Eurus
2011-07-18, 09:30 AM
In a moment of boredom, I started rolling around an idea for a martial class inspired by heroes of legend and myth. As I tried, though, it became clear that this was a rather broad classification. Do I focus exclusively on the Hercules or Beowulf style of hero, and ignore Jack the Giant Killer and Robin Hood? So, I decided to try and create a class that could potentially cover any of these archetypes.
I've always been a fan of broad and modular classes over narrow ones -- even WotC experimented with this in their alternate class features/rogue special abilities/the fighter, it seems -- so this sounded like an interesting idea. Ideally, you could have a party with three or four Heroes and have them all be at least somewhat unique in their abilities and niche. (Actually, a game where everyone gestalts a class with Hero might be amusing, if you were feeling ambitious.)
Additionally, one thing that always disappoints me is classes that have plenty of diverse and interesting combat options, but very few options outside of combat. Skills and creativity are often touted as the mundane character's discount competitor to utility spells, and I certainly provided support for them, but a little bit of extra help never hurts, right?
Ideally, Bold gifts should be feats that are, while maybe not realistic, at least something that you can imagine being within the realm of possibility for greatly skilled and lucky individuals (and bear in in that this is a world in which crossbow bolts are barely a scuff and four-ton creatures can fly on membranous wings as a matter of course). Heroic gifts are more fantastic, but still essentially enhancements to mundane skills, like skin that heals as quickly as you cut it or a presence so commanding that people simply can't help but obey. Legendary gifts are truly inhuman, what you imagine as the higher end of heroes in fantasy and myth, like suplexing a train killing a man with your war cry or stealing the moon from the sky; the sort of thing that your uneducated layman might mistake for sorcery or divine heritage (or actually be symptomatic of divine heritage, if you prefer).
No magical hocus-pocus or "oh you need a magic item to do that, it's not something a nonmagical character should be able to do," no ironclad class roles to fill, no tongue-in-cheek anime shenanigans (unless you choose to play it that way, which is fine. The biggest difference between classical heroes and anime heroes is often the hair). Hopefully someone will go "hey this looks cool," but if not, at least I had fun with it.
It's very much a work in progress, still. I have a good spread of Bold gifts, I think, and a few static class features since it's rather impractical to make everything modular. Heroic and Legendary gifts are still being brainstormed, and I'm sure I'll end up adding, altering, or cleaning up some of the Bold gifts if there's feedback. I'm always glad to hear suggestions for possible abilities or gifts if you feel inspired, or simply pointing out my mistakes.
The Hero
Hit Die: See text.
The Hero's class skills are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any two, chosen at first level), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill points per level: See text.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+0|Fighting Style, Path of Heroism
2nd|
+2|
+0|
+0|
+0|Gift (Bold)
3rd|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+1|Courage
4th|
+4|
+1|
+1|
+1|Gift
5th|
+5|
+1|
+1|
+1|Ongoing Story
6th|
+6|
+2|
+2|
+2|Gift
7th|
+7|
+2|
+2|
+2|Against the Odds
8th|
+8|
+2|
+2|
+2|Gift (Heroic)
9th|
+9|
+3|
+3|
+3|Class Ability
10th|
+10|
+3|
+3|
+3|Gift
11th|
+11|
+3|
+3|
+3|Class Ability
12th|
+12|
+4|
+4|
+4|Gift
13th|
+13|
+4|
+4|
+4|Class Ability
14th|
+14|
+4|
+4|
+4|Gift (Legendary)
15th|
+15|
+5|
+5|
+5|Class Ability
16th|
+16|
+5|
+5|
+5|Gift
17th|
+17|
+5|
+5|
+5|Class Ability
18th|
+18|
+6|
+6|
+6|Gift
19th|
+19|
+6|
+6|
+6|Class Ability
20th|
+20|
+6|
+6|
+6|Class Ability[/table]
Path of Heroism (Ex): All Heroes are extraordinary in some way, but beyond that may have little in common. One might be famed for his subtlety and deception, another for his inhuman strength and fortitude, and many have elements of both. At first level, a Hero may spend three points as follows on certain elements of his chassis. Once made, this choice is permanent and affects all future levels of Hero that he takes. The baseline that all Heroes start with is a d8 hit die and 4 + Int skill points per class level.
1 point: Increase hit die by one size (max of d12).
1 point: Increase one saving throw to use a "good" progression (1/2 the character's class level, rounded down, plus two). All Heroes have at least one good save, so up to two points may be spent this way to grant all three good saves.
1 point: Increase skill points per level by two.
Additionally, the details of a Hero's background allow him to select two skills of his choice to permanently become class skills.
Fighting Style (Ex): A Hero's fighting style is often rooted in their culture or the life they led before their destiny called to them, and so it is also unique. A Hero selects one armor ability and one weapon ability he wishes to gain, and gets proficiencies related to this choice.
Armor Proficiencies:
Heavy: The Hero is proficient with all armor and shields, including tower shields. He relies on armor and strength to protect him, often storming fearlessly into combat. He may add his strength modifier to his armor class while using a shield, and applies half of his armor bonus to his touch AC.
Will this make shields viable? Maybe not, the best defense is usually killing things before they kill you, but it at least penalizes you less for daring to use one. Half armor bonus to touch AC also makes you less of a sitting duck to the many, many touch attacks out there that are just waiting to ruin your day. Presumably you're the meatshield, after all; getting picked off by some punk with a ray spell is a little unseemly.
Medium: The Hero is proficient with medium armor and all shields, except tower shields. He compromises, protecting himself as much as possible without sacrificing his mobility. While wearing medium armor he suffers no penalty to move speed, reduces his armor check penalty by -2, and increases his maximum dexterity bonus by +2.
Not much to say here. Wear medium armor without slowing down as much. Of note is that the existence of mithril means that you can basically wear any armor you want, which is why the heavy armor proficiency gets those perks.
Light: The Hero is proficient with light armor, but not shields, relying on his speed and wits to protect him and outmaneuvering his foes. He gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat and may apply it to one-handed weapons as well as light weapons, and may tumble at his full speed instead of half without penalty.
I hate weapon finesse. Not because I have anything against dexterity, I just hate that it's not already an option for light weapons. So here it is. It's probably a little odd that this is an armor proficiency ability rather than a light, but it seemed like it was mobility-focused enough to fit.
Weapon Proficiencies:
Unarmed: The Hero is proficient with simple weapons, and gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. His unarmed strike's base damage is at least 1d4 regardless of size, and he gains a +2 bonus on grapple, trip, and disarm checks.
For those heroes who want to be monks. 1d4 because 1d3 and 1d2 are kind of irritating to roll, and a bonus on combat maneuvers because you're going to want to spice up your "punch things to death" routine now and then.
Archer: The Hero is proficient only with simple weapons and with short and longbows (regular or composite), possibly due to a background in hunting. He gains Point-Blank Shot as a bonus feat, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity for firing a ranged weapon while in melee.
The feat tax on archers is just ridiculous. If you want a character to be an archer, the least I can do is lessen that a little. The AoO thing is usually pointless anyway because of 5-foot steps, but for the rare occasion that it comes up, now you don't have to be useless.
Martial: The Hero is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and gains Weapon Focus with a single weapon. If he exclusively uses one type of weapon for at least 24 hours, he may change this Weapon Focus feat (as well as all feats with it as a prerequisite that specify a single weapon) to affect this new weapon instead.
Not much to say here. Martial weapons are the old standby, and a character with this ability gains the functional but boring Weapon Focus as a perk.
Exotic: The Hero is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and gains Exotic Weapon Proficiency with a single weapon. He reduces the penalty for using a weapon that he is not proficient with by 2, even an improvised weapon.
So, most exotic weapons suck. I realize this, and unfortunately fixing that problem is beyond the scope of this project. However, should you actually want one, you can at least beat people to death with furniture in your spare time. After all those years spent figuring out how the hell a spiked chain works, killing a man with a chair should be child's play, right?
Gift: The defining feature of the Hero is his ability to excel, whatever path he may follow. And 2nd level and every two levels after that, he gains a Gift from the following list (up to nine Gifts at level 18). Initially he may only select Bold Gifts, but at level 8 he gains access to Heroic Gifts and at level 14 to Legendary Gifts. Unless otherwise noted, all gifts are Extraordinary abilities.
Bold Gifts:
Gifted Defense: Select either Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. You add the selected stat's modifier to AC. When wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a shield, reduce this bonus by half.
