing 5 uses of stunning fist.
Abundant Step can also be used as Plane Shift by sacrificing 3 uses of stunning fist, and can be reused by sacrificing 2 uses of stunning fist.
RANGER
The battle blessing feat also applies to ranger spells.
Favoured Enemy: If a type of humanoid or outsider is chosen as the ranger's favoured enemy then with one hour of meditation the ranger may choose to change which type of humanoid or outsider is its favoured enemy.
Animal Companion: The ranger's effective druid level when determining the qualities of her animal companion is equal to her ranger level, and the animal companion is granted at level one. The animal companion also has BAB equal to the ranger's.
Natural Skill: Once per day at fourth level and once more per 4 ranger levels the ranger possesses she may choose to take 15 on any wisdom, strength or dexterity based check or skill check.
Pack Fighting: Beginning at third level whenever you and your animal companion flank a target you both gain a +1 bonus on damage rolls. This bonus increases by 1 every third level thereafter, up to a maximum of +6.
Combat Unity: Beginning at eighth level if you and your animal companion both threaten the foe you are considered to be flanking it. You are considered to threaten opponents with a ranged weapon if the opponent is within one range increment and threatened by your animal companion, but you cannot make attacks of opportunity against them (except with the Pack Protection feature, see below).
Pack Protection: Beginning at twelfth level if the ranger or her animal companion is damaged by a foe that their partner threatens their partner may make an attack of opportunity against that foe. Any specific foe can only be attacked once per round with this feature, even if you have a feature such as combat reflexes that would normally allow you to make multiple attacks of opportunity in a single round.
Wild Strike: At sixteenth level a ranger adds his wisdom modifier to damage rolls made with a manufactured or natural weapon.
The feat Battle Blessing now also applies to ranger spells.
BARBARIAN
Rage: The barbarian no longer gains the greater rage, tireless rage or mighty rage class features. Instead the bonus to strength and constitution granted by rage increases by one at fifth level and by a further one every three levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +10 at level 20. The bonus to will saves granted by rage increases to 3 at level 10 and 4 at level 20. At the end of a rage the barbarian makes a DC 20 fortitude save (including the bonus from rage), and if she succeeds on the save she is not fatigued. The barbarian may continue raging past the usual limit of 3+con, but to do so at the start of each round she must make a DC 20 fortitude save which increases by 2 each subsequent round until she voluntarily stops raging or fails the save. Once she voluntarily stops raging or fails the save she stops raging and must make another fortitude save equal to 20+the number of rounds past the usual limit she spent raging or become exhausted until the end of the encounter, and if she succeeds she is merely fatigued (this is not preventable).
Totem Aspect: At 6th level the barbarian gains the benefit of an animal totem (see unearthed arcana for details) but does not lose any class features. The barbarian gains the benefits of that totem as normal, except the bonuses are treated as starting at level 6, not level 1 (So the +2 bonus on intimidate checks usually gained by a level 2 ape totem barbarian is gained at level 7). The barbarian gains a second totem aspect at level 11, following the same rules as the first and treated the benefits as starting at level 11.
Imposing Physique: At 8th level a barbarian may add her strength modifier to any intimidate check she makes.
Sweeping Rage: At 12th level any time a barbarian in a rage deals damage with a melee attack she can apply half of the damage done to up to two enemies she threatens that are within 5 feet of the target. The barbarian does not make a new attack roll- She takes the result of the original attack roll and applies that to the enemies she wishes to damage, and if it that attack roll would hit the creatures take damage. This skill does not work in conjunction with Whirlwind Attack or similar abilities, but does work in conjunction with Cleave and Great Cleave.
Greater Sweeping Rage: At 18th level the enemies attacked can be any distance up to the barbarian's weapon's reach from the original target.
FIGHTER
Parry: At tenth level, the fighter may choose to take this class feature instead of a fighter bonus feat. A fighter who does so may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at him. At the end of his turn the fighter can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of his next turn.
A fighter can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. You cannot parry under conditions in which you would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as you wish, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. You may apply your shield bonus to a parry attempt. Attempting to parry a ranged attack takes a -5 penalty if you use a weapon and gains a +5 bonus if you use a shield. Any loss of attack due to abilities that increase your defense, such as using a defending weapon or combat expertise is ignored when calculating parry attempts.
Weapon Style:
At 5th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Sword and Board:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a shield can take any feat that applies to two-weapon fighting and ignore any dexterity pre-requisites, but those feats can only be applied when the fighter is wielding a shield (or shield spikes) as one of those weapons. The fighter no longer takes a -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a tower shield, but still cannot use one to make a shield bash attack.
Deft Grip:
A fighter with this class feature can treat any melee weapon wielded in one hand as a light weapon, and any weapon that was already a light weapon is treated as one size larger when calculating damage. All one handed weapons are treated as shadow hand weapons for a fighter.
Scattering Strike:
When wielding one melee weapon and no shield a fighter with this class feature may make a bull rush attempt whenever she hits with an attack and does not provoke an attack of opportunity for doing so. She resolves the bull rush normally but does not move into the opponent's square if she succeeds. If her strength check is high enough she can move her target more than 5 feet, but she does not follow the target unless the strike was used as part of a charge. If she has a spare hand she can choose to initiate a grappling attempt instead of a bull rush, acting as if she had the Improved Grab ability.
Powerful Blow: When using the power attack feat the fighter with this class feature may choose to ignore damage reduction equal to the attack sacrificed as part of the power attack.
