Battle Hedgehog (3.5e Prestige Class)

Battle Hedgehog

A warrior crests the ridge, but what an odd warrior he is. Armor covered in spikes, he charges headlong into battle, pushing aside all who stand in his path. Those who strike him impale themselves on his armor, and he causes the wary to doubt their chances.

A battle hedgehog is a warrior who specializes in the use of spiked armor and spiked gauntlets. Only members of the small races can become battle hedgehogs as their reduced surface area is required to make the tactic effective. As the warrior progresses down this path, he begins to gain abilities that go beyond using spikes in battle. Gnome battle hedgehogs sometimes paint their armor brown and use illusions to disguise themselves as giant hedgehogs, much to the confusion of their enemies. Most halflings find the heavy armor requirement restrictive, but some embrace the class for nothing else but the novelty of it.

Requirements

To qualify to become a battle hedgehog, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

• Size: Small (except for dwarves)
• Base Attack Bonus: +5
• Skills: Craft (armorsmithing) 5 ranks, Craft (weaponsmithing) 5 ranks, Jump 5 ranks
• Armor Proficiencies: Heavy Armor
• Feats: Combat Expertise, Endurance, Weapon Focus (armor spikes), Weapon Focus (spiked gauntlet)

Table: The Battle Hedgehog

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+2	+2	+0	Hedgehog Hide, Clawed Flurry
2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Spiked Defense +1, Weapon Specialization
3	+3	+3	+3	+1	Beware The Spines
4	+4	+4	+4	+1	Spiked Defense +2, Critical Modifier
5	+5	+4	+4	+1	Improved Hedgehog Flurry
6	+6	+5	+5	+2	Spiked Defense +3, Rippling Spikes
7	+7	+5	+5	+2	Rolling Charge, Aspect of The Hedgehog
8	+8	+6	+6	+2	Spiked Defense +4, Fear The Spines
9	+9	+6	+6	+3	Greater Hedgehog Flurry
10	+10	+7	+7	+3	Spiked Defense +5, Full Hedgehog Attack, Spike Bomb
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) Bluff, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Jump.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the battle hedgehog prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Battle hedgehogs gain proficiency with light, medium, and heavy armor.

Hedgehog Hide (Ex): A battle hedgehog can sleep in armor without becoming fatigued. For the purpose of all modes of movement, heavy armor does not reduce movement speed. The maximum Dexterity bonus when wearing heavy armor is increased by +5.

Clawed Flurry (Ex): A battle hedgehog gains the benefits of the Two-Weapon Fighting Feat when using a pair of spiked gauntlets only.

Spiked Defense (Ex): A battle hedgehog of 2nd level gains a +1 bonus to AC when fighting defensively, using total defense, or Combat Expertise. This bonus increases by an additional +1 every two levels after 2nd. This bonus only applies when the battle hedgehog is donned in spiked armor.

Weapon Specialization (Ex): At 2nd level a battle hedgehog gains Weapon Specialization (armor spikes) and Weapon Specialization (spiked gauntlets) as bonus feats even if he doesn't meet the prerequisites. If he already has any of these feats, he may replace them with any other feat he qualifies for.

Beware the Spines (Ex): At 3rd level, whenever an opponent makes a melee attack against a battle hedgehog and misses, the battle hedgehog gains a free attack of opportunity against that opponent. This attack must be made using spiked gauntlets or armor spikes. This does not increase the number of attacks of opportunity he can make in one round.

Critical Modifier (Ex): At 4th level, the critical multiplier on all spiked weapons and armor spikes the battle hedgehog wears or wields increases to x3.

Improved Hedgehog Flurry (Ex): At 5th level, a battle hedgehog gains the benefits of the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting Feat when using a pair of spiked gauntlets only.

Rippling Spikes (Ex): At 6th level, the battle hedgehog learns to use the spikes on his person to fool his enemy. The battle hedgehog may feint as a move action and gains a +4 bonus to do so. This only applies when using a pair of spiked gauntlets and spiked heavy armor.

Rolling Charge (Ex): At 7th level, a battle hedgehog gains the benefit of his spiked defense when making a charge, without having to fight defensively or use Combat Expertise. A spiked hedgehog may also make a full attack after a charge. In addition, the battle hedgehog's base land speed is increased by 10 feet when making a charge. This ability requires a pair of spiked gauntlets and spiked heavy armor.

Aspect of the Hedgehog (Ex): At 7th level, a battle hedgehog becomes infused with the essence of the hedgehog. When wearing a pair of spiked gauntlets and spiked armor he gains a burrow speed equal to his base land speed, and his natural armor bonus increases by +2. Armor check penalties from spiked heavy are reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0.

Fear the Spines (Ex): At 8th level, the battle hedgehog instinctively twitches and shifts his spikes to deter opponents. When an opponent is struck by his Beware The Spines class ability, the battle hedgehog may use Intimidate to demoralize that opponent as a free action, gaining a bonus on the Intimidate check equal to the damage dealt.

Greater Hedgehog Flurry (Ex): At 9th level, a battle hedgehog gains benefits of the Greater Two-Weapon Fighting Feat when using a pair of spiked gauntlets only.

Full Hedgehog Attack (Ex): At 10th level, a battle hedgehog may make an extra attack at his highest attack bonus with his armor spikes after a full attack with both spiked gauntlets.

Spike Bomb (Su): At 10th level, the battle hedgehog gains a supernatural ability to expel the spikes from his armor and his gauntlets. As an attack action, the battle hedgehog may use the Spike Bomb, making one attack roll against all enemies within ten feet. Any enemy hit suffers damage as though struck by the battle hedgehog's armor spikes and both spiked gauntlets. Any enhancements and material types of the armor spikes and spiked gauntlets apply as normal. All damage suffered from any one spike bomb is treated as coming from one source. After using the spike bomb, the battle hedgehog's spiked armor and spiked gauntlets become spike-less and lose all their magical properties (if they weren't nonmagical already) for five rounds. So a battle hedgehog's +1 spiked full plate and +1 spiked gauntlets become masterwork full plate and masterwork gauntlets for five rounds after a spike bomb. Special materials are not affected. This ability may be used at will, but only when using a pair of spiked gauntlets and spiked heavy armor (effectively once every five rounds).

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