OOC:
Okay, I hear the cries now: "a two level dip to add your choice of almost any stat modifier to AC?" If a character has nothing better to do with two levels than pick up an AC bonus, I imagine they probably need the help. Armor class isn't exactly the best defense anyway. However, a character who wants to be able to defend himself better without resorting to heavier armor or maxing dexterity -- whether it's the loincloth-wearing berserker who relies on sheer grit to protect him or the cunning holy man whose faith and wits keep him safe -- should have the option available.
Gifted Strength: You may treat your size as one category larger for the purposes of your carrying capacity. Additionally, as a move action you may bring to bear your full might, gaining a bonus to the first strength check or melee damage roll you make before the end of your next turn. This bonus is equal to 5 + your class level.
OOC:
So yeah, pretty straightforward. The damage bonus is only likely to see any use before level six, but it's not half bad at those levels. The ability to shatter chains (or, at higher levels, walls) is one of those things that seems useless until you try it out and realize just how many lovely things there are to break. When all you have is a hammer...
Gifted Shot: Your aim is incredible, allowing seemingly impossible trick shots and ricochets. You can substitute a perform (weapon drill) check for an attack roll outside of combat, taking 10 on this roll if circumstances allow, and you add your dexterity bonus to all ranged damage rolls. You may voluntarily take a penalty on a ranged attack roll to add a bonus to damage rolls that round equal to 1.5 times the penalty.
Finally, you can make a ranged feint check as a swift action, using the higher of your attack bonus or your bluff check; success makes the target flat-footed to the first ranged attack you make against them this round. In the same way, a spot check as a swift action against the target's armor class makes your first attack against them a touch attack.
OOC:
The archery gift. Allows nifty but relatively useless feats of sharpshooting outside of combat, and gives the oh-my-god-why-don't-they-already-have-this ability of dexterity to damage and ranged power attack so that they can do something besides plink for 1d6 damage a round. Finally, the ability to hit a heavily armored or highly nimble target much easier is sure to be appreciated, especially with the power attack ability.
Gifted Tongue: You can distract a target with a riddle, question, argument, or simply an insult. Make your choice of a bluff or diplomacy check as a standard action against a single target. They must make the better of either a Will save or a Sense Motive check. If you win, the target is dazed and flat-footed for one round. A target that falls for this trick once cannot be fooled in this way again for the encounter's duration. If the target is not currently engaged in combat, you can instead use this distraction for yourself and your allies to engage them, forcing your target to automatically act last in initiative.
Alternately, you can use your silver tongue to frantically stall with a tall tale or impress a hostile crowd into grudgingly allowing you to finish speaking before killing you; if you spend a round to take no action but speaking, you may make a bluff or diplomacy check and make one will save using the best bonus for the targeted group. If you win, the crowd will, for whatever reason, suspend hostilities for a few moments while you talk, effectively fascinated by you. You have to make a new diplomacy check each round, with the targets gaining a cumulative +1 bonus to their save each round as their patience wears out. If you, your allies, or anyoe else nearby takes hostile action, or action that could imply imminent hostility (casting buffs or healing spells, drawing weapons, fleeing...) the effect ends. Targets who have been personally injured by you or your allies in this encounter so far are immune; you can affect a target who has hit you, but not if you've hit him back.
OOC:
This probably seems like an odd one, but it's a staple of many canny heroes. Whether with guile or simple force of personality, the ability to make a target hesitate with speech alone is a potentially useful one. The first effect can distract a target while your party lays the smack down, while the second can potentially delay you from getting smacked down yourselves. The specifically very broad explanation of what exactly breaks the fascinate effect should keep you from simply opening every encounter with a full suite of buffs and a crew of summoned monsters, but creative players can surely find ways to use the opening. Also note that you can potentially fascinate a target long enough to manage a one-minute diplomacy check or a hurried explanation of why this is all just a hilarious misunderstanding, since you're already talking.
Fated Companion: You gain the service of an exceptionally intelligent, loyal, and hardy animal chosen from the following list: dire rat, riding dog, eagle, horse (light or heavy), medium viper, or wolf. If you choose, you may promote an appropriate animal that you already own to this status, or gain a new one. See the spoiler for details.
The companion is typical for its species except as mentioned here. As the Hero advances in power, so too does his companion as shown on the table below. If the companion perishes and the hero is unable or unwilling to revive it, he must find a new appropriate animal and spend at least 24 hours with it before it gains the benefits of being a Fated Companion.
{table=head]Class Level|Bonus HD|Natural Armor Adj.|Str/Dex Adj.|Bonus Tricks|Special
2nd-3rd|+1|+1|+0|2|Fortune's Favor, Link
4th-6th|+3|+2|+0|4|Evasion
7th-9th|+4|+3|+2|6|Intelligence
10th-12th|+6|+4|+2|6|
13th-15th|+7|+5|+4|6|
16th-18th|+9|+6|+4|6|
19th-20th|+10|+7|+6|6|[/table]
Bonuses are listed as totals, not cumulative (a 4th level Hero's companion has 3 bonus HD, not 4)
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the fated companion's base attack and base save bonuses. A fated companion's base attack bonus is increased to be equal to its HD. A fated companion has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). A fated companion gains additional skill points and feats (chosen by you) for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number noted here is an improvement to the fated companion's existing natural armor bonus.
Str/Dex Adj.: Add this value to the fated companion's Strength and Dexterity scores.
Bonus Tricks: The value given in this column is the total number of "bonus" tricks that the companion knows in addition to any that the hero might choose to teach it (see the Handle Animal skill). These bonus tricks don't require any training time or Handle Animal checks, and they don’t count against the normal limit of tricks known by the animal. The hero selects these bonus tricks, and once selected, they can’t be changed.
Fortune's Favor (Ex): While a companion often finds itself in dangerous situations, it is less "expendable" than many other companion animals. As a result, Fate provides the animal some small measure of protection; it automatically succeeds on stabilization rolls, and once per day can survive any attack or effect that would kill it, instead dropping to -9 HP and stabilizing.
Link (Ex): A hero can handle his companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if he doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The hero gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all Handle Animal checks made regarding a fated companion.
Evasion (Ex): Functions as the rogue ability of the same name.
Intelligence (Ex): A powerful fated companion is more clever than other animals, often almost human in intelligence. If its Int is 1 or 2 it increases to 3, and although it still cannot speak any other languages it gains a limited ability to understand them, especially when spoken by its owner, and its owner gains a limited ability to understand it in turn.
Effectively, it can perform simple tasks if verbally directed without knowing it as a trick, even if those tasks would normally be too complex or unintuitive; a wolf could search its owner's bag for a potion and uncork or break it, an eagle could attempt to untie a simple knot, a rat could scout ahead and communicate how many enemies are present. Its owner gains an intuitive understanding of his companion's physical and mental condition, although the animal still cannot express complex concepts.
OOC:
An animal companion? Yep. At first blush this might seem to be too much, for a single gift; a scaling cohort is supposed to be a big deal, right? Well, not really. At least, not without the ability to share ludicrously potent buff spells. The combat potential drops off sharply after early levels, leaving the beast mostly used for utility and setting up flanking/trip attempts or whatnot. Heroic and Legendary gifts will be available later to help it keep up; if a Hero is investing a third of his gifts into the thing, it had darn well better contribute.
Heroic Weapon (Ex): Many heroes have weapons as legendary as they are, from the sword Excalibur to the the Gae Bolg. A hero with this gift may designate a weapon that he owns as his heroic weapon; it might be one that he has carried since the start of his journeys that is precious to him by virtue of its origin, or a simple tool that is elevated by his use of it rather than the other way around. Either way, it becomes a part of his myth. See the spoiler below for details.
{table=head]Level|Enhancement bonus|Special
1st-4th|Masterwork|Enduring Legend
5th-8th|+1|Tool of Fate
9th-12th|+2|Slayer's Legend
13th-16th|+3|
17th-20th|+4|[/table]
Enhancement bonus (Ex): A hero's favored weapon is always of exceptional quality, treated as masterwork even if it is nothing more than a simple wooden staff. This allows it to be enchanted as magical. At higher levels, the hero gains the listed enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls with his weapon if this is higher than its actual enchantment, but this does not raise the price of upgrading it normally. This bonus is extraordinary rather than supernatural, so that a 12th level hero with a +3 flaming sword would find that it remains a +2 weapon even in an antimagic field.
