4th number
2013-02-06, 01:08 PM
This was my Grab Bag contest entry for December, and it did very well, but I'd like to deal with any bugs it might have. Input is appreciated on grammar, formatting, fluff and mechanics-- especially if anyone has ideas for different My Old Friend abilities.
Winter Warrior
http://i.imgur.com/iRnYc.jpg
Used with permission of the artist, gregmks of deviantART (http://gregmks.deviantart.com/)
"My beard is older than you, boy!"
If a warrior's got any good sense, they retire before they start to feel the pains of age. Those who live long enough will found taverns and farms, they'll start long-delayed families, and they'll step back and allow the young men to do the fighting.
Of course, not all warriors have that sort of good sense. Some loyal soldiers cannot give up the campaign, no matter the cost that they must pay. True adventurers could never sit at home as others fight their way through ancient tombs, and the most pious holy warriors would never stop fighting for their gods, arthritis be damned.
Those who hold onto their armor and weapons as their hair turns to gray can sometimes become winter warriors-- those steadfast souls who no longer seem to feel the wounds of time, becoming more fearsome and skilled with their chosen tools in the winter of their life than they ever were in their youth.
Role: A winter warrior is usually a martial combatant, fighting their enemies either on the front lines or with a ranged weapon.
Alignment: Any. Some winter warriors are indomitable champions of good, fighting for just causes into their twilight years. Others are bloodthirsty, angry old men seeking only to sate their hunger for violence.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a winter warrior, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +8
Feats: Weapon Focus (any)
Skills: Knowledge (any), 8 ranks
Age Category: Old or Venerable
Class Skills
The winter warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier)
WINTER WARRIOR
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveReflex SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st+1+1+0+1Quite Spry, Second Skin, Hey Rookie
2nd+2+1+1+1My Old Friend 1/encounter, Seen It All
3rd+3+2+1+2Remarkably Spry, Veteran's Insight(attack)
4th+4+2+1+2 My Old Friend 2/encounter, Impart Wisdom
5th+5+3+2+3Shockingly Spry, My Old Friend 3/Encounter, Veteran's Insight(damage), I Have Been Preparing For This My Whole Life
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the winter warrior.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A winter warrior is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) and shields (except tower shields).
Quite Spry(Ex): At 1st level, a winter warrior reduces the aging reduction to any two of their Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution (at their option) to what it would be if they were middle aged. They no longer suffer any future reductions to those two ability scores due to aging.
Second Skin (Ex): A winter warrior can don their armor (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor#TOC-Getting-Into-and-Out-of-Armor) properly in the time it would normally take to don it hastily. Additionally, whenever they are wearing armor, they reduce the armor check penalty of their armor by 2 (to a minimum of 0) and increase the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by their armor by 2. At 4th level, they instead reduce the armor check penalty by 4 (to a minimum of 0) and increase the maximum Dexterity bonus by 4. This effect stacks with the fighter's Armor Training class feature and similar abilities.
Hey Rookie (Ex): If a winter warrior uses the Aid Another action (in combat or during a skill check) or provides a flanking bonus for any allies that are at least one age category younger, they receive an additional +2 morale bonus on the attack roll or skill check (normally a total of +4).
My Old Friend(Ex): A winter warrior knows their weapon better than they know any other thing in the world. At 2nd level, when a winter warrior is wielding any weapon named in one of their feats, racial abilities, or class abilities, they have several additional options in combat. Once per encounter, a winter warrior may do one of the following:
A) If their chosen weapon has a weapon feature such as trip, disarm, or sunder, a winter warrior can attempt it on every opponent within reach at their full BAB as a full-round action.
B) The winter warrior can perform a Sneak attack as a rogue of their character level.
C) The winter warrior can execute a full attack (or another type of full-round action involving their chosen weapon) as a standard action. If their weapon requires reloading, it requires only free actions during that attack.
D) If the winter warrior has at least three more Hit Dice than their opponent, they may use a full-round action to attempt to kill an opponent outright with their chosen weapon. If they succeed on a single attack, their opponent must make a Fortitude or Reflex saving throw (at the winter warrior's option) with a DC equal to the damage rolled for the attack (prior to any damage reduction) or be slain instantly. If they make the saving throw, they take the rolled damage for the attack as normal.
E) (Su) From the beginning of the winter warrior's turn to the end of the round, their chosen weapon gains a supernatural power. In addition to any existing enchantments, the winter warrior may choose up to two special abilities (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons) of a total enhancement value up to their winter warrior level. This can temporarily allow a weapon to have above a +10 total enhancement bonus. This option cannot be in effect more than once on a single weapon.
At 4th level, the winter warrior can use one of those abilities twice per encounter. At 5th level, they can use one of those abilities three times per encounter.
