geez3r
2006-12-18, 11:00 PM
See notes at end of post:
Wild Berserker
Across the expansive lands, all manner of warriors are found. Among them are a class of warriors called "berserkers". These warriors loose themselves in a fit of anger, attacking friend and foe alike with unrelenting fury. For this reason, most organized armies would rather not approach them. However, there is one type of berserker that no other berserkers dare approach, this is the Wild Berserker.
HD: d12
Requirements:
Alignment:
Chaotic Evil
Base Attack Bonus:
+9
Skills:
Intimidate 10 ranks
Feats:
Diehard
Other:
Rage class feature, Con 20+
Class Skills: The class skills (and the key ability for each skills) for the Wild Berserker are: Climb (str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str)
Skill Points per Level: 2 + Int Modifier
{table="head"]Level |Base Attack Bonus |Fort | Ref | Will | Special
1|+1| +2| +0| +0| Wild Frenzy 1/day, Curse of Anger
2|+2| +3| +0| +0| Grisly Cut
3|+3| +3| +1| +1| Shared Pain, Wild Frenzy 2/day
4|+4| +4| +1| +1| Greater Grisly Cut, Shield of Anger
5|+5| +4| +1| +1| Greater Wild Frenzy 3/day
[/table]
Wild Frenzy (Ex):
A wild berserker can tap into an awesomely horrible level of hatred and rage to slaughter all in his path, but it comes with a severe cost. In a wild frenzy, a wild berserker temporarily gains a +8 bonus to Strength, a +8 bonus to Constitution, and a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class, but he takes a -2 penalty to Reflex and Will Saves. The increase in Constitution increases the berserker’s hit points by 4 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the frenzy when his Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) A berserker’s speed is also reduced to 20ft. (and can not go higher by any means, magical or otherwise), but they provoke no attacks of opportunity when moving. A Wild Berserker must attack the closest target on their turn (be it friend or foe). If more than 1 creature is the same distance away, a wild berserker will attack the one with the most damage, again whether it is friend or foe (note: they attack the one with the most damage, not necessarily the one with the least Hp left). Furthermore, as a full attack action, they may make a whirlwind attack (as per the feat), but doing so causes the frenzy to end one round earlier. The frenzy maintains its normal length if the berserker already possessed the Whirlwind attack feat. In addition, each round a wild berserker is in a frenzy, they take 1d8+ the number of levels in this class, lethal damage which is not reduced by damage reduction. Finally, if a wild berserker falls below 1/3 their total Hp, they gain and additional +2 bonus to Str.
While in a frenzy, a berserker cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except forBalance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can he cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. He can use any feat he has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats.
A frenzy lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A berserker may not prematurely end his frenzy, in fact a frenzy continues unhindered even if the berserker is in negative hit points. The berserker still dies at -10 Hp. At the end of the frenzy, the berserker loses the frenzy modifiers, however, they will still attack the closest thing (within 30ft) for 1d4 rounds. There after, the berserker becomes fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for a number of minutes equal to: the number of rounds the frenzy lasted +the number of whirlwind strikes used– the number of levels in this class (minimum 1).
Curse of Anger (Ex):
The limits to which a wild berserker pushes their body, while impressive, are far from healthy. Simply put, a wild berserker ages horribly. At each progressive age category, a wild berserker takes double the penalties; the bonuses are unaffected. Furthermore, a wild berserker reaches these age categories (and the end of their own life) much sooner as given by this table:
{table="head"]Race |Middle Age |Old Age | Venerable | Maximum age
Human|28| 42| 55| +1d20 years
Dwarf |100| 150| 200| +1d% years
Elf|150|230| 270| +2d% years
Gnome|75|110|160| +2d% years
Half-Elf|45|75|100| +3d10 years
Half-Orc|25|35| 50| +1d10 years
Halfling|40|65| 82| +5d10
[/table]
Grisly Cut (Ex):
When a wild berserker makes a sucessful melee attack using a piercing or slashing weapon, the wound bleeds for 1 additional point of damage each round. Multiple of these wounds stack with each other, but while not in a frenzy maxes out at the number of levels in this class, but when in a frenzy it maxes out at the berserker’s (improved) Con modifier + number of levels in this class. This additional damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
Shared Pain (Ex):
Once per round, when a wild berserker is targeted by an enemy’s melee attack, a wild berserker may voluntarily make himself automatically be hit by the attack. In this state, a berserker is subject to sneak attack damage. A wild berserker may then immediately make an attack of opportunity against that foe (who is considered flat-footed against this attack) and if it hits, it deals bonus damage equal to ½ the damage the berserker just took from this foes attack (before damage reduction was applied) in additon to normal damage dealt. This attack counts toward the total number of attacks of opportunities the wild berserker can make in a round.