Enduring Legend (Ex): A hero's sword can be stolen or broken, but fate grants it a measure of protection from misfortune. No legendary sword would suffer so ignoble a fate as being misplaced or devoured by a rust monster unless destiny wills it to be so. The hero may reroll one save that his weapon makes per day after learning the result, and he finds that it is often difficult to lose outright; should it be knocked from his hand into the mire of a swamp he will find his gaze subtly attracted to it, should it be stolen by brigands he will often discover it for sale in the next town he visits.
Tool of Fate (Ex): A hero may find other weapons over the course of his travels, but his chosen tool will always have a special role. With an hour of meditation, training, or feasting, he may sacrifice any number of other magical weapons to upgrade his chosen weapon's enchantment by a gold piece value equal to that of the sacrificed items. If he sunders a magical weapon in battle, he may choose to treat it as having been sacrificed in this way, adding its value to his own weapon's the next time he undergoes the ritual.
Slayer's Legend (Ex): A hero often develops a reputation of infamy among a particular group or species, and this extends to his chosen tool of war as well. Such a hero's weapon gains the bane quality when he wields it, against a type chosen by him when this ability is gained. If there is no monster type that he feels would be appropriate, he may instead opt to trade this enchantment for a flat +2 to all damage rolls with the weapon. This quality may be changed to target another creature type with 12 straight hours of meditating, training, or feasting.
OOC:
The old much-maligned "you have a weapon" class feature. But this time, it's more of an optional perk than the entire purpose of a class. The ability to burn useless magical weapons to add their full market value to your weapon rather than selling them for 50% and buying upgrades the old-fashioned way is the main draw here; the minimum enhancement bonus usually isn't going to be more significant than freeing up one of the party mage's spell slots that he doesn't have to burn on greater magic weapon, and the free Bane ability will likely vary in use depending on the campaign. There will be a Heroic and a Legendary tier gift that improve on this one, allowing a dedicated hero to create a weapon truly worthy of his power.
Gifted Performer (Ex): Your ability to speak, sing, play, or improvise haiku is on par with any master. You may substitute a perform check for a diplomacy check to improve attitude, if someone watches or hears you perform. If you perform as a full-round action, you can give yourself anyone who can hear you a +4 morale bonus on saves against fear and a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls for one hour.
OOC:
So, it's a little tough for me to figure out how to separate gifted performing from gifted speaking. The two are at least thematically quite different, but expressing it mechanically is a little trickier. It was tempting to just roll them together and call it a day, but I think this is a decent alternative. I presume that you'll generally have the aura on your allies at all times without having to waste actions on it in combat, which is why it's relatively minor. Feel free to take Gifted Speech and fluff it for oratory performances if you like, though.
Gifted Brawler (Ex): Whether through intense training and discipline or simple strength of arm, you are more deadly with bare hand than most could hope to be with a weapon. You gain the unarmed strike damage of a monk of your class level, which is treated as medium size at minimum if you are smaller. Additionally, you may permanently enhance your unarmed strike with one hour of meditation, training, or carousing by sacrificing equal gold or magic items. Weapons sacrificed in this way add their full gold piece value, while other items add only half, but you may use this value to enchant or upgrade your unarmed strike with any enhancement bonus and weapon abilities adding up to its price without spending experience. Your unarmed strike is considered extraordinary rather than supernatural, retaining these abilities even in an antimagic field.
OOC:
It is an utter mystery to me why finding a way to enchant your unarmed strikes is such a convoluted process. A character who wants to fight bare-handed for whatever reason should be able to do so roughly on par with a character who does not, without having to spend twice as much gold to keep up. Also, the mental image of blowing 200,000 gold pieces on an epic partying binge so that you can punch people better is awesome.
Faithful Warrior (Ex): Your devotion to a higher power, be it a god or a mortal lord, empowers you. As long as you loyally serve your chosen cause, you gain a +4 bonus on saves against mind-affecting spells and abilities. Additionally, you may perform a smite attack against any creature while directly serving your cause, adding your choice of your Int, Wis, or Cha modifier to your attack roll and your class level to damage as a free action. This may be used once per encounter per four class levels (minimum 1). Finally, you gain a bonus on diplomacy checks with other allies and servants of your lord and on intimidate checks with its enemies equal to your class level.
Betrayal or failure of your chosen cause may remove these abilities, usually for 24 hours except in the most serious of cases. You may change what power you serve at any time, as long as the force in question or a representative of it is willing to accept your service (which might be difficult if you have a reputation for disloyalty).
OOC:
Codes of conduct: not just for Paladins anymore. Okay really though, I know that codes of conduct are obnoxious and personally feel that "falling" is the worst mechanic ever. That's why it's a simple matter to dedicate yourself to something different if your previous lord is getting too crazy. Smiting is fun, though.
Gifted Stealth (Ex): You have a knack for getting into places you shouldn't, and for slipping back out again. You can feint against any and all targets within 30 feet as a swift action for the express purpose of making a hide check; targets affected are not flat-footed, but are distracted long enough for you to attempt to move and hide this round. You may make a sleight of hand check against a flat-footed target as a standard action opposed by the better of their spot check or attack roll in order to disarm them of a handheld item. Finally, you may attempt to evade unusual methods of detection like tremorsense or touchsight with a hide check, although the target uses the better of their spot ranks, listen ranks, or hit dice and gains a +10 bonus to the check to notice you.
OOC:
The Darkstalker feat was a valiant effort to throw sneaky types a life vest, but sadly not quite enough. The specific list of what it helped you evade meant that it was still roundly defeated by countless detection methods from various splatbooks, leaving stealth as an exercise in futility again. So, this gives you that plus a poor man's hide-in-plain-sight, and the ability to disarm targets with a sleight of hand check.
Nimble Warrior (Ex): Your skill and agility with innocuous weapons has proved an unpleasant surprise to many. You my draw any light or one-handed weapon as a free action, and apply your dexterity bonus to damage rolls with such weapons. If you fight with two or more weapons at once, you reduce your penalties for two-weapon fighting by 2. If you fight with a single weapon in one hand, you may add your class level to damage against any flat-footed foe instead.
OOC:
I dislike the fact that Shadow Blade is one of the only convenient options for dex-to-damage, since not every character is going to want to mess with Tome of Battle. It also reduces the TWF penalties, which is certainly nice but not nearly as stunning as the rarity of such abilities would suggest. Finally, einhander-type characters get thrown a bone, even though it's not that much. Still, it's something.
Battle Frenzy (Ex): Whether through inner tranquility or berserk rage, you are capable of entering a state of heightened awareness and speed in battle as a swift action once per encounter. In this state, you gain a +2 bonus to your choice of attack and damage rolls or to armor class and saving throws for a number of rounds equal to your choice of your Con, Int, Wis, or Cha modifier. When this state ends, you take a -2 penalty to attack rolls and armor class from fatigue for the same amount of time you maintained it.
OOC:
Generic rage substitute, kinda. At this point, you may have a sneaking suspicion that I am trying to replace every other martial class at once here. Well, kinda but not really. If all you want to do is rage and hit things, a barbarian/frenzied berserker or whatnot is going to do it better. But if you want to be able to enter a rage, or a battle trance, or a surge of energy or whatever without it being the one thing by which your character is entirely defined, I think that you should be able to do so. And all things considered, this is not that potent of an ability, but it'll serve as a prerequisite for other gifts later on.
Gifted Fortune (Ex): The stars smile on you, and your sheer luck can often be counted on to get you out of trouble. A number of times per encounter equal to 1/4 class level (rounded up), you may reroll any attack roll that you make, attack roll made against you, damage roll, or saving throw.
OOC:
A little boring, but universal rerolls are pretty valuable.
Unusual Style (Ex): Rather than fighting with simple strength and agility, you rely on intuition, technical skill, or even sheer confidence and fighting spirit to carry you through. You may use your choice of Int, Wis, or Cha modifier in place of strength and dexterity for attack and damage rolls with melee and ranged weapons wherever they would be applicable. This choice is made on taking this gift and cannot be changed.
OOC:
A character only ever gets three bold gifts (and six higher gifts), so I don't consider allowing him to spend one of them to reduce his multi-ability dependency to be unbalanced.
