Beastmaster (3.5e Prestige Class)

Beastmaster

“	Anyone can become a beastmaster, all you have to do is spend enough time alone with animals and you will begin to think like them. Begin thinking like them, and you can learn to control them. Once you've done that, no one will be able to stand in your way for long.	”
—Dreu Forestalker, Goliath Beastmaster

Beastmasters are the shadows in the dark wood, they are the beast that roams the night, hunting and killing any prey they deem unnecessary. Even druids try to avoid being alone with a beastmaster, afraid that they may decide to add another animal to the pack.

Becoming a Beastmaster

Entry Requirements

Base Attack Bonus:	+3.
Skills:	Wilderness Lore 5 ranks, Handle Animal 5 ranks, Intimidate 5 ranks.
Special:	Must have established dominance over a wild animal, whether through force or other means..

Table: The Beastmaster

Hit Die: d12

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Nature's Fury 1/day, Survivalist
2nd	+2	+3	+1	+0	Woodland Stride
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Summon Nature's Ally I
4th	+4	+4	+2	+1	Nature's Fury 2/day, Resist Nature's Lure
5th	+5	+4	+2	+1	Summon Nature's Ally II, Venom Immunity
6th	+6/+1	+5	+3	+2	Nature's Vengeance
7th	+7/+2	+5	+3	+2	Nature's Fury 3/day, Summon Nature's Ally III
8th	+8/+3	+6	+4	+2
9th	+9/+4	+6	+4	+3	Summon Nature's Ally IV
10th	+10/+5	+7	+5	+3	Nature's Fury 4/day
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+5	+3	Summon Nature's Ally V
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+6	+4
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+6	+4	Nature's Fury 5/day, Summon Nature's Ally VI
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+7	+4
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+7	+5	Summon Nature's Ally VII, Timeless Body
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+9	+7	+5	Nature's Fury 6/day
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+8	+5	Summon Nature's Ally VIII
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+9	+6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+9	+6	Nature's Fury 7/day, Summon Nature's Ally IX
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+10	+6
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Animal Empathy(Cha), Bluff(Cha), Climb(Str), Handle Animal(Cha), Intimidate(Cha), Intuit Direction(Wis), Jump(Str), Knowledge(Nature)(Int), Listen(Wis), Ride(Dex), Search(Int), Sense Motive(Wis), Spot(Wis), Swim(Str), Tumble(Dex), Wilderness Lore(Wis).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Beastmaster prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Beastmasters are proficient wit the following weapons: Gauntlets, Clubs, Longswords, Shortswords, Scimitars, bows, and the whip. They are proficient with light and medium armor, preferring light armor to more easily catch their prey.

Animal Companion: A 1st-level beastmaster may choose an animal companion. This animal is one that has been befriended or has had the beastmaster assert dominance over through non-magical means. The beastmaster may have more than one animal companion, but must do so in only a non-magical way, through fear pr kindness.

Nature Sense: A Beastmaster can identify plants and animals(their species and special traits) with perfect accuracy. He can determine whether water is safe to drink or dangerous(polluted, poisoned, or otherwise unfit for consumption).

Nature's Fury: When he needs to, a Beastmaster can be as ferocious and vicious as the beasts he controls. In this state, a Beastmaster gains a temporary +2 to Strength, +2 to Dexterity, +4 to Constitution, -4 to Intelligence, and -4 to Armor Class. The increase in Constitution increases the Beastmaster's Hit Points by 2 per level, but these hit points go away when the Beastmaster returns to his normal state of mind. A Beastmaster's Fury lasts for 1d4 rounds + the Beastmaster's Charisma modifier and will not leave the Beastmaster fatigued. He will however, not regain his lost Intelligence for a number of rounds equal to the number of rounds that he was in a fury.

Survivalist: Due to the Beastmaster's lifestyle, he has hardened his mind and body against many of nature's perils. He gains an additional +2 to Will saveing throws against mind-affecting spells and spell-like abilities, +2 to grapple checks, and deals 2 additional damage when striking an opponent unarmed(must not be wearing gauntlets).

Woodland Stride: Starting at 2nd level, a beastmaster may move through natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain at his normal speed without suffering damage or other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect the beastmaster.

Summon Nature's Ally: Starting at 3rd level, as a standard action, a beastmaster may call the nearby forest animals to fight alongside him. This is treated as if he had cast the spell Summon Nature's Ally of the highest level currently available to him. A beastmaster can use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Charisma modifier.

Resist Nature's Lure: Starting at 4th level, a beastmaster gains a +4 bonus to saving throws against thespel-like abilities of feys(such as dryads, nymphs, and sprites).

Venom Immunity: At 5th level, a beastmaster gains immunity to allorganic poisons, including monster poisons but not mineral poisons or poison gas.

Nature's Vengeance: Starting at 6th level, a beastmaster can awaken Nature's Fury in others with a successful Touch attack. the target can attempt a will saving throw to resist their urges with a DC of 10 + half the beastmaster's level + his Charisma modifier. If the beastmaster successfully instills Nature's fury in another, he may make an immediate Handle Animal check to attempt to dominate the target. If he succeeds, he will gain a +5 to all Charisma checks having to do with them permanently(after they are released from Nature's Fury). A dominated target can attempt to break free with a successful Will save against the beastmaster's Charisma. If they attempt to break free and fail 3 times in a single instance of Nature's Vengeance, their will is broken and they will follow all of the beastaster's orders.

Timeless Body: After reaching 15th level, a beastmaster no longer suffers ability penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any penalties he may have already suffered, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the beastmaster still dies of old age when his time is up.

Ex-Beastmasters

A beastmaster who falls to the trapping of civilization, such as living full time in a settlement larger than a hamlet, dressing in cloths of modern woven fabrics and using perfumes or colognes or similar actions as determined by the DM looses all class abilities and can no longer advance as a beastmaster.

Campaign Information

Beastmasters tend to be loners and exist in the wilder places of the world. They keep the company of their animals friends, having little to nothing to do with civilized folk, and are the bane of those who seek to disrupt the harmony of their homes or exploit the animals they live near.

Beastmasters in the World

“

On mountains and deep forests, wherever there are animal and not people, you could find a beastmaster. Just pray he doesn't find you first.

”

Beastmaster Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge(Nature) can research Beastmasters to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge(Nature)

DC	Result
11	Beastmasters are people who tend to live alone with animals.
16	They can be found mostly in dense forests and mountains deemed inhospitable for most life.
21	They have the ability to intimidate most beings toward their will.
26	They can usually be found near faerie rings and other areas of natural magical power.

Beastmasters in the Game

Beastmasters in the forest: are usually found with 4 to 10 HD of animal companions, almost always with at least one wolf or bear.

Beastmasters in the mountains: are usually found with 2 to 6 HD of animal companions, usually with a goat or mole.

Beastmasters in cities: are usually in deserted buildings where people refuse to go and can be found with anywhere from 2 to 10 HD of animal companions, including at least 1 crow or dire rat.

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