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Zaydos
2016-09-11, 01:17 AM
DWARVEN TROLL SLAYER

"Start the fire, I see meat a comin'," Thurrik Axewed upon seeing a troll warband.

Trolls are a constant threat to dwarven settlements. Allying with orcs and goblins as heavy shock troops or simply attempting to raid the settlement's farms for cattle and dwarves to add to their own larder, the sun-hating giants are a massive threat in the subterranean life of dwarves. Unharmed by traditional weapons it takes an elite and brave champion to stand against them. Dwarven troll slayers are just that, dwarven warriors trained to slay these foes and brave enough to face a whole band alone with nothing more than their hatred and pike.


BECOMING A TROLL SLAYER

Dwarven troll slayers are trained in dwarven settlements for the task. This training teaches them the basics of fighting in an extended melee range, and the use of the dwarven warpike traditional weapon of troll slayers. In the end, however, it boils down to a whole lot of dedicated combat training.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
BAB: +5
Feats: Dodge, Weapon Focus (Dwarven Warpike)
Race: Dwarf
Skills: Survival 4 ranks.
Special: Must be proficient in heavy armor.


Class Skills
The Dwarven Troll Slayer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skills Points at Each Level: 4 + int

Hit Dice: d12


LevelBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSpecial
1st
+1
+2
+0
+0Avoid Reach, Bravery, Combat Training, Favored Enemy (Giant) +2, Improved Dodge
2nd
+2
+3
+0
+0Hate Never Heals, Track
3rd
+3
+3
+1
+1Hobbling Strikes, Titan Fighting
4th
+4
+4
+1
+1Armored Step, Close Strike, Weapon Specialization (Dwarven Warpike)
5th
+5
+4
+1
+1Favored Enemy (Giant) +4, Fell the Mighty, Improved Hobbling Strike

Weapon Proficiencies: A Dwarven Troll Slayer gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies.

Avoid Reach (Ex): Trolls are dangerous foes their long limbs allowing them to strike from further than a dwarf can hope to, even a warpike merely equalizing this difference, and they rely on a powerful combination of blows to truly strike home with their rending claws. As such dwarven troll slayers learn to avoid the blows of distant enemies that strike from afar. A dwarven troll slayer gains a dodge bonus to AC equal to their class level against melee attacks made from more than 5 ft away from them.

Bravery: Dwarven troll slayers are renown far and wide for their bravery. A dwarven troll slayer gains a bonus to saves versus fear equal to twice their class level.

Combat Training: Dwarven troll slayers do not neglect their fighting training. A dwarven troll slayer adds their class level to their fighter levels (if any) for the purposes of qualifying for feats.

Favored Enemy (Giant) (Ex): Dwarven troll slayers train for one purpose, protecting their home and kin from ogres, giants, and especially trolls. As such they gain Favored Enemy (Giant) (as the ranger ability) with a +2 bonus. At 5th level this bonus increases to +4.

Improved Dodge (Ex): A dwarven troll slayer learns to avoid all foes not just one at a time. They gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC. If you make Dodge functional by making it apply to all attacks replace this ability with the ability to select a single target to get an additional +1 dodge bonus to AC against.

Hate Never Heals (Su): While some troll slayers rely upon fiery weapons or acid to put down their foes, a dwarven troll slayer learns quickly that not all trolls are harmed by fire and acid, and some can heal from any wound. To put down their foes a dwarven troll slayer lets their hatred and killing intent flow through their weapons, their spirits serving to lend their arms a killing might. Beginning at 2nd level a dwarven troll slayer's weapon damage ignores regeneration and cannot be naturally healed or healed by Fast Healing (including magically granted fast healing), only magical healing can restore hit points inflicted by a dwarven troll slayer's hate-filled blows; a cure spell or a paladin's lay on hands will heal a creature, and constructs that can be repaired manually can still be repaired normally. In addition a creature damaged by a dwarven troll slayer using a slashing or piercing weapon suffers 2 bleed (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/conditions#TOC-Bleed) damage per round for a number of rounds equal to their dwarven troll slayer level; multiple attacks do not stack for this purpose merely resetting the duration. A dwarven troll slayer that attempts to deal non-lethal damage to a creature loses this ability for 1 minute.

