Oriental Prestige Class : Battle Maiden
Battle maidens are the stuff of wonder and legend, an order of mounted female samurai whose swift, fearless attacks are renowned throughout the world. They have a supernatural bond with their mounts, an intense spiritual connection similar to the bond between a paladin and his mount. Battle maidens maintain a tradition of martial prowess tempered by spiritual purity. Their spirits burn with pure devotion; they are unquestionably loyal, eternally dedicated and above worldly desires.
Battle maidens are almost exclusively female members of the samurai character class. In Rokugan, they are drawn solely from the Unicorn clan, where they are trained in the Utaku school.
NPC battle maidens form the elite cavalry units of an army.
Class Requirements
To qualify to become a Battle Maiden, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Gender: Female
- Alignment: Any lawful
- Skills: Handle Animal 10 ranks, Ride 10 ranks
- Feats: Mounted Combat, Ride-by Attack, Spirited Charge.
- Base Attack Bonus: +7.
Class Skills
The battle maiden's class skills are Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Profession, and Ride.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Feature
The following are class features of the battle maiden.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Battle maidens are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with light and medium armor.
Special Mount: A battle maiden's mount is no ordinary animal. In fact, it is not an animal at all, but a magical beast. This heavy warhorse shares the basic statistics of its kind, as described Heavy Warhorse, but also shares many qualities in common with a paladin's mount. It is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as shown below.
Battle Maiden Lvl HD Nat. Armor Str Int BAB Hoof BAB Bite Special 1st-3rd 6d8+18 4 19 6 +7 +2 Improved evasion, empathic link, share saving throws 4th-6th 8d8+32 6 20 7 +10 +5 Speed 60 ft. 7th-9th 10d8+30 8 21 8 +11 +6 Command equines 10th 12d8+36 10 22 9 +14 +9 Speed 70 ft., SR 20 Battle Maiden level: The class level of the battle maiden. If the mount suffers a level drain, treat the mount as though it belonged to a battle maiden of one level lower. For example, if the mount of a 7th-level battle maiden is drained of one level, it effectively becomes the mount of a 6th-level battle maiden (reduced HD, armor, etc., and no longer able to use command equines) until the level drain is negated. If the mount of a 1st-level battle maiden is drained of one level, it becomes a normal heavy warhorse (no longer a magical beast).
HD: The warhorse's Hit Dice.
Natural Armor: A battle maiden's mount begins with the normal thick hide of its kind, but that natural armor value increases as the battle maiden goes up in level. A heavy warhorse's AC is 10, -1 for its size, +1 for its Dexterity, + the number listed in this column.
Str: The mount's Strength score.
Int: The mount's Intelligence score.
Attack Bonuses: These melee attack numbers reflect the horse's Hit Dice, Strength score, and size (Large). A warhorse gets two hoof attacks at the listed bonus and a bite attack at the listed bonus.
Improved Evasion (Ex): If the mount is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
Empathic Link (Su): The battle maiden has an empathic link with the mount out to a distance of up to one mile. The battle maiden cannot see through the horse's eyes, but they can communicate telepathically. Even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of the empathic link between the mount and the battle maiden, the battle maiden has the same connection to an item or place that the mount does.
Share Saving Throws: The mount uses its own base save bonuses or the battle maiden's, whichever are higher.
Speed: The mount's base speed increases as the battle maiden acquires more levels. A normal warhorse's speed is 50 feet.
Command Equines (Sp): The mount can use this ability at will against other equines (including horses, donkeys, mules, and ponies) with fewer Hit Dice than it has itself. The mount can use this ability once per day per level of the battle maiden, and the ability functions just like the spell command (for purposes of this spell, the mount can make itself be understood by any normal equine). Since this is a spell-like ability, the mount must make a Concentration check (DC 21) if it's being ridden at the time (as in combat). If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount's daily uses.
Spell Resistance (Ex): To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) at least equal to the mount's spell resistance of 20.
Ride Bonus (Ex): A battle maiden gets a +2 competence bonus on her Ride checks at 1st level. This bonus increases by +2 every four levels thereafter (+4 at 5th level, +6 at 9th level). She can always take 10 on a Ride check, even if stress and distractions would normally prevent her from doing so.
In addition, as the battle maiden increases in levels, she can apply this bonus to other checks. At 3rd level and above, she applies her Ride bonus on her initiative checks while fighting from horseback. At 5th level and above, she applies her Ride bonus to her Armor Class while she is mounted. At 7th level and above, she applies her Ride bonus on melee or ranged attacks she makes from horseback.
Burst of Speed (Ex): At 2nd level, the battle maiden can urge her mount to greater than normal speeds. This ability doubles the distance of the mount's normal charge movement. This ability can be used once per day without penalty to the mount. Each additional use of the ability in a single day requires the mount to make a Will save (DC 20) immediately after the conclusion of the additional charge; failure results in the mount taking 2d6 points of damage.
Defensive Riding (Ex): Once per day, when a mounted battle maiden would be reduced to 0 hit points or less by damage in combat (from a weapon or other blow, not a spell or special ability), she can attempt to reduce the damage in the same way as she can negate damage to her mount with the Mounted Combat feat. She makes a Ride check (DC = damage dealt) and, if she's successful, she takes only half damage from the blow. She must be aware of the attack and able to react to it in order to perform her defensive riding - if she is denied her Dexterity bonus to AC, she can't avoid the damage.
Heal Mount (Sp): Once per day, a battle maiden of 8th level or higher can use heal mount as a spell-like ability
| Battle Maiden | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Special mount, Ride bonus +2 |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Burst of speed |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Ride bonus (initiative) +2 |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Defensive riding |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Ride bonus (AC) +4 |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | - |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Ride bonus (attacks) +4 |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Heal mount |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Ride bonus +6 |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +3 | - |
Source: Oriental Adventures
Older Prestige class adapted to 3.5