Faerûnian Prestige Class : Shaaryan Hunter
Though they almost never leave their homeland, Shaaryans have a reputation as wily bandits, masterful horsemen, and uncanny hunters. While allegations of banditry are not universally true, nearly every able-bodied Shaaryan is a capable rider, and a goodly number of them are indeed trackers and hunters of no small skill. On the backs of their swift horses, Shaaryan hunters can run down even the fastest prey and either spear it with a lance or pelt it with arrows from horseback. Most Shaaryan hunters stay within their homeland, providing food and materials for their tribes, but a rare few venture out into Faerûn to seek adventure. Such nomads usually become wilderness guides or bounty hunters.
Rangers and barbarians make up the majority of Shaaryan hunter candidates, but rogues are reasonably common as well. Druids very rarely take up the life of the hunter, and members of the other classes almost never have the wilderness survival skills necessary for the prestige class.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Shaaryan Hunter, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Skills: Handle Animal 4 ranks, Ride 6 ranks, Survival 8 ranks
- Feats: Animal Affinity, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Track,
- Base Attack Bonus: +5
- Region: The Shaar
Class Skills
The Shaaryan hunter's class skills are Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (Shaar local), Knowledge (nature), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Ride, Search, Spot, Survival, Swim, and Use Rope.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the Shaaryan hunter prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shaaryan hunters gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield. Armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight of Hand, and Tumble, and double the normal armor check penalty applies to Swim checks.
Ride Bonus (Ex): At 1st level, the Shaaryan hunter gains a +2 competence bonus on Ride checks. This bonus increases to +4 at 4th level, to +6 at 7th level, and to +8 at 10th level.
Mounted Tracking (Ex): Shaaryan hunters are skilled at following tracks from horseback. Beginning at 2nd level, a Shaaryan hunter may move at one-half her mount's base speed without taking penalties on Survival checks made to track. At 6th level, she may move at her mount's full speed while tracking with no penalty on checks made to track.
Burst of Speed (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, the Shaaryan hunter can urge her mount to move at double its normal speed for 1 round. During this round, the mount charges at double the new speed and runs at quadruple the new speed. This ability is usable once per day without danger to the mount. If the Shaaryan hunter attempts to use the ability a second time in the same day, her mount must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 20) or take 1d6 points of damage. Each additional time she uses the ability in the same day, her mount must make a new Fortitude save at the same DC, and the damage increases by 1d6 points over that for the previous attempt. Thus, the third use of this ability in one day deals 2d6 points of damage, the fourth use deals 3d6 points of damage, and so on.
Mounted Accuracy (Ex): Shaaryan hunters are almost as skilled as the legendary Tuigan Horde when firing a bow from horseback. Beginning at 4th level, the Shaaryan hunter gains a +2 competence bonus on ranged attack rolls made from horseback. When she reaches 9th level, this bonus increases to +4.
Spirited Charge (Ex): At 5th level, the Shaaryan hunter receives Spirited Charge as a bonus feat if she does not already have it. She need not meet the prerequisites for this feat.
Long Riding (Ex): At 7th level, the Shaaryan hunter has learned how to coax extra endurance from her mount so that she can ride longer and at a higher average speed. When traveling overland, her mount moves at 150% of its normal overland speed. This ability does not increase the creature's speed in combat.
Born in the Saddle (Ex): When the Shaaryan hunter reaches 8th level, her mastery of horsemanship enables her to perform unbelievable stunts. Once per day while mounted, she may elect to make a Ride check in place of any one attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. She uses her total Ride modifier but gains no modifiers from other sources (such as a weapon's enhancement bonus or a feat that increases her saving throw bonus).
| Shaaryan Hunter | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Ride bonus +2 |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Mounted tracking (half speed) |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Burst of speed |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Mounted accuracy +2, ride bonus +4 |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Spirited Charge |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Mounted tracking (full speed) |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Long riding, ride bonus +6 |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Born in the saddle |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Mounted accuracy +4 |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Ride bonus +8 |
Epic Shaaryan Hunter
The epic Shaaryan hunter is one with her mount. She is a rider, tracker, and survivalist of unrivaled skill.
An epic Shaaryan hunter should focus on feats related to riding and archery, which are her two greatest strengths. Legendary Rider and Skill Focus (Ride) improve her riding ability and help her make Ride checks at high DCs for tasks such as attacking while hanging down alongside her mount. Combat Archery, Distant Shot, Improved Manyshot, Swarm of Arrows, and Uncanny Accuracy all improve her prowess with a bow.
The Shaaryan hunter should improve her Dexterity regularly. Constitution should be her second focus for ability score increases.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Ride Bonus: The epic Shaaryan hunter's competence bonus on Ride checks increases by 2 for every three levels higher than 10th (to +10 at 13th level, +12 at 16th level, and +14 at 19th level).
Bonus Feats: The epic Shaaryan hunter gains a bonus feat, selected from the list below, for every three levels higher than 10th. She must meet any prerequisites for a feat in order to select it.
Epic Shaaryan Hunter Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Blinding Speed, Combat Archery, Distant Shot, Epic Endurance, Epic Prowess, Epic Skill Focus, Epic Speed, Epic Toughness, Epic Weapon Focus, Fast Healing, Improved Manyshot, Legendary Rider, Legendary Tracker, Swarm of Arrows, Uncanny Accuracy.
| Epic Shaaryan Hunter | Hit Die: d10 |
|---|---|
| CL | Special |
| 11th | - |
| 12th | - |
| 13th | Bonus feat, Ride bonus +10 |
| 14th | - |
| 15th | - |
| 16th | Bonus feat, Ride bonus +12 |
| 17th | - |
| 18th | - |
| 19th | Bonus feat, Ride bonus +14 |
| 20th | - |
Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn