General Prestige Class : Tribal Protector
The tribal protector is the battlefield champion of a savage humanoid race. While a tribe's warriors make up the bulk of its military forces, and barbarians may be its fiercest soldiers, tribal protectors are disciplined and deadly fighters who lead any martial endeavor.
Most tribal protectors are fighters, warriors, or barbarians who adopt this prestige class to gain (or continue) a fighter's specialized training in combat maneuvers, fierce and destructive attack abilities, and a home field advantage in their tribal lands and fighting their traditional foes. Sometimes tribal adepts, clerics, or sorcerers take on this role, depending on the tribe.
NPC tribal protectors are often found in the vanguard of a humanoid army. If honor demands a battle between champions, the tribal protector steps forward. Otherwise, the protector seeks out the leading warriors of the enemy army and engages them in single combat, or - as a last resort - cuts swaths through the rank and file of the opposing troops.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Tribal Protector, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Any humanoid, monstrous humanoid except dwarf, elf, gnome, baffling, half-elf, human
- Alignment: The same alignment as the majority of the character's tribe.
- Skills: Survival 4 ranks.
- Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave.
- Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Class Skills
The tribal protector's class skills are Bluff, Climb, Craft, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Move Silently, Sense Motive, and Survival.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The tribal protector is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all types of armor, and shields.
Bonus Feats: The tribal protector gains a bonus feat at 1st, 5th, and 9th level. These bonus feats must be chosen from the list of bonus feats available to a fighter.
Tribal Enemy: At first level, a tribal protector declares a specific group of people or monsters as his tribal enemy This is a much narrower category than a ranger's favored enemy. Tribal enemies might include the neighboring human nation, members of a specific religion, a rival humanoid tribe, or the drow beneath the mountains. Tribal protectors gain a +3 bonus to Bluff and Sense Motive checks when using these skills against their enemies. They gain the same +3 bonus to weapon damage rolls against these creatures. This damage bonus does nor apply to damage against creatures that are immune to critical hits, and the tribal defender does not gain this bonus when using a ranged weapon against a target more than 30 feet distant. A tribal defender who is also a ranger chooses a tribal enemy that is a subset of his favored enemy. The bonuses stack.
Homeland: Tribal protectors gain a +2 bonus to Hide, Move Silently, and Survival checks when they are within the terrain type and geographical area of their tribal homeland. Examples of homelands include the County of Urnst, the Adri Forest, or the Vale of the Mage. This bonus reflects the protector's intimate familiarity with his home terrain.
Wild Fighting: Similar to a monk attacking with a flurry of blows, a tribal defender of 2nd level or higher can enter a state of wild fighting, attacking in a storm of ferocious assaults. The character gains one extra attack per round, at his highest base attack bonus, but all the character's attacks in that round suffer a -2 penalty. This penalty lasts for an entire round, so it also affects any attacks of opportunity the protector might make in that round.
Terrain AC Bonus: You take great advantage of your homeland's features and gain the listed deflection bonus to your AC when in your homeland (see above).
Smite: Beginning at 4th level, a tribal protector gains the supernatural ability to make a single melee attack with a +4 attack bonus and a damage bonus equal to his class level (if he hits) against a member of his tribal enemy. The protector must declare the smite before attacking. At 7th level, the protector can smite twice per day. At 10th level, this increases to three times per day.
| Tribal Protector | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Bonus feat, tribal enemy, homeland |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Wild fighting |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Terrain AC bonus +2 |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Smite 1/day |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Bonus feat |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Terrain AC bonus +3 |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Smite 2/day |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Terrain AC bonus +4 |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Bonus feat |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Smite 3/day |
Source: Sword and Fist