Tormsskull
2007-08-16, 08:20 AM
The Guardian
"I am Sir Tobias, Guardian of Princess Lafolia, and sergeant in the king's army. My duty is to keep the princess safe from all sorts of dangers that might befall her. I'm equipped with the best of weapons and armor to defend any physical attacks against her, and the proper skills to ferret out those who would attempt to sneak around or deceive me. If your goal is to harm the princess, you'll have to go through me, and that is no easy ask I assure you."
Guardians are trained soldiers, learned in the ways of fighting in the heaviest of armors and using an assortment of weapons. They often serve in full armies and legions as nobles and royalties personal guards. Their defensive capabilities are renowned around the world, as they are trained to block, parry, and absorb attacks, and are also trained to deal with attacks on their mind.
Adventures: Guardians adventure for the same reason most people do, to aquire money, power, or fame. They are just as likely as other people to be taken up with a cause, to defend their homeland, or to join a band of mercenaries.
Alignment: Most guardians are some form of Lawful, as their elite training forces them into a very structured and regulated lifestyle. Guardians are just as likely to be good or evil, depending on the region where they received their training.
Religion: Guardians usually respect the state-sponsored church of whatever land they hail from, as their elite training is usually government-funded.
Other Classes: Guardians get along well with most classes, though since they tend to move at slower speeds due to their heavy armor, classes that rely on fast movement or stealth often don't enjoy working with guardians.
Role: Guardians serve as front-liners in standard adventuring groups, absorbing the attacks of the enemies while their comrades assail the enemy from the sides or behind.
Table 1:1 The Guardian
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Armor Training +1, Dodge
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Bonus Feat, Mobility
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Protect Ally, Combat Reflexes
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|DR 1/magic, Iron Will.
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Armor Training +2, Bonus Feat
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+2|Preemptive Strike 1/day
7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+2|
+2|Assist Ally, Defensive Surge 1/day
8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+2|
+2|Bonus Feat, DR 2/magic
9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+3|
+3|Armor Training +3, Improved Protect Ally
10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+3|
+3|Preemptive Strike 2/day
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+3|
+3|Bonus Feat, Defensive Surge 2/day
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+4|
+4|DR 3/magic
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+4|
+4|Armor Training +4
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+4|
+4|Bonus Feat, Preemptive Strike 3/day
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+5|
+5|Cover Ally, Defensive Surge 3/day
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+5|
+5|DR 4/magic
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+5|Armor Training +5, Bonus Feat
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+6|Preemptive Strike 4/day
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+6|Defensive Surge 4/day
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+6|DR 5/-[/table]
Game Rule Information
Guardians have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Guardians rely heavily on their Constitution to provide them with bonus hit points for when enemies get through their defenses. Strength also helps to give them a boost to their attack, and Wisdom is helpful to boost their mental defense.
Alignment: Guardians tend towards Lawful Alignments.
Hit Die: d12.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Guardians are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all armors, and tower shields.
Class Skills
The Guardians's class skills, and the key abilities for each are Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int Mod) X 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int Mod
Class Features
Armor Training: Guardians excel at using their armor to the best of their benefit. When wearing any type of armor, that armor is treated as being the indicated number of points higher for armor bonuses.
Dodge: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisite is met or not.
Bonus Feats: Guardians receive bonus feats which must be selected off of the Fighter Bonus Feat list, and they must meet the requirements for the feats (i.e. they cannot take Weapon Specialization without 4 levels of Fighter).
Mobility: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisites have been met or not.
Protect Ally: As a free action, once per round, a Guardian can select 1 target to protect. If that target is within melee reach of the Guardian and is attacked, the Guardian grants the target a bonus to their armor equal to the Guardian's Armor Training bonus.
Combat Reflexes: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisites are met or not. In addition, if the Guardian's dexterity is less than 12, they still gain 1 additional attack of opportunity from this ability.
Damage Reduction: Experienced Guardians become very efficient at manuevering their armor to absorb damage. When wearing any sort of armor, the Guardian gains damage reduction as listed.
Iron Will: As the feat.
Preemptive Strike: As an immediate action, a Guardian can strike at anyone within melee range attempting to strike them or a target that is benefiting from their Protect Ally or Cover Ally ability. This attack uses up one of the Guardian's Attack of Opportunities for the Round, and if successful, prevents the initial attack from occuring.
Assist Ally: If a target benefitting from the Guardian's "Protect Ally" or "Cover Ally" ability provokes an attack of opportunity from an enemy, the Guardian can spend one of his Attacks of Opportunity for the round to stop the enemy attack. The enemy does NOT lose its attack of opportunity for the round.
Defensive Surge: As an immediate action, the Guardian can become a bastion of defense, increasing their Constitution by 4 and their Damage Reduction doubles. These benefits last for 1 round per bonus point of their newly increased Constitution score.
Improved Protect Ally: As protect Ally, but the Guardian can also grant their target their Damage Reduction bonus.
Cover Ally: The Guardian has become so adept at defending himself and his surroundings that he can, as an immediate action, move infront of an ally within 5 ft. and become the target of the attack against that ally. This ability cannot be used in conjunction with Protect Ally, nor can it be used if the Guardian's movement is reduced by magic or mundane reasons (excluding the movement reduction from heavy armor).
Designer's Note:
The Guardian class is meant to be a Fighter replacement class. While it technically could be used alongside the Fighter, I believe it is far more powerful than the fighter, and as such makes the Fighter a bit redundant. In addition, this is the first class in a series of "new" classes that will eventually replace many of the standard classes. The basic premise behind this is to attempt to balance the core classes a bit more.
Thoughts/comments?
