Kilmore
First Post
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Strongman: First Draft.
Strongman
D&D 3E Character Class by Michael Lee Viviano
Some heroes are defined by their skill in arms, others by their aptitude with magic. Others are known for their faith, and others by their skills of a more roguish bent. But some are mainly known for their incredible strength that they employ to overcome a variety of challenges. Legends abound of heroic men of muscle whose blows could topple a dozen men. Hercules, Samson, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, all these characters and more have made their way into legends on the strength of their muscle.
Adventures: Strongmen wear their strength on their bodies like a coat of gold. Adventure seeks them out even if they do not seek adventure themselves, as they are often the most suitable people for a variety of challenges.
Characteristics: Strongmen make formidable opponents not because of any great skill, but for their incredible strength that is translated into busted, ruptured, bruised and broken bones and bodies in combat. They are also handy in the many cases where there is something that needs broken, bent, thrown, lifted, carried or opened.
Alignment: Strongmen may be of any alignment. Many take pride in being helpful to the weak and to society in general. Others delight in bullying the weak and the helpless.
Religion: In many legends, the strongman’s strength is a boon from the gods, and while the strongman may have a positive or a negative relationship with the gods who granted him strength, his relationship is more personal than religious. If there is no prior divine connection, then the strongmen often take to gods of strength, though there is no compulsion to do so.
There is another way in which religion may enter a strongman’s life: often the coming of the strongman may be a sign of a prophecy or an omen, and representatives of the faiths concerned may become involved in the character’s life… for better or for worse.
Background: Great strength is usually the most immediately obvious trait to a young mind, and boys who grow to be strongmen rarely fail to put it to quick use. The people of a young strongman’s community rarely fail to put the child’s ability to use themselves, providing opportunities to develop the strength further. As a strongman finds his own direction in life, he readily finds employment at lumberyards, mines, ships, or in the circus.
Women rarely become strongmen (or more properly, strongwomen), although there is no special prohibition against it.
Race: Every race has legends of characters of their own that are spectacularly strong, though humans, dwarves, and half-orcs hold these legends especially dear. Larger humanoids also revere strongmen of their own kind and sometimes even elect them to lead over more capable fighters.
Other Classes: Both monks and wizards train and study especially hard to remain competitive in their fields. Since the strongman relies on purely natural talents, these classes are not generally disposed to think well of him. On the other hand, barbarians tend to admire their strength and bards enjoy hanging with these larger than life characters to provide fodder for their arts.
Game Rule Information
Strongmen have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Obviously, strength is the prime ability of the strongman. None of the other abilities are nearly as important to the strongman, though he can certainly benefit from high scores in each.
Alignment: Any
Hit Dice: d10
Class Skills
The strongman’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2+ Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the strongman.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A strongman is proficient with all simple weapons, Great club and any three martial weapons of his choice. He is also proficient with light and medium armors and shield. Note the armor check penalties and all that.
Legendary Strength: After the character’s basic abilities are rolled up, add 4 points to the strongman’s strength ability.
Improved Lifting and Carrying: The character’s lifting and carrying capacity are improved as if the character is one size category larger.
Strength Development: At 3rd level and every second level thereafter, the strongman improves his strength ability by one point. By the time he reaches epic levels, he should be capable of lifting and tossing a wagon or wrestling full grown dragons to the ground! This is not recommended. Dragons bite and breathe painfully.
The Strongman
Level BAB FS RS WS Special
1 +0 +2 +0 +0 Legendary Strength, Improved Lifting and Carrying.
2 +1 +3 +0 +0 -
3 +2 +3 +1 +1 +1 Strength
4 +3 +4 +1 +1 -
5 +3 +4 +1 +1 +1 Strength
6 +4 +5 +2 +2 -
7 +5 +5 +2 +2 +1 Strength
8 +6/+1 +6 +2 +2 -
9 +6/+1 +6 +3 +3 +1 Strength
10 +7/+2 +7 +3 +3 -
11 +8/+3 +7 +3 +3 +1 Strength
12 +9/+4 +8 +4 +4 -
13 +9/+4 +8 +4 +4 +1 Strength
14 +10/+5 +9 +4 +4 -
15 +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +5 +1 Strength
16 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 -
17 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 +1 Strength
18 +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 -
19 +14/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 +1 Strength
20 +15/+10/+4 +12 +6 +6 -
Strongman
D&D 3E Character Class by Michael Lee Viviano
Some heroes are defined by their skill in arms, others by their aptitude with magic. Others are known for their faith, and others by their skills of a more roguish bent. But some are mainly known for their incredible strength that they employ to overcome a variety of challenges. Legends abound of heroic men of muscle whose blows could topple a dozen men. Hercules, Samson, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, all these characters and more have made their way into legends on the strength of their muscle.