Hand to Hand:
A fighter with this class feature who selects this style deals unarmed damage as if she were a monk equal to her fighter level -4. This does not confer flurry of blows or any other monk class ability, just unarmed damage. Fighter levels and monk levels stack for determining unarmed damage and a fighter with this style can multiclass between monk and fighter without being barred from further advancing in the monk class.
Weapon Tossing:
The fighter with this class feature gains the Throw Anything feat even if she does not meet the pre-requisites. She can throw her weapon at a nearby foe and command it to immediately bounce back to her grasp. Any time she makes a ranged attack with a thrown weapon on her turn, the weapon immediately returns to her, and she can catch it as a free action. This ability allows her to make a full attack entirely with thrown weapon attacks, or with a mix of thrown and melee attacks. She can also take any two-weapon fighting feat without the dexterity requirements, but can only apply it to thrown weapon attacks.
Marksmanship:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a ranged weapon can add half her dexterity modifier to damage dealt. This stacks with the Crossbow Fighter feat.
Armour Style:
At 9th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature can make a full attack on a charge attack and gains a bonus to her AC equal to her fighter class level/4.
Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour may make two attacks per weapon instead of one when using a standard action to attack. Both these attacks take a -4 penalty and use
Medium Armour:
When a fighter with this class feature is wearing medium armour it is treated as having the medium fortification property.
Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by 2 and increases the maximum dexterity bonus to AC by 2.
Improved Weapon Style:
At 13th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles, or a selection from the Weapon Style list:
Dual Wield Mastery: A fighter with this class feature gains +2 to damage and attack rolls when wielding two weapons and can treat any feat or class feature that applies to one of her wielded weapons (such as Weapon Focus or Weapon Perfection) as applying to her other weapon, even if the other weapon is not of that type. The benefits gained by the other weapon must be applicable to that weapon- A fighter wielding a rapier and a longsword may apply the bonus from her weapon focus (rapier) to her longsword, but not weapon finesse.
Powerful Grip: A fighter with this class feature wielding a weapon in two hands now deals twice her strength modifier as bonus damage and gains a +4 bonus to using and defending against disarm and sunder attacks.
Unarmed Deadliness: A fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to damage on her unarmed strikes equal to her dexterity modifier or her strength modifier, whichever is higher. She can also choose to use her dexterity modifier in place of her strength modifier on grapple checks and her strength modifier place of her dexterity modifier on armour class.
Amazing Grace: A fighter with this class feature who is wielding a light weapon in her main hand and no weapon in her off hand gains a +6 bonus to dexterity and the benefits of the evasion feature. If she already has the evasion feature she gains the benefits of the improved evasion feature. She also reduces the successive penalty for parrying from -5 to -2.
Shielding Ally: A fighter with this class feature gains a +2 bonus to AC when wielding a shield and can use her shield to protect others. When an ally that is within reach of the fighter is targeted by a melee or ranged weapon attack the fighter can choose to redirect the attack, acting as if the attack instead targeted the fighter. She cannot use this feature when she is incapable of either parrying or making opportunity attacks.
Weapon Hurricane: A fighter with this class feature can choose to treat her ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons as melee attacks. She can use melee attack bonus, including Strength bonus, feats, and so forth, to determine her attack bonus for each attack as normal, but she applies the standard modifiers for range penalties. Attacking into melee, through cover, and so forth incurs the standard penalties. As such, you can apply 1.5 times your Strength bonus to damage if you wield the thrown weapon with two hands, and you can use Power Attack with your thrown weapon attacks (adding two times the number subtracted from attack rolls as a bonus on damage rolls when throwing a two handed weapon). You can also, as a full attack action, attack one enemy per four fighter levels with a thrown weapon at your highest attack bonus.
Close quarters archery: A fighter with this class feature's ranged weapon attacks do not provoke attacks of opportunity and you now threaten nearby squares with a ranged weapon, allowing you to make attacks of opportunity. You threaten squares within a range equal to one tenth of a ranged increment of your weapon, rounded down to the nearest five feet to a minimum of five feet.
Sniper: A fighter with this class feature can now make precision long distance attacks with a ranged weapon. If you spend three rounds preparing a shot you can make a ranged weapon attack, ignoring the penalties for range increments, though you still cannot attack further than the weapon's normal maximum range. This attack automatically threatens a critical regardless of the weapon's actual threat range and is treated as having a critical damage multiplier of 5x.
Improved Armour Style:
At 17th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to her AC equal to her constitution modifier and gains a 20' bonus to movement speed.
Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour gains the benefit of evasion and uncanny dodge. If the fighter already has the relevant features she gains the improved versions.
Medium Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing medium armour no longer takes a penalty to movement.
Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by a further 2 and gains DR 5/- which stacks with other sources.
Weapon Perfection: At level 20 a fighter with this class feature may choose a type of weapon. When wielding a weapon of this type the threat range increases by two and the critical damage multiplier increases by one.
PALADIN
Remove disease, lay on hands and smite evil: Rather than a certain amount of uses per week, a paladin can use remove disease a number of times per day equal to half her paladin level plus her charisma modifier and can expend two uses to remove a curse. A paladin may also expend two uses to gain an extra use of her smite evil ability and 5 uses to gain an extra use of her lay on hands ability. The paladin's remove disease now also applies to poison and cures 1d6 points of ability damage.
