Feral Warrior

Nature has always created fighters. It constantly creates creatures stronger, faster, and smarter than those that came before. The power of these creatures has always been left to nature and the druid. Or so people thought. They were wrong. There is a creature more cunning, more dangerous than the rest. But it is not a beast. These creatures are feral warriors, warriors of the wilderness, more than even the druid and the ranger.

Adventure: Feral warriors adventure for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they adventure to increase their own strength. They also adventure to study the civilized world and to gauge the current threat level of civilization. Some, on the other hand, join adventuring parties to better understand the civilized world.

Characteristics: Feral warriors are designed for combat. They have taught themselves the secrets of wild combat. Their abilities focus on this. They even supply their own weapons. Feral warriors are tough, and are well placed as frontline fighters.

Alignment: Feral warriors are creatures of nature, a wild force with many extremes. Feral warriors reflect this, and feral warriors of all alignments can be found.

Religion: Feral warriors rarely worship deities. If they worship deities at all, they tend to worship deities of nature or strength. Even evil feral warriors despise undead, and no feral warrior will worship a deity that encourages the creation of such beings.

Backgrounds: Feral warriors come from the same group as druids, and are a little-known portion of the druid community. Feral warriors are, however, a rare sight at druidic gatherings. Many druids feel that feral warriors don’t belong among the ranks of the druids, and feral warriors are smart enough as a group to not push the issue. Feral warriors still look at druids as their kin, and will assist their brothers and sisters in the community if needed.

Races: Feral warriors aren’t particularly common among the more common races. Humans are the most likely to take this class, followed closely by skin changers,  outcast elves and half-elves with a more martial bent. The smaller races rarely take this class, as their size makes them naturally less suited to it. Dwarven feral warriors are rarities, as they don’t fit well into the dwarves’ structured society. Feral warriors are more commonly found among the savage races.

Other Classes: Feral warriors tend to have extremely varies tastes in what they think of members of other classes. They relate best with barbarians and rangers, who share their love of nature and more martial ways. Druids and clerics are taken on a case-by-case basis, depending on their gods and how they treat the feral warrior. Few other classes get any specific responses from feral warriors, who tend to leave them to their own devices.

Role: Like rangers, feral warriors make excellent scouts. They’re also great front-line warriors and passable archers. A front-lining feral warrior must always keep in mind that its armor is more restricted than a fighter’s, meaning they’ll be damaged more often.

Game Rule Information

Feral Warriors have the following game statistics:

Abilities: Dexterity is extremely important for the feral warrior, who usually wears light or no armor. Strength lends to their combat skills, and Wisdom fuels three of their most important class skills.

Alignment: Any

Starting Gold: Feral Warriors found adventuring are typically less well-funded than their more wild brethren. As such, they begin with a whopping 1d6 x 5 gold.

Class Skills (8 + Int modifier per level; x4 at first level)
Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge Nature (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble(Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the feral warrior:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A feral warrior is proficient with all simple weapons, along with longbows and short bows and the composite versions of each until 7th level, in which she gains the ability to use her bite and claw attacks.

Bonus Languages: A feral warrior’s bonus language options include Sylvan, the language of woodland creatures. This choice is in addition to the bonus languages available to the character because of his race.

Feral warriors come from among the ranks of druids, indeed, legend has it that the first feral warrior was a druid incapable of fully wild shaping, and they too know the secret Druidic language. Feral warriors learn Druidic at 1st level. Like druids, feral warriors are forbidden to teach Druidic to non-druids.

Nature Sense: A feral warrior gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.

Illiteracy: Feral warriors do not automatically know how to read and write. A feral warrior may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all languages he is able to speak.

A feral warrior who gains a level in any other class automatically gains literacy. Any other character who gains a feral warrior level does not lose the literacy he or she already had.

Wild Empathy: A feral warrior can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The feral warrior rolls 1d20 and adds his feral warrior level and his Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the feral warrior and the animal must be able to study each other, this means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time. A feral warrior can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but he takes a –4 penalty on the check.

Wild Creature: A feral warrior is as much an animal as he is a human. His eyes have adapted to the often dark realms of the natural world.  A feral warrior gains low-light vision, if a feral warrior already has low-light vision; he receives no benefit from this bonus. A feral warrior is treated as though he were of the animal type for any effects relying on type, such as magic fang. If the effect would be detrimental to the feral warrior, he gets a +4 bonus on the save against it.

Natural Warrior: A feral warrior’s body slowly develops into something more like the animals of the world he lives in than that of his natural form. He slowly gains a form much like a lycanthrope’s hybrid form, and the exact look of this form varies from feral warrior to feral warrior, especially once fully developed.

At 1st level, the feral warrior gains natural armor as his skin thickens or the hair on his body begins to become more like a coat of fur. The natural armor bonus granted by this ability is equal to the feral warrior’s Constitution bonus (minimum 1).

At 3rd level, the feral warrior gains a bite attack dealing 1d6 points of damage (assuming a Medium feral warrior). If a feral warrior already had a bite attack, the damage of the bite increases by one die type. Feral warriors may ignore the normal racial prerequisites for the Rapid Strike and all feats with Rapid Strike as a prerequisite.

At 5th level, a feral warrior’s base speed in all movements increases by 5 feet x his Dexterity modifier. It cannot be increased by more than 10 feet per 3 feral warrior levels. A feral warrior wearing armor heavier than light or carrying a heavy load does not gain the benefits of this ability.

At 7th level, the feral warrior gains two claw attacks, each dealing 1d4 points of damage, assuming a Medium feral warrior. A feral warrior may not mix and match his natural attacks when he uses the full-attack action unless he takes the penalties as normal for using all natural weapons. His bite is considered his primary weapon and his claws are his secondary weapons. If a feral warrior already had claws, the damage of the claws increases by one die type.

Upon reaching 9th level, the feral warrior gains the scent ability, as described in the Monster Manual.

Woodland Stride: Starting at 2nd level, a feral warrior may move through any sort of undergrowth, such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain, at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.

Drift: At 1st, 2nd and every even level, a feral warrior feels the effects of drift, as can be found on pages 43-44 of Complete Divine. Drift occurs slightly differently for feral warriors than for others. A drift that would grant the feral warrior a natural weapon he already possesses uses the same dice damage that it already does (such as the lion like claws of a Stage 3 drift, merely granting him additional uses of the same attack, along with any additional benefits. If the drift would grant no other benefits, such as the crocodile’s bite, the feral warrior’s dice damage increases by one step. You must have at least two drifts from a previous stage before you can take a drift from a new stage. You do not have to take a drift from the highest stage you have access to.

Trackless Step: Starting at 3rd level, a feral warrior leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. He may choose to leave a trail if so desired.

Hunter's Intuition: Feral warriors know that instinct will often serve better than anything else in a fight. A 4th level feral warrior gains a bonus to Initiative equal to his Wisdom bonus, up to +1 per every 3 feral warrior levels.

Speak with Animals: A feral warrior of 4th level or higher can speak with animals, as though he were under the effect of a permanent speak with animals spells. However, this is neither supernatural nor spell-like. The feral warrior is simply so much like his animal companions that he can understand them as though they were his kind, and they can understand him.

Wild Strike: Feral warriors attack hard and fast, attempting to disable their opponents as fast as possible. A 6th level feral warrior who attacks in a surprise round gains a +2 bonus to damage on all natural attacks made in that round and the first full round of combat.

Endure Elements: The feral warrior spends his time in environments far more vicious than any found in the city. His body has adjusted itself to the harsh extremes of the environment. A feral warrior of 8th level or higher constantly enjoys the benefits of the endure elements spell, though this is neither supernatural nor spell-like in nature.

Nature's Strength: At 11th level and every other level thereafter (13th, 15th, etc.) a feral warrior may choose a special ability from the following list. This ability may only be taken once unless otherwise specified.

Camouflage: A feral warrior with this ability can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn’t grant cover or concealment.

Hide in Plain Sight: While in any sort of natural terrain, a feral warrior with this ability can use the Hide skill even while being observed. A feral warrior must have the camouflage ability and at least one other ability to take this.

Vicious Creature: A feral warrior becomes more like the creatures he lives among and less like those of his own race. The damage dice of his natural weapons, current and future, increases by one step, as though he'd taken the Improved Natural Attack feat. In addition, he gains a +4 bonus on Wild Empathy checks, but takes a -4 penalty on all Charisma-based checks with humanoids of any type who aren't of the barbarian, druid, feral warrior, or ranger class. This feature may be taken multiple times. The bonuses and penalties stack for each time it is taken.

Vicious Strike: A feral warrior knows how to get the biggest advantage out of his attacks. The critical multiplier on his natural attacks increases by 1, usually from x2 to x3.

Wild Threat: A feral warrior knows where to look to strike. The critical range of all his natural weapons doubles. This effect stacks with effects such as Improved Critical and keen.

Additional Drift: The feral warrior may choose any drift he can already take. This feature may be taken multiple times.

Bonus Feat: A feral warrior may choose to forego any of the above abilities and instead take any bonus feat for which he qualifies.

Creature of Legend: A 20th level feral warrior is very difficult to kill. He gains the fey type and damage reduction 5/cold iron. He is still treated as having the animal type for effects which are beneficial to him, but is now immune to any effects that target animals which would be detrimental to him. He gains the monster of legend template.

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