Gifted Warrior (Ex): You are intensely brutal, naturally gifted, or highly trained in combat, gaining a limited ability to initiate martial maneuvers. You add 3/4 of your class level to your initiator level instead of half, and learn one martial maneuver at every third level (retroactively). This maneuver may be from any discipline, but you may only ready half as many maneuvers as you have learned from your levels in this class (rounded up) and only one may be from the highest level that you have access to. You learn one stance that you qualify for at 6th, 12th, and 18th level. As a move action, you may refresh a single maneuver that you have expended. The save DCs for your maneuvers equals 10 + the maneuver's level + the higher of your Str, Int, Wis, or Cha modifier.
OOC:
So this one concerned me a little, but I decided to risk it. It basically gives you a limited ability to use maneuvers, kind of like the ToB version of ranger or paladin spellcasting. The limited number of maneuvers known and readied and the poor recovery mechanic unless you spring for Adaptive Style (which is likely, but a full-round action is still a big investment) seem to help keep it toned down somewhat. Input appreciated, if you think I need to reduce the number of maneuvers/stances learned or such.
Gifted Fortitude (Ex): Your resilience is incredible, allowing you to survive punishment that would destroy a weaker man. You gain Endurance as a bonus feat, and DR 5/-- against nonlethal damage. You heal your class level in hit points every hour instead of every day, and fully restore your hit points with a night's rest. If a single attack or effect would damage you for more HP than twice your class level, you may choose to delay all damage in excess of this threshold for a number of rounds equal to your constitution modifier, at which point you suffer the deferred damage automatically despite any damage reduction or regeneration you may possess. You may choose to take this damage early as a free action even outside your turn, which may be necessary since you cannot delay a new attack if you already have damage waiting. If you are healed by any source, you may either add the healing to your HP as usual or instead subtract it from the damage you currently have suspended.
OOC:
An ability to make you a little more resistant to burst damage, possibly giving the party a chance to heal you before you bleed to death from a ruptured everything. Nothing too spectacular here, I'll admit.
Courage (Ex): A Hero may be frightened or even terrified, but he always keeps his wits or pushes through the fear. Effectively, they are immune to the negative effects of being shaken, frightened, or panicked.
Really, how many heroes can you see cowering in terror because their opponent is particularly scary? Heroes are the ones who are supposed to persevere when everyone else is fleeing. And fear is one of the easier immunities to get, so it's unlikely to be unbalancing.
Ongoing Story (Ex): Your vital spark burns brightly, resisting attempts to quash it. You automatically stabilize if below zero hit points, and the maximum negative hit points that you can reach before dying is increased by your class level plus five. Any death effect or ability that would simply kill you outright regardless of your current condition instead reduces you to -10 HP but stable.
OOC:
You know what's often not fun? Dying. But you know what's really not fun? Dying cheaply, to a lucky crit or unlucky save against the latest save-or-die effect. This ability gives a little leeway, giving you a slightly better chance of surviving as long as it's not a total TPK. It won't save you from outright stupidity, at least not for long, but it's definitely a nice perk. It also relieves a bit of pressure from the DM, since unintentionally killing off a player tends to be a bit stressful on both ends.
Against the Odds (Ex): All Heroes are at their best when facing seemingly impossible challenges or larger-than-life foes. When dealing with an encounter with a CR 4 or more higher than the average level of his party (or, if alone, when faced with an encounter with a CR higher than his class level), a Hero gains a +2 luck bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and armor class.
OOC:
I wanted a way to represent that whole "rising to the challenge" thing, and I think it's appropriate here. Does it fill a necessary mechanical niche? No, not really. Mostly it's to give that extra bit of enthusiasm, that "okay guys this is the big one" feeling.
Also functions as a poor man's danger detector, I realize. I suggest not announcing the bonus until after initiative has been rolled or the true scope of the challenge has been revealed if you're worried about it.
Heroic Gifts:
Silver Wit (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Tongue
The Hero is a master of manipulation. He can use reverse psychology to end up in the briar patch, taunt a foe into an unwise action, or simply make an argument so convincing that there is no choice but to comply. As a standard action he may make a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, which the target may oppose with the better of a Sense Motive check or Will save. If the Hero wins, they may convince their foe to take a course of action that is not obviously self-harmful. Treat this like a non-magical suggestion spell. This will not function on hostile targets, and the target will remain fooled or persuaded for a maximum of one round per class level assuming nothing else breaks the charade earlier. A target gains a cumulative +2 bonus to his save or check for every time he has been fooled by the Hero in the past.
Strength of Heroes (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Strength
The Hero is mighty enough to tear up trees, crush rocks, and wrestle dragons. He may grapple creatures of any size category, no matter how unwise it would be to do so, and treats himself as one size category larger whenever beneficial (this stacks with other abilities that increase effective size for any purposes, including Gifted Strength). He can make a single attack at his full bonus as a standard action that deals double normal damage on a hit, and deals damage equal to his strength modifier to all adjacent foes regardless of if it hits or misses from the shockwave, follow-up, or glancing bruises too shallow to be called solid hits.
Tenacity of Heroes (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Fortitude
The Hero's stamina is legendary, shrugging off slings and arrows and trekking fearlessly through even the most brutal of conditions. As a swift action, he may gain non-stacking temporary hit points equal to half of his class level that last until depleted. If the Hero is afflicted by any spells, abilities, or magical effects, he may choose to ignore a single one of them at any one time, switching which one he is ignoring as a free action up to once per turn. For example, a Hero is standing in an Acid Fog while afflicted with a Bestow Curse spell. He may choose to ignore the acid fog, enabling himself to see and move through it unhindered and without damage. Next round he might decide to close into melee with an opponent and then switch to ignoring the Bestow Curse spell, causing him to suffer the effects of the Acid Fog again as normal.
Called Shot
Prerequisite: Gifted Shot
The Hero's arrows are no mere nuisance, but a deadly threat to even the sturdiest enemies. One attack per round that the Hero makes with a projectile weapon can gain one of the abilities from the below list. For the most part, the specific anatomy of the creature in question is irrelevant; even against a target without legs (or with more than two) the archer can usually find a roughly equivalent spot to apply the same penalties as a normal leg shot. Creatures with no anatomy, however, like oozes and certain elementals, are immune.
Leg shot: A target struck must make a fortitude save (DC 10 + half hero's class level + the best of hero's dex, int, or wis modifier) or fall prone. Regardless of success or failure, his move speed is reduced by half until the end of his next turn.
Arm shot: A target struck must make a fortitude save (DC 10 + half hero's class level + the best of hero's dex, int, or wis modifier) or drop whatever he is holding in the targeted arm. Regardless of success or failure, he takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls made with any weapon held in whole or in part by that arm until the end of his next turn.
Head shot: The hero takes a -5 penalty on his attack roll, but automatically threatens and confirms a critical hit if successful. This technique may only be applied once per encounter.
Destined Companion
Prerequisite: Fated Companion
The Hero's companion improves through his constant dedication, gaining the following bonuses in addition to any benefits it already has through the Fated Companion ability.
First, it gains a permanent +4 bonus to intelligence, raising it to the lower end of the humanoid spectrum. This special bonus retroactively grants it skill points equal to twice its hit dice plus six. It also gains two hit dice and a bonus feat as an immediate, one-time bonus. Additionally, the Hero may grant it up to two abilities from the following list.
Improved Movement: The companion gains a fly, swim, climb, or burrow speed equal to its base land speed. A fly speed gained this way has (good) maneuverability. Alternately, its base land speed may be increased by 30 feet. This ability may be chosen multiple times, choosing a different option each time.
Increased Size: The animal compainion's size increases by one category. This does not grant the normal attribute modifiers for increased size as listed in the monster manual, but the creature does gain +2 strength and +2 con.
Loyal Steed: Any companion creature at least one size category larger than its master may be trained to serve as an ideal war mount. The hero never needs to make ride checks to control his mount as a free action or to remain saddled, and he can make a full attack in any round that his mount moves no more than its speed, taking the entire full attack at once at any point during the movement or spacing out the attacks so that the mount moves at least 5 feet between each one. A companion mount may carry two riders, without hindering their or its own ability to fight, if both are at least two size categories smaller than it.
Hound of War: If the companion has less than three natural attacks, it gains the ability to make iterative attacks with its primary natural weapon as a normal character. If it has three or more, it instead gains the ability to full attack as part of a charge or without charging as a standard action.
Invincible Guardian: The companion gains a +4 bonus to constitution, and a further +3 bonus to all saving throws. Once per encounter, it may automatically intercept an attack against its master if within 5 feet, redirecting the attack to target the companion itself instead.
I've always been a fan of broad and modular classes over narrow ones -- even WotC experimented with this in their alternate class features/rogue special abilities/the fighter, it seems -- so this sounded like an interesting idea. Ideally, you could have a party with three or four Heroes and have them all be at least somewhat unique in their abilities and niche. (Actually, a game where everyone gestalts a class with Hero might be amusing, if you were feeling ambitious.)
Additionally, one thing that always disappoints me is classes that have plenty of diverse and interesting combat options, but very few options outside of combat. Skills and creativity are often touted as the mundane character's discount competitor to utility spells, and I certainly provided support for them, but a little bit of extra help never hurts, right?
Ideally, Bold gifts should be feats that are, while maybe not realistic, at least something that you can imagine being within the realm of possibility for greatly skilled and lucky individuals (and bear in in that this is a world in which crossbow bolts are barely a scuff and four-ton creatures can fly on membranous wings as a matter of course). Heroic gifts are more fantastic, but still essentially enhancements to mundane skills, like skin that heals as quickly as you cut it or a presence so commanding that people simply can't help but obey. Legendary gifts are truly inhuman, what you imagine as the higher end of heroes in fantasy and myth, like suplexing a train killing a man with your war cry or stealing the moon from the sky; the sort of thing that your uneducated layman might mistake for sorcery or divine heritage (or actually be symptomatic of divine heritage, if you prefer).
No magical hocus-pocus or "oh you need a magic item to do that, it's not something a nonmagical character should be able to do," no ironclad class roles to fill, no tongue-in-cheek anime shenanigans (unless you choose to play it that way, which is fine. The biggest difference between classical heroes and anime heroes is often the hair). Hopefully someone will go "hey this looks cool," but if not, at least I had fun with it.
It's very much a work in progress, still. I have a good spread of Bold gifts, I think, and a few static class features since it's rather impractical to make everything modular. Heroic and Legendary gifts are still being brainstormed, and I'm sure I'll end up adding, altering, or cleaning up some of the Bold gifts if there's feedback. I'm always glad to hear suggestions for possible abilities or gifts if you feel inspired, or simply pointing out my mistakes.
The Hero
Hit Die: See text.
The Hero's class skills are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any two, chosen at first level), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill points per level: See text.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+0|Fighting Style, Path of Heroism
2nd|
+2|
+0|
+0|
+0|Gift (Bold)
3rd|
+3|
+1|
+1|
+1|Courage
4th|
+4|
+1|
+1|
+1|Gift
5th|
+5|
+1|
+1|
+1|Ongoing Story
6th|
+6|
+2|
+2|
+2|Gift
7th|
+7|
+2|
+2|
+2|Against the Odds
8th|
+8|
+2|
+2|
+2|Gift (Heroic)
9th|
+9|
+3|
+3|
+3|Class Ability
10th|
+10|
+3|
+3|
+3|Gift
11th|
+11|
+3|
+3|
+3|Class Ability
12th|
+12|
+4|
+4|
+4|Gift
13th|
+13|
+4|
+4|
+4|Class Ability
14th|
+14|
+4|
+4|
+4|Gift (Legendary)
15th|
+15|
+5|
+5|
+5|Class Ability
16th|
+16|
+5|
+5|
+5|Gift
17th|
+17|
+5|
+5|
+5|Class Ability
18th|
+18|
+6|
+6|
+6|Gift
19th|
+19|
+6|
+6|
+6|Class Ability
20th|
+20|
+6|
+6|
+6|Class Ability[/table]
Path of Heroism (Ex): All Heroes are extraordinary in some way, but beyond that may have little in common. One might be famed for his subtlety and deception, another for his inhuman strength and fortitude, and many have elements of both. At first level, a Hero may spend three points as follows on certain elements of his chassis. Once made, this choice is permanent and affects all future levels of Hero that he takes. The baseline that all Heroes start with is a d8 hit die and 4 + Int skill points per class level.
1 point: Increase hit die by one size (max of d12).
1 point: Increase one saving throw to use a "good" progression (1/2 the character's class level, rounded down, plus two). All Heroes have at least one good save, so up to two points may be spent this way to grant all three good saves.
1 point: Increase skill points per level by two.
Additionally, the details of a Hero's background allow him to select two skills of his choice to permanently become class skills.
Fighting Style (Ex): A Hero's fighting style is often rooted in their culture or the life they led before their destiny called to them, and so it is also unique. A Hero selects one armor ability and one weapon ability he wishes to gain, and gets proficiencies related to this choice.
Armor Proficiencies:
Heavy: The Hero is proficient with all armor and shields, including tower shields. He relies on armor and strength to protect him, often storming fearlessly into combat. He may add his strength modifier to his armor class while using a shield, and applies half of his armor bonus to his touch AC.
Will this make shields viable? Maybe not, the best defense is usually killing things before they kill you, but it at least penalizes you less for daring to use one. Half armor bonus to touch AC also makes you less of a sitting duck to the many, many touch attacks out there that are just waiting to ruin your day. Presumably you're the meatshield, after all; getting picked off by some punk with a ray spell is a little unseemly.
Medium: The Hero is proficient with medium armor and all shields, except tower shields. He compromises, protecting himself as much as possible without sacrificing his mobility. While wearing medium armor he suffers no penalty to move speed, reduces his armor check penalty by -2, and increases his maximum dexterity bonus by +2.
Not much to say here. Wear medium armor without slowing down as much. Of note is that the existence of mithril means that you can basically wear any armor you want, which is why the heavy armor proficiency gets those perks.
Light: The Hero is proficient with light armor, but not shields, relying on his speed and wits to protect him and outmaneuvering his foes. He gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat and may apply it to one-handed weapons as well as light weapons, and may tumble at his full speed instead of half without penalty.
I hate weapon finesse. Not because I have anything against dexterity, I just hate that it's not already an option for light weapons. So here it is. It's probably a little odd that this is an armor proficiency ability rather than a light, but it seemed like it was mobility-focused enough to fit.
Weapon Proficiencies:
Unarmed: The Hero is proficient with simple weapons, and gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. His unarmed strike's base damage is at least 1d4 regardless of size, and he gains a +2 bonus on grapple, trip, and disarm checks.
For those heroes who want to be monks. 1d4 because 1d3 and 1d2 are kind of irritating to roll, and a bonus on combat maneuvers because you're going to want to spice up your "punch things to death" routine now and then.
Archer: The Hero is proficient only with simple weapons and with short and longbows (regular or composite), possibly due to a background in hunting. He gains Point-Blank Shot as a bonus feat, and does not provoke an attack of opportunity for firing a ranged weapon while in melee.
The feat tax on archers is just ridiculous. If you want a character to be an archer, the least I can do is lessen that a little. The AoO thing is usually pointless anyway because of 5-foot steps, but for the rare occasion that it comes up, now you don't have to be useless.
Martial: The Hero is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and gains Weapon Focus with a single weapon. If he exclusively uses one type of weapon for at least 24 hours, he may change this Weapon Focus feat (as well as all feats with it as a prerequisite that specify a single weapon) to affect this new weapon instead.
Not much to say here. Martial weapons are the old standby, and a character with this ability gains the functional but boring Weapon Focus as a perk.
Exotic: The Hero is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and gains Exotic Weapon Proficiency with a single weapon. He reduces the penalty for using a weapon that he is not proficient with by 2, even an improvised weapon.
So, most exotic weapons suck. I realize this, and unfortunately fixing that problem is beyond the scope of this project. However, should you actually want one, you can at least beat people to death with furniture in your spare time. After all those years spent figuring out how the hell a spiked chain works, killing a man with a chair should be child's play, right?
Gift: The defining feature of the Hero is his ability to excel, whatever path he may follow. And 2nd level and every two levels after that, he gains a Gift from the following list (up to nine Gifts at level 18). Initially he may only select Bold Gifts, but at level 8 he gains access to Heroic Gifts and at level 14 to Legendary Gifts. Unless otherwise noted, all gifts are Extraordinary abilities.
Bold Gifts:
Gifted Defense: Select either Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. You add the selected stat's modifier to AC. When wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a shield, reduce this bonus by half.
