Xynthia

BEASTMASTER

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills

The beastmaster’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Wis), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str)

Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

Table: The Beastmaster

Table: Beastmaster Spells Known

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the beastmaster.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Beastmasters are proficient with all simple weapons.

Beastmasters are proficient with light and medium armor but are prohibited from wearing metal armor; thus, they may wear only padded, leather, or hide armor. (A beastmaster may also wear wooden armor that has been altered by the ironwood spell so that it functions as though it were steel. See the ironwood spell description) Beastmasters are proficient with shields (except tower shields) but must use only wooden ones.

A beastmaster who wears prohibited armor or carries a prohibited shield is unable to cast beastmaster spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.

Animal Companion (Ex): A beastmaster may begin play with an animal companion selected from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures are also available: crocodile, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the beastmaster on her adventures as appropriate for its kind.

A 1st-level beastmaster’s companion is completely typical for its kind except as noted below. As a beastmaster advances in level, the animal’s power increases as shown on the table. If a beastmaster releases her companion from service, she may gain a new one by performing a ceremony requiring 24 uninterrupted hours of prayer. This ceremony can also replace an animal companion that has perished.

A beastmaster of 4th level or higher may select from alternative lists of animals (see below). Should she select an animal companion from one of these alternative lists, the creature gains abilities as if the character’s beastmaster level were lower than it actually is. Subtract the value indicated in the appropriate list header from the character’s beastmaster level and compare the result with the beastmaster level entry on the table to determine the animal companion’s powers. (If this adjustment would reduce the beastmaster’s effective level to 0 or lower, she can’t have that animal as a companion.)

Wild Empathy (Ex): A beastmaster can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check to improve the attitude of a person. The beastmaster rolls 1d20 and adds his beastmaster level and his Charisma bonus to determine the wild empathy check result. The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use wild empathy, the beastmaster and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal visibility conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute, but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

The beastmaster can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, buts he takes a –4 penalty on the check.

Summon Familiar: A beastmaster can obtain a familiar (see below). Doing so takes 24 hours and uses up magical materials that cost 100 gp. A familiar is a magical beast that resembles a small animal and is unusually tough and intelligent. The creature serves as a companion and servant.

The beastmaster chooses the kind of familiar he gets. As the beastmaster advances in level, her familiar also increases in power.

If the familiar dies or is dismissed by the beastmaster, the beastmaster must attempt a DC 15 Fortitude saving throw. Failure means she loses 200 experience points per beastmaster level; success reduces the loss to one-half that amount. However, a beastmaster’s experience point total can never go below 0 as the result of a familiar’s demise or dismissal. A slain or dismissed familiar cannot be replaced for a year and day. A slain familiar can be raised from the dead just as a character can be, and it does not lose a level or a Constitution point when this happy event occurs.

A character with more than one class that grants a familiar may have only one familiar at a time.

Illiteracy: Beastmatters, like barbarian,s do not automatically know how to read and write. A beastmaster may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all languages he is able to speak.

Nature Sense (Ex): At third level, a beastmaster gains a +2 bonus on Knowledge (nature) and Survival checks.

Track: A beastmaster gains Track as a bonus feat.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a beastmaster may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.

Trackless Step (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a beastmaster leaves no trail in natural surroundings and cannot be tracked. She may choose to leave a trail if so desired.

Second Animal Companion (Ex): At 4th level ,a beastmaster gains an additional animal companion selected from the following list: badger, camel, dire rat, dog, riding dog, eagle, hawk, horse (light or heavy), owl, pony, snake (Small or Medium viper), or wolf. If the campaign takes place wholly or partly in an aquatic environment, the following creatures may be added to the beastmaster’s list of options: crocodile, porpoise, Medium shark, and squid. This animal is a loyal companion that accompanies the beastmaster on his adventures as appropriate for its kind.

For purposes of this additional animal companion, the beastmaster’s effective level is one-half her beastmaster level. A beastmaster may select from the alternative lists of animal companions just as a beastmaster can, though again her effective beastmaster level is half her beastmaster level. A beastmaster cannot select an alternative animal if the choice would reduce his effective beastmaster level below 1st.

Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a beastmaster gains the ability to cast a small number of arcane spells, which are drawn from the ranger spell list.

To prepare or cast a spell, a beastmaster must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a beastmaster’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the beastmaster’s Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a beastmaster can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Beastmaster. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score. When Table: The Beastmaster indicates that the beastmaster gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Charisma score for that spell level. A beastmaster’s selection of spells is extremely limited. At most beastmaster levels, she gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Beastmaster Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a beastmaster knows is not affected by his Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Beastmaster Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the beastmaster/wizard spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the beastmaster has gained some understanding of by study. The beastmaster can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.

Upon reaching 11th level, and at every beastmaster level after that (15th, and 19th), a beastmaster can choose to learn a new spell in place of one he already knows. In effect, the beastmaster “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level beastmaster spell the beastmaster can cast. A beastmaster may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that he gains new spells known for the level.

Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a beastmaster need not prepare his spells in advance. He can cast any spell he knows at any time, assuming he has not yet used up his spells per day for that spell level. He does not have to decide ahead of time which spells he’ll cast.

Through 3rd level, a beastmaster has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her beastmaster level.

Resist Nature’s Lure (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a beastmaster gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like abilities of fey.

Animal Senses (Ex): Starting at 6th level, a beastmaster has low-light vision and scent.

Swift Tracker (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, a beastmaster can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal –5 penalty. He takes only a –10 penalty (instead of the normal –20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.

Evasion (Ex): At 9th level, a beastmaster can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the beastmaster is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless beastmaster does not gain the benefit of evasion.

Animal Bond: A 10th level beastmaster’s animal companions gain empathic link, speak with master, and scry on familiar as if they were familiars.

Rebuke Animals (Su): Starting at 12th level, a beastmaster can rebuke, command, or bolster animals as an evil cleric of the same level rebukes undead. Use these abilities a total number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier.

Camouflage (Ex): A beastmaster of 13th level or higher can use the Hide skill in any sort of natural terrain, even if the terrain doesn’t grant cover or concealment.

Commune with Nature (Sp): Starting at 16th level, a beastmaster can use commune with nature once per day as a spell-like ability.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): While in any sort of natural terrain, a ranger of 17th level or higher can use the Hide skill even while being observed.

Speak With Plants (Sp): At 15th level, the beastmaster can use speak with plants at will as a spell-like ability.

Animal Nature: At 19th level, a beastmaster becomes part animal. She is forevermore treated as a monstrous humanoid rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the beastmaster’s creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects.

Inspire Animals (Su): Starting at 20th level, all animals allied to the beastmaster gain 2 bonus Hit Dice (d10s), the commensurate number of temporary hit points (apply the target’s Constitution modifier, if any, to these bonus Hit Dice), a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves. The bonus Hit Dice count as regular Hit Dice for determining the effect of spells that are Hit Dice dependant.

Spell List

• All ranger spells.