General Prestige Class : Stoneblessed

A stoneblessed bonds to the stone of the mountains, blending into a dwarf, gnome, or goliath community and making it her home. A stoneblessed character usually lives with her chosen race for several years, learning customs and building solid bonds of friendship and trust. Ar the end of this period, the potential stoneblessed is invited into the tribe, clan, or community and is forever after considered a member of her chosen people. Once this ceremony is finished, the members of the adopted community expect the stoneblessed to put her interests above even those of the individual's native race - they consider their home to be the stoneblessed's home, and they expect the stoneblessed to feel the same.

Although members of other races comprise the vast majority of the stoneblessed, dwarves, gnomes, and goliaths occasionally become stoneblessed as well. An individual usually makes this choice because she feels strongly drawn to one of the other races of stone. For example, those goliaths brave enough to venture into the deep caverns to trade with dwarves occasionally decide to stay; after a few years, they might join the dwarf community permanently.

An NPC stoneblessed is usually easy to spot because she sticks out like a sore thumb. The centaur living in the extra-large gnome burrow, the exiled drow who teaches magic to the dwarves, and the hill giant towering above even the goliaths - all are obviously not like their fellows. Yet no matter how odd they appear, stoneblessed are fully integrated into their adopted cultures. In fact, many stoneblessed are more mindful of their adopted cultural traditions than native members of a community because they consciously try to be good "gnomes," "dwarves," or "goliaths."

Adaptation: This prestige class - or one like it that you make yourself - is a way to give racial abilities to creatures not of that race. The class offers racial abilities based on specialized training or cultural immersion first, saving spell-like abilities and more obviously magical or biological abilities for the 3rd (and highest) level of the prestige class. If you're creating a prestige class tied to a particularly powerful race, you might need more than three levels to effectively balance powerful racial abilities.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Stoneblessed, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

• Race: Giant, humanoid, or monstrous humanoid
• Skills: Appraise 2 ranks, Craft (stoneworking) 5 ranks
• Special: The character must be able to speak Dwarven, Gnome, or Goliath (must match the language of the chosen race), as well as Terran.
  Special: The character must be invited to become a stoneblessed by a member of the chosen race. Fulfilling this requirement usually entails living with the race in question for several years, although it might (at the DM's discretion) also involve the completion of a single great task.

Class Skills

The stoneblessed's class skills are Climb, Craft, Jump, and Profession.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Each stoneblessed character also gains additional class skills based on the race to which she forms a bond (see stone-bond, below).

Class Features

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

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

Stonebond (Ex): A stoneblessed must choose one race of stone with which to bond: dwarf, gnome, or goliath. This choice must be the same race that invited the stoneblessed to become one of them (see Requirements, above). Depending on her choice, a stoneblessed gains certain abilities.

Dwarf: A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed adds Appraise, Intimidate, Knowledge (architecture and engineering), and Knowledge (dungeoneering to her list of stoneblessed class skills. A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed gains a +2 bonus on Appraise and Craft checks related to stone or metal.

Gnome: A gnome-bonded stoneblessed adds Bluff, Hide, Listen, Perform, and Spellcraft to her list of stoneblessed class skills. A gnome-bonded stoneblessed gains a +2 bonus on Listen and Craft (alchemy) checks.

Goliath: A goliath-bonded stoneblessed adds Balance, Diplomacy, Knowledge (geography), Sense Motive, and Survival to her list of stoneblessed class skills. A goliath-bonded stoneblessed gains a +2 bonus on Sense Motive checks and can engage in accelerated climbing (climbing half her speed as a move action) without suffering the -5 penalty on the Climb check.

Racial Battle Technique (Ex): At 2nd level and higher, a stoneblessed gains a +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. In addition, she gains another ability based on her chosen race: A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids. A gnome-bonded stoneblessed gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids. A goliath-bonded stoneblessed gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls against giants.

Stoneborn (Ex): At 3rd level, a stoneblessed completes the bond with her chosen race. The stoneblessed gains a permanent +2 increase to her Constitution score. In addition, for all effects related to race, a stoneblessed is considered a member of the race to which she is bonded. For example, dwarf-bonded stoneblessed are just as vulnerable to effects and abilities that affect dwarves as actual dwarves are (such as a ranger's favored enemy ability), and they can use magic items that are usable only by dwarves. The stoneblessed meets any racial prerequisite for prestige classes and feats as if she were a member of her bonded race. Finally, the stoneblessed gets an ability based on her type of racial bond:

Stonecunning (Ex): A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed gains a +2 bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework. Something that isn't stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if she were actively searching, and a dwarf-bonded stoneblessed can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A dwarf-bonded stoneblessed can also intuit depth, sensing her approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.

Speak with Animals (Sp): Once per day, a gnome-bonded stoneblessed can use speak with animals, as the spell cast by a 1st-level druid.

Toughness: A goliath-bonded stoneblessed emulates the resilience of the goliath tribesfolk and gains Toughness as a bonus feat.

Stoneblessed					Hit Die: d8
CL	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+0	+2	+0	+0	Stonebond
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+0	Racial battle technique
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+1	Stoneborn

Source: Races of Stone

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General Prestige Classes