Hound Rider

[Shirt Guy John]

A mount and a PrC follow.

Great Hound (Giant Riding Dog)
Large Animal
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Hit Dice: 4d8+16 (34)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 50ft.
AC: 16 (-1 Size, +1 Dex, +6 Natural)
Attacks: Bite +8 melee
Damage: Bite 1d8+9
Face/Reach: 5ft. by 10ft./ 5ft.
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Scent
Saves: Fort +8, Refl +5, Will +2.
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 13, Con 19, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6.
Skills: Listen +5, Spot +5, Swim +9, Wilderness lore +1*.
Feats: -
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Climate/Terain: Any land
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always Neutral
Advancement: -

Skills: *Riding Dogs recieve a +4 racial bonus to Wilderness Lore checks when tracking by scent.
Carrying Capacity: 400 light; 401-800 medium; 801-1200 heavy.

"With a braying more akin to thunder than to any mortal noise, the Riders surmounted the hilltop at the head of a large army. Each bore a sword of average length, but each was of a seperate color. The three Riders charged forward into our front-most unit of pikemen and archers and within moments, these three alone had desolated that front-guard without even taking a scratch. Another set of olympian howls and they and their troops were upon us in full."-Chronicles of the Oleria Campaigns

Hound Rider
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Leading the armies of the Southern Reaches, the majestic Hound Riders, masters of the Giant Riding Dogs of the region, are a sight to be feared. They inspire courage and power in their own ranks, and noting short of terror in their foes. Typically armed with a single longsword, often refered to with reverence as a "Hound's Tooth", they are truly powerful. They fight as one with their chosen Hound. Many take up the mantle of leader or champion of their people, but it is not necesarily required by the class.
The Hound Rider is open to any class taht can meet the requirements. Most often a Hound Rider is formerly of the Fighter class, though Rangers and Paladins have been known to join also. The class is not associated with any guild or organization, but is instead a reflection of attaining kinship with the beasts that they ride into combat. Many Hound Riders regard each other as brothers, even if their ideologies, faiths, or alignments would normally make them bitter enemies.
HD: d10

Requirements:
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*Alignment: Any
*Base Attack Bonus: +6
*Ride(Hound) 8 ranks
*Feats: Mounted Combat, Proficiency with Longsword, and one of the following: Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Leadership.
*Special: Must have personally dedicated a "Hound's Tooth" sword (see "Hound's Tooth" ability discription below).

Class Skills:
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The Hound Rider's Class Skills are (and the Key ability for each skill) are Animal Empathy(Cha), Diplomacy(Cha), Handle Animal(Cha), Intimidate(Cha), Ride(Dex), Sense Motive(Wis), Swim(Str), Wilderness Lore(Wis).

Skill points at each level: 2 + Int Modifier.

Class Features:
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The following are the Class Features of the Hound Rider.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Hound Rider gains no new weapon or armor proficiencies, but maintains any proficiency with anything he was formerly proficient with.

"Hound's Tooth": As a requirement for the class, a potential Rider must imbue his longsword with a part of his and his mount's spirits. The ritual to imbue the longsword requires 1 whole day of concentration by the Rider, during which the Great Hound must always be present. The ritual drains 200 exp. from the Rider, and requires a small scraping of tooth enamel from the Great Hound. The Rider can re-imbue other weapons at any later date, but he may have only one such "Hound's Tooth" at any given time.

Special Mount: The Hound Rider's Great Hound mount is no longer a "normal" member of it's race. It gains benefits as per table 2-2(Great Hound Mount).

Inspire Courage: Once per day for every two class levels, the Rider can Inspire his allies and his mount to greater things. The Rider lets out a war-cry as a free-action. All alies within 100ft. who are able to hear the Rider gain a +2 morale bonus on will saves against Charm and Fear effects, and gain a +1 morale bonus on all attack and damage rolls for a number of rounds equal to 3 + Rider's Cha modifier. This is a sonic, mind-affecting ability adn teh Rider must be mounted on his Great Hound to use it.