Divine Training: At level 3 and every 4 levels thereafter a paladin receives a bonus feat, which must have the [Divine] descriptor. In addition, the paladin may use any divine feat that is listed as requiring a standard action to use as a free action.
Purity of purpose: At twelfth level the paladin gains the Good Devotion and Law Devotion feats.
Divine Ascension: At 20th level the paladin gains the Saint template, incurring all bonuses but retaining her current ECL.
HEXBLADE
Hexblades no longer have an alignment restriction and the feat Battle Blessing now also applies to Hexblade spells. Fortitude is now a high save for hexblades. Hexblade spells do not require somatic components whatsoever. This means a hexblade can cast freely without free hands or while wearing armour.
Hexblades are now proficient with shields and with medium armour.
Summon Familiar: The hexblade is treated as a sorcerer of his hexblade level when determining his familiar's abilities and qualities, and does not pay an experience cost when the familiar dies, instead losing the ability to cast spells for the rest of the day. A familiar can be brought back to life by using a number of spell slots equal to the hexblade's class level.
Hexblade's Curse: This ability now has an unlimited number of uses and there is no save against it, but it is only applicable to one target at a time and the target must have been hit by a melee attack from the hexblade. The curse lasts from the moment the blow is struck until the end of the hexblade's next turn. The greater hexblade's curse and dire hexblade's curse abilities no longer exist, instead the penalties from hexblade's curse increase by 1 every four levels, to a maximum of -7 at level 20. The force attacks dealt as part of an arcane trance are melee attacks even when out of the hexblade's normal attack range, and thus can apply the hexblade's curse.
Bonus feats: The hexblade gains a bonus feat at level 1 as well as the ones she already gets. The list of feats is expanded, including any fighter bonus feat, Improved Familiar, Spell Focus/Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), Extra Spell, Extra Slot, Battlecaster Offense, Battlecaster Defense, Spell-Linked Familiar, Practised Caster, Combat Familiar, Lurking Familiar, Bonded Familiar, Arcane Toughness, Arcane Strike, Extra Smiting.
Arcane Combat: Beginning at first level a hexblade may choose to enter an arcane trance, gaining supernatural knowledge of her surroundings and the ability to deal waves of force damage with her weapon. This is usable once per day at first level and an additional time per day every 5 levels thereafter. As a free action the hexblade enters a state of magical empowerment until the start of her next turn, gaining blindsight 60' and causing any attack against her to have a 20% miss chance. While in the trance any attack she makes with a melee weapon attacks all targets in a 60' line and deals force damage if the attack is successful. All targets are attacked with the same attack roll, and if they are hit are dealt force damage equal to the damage the hexblade would normally deal. The hexblade still threatens her normal range, but if she gets an attack of opportunity the attack is a wave of force as described previously. At the start of her next turn the hexblade may choose to extend the time her trance goes for for another round, but doing so requires the expenditure of a level of spells equal to her hexblade/4, rounded up.
Advanced Learning: Beginning at fourth level, and every two levels thereafter (excluding level 20) the hexblade may add to her list of spells known any enchantment, illusion, necromancy or transmutation spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list of a level she can already cast.
Augmented Attack: Beginning at sixth level, a hexblade may choose to use his charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier as a bonus to attack rolls with melee weapons.
Intimidating Familiar: Beginning at eighth level any enemy adjacent to the hexblade's familiar takes a -2 penalty to saves and armour class.
Arcane Empowerment: At 20th level the hexblade's caster level increases by 5 and whenever the hexblade succeeds on a melee attack against a foe she regains spent spell slots equal to one tenth of the foe's hit dice(rounded down).
SWASHBUCKLER
Insightful Strike: A swashbuckler's insightful strike works against all enemies, regardless of their immunity to critical hits or sneak attack.
Precise Strike: At fourth level and every four levels thereafter a swashbuckler increases the damage she deals with a weapon to which she can apply weapon finesse increases by two.
Dodge Bonus: The dodge bonus class feature applies to all attacks against the swashbuckler, not just those by one enemy. The bonus increases by one and the swashbuckler is treated as having the Dodge feat when determining pre-requisites for feats and prestige classes.
Agile Athletics: Beginning at sixth level a swashbuckler can add her dexterity modifier to her swim, jump and climb skill checks.
Enhanced Mobility: Beginning at ninth level a swashbuckler gains +4 to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when she moves out of a threatened square. This stacks with the mobility feat, and counts as the Mobility feat for meeting other pre-requisites.
Agile Parry: At tenth level, a swashbuckler not wearing medium or heavy armour and wielding only light weapons (or a rapier) may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at her. At the end of her turn the swashbuckler can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of her next turn. She is still treated as threatening nearby squares for purposes of flanking.
A swashbuckler can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus, with a bonus equal to her dodge bonus class feature. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. A swashbuckler cannot parry under conditions in which she would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as she wishes, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. If she is only wielding one weapon and that weapon is a light weapon or rapier the successive penalty is only -2.
Enhanced Spring Attack: Beginning at level 13 a swashbuckler may make a full attack action and move her speed, but can only attack each target once during the action. She may make her attacks at any points before, during and after the move. A swashbuckler cannot take a 5 foot step in addition to an enhanced spring attack, and takes attacks of opportunity as normal. This can be combined with the spring attack feat in order to avoid some attacks of opportunity and counts as the spring attack feat in terms of meeting other pre-requisites.
