| Amongst goblins, the best way for them to defend themselves or wage war is to overwhelm their enemies with sheer numbers and cheap tricks, using swarms of goblins to overwhelm one enemy after another, dodging and leaping about randomly to confuse foes. Only a few goblins of any tribe will master these tactics, and often they become the war chiefs or elite warriors of a tribe. These Goblin Swarmers often team up with each other in battle, but also serve well at leading other goblins in a mass offensive. Only rarely does a Goblin Swarmer crop up outside of goblin tribes, as lone goblins rarely take very well to fighting alongside non-goblins, but once in a long while a Goblin Swarmer can be found fighting alongside non-goblinoids rather than against them. Most Swarmers are highly chaotic and selfish, but nonetheless have some redeeming qualities that make them good teammates, so they tend towards chaotic neutral alignment. All Goblin Swarmers are opportunistic and violent, but some at least temper those behaviors with a sense of kinship and loyalty to their companions, whoever those companions may be. Goblin Swarmers are typically rogues, often multiclassed as barbarians, as none of their Goblin Swarmer special abilities are dependent on concentration or patience. Hit Dice: D8 Alignment: Any chaotic Prerequisites: Must be a goblin; base attack bonus +3 or higher; base Reflex save +3 or higher; sneak attack +1d6 or higher; Climb 5+ ranks, Escape Artist 7+ ranks, Tumble 7+ ranks; Dodge, Mobility, Skill Focus (any one of this prestige class' prerequisite skills) Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int Mod Class Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Ride, Search, Spot, Swim, Tumble, Use Rope. Weapon And Armor Proficiencies: Goblin Swarmers gain no additional proficiencies. Greater Dirty Fighting: At 1st-level in this prestige class, the Goblin Swarmer improves the benefit of their Dirty Fighting racial ability by +1, which increases by +2 instead at 3rd-level. Swarm: Goblins frequently use swarm tactics against their enemies, but the Goblin Swarmer is a master of these tactics and knows how to make the most of a swarming assault. Many benefits of Swarm are related to fighting a certain designated enemy; each round, the Swarmer designates one enemy he or she can see for this purpose, and the designated enemy choice may be changed at any time that the designated enemy falls unconscious or dead. The Swarm ability has a few minor drawbacks, as the goblin becomes skilled and confident in his or her capacity to fight in a group, but becomes less skillful and confident in single combat or similar situations. Thus, at 1st-level onward, the Goblin Swarmer suffers a -2 penalty on Will saves, Intimidate checks, and the DC to Intimidate the Swarmer, when there are not at least two allies within 10 feet of him, to his knowledge. He or she also suffers a -2 penalty to Armor Class and attack rolls when he or she does not have at least two allies within 10 feet who are fighting the same enemy as himself or herself; if another enemy attacks the Swarmer, and is not also engaged in combat with at least two allies within 10 feet of the Swarmer, then the Goblin Swarmer still suffers this penalty. The penalties increase to -4 at 3rd-level onward, then to -6 at 5th-level onward. At 1st-level in this prestige class, the Swarmer gains the following benefits from his or her swarm-fighting expertise. Firstly, a Goblin Swarmer gets a +1 dodge bonus to AC for each ally (besides himself or herself) that threatens the Swarmer's designated foe in melee, but this AC bonus only applies against that designated foe; the AC bonus increases by a further +1 for every two Goblin Swarmers that threaten the designated foe (including this particular Goblin Swarmer, if he threatens the designated foe in melee). The dodge bonus is lost when the Swarmer is immobilized or denied a Dexterity bonus to AC. Secondly, the Goblin Swarmer gets a +1 bonus on Bluff checks per goblin ally (besides himself or herself) that threatens the designated foe in melee, but only on Bluff checks to feint in combat against the designated foe. The total bonus on Bluff checks of this sort is increased by +1 per size category of difference between the enemy and the Swarmer, if the enemy is larger. Thirdly, the Goblin Swarmer gains the capacity to enter an ally's square, fightng and moving unhindered by that confined space, and without hindering the ally's capacity to fight and move. However, to do so, the Goblin Swarmer and the ally must both be Small or smaller in size, and no more than two allies may occupy a space; this does not prevent other allies from moving through the space, although it does prevent them from staying in the space. Up to four allies of size Tiny or smaller may occupy the same 5-foot space unhindered in this fashion, or up to eight allies of size Diminutive or smaller. However, all but one must be Goblin Swarmers in order for this to be effective. Fourthly, the Swarmer gains +2 on Climb checks per goblin ally (besides himself or herself) that is threatening the designated foe in melee, but only for purposes of climbing the designated foe. Fifthly, when the Goblin Swarmer climbs upon any foe, he or she does not suffer the usual combat penalties for climbing. Climbing onto a foe may be easy or difficult, based on how rugged and graspable, or smooth and seamless, the opponent's body or worn gear happens to be. The foe must be larger in size category than the climber. Also, climbing onto a foe is like a grapple (requiring a melee touch attack, a grapple check to begin climbing, and any ensuing grapple checks on subsequent rounds), except that it deals no damage and cannot be used to pin the opponent. However, a grapple check can be rolled by a climbing character to try and 'aid another' with pinning attempts by other grappling characters; doing so requires a successful opposed grapple check, and grants the +2 bonus of 'aiding another' to any ally who tries pinning (or maintaining a pin) against the opponent being climbed. Each round, the Swarmer's grapple check determines if he or she can climb further, escape the grapple, or attack with a light weapon, unarmed strike, or natural weapon. A Goblin Swarmer who climbs the opponent can flank them, but only if someone or something else is climbing the opponent from the opposite side. Each Climb check to climb a foe is simply part of the grapple check, but rolled separately; each Climb check, if successful, allows the climber to move up to one-quarter their land speed (or half their Climb speed, if any), rounded up to the nearest 5 feet, without