Coward PrC

[DanielLC]

The BBEG has been nervously staring at the door since he had word of his defenses being breached. When the door swung open he jumped. An arrow pierced the wall behind where he stood moments ago. Four people rushed in. "Last time we met", said the one in front, "we barely escaped with our lives. This time, we're prepared."
"You're probably right" the BBEG admitted after looking them over. He clicked together the heels of his boots of teleportation and vanished.

Coward

Hit die: d8

Requirements
Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Skills: Hide 5 ranks.
Special: Must have run away from combat while there was still hope.

Class Skills (4 + int modifier per level)
Climb (Str), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis) Move Silently (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex)

Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Survivors gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Supernatural Survival (Su)
Every level, a Coward gets a cumulative +1 luck bonus to any check that will probably result in his death if he fails.

Life or Death (Ex)
Every level, a Coward gets a cumulative +1 morale bonus to any check that he believes will probably result in his death if he fails.

Fear (Ex)
A Coward is easily scared, and takes a -2 penalty to all saves for fear effects. Nothing can give a Coward a bonus against such effects if they are from a mundane origin (such as Demoralize Opponent or Frightful Presence).

Run for Your Life (Ex)
If a Coward is Frightened, Panicked, or simply decides to run, they are all treated the same. If it is possible to run, he will. He won't take the normal penalties, and will be able to use the morale bonus from Life or Death for anything merely needed to escape. He will also have is speed increased by 5 feet. If it isn't possible to run, he will take the penalties as if shaken, and will attempt to run at the next opportunity. Whenever an effect would cause a Coward to be Shaken, failing the save by more than 5 will cause him to run.

Unwavering Attention (Ex)
Beginning on the 2nd level, whenever a Coward is in a dangerous situation (read: adventuring), he gains a +2 bonus to spot and listen checks, and if he passes 5 feet from a trap, he is entitled to a Search check.

Flinch (Ex)
Beginning on the 3rd level when a Coward is in a dangerous situation, he can't be flat-footed under normal circumstances. He will be flat-footed if attacked by an invisible opponent, for example.

Will to Live (Ex)
Beginning on the 4th level, Coward gains a +5 bonus on the Will save of anything that will probably result in his death if he fails, so long as it isn't fear based. This stacks with Supernatural Survival and Life or Death.

Near-Perfect Recall (Ex)
By the 5th level, a Coward's life has flashed before his eyes so many times that he has most of it memorized.

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

|

+0

|+1 bonuses in Supernatural Survival and Life or Death, Fear, Run for Your Life

2nd|

+1

|

+3

|

+0

|

+0

|+1 bonuses in Supernatural Survival and Life or Death, Unwavering Attention

3rd|

+2

|

+3

|

+1

|

+1

|+1 bonuses in Supernatural Survival and Life or Death, Flinch

4th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|+1 bonuses in Supernatural Survival and Life or Death, Will to Live

5th|

+3

|

+4

|

+1

|

+1

|+1 bonuses in Supernatural Survival and Life or Death, Near-Perfect Recall[/table]

[blue_fenix]

Teh Awesomeness!!!! Especially if you have the type of DM that makes you, as a player, paranoid that your character could die at any time. Also fun to give to a BBEG who usually has minions do the dirty work. I nearly laughed out loud when I read this.

[Icewalker]

Heh, fun class. I like the flavor part as well.

I suggest rephrasing it to anything that will kill him or will result in his death, for the bonuses. Something that will immobilize him so the PCs can coup de grace him for example, wouldn't technically kill him, and he knows it.

[Leliel]

NYA-HA-HA-HA-HE-HE-HEH-EHE-HE-HEH-HEE...*deep breath* NYA-HA-HE-HE -HEE...

Ahem I approve of this PrC.

[DanielLC]

I changed it from kill him to result in his death. Is that good? It still doesn't cover the situation in which he's just imprisoned, but it's better.

Any tips on improving the class? It's supposed to not be as good at helping you fight as most classes, but better at helping you escape. I'm thinking about making it so you choose which save you're good in, so it works with classes that wouldn't normally have a good fortitude save.

By the way, this class was inspired by Rincewind, from the Discworld series.

[TheLogman]

What does Near-Perfect Recall actually do?

It seems that it should either:

1. Make it so he doesn't lose levels after dying
2. Give a bonus to Knowledge (Remembering stuff), AC (Remembering how certain attacks happen), or Attacks (Remembering how stuff is weak to certain attacks)

[LordVader]

This class is awesome. Great for bosses who fight with minions, too.

[SurlySeraph]

You can easily enter this PrC at second level. Is that intentional? Because that's kinda rare for PrCs... of course, this wouldn't be overpowering at the lower levels, so it isn't really a problem.

[de-trick]

man be fun to play look all tough then when you see combat run

[DanielLC]

What does Near-Perfect Recall actually do?...

The intent was that you could remember stuff really well. (Actually, the intent was for nobody to progress that far, and to make a joke.) I was thinking about making it so you have a 90% chance of remembering obscure details (e.g. exactly what the sign you passed three years ago said) and very old memories (e.g. your first words), a 10% chance of remembering something magically repressed that should be impossible to remember, a 9% chance of remembering something that applies to both, and always remembering anything else. I suppose it would give you a bonus in all knowledge checks, because you would remember stuff you've only heard once. How about it gives you a +2 bonus in all knowledge checks? I'd like some feedback before I update it.

You can easily enter this PrC at second level. Is that intentional? Because that's kinda rare for PrCs... of course, this wouldn't be overpowering at the lower levels, so it isn't really a problem.

I have never actually played D&D, so I can't gauge how strong the class is. If it's what I want it to be, taking it as your second level would be a bad idea, because it would mean half of your levels are in a class that isn't built to fight. It should be underpowering, not just not overpowering. In addition, the main point of the class is to be able to escape if everybody else gets killed, so you can revive them later. You obviously can't be bother to drag the bodies with you, or even cut off parts of the bodies to take. Because of this, if you can't afford a greater resurrection, it's near pointless. If you're able to come back for the bodies and take a piece of flesh, you can have them reincarnated at a much lower level, but this is rarely the case.

man be fun to play look all tough then when you see combat run

It's not supposed to to be that cowardly. In the part at the top, the BBEG is implied to have fought the heroes before, and this time he didn't run until after he made sure he probably couldn't beat them. A Coward won't simply run from all combat, what makes him cowardly is when he runs. He runs when he knows he will probably lose, even if he still has a chance of winning. In the example at the top, the BBEG also has the problem that if he doesn't run he has no guarantee that the heroes won't cast dimensional anchor and keep him from running later. It should be noted that although only having your minions or allies attack and always running is cowardly, so is only fighting when you know you can win.