Riposte: At 16th level a swashbuckler's skill at parrying increases. She may now make both attacks of opportunity and parry attempts. She can choose to once again relinquish her ability to make attacks of opportunity in exchange for the ability to riposte. When this feature is activated whenever she successfully parries an attack she may make a melee attack against the enemy that attacked her, providing this enemy is within reach. This attack is performed at the bonus at which she made the parry, and provides an attack of opportunity from the enemy who attacked her and she in turn is attacking. This can cause an infinite loop of attacks, but keep in mind she takes a successive penalty to parry checks.
MARSHAL
Simple fix, marshals aren't really good enough at what they do and are rather inflexible. Increase the bonuses and increase the flexibility and the class is improved.
Auras known: The marshal knows every single aura from the marshal aura list.
Extra Minor Aura: Beginning at sixth level a marshal may have two different minor auras activated at once. The marshal gains the ability to have a third minor going at twelfth level and a fourth minor aura at eighteenth level. The marshal may give up the effects of one or more minor auras in order to increase the power of an already present minor aura, gaining an increase to ane aura of your choice of 3. If a second aura is relinquished the bonus increases to 5, and if a third is relinquished the bonus increases to 6. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.
Extra Major Aura: Beginning at tenth level a marshal may have two different major auras activated at once. The marshal may give up the effect of the second aura in order to gain a +2 bonus to the first. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.
Grant Standard Action: Beginning at eleventh level a marshal may instead of granting his party a move action grant a single party member within 30 feet a standard action. A character can take only one extra standard action per round.
Unstoppable Command: Beginning at nineteenth level a marshal who has an ally that he is commanding within 60' cannot become dazed, unconscious, stunned, silenced or paralyzed. Abilities that cause such effects may still target the marshal but are considered supressed until the marshal no longer has an ally within 60' that he is commanding.
SOULKNIFE
Full BAB instead of 3/4
Mind blade, mind blade enhancement, shape mind blade, throw mind blade, free draw and multiple throw folded into the one ability and improved:
Mind Blade: As a free action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to any melee weapon of a size appropriate for its wielder. For instance, a medium soulknife materializes a medium short sword as his mind blade that he can wield as a light weapon, and the blade deals 1d6 points of damage (crit 19-20/×2). Soulknives who are smaller or larger than medium can create mind blades identical to melee weapons appropriate for their size, with a corresponding change to the blade’s damage. The wielder of a mind blade gains the usual benefits to his attack roll and damage roll from a high Strength bonus.
The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hit points); however, a soulknife can simply create another. A soulknife can have as many mind blades as he wants, but the moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates (unless he intends to throw it; see below). A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Since creating mind blades is a free action, a soulknife may throw as many mind blades as he is able to. Once an attack with a mind blade is resolved, the mind blade disappears.
A soulknife can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with the mind blade just as if it were a normal weapon. He can also choose mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Specialization. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade.
A soulknife’s mind blade improves as the character gains higher levels. At 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, the mind blade gains a cumulative +1 bonus and follows the same rules as a magical or psionic weapon, but does not cost any experience or gold. The soulknife can choose how this bonus is applied as long as it follows the normal rules for a magical or psionic weapon, with the exception that the soulknife can choose to give his weapon both magical or psionic properties. The soulknife can change the weapon's properties as a free action at the beginning of his turn. For example, a level 8 soulknife would have a maximum bonus of +4, and may at one moment have his mindblade be a +4 greatsword. However between turns more opponents have appeared and he has decided he needs greater defense, and at the beginning of his turn he splits his mindblade into two +3 defending short swords. If a troll appeared he might choose to turn his mindblade into a +2 flaming burst halberd, and if he was facing a magically protected wizard might turn it into two +2 supression daggers.
Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulknife can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blade while he remains within the psionics negating effect.
Psychic Strike: Psychic strike now deals full damage to all foes, and increases the damage done by the soulknife's mindblades for one round by 1 per 3 levels of soul knife, or 1 per 2 levels for a two handed weapon (instead of xd8 for one attack). The round in which the damage is dealt does not have to be the round in which the soulknife charges his psychic strike.
Knife to the Soul: Now deals 1 ability damage per 5 damage dealt with psychic strike.
Mind Cleave: The soulknife now gets the Mind Cleave feat free at fifth level, even if he does need meet the pre-requisites.
Path of Blades: At eleventh level the soulknife gains the ability to use his mind energy to create a virtual 'ground' wherever he goes. This allows him to run straight up into the air, across rivers or whereever he can feasibly run on the energy his mind creates. He cannot run at an angle of greater than 45 degrees and the disks do not protect him from dangers associated from being near hazardous materials, so running straight across magma will still cause the soulknife to take damage from radiant heat.
MONK
Focused Strike: Beginning at fifth level a monk may opt to use his wisdom modifier instead of his strength modifier to determine bonus damage with monk weapons.
Stunning fist may be used an additional number of times per day equal to your wisdom modifier, and is granted as a bonus feat at level one. At level 1 the monk may either choose improved sunder or improved grapple as a bonus feat.
Full BAB instead of 3/4
Flurry of blows can also be used on a standard action attack.
Slow fall does not require presence of a wall, and monks can run on water for a distance equal to the distance they can ignore with slow fall.
Quivering palm may be used once per day, and can be reused by sacrificing 5 uses of stunning fist.
Abundant Step can also be used as Plane Shift by sacrificing 3 uses of stunning fist, and can be reused by sacrificing 2 uses of stunning fist.
RANGER
The battle blessing feat also applies to ranger spells.
Favoured Enemy: If a type of humanoid or outsider is chosen as the ranger's favoured enemy then with one hour of meditation the ranger may choose to change which type of humanoid or outsider is its favoured enemy.
Animal Companion: The ranger's effective druid level when determining the qualities of her animal companion is equal to her ranger level, and the animal companion is granted at level one. The animal companion also has BAB equal to the ranger's.
Natural Skill: Once per day at fourth level and once more per 4 ranger levels the ranger possesses she may choose to take 15 on any wisdom, strength or dexterity based check or skill check.
Pack Fighting: Beginning at third level whenever you and your animal companion flank a target you both gain a +1 bonus on damage rolls. This bonus increases by 1 every third level thereafter, up to a maximum of +6.
Combat Unity: Beginning at eighth level if you and your animal companion both threaten the foe you are considered to be flanking it. You are considered to threaten opponents with a ranged weapon if the opponent is within one range increment and threatened by your animal companion, but you cannot make attacks of opportunity against them (except with the Pack Protection feature, see below).
Pack Protection: Beginning at twelfth level if the ranger or her animal companion is damaged by a foe that their partner threatens their partner may make an attack of opportunity against that foe. Any specific foe can only be attacked once per round with this feature, even if you have a feature such as combat reflexes that would normally allow you to make multiple attacks of opportunity in a single round.
Wild Strike: At sixteenth level a ranger adds his wisdom modifier to damage rolls made with a manufactured or natural weapon.
The feat Battle Blessing now also applies to ranger spells.
BARBARIAN
Rage: The barbarian no longer gains the greater rage, tireless rage or mighty rage class features. Instead the bonus to strength and constitution granted by rage increases by one at fifth level and by a further one every three levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +10 at level 20. The bonus to will saves granted by rage increases to 3 at level 10 and 4 at level 20. At the end of a rage the barbarian makes a DC 20 fortitude save (including the bonus from rage), and if she succeeds on the save she is not fatigued. The barbarian may continue raging past the usual limit of 3+con, but to do so at the start of each round she must make a DC 20 fortitude save which increases by 2 each subsequent round until she voluntarily stops raging or fails the save. Once she voluntarily stops raging or fails the save she stops raging and must make another fortitude save equal to 20+the number of rounds past the usual limit she spent raging or become exhausted until the end of the encounter, and if she succeeds she is merely fatigued (this is not preventable).
Totem Aspect: At 6th level the barbarian gains the benefit of an animal totem (see unearthed arcana for details) but does not lose any class features. The barbarian gains the benefits of that totem as normal, except the bonuses are treated as starting at level 6, not level 1 (So the +2 bonus on intimidate checks usually gained by a level 2 ape totem barbarian is gained at level 7). The barbarian gains a second totem aspect at level 11, following the same rules as the first and treated the benefits as starting at level 11.
Imposing Physique: At 8th level a barbarian may add her strength modifier to any intimidate check she makes.
Sweeping Rage: At 12th level any time a barbarian in a rage deals damage with a melee attack she can apply half of the damage done to up to two enemies she threatens that are within 5 feet of the target. The barbarian does not make a new attack roll- She takes the result of the original attack roll and applies that to the enemies she wishes to damage, and if it that attack roll would hit the creatures take damage. This skill does not work in conjunction with Whirlwind Attack or similar abilities, but does work in conjunction with Cleave and Great Cleave.
Greater Sweeping Rage: At 18th level the enemies attacked can be any distance up to the barbarian's weapon's reach from the original target.
FIGHTER
Parry: At tenth level, the fighter may choose to take this class feature instead of a fighter bonus feat. A fighter who does so may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at him. At the end of his turn the fighter can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of his next turn.
A fighter can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. You cannot parry under conditions in which you would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as you wish, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. You may apply your shield bonus to a parry attempt. Attempting to parry a ranged attack takes a -5 penalty if you use a weapon and gains a +5 bonus if you use a shield. Any loss of attack due to abilities that increase your defense, such as using a defending weapon or combat expertise is ignored when calculating parry attempts.
Weapon Style:
At 5th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Sword and Board:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a shield can take any feat that applies to two-weapon fighting and ignore any dexterity pre-requisites, but those feats can only be applied when the fighter is wielding a shield (or shield spikes) as one of those weapons. The fighter no longer takes a -2 penalty to attacks for wielding a tower shield, but still cannot use one to make a shield bash attack.
Deft Grip:
A fighter with this class feature can treat any melee weapon wielded in one hand as a light weapon, and any weapon that was already a light weapon is treated as one size larger when calculating damage. All one handed weapons are treated as shadow hand weapons for a fighter.
Scattering Strike:
When wielding one melee weapon and no shield a fighter with this class feature may make a bull rush attempt whenever she hits with an attack and does not provoke an attack of opportunity for doing so. She resolves the bull rush normally but does not move into the opponent's square if she succeeds. If her strength check is high enough she can move her target more than 5 feet, but she does not follow the target unless the strike was used as part of a charge. If she has a spare hand she can choose to initiate a grappling attempt instead of a bull rush, acting as if she had the Improved Grab ability.
Powerful Blow: When using the power attack feat the fighter with this class feature may choose to ignore damage reduction equal to the attack sacrificed as part of the power attack.
