Cowboy From Hell - Gunslinger Prestige Class

[Sooth]

Hello friends,

Here is a prestige class that could tentatively be called finished, but may still need work. I appreciate your insights and feedback.

It is part of an ongoing project to create a plethora of Heavy Metal themed Pathfinder content.

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Cowboy from Hell

“Don’t you go telling me about the horrors of the dungeon. You haven’t been out there on the frontier wastes, far beyond the tenuous grasp of civilization, staring down the maw of a towering worm of death, weathering dust storms that’’ll flay the flesh right off your bones… yeah, I’ve seen some ****. But then they say, there’s at least one rugged slinger who’s been to Hell and back from those wastes, and I don’t mean that like no poem. What’s it take, I wonder, to put the fear of mortal extinction into a cuss who’s survived such trials?
You’ll know one when you see one. Know them by the way the air seems to burn with brimstone when they walk on by in their black dusters. Know them by the way they stand tall in the light and when bullets just can’t seem to touch them. And you’ll definitely know them by their eyes, both haunted and fearless, for they gone and they gazed into the abyss, and the abyss… it went and gazed right back.”

How adventurers like these come to be is truly the realm of legend and mystery, but this much is surmised: sometimes, a tough bastard from the blasted frontier greets Death, but doesn’t stay for the arrangement. Their encounter grants them a nightmarish tour through the Lower Planes as they bear witness to sights reserved for the long-gone and truly damned. Then, just as it seems their sojourn with Hell might become a permanent stay, they go and claw themselves right out - alive, but changed.

Role: Cowboys from Hell wield new and frightening powers from the depths of all nine Hells. While this may occasionally allow them to step outside their traditional role of artillery, more often than not these powers serve to supplement the already existing abilities they possessed as a Gunslinger.

Alignment: Cowboys from Hell can be of any alignment. However, since the class presumes that one has formed a connection with the Lower Planes, it is far more common for such characters to be Evil-aligned. If the character is Good-aligned, aesthetic trends of the time might nonetheless demand that they wear black.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats:Must be proficient with Firearms.

Class Progression
Base Attack Bonus:As Fighter
Saving Throws:As Monk

Class Skills

The Cowboy from Hell’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

1 Deeds & Grit, Vulgar Displays of Power
2 Desperado Ability
3
4 Extra Grit
5 Desperado Ability
6
7 Desperado Ability
8 Extra Grit
9
10 Desperado Ability

Deeds & Grit (Ex): If the Cowboy from Hell wasn’t a hardass to begin with, he is now. At first level, the Cowboy gains the Deeds and Grit class features (see Gunslinger class). If the Cowboy already has the Grit class feature, he adds his Gunslinger levels and his levels in Cowboy from Hell together when determining what Gunslinger Deeds are available to him; otherwise, he merely gains access to Gunslinger Deeds based on his level in Cowboy from Hell.

Since the Cowboy has literally seen Hell and lived to tell of it, he gains immunity to all non-magical fear effects.

Vulgar Displays of Power (Sp): Starting at first level, the Cowboy from Hell gains the ability to invoke spell-like abilities using his Grit. The Cowboy begins knowing three 1st level spells and one 2nd level spell, all chosen from the Vulgar Display spell list below. As the Cowboy gains levels, he learns additional spells as shown on Table: Cowboy from Hell. When casting a spell from the Cowboy list, the saving throw DC is equal to 10 + ½ the Cowboy’s Hit Dice + his Wisdom modifier; the caster level is equal to the Cowboy’s Hit Dice.

Although these powers stem from his connection to the Lower Planes, they are in fact fueled by his own cussed tenacity and force of will. As such, the Cowboy from Hell does not use spell slots. Instead, the Cowboy may cast any one of his known spells by expending a number of Grit equal to one-half the spell level (minimum 1, rounded up)

Table: Cowboy from Hell

Level	1	2	3	4	5
1	3	1
2	3	2
3	3	2	1
4	3	3	2
5	3	3	2
6	3	3	3	1
7	3	3	3	2
8	3	3	3	2
9	3	3	3	3	1
10	3	3	3	3	2

