Totem Berserker PrC - please take a look and comment

[Greatwyrm]

My thanks to all who helped out with the Kerlun Footman PrC I posted earlier. This is another PrC for my homebrew. Please take a look and chip in with any comments you feel would be helpful. I know some of the special abilities may look a little powerful, but keep in mind Totem Powers only kick in while raging.

One thing in particular I think I need a little help with is the prereqs for the class. I'm trying to stick to the core rules as closely as possible, so if you have any suggestions for feat or skill requirements, please try to keep it to the PHB.

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Totem Berserker
In less civilized areas, the practice of worshipping animal or nature spirits is still common. Some barbarians, or less often druids or rangers, develop a special kinship with these spirits. They develop a bond with the spirit realm that grants them abilities and guidance from beyond the mortal realms.

Hit Die: d12
Requirements
Alignment: Any chaotic
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Special 1: The character must defeat an opponent of greater hit dice in single combat. This may take place during a larger battle, but the character must single-handedly defeat the opponent.
Special 2: The character must survive a quest of one day per class level already attained alone in the wilderness. During this time, the character looks for omens and tries to draw a connection to the totem spirits of their tribe. Accepting assistance from anyone during this time requires the character to begin the quest again from the beginning.

Class
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Totem Power
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Rage 1/day
3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Damage Reduction 1/-
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Totem Power
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Rage 2/day
6 +6 +5 +2 +2 Damage Reduction 2/-
7 +7 +5 +2 +2 Totem Power
8 +8 +6 +2 +2 Rage 3/day
9 +9 +6 +3 +3 Damage Reduction 3/-
10 +10 +7 +3 +3 Totem Power

The Totem Berserker’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

Totem Power (Su): The Totem Berserker gains strength from ties to the totem spirits of his or her tribe. This permanent bond with the spirit realms can manifest itself in a number of ways. Each time the character receives a totem power, choose one from the list below. No power may be taken more than once. Totem powers may only be used while raging, but more than one may be used at a time.
--Desert Fox: When raging, the character gains Fire Resistance 5 + 1 for each Totem Power the character has.
--Great Dragon: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. spells or spell-like abilities. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has.
--Hunting Wolf: The character gains an additional +2 Luck bonus to hit flanked opponents in melee. Only the Totem Berserker gains this bonus, other characters flanking the same opponent do not.
--Old Bear: When raging, the character gains Cold Resistance 5 + 1 for each Totem Power the character has.
--Pouncing Lion: Once per day, the character may make a full attack at the end of a charge.
--Shaman Ancestor: Once per day as a free action, the character may instantly heal two hit points for each level attained in this class. This functions as the Monk ability Wholeness of Body, except that it may not be spread across multiple uses. Any excess hit points healed by this ability are wasted.
--Striking Viper: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. poison. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has. Furthermore, if the character succeeds on the initial saving throw, it automatically succeeds on the secondary saving throw.
--Warrior Ancestor: Once per day, for three plus Cha bonus (if positive) rounds, the character gains a Luck bonus to hit and damage in melee. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has.
--Running Stallion: Once per day, for the duration of a single rage, the character’s base movement is increased by 10 feet.

Rage (Ex): This power functions exactly as the Barbarian ability of the same name. Its uses per day stack with those from other classes.

Damage Reduction (Ex): This power functions exactly as the Barbarian ability of the same name.

 

[Greatwyrm]

C'mon, folks. Somebody besides my players must have read this.

 

[Nifft]

My suggestions as bold text follow, with some italics for commentary.

--Desert Fox: When raging, the character gains Fire Resistance 5 x the number of Totem Powers the character has. (Why so high -- up to 20 fire resistance? Because fire damage is really, really common.)
--Great Dragon: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. spells or spell-like abilities. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has.
--Hunting Wolf: The character gains an additional +2 Luck bonus to hit flanked opponents in melee. Only the Totem Berserker gains this bonus, other characters flanking the same opponent do not. (Flanking isn't the obvious choice for Barbarians -- and hitting when flanking isn't usually a problem for full-BAB guys. Instead, consider giving a bonus +2 damage per tattoo -- er, Totem Power -- when flanking.)
--Old Bear: When raging, the character gains Cold Resistance 3 x the number of Totem Powers the character has.
--Pouncing Lion: On the round when he initiates his Rage, the character may make a full attack at the end of a charge.
--Shaman Ancestor: When the character begins his Rage, he instantly heals one hit points for each level attained in this class. Any excess hit points healed by this ability are wasted.
--Striking Viper: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. poison. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has. Furthermore, if the character succeeds on the initial saving throw, it automatically succeeds on the secondary saving throw. (Fort is his good save anyway -- why not just give him immunity to poision when raging?)
--Warrior Ancestor: Once per day, for three plus Cha bonus (if positive) rounds, the character gains a Luck bonus to hit and damage in melee. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has. (This is one area where the Barbarian does NOT need extra help. And what's with the funky mechanic? If it's too powerful to just say "while raging", then it's too powerful. IMHO: scale this back to just +1 to hit and damage while raging. No scale with number of tattoos -- er, Totem Powers.)
--Running Stallion: While raging, the character’s base movement is increased by 10 feet.

Rage (Ex): This power functions exactly as the Barbarian ability of the same name. Its uses per day stack with those from other classes.

Damage Reduction (Ex): This power functions exactly as, and stacks with, the Barbarian ability of the same name. (I know, the rules say they stack, it's just good to get it out there specifically.)

-- N

 

[SteelDraco]

One thing you might consider for requirements are specific ones for each totem power. That would make it flavorful, and encourage people to develop abilities they already had, rather than going off in different directions with their powers.

While quest-type requirements are nice, it's hard to balance. 3e has a general design philosophy of not balancing rules benefits with roleplaying hinderances, which is smoething I tend to agree with. I'd probably start the class requirements with some kind of feat to represent a connection to ancestors, or possibly just a connection with the soceity that spawned this class. If you've got regional feats as a mechanic in your game, I'd start with those as someplace to look for ideas.

Anyway, on to the powers.

--Great Dragon: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. spells or spell-like abilities. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has.

Personally, I'd make this a sacred bonus (along with most of the other bonuses this class gets), but that's just my interpretation of a class like this. They're getting their power from ancestor spirits, so why not go with the idea that they are, in some way, sacred?

--Hunting Wolf: The character gains an additional +2 Luck bonus to hit flanked opponents in melee. Only the Totem Berserker gains this bonus, other characters flanking the same opponent do not. (Flanking isn't the obvious choice for Barbarians -- and hitting when flanking isn't usually a problem for full-BAB guys. Instead, consider giving a bonus +2 damage per tattoo -- er, Totem Power -- when flanking.)

I'm going to disagree with Nifft here - that would be really powerful, if it was +2 per Totem Power. I'd probably allow the character to Aid Another as a move-equivalent (or even free) action. Look into that; it might fit what you're trying to accomplish here better than an improvement to attack rolls that this class doesn't really need.

--Old Bear: When raging, the character gains Cold Resistance 3 x the number of Totem Powers the character has.

I'm not sure why this should be less powerful than the other elemental resistance ability.

--Pouncing Lion: On the round when he initiates his Rage, the character may make a full attack at the end of a charge.

Excellent call, Nifft. I disagreed with that power initially, thinking it didn't seem right for flavor, though it's fine on power. That change works perfectly.

--Shaman Ancestor: When the character begins his Rage, he instantly heals one hit point for each level attained in this class. Any excess hit points healed by this ability are wasted.

That doesn't strike me as very useful - most of the time, you'll start a rage at the beginning of combat, and will often not be injured at that point. I'd probably go with fast healing equal to the number of Totem Powers for the duration of the rage. That's a more useful ability, but not overpowered, as far as I'm concerned. Though I'd specify that the end of combat ended a rage fairly quickly, which is how I've always done it. If you spend a round or two without anything to make you angry, you're going to calm down. Also, fast healing should never be able to get rid of damage you took when you didn't have fast healing.

--Striking Viper: The character gains a Luck bonus on all saving throws vs. poison. The bonus is +1 for each Totem Power the character has. Furthermore, if the character succeeds on the initial saving throw, it automatically succeeds on the secondary saving throw. (Fort is his good save anyway -- why not just give him immunity to poision when raging?)

Agreed - this is a weak ability, though the automatically making the secondary damage save is an interesting idea. I'd suggest immunity to poison while raging and a constant +1 sacred bonus to initiative for each Totem Power the character has. Remember that initiative isn't quite as imporant for a barbarian as it is for some other characters, since they've got Uncanny Dodge, which mitigates quite a few of the penalties for losing initiative.

--Running Stallion: While raging, the character?s base movement is increased by 10 feet.

Again, I agree with Nifft. Another +10' movement all the time is a bit too good. Limiting to the duration of a rage makes it pretty often for a barbarian-type, but not constant, so it doesn't affect things like overland movement. If that's what you wanted to do, you could just give them the Run feat. Or Endurance.

 

[iwatt]

Mind If I borrow this for my FR Uthgardt campaign? I think it ties in pretty well with that culture (totems represent aspects of the main patron deity).

About the requirements, I like the quest ideas, but I believe there should be some requirements as well (as written this is a no-brainer for a PC barbarian I think). Maybe add some ranks in Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (Religion) to represent the connection to the ancestral spirits?

 

[Greatwyrm]

Be my guest, iwatt. It's no small compliment for me to have someone else use my stuff in their game.

SteelDraco and Nifft, I'm agreeing with most of the stuff you guys are suggesting.

--All the totem powers are 'raging only', but I might need to make that more clear in the power descriptions.

--Sacred probably is a better bonus than Luck. Not sure why, I just never thought of it.

--For the Hunting Wolf, I'm kinda stuck. I want it to reflect a kind of 'pack hunter' ability. A full BAB guy usually doesn't need another +2 to hit, but I'm stuck for what else to do. The aid another bonus is on the right track, but doesn't make sense to me for a raging barbarian.

--I'll change the cold and fire resistance powers to 5x number of totems. It does seem awfully weak like this in retrospect and given what some other PrCs provide.

--I think I may have been going the wrong way with the Striking Viper. How about a once per rage, poisonous bite attack. d4 damage, natural attack, d6/d6 Dex damage, save of 10 + number of totems + CON modifier.

--Pouncing Lion should be only on the first round of a rage. Good call.

--Running Stallion only while raging is how it's supposed to be. I need to make that clearer.

--Shaman Ancestor will probably end up with the fast healing option. I'm just a little leery of giving both Fast Healing and Damage Reduction to a class.

--Nifft, I agree that the Warrior Ancestor doesn't seem to fit with the others. What would you guys think about changing that to making all melee attacks (natural or armed) aligned (good, evil, lawful, or chaotic) or making them Ghost Touch. That would only be while raging, of course.

This still leaves me with the problems of prerequisites. Looking at iwatt's suggestions, here's what I have in mind. 4 ranks in Knowledge (religion). This would be a sacrifice, since a single class barbarian is looking at dumping 8 ranks on this cross-class skill. I still need something else though. If I remember the rules right, this would make it easier for a ranger to get in than a barbarian. This was designed with barbarians in mind.

Thanks again for all the help. Good suggestions like these are why I like to run stuff out here first. If anyone else wants to chime in, please do so.

 

[Nifft]

--For the Hunting Wolf, I'm kinda stuck. I want it to reflect a kind of 'pack hunter' ability. A full BAB guy usually doesn't need another +2 to hit, but I'm stuck for what else to do. The aid another bonus is on the right track, but doesn't make sense to me for a raging barbarian.

The SRD wolf gets "Trip" -- so perhaps steal that, and allow a free Trip attack 1/round (while raging, your successful melee attack initiates a trip attempt as a free action 1/round).

--I'll change the cold and fire resistance powers to 5x number of totems. It does seem awfully weak like this in retrospect and given what some other PrCs provide.

It's good if you know that your party wizard/sorcerer/druid likes fire spells -- average damage on 10d6 is only 35 hp (on a failed save).

