Winterborn (3.5e Prestige Class)

Winterborn

Winterborn

“	Dry your eyes and quietly bear this pain with pride For heaven shall remember the silent and the brave And promise me they will never see, the fear within our eyes (my eyes are closed) We will give strength to those who still remain So bury fear, for fate draws near And hide the signs of pain With noble acts, the bravest souls Endure the heart's remains Discard regret, that in this debt A better world is made That children of a newer day might remember And avoid our fate And in the fury of this darkest hour We will be your light You've asked me for my sacrifice And I am Winter born	”
—Winterborn, Cruxshadows

A Winterborn is the greatest of heroes. The ones that are utterly faithful, that never surrender even in the face of mortal peril. The ones that are willing to lay down their life to protect something with meaning, something greater than themselves. They are brave, strong, and courageous. Many become the subject of myth and legend after a heroic death, but even more are forgotten in the mists of time. Only that which they protected lives on, and these unknown heros are truly the greatest Winterborn. Very few die in their sleep, eventually making the ultimate sacrifice for that which they love.

Becoming a Winterborn

One Winterborn can defend an entire party, as they are phenomenal at soaking up damage. However, they are not very effective at dealing it out. Often, they will pair up with someone who is not good at taking damage, but can deal it very effectively.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Any Lawful
Base Attack Bonus:	+10
Feats:	Power Attack, Diehard, Toughness, Iron Will.
Special:	Shield Ally, Knights Challenge and Bulwark of Defense class abilities

Table: The Winterborn

Hit Die: d12

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Armour, Promise me, "Prepare for Battle!"
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	"This is my place to stand!"
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	"My eyes are closed!"
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Improve Armour, Improved Shield Ally
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	"And in our dying..."
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Final Stand
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Greater Armour
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	"...We're more alive"
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Elite Armour, Born of Winter
Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Winterborn.

”Prepare For Battle” (Ex): The Winterborns Fighting Challenge, Test of Mettle, and Call to Battle abilities treat your levels in the Winterborn class as more levels in the knight class.

Armour (Ex): The Winterborn are extremely well armored, modifying their armor to fit their needs. They gain a miscellaneous bonus to their armor equal to their class level.

Promise Me (Ex): Winterborn are very faithful to their companions. They will never willingly break a promise or abandon their team. In addition to the original tenants of the knights code, the Winterborn is not allowed to willingly break a vow, and will must do everything they can to protect their teammates. In fact, a Winterborn may break the original tenants of the knights code with no penalty, but only if it is absolutely required to protect his teammates.

"This is my place to stand!" (Ex): If a Winterborn establishes his position by staying in the same place for 2 rounds, he gains DR 2/adamantine until he moves again. This DR stacks with any other DR.

"My eyes are closed!" (Ex): A Winterborn has trