Prestige Classes

WAR CHANTER

The roar of battle, the screams of the dying, the howl of the warrior’s cry… these are all notes in the music composed by the war chanter. His music flows across the battlefield like a raging torrent, catching friends and foes alike in its wake. Bards of particularly militant mindsets become war chanters (giving up their spellcasting ability in the process), and among barbarians, war chanters are often the leaders or elite warriors of a tribe. The music of a war chanter inspires those around him and pushes them to greater heights of strength and deeds of valor. Fighters and barbarians sometimes gain a few levels of bard in qualifying for this prestige class. Paladins and monks cannot join because of the alignment requirement, but members of both those classes respect the leadership and military qualities of the war chanter class. NPC war chanters are usually leaders of small warbands. It is not unusual to see them as chief lieutenants in larger groups. They function best when surrounded by lesser allies, but can be encountered on their own as well.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a war chanter, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Alignment: Any nonlawful.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Skills: Perform (sing) or Perform (oratory) 6 ranks.

Feats: Combat Expertise, Weapon Focus.

Special: Able to use the inspire courage bardic music ability.

Class Skills

The war chanter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: The War Chanter

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the war chanter prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: War chanters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Inspire Toughness (Su): A war chanter with 9 or more ranks in Perform (sing) or Perform (oratory) can use her song or poetics to impart a kind of berserk resiliency on his allies (including himself). To be affected, an ally must be able to hear the war chanter sing (or speak). The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the war chanter sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally receives +2 temporary hit points for every class level of the war chanter. At 6th level and higher, a war chanter also grants affected allies the benefit of the Diehard feat when using this ability.

War Chanter Music: War chanter music follows the same rules as bardic music (see page 29 of the Player’s Handbook). War chanter levels stack with bard levels for the purpose of determining how often a character can use war chanter music or bardic music. War chanter levels do not stack with bard levels for determining which songs a bard has access to.

Inspire Recklessness (Su): A War chanter of 3rd level or higher with 12 or more ranks in any Perform skill can use her song or poetics to inspire an often dangerous, but very effective, ferocity in one of her allies within 60 feet (or in himself). The effect lasts for as long as the ally hears the war chanter sing and for 5 rounds thereafter. An affected ally (or the war chanter herself) is inspired to recklessness, gaining the ability to decrease her Armor Class by a number less than or equal to her base attack bonus and add the same number to her melee attack rolls as a morale bonus.

On her action, before making any attack rolls in a round, the affected character must choose to subtract a number from her Armor Class and add the same number to all melee attack rolls (this number may be 0). The penalty to Armor Class and the bonus on attack rolls apply until the character’s next action.

Combine Songs (Su): A war chanter of 5th level or higher with 12 or more ranks in any Perform skill can combine two types of bardic music or war chanter music to provide the benefits of both (normal stacking rules for bonus types apply).

Inspire Awe (Su): A war chanter of 7th level or higher with 15 or more ranks in any Perform skill can inspire uneasiness, fear, or even terror in her foes. To be affected, a foe must be within 60 feet of the war chanter and must be able to hear the war chanter. Foes get a Will save (DC 10 + war chanter’s class level + war chanter’s Cha modifier) to resist the effect. The severity of the effect depends on the difference between the foe’s Hit Dice and the war chanter’s Hit Dice (character level). Subtract the foe’s HD from the war chanter’s HD and consult the following table.

The effect lasts for as long as the foe can hear the war chanter and 1 round thereafter. If a foe’s hearing of the war chanter’s song is interrupted, the foe needs to make another saving throw when he hears the war chanter’s song again.

Singing Shout (Su): When a war chanter of 8th level or higher engages in battle, he often lets out a singing shout as a standard action. All allies (including herself) within a 60-foot radius who can hear the war chanter gain a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength for a number of rounds equal to one-half the class level of the war chanter.

Inspire Legion (Su): A 10th-level war chanter with 18 or more ranks in any Perform skill can unite her allies and make them fight better together. To be affected, an ally must be within 60 feet of the war chanter and must be able to hear the war chanter. Only allies who meet these requirements at the beginning of the song are affected, and an ally whose hearing is interrupted or who moves more than 60 feet away from the war chanter cannot rejoin the same song. The effect lasts as long as the affected characters can hear the war chanter and stay within range.

When the war chanter begins singing, determine the best base attack bonus among all the affected characters. All affected characters use this base attack bonus or the war chanter’s character level as their base attack bonus for the duration of the effect. All affected characters gain a +2 competence bonus on damage rolls as well.