Hand to Hand:
A fighter with this class feature who selects this style deals unarmed damage as if she were a monk equal to her fighter level -4. This does not confer flurry of blows or any other monk class ability, just unarmed damage. Fighter levels and monk levels stack for determining unarmed damage and a fighter with this style can multiclass between monk and fighter without being barred from further advancing in the monk class.
Weapon Tossing:
The fighter with this class feature gains the Throw Anything feat even if she does not meet the pre-requisites. She can throw her weapon at a nearby foe and command it to immediately bounce back to her grasp. Any time she makes a ranged attack with a thrown weapon on her turn, the weapon immediately returns to her, and she can catch it as a free action. This ability allows her to make a full attack entirely with thrown weapon attacks, or with a mix of thrown and melee attacks. She can also take any two-weapon fighting feat without the dexterity requirements, but can only apply it to thrown weapon attacks.
Marksmanship:
A fighter with this class feature wielding a ranged weapon can add half her dexterity modifier to damage dealt. This stacks with the Crossbow Fighter feat.
Armour Style:
At 9th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature can make a full attack on a charge attack and gains a bonus to her AC equal to her fighter class level/4.
Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour may make two attacks per weapon instead of one when using a standard action to attack. Both these attacks take a -4 penalty and use
Medium Armour:
When a fighter with this class feature is wearing medium armour it is treated as having the medium fortification property.
Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by 2 and increases the maximum dexterity bonus to AC by 2.
Improved Weapon Style:
At 13th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles, or a selection from the Weapon Style list:
Dual Wield Mastery: A fighter with this class feature gains +2 to damage and attack rolls when wielding two weapons and can treat any feat or class feature that applies to one of her wielded weapons (such as Weapon Focus or Weapon Perfection) as applying to her other weapon, even if the other weapon is not of that type. The benefits gained by the other weapon must be applicable to that weapon- A fighter wielding a rapier and a longsword may apply the bonus from her weapon focus (rapier) to her longsword, but not weapon finesse.
Powerful Grip: A fighter with this class feature wielding a weapon in two hands now deals twice her strength modifier as bonus damage and gains a +4 bonus to using and defending against disarm and sunder attacks.
Unarmed Deadliness: A fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to damage on her unarmed strikes equal to her dexterity modifier or her strength modifier, whichever is higher. She can also choose to use her dexterity modifier in place of her strength modifier on grapple checks and her strength modifier place of her dexterity modifier on armour class.
Amazing Grace: A fighter with this class feature who is wielding a light weapon in her main hand and no weapon in her off hand gains a +6 bonus to dexterity and the benefits of the evasion feature. If she already has the evasion feature she gains the benefits of the improved evasion feature. She also reduces the successive penalty for parrying from -5 to -2.
Shielding Ally: A fighter with this class feature gains a +2 bonus to AC when wielding a shield and can use her shield to protect others. When an ally that is within reach of the fighter is targeted by a melee or ranged weapon attack the fighter can choose to redirect the attack, acting as if the attack instead targeted the fighter. She cannot use this feature when she is incapable of either parrying or making opportunity attacks.
Weapon Hurricane: A fighter with this class feature can choose to treat her ranged attack rolls with thrown weapons as melee attacks. She can use melee attack bonus, including Strength bonus, feats, and so forth, to determine her attack bonus for each attack as normal, but she applies the standard modifiers for range penalties. Attacking into melee, through cover, and so forth incurs the standard penalties. As such, you can apply 1.5 times your Strength bonus to damage if you wield the thrown weapon with two hands, and you can use Power Attack with your thrown weapon attacks (adding two times the number subtracted from attack rolls as a bonus on damage rolls when throwing a two handed weapon). You can also, as a full attack action, attack one enemy per four fighter levels with a thrown weapon at your highest attack bonus.
Close quarters archery: A fighter with this class feature's ranged weapon attacks do not provoke attacks of opportunity and you now threaten nearby squares with a ranged weapon, allowing you to make attacks of opportunity. You threaten squares within a range equal to one tenth of a ranged increment of your weapon, rounded down to the nearest five feet to a minimum of five feet.
Sniper: A fighter with this class feature can now make precision long distance attacks with a ranged weapon. If you spend three rounds preparing a shot you can make a ranged weapon attack, ignoring the penalties for range increments, though you still cannot attack further than the weapon's normal maximum range. This attack automatically threatens a critical regardless of the weapon's actual threat range and is treated as having a critical damage multiplier of 5x.
Improved Armour Style:
At 17th level a fighter gains a choice of one of the following styles:
Unarmoured:
An unarmoured fighter with this class feature gains a bonus to her AC equal to her constitution modifier and gains a 20' bonus to movement speed.
Light Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing light armour gains the benefit of evasion and uncanny dodge. If the fighter already has the relevant features she gains the improved versions.
Medium Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing medium armour no longer takes a penalty to movement.
Heavy Armour:
A fighter with this class feature wearing heavy armour reduces the armour check penalty by a further 2 and gains DR 5/- which stacks with other sources.
Weapon Perfection: At level 20 a fighter with this class feature may choose a type of weapon. When wielding a weapon of this type the threat range increases by two and the critical damage multiplier increases by one.
PALADIN
Remove disease, lay on hands and smite evil: Rather than a certain amount of uses per week, a paladin can use remove disease a number of times per day equal to half her paladin level plus her charisma modifier and can expend two uses to remove a curse. A paladin may also expend two uses to gain an extra use of her smite evil ability and 5 uses to gain an extra use of her lay on hands ability. The paladin's remove disease now also applies to poison and cures 1d6 points of ability damage.