--I think I may have been going the wrong way with the Striking Viper. How about a once per rage, poisonous bite attack. d4 damage, natural attack, d6/d6 Dex damage, save of 10 + number of totems + CON modifier.

Consider an adaptation of the 1st level XPH power "Prevenom".

- When you begin to Rage, your melee or natural weapon becomes coated in venom. For one strike per totem power, your opponent must make Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 Totem Warrior level + Con bonus) or suffer 2 points of Con damage. As usual, he must make another save after 1 minute, or suffer another 2 Con damage.

--Pouncing Lion should be only on the first round of a rage. Good call.

Yeah, since Raging is a free action...

--Nifft, I agree that the Warrior Ancestor doesn't seem to fit with the others. What would you guys think about changing that to making all melee attacks (natural or armed) aligned (good, evil, lawful, or chaotic) or making them Ghost Touch. That would only be while raging, of course.

The thing is, Barbarians are already warriors, so throwing them some extra warrior flavor isn't going to work.


Other options to consider:

Dragon Totem: While raging, you are immune to fear and sleep, and you gain a +4 morale bonus against paralysis.

Totem of Anarchy: While raging, your melee attacks penetrate DR/chaotic.

Bear Totem: While raging, you gain a bite attack (secondary natural attack, deals 1d8+Str).

Unicorn Totem: While raging, you are immune to poison and disease.

Fox Totem: While raging, you gain the Evasion special ability.

-- N

 

[Kyamsil]

I like the way this prestige class works in a similar manner to the Tattooed Monk. Having your totem powers depend on the number of totem powers is a nice idea. I also agree in that a class like that could fit perfectly with the Uthgardt in a FR campaign, perhaps changing the Totem names to fit each tribe and making a list of which totem powers are available to which tribe's Totem Berserker.

About the Hunting Wolf why not making it work like the Flanker ability of the Tactical Soldier PrC (from Miniatures Handbook) which would be roughly: While raging once per round as a free action he can select any adjacent square to work flanking with his allies. It's effectively as if he were standing in that square. He can select the square he is in as normal. He can even select occupied or impassable squares for the ability. Also fits that while raging his totem berserker levels count as rogue levels to determine if he is able to surpass an enemy's Improved Uncanny Dodge. Another idea that is cool is what Nifft suggest with the Trip ability. I would add that it is like the wolf trip ability so a failure doesn't allow the opponent to trip the totem berserker and apply a +1(or even +2) to the opposed check of trip for each Totem Power he has.

 

[iwatt]

GreatWyrm, looking at the Regional feats (good idea SteelDraco) for the Uthgardt tribes in Races of Faerun you find the following feat: Ancestral Spirit. Pretty cool sounding, but mechanicwise I don't get it: +2 knowledge (History) and some other skill that I can't recall (must be even suckier if I can't remember ). I'm all for using feats to balance prestige classes, but I wouldn't reccomend this one.

So, keeping with the ancestral spirit flavor maybe somebody can come up with a better feat, cause I'm coming up dry here. Maybe something out of Rokugan (IIRC that setting has lots of ancestor crap).

 

[Branok]

hi, i'm one of iwatt's players (his brother, actually), who incidentally plays a barbarian in his campaign. He told me to look at this and to see what feats can be used as prerequisites (without too much munchkinism )
I thought that maybe Furious Charge (Pg. 39 A Player's Guide to Faerun), could be a nice feat, and though it only has a regional requirement, I would add Power Attack as another prerequisite to it (or something else, but I don't know what it could be), so it's not as easily accesible as before.
Another feat would be Animal Totem. It's my brother's invention and it goes along the lines that you get the effects of Animal Control (or Defiance, I don't remember which) regarding your tribe's sacred animal. For example, a Red Tiger barbarian with this feat would be able to use it against tigers, a Black Lion against lions. This is strictly FR Uthgardts, but it wouldn't be too hard to modify it suit you campaign's needs.
By the way, I love the concept of this class, and I think that it really works as a strict barbarian class, so thanks. I'm going to keep pestering my brother until someone can finalize the PrC.
Thanks, Greatwyrm.