OOC:
Okay, I hear the cries now: "a two level dip to add your choice of almost any stat modifier to AC?" If a character has nothing better to do with two levels than pick up an AC bonus, I imagine they probably need the help. Armor class isn't exactly the best defense anyway. However, a character who wants to be able to defend himself better without resorting to heavier armor or maxing dexterity -- whether it's the loincloth-wearing berserker who relies on sheer grit to protect him or the cunning holy man whose faith and wits keep him safe -- should have the option available.
Gifted Strength: You may treat your size as one category larger for the purposes of your carrying capacity. Additionally, as a move action you may bring to bear your full might, gaining a bonus to the first strength check or melee damage roll you make before the end of your next turn. This bonus is equal to 5 + your class level.
OOC:
So yeah, pretty straightforward. The damage bonus is only likely to see any use before level six, but it's not half bad at those levels. The ability to shatter chains (or, at higher levels, walls) is one of those things that seems useless until you try it out and realize just how many lovely things there are to break. When all you have is a hammer...
Gifted Shot: Your aim is incredible, allowing seemingly impossible trick shots and ricochets. You can substitute a perform (weapon drill) check for an attack roll outside of combat, taking 10 on this roll if circumstances allow, and you add your dexterity bonus to all ranged damage rolls. You may voluntarily take a penalty on a ranged attack roll to add a bonus to damage rolls that round equal to 1.5 times the penalty.
Finally, you can make a ranged feint check as a swift action, using the higher of your attack bonus or your bluff check; success makes the target flat-footed to the first ranged attack you make against them this round. In the same way, a spot check as a swift action against the target's armor class makes your first attack against them a touch attack.
OOC:
The archery gift. Allows nifty but relatively useless feats of sharpshooting outside of combat, and gives the oh-my-god-why-don't-they-already-have-this ability of dexterity to damage and ranged power attack so that they can do something besides plink for 1d6 damage a round. Finally, the ability to hit a heavily armored or highly nimble target much easier is sure to be appreciated, especially with the power attack ability.
Gifted Tongue: You can distract a target with a riddle, question, argument, or simply an insult. Make your choice of a bluff or diplomacy check as a standard action against a single target. They must make the better of either a Will save or a Sense Motive check. If you win, the target is dazed and flat-footed for one round. A target that falls for this trick once cannot be fooled in this way again for the encounter's duration. If the target is not currently engaged in combat, you can instead use this distraction for yourself and your allies to engage them, forcing your target to automatically act last in initiative.
Alternately, you can use your silver tongue to frantically stall with a tall tale or impress a hostile crowd into grudgingly allowing you to finish speaking before killing you; if you spend a round to take no action but speaking, you may make a bluff or diplomacy check and make one will save using the best bonus for the targeted group. If you win, the crowd will, for whatever reason, suspend hostilities for a few moments while you talk, effectively fascinated by you. You have to make a new diplomacy check each round, with the targets gaining a cumulative +1 bonus to their save each round as their patience wears out. If you, your allies, or anyoe else nearby takes hostile action, or action that could imply imminent hostility (casting buffs or healing spells, drawing weapons, fleeing...) the effect ends. Targets who have been personally injured by you or your allies in this encounter so far are immune; you can affect a target who has hit you, but not if you've hit him back.
OOC:
This probably seems like an odd one, but it's a staple of many canny heroes. Whether with guile or simple force of personality, the ability to make a target hesitate with speech alone is a potentially useful one. The first effect can distract a target while your party lays the smack down, while the second can potentially delay you from getting smacked down yourselves. The specifically very broad explanation of what exactly breaks the fascinate effect should keep you from simply opening every encounter with a full suite of buffs and a crew of summoned monsters, but creative players can surely find ways to use the opening. Also note that you can potentially fascinate a target long enough to manage a one-minute diplomacy check or a hurried explanation of why this is all just a hilarious misunderstanding, since you're already talking.
Fated Companion: You gain the service of an exceptionally intelligent, loyal, and hardy animal chosen from the following list: dire rat, riding dog, eagle, horse (light or heavy), medium viper, or wolf. If you choose, you may promote an appropriate animal that you already own to this status, or gain a new one. See the spoiler for details.
The companion is typical for its species except as mentioned here. As the Hero advances in power, so too does his companion as shown on the table below. If the companion perishes and the hero is unable or unwilling to revive it, he must find a new appropriate animal and spend at least 24 hours with it before it gains the benefits of being a Fated Companion.
{table=head]Class Level|Bonus HD|Natural Armor Adj.|Str/Dex Adj.|Bonus Tricks|Special
2nd-3rd|+1|+1|+0|2|Fortune's Favor, Link
4th-6th|+3|+2|+0|4|Evasion
7th-9th|+4|+3|+2|6|Intelligence
10th-12th|+6|+4|+2|6|
13th-15th|+7|+5|+4|6|
16th-18th|+9|+6|+4|6|
19th-20th|+10|+7|+6|6|[/table]
Bonuses are listed as totals, not cumulative (a 4th level Hero's companion has 3 bonus HD, not 4)
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Remember that extra Hit Dice improve the fated companion's base attack and base save bonuses. A fated companion's base attack bonus is increased to be equal to its HD. A fated companion has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). A fated companion gains additional skill points and feats (chosen by you) for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number noted here is an improvement to the fated companion's existing natural armor bonus.
Str/Dex Adj.: Add this value to the fated companion's Strength and Dexterity scores.
Bonus Tricks: The value given in this column is the total number of "bonus" tricks that the companion knows in addition to any that the hero might choose to teach it (see the Handle Animal skill). These bonus tricks don't require any training time or Handle Animal checks, and they don’t count against the normal limit of tricks known by the animal. The hero selects these bonus tricks, and once selected, they can’t be changed.
Fortune's Favor (Ex): While a companion often finds itself in dangerous situations, it is less "expendable" than many other companion animals. As a result, Fate provides the animal some small measure of protection; it automatically succeeds on stabilization rolls, and once per day can survive any attack or effect that would kill it, instead dropping to -9 HP and stabilizing.
Link (Ex): A hero can handle his companion as a free action, or push it as a move action, even if he doesn’t have any ranks in the Handle Animal skill. The hero gains a +4 circumstance bonus on all Handle Animal checks made regarding a fated companion.
Evasion (Ex): Functions as the rogue ability of the same name.
Intelligence (Ex): A powerful fated companion is more clever than other animals, often almost human in intelligence. If its Int is 1 or 2 it increases to 3, and although it still cannot speak any other languages it gains a limited ability to understand them, especially when spoken by its owner, and its owner gains a limited ability to understand it in turn.
Effectively, it can perform simple tasks if verbally directed without knowing it as a trick, even if those tasks would normally be too complex or unintuitive; a wolf could search its owner's bag for a potion and uncork or break it, an eagle could attempt to untie a simple knot, a rat could scout ahead and communicate how many enemies are present. Its owner gains an intuitive understanding of his companion's physical and mental condition, although the animal still cannot express complex concepts.
OOC:
An animal companion? Yep. At first blush this might seem to be too much, for a single gift; a scaling cohort is supposed to be a big deal, right? Well, not really. At least, not without the ability to share ludicrously potent buff spells. The combat potential drops off sharply after early levels, leaving the beast mostly used for utility and setting up flanking/trip attempts or whatnot. Heroic and Legendary gifts will be available later to help it keep up; if a Hero is investing a third of his gifts into the thing, it had darn well better contribute.
Heroic Weapon (Ex): Many heroes have weapons as legendary as they are, from the sword Excalibur to the the Gae Bolg. A hero with this gift may designate a weapon that he owns as his heroic weapon; it might be one that he has carried since the start of his journeys that is precious to him by virtue of its origin, or a simple tool that is elevated by his use of it rather than the other way around. Either way, it becomes a part of his myth. See the spoiler below for details.
{table=head]Level|Enhancement bonus|Special
1st-4th|Masterwork|Enduring Legend
5th-8th|+1|Tool of Fate
9th-12th|+2|Slayer's Legend
13th-16th|+3|
17th-20th|+4|[/table]
Enhancement bonus (Ex): A hero's favored weapon is always of exceptional quality, treated as masterwork even if it is nothing more than a simple wooden staff. This allows it to be enchanted as magical. At higher levels, the hero gains the listed enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls with his weapon if this is higher than its actual enchantment, but this does not raise the price of upgrading it normally. This bonus is extraordinary rather than supernatural, so that a 12th level hero with a +3 flaming sword would find that it remains a +2 weapon even in an antimagic field.
