Faerûnian Prestige Class : Warsling Sniper
The warsling sniper is an expert in the use of the weapon commonly associated with the halfling race. Among the hin, these individuals are known by their proper name, and are often accorded great respect in the hin community. To nearly everyone else, however, these sharpshooters are known as "those damned sling assassins!" or by even more colorful epithets. While some warsling snipers do actually sell their talents to those wishing to dispose of their enemies, most are not professional assassins but rather highly skilled specialists who use their skills to help protect their communities or improve their chances of adventuring successfully. A number of warsling snipers remain with their family for most of their lives, imparting their superlative skills to the young.
Fighters, monks, and rogues are the most common practitioners of warsling snipery. Some barbarians and rangers, particularly those fighting for a partisan cause or engaged in the protracted defense of a homeland, find the warsling sniper's talents highly useful in their work. The occasional druid or cleric may adopt this path of study if it seems to support or compliment her religious beliefs and practices. Wizards seldom sacrifice the benefits of additional spells to take up the halfling warsling with such single-minded devotion, and sorcerers do so with only slightly more frequency.
The art of warsling expertise is often passed from generation to generation, particularly among the lightfoot hin. This strong familial association is perhaps the reason that warsling snipers are found more frequently among lightfoot halflings than ghostwise or stronghearts. Warsling snipers are not unknown among the ghostwise and strongheart hin, but generally these subraces prefer different sorts of ranged weapons. A small gathering of warsling snipers sometimes cooperate to undertake a joint mission (such as ambushing individuals who are making life difficult for the local hin), and at least few wandering lightfoot communities boast small military units of warsling snipers.
Hit Die: d6
Requirements
To qualify to become a Warsling Sniper, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Race: Halfling
- Skills: Craft (weaponsmith) 3 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Spot 6 ranks.
- Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (halfling warsling), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (skiprock), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.
Class Skills
The warsling sniper's class skills are Climb, Craft, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Sense Motive, and Spot.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are Class Features of the warsling sniper prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Warsling snipers gain no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields.
Warsling Sneak Attack (Ex): Any time the warsling sniper's target would be denied his Dexterity bonus to AC (regardless of whether he actually has a Dexterity bonus), her ranged sneak attack with the warsling deals extra damage. This extra damage is +1d6 at 1st level, and increases by an additional 1d6 every other level after that (+2d6 at 3rd level and +3d6 at 5th level). Ranged attacks only count as sneak attacks if the target is within 30 feet. In every other way, this ability is identical to the rogue's sneak attack. If the character has the sneak attack ability from another class, the bonuses stack.
Sniper's Vision (Ex): At 2nd level, warsling snipers gain a +2 bonus on sling attacks against targets with some degree of cover; this bonus effectively reduces the benefit of cover because the warsling sniper is adept at aiming for the exposed part of the foe. Furthermore, if a skiprock sniper misses the target due to concealment, she can reroll the miss chance percentile roll to see if she actually hit.
Improved Critical (Ex): At 4th level, the sniper gains Improved Critical (halfling warsling) as a bonus feat.
Improved Ricochet (Ex): At 6th level, the sniper's expertise with the warsling becomes so advanced that when she bounces a skiprock off one target to hit another, the second attack roll is made without the normal -2 penalty. This ability may be used once per round.
| Warsling Sniper | Hit Die: d6 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Warsling sneak attack +1d6 |
| 2nd | +2 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Sniper's vision |
| 3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Warsling sneak attack +2d6 |
| 4th | +4 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Improved Critical (halfling warsling) |
| 5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Warsling sneak attack +3d6 |
| 6th | +6 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Improved ricochet |
Source: Races of Faerûn