Greater Grisly Cut (Ex):
The threat range of any weapon wielded by a wild berserker increases by 1, which stacks with all other means, but is factored in last. For example, a keen greataxe used in this manner would have a threat range of 18-20, not 17-20.
Sheild of Anger (Ex)
The mere presence of a powerful berserker gives him an edge in battle. A wild berserker adds ½ his Con modifier (rounded down) as a deflection bonus to AC.
Greater Wild Frenzy (Ex):
The bonuses granted by a wild frenzy are increased to: +10 bonus to Str, and +10 bonus to Con. Furthermore, a berserker’s whirlwind strike damages all within a 10ft radius, and a berserker gains a further +2 bonus to Str if his Hp drops below ½ its total, this bonus replaces the 1/3 hp Str bonus from the previous version of Wild Frenzy. Finally, if a berserker has -10 Hp while still in a frenzy, he acts normally until the end of the frenzy, at which point he will die (unless he recieved a mass amount of healing). Note: A berserker continues taking the 1d8+5 (in this case) damage every round even after being reduced to -10hp.
Geez3r's notes: Basically, I wanted a PrC along the lines of a Frenzied Berserker, but focus less on Power Attacking, and more on loosing your ever loving mind. Basically, I gave this PrC alot of up shots, but alot of flaws. If you're wondering why it's 5 levels instead of 10, I simply ran out of "original" ideas and it's late. However, I am completely open to any comments and/or suggestions on improving the class. This does not include telling me it is over/under powered, without citing your rational nor giving me any advice on how to "fix" the class.
Wild Berserker
Across the expansive lands, all manner of warriors are found. Among them are a class of warriors called "berserkers". These warriors loose themselves in a fit of anger, attacking friend and foe alike with unrelenting fury. For this reason, most organized armies would rather not approach them. However, there is one type of berserker that no other berserkers dare approach, this is the Wild Berserker.
HD: d12
Requirements:
Alignment:
Chaotic Evil
Base Attack Bonus:
+9
Skills:
Intimidate 10 ranks
Feats:
Diehard
Other:
Rage class feature, Con 20+
Class Skills: The class skills (and the key ability for each skills) for the Wild Berserker are: Climb (str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str)
Skill Points per Level: 2 + Int Modifier
{table="head"]Level |Base Attack Bonus |Fort | Ref | Will | Special
1|+1| +2| +0| +0| Wild Frenzy 1/day, Curse of Anger
2|+2| +3| +0| +0| Grisly Cut
3|+3| +3| +1| +1| Shared Pain, Wild Frenzy 2/day
4|+4| +4| +1| +1| Greater Grisly Cut, Shield of Anger
5|+5| +4| +1| +1| Greater Wild Frenzy 3/day
[/table]
Wild Frenzy (Ex):
A wild berserker can tap into an awesomely horrible level of hatred and rage to slaughter all in his path, but it comes with a severe cost. In a wild frenzy, a wild berserker temporarily gains a +8 bonus to Strength, a +8 bonus to Constitution, and a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class, but he takes a -2 penalty to Reflex and Will Saves. The increase in Constitution increases the berserker’s hit points by 4 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the frenzy when his Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) A berserker’s speed is also reduced to 20ft. (and can not go higher by any means, magical or otherwise), but they provoke no attacks of opportunity when moving. A Wild Berserker must attack the closest target on their turn (be it friend or foe). If more than 1 creature is the same distance away, a wild berserker will attack the one with the most damage, again whether it is friend or foe (note: they attack the one with the most damage, not necessarily the one with the least Hp left). Furthermore, as a full attack action, they may make a whirlwind attack (as per the feat), but doing so causes the frenzy to end one round earlier. The frenzy maintains its normal length if the berserker already possessed the Whirlwind attack feat. In addition, each round a wild berserker is in a frenzy, they take 1d8+ the number of levels in this class, lethal damage which is not reduced by damage reduction. Finally, if a wild berserker falls below 1/3 their total Hp, they gain and additional +2 bonus to Str.