Adventures: Strongmen wear their strength on their bodies like a coat of gold. Adventure seeks them out even if they do not seek adventure themselves, as they are often the most suitable people for a variety of challenges.
Characteristics: Strongmen make formidable opponents not because of any great skill, but for their incredible strength that is translated into busted, ruptured, bruised and broken bones and bodies in combat. They are also handy in the many cases where there is something that needs broken, bent, thrown, lifted, carried or opened.
Alignment: Strongmen may be of any alignment. Many take pride in being helpful to the weak and to society in general. Others delight in bullying the weak and the helpless.
Religion: In many legends, the strongman’s strength is a boon from the gods, and while the strongman may have a positive or a negative relationship with the gods who granted him strength, his relationship is more personal than religious. If there is no prior divine connection, then the strongmen often take to gods of strength, though there is no compulsion to do so.
There is another way in which religion may enter a strongman’s life: often the coming of the strongman may be a sign of a prophecy or an omen, and representatives of the faiths concerned may become involved in the character’s life… for better or for worse.
Background: Great strength is usually the most immediately obvious trait to a young mind, and boys who grow to be strongmen rarely fail to put it to quick use. The people of a young strongman’s community rarely fail to put the child’s ability to use themselves, providing opportunities to develop the strength further. As a strongman finds his own direction in life, he readily finds employment at lumberyards, mines, ships, or in the circus.
Women rarely become strongmen (or more properly, strongwomen), although there is no special prohibition against it.
Race: Every race has legends of characters of their own that are spectacularly strong, though humans, dwarves, and half-orcs hold these legends especially dear. Larger humanoids also revere strongmen of their own kind and sometimes even elect them to lead over more capable fighters.
Other Classes: Both monks and wizards train and study especially hard to remain competitive in their fields. Since the strongman relies on purely natural talents, these classes are not generally disposed to think well of him. On the other hand, barbarians tend to admire their strength and bards enjoy hanging with these larger than life characters to provide fodder for their arts.
Game Rule Information
Strongmen have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Obviously, strength is the prime ability of the strongman. None of the other abilities are nearly as important to the strongman, though he can certainly benefit from high scores in each.
Alignment: Any
Hit Dice: d10
Class Skills
The strongman’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2+ Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the strongman.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A strongman is proficient with all simple weapons, Great club and any three martial weapons of his choice. He is also proficient with light and medium armors and shield. Note the armor check penalties and all that.
Legendary Strength: After the character’s basic abilities are rolled up, add 4 points to the strongman’s strength ability.
Improved Lifting and Carrying: The character’s lifting and carrying capacity are improved as if the character is one size category larger.
Strength Development: At 3rd level and every second level thereafter, the strongman improves his strength ability by one point. By the time he reaches epic levels, he should be capable of lifting and tossing a wagon or wrestling full grown dragons to the ground! This is not recommended. Dragons bite and breathe painfully.
The Strongman
Level BAB FS RS WS Special
1 +0 +2 +0 +0 Legendary Strength, Improved Lifting and Carrying.
2 +1 +3 +0 +0 -
3 +2 +3 +1 +1 +1 Strength
4 +3 +4 +1 +1 -
5 +3 +4 +1 +1 +1 Strength
6 +4 +5 +2 +2 -
7 +5 +5 +2 +2 +1 Strength
8 +6/+1 +6 +2 +2 -
9 +6/+1 +6 +3 +3 +1 Strength
10 +7/+2 +7 +3 +3 -
11 +8/+3 +7 +3 +3 +1 Strength
12 +9/+4 +8 +4 +4 -
13 +9/+4 +8 +4 +4 +1 Strength
14 +10/+5 +9 +4 +4 -
15 +11/+6/+1 +9 +5 +5 +1 Strength
16 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 -
17 +12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 +1 Strength
18 +13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 -
19 +14/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 +1 Strength
20 +15/+10/+4 +12 +6 +6 -
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