Aura of Courage: The Rider exudes a percievible field of courage and resolve. He is immune to all Fear effects, and any ally within 10ft. of him (including his hound) gains a +4 morale bonus to all Will saves againt Fear. This bonus stacks with that of the Rider's Inspire Courage ability.

Demi-Hound: The Rider can change himself into a mixed humanoid version of a canine creature. As a move-equivilent action, the Rider takes on the appearance of a hound-like humanoid: his face and head become much like those of a dog; he grows fur over his entire body; he sprouts a tail; his leg and feet structures change slightly to something more like those of a dog; and his build become more powerful. In addition to the cosmetic changes, the Rider gains a +4 bonus to each of Strength and Constitution until the ability ends. The Rider can maintain this form for a number of rounds equal to 3 + His Newly Imroved Con Modifier, and he can transform a number of times per day as listed in table 2-1(The Hound Rider).

Hound's Toughness: Both the Rider and his Mount become more durable. Both gain Toughness as a free bonus feat.

Inspire Fear: Once per day, the Rider can inspire fear in his opponents for a short period of time. This ability functions like the Fear spell. Subjects in a cone of 50ft. must make a Will save (DC 13 + Rider's Cha Modifier) or be affected as by a Fear spell.

Faster Healing: Both the Rider and his Mount begin to naturally heal wounds much faster than normal. Both gain the Faster Healing feat (From Masters of the Wild).

Powerful Canine: Once per day, the Rider can imbue his mount with even more power. The Great Hound mount is affected as if by a Righteous Might spell (+4 enlargement to Str; Size catagory +1; mass x8; Bite increases to 2d6) cast by a cleric with a caster level equal to the Rider's class level.

Unity in Battle: The Rider and his Great Hound learn to master the art of mounted combat. The Hound may use the Rider's base attack bonus in place of its own, but the Rider must forgoe his attacks for the round.

Table 2-1(The Hound Rider)
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
----- --- ---- --- ---- -------
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Special Mount, Inspire Courage
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Aura of Courage
3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Demi-Hound 1/day
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Hound's Toughness
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Inspire Fear
6 +6 +5 +2 +2 Demi-Hound 2/day
7 +7 +5 +2 +2 Faster Healing
8 +8 +6 +2 +2 Powerful Canine
9 +9 +6 +3 +3 Demi-Hound 3/day
10 +10 +7 +3 +3 Unity in Battle

Table 2-2(Great Hound Mount)
Rider
Character Bonus Natural Str Int
Level HD Armor Adj. Special
--------- ----- ------- --- --- -------
7-10 +2 +2 +3 4 "Hound's Tooth Channeling"
11-14 +4 +4 +4 5 Emathic Link
15-18 +6 +6 +5 6
19-20 +8 +8 +6 7 "Thunderous Howl"

"Hound's Tooth Channeling": The Rider's Great Hound serves as a receptor of the power of the Hound's Tooth swords that all Riders carry. As a standard action, the Hound Rider may choose to channel the magical enhancements of his sword into the mount on which he rides. The sword maintains its properties, but the Great Hound's bite attack gains all of the same magical enhancements as the Hound's Tooth.

Empathic Link: See Fiendish Servant Sidebar in DMG (pg. 31).

"Thunderous Howl": As a standard action, a Rider's hound may unleash a horrendous howl. All non-ally creatures within 100ft. of the Great Hound must make a Will save (DC 17), or suffer a -2 morale penalty to AC, and to all Attack rolls for 1 hour. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect, and any creature that cannot hear the howl is automatically immune. A creature can only be succesfully affected by this ability once each day, although the Hound may use "Thunderous Howl" a number of times each day equal to the Rider's Cha modifier (or 1, if he has no positive modifier).

[Note: A Paladin/Hound Rider's mount abilities overlap (do not stack), so he must use the best of the two values but may still recieve all of the abilities of each class.][/quote