| As the Hobgoblin Coalition trains its soldiers relentlessly, its taskmasters occasionally notice a hobgoblin who excels in the drills and command exercises. These exemplary soldiers are recommended to superiors for special, extra-difficult training, and the survivors of this advanced training regimen form the ranks of the Hobgoblin Roughnecks. Given the generally combative inclinations of hobgoblins, even some of the free hobgoblin colonies give rise to an occasional leader who's hard-working enough, and driven enough, to become the equivalent of a Roughneck in skill and presence. The training of Hobgoblin Roughnecks, regardless, is harsh and always includes some hard choices and sacrifices, and more than a few Roughnecks in training will die, unworthy to complete the training or accept the sacrifice. This makes Roughnecks a universally dour, spiteful, or egocentric lot, either not caring one whit for other people, or just plain hating most people, or feeling like life hardly matters and only the struggle for power and superiority is worth living for. A few might just feel like any amount of sacrifice justifies their end goal. All of which are quite acceptable mindsets in hobgoblin society, of course, so Roughnecks often go far in the military. Roughnecks learn to be fairly tough and adaptable, making long, hard marches and ensuring that their troops will too. They learn to use a variety of weapons, and even to improvise their fighting tools when needed. A Hobgoblin Roughneck will never let himself or herself be caught defenseless, even if they don't care about living, they'll still fight like dogs to win even the smallest victory. At the same time, though, most Roughnecks are canny and skilled soldiers, good with strategy or tactics, and will try to achieve the most effective or efficient victory they can. Hit Dice: D8 Alignment: Any nongood Prerequisites: Must be a hobgoblin; base attack bonus +5 or higher; base fortitude save +4 or higher; Climb 7+ ranks, Jump 7+ ranks; proficiency in all simple and martial weapons; proficiency in light armors and in shields; Exotic Weapon Proficiency (any one), Weapon Focus (any martial weapon), Weapon Focus (any exotic weapon) Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Int Mod Class Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Ride, Spot, Swim, Use Rope, Wilderness Lore. Weapon And Armor Proficiencies: Hobgoblin Roughnecks gain no additional proficiencies. Exotic Weapon Affinity: Hobgoblin Roughnecks train a bit in many different weapons, particularly those of the exotic variety. Thus, a Hobgoblin Roughneck suffers only half the usual nonproficiency penalty, rounded up, on attack rolls for wielding any exotic or improvised weapons. If a weapon includes an additional or higher-than-normal attack roll penalty for nonproficient users, then the Roughneck reduces the total nonproficiency penalty. Proficiency: At 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-level in this prestige class, the Hobgoblin Roughneck gains proficiency in an exotic weapon of their choice. They must meet the Strength prerequisites for that proficiency, if any, such as for exotic proficiency in the bastard sword. Endurance: Hobgoblin Roughnecks gain Endurance as a bonus feat at 2nd-level in this class. If they already possess that feat beforehand, they instead gain a further +3 bonus from that feat, and need only four hours of sleep each day instead of eight, for all intents and purposes. Leadership: At 3rd-level a Hobgoblin Roughneck gains the Leadership feat, without needing to meet the normal prerequisites. If they already possessed that feat beforehand, they instead add +3 to their Leadership Score. Regardless, the Hobgoblin Roughneck's followers will henceforth be primarily hobgoblin warriors, with the possibility of a few experts or commoners amongst them, and his or her cohort will be a hobgoblin fighter, rogue, or ranger. Only a rare few Hobgoblin Roughnecks, with either terribly meager resources and connections, or instead exceptionally great influence and resources, will have other sorts of follower or cohort. Command: As a full-round action, a 4th-level or higher Hobgoblin Roughneck can give compelling commands to his allies and troops. Allies within 30 feet of the Roughneck at that time get either +2 on attack rolls, or +3 on skill checks, or +4 on Constitution checks to continue a hard march or other activity that demands prolonged exertion. This is a competence bonus, and it lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Roughneck's Charisma bonus plus half his level in this class, rounded down. This action does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and the bonus is not dependant on your allies staying within 30 feet. Weapon Focus: Hobgoblin Roughnecks gain a