PDA

View Full Version : Feathermarked Courier [3.5 PrC, Eberron, PEACH]



Mr.Bookworm
2011-09-22, 01:03 AM
Feathermarked Courier

http://safebooru.org//images/246/b0833d3dd6e32757cb2ce29ea3b43c894ac4a91a.jpg?24542 2

A pair of Couriers on a routine assignment over Q'barra.

Feathermarked Couriers are the elite of the Courier's Guild of House Orien, delivering the valuable and dangerous all over Khorvaire. The Feathermarked originated in Sharn and possess great skill at using feather fall magic, often dropping into their destination from airships.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements
Skills: Two of Balance, Climb, Jump, or Tumble 6 ranks
Special: Must be a recognized member of the Feathermarked and a member of House Orien.

Class Skills
The Feathermarked Courier's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Speak Language, Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points per Level: 6 + Int modifier

Feathermarked Courier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+0|Feather fall, feathermark, ride the wind, speed bonus +10 ft.

2nd|
+1|
+3|
+3|
+0|Stone feather, immunity to wind, speed bonus +15 ft.

3rd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+1|Miss the ground, greater feather fall, speed bonus +20 ft.[/table]

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Couriers gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield.

Feather Fall (Su): The Courier may use the spell feather fall as an immediate action with a caster level equal to her character level, but may only target herself. She may use this ability once every five minutes, or at-will inside of a manifest zone linked to Syrania.

At 3rd level, the Courier may target others with feather fall and use this ability at-will anywhere.

Feathermark: This token marks the Courier as a member of the Feathermarked and a representative of House Orien. See description below.

If the Courier loses her Feathermark, she may requisition a new one at any House Orien facility across Khorvaire. Only the main office of the Feathermarked in Sharn is authorized to hand out Feathermarks, so it does take some time to reach the branch. More senior Couriers take priority over newer ones and transit time is greater the farther you get from Sharn. If the Feathermark is requisitioned at the office in Sharn itself, it only takes a day to get a new one. If the branch is in Breland or any adjoining countries, it takes (5 - class level) days to arrive. If farther away, the Feathermark takes (5 - class level) weeks to arrive. Requesting a new Feathermark carries no cost, but Couriers who make a frequent habit of losing it are not looked favorably upon among the management.

Speed Bonus (Ex): The Courier gains a untyped +10 ft. bonus to her speed. This bonus only applies while the Courier is wearing light or no armor.

At 2nd level, this bonus increases to +15. At 3rd level, this bonus increases to +20.

Ride the Wind (Ex): At 1st level, the character is no longer restricted to the whims of gravity while under a feather fall spell. By making intuitive tweaks to the spell and catching the currents of air around her, the Courier may almost fly.

For every 5 ft. the Courier falls while under the effects of a feather fall spell, she may move up to 10 ft. horizontally.

This ability is greatly magnified if the Courier can find a stronger gust of wind to ride on, although it restricts her movement to moving along with the wind. Consult the following table for the number of feet a Courier can move for every five foot drop in each wind category. Unless you have immunity to wind effects, you must follow the direction of the wind.

{table=head]Wind Category|Speed per 5 ft.

Light|10 ft.

Moderate|15 ft.

Strong|20 ft.

Severe|30 ft.

Windstorm|50 ft.

Hurricane|100 ft.

Tornado|200 ft.[/table]

A group comprising up to (3 x class level) Medium creatures, not including the Courier, who are all under the effects of feather fall may also take advantage of this class feature, gliding along with a Courier. Small creatures count as a half a creature for these purposes and Large creatures count as two people. They must all link hands and they may take no actions, only following the Courier's direction to maintain movement. If they do take an action, they immediately break off from the group and begin drifting downwards. The Courier's normal horizontal movement speed is halved while with a group.

Stone Feather (Ex): Sometimes, a Courier just really has to get from the air to the ground fast. Couriers employ a number of tricks to do so, but the primary one is a temporary inversion of a feather fall spell, allowing them to attain a higher velocity than otherwise possible. She may fall a number of feet per round up to (300 x class level) while under the effects of a feather fall spell, slowing down just enough before impact with the ground to prevent harm.