provoking attacks of opportunity. The climber cannot use the Bluff skill to feint in combat or create diversions to hide, and suffers the usual penalties for climbing (unless he or she is a Goblin Swarmer), but has the special benefit that they can more easily strike vital areas on their opponent by climbing over to those areas; as a result, their threat range with all attacks is improved by 2 points, and they gain +4 on threat confirmation rolls, but these benefits only apply against the foe they are climbing upon, and only if they have climbed to a reasonably vital area, such as the head, neck, or torso. The enemy-climbing rules only apply for Goblin Swarmers; other characters may attempt the same, but only under DM adjudication, and at penalties for lack of expertise in such tactics. After a Swarmer has reached at least 3rd-level in this prestige class, their swarm tactics have improved to cover a wider number of circumstances and uses. Firstly, the Swarmer gains +1 on Escape Artist checks and grapple checks for each ally of Small size or smaller (besides himself or herself) that threatens the designated foe in melee, but only when made against that designated foe. The bonus on Escape Artist and grapple checks improves by a further +1 for each Goblin Swarmer (besides himself or herself) that currently threatens the designated foe in melee. Secondly, the Goblin Swarmer gains +1 on Strength checks and Dexterity checks for each ally (besides himself or herself) that threatens the designated foe in melee, but only when made against that designated foe. Thirdly, allies of Small size or smaller (besides the Swarmer himself or herself) gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC against the Goblin Swarmer's designated foe, so long as the Swarmer and at least one other ally is threatening that foe in melee. The last benefit of Swarm II is that allies gain +1 on attack rolls against the Goblin Swarmer's designated foe, so long as the Swarmer and at least one other ally is threatening that foe in melee. Finally, at 5th-level in this prestige class, the Goblin Swarmer has fully developed his or her swarming tactics to perfection. He or she adds +1 to the total bonuses of all benefits from Swarm I and Swarm II (but not to indirect bonuses, such as from climbing onto a foe). He or she adds a further +1 to those total bonuses for every two Goblin Swarmers involved as appropriate for those abilities (including himself or herself), when applicable. These increases to the total bonuses are factored in before any reductions. In addition, the Goblin Swarmer no longer provokes an attack of opportunity for initiating a grapple, tripping an opponent, disarming an opponent, bull rushing an opponent, attacking an opponent's worn or carried gear, entering an opponent's space, or climbing onto an opponent, but only when taking these actions against their designated foe from the Swarm ability. Further, the Goblin Swarmer now retains their Dexterity bonus to AC against foes regardless of grappling or being grappled, and likewise continues to threaten foes in melee regardless of grappling or being grappled (as opposed to only retaining Dex to AC and threatening the foe they grapple). Also, the Goblin Swarmer may now use Sneak Attack against any designated foe they are climbing with the benefits of Swarm I, and against any designated foe they are grappling with the benefits of Swarm II. All aforementioned benefits of Swarm III only apply against opponents who are larger in size category than the Goblin Swarmer. As the final benefit of Swarm III, the Goblin Swarmer gains the capacity to use his or her nearby allies and foes for cover, to a certain extent. So long as the Swarmer is aware of an attack, he or she can attempt to briefly take cover against that attack, going behind an ally or foe in the same space or an adjacent space. This does not take any particular action on the Swarmer's part, nor that of the ally or foe, merely requiring the Swarmer to make a successful Reflex save against a DC equal to the ally's or foe's touch AC (effectively diving behind them before they can adjust position to prevent that). An ally can choose to let the Swarmer automatically succeed on that Reflex save if they desire, but only if the Swarmer is diving behind them. The Swarmer can only attempt to take cover behind an ally or foe once per round, and if successful, he or she gains half cover, then immediately after the attack he or she moves back into his or her previous position. The Swarmer may, however, choose not to move back into their previous position, but in that case, the dive counts as a 5-foot-step on the Swarmer's next turn. The Swarmer may choose to land prone or standing after their dive. Keep in mind that anyone or anything used for cover may be stricken by the attack that was directed at the Swarmer. The Swarmer cannot use allies or foes for cover if he or she is using their Swarm benefits against all foes, as described in Swarm I and Swarm II. Sneak Attack: A Goblin Swarmer improves their Sneak Attack ability by +1d6 further damage dice at 2nd-level in this prestige class, then by +2d6 instead at 5th-level. Improved Feint: Goblin Swarmers of 4th-level or higher can use the Bluff skill to feint in combat as a free action on their turn, but can only attempt it once per attack. Class Base Fort Ref Will Special Level Attack Save Save Save Abilities 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Greater Dirty Fighting +1, Swarm I 2 +1 +0 +3 +0 Sneak Attack +1d6 3 +2 +1 +3 +1 Greater Dirty Fighting +2, Swarm II 4 +3 +1 +4 +1 Improved Feint 5 +3 +1 +4 +1 Sneak Attack +2d6, Swarm III Disclaimer: 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, 3E D&D, Base Attack Bonus, BAB, saving throws, base saves, saving throw types, saving throw abbreviations, prestige class type, feat names, feat types, Armor Class, AC, hit points, HP, hit dice, HD, character level, class level, ability scores, ability score names, ability score abbreviations, skill names, skill ranks, skill points, class skills, size categories, checks, Bluff check types, attacks of opportunity, sneak attack ability, damage dice, proficiencies, rogue class, barbarian class, and alignment are, so far as I know, property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., which is a division of Hasbro Corporation. All other content on this webpage is copyright (c) 2005, property of John J. Korsog, Jr., internet aliases Arkhandus and Mist Phantom. This material free for personal use but not for commercial distribution. |
| Rhunarian Prestige Class --- Goblin Swarmer |
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