free Weapon Focus feat at 4th-level in this prestige class, for any weapon they are proficient in and did not yet have Weapon Focus with. Banner: After reaching 5th-level in this prestige class, the Hobgoblin Roughneck becomes so inspiring that he can motivate his troops and allies to greater bravery and determination. As long as you carry a distinctive banner or battle standard, that your troops and allies know could only signify your command, any such troops and allies of yours within 30 feet gain the following benefits. They get a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against charm effects, and a +2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. Also, if any of your allies or troops is within 30 feet of you while you are carrying such a banner or battle standard, they get a second saving throw against any current charm effect or fear effect they have failed a saving throw against. This does not apply for any such troops or allies that already got a second saving throw. Your troops and allies within 30 feet, under these conditions, suffer up to 2 points less of a morale penalty from any fear effects afflicting them while they are within 30 feet of you and your banner or battle standard. The Banner ability applies also if your banner or battle standard is mounted on your steed or vehicle, rather than held by you. Your troops and allies must be able to see your banner or battle standard in order to gain the benefits of this ability. The benefits of the Banner ability are lost if your banner or battle standard falls or is destroyed, until it is raised up again. When your banner or battle standard falls or is destroyed, however, any of your troops and allies who see that it is gone will suffer a -1 morale penalty on all attack rolls, checks, and Will saving throws. The morale penalty applies even to allies and troops of yours that aren't within 30 feet, and the penalty will persist until the banner or battle standard is replaced or raised again. If that does not occur before the battle is through, your troops and allies will continue suffering the morale penalty until 1 hour after the battle, even if the standard or banner is raised or replaced during that hour. Wield Anything: The Hobgoblin Roughneck learns by 5th-level how to use improvised weapons fairly effectively. For the 5th-level Roughneck, Fine-sized improvised weapons deal a base of 1 damage, Diminutive-sized ones deal 1d2 base damage, Tiny improvised weapons deal a base of 1d3 damage, Small improvised weapons deal a base of 1d4 damage, Medium-sized ones deal 1d6 base damage, Large improvised weapons deal 2d4 base damage, Huge improvised weapons deal a base of 2d6 damage, Gargantuan improvised weapons deal 3d6 base damage, and Colossal improvised weapons deal a base of 4d6 damage. They have a threat range of 20 and a critical multiplier of x2. The Roughneck is considered proficient in improvised weapons henceforth, and can take feats for particular improvised weapons, such as Weapon Focus (chairs) or Improved Critical (rocks). Relatively soft improvised weapons, such as those made primarily from cloth or leather, deal subdual damage instead of normal damage. Very lightweight items are unusable as improvised weapons, such as scarves or sheafs of paper. Each attack with an improvised weapon deals either bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, whichever is most appropriate for the item, with the Roughneck choosing between the appropriate damage types if the item has a combination of sharp edges, blunt faces, and/or sharp protrusions. Improvised weapons may be used as melee or thrown weapons, and when thrown they have a range increment of 10 feet, or 20 feet if two or more size categories smaller than the wielder. Improvised weapons that are two or more size categories larger than the wielder cannot be thrown effectively. Class Base Fort Ref Will Special Level Attack Save Save Save Abilities 1 +0 +2 +0 +0 Exotic Weapon Affinity, Proficiency 2 +1 +3 +0 +0 Endurance, Proficiency 3 +2 +3 +1 +1 Leadership, Proficiency 4 +3 +4 +1 +1 Command, Weapon Focus 5 +3 +4 +1 +1 Banner, Wield Anything Disclaimer: 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons, base attack bonus, fort save, ref save, will save, saving throw, fortitude save, reflex save, character level, prestige class, feat names, Leadership Score, morale bonus, morale penalty, competence bonus, nonproficiency penalty, threat range, critical multiplier, ability scores, skill names, damage types, range increment, size categories, checks, attacks of opportunity, martial weapons, 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) 2004-2005, 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 --- The Hobgoblin Roughneck |
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