Enduring Legend (Ex): A hero's sword can be stolen or broken, but fate grants it a measure of protection from misfortune. No legendary sword would suffer so ignoble a fate as being misplaced or devoured by a rust monster unless destiny wills it to be so. The hero may reroll one save that his weapon makes per day after learning the result, and he finds that it is often difficult to lose outright; should it be knocked from his hand into the mire of a swamp he will find his gaze subtly attracted to it, should it be stolen by brigands he will often discover it for sale in the next town he visits.
Tool of Fate (Ex): A hero may find other weapons over the course of his travels, but his chosen tool will always have a special role. With an hour of meditation, training, or feasting, he may sacrifice any number of other magical weapons to upgrade his chosen weapon's enchantment by a gold piece value equal to that of the sacrificed items. If he sunders a magical weapon in battle, he may choose to treat it as having been sacrificed in this way, adding its value to his own weapon's the next time he undergoes the ritual.
Slayer's Legend (Ex): A hero often develops a reputation of infamy among a particular group or species, and this extends to his chosen tool of war as well. Such a hero's weapon gains the bane quality when he wields it, against a type chosen by him when this ability is gained. If there is no monster type that he feels would be appropriate, he may instead opt to trade this enchantment for a flat +2 to all damage rolls with the weapon. This quality may be changed to target another creature type with 12 straight hours of meditating, training, or feasting.
OOC:
The old much-maligned "you have a weapon" class feature. But this time, it's more of an optional perk than the entire purpose of a class. The ability to burn useless magical weapons to add their full market value to your weapon rather than selling them for 50% and buying upgrades the old-fashioned way is the main draw here; the minimum enhancement bonus usually isn't going to be more significant than freeing up one of the party mage's spell slots that he doesn't have to burn on greater magic weapon, and the free Bane ability will likely vary in use depending on the campaign. There will be a Heroic and a Legendary tier gift that improve on this one, allowing a dedicated hero to create a weapon truly worthy of his power.
Gifted Performer (Ex): Your ability to speak, sing, play, or improvise haiku is on par with any master. You may substitute a perform check for a diplomacy check to improve attitude, if someone watches or hears you perform. If you perform as a full-round action, you can give yourself anyone who can hear you a +4 morale bonus on saves against fear and a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls for one hour.
OOC:
So, it's a little tough for me to figure out how to separate gifted performing from gifted speaking. The two are at least thematically quite different, but expressing it mechanically is a little trickier. It was tempting to just roll them together and call it a day, but I think this is a decent alternative. I presume that you'll generally have the aura on your allies at all times without having to waste actions on it in combat, which is why it's relatively minor. Feel free to take Gifted Speech and fluff it for oratory performances if you like, though.
Gifted Brawler (Ex): Whether through intense training and discipline or simple strength of arm, you are more deadly with bare hand than most could hope to be with a weapon. You gain the unarmed strike damage of a monk of your class level, which is treated as medium size at minimum if you are smaller. Additionally, you may permanently enhance your unarmed strike with one hour of meditation, training, or carousing by sacrificing equal gold or magic items. Weapons sacrificed in this way add their full gold piece value, while other items add only half, but you may use this value to enchant or upgrade your unarmed strike with any enhancement bonus and weapon abilities adding up to its price without spending experience. Your unarmed strike is considered extraordinary rather than supernatural, retaining these abilities even in an antimagic field.
OOC:
It is an utter mystery to me why finding a way to enchant your unarmed strikes is such a convoluted process. A character who wants to fight bare-handed for whatever reason should be able to do so roughly on par with a character who does not, without having to spend twice as much gold to keep up. Also, the mental image of blowing 200,000 gold pieces on an epic partying binge so that you can punch people better is awesome.
Faithful Warrior (Ex): Your devotion to a higher power, be it a god or a mortal lord, empowers you. As long as you loyally serve your chosen cause, you gain a +4 bonus on saves against mind-affecting spells and abilities. Additionally, you may perform a smite attack against any creature while directly serving your cause, adding your choice of your Int, Wis, or Cha modifier to your attack roll and your class level to damage as a free action. This may be used once per encounter per four class levels (minimum 1). Finally, you gain a bonus on diplomacy checks with other allies and servants of your lord and on intimidate checks with its enemies equal to your class level.
Betrayal or failure of your chosen cause may remove these abilities, usually for 24 hours except in the most serious of cases. You may change what power you serve at any time, as long as the force in question or a representative of it is willing to accept your service (which might be difficult if you have a reputation for disloyalty).
OOC:
Codes of conduct: not just for Paladins anymore. Okay really though, I know that codes of conduct are obnoxious and personally feel that "falling" is the worst mechanic ever. That's why it's a simple matter to dedicate yourself to something different if your previous lord is getting too crazy. Smiting is fun, though.
Gifted Stealth (Ex): You have a knack for getting into places you shouldn't, and for slipping back out again. You can feint against any and all targets within 30 feet as a swift action for the express purpose of making a hide check; targets affected are not flat-footed, but are distracted long enough for you to attempt to move and hide this round. You may make a sleight of hand check against a flat-footed target as a standard action opposed by the better of their spot check or attack roll in order to disarm them of a handheld item. Finally, you may attempt to evade unusual methods of detection like tremorsense or touchsight with a hide check, although the target uses the better of their spot ranks, listen ranks, or hit dice and gains a +10 bonus to the check to notice you.
OOC:
The Darkstalker feat was a valiant effort to throw sneaky types a life vest, but sadly not quite enough. The specific list of what it helped you evade meant that it was still roundly defeated by countless detection methods from various splatbooks, leaving stealth as an exercise in futility again. So, this gives you that plus a poor man's hide-in-plain-sight, and the ability to disarm targets with a sleight of hand check.
Nimble Warrior (Ex): Your skill and agility with innocuous weapons has proved an unpleasant surprise to many. You my draw any light or one-handed weapon as a free action, and apply your dexterity bonus to damage rolls with such weapons. If you fight with two or more weapons at once, you reduce your penalties for two-weapon fighting by 2. If you fight with a single weapon in one hand, you may add your class level to damage against any flat-footed foe instead.
OOC:
I dislike the fact that Shadow Blade is one of the only convenient options for dex-to-damage, since not every character is going to want to mess with Tome of Battle. It also reduces the TWF penalties, which is certainly nice but not nearly as stunning as the rarity of such abilities would suggest. Finally, einhander-type characters get thrown a bone, even though it's not that much. Still, it's something.
Battle Frenzy (Ex): Whether through inner tranquility or berserk rage, you are capable of entering a state of heightened awareness and speed in battle as a swift action once per encounter. In this state, you gain a +2 bonus to your choice of attack and damage rolls or to armor class and saving throws for a number of rounds equal to your choice of your Con, Int, Wis, or Cha modifier. When this state ends, you take a -2 penalty to attack rolls and armor class from fatigue for the same amount of time you maintained it.
OOC:
Generic rage substitute, kinda. At this point, you may have a sneaking suspicion that I am trying to replace every other martial class at once here. Well, kinda but not really. If all you want to do is rage and hit things, a barbarian/frenzied berserker or whatnot is going to do it better. But if you want to be able to enter a rage, or a battle trance, or a surge of energy or whatever without it being the one thing by which your character is entirely defined, I think that you should be able to do so. And all things considered, this is not that potent of an ability, but it'll serve as a prerequisite for other gifts later on.
Gifted Fortune (Ex): The stars smile on you, and your sheer luck can often be counted on to get you out of trouble. A number of times per encounter equal to 1/4 class level (rounded up), you may reroll any attack roll that you make, attack roll made against you, damage roll, or saving throw.
OOC:
A little boring, but universal rerolls are pretty valuable.
Unusual Style (Ex): Rather than fighting with simple strength and agility, you rely on intuition, technical skill, or even sheer confidence and fighting spirit to carry you through. You may use your choice of Int, Wis, or Cha modifier in place of strength and dexterity for attack and damage rolls with melee and ranged weapons wherever they would be applicable. This choice is made on taking this gift and cannot be changed.
OOC:
A character only ever gets three bold gifts (and six higher gifts), so I don't consider allowing him to spend one of them to reduce his multi-ability dependency to be unbalanced.
