PART 4 - The Defender

[The Hive Mind]

Heroes are hard to come by in the lands of Eredane and beyond. The oppressive reign of the Night Kings and their dark god have sapped the will of the people of these lands, who now seem content to scrape out what lives they can under the control of Izrador’s forces. But from among these beaten people come men and women of great strength and character. They have vowed to fight the Shadow and his forces until their dying breaths. These adventurous and liberated spirits are known as defenders.

Defenders know that to openly defy the Night Kings is to bring death to themselves and all who know them. They also know that they must rally the spirits of their people if there is ever hope of triumphing over Izrador. To this end, they train their bodies to be weapons and learn martial techniques with simple tools in order to hide their nature from the soldiers of the Night Kings. Defenders are legendary for their toughness of both mind and body, and their ability to defeat more heavily armed foes gives hope to the downtrodden and oppressed.

Adventures: Defenders often travel far to achieve their goals, but their hearts are always with the people of their homelands. They may leave their homes to train with other defenders or to pass along the knowledge that they have gained. They sometimes act as guards to important caravans or underground leaders who work to undermine the Night Kings’ control.

Characteristics: The defender’s greatest ability is to fight with no weapons or armor, or those that do not appear to be instruments of war. Defenders learn to use their arms and legs to damage and incapacitate their foes with blind- ing speed. They have trained their bodies, minds, and spirits, and they can effectively strike even the most heavily armored of opponents.

Alignment: Defenders would once have been thought lawful protectors of their homelands, but no more. Now they must fight on their own terms, often circumventing local laws that give advantage to the forces of the Night Kings. Thus, they are often chaot- ic or neutral in personality. Most defenders are good, as they see themselves as the protectors of those who are unable to protect themselves. Sometimes defenders are forced to use methods that skirt the edges of morali- ty, so they may be neutral. Only rarely would those of evil intent devote themselves to the protection of others, but defenders are not unknown among evil societies.

Background: Defenders come from all walks of life, sometimes peasants who feel they have nothing to give but their bodies to aid their friends and family, other times the descendants of noble men who feel compelled to protect
those that their forefathers could not. Candidates are some times approached by existing defenders who understand the necessity of passing on the knowledge and training that they have gained. Often a child will be impressed by the actions of a defender and in adulthood seek to emulate the hero of his youth. The defenders are always taught a strict code of honor that governs their actions and philosophy, though there are many codes of this nature.

Races: Almost all defenders are human, as they can blend in to local communities without drawing the attention of the local authorities. Elves on the run and free dworgs also often take up the defender’s arts, hoping to be able to fight the dark god without calling attention to themselves.

Other Classes: Defenders prefer to work alone or in small groups to avoid drawing attention. They find it easiest to work with rogues, although sometimes their vocations work at cross-purposes. They respect wildlanders for their stealth and combat abilities and can understand a channeler’s need for secrecy. They believe fighters are just asking for trouble with their heavy weapons and armor.


Level / Base Attack Bonus /--- Fort Save /Ref Save /Will Save / Special /---------------------- AC Bonus
1 ---------+1 -------------------+0 ----------+2 ----+0 ------Masterful strike ----------------+1
2 ---------+2 -------------------+0 ----------+3 ----+0 ------Defender ability, Stunning Fist---+1
3 ---------+3 -------------------+1 ----------+3 ----+1 ------Improved Grapple ---------------+2
4 ---------+4 -------------------+1 ----------+4 ----+1 ------Precise strike ------------------+2
5 ---------+5 -------------------+1 ----------+4 ----+1 ------Defender ability ----------------+3
6 ---------+6/+1 ----------------+2 ----------+5 ----+2 ------Incredible speed or resilience ---+3
7 ---------+7/+2 ----------------+2 ----------+5 ----+2 ------Masterful strike +1d6 -----------+4
8 ---------+8/+3 ----------------+2 ----------+6 ----+2 ------Defender ability ----------------+4
9 ---------+9/+4 ----------------+3 ----------+6 ----+3 ------Incredible speed or resilience ---+5
10 ---------+10/+5 --------------+3 ----------+7 ----+3 ------Precise strike II ----------------+5
11 ---------+11/+6/+1 -----------+3 ----------+7 ----+3 ------Defender ability ----------------+6
12 ---------+12/+7/+2 -----------+4 ----------+8 ----+4 ------Incredible speed or resilience ---+6
13 ---------+13/+8/+3 -----------+4 ----------+8 ----+4 ------Masterful strike +2d6 ----------+7
14 ---------+14/+9/+4 -----------+4 ----------+9 ----+4 ------Defender ability ---------------+7
15 ---------+15/+10/+5 ----------+5 ----------+9 ----+5 ------Incredible speed or resilience --+8
16 ---------+16/+11/+6/+1--------+5 ---------+10 ----+5 -----Precise strike III --------------+8
17 ---------+17/+12/+7/+2 -------+5 ---------+10 ----+5 -----Defender ability ---------------+9
18 ---------+18/+13/+8/+3 -------+6 ---------+11 ----+6 -----Incredible speed or resilience --+9
19 ---------+19/+14/+9/+4 -------+6 ---------+11 ----+6 -----Masterful strike +3d6 ---------+10
20 ---------+20/+15/+10/+5 ------+6 ---------+12 ----+6 -----Defender ability --------------+10

Alignment: Any.
Hit Die: d8.
Starting Possessions: 1d4x10 vp.