Vulgar Display Spell List
1st level:Abundant Ammunition, Cause Fear, Compel Hostility, Detect Demon, Endure Elements, Infernal Blood, Murderous Command, Obscuring Mist, Tireless Pursuit, Wrath
2nd level: Blistering Invective, Castigate, Confess, Darkness, Death Knell, Detect Demon, Howling Agony, Instrument of Agony, Surmount Affliction.
3rd level: Agonizing Rebuke, Confess, Deeper Darkness, Halt Undead, Hunter’s Eye, Speak with Dead, Terrible Remorse
4th level: Death Ward, Forced Repentance, Glimpse of Truth, Named Bullet, Red Hand of the Killer, Stoneskin, Unholy Blight
5th level: Break Enchantment, Flame Strike, Insect Plague, Litany of Vengeance, True Seeing, Spell Resistance

The GM may decide that additional spells are available to choose from if they are thematically appropriate.

Desperado Ability: At levels 2, 5, 7 and 10, the Cowboy From Hell gains an ability from the list below which reflects perfect symmetry of his honed fighting instincts and supernatural prowess.

Heresy (Su): The Cowboy’s adamant and peculiar defiance against extraplanar influence grants him a +4 profane bonus to saving throws against Divine spells and, furthermore, against the spell-like abilities of Outsiders. If the Cowboy becomes subject to a spell or effect that deals damage or causes debility based on alignment (such as Chaos Hammer or Blasphemy), the Cowboy is always treated as the most favorable alignment for the purpose of what damage or debility he suffers.

I’ll Cast A Shadow (Ex): The Cowboy exudes a palpable aura of menace and eminence that allows him to sow terror and also makes it difficult for others to lie to him. The Cowboy gains a morale bonus to Sense Motive and Intimidate checks equal to half his Hit Dice.

Out for Blood (Sp): Once per day, the Cowboy can use Named Bullet as a spell-like ability. This ability does not cost Grit, and it is separate from the Cowboy having Named Bullet on his spell list (which allows him to spend Grit to use it). At 10th level, this ability improves and the Cowboy may use Greater Named Bullet instead. If the Cowboy knows the name of the specific foe he intends to kill, he may use this spell-like ability as a swift action.

Right on the Edge (Ex): Living right on the Edge, the Cowboy gains 1 point of Grit whenever he rolls for initiative (or when a new fight breaks out, at GM’s discretion) while he has no Grit remaining.

Stone Cold Metal (Ex): With stone cold metal in his hands, the Cowboy skillfully dispatches his opponents. The Cowboy gains the Gun Training feature of the Gunslinger class. If the Cowboy already possesses this feature or one similar to it, he instead chooses another type of firearm for it to apply with.

Throes of Rejection (Su): The Cowboy’s immense fortitude grants him DR/- equal to 1 per four Hit Dice he possesses (for example, 3 points of DR/- at 12th level).

Will to Survive (Ex): The Cowboy’s sheer will prevents him from being easily slain. Once per day, if the Cowboy would be reduced to 0 hit points or below, the Cowboy may choose to expend all of his Grit in order to remain at 1 hit point instead (or avoid any hit point loss, if he was already below 1). The Cowboy must have at least 1 point of Grit to use this ability.

Extra Grit: At the indicated levels, the Cowboy gains one instance of the Extra Grit feat.

[Digitalfruitz]

First off this class is awesome and is totally being used by all future cowboy characters I have. Secondly I am a huge fan of weird spellcasting. This is really cool

[ShiningStarling]

Well that's pretty darn cool. Couple things.

The class says all these powers happen because of a connection to the lower Planes, but the class does not state such a connection as a requirement.

For the Desperado abilities... Heresy is really good, the rest of them really aren't very impressive.

Very cool stuff though :3

[Sooth]

Thanks for the kind words.

Yeah, I was originally aiming to have the Desperado abilities each be equivalent to a class feature (Barbarian DR, Inquisitor Stern Gaze), but thinking it over again I realize I need to do more than that if I want the Cowboy from Hell to result in an appreciable increase in power and versatility for an otherwise single-class Fighter or Gunslinger. (This is the approach I took with the Disciple of Metal, where many class features are strictly better than average and ultimately elevate the Bard's strength.) I'll likely see about buffing the other Deeds.