Gifted Warrior (Ex): You are intensely brutal, naturally gifted, or highly trained in combat, gaining a limited ability to initiate martial maneuvers. You add 3/4 of your class level to your initiator level instead of half, and learn one martial maneuver at every third level (retroactively). This maneuver may be from any discipline, but you may only ready half as many maneuvers as you have learned from your levels in this class (rounded up) and only one may be from the highest level that you have access to. You learn one stance that you qualify for at 6th, 12th, and 18th level. As a move action, you may refresh a single maneuver that you have expended. The save DCs for your maneuvers equals 10 + the maneuver's level + the higher of your Str, Int, Wis, or Cha modifier.
OOC:
So this one concerned me a little, but I decided to risk it. It basically gives you a limited ability to use maneuvers, kind of like the ToB version of ranger or paladin spellcasting. The limited number of maneuvers known and readied and the poor recovery mechanic unless you spring for Adaptive Style (which is likely, but a full-round action is still a big investment) seem to help keep it toned down somewhat. Input appreciated, if you think I need to reduce the number of maneuvers/stances learned or such.
Gifted Fortitude (Ex): Your resilience is incredible, allowing you to survive punishment that would destroy a weaker man. You gain Endurance as a bonus feat, and DR 5/-- against nonlethal damage. You heal your class level in hit points every hour instead of every day, and fully restore your hit points with a night's rest. If a single attack or effect would damage you for more HP than twice your class level, you may choose to delay all damage in excess of this threshold for a number of rounds equal to your constitution modifier, at which point you suffer the deferred damage automatically despite any damage reduction or regeneration you may possess. You may choose to take this damage early as a free action even outside your turn, which may be necessary since you cannot delay a new attack if you already have damage waiting. If you are healed by any source, you may either add the healing to your HP as usual or instead subtract it from the damage you currently have suspended.
OOC:
An ability to make you a little more resistant to burst damage, possibly giving the party a chance to heal you before you bleed to death from a ruptured everything. Nothing too spectacular here, I'll admit.
Courage (Ex): A Hero may be frightened or even terrified, but he always keeps his wits or pushes through the fear. Effectively, they are immune to the negative effects of being shaken, frightened, or panicked.
Really, how many heroes can you see cowering in terror because their opponent is particularly scary? Heroes are the ones who are supposed to persevere when everyone else is fleeing. And fear is one of the easier immunities to get, so it's unlikely to be unbalancing.
Ongoing Story (Ex): Your vital spark burns brightly, resisting attempts to quash it. You automatically stabilize if below zero hit points, and the maximum negative hit points that you can reach before dying is increased by your class level plus five. Any death effect or ability that would simply kill you outright regardless of your current condition instead reduces you to -10 HP but stable.
OOC:
You know what's often not fun? Dying. But you know what's really not fun? Dying cheaply, to a lucky crit or unlucky save against the latest save-or-die effect. This ability gives a little leeway, giving you a slightly better chance of surviving as long as it's not a total TPK. It won't save you from outright stupidity, at least not for long, but it's definitely a nice perk. It also relieves a bit of pressure from the DM, since unintentionally killing off a player tends to be a bit stressful on both ends.
Against the Odds (Ex): All Heroes are at their best when facing seemingly impossible challenges or larger-than-life foes. When dealing with an encounter with a CR 4 or more higher than the average level of his party (or, if alone, when faced with an encounter with a CR higher than his class level), a Hero gains a +2 luck bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and armor class.
OOC:
I wanted a way to represent that whole "rising to the challenge" thing, and I think it's appropriate here. Does it fill a necessary mechanical niche? No, not really. Mostly it's to give that extra bit of enthusiasm, that "okay guys this is the big one" feeling.
Also functions as a poor man's danger detector, I realize. I suggest not announcing the bonus until after initiative has been rolled or the true scope of the challenge has been revealed if you're worried about it.
Heroic Gifts:
Silver Wit (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Tongue
The Hero is a master of manipulation. He can use reverse psychology to end up in the briar patch, taunt a foe into an unwise action, or simply make an argument so convincing that there is no choice but to comply. As a standard action he may make a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, which the target may oppose with the better of a Sense Motive check or Will save. If the Hero wins, they may convince their foe to take a course of action that is not obviously self-harmful. Treat this like a non-magical suggestion spell. This will not function on hostile targets, and the target will remain fooled or persuaded for a maximum of one round per class level assuming nothing else breaks the charade earlier. A target gains a cumulative +2 bonus to his save or check for every time he has been fooled by the Hero in the past.
Strength of Heroes (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Strength
The Hero is mighty enough to tear up trees, crush rocks, and wrestle dragons. He may grapple creatures of any size category, no matter how unwise it would be to do so, and treats himself as one size category larger whenever beneficial (this stacks with other abilities that increase effective size for any purposes, including Gifted Strength). He can make a single attack at his full bonus as a standard action that deals double normal damage on a hit, and deals damage equal to his strength modifier to all adjacent foes regardless of if it hits or misses from the shockwave, follow-up, or glancing bruises too shallow to be called solid hits.
Tenacity of Heroes (Ex)
Prerequisite: Gifted Fortitude
The Hero's stamina is legendary, shrugging off slings and arrows and trekking fearlessly through even the most brutal of conditions. As a swift action, he may gain non-stacking temporary hit points equal to half of his class level that last until depleted. If the Hero is afflicted by any spells, abilities, or magical effects, he may choose to ignore a single one of them at any one time, switching which one he is ignoring as a free action up to once per turn. For example, a Hero is standing in an Acid Fog while afflicted with a Bestow Curse spell. He may choose to ignore the acid fog, enabling himself to see and move through it unhindered and without damage. Next round he might decide to close into melee with an opponent and then switch to ignoring the Bestow Curse spell, causing him to suffer the effects of the Acid Fog again as normal.
Called Shot
Prerequisite: Gifted Shot
The Hero's arrows are no mere nuisance, but a deadly threat to even the sturdiest enemies. One attack per round that the Hero makes with a projectile weapon can gain one of the abilities from the below list. For the most part, the specific anatomy of the creature in question is irrelevant; even against a target without legs (or with more than two) the archer can usually find a roughly equivalent spot to apply the same penalties as a normal leg shot. Creatures with no anatomy, however, like oozes and certain elementals, are immune.
Leg shot: A target struck must make a fortitude save (DC 10 + half hero's class level + the best of hero's dex, int, or wis modifier) or fall prone. Regardless of success or failure, his move speed is reduced by half until the end of his next turn.
Arm shot: A target struck must make a fortitude save (DC 10 + half hero's class level + the best of hero's dex, int, or wis modifier) or drop whatever he is holding in the targeted arm. Regardless of success or failure, he takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls made with any weapon held in whole or in part by that arm until the end of his next turn.
Head shot: The hero takes a -5 penalty on his attack roll, but automatically threatens and confirms a critical hit if successful. This technique may only be applied once per encounter.
Destined Companion
Prerequisite: Fated Companion
The Hero's companion improves through his constant dedication, gaining the following bonuses in addition to any benefits it already has through the Fated Companion ability.
First, it gains a permanent +4 bonus to intelligence, raising it to the lower end of the humanoid spectrum. This special bonus retroactively grants it skill points equal to twice its hit dice plus six. It also gains two hit dice and a bonus feat as an immediate, one-time bonus. Additionally, the Hero may grant it up to two abilities from the following list.
Improved Movement: The companion gains a fly, swim, climb, or burrow speed equal to its base land speed. A fly speed gained this way has (good) maneuverability. Alternately, its base land speed may be increased by 30 feet. This ability may be chosen multiple times, choosing a different option each time.
Increased Size: The animal compainion's size increases by one category. This does not grant the normal attribute modifiers for increased size as listed in the monster manual, but the creature does gain +2 strength and +2 con.
Loyal Steed: Any companion creature at least one size category larger than its master may be trained to serve as an ideal war mount. The hero never needs to make ride checks to control his mount as a free action or to remain saddled, and he can make a full attack in any round that his mount moves no more than its speed, taking the entire full attack at once at any point during the movement or spacing out the attacks so that the mount moves at least 5 feet between each one. A companion mount may carry two riders, without hindering their or its own ability to fight, if both are at least two size categories smaller than it.
Hound of War: If the companion has less than three natural attacks, it gains the ability to make iterative attacks with its primary natural weapon as a normal character. If it has three or more, it instead gains the ability to full attack as part of a charge or without charging as a standard action.
Invincible Guardian: The companion gains a +4 bonus to constitution, and a further +3 bonus to all saving throws. Once per encounter, it may automatically intercept an attack against its master if within 5 feet, redirecting the attack to target the companion itself instead.