"I am Sir Tobias, Guardian of Princess Lafolia, and sergeant in the king's army. My duty is to keep the princess safe from all sorts of dangers that might befall her. I'm equipped with the best of weapons and armor to defend any physical attacks against her, and the proper skills to ferret out those who would attempt to sneak around or deceive me. If your goal is to harm the princess, you'll have to go through me, and that is no easy ask I assure you."
Guardians are trained soldiers, learned in the ways of fighting in the heaviest of armors and using an assortment of weapons. They often serve in full armies and legions as nobles and royalties personal guards. Their defensive capabilities are renowned around the world, as they are trained to block, parry, and absorb attacks, and are also trained to deal with attacks on their mind.
Adventures: Guardians adventure for the same reason most people do, to aquire money, power, or fame. They are just as likely as other people to be taken up with a cause, to defend their homeland, or to join a band of mercenaries.
Alignment: Most guardians are some form of Lawful, as their elite training forces them into a very structured and regulated lifestyle. Guardians are just as likely to be good or evil, depending on the region where they received their training.
Religion: Guardians usually respect the state-sponsored church of whatever land they hail from, as their elite training is usually government-funded.
Other Classes: Guardians get along well with most classes, though since they tend to move at slower speeds due to their heavy armor, classes that rely on fast movement or stealth often don't enjoy working with guardians.
Role: Guardians serve as front-liners in standard adventuring groups, absorbing the attacks of the enemies while their comrades assail the enemy from the sides or behind.
Table 1:1 The Guardian
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Armor Training +1, Dodge
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Bonus Feat, Mobility
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Protect Ally, Combat Reflexes
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|DR 1/magic, Iron Will.
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Armor Training +2, Bonus Feat
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+2|
+2|Preemptive Strike 1/day
7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+2|
+2|Assist Ally, Defensive Surge 1/day
8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+2|
+2|Bonus Feat, DR 2/magic
9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+3|
+3|Armor Training +3, Improved Protect Ally
10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+3|
+3|Preemptive Strike 2/day
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+3|
+3|Bonus Feat, Defensive Surge 2/day
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+4|
+4|DR 3/magic
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+4|
+4|Armor Training +4
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+4|
+4|Bonus Feat, Preemptive Strike 3/day
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+5|
+5|Cover Ally, Defensive Surge 3/day
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+5|
+5|DR 4/magic
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+5|
+5|Armor Training +5, Bonus Feat
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+6|
+6|Preemptive Strike 4/day
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+6|
+6|Defensive Surge 4/day
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+6|
+6|DR 5/-[/table]
Game Rule Information
Guardians have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Guardians rely heavily on their Constitution to provide them with bonus hit points for when enemies get through their defenses. Strength also helps to give them a boost to their attack, and Wisdom is helpful to boost their mental defense.
Alignment: Guardians tend towards Lawful Alignments.
Hit Die: d12.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Guardians are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all armors, and tower shields.
Class Skills
The Guardians's class skills, and the key abilities for each are Climb (Str), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int Mod) X 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int Mod
Class Features
Armor Training: Guardians excel at using their armor to the best of their benefit. When wearing any type of armor, that armor is treated as being the indicated number of points higher for armor bonuses.
Dodge: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisite is met or not.
Bonus Feats: Guardians receive bonus feats which must be selected off of the Fighter Bonus Feat list, and they must meet the requirements for the feats (i.e. they cannot take Weapon Specialization without 4 levels of Fighter).
Mobility: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisites have been met or not.
Protect Ally: As a free action, once per round, a Guardian can select 1 target to protect. If that target is within melee reach of the Guardian and is attacked, the Guardian grants the target a bonus to their armor equal to the Guardian's Armor Training bonus.
Combat Reflexes: As the feat, regardless if the prerequisites are met or not. In addition, if the Guardian's dexterity is less than 12, they still gain 1 additional attack of opportunity from this ability.
Damage Reduction: Experienced Guardians become very efficient at manuevering their armor to absorb damage. When wearing any sort of armor, the Guardian gains damage reduction as listed.
Iron Will: As the feat.
Preemptive Strike: As an immediate action, a Guardian can strike at anyone within melee range attempting to strike them or a target that is benefiting from their Protect Ally or Cover Ally ability. This attack uses up one of the Guardian's Attack of Opportunities for the Round, and if successful, prevents the initial attack from occuring.
Assist Ally: If a target benefitting from the Guardian's "Protect Ally" or "Cover Ally" ability provokes an attack of opportunity from an enemy, the Guardian can spend one of his Attacks of Opportunity for the round to stop the enemy attack. The enemy does NOT lose its attack of opportunity for the round.
Defensive Surge: As an immediate action, the Guardian can become a bastion of defense, increasing their Constitution by 4 and their Damage Reduction doubles. These benefits last for 1 round per bonus point of their newly increased Constitution score.
Improved Protect Ally: As protect Ally, but the Guardian can also grant their target their Damage Reduction bonus.
Cover Ally: The Guardian has become so adept at defending himself and his surroundings that he can, as an immediate action, move infront of an ally within 5 ft. and become the target of the attack against that ally. This ability cannot be used in conjunction with Protect Ally, nor can it be used if the Guardian's movement is reduced by magic or mundane reasons (excluding the movement reduction from heavy armor).
Designer's Note:
The Guardian class is meant to be a Fighter replacement class. While it technically could be used alongside the Fighter, I believe it is far more powerful than the fighter, and as such makes the Fighter a bit redundant. In addition, this is the first class in a series of "new" classes that will eventually replace many of the standard classes. The basic premise behind this is to attempt to balance the core classes a bit more.
Thoughts/comments?