Seen It All(Ex): At 2rd level, winter warrior can never be denied their Dexterity bonus to AC by feinting. They gain an insight bonus to their CMD equal to their winter warrior level. Additionally, they gain an insight bonus equal to their winter warrior level to all Knowledge checks to identify creatures.
Remarkably Spry(Ex): At 3rd level, a winter warrior entirely removes the aging reduction to one of the ability scores that they chose for Quite Spry.
Veteran's Insight(Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a winter warrior adds their Intelligence or Wisdom modifier (whichever is higher) to their attack rolls as an insight bonus. At 5th level, they add that bonus to their damage rolls as well.
Impart Wisdom(Ex): Starting at 4th level, a winter warrior can impart an accurate idea of the ravages of age to a younger opponent. As a full-round action, a winter warrior can perform a full attack that does not deal damage as normal. Instead, for each attack that would normally hit, their opponent must make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 15+the winter warrior's character level. For each save that their opponent fails, they suffer penalties to their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution as though they were one age category higher, up to the maximum -6 penalty for Venerable age. These penalties last until the end of the encounter.
Impart Wisdom does not function against true dragons (or other creatures that increase in physical power as they age), creatures that are immune to precision damage, or creatures that are already of Venerable age. It does, however, function normally against creatures that do not normally age.
Shockingly Spry(Ex): At 5th level, a winter warrior entirely removes the aging reduction to the other ability score that they chose for Quite Spry. They reduce the aging penalties to their third physical ability score as though they were one age category younger. They no longer suffer any additional ability score reductions due to aging.
I Have Been Preparing For This My Whole Life(Ex): When a climactic battle approaches, a winter warrior is ready. At the beginning of an encounter, a winter warrior may choose to expend all of their remaining vitality on the upcoming fight. For the duration of that encounter, the winter warrior gains the Diehard (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/diehard---final) feat if they do not already have it. They also gain an insight bonus to all of their ability scores equal to half their character level, and they can use the options granted by My Old Friend an unlimited number of times.
Five times during the encounter, the winter warrior may choose to treat any attack roll, skill check, ability check, saving throw, or critical confirmation roll as a natural 20 without rolling the die.
After the encounter, they are reduced to 0 hit points and are considered Disabled. They cannot regain hit points or lose the Disabled condition by any means except Wish or Miracle for 2d4 weeks. If they finish the encounter with negative hit points, they die 1d4 hours afterwards.
Winter Warrior
http://i.imgur.com/iRnYc.jpg
Used with permission of the artist, gregmks of deviantART (http://gregmks.deviantart.com/)
"My beard is older than you, boy!"
If a warrior's got any good sense, they retire before they start to feel the pains of age. Those who live long enough will found taverns and farms, they'll start long-delayed families, and they'll step back and allow the young men to do the fighting.
Of course, not all warriors have that sort of good sense. Some loyal soldiers cannot give up the campaign, no matter the cost that they must pay. True adventurers could never sit at home as others fight their way through ancient tombs, and the most pious holy warriors would never stop fighting for their gods, arthritis be damned.
Those who hold onto their armor and weapons as their hair turns to gray can sometimes become winter warriors-- those steadfast souls who no longer seem to feel the wounds of time, becoming more fearsome and skilled with their chosen tools in the winter of their life than they ever were in their youth.
Role: A winter warrior is usually a martial combatant, fighting their enemies either on the front lines or with a ranged weapon.
Alignment: Any. Some winter warriors are indomitable champions of good, fighting for just causes into their twilight years. Others are bloodthirsty, angry old men seeking only to sate their hunger for violence.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become a winter warrior, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +8
Feats: Weapon Focus (any)
Skills: Knowledge (any), 8 ranks
Age Category: Old or Venerable
Class Skills
The winter warrior's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at First Level: (4 + Int modifier)
WINTER WARRIOR
LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveReflex SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st+1+1+0+1Quite Spry, Second Skin, Hey Rookie
2nd+2+1+1+1My Old Friend 1/encounter, Seen It All
3rd+3+2+1+2Remarkably Spry, Veteran's Insight(attack)
4th+4+2+1+2 My Old Friend 2/encounter, Impart Wisdom
5th+5+3+2+3Shockingly Spry, My Old Friend 3/Encounter, Veteran's Insight(damage), I Have Been Preparing For This My Whole Life
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the winter warrior.
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A winter warrior is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, light, and medium) and shields (except tower shields).
Quite Spry(Ex): At 1st level, a winter warrior reduces the aging reduction to any two of their Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution (at their option) to what it would be if they were middle aged. They no longer suffer any future reductions to those two ability scores due to aging.
