Help with a Spring Attacking PrC!

[Enkhidu]

I've been tinkering around with the idea of creating a prestige class based off of spring attack. Does anyone out there have any homebrewed Prestige classes and/or feats that might be handy when making a 5 level PrC like that?

So far I've found Mike Bishop's Sortier PrC, but I'm not sure if that fits the bill - we've been trying to stick with 5 level PrCs for the most part. I'm also not convinced it's balanced.

Suggestions? Comments? Any input would be welcome.

 

[Silver Griffon]

My first attempt at designing a prestige class was a fighter-type based on speed and mobility. The class had an ability called Attack on the Run that allowed the PC to take a full attack action while moving up to his full base speed in a around. This idea was meant to be an extension of spring attack. Insteade of move, attack, move, it allows you to spread out your full number of attacks over your movement.
Here's the thread: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34525
I only played one for a couple of levels, but it seemed like the requirements I set were a little much. If you changed the base attack bonus required to +4 and removed the Run feat from its requirements, it would probably still be fairly balanced and would then be available as a level 5. Maybe drop the Improved Tumble, which didn't turn out to be very useful. I don't know if its quite what you are looking for, but the Attack on the Run ability might be.
Hope it at least gives you an idea or two.

 

[Bean 2.0]

careful with attack on the run its better than the epic feat dire charge a 5 lvl prc's best ability shold be about equal to an epic feat unless the class has some steep reqs.

 

[SylverFlame]

As for requirements, I'd put in a few ranks of jump, balance, or tumble. Attacking in motion and staying onbalance is not as easy as it looks.

This is actually pretty neat. Have you considered giving them a "surprise round" ability that can be used after surprise round?

Something like:

Slash on the Sly:
The character can make a single melee attack at their highest attack bonus. To use this ability the character must be attacking someone who is flanked by at least two other characters (that is, no the attacker), and the attack is considered to use the Spring Attack feat. This ability may be used against a particular target only once per combat, and the target must not have been attacked by the attacking character earlier in the combat.

I'd place this between level 3 and 8, depending on what other abilities your giving the PrC. The only thing I can see for abuse here is a rogue sneak attacking, but they can do that against any flanked character at anytime.

If you want to limit the ability, just make Uncanny Dodge (that's the one that avoids sneak attacks right?) render a char immune to this.

 

[Enkhidu]

I've been playing with the idea of a 5 level PrC with a d8 HD, BAB progression like a Rogue, a good REF save, 4 skill points per level, the ranger's skill list, and the following abilites:

Foray (yoinked from the Sortier class I linked to above) - Movement is doubled as per Expeditious Retreat for Con Bonus +2/PrC level rounds. 1x a day at 1st, 2x at 3rd, and 3x at 5th.

Cunning Strike (also yoinked from the Sortier Class) - +1d6 damage per strike when opponent is flat-footed/flanked (rules as if per sneak attack) at 2nd Lvl, +2d6 at 4th.

Leaping - at 1st level, all jump calculations are done as if the PC was 2x their actual height.

Superior Leaping - at 3rd level, all jump calculations are done as if the PC was 3x their actual height.

Run-By Attack - At 2nd lvl, the PC may make a full attack action while moving his base speed. However, the following strictures apply: all attacks follow the iterative pattern, no more than one attack may be made per opponent (even if the # of iterative attacks is greater than the # of opponents available), and AoOs are incurred as normal for movement through an opponents threat range.

Improved Run-By Attack - At 5th level, the PC can combine a Run-By Attack with Spring Attack, selecting one attack he makes during his Run-By Attack as the Spring Attack (and provoking no AoOs from that opponent).


I toyed with the idea of making Cunning Strike useable only on the first strike against a particular opponent in a melee - think that would be better?

And, I think it goes without saying that I've never created a PrC like this before - I have the sneaking suspiscion that it might be overpowered. Please let me know if I missed anything!

 

[SylverFlame]

Things look fairly balanced to me. Of course, it all depends on the prereqs for getting into the class. Any idea on what those are?

 

[Enkhidu]

I've been figuring a +7 BAB, 6 to 8 ranks of Hide, Move Silently, Jump, and possibly Balance. Oh, and Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack.

 

[SylverFlame]

With those prereqs the abilities look good. You could expand the class to a ten level PrC with prereqs along those lines and a few more abilities. Just my thing, I like 10 level PrCs.

 

[Silver Griffon]

careful with attack on the run its better than the epic feat dire charge a 5 lvl prc's best ability shold be about equal to an epic feat unless the class has some steep reqs.

I didn't have epic level handbook when I wrote the attack on the run ability. Of course you don't get it until 6th level and even then only once per day. If problems are still forseen, you could maybe weaken it a little by having it cause some fatigue or some subdual damage or something...

 

[The Fifth Elephant]

Leaping - at 1st level, all jump calculations are done as if the PC was 2x their actual height.

Superior Leaping - at 3rd level, all jump calculations are done as if the PC was 3x their actual height.

Doesn't height only effect maximum jumping distance? This is a bit underpowered then.