Greenward Bulwark (3.5e Prestige Class)

Greenward Bulwark

“

"It was a bear, milord!"

”

The fury of the beast, the might of the sword, and the speed of the wind. All of these are the powers of the Greenward Bulwark.

Becoming a Greenward Bulwark

Most Greenward Bulwarks were previously druid/swordsages or druid/warblades, and with druid/crusaders being very rare. A Bulwark should focus mainly on Dexterity for a higher Armor Class, with Wisdom and Constitution coming second for spellcasting and hitpoints respectively

Entry Requirements

Base Attack Bonus:	+5
Skills:	Craft (Armorsmithing) 5 ranks, Knowledge (Nature) 5 ranks, Martial Lore 5 ranks.
Feats:	Tiger Blooded, Power Attack, Cleave.
Martial Maneuvers:	Must know three Tiger Claw maneuvers and one Stone Dragon Maneuver.
Spellcasting:	Ability to cast Barkskin.
Special:	Wild Shape class ability.

Table: The Greenward Bulwark

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Maneuvers Known	Maneuvers Readied	Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	1	0	Armor of The Forest (Light), Wild Shape
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	0	0	Disciplined Fangs
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	1	1	Fast Movement
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	0	0	--
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	1	0	Armor of The Forest (Medium, +1)
6th	+6	+5	+2	+5	0	1	Natural Selection
7th	+7	+5	+2	+3	1	0	Improved Natural Attack
8th	+8	+6	+2	+6	0	0	Armor of The Forest (+2, Beastskin)
9th	+9	+6	+3	+6	1	1	Improved Natural Attack
10th	+10	+7	+3	+7	0	0	Armor of The Forest (Heavy, +3)

| Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level)
Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Martial Lore (Int), Ride (Dex), Tumble (Dex). |}

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Greenward Bulwark.

Wild Shape (Su): A Greenward Bulwark's class levels stack with levels from all other classes that grant the wild shape ability to determine the maximum Hit Dice of the form she can assume, the amount of time she can spend in one wild shape, her uses of wild shape per day and qualifying for wild feats. She also uses this to determine the size and type of creatures she can wild shape into.

Maneuvers: At every odd level, you gain a new maneuver from either the Stone Dragon or Tiger Claw discipline. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. You add your full Greenward Bulwark levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At 3rd level and every three levels after, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Armor of The Forest (Su): At 1st level the Greenward Bulwark learns to craft armor using materials found in nature. The Bulwark may spend five hours to craft any kind of armor he is proficient with. This armor has all the statistics of normal masterwork armor except that it weighs half as much as normal armor, has half the normal armor check penalty, double the normal maximum Dexterity bonus and because it is not metal, it does not violate his druid vows. The armor also grants an enhancement bonus to all Hide checks made in the same enviroment that it was crafted in equal to the Bulwark's class level. This armor is considered Wild, which allows him to retain all the armor bonuses while using wild shape.Only the Bulwark is proficient with armor crafted this way.

At 1st level a Bulwark may craft any light armor he is proficient with.

At 5th level a Bulwark may craft any medium armor he is proficient with and the armor gains a magical +1 enhancement bonus.

At 8th level a Bulwark's armor has a +2 enhancement bonus and the Beastskin quality.

At 10th level a Bulwark may craft any heavy armor he is proficient with and the armor gains a +3 enhancement bonus.

Disciplined Fangs (Ex): At level 2, a Bulwark may treat his natural weapons as weapons associated with both the Stone Dragon and Tiger Claw disciplines.

Fast Movement (Ex): At level 3, all modes of movement increase by 10ft. This benefit applies even when the Bulwark is in wild shape form. Apply this bonus before modifying the Bulwark’s speed because of any load carried or armor worn.

Natural Selection (Ex): At level 6, a Greenward Bulwark using wild shap may substitute any of her normal physical Abilities (Str,Dex,Con) for her current abilities if her normal ability is better.

Improved Natural Attack (Ex): At level 7 and 9, a Greenward Bulwark gains the Improved Natural Attack Feat even if he does not meet the requirements for it. The Greenward Bulwark can apply these feats while using wild shape.

Campaign Information

Playing a Greenward Bulwark

Combat: Greenward Bulwarks generally have little fear of combat, using offensive spells to soften up opponents, then wild shaping to finish the job.

Advancement: Bulwarks usually stick with the two classes they entered before taking levels of Bulwark.

Resources: Bulwarks are still essentially druids, as such they still participate in druid circles, although often they exist as a specific circle's guardian. A Bulwark is often seen as a prized possession by circles, and can expect to have the full support of their peers in nearly any endeavor.

Greenward Bulwarks in the World

“

"I have tasted blood, I have felt remorse, I have loved. I am ready to die." -Garret, a Greenward Bulwark facing an army single-handed

”

Greenward Bulwarks are often seen as the druidic equivalent of paladins, divine guardians of nature and protectors of the downtrodden.

NPC Reactions: Non-druid NPCs tend to be intimidated by Bulwarks, especially after watching one wild shape. Bulwarks are generally accepted anywhere druids or paladins are.

Greenward Bulwark Lore

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

Knowledge (Nature) or Martial Lore

DC	Result
15	Greenward Bulwarks are martially inclined druids.
20	Greenward Bulwarks are reknown for their superior tactical maneuvers.
21	Greenward Bulwarks possess a far more powerful form of Wild shape then other druids.
26	Greenward Bulwarks are often believed to be the reincarnations of a powerful druid.

Greenward Bulwarks in the Game

Greenward Bulwarks make excellent friends and even better foes. A good-aligned Bulwark might have been sent from a local druid circle to protect the party's druid or cleric, while an evil Bulwark might seek to reclaim the heavily logged forest using any means necessary.

Adaptation: While this class is druid-specific, if you don't use Tome of Battle in your campaign, you can remove the maneuvers where noted and replace them with divine spellcasting levels.

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