Prestige Classes

WARCHIEF

A warchief leads a primitive, aggressive tribe of humanoids, especially when they turn to marauding. The warchief calls on his indomitable presence and terrible visage to spur his followers to feats of great courage and sacrifice for the tribe. The tribe member who hangs back learns firsthand that the warchief’s displeasure is a terror eclipsing even the hardships of war— better to die in glory on the battlefield than under the warchief’s torturous punishments. Inspired into a killing frenzy, the warchief and his band sweep the enemies of the tribe before their onslaught. Warchiefs are self-made leaders, more often than not reaching their elevated status by deposing the previous warchief in a bloody coup. A warchief doesn’t become the sole authority by worrying about the needs of others, and thus good-aligned leaders are rarely members of this class. The martial classes—especially fighter, ranger, and warrior—are most likely to become warchiefs. NPC warchiefs might be found throughout the savage lands, leading tribes of brutal humanoids to bloody ends. Luckily for those in civilized lands, warchiefs most often array their followers against other warring bands of savages.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

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

Base Attack Bonus: +3.

Special: Must have led a tribe in battle.

Class Skills

The warchief's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Warchief

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the warchief prestige class.

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

Tribal Frenzy (Ex): A warchief is able to inspire his followers to acts of extreme battle frenzy. The warchief may activate this frenzy as a standard action. He may then maintain it as a free action. It ends at the conclusion of any turn in which the warchief does not maintain it.

The frenzy affects any creature that is a member of the warchief’s race and tribe, that starts its turn within 30 feet of the warchief, and that is able to hear the warchief.

The frenzy grants a +2 enhancement bonus to the Strength score of each affected ally (not including the warchief himself ). At the start of each of their turns, everyone affected by the Strength boost takes 1 point of damage for each Hit Die they have. Thus, an orc warchief can grant +2 Strength to each member of the pack of 1stlevel orc warriors he commands, but they each take 1 point of damage per round as long as the Strength boost remains in effect.

Every two levels (3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th), the bonus to Strength increases by +2.

Ability Boost (Ex): As a warchief gains levels in this prestige class, his Charisma score increases as noted on Table 1–13: The Warchief. These increases stack.

Devoted Bodyguards (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, once per round, whenever a warchief is hit by an attack, he may make a DC 15 Reflex save to have that attack affect an adjacent tribe member instead. The attack is treated as though it had hit the chosen bodyguard instead of the leader, regardless of the bodyguard’s Armor Class or any other defensive effects. A tribe member may not serve as a bodyguard if it is dazed, stunned, paralyzed, or otherwise unable to act.