Class Skills

The defender's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local)(Int), Knowledge (Shadow)(Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (n/a), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at each additional level: 4 + Int modifier.

Defender Class Abilities

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A defender is proficient with a variety of traditional weapons that are necessary as tools; by trianing with everything from lengths of rope to wooden boards, the defender ensures that he can always carry a weapon without being accused of breaking the law as he does so. This list includes the club, dagger, dart, Farmer's ropes, handaxe, inutek, light hammer, light pick, quarterstaff, sickle, throwing axe, sling, and great sling.

Defenders are proficient only with padded armor, and not with shields; as with weapons, wearing more visible armor in occupied territory would only serve to mark the defender as a target, not protect him. Because the defender regularly fights for his life wearing nothing more than padded clothes, the defender loses his defender abilities, masterful strike, precise strike, and AC bonuses when wearing any armor other than padded or when using a shield.

AC Bonus (Ex): When wearing armor no heavier than padded, the defender gains the listed bonus to AC. This bonus to AC applies even against touch attacks or when the defender is flat-footed. He loses this bonus when he is immobilized or helpless.

Masterful Strike (Ex): Even the simplest weapons can be taken or destroyed, and as such the defender trains to defend himself when unarmed. He gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat at 1st level. Additionally, his unarmed strike damage improves to 1d4 for Small defenders, 1d6 for Medium defenders, and 1d8 for Large defenders.

At 6th level, a defender deals 1d6 extra damage when he hits with a successful unarmed strike. This extra damage increases by 1d6 at 12th level and by another 1d6 at 18th level.

A defender's bonus damage dice only apply against living creatures with discernable anatomies--undead, constructs, oozes, plants, and incorporeal creatures lack vital areas to attack. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is not vulnerable to a defender's bonus damage dice. As with other example of bonus dice, the extra damage from masterful strike is not multiplied when a critical hit is scored.

Stunning Fist (Su): At 2nd level, the defender gains Stunning Fist as a bonus feat even if he does not meet the prerequisites. The DC for a defender's stunning fist is based on his Strength modifier rather than his Wisdom modifier. A defender with the Stunning Fist feat may attempt a stunning attack a number of times per day equal to his defender level +3, plus one additional time per day for every four levels he has in classes other than defender, but no more than once per round.

Improved Grapple: Even the mightiest orc cannot use a vardatch when he is being grappled. At 3rd level, defenders gain Improved Grapple as a bonus feat.

Precise Strike (Ex): Assaulting heavily armored orcs with one's bare fists is excellent training for finding the weak spots of creatures that seem immune or resistant to normal weapons; at higher levels, a defender can find the weak points even in seemingly invulnerable creatures like constructs and elementals. At 4th level, when using an unarmed strike, a defender may ignore 3 points of damage reduction of any type whenever he inflicts damage. At 10th level he may ignore 6 points of damage reduction when inflicting damage, and at 16th level he may ignore 9 points of damage reduction when inflicting damage.

Incredible Speed or Resilience (Ex): Living a brutal life under the Shadow has taught defenders that, against superior numbers and better armed forces, speed or resilience are often the only defenses. Each time this ability is gained, the defender may choose incredible speed or incredible resilience.

If he chooses incredible speed, his base land speed increases by +10 ft. This increase to speed should be applied before the speed reduction from armor or encumbrance is calculated. If he chooses incredible resilience, he gains +3 hit points.

Defender Abilities: At 2nd level and every three levels thereafter (5th, 8th, 11th, etc.), a defender may choose one ability from the following list. The defender cannot use any of these abilities or gain any of their benefits when wearing armor heavier than padded or using a shield, or when using weapons other than unarmed strikes or weapons with which defenders are normally proficient.

Defender Abilities

Defender abilities are organized into tiers. Tier 1 abilities have no prerequisites. Tier 2 abilities each have one specific tier 1 ability as a prerequisite and most require one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist. Tier 3 abilities each have two specific tier 1 abilities as prerequisites and most require one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Tier 1 Abilities

Flurry Attack: The defender's penalty for fighting with a weapon in his off hand (including attacking with an offhand unarmed strike or using both ends of a double weapon, such as the quarterstaff) is reduced by one. This ability may be chosen multiple times, each time reducing the penalty by an additional 1. This benefit stacks with feats such as Two-Weapon Fighting and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting.

Defensive Mastery: Each of the defender's saving throws gains a permanent +1 bonus. This ability may be chosen multiple times.

Dodge Training: The AC bonus granted by the defender's class ability increases by +1. This ability may be chosen multiple times.

Grappling Training: The defender may attempt a disarm, sunder, or trip attack against a foe with whom he is grappling. In all cases, the attempt takes the place of a normal attack and is resolved with opposed grapple checks rather than with the normal opposed attack roll or opposed Strength check; only the normal modifiers to the grapple checks are used.