While in a frenzy, a berserker cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except forBalance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can he cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. He can use any feat he has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats.
A frenzy lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A berserker may not prematurely end his frenzy, in fact a frenzy continues unhindered even if the berserker is in negative hit points. The berserker still dies at -10 Hp. At the end of the frenzy, the berserker loses the frenzy modifiers, however, they will still attack the closest thing (within 30ft) for 1d4 rounds. There after, the berserker becomes fatigued (-2 penalty to Strength, -2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for a number of minutes equal to: the number of rounds the frenzy lasted +the number of whirlwind strikes used– the number of levels in this class (minimum 1).
Curse of Anger (Ex):
The limits to which a wild berserker pushes their body, while impressive, are far from healthy. Simply put, a wild berserker ages horribly. At each progressive age category, a wild berserker takes double the penalties; the bonuses are unaffected. Furthermore, a wild berserker reaches these age categories (and the end of their own life) much sooner as given by this table:
{table="head"]Race |Middle Age |Old Age | Venerable | Maximum age
Human|28| 42| 55| +1d20 years
Dwarf |100| 150| 200| +1d% years
Elf|150|230| 270| +2d% years
Gnome|75|110|160| +2d% years
Half-Elf|45|75|100| +3d10 years
Half-Orc|25|35| 50| +1d10 years
Halfling|40|65| 82| +5d10
[/table]
Grisly Cut (Ex):
When a wild berserker makes a sucessful melee attack using a piercing or slashing weapon, the wound bleeds for 1 additional point of damage each round. Multiple of these wounds stack with each other, but while not in a frenzy maxes out at the number of levels in this class, but when in a frenzy it maxes out at the berserker’s (improved) Con modifier + number of levels in this class. This additional damage is not multiplied on a critical hit.
Shared Pain (Ex):
Once per round, when a wild berserker is targeted by an enemy’s melee attack, a wild berserker may voluntarily make himself automatically be hit by the attack. In this state, a berserker is subject to sneak attack damage. A wild berserker may then immediately make an attack of opportunity against that foe (who is considered flat-footed against this attack) and if it hits, it deals bonus damage equal to ½ the damage the berserker just took from this foes attack (before damage reduction was applied) in additon to normal damage dealt. This attack counts toward the total number of attacks of opportunities the wild berserker can make in a round.
Greater Grisly Cut (Ex):
The threat range of any weapon wielded by a wild berserker increases by 1, which stacks with all other means, but is factored in last. For example, a keen greataxe used in this manner would have a threat range of 18-20, not 17-20.
Sheild of Anger (Ex)
The mere presence of a powerful berserker gives him an edge in battle. A wild berserker adds ½ his Con modifier (rounded down) as a deflection bonus to AC.
Greater Wild Frenzy (Ex):
The bonuses granted by a wild frenzy are increased to: +10 bonus to Str, and +10 bonus to Con. Furthermore, a berserker’s whirlwind strike damages all within a 10ft radius, and a berserker gains a further +2 bonus to Str if his Hp drops below ½ its total, this bonus replaces the 1/3 hp Str bonus from the previous version of Wild Frenzy. Finally, if a berserker has -10 Hp while still in a frenzy, he acts normally until the end of the frenzy, at which point he will die (unless he recieved a mass amount of healing). Note: A berserker continues taking the 1d8+5 (in this case) damage every round even after being reduced to -10hp.
Geez3r's notes: Basically, I wanted a PrC along the lines of a Frenzied Berserker, but focus less on Power Attacking, and more on loosing your ever loving mind. Basically, I gave this PrC alot of up shots, but alot of flaws. If you're wondering why it's 5 levels instead of 10, I simply ran out of "original" ideas and it's late. However, I am completely open to any comments and/or suggestions on improving the class. This does not include telling me it is over/under powered, without citing your rational nor giving me any advice on how to "fix" the class.