Divine Training: At level 3 and every 4 levels thereafter a paladin receives a bonus feat, which must have the [Divine] descriptor. In addition, the paladin may use any divine feat that is listed as requiring a standard action to use as a free action.
Purity of purpose: At twelfth level the paladin gains the Good Devotion and Law Devotion feats.
Divine Ascension: At 20th level the paladin gains the Saint template, incurring all bonuses but retaining her current ECL.
HEXBLADE
Hexblades no longer have an alignment restriction and the feat Battle Blessing now also applies to Hexblade spells. Fortitude is now a high save for hexblades. Hexblade spells do not require somatic components whatsoever. This means a hexblade can cast freely without free hands or while wearing armour.
Hexblades are now proficient with shields and with medium armour.
Summon Familiar: The hexblade is treated as a sorcerer of his hexblade level when determining his familiar's abilities and qualities, and does not pay an experience cost when the familiar dies, instead losing the ability to cast spells for the rest of the day. A familiar can be brought back to life by using a number of spell slots equal to the hexblade's class level.
Hexblade's Curse: This ability now has an unlimited number of uses and there is no save against it, but it is only applicable to one target at a time and the target must have been hit by a melee attack from the hexblade. The curse lasts from the moment the blow is struck until the end of the hexblade's next turn. The greater hexblade's curse and dire hexblade's curse abilities no longer exist, instead the penalties from hexblade's curse increase by 1 every four levels, to a maximum of -7 at level 20. The force attacks dealt as part of an arcane trance are melee attacks even when out of the hexblade's normal attack range, and thus can apply the hexblade's curse.
Bonus feats: The hexblade gains a bonus feat at level 1 as well as the ones she already gets. The list of feats is expanded, including any fighter bonus feat, Improved Familiar, Spell Focus/Greater Spell Focus (Illusion), Extra Spell, Extra Slot, Battlecaster Offense, Battlecaster Defense, Spell-Linked Familiar, Practised Caster, Combat Familiar, Lurking Familiar, Bonded Familiar, Arcane Toughness, Arcane Strike, Extra Smiting.
Arcane Combat: Beginning at first level a hexblade may choose to enter an arcane trance, gaining supernatural knowledge of her surroundings and the ability to deal waves of force damage with her weapon. This is usable once per day at first level and an additional time per day every 5 levels thereafter. As a free action the hexblade enters a state of magical empowerment until the start of her next turn, gaining blindsight 60' and causing any attack against her to have a 20% miss chance. While in the trance any attack she makes with a melee weapon attacks all targets in a 60' line and deals force damage if the attack is successful. All targets are attacked with the same attack roll, and if they are hit are dealt force damage equal to the damage the hexblade would normally deal. The hexblade still threatens her normal range, but if she gets an attack of opportunity the attack is a wave of force as described previously. At the start of her next turn the hexblade may choose to extend the time her trance goes for for another round, but doing so requires the expenditure of a level of spells equal to her hexblade/4, rounded up.
Advanced Learning: Beginning at fourth level, and every two levels thereafter (excluding level 20) the hexblade may add to her list of spells known any enchantment, illusion, necromancy or transmutation spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list of a level she can already cast.
Augmented Attack: Beginning at sixth level, a hexblade may choose to use his charisma modifier instead of his strength modifier as a bonus to attack rolls with melee weapons.
Intimidating Familiar: Beginning at eighth level any enemy adjacent to the hexblade's familiar takes a -2 penalty to saves and armour class.
Arcane Empowerment: At 20th level the hexblade's caster level increases by 5 and whenever the hexblade succeeds on a melee attack against a foe she regains spent spell slots equal to one tenth of the foe's hit dice(rounded down).
SWASHBUCKLER
Insightful Strike: A swashbuckler's insightful strike works against all enemies, regardless of their immunity to critical hits or sneak attack.
Precise Strike: At fourth level and every four levels thereafter a swashbuckler increases the damage she deals with a weapon to which she can apply weapon finesse increases by two.
Dodge Bonus: The dodge bonus class feature applies to all attacks against the swashbuckler, not just those by one enemy. The bonus increases by one and the swashbuckler is treated as having the Dodge feat when determining pre-requisites for feats and prestige classes.
Agile Athletics: Beginning at sixth level a swashbuckler can add her dexterity modifier to her swim, jump and climb skill checks.
Enhanced Mobility: Beginning at ninth level a swashbuckler gains +4 to AC against attacks of opportunity caused when she moves out of a threatened square. This stacks with the mobility feat, and counts as the Mobility feat for meeting other pre-requisites.
Agile Parry: At tenth level, a swashbuckler not wearing medium or heavy armour and wielding only light weapons (or a rapier) may choose to sacrifice the ability to make attacks of opportunity in order to parry the attacks directed at her. At the end of her turn the swashbuckler can choose to parry instead of making attacks of opportunity until the start of her next turn. She is still treated as threatening nearby squares for purposes of flanking.
A swashbuckler can choose to parry a melee or ranged weapon attack directed at her by making an attack roll at her highest base attack bonus, with a bonus equal to her dodge bonus class feature. You may then use the result as your AC against the incoming attack, and can choose to use the higher of the result and your normal AC. A swashbuckler cannot parry under conditions in which she would not be able to make an attack of opportunity and can parry as many times as she wishes, though each round each parry attempt after the first takes a successive -5 penalty. If she is only wielding one weapon and that weapon is a light weapon or rapier the successive penalty is only -2.