Track: Trolls are cowards when you can make them bleed. A single real cut and the whole band of them will flee. Oh they'll come back to kill those you protect the moment they think they can. Dwarven troll slayers learn how to track their foes to ensure they can finish them. At 2nd level a dwarven troll slayer gains Track as a bonus feat. If they already have Track they may select any fighter bonus feat they qualify for in its place.

Hobbling Strikes (Ex): If an enemy learns that a dwarven troll slayer can avoid their blows from afar and presses closer they're at a disadvantage, similarly if an enemy can outrun the dwarf they can flee to circle around and strike at the dwarf's charges. As such dwarven troll slayers learn to slow their foes, striking at their limbs to hobble them and force them to limp. Beginning at 3rd level whenever a dwarven troll slayer strikes a creature they must make a Fortitude save (DC = 5 + Damage dealt) or their speed is reduced by 10 ft until the end of their next turn and they cannot take 5 ft steps. If the attack was as an attack of opportunity in response to a creature's movement and this reduction would reduce their remaining movement to 0 or less they do not leave the triggering square. At 5th level hobbling strikes improves so that it now reduces speed by 15 ft.

Titan Fighting: While giants are the most hated foes of troll slayers they are not the only large threats to dwarven communities. Umber hulk servants of the slaving neogi, dragons, and even dire bears threaten dwarves from time to time, and a dwarven troll slayer learns to fight them all. At 3rd level a dwarven troll slayer gains Titan Fighting as a bonus feat.

Armored Step (Ex): Controlling the flow of movement and position upon the battlefield is key, and while a warpike will give a dwarven troll slayer the ability to fight a troll at its preferred distance they know there are bigger breeds, a mountain troll will strike you down long before a warpike will hit it. As such they learn to move without opening themselves up and lowering their defenses. Beginning at 4th level a dwarven troll slayer does not provoke attacks of opportunity for movement. If an ability would make movement which normally does not provoke attacks of opportunity provoke attacks of opportunity that ability and Armored Step cancel each other out allowing the default state for the specified movement to decide if an attack of opportunity is provoked.

Close Strike (Ex): Sometimes one cannot back away from a foe, sometimes one's back is to the wall, but a warpike is a long weapon and awkward to wield against close foes. Even so a dwarven troll slayer learns to do so. Beginning at 4th level a dwarven troll slayer may attack adjacent creatures with reach weapons as if they were not reach weapons (if the dwarven troll slayer has 10 ft reach without their reach weapon they can attack within 10 ft).

Weapon Specialization (Dwarven Warpike): A warrior is only as good as his mastery of his weapon. At 4th level a dwarven troll slayer gains Weapon Specialization (Dwarven Warpike) as a bonus feat. If they already have Weapon Specialization (Dwarven Warpike) they may select a fighter bonus feat they fulfill the prerequisites for instead.

Fell the Mighty (Ex): Dwarven troll slayers learn one truth, the larger they are the harder it hurts them when they fall. They specialize in bringing down massive foes, and doing so effectively. Beginning at 5th level a dwarven troll slayer deals +2 damage to creatures for each size category larger than them they are, and gets a +6 bonus to opposed ability checks made as part of a combat maneuver (trip, bull rush, etc) against larger creatures and this bonus increases by +2 per size category past the first larger than the dwarven troll slayer the foe is. This bonus also applies to checks made to resist or escape grapples from such foes. Finally a dwarven troll slayer does not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target when they attempt to trip a creature larger than them.