For instance, if an Erenlander defender attempts to trip a dwarf with whom he is grappling, the dwarg does not gain his +4 racial bonus to avoid being tripped; likewise, if a halfling defender attempts to disarm the greataxe wielded by the orc with whom he is grappling, the orc does not get a +4 bonus to the roll for wielding a two-handed weapon and the halfling does not suffer a -4 penalty for using a light weapon (thought the halfling does suffer the normal -4 size penalty on the grapple check).

Offensive Training: When a defender has successfully stunned a foe with a stunning attack, he can attempt to blind or deafen his opponent for a number of rounds equal to his Strength modifier. The round during which the opponent is stunned does not count against the duration of this effect. The stunned opponent may make a Fortitude saving throw (DC equal to the DC of the defender's Stunning Fist attack) to avoid this effect, albeit at a -4 penalty.

Speed Training: Once per round, the defender may make an additional move action, either before or after his regular actions. He still cannot move more than 5 ft. if he takes a full round action. A defender that performs a full attack action, for instance, could use his extra move action to stand from prone, close a door, draw a weapon, or pick up an item; he could not use it to move his base speed. Alternatively, if the defender took a double move, he could use this ability to move even farther; if he moved and then attacked once as a standard action, he could use this ability to move away again (possibly provoking attacks of opportunity from his opponent).

Tier 2 Abilities

Cover Ally (Requires Dodge Training): Once per round when and ally within 5 ft. would be struck by a melee or ranged attack, the defender can choose to suffer the effects of the attack. The defender must choose to cover the ally before the effects of the attack are determined (i.e., before damage is rolled, saving throws are called for, etc.). Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

One With the Weapon (Requires Offensive Training): The defender chooses one weapon with which defenders are normally proficient. The defender maynow use masterful strike, precise strike, and the Stunning Fist feat with that weapon. These defender class abilities may only be used with ranged weapons if the target is within 30 ft. This ability may be chosen multiple times. Each time it is chosen, the defender may either choose another weapon or may increase the range at which the abilities may be used by 30 ft.

Rapid Strike (Requires Speed Training): Once per round the defender may make an extra attack with his primary weapon at his highest attack bonus, either before or after his regular actions. This ability does not stack with haste, Cleave, or other effects that grant additional attacks. Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Strike and Hold (Requires Grappling Training): Once per round as a free action, the defender may attempt to establish a hold against any opponent he hust hit with an unarmed strike. If he succeeds, he may deal additional damage to the target as with an unarmed strike. He then has the option of letting the target go or of moving into the target's space and maintaining the grapple. Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Tier 3 Abilities

Counterattack (Requires Dodge Training and Offensive Training): Once per round when a foe within reach misses the defender with a melee attack, the defender may make an immediate attack of opportunity against the foe. This ability may not be used in conjunction with the weapon trap ability. Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Devastating Strike (Requires Grappling Training and Offensive Training): When a defender has successfully stunned a foe with a stunning attack, he can opt to initiate a bull rush as a free action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Unlike a normal bull rush attempt, the defender does not need to move with the target in order to push him farther than 5 feet. The stunned opponent is allowed to make a Strength check to resist the bull rush, albeit at a -4 penalty. Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Furious Grapple (Requires Grappling Training and Speed Training): Once per round when the defender is grappling an opponent he may make an extra grapple check as a free action at his highest grapple bonus, either before or after his regular actions. This grapple check may be used to perform any of the actions in a grapple other than casting a spell, regardless of whether the action takes the place of an attack or is a move action, standard action, or full-round action. This ability does not stack with haste, Cleave, or other effects that grant additional attacks.

Retaliatory Strike (Requires Dodge Training and Speed Training): Once per round the defender can make an attack of opportunity against any foe within reach that successfully strikes one of the defender's allies. This ability may not be used in conjunction with the cover ally ability. Using this ability use up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

Weapon Trap (Requires Dodge Training and Grappling Training): Once per round when a defender is attacked by a foe in melee but before the attack roll is resolved, he may make an opposed attack roll to catch the weapon in his bare hands. Modifiers are applied to both roll as if the defender were attempting to disarm the attacker. This ability may only be used once per round, and the defender must have both hands free to make the attempt. Using this ability uses up one of the defender's daily uses of Stunning Fist.

If the defender fails, he is hit and damage is dealt as normal. If the defender succeeds, he has grabbed the weapon by the hilt, the flat of the blade, etc., such that he suffers no damge from the attack. The defender may now perform one of the following as a free action:

1) Attempt to disarm the opponent, which does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the weapon trapped is a natural weapon, this option is impossible.
2) Automatically deal damage to the weapon as with an unarmed strike. If the weapon trapped is a natural weapon, the damage is dealt to the creature.
3) Make a single unarmed strike against the opponent, who loses hi Dex bonus to AC (if any) against the attack.
Once the defender has resolved one of these actions, the weapon is released. The attacker may continue with his turn as normal, including making additional attacks with other weapons if able.