Enhanced Spring Attack: Beginning at level 13 a swashbuckler may make a full attack action and move her speed, but can only attack each target once during the action. She may make her attacks at any points before, during and after the move. A swashbuckler cannot take a 5 foot step in addition to an enhanced spring attack, and takes attacks of opportunity as normal. This can be combined with the spring attack feat in order to avoid some attacks of opportunity and counts as the spring attack feat in terms of meeting other pre-requisites.
Riposte: At 16th level a swashbuckler's skill at parrying increases. She may now make both attacks of opportunity and parry attempts. She can choose to once again relinquish her ability to make attacks of opportunity in exchange for the ability to riposte. When this feature is activated whenever she successfully parries an attack she may make a melee attack against the enemy that attacked her, providing this enemy is within reach. This attack is performed at the bonus at which she made the parry, and provides an attack of opportunity from the enemy who attacked her and she in turn is attacking. This can cause an infinite loop of attacks, but keep in mind she takes a successive penalty to parry checks.
MARSHAL
Simple fix, marshals aren't really good enough at what they do and are rather inflexible. Increase the bonuses and increase the flexibility and the class is improved.
Auras known: The marshal knows every single aura from the marshal aura list.
Extra Minor Aura: Beginning at sixth level a marshal may have two different minor auras activated at once. The marshal gains the ability to have a third minor going at twelfth level and a fourth minor aura at eighteenth level. The marshal may give up the effects of one or more minor auras in order to increase the power of an already present minor aura, gaining an increase to ane aura of your choice of 3. If a second aura is relinquished the bonus increases to 5, and if a third is relinquished the bonus increases to 6. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.
Extra Major Aura: Beginning at tenth level a marshal may have two different major auras activated at once. The marshal may give up the effect of the second aura in order to gain a +2 bonus to the first. A relinquished aura can be resumed as normal, but the benefit gained from relinquishing it is negated.
Grant Standard Action: Beginning at eleventh level a marshal may instead of granting his party a move action grant a single party member within 30 feet a standard action. A character can take only one extra standard action per round.
Unstoppable Command: Beginning at nineteenth level a marshal who has an ally that he is commanding within 60' cannot become dazed, unconscious, stunned, silenced or paralyzed. Abilities that cause such effects may still target the marshal but are considered supressed until the marshal no longer has an ally within 60' that he is commanding.
SOULKNIFE
Full BAB instead of 3/4
Mind blade, mind blade enhancement, shape mind blade, throw mind blade, free draw and multiple throw folded into the one ability and improved:
Mind Blade: As a free action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to any melee weapon of a size appropriate for its wielder. For instance, a medium soulknife materializes a medium short sword as his mind blade that he can wield as a light weapon, and the blade deals 1d6 points of damage (crit 19-20/×2). Soulknives who are smaller or larger than medium can create mind blades identical to melee weapons appropriate for their size, with a corresponding change to the blade’s damage. The wielder of a mind blade gains the usual benefits to his attack roll and damage roll from a high Strength bonus.
The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hit points); however, a soulknife can simply create another. A soulknife can have as many mind blades as he wants, but the moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates (unless he intends to throw it; see below). A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Since creating mind blades is a free action, a soulknife may throw as many mind blades as he is able to. Once an attack with a mind blade is resolved, the mind blade disappears.
A soulknife can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with the mind blade just as if it were a normal weapon. He can also choose mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Specialization. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade.
A soulknife’s mind blade improves as the character gains higher levels. At 2nd level and every two levels thereafter, the mind blade gains a cumulative +1 bonus and follows the same rules as a magical or psionic weapon, but does not cost any experience or gold. The soulknife can choose how this bonus is applied as long as it follows the normal rules for a magical or psionic weapon, with the exception that the soulknife can choose to give his weapon both magical or psionic properties. The soulknife can change the weapon's properties as a free action at the beginning of his turn. For example, a level 8 soulknife would have a maximum bonus of +4, and may at one moment have his mindblade be a +4 greatsword. However between turns more opponents have appeared and he has decided he needs greater defense, and at the beginning of his turn he splits his mindblade into two +3 defending short swords. If a troll appeared he might choose to turn his mindblade into a +2 flaming burst halberd, and if he was facing a magically protected wizard might turn it into two +2 supression daggers.
Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulknife can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blade while he remains within the psionics negating effect.
Psychic Strike: Psychic strike now deals full damage to all foes, and increases the damage done by the soulknife's mindblades for one round by 1 per 3 levels of soul knife, or 1 per 2 levels for a two handed weapon (instead of xd8 for one attack). The round in which the damage is dealt does not have to be the round in which the soulknife charges his psychic strike.
Knife to the Soul: Now deals 1 ability damage per 5 damage dealt with psychic strike.
Mind Cleave: The soulknife now gets the Mind Cleave feat free at fifth level, even if he does need meet the pre-requisites.
Path of Blades: At eleventh level the soulknife gains the ability to use his mind energy to create a virtual 'ground' wherever he goes. This allows him to run straight up into the air, across rivers or whereever he can feasibly run on the energy his mind creates. He cannot run at an angle of greater than 45 degrees and the disks do not protect him from dangers associated from being near hazardous materials, so running straight across magma will still cause the soulknife to take damage from radiant heat.