PLAYING A DWARVEN TROLL SLAYER

A Dwarven Troll Slayer is in many ways a simplistic creature, they like protecting dwarves, they hate giants, they like the smiling faces of dwarven children who know they are safe, they hate monsters that would eat dwarven children, they like killing things they hate, they hate things that kill dwarves. In general a dwarven troll slayer is a trained professional, a warrior with elite skills for the purpose of fighting the (physically) largest threats to the dwarven world. This training includes weaponizing killing intent which has a side-effect of making many dwarven troll slayers more aggressive and brutal than their kin, and many stray towards True Neutrality away from the racial norm of Lawful Good.

Combat: Dwarven troll slayers are reach fighters. While better against large foes than not, they use their class features and reach weapons to keep foes at a distance while holding them in melee combat. Hobbling strike slows foes and forces them to stay in melee and to provoke further attacks closing in towards you to avoid granting you a +5 bonus to AC. Fell the Strongest aids in using trip tactics against large and larger enemies if they choose to go that route, and even if they do not they gain a damage bonus.

Resources: Dwarven troll slayers are typically in good standing with dwarven communities and regarded as heroes of sorts, as such they can generally rely upon any resources available to dwarven warriors.



DWARVEN TROLL SLAYERS IN THE WORLD

"Then the trolls were upon them. Brave Duron fell within that first onslaught and to this day his wisdom and guidance are missed by the dwarven people. More would have died had Thurrik not stepped to meet them, his pike flew from foe to foe slicing and striking deep into them. The trolls were surprised by his ferocity and the bite of his blade. It was not fire but it bit as the flames do. The trolls fell back in disarray but Thurrik pressed on alone after them. He followed them for six days with no food and no water, nothing more than his inborn strength and one by one he slew them when they fell to rest, one by one his axe found them and his axe bit deep into them." - Excerpt from the Cleansing of Thelbrik.

Dwarven troll slayers are heroes of their people, and brave warriors. In human lands the difference between a troll slayer and any other dwarven warrior. Perhaps they're a little more reckless, a little braver, and a little more aggressive but beyond that there's little to distinguish them. To dwarves of course the troll slayer is a thing of tale and ballad, a warrior who fights the undying foes that would threaten their very existence and brings them low with only an axe and their gritted teeth.

Daily Life: Within dwarven lands troll slayers live well. They are full time soldiers, having no need to provide other services to the clan and often exempt from any tasks other than defending the town and training with their weapons. Dwarven troll slayers are devoted to their duties, however, and it is not uncommon for them to have little time to relax and listen to tales told by the Speakers between their intensive training regimes and their stints upon the outer watch.

Organizations: There are few organizations of dwarven troll slayers in specific, however they can find a place in any organization which caters to dwarven warriors.

remetagross
2016-09-11, 10:46 AM
Hey, quite a cool PrC !

I believe you made a mistake for the Will saves in your table, it goes suddenly to + 4 at levels 4 and 5.

It is strange that this PrC has Tumble as a class skill : is doesn't really befit a dwarf fighter, all the more so if this dwarf is carrying a reach weapon. Moreover, your class doesn't really need it, as your Armored Step class feature fills in the need that Tumble usually satisfies.

Zaydos
2016-09-11, 10:51 AM
Hey, quite a cool PrC !

I believe you made a mistake for the Will saves in your table, it goes suddenly to + 4 at levels 4 and 5.

It is strange that this PrC has Tumble as a class skill : is doesn't really befit a dwarf fighter, all the more so if this dwarf is carrying a reach weapon. Moreover, your class doesn't really need it, as your Armored Step class feature fills in the need that Tumble usually satisfies.

I give Tumble to fighters (and dwarves can actually use it when wearing Medium and Heavy Armor) so I left it on as an option especially since they do get Armored Step so aren't gaining much power from it. I actually almost made it a prerequisite since Armored Step is based thematically on Tumble (you learn to move in such a way as not to give an opening just like from Tumble).

The Will save is umm... I fixed it.