The Courier may also weaponize this ability, aiming for an enemy and dropping directly onto him from a height of at least 10 feet. She makes a melee touch attack as a standard action, and if she succeeds, she slams into him from above. This deals (2 x class level)d10 bludgeoning damage to the enemy, who must make a Fort save at DC 10+character level, or instantly become prone. The Courier is unharmed and may choose any adjacent square to the enemy to land in. If the Courier misses on the melee touch attack, she may land unharmed in a square adjacent to the enemy.

Alternatively, she may deal damage equal to the normal falling damage taken from the height she originally dropped from. The damage dice are increased from d6s to d10s. This resolves as above, except the Courier herself takes half he amount of damage the target takes, the save DC to avoid becoming prone is increased by twice the number of damage dice rolled, and the Courier automatically lands prone in the square she chooses. If she misses the touch attack, she takes no damage, but automatically lands prone in a square adjacent to the creature.

Immunity to Wind (Ex): The Courier gains immunity to strong winds. They are never checked, knocked down, or blown away by wind effects unless they choose to be.

Miss the Ground (Su): The Courier is no longer bound by the confines of gravity. She may literally fly, no matter how briefly. The Courier gains a fly speed with perfect maneuverability equal to her land speed. At the end of any round in which she flew, the Courier must be grounded, or she immediately begins falling.

The Courier may spend an action point to gain unrestricted flight. She no longer needs to be at rest on a surface at the end of the flight. This period of unrestricted flight lasts for five minutes.

---

Feathermark
This small tin token, about the size of a gold piece, has the crest of House Orien stamped onto one side and a stylized feather stamped onto the other. It grants those who have levels in the Feathermarked Courier class a competence bonus to Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks equal to their class level as long as it in their possession.

After they are created, the side of the token with the crest of House Orien on it has an arcane mark spell cast on it, identifying the Courier for whom it was made in a similar manner to an arcane signet ring. While it is not mandatory, many Couriers have a hole punched into the top of the token and wear it on a necklace of some sort.

Faint transmutation; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous Item, cat's grace, creator must be a Feathermarked Courier; Price -; Weight -.

---

History of the Feathermarked

The Feathermarked, an elite subfaction within the House of Orien, have a rather humble origin story. They have their roots in a man who decided to throw himself off a bridge.

Almost a century before the Last War, Amadan, a low-ranking human courier who worked in Sharn, was stuck on one of the many bridges due to heavy traffic. He was running late on the assignment he was working, and he still had to descend from the Upper City to the Middle City. So he idly peered over the bridge, and noticed that far below, he could almost see his destination. So without thinking about it overly much, he jumped off the bridge, aiming for the next one down. Four minutes, six bridges, one irate Watchman, a flock of very surprised birds, and at least two near-death experiences later, he arrived and made his deliveries on time.

Amadan, thrilled with how fast this allowed him to make deliveries, continued doing so until he one day easily jumped off a bridge one day and failed to notice the large signs warning that the bridge was under repair and was inoperable. By then, there was a nascent Feathermarked organization of sorts, a group of couriers who used the same techniques Amadan practiced.

By the time of the Last War, they had grown into the dominant force of the Courier's Guild inside of Sharn, and were well-recognized within House Orien at large. They gained most of their current fame, however, from their operations during the Last War.

Packages and messages still needed to be delivered, after all, even in the middle of a warzone, and there was never enough magic to go around. House Orien began tapping into the Feathermarked as some of their most skilled couriers to deliver particularly sensitive information or valuable packages into particularly dangerous areas of the War. It was here that they gained their present reputation as messengers capable of delivering almost anywhere.

Now, the Feathermarked enjoy a large degree of prestige. For a non-dragonmarked member of House Orien, membership in the Feathermarked is likely the highest you will ever rise. They almost entirely control the Courier's Guild inside of Sharn and still train even non-Feathermarked in the art of jumping off a bridge and not dying. The actual Feathermarked still take on dangerous jobs. If you give a package to House Orien that needs to be delivered to the Mournland or the depths of Khyber, the Feathermarked are most likely the ones who are going to end up delivering it.

---

An idea I had, and one that practically ended up writing itself. Sooooo, what do you think?

Domriso
2011-09-22, 01:35 AM
All I can picture is a bunch of kids riding airships up in the air to fall down while holding onto some of these slow-falling people. That, and a wyvern plucking one out of the air.

But, on a more serious note, I love the class. It seems like a fun one, if a bit focused (but, that's how I like my prestige classes).

Cieyrin
2011-09-22, 09:58 AM
Hmm, neat. Would Stone Feather activate Skirmish by chance? I'd love to play a Scout/Feathermarked Courier, probably with some Uncanny Trickster and Thief Acrobat to make a true parkour artist. :smallbiggrin:

Also, have you had a look at the Roofwalker (RoD, City) and Roofjumper (City) tactical feats? Definitely fit with Feathermarked, I'd love to see Stone Feather combined with the Death from Above maneuver of Roofjumper. :smallwink:

Djinn_in_Tonic
2011-09-22, 10:03 AM
This is absolutely brilliant. That said, like the Wayfarer Guide, this is a very narrow concept...I think it would work best as either a 3-level class, or as a feat and a 3-level class. Maybe something like this:


Feathermarked Courier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+2|
+2|
+0|Feather fall, Feathermark, Ride the Wind, Speed Bonus +5 ft.

2nd|
+1|
+3|
+3|
+0|Stone Feather, Greater Feather Fall, Speed bonus +10 ft.

3rd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+1|Miss the Ground, Speed bonus +15 ft.[/table]

I don't actually think this overloads the class much at all, as it's so very specific. And awesome.

It's rare I find a class this evocative, but, for some reason, I really do love this class.

On the topic of design: You may want to consider giving the Feathermarked Courier immunity to the effects of high winds while airborne (or always...either works), 'cause otherwise Ride the Wide really doesn't help much, as he's constantly getting thrown around. Also, the image of this guy gliding through a tornado to deliver a package is just awesome.

Mr.Bookworm
2011-09-22, 03:58 PM
All I can picture is a bunch of kids riding airships up in the air to fall down while holding onto some of these slow-falling people. That, and a wyvern plucking one out of the air.

Heh.


Hmm, neat. Would Stone Feather activate Skirmish by chance?

I'd say "yes", but that's probably something that every DM should decide on. I can see arguments for either side.


Also, have you had a look at the Roofwalker (RoD, City) and Roofjumper (City) tactical feats? Definitely fit with Feathermarked, I'd love to see Stone Feather combined with the Death from Above maneuver of Roofjumper. :smallwink:

Unfortunately, Death from Above specifically says you can't use it with feather fall. I'd probably allow it, but by RAW it doesn't work.


This is absolutely brilliant. That said, like the Wayfarer Guide, this is a very narrow concept...I think it would work best as either a 3-level class, or as a feat and a 3-level class. Maybe something like this:

*table*

I don't actually think this overloads the class much at all, as it's so very specific. And awesome.

Hm. I did originally have it as a 3-level PrC, but as I kept adding class features, I thought it might be a bit overloaded, so I switched. I also wanted it be enterable at low-levels, and I was worried that giving all the benefits of this to a level 6 character might be too good.

I'll think about it. Might switch it back.


On the topic of design: You may want to consider giving the Feathermarked Courier immunity to the effects of high winds while airborne (or always...either works), 'cause otherwise Ride the Wide really doesn't help much, as he's constantly getting thrown around. Also, the image of this guy gliding through a tornado to deliver a package is just awesome.

Oh, yeah, immunity to wind does make sense. I'll add that in.

Thanks to all for the comments and compliments.

EDIT: I decided to switch it over to 3 levels after some consideration. Added immunity to wind, tweaked a couple of things to work better with three class levels, and added a clause to Ride the Wind to allow the party to tagalong with the Courier. How does it look?