Second Skin (Ex): A winter warrior can don their armor (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor#TOC-Getting-Into-and-Out-of-Armor) properly in the time it would normally take to don it hastily. Additionally, whenever they are wearing armor, they reduce the armor check penalty of their armor by 2 (to a minimum of 0) and increase the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by their armor by 2. At 4th level, they instead reduce the armor check penalty by 4 (to a minimum of 0) and increase the maximum Dexterity bonus by 4. This effect stacks with the fighter's Armor Training class feature and similar abilities.
Hey Rookie (Ex): If a winter warrior uses the Aid Another action (in combat or during a skill check) or provides a flanking bonus for any allies that are at least one age category younger, they receive an additional +2 morale bonus on the attack roll or skill check (normally a total of +4).
My Old Friend(Ex): A winter warrior knows their weapon better than they know any other thing in the world. At 2nd level, when a winter warrior is wielding any weapon named in one of their feats, racial abilities, or class abilities, they have several additional options in combat. Once per encounter, a winter warrior may do one of the following:
A) If their chosen weapon has a weapon feature such as trip, disarm, or sunder, a winter warrior can attempt it on every opponent within reach at their full BAB as a full-round action.
B) The winter warrior can perform a Sneak attack as a rogue of their character level.
C) The winter warrior can execute a full attack (or another type of full-round action involving their chosen weapon) as a standard action. If their weapon requires reloading, it requires only free actions during that attack.
D) If the winter warrior has at least three more Hit Dice than their opponent, they may use a full-round action to attempt to kill an opponent outright with their chosen weapon. If they succeed on a single attack, their opponent must make a Fortitude or Reflex saving throw (at the winter warrior's option) with a DC equal to the damage rolled for the attack (prior to any damage reduction) or be slain instantly. If they make the saving throw, they take the rolled damage for the attack as normal.
E) (Su) From the beginning of the winter warrior's turn to the end of the round, their chosen weapon gains a supernatural power. In addition to any existing enchantments, the winter warrior may choose up to two special abilities (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/magic-weapons) of a total enhancement value up to their winter warrior level. This can temporarily allow a weapon to have above a +10 total enhancement bonus. This option cannot be in effect more than once on a single weapon.
At 4th level, the winter warrior can use one of those abilities twice per encounter. At 5th level, they can use one of those abilities three times per encounter.
Seen It All(Ex): At 2rd level, winter warrior can never be denied their Dexterity bonus to AC by feinting. They gain an insight bonus to their CMD equal to their winter warrior level. Additionally, they gain an insight bonus equal to their winter warrior level to all Knowledge checks to identify creatures.
Remarkably Spry(Ex): At 3rd level, a winter warrior entirely removes the aging reduction to one of the ability scores that they chose for Quite Spry.
Veteran's Insight(Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a winter warrior adds their Intelligence or Wisdom modifier (whichever is higher) to their attack rolls as an insight bonus. At 5th level, they add that bonus to their damage rolls as well.
Impart Wisdom(Ex): Starting at 4th level, a winter warrior can impart an accurate idea of the ravages of age to a younger opponent. As a full-round action, a winter warrior can perform a full attack that does not deal damage as normal. Instead, for each attack that would normally hit, their opponent must make a Fortitude save with a DC equal to 15+the winter warrior's character level. For each save that their opponent fails, they suffer penalties to their Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution as though they were one age category higher, up to the maximum -6 penalty for Venerable age. These penalties last until the end of the encounter.
Impart Wisdom does not function against true dragons (or other creatures that increase in physical power as they age), creatures that are immune to precision damage, or creatures that are already of Venerable age. It does, however, function normally against creatures that do not normally age.
Shockingly Spry(Ex): At 5th level, a winter warrior entirely removes the aging reduction to the other ability score that they chose for Quite Spry. They reduce the aging penalties to their third physical ability score as though they were one age category younger. They no longer suffer any additional ability score reductions due to aging.
I Have Been Preparing For This My Whole Life(Ex): When a climactic battle approaches, a winter warrior is ready. At the beginning of an encounter, a winter warrior may choose to expend all of their remaining vitality on the upcoming fight. For the duration of that encounter, the winter warrior gains the Diehard (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/diehard---final) feat if they do not already have it. They also gain an insight bonus to all of their ability scores equal to half their character level, and they can use the options granted by My Old Friend an unlimited number of times.
Five times during the encounter, the winter warrior may choose to treat any attack roll, skill check, ability check, saving throw, or critical confirmation roll as a natural 20 without rolling the die.
After the encounter, they are reduced to 0 hit points and are considered Disabled. They cannot regain hit points or lose the Disabled condition by any means except Wish or Miracle for 2d4 weeks. If they finish the encounter with negative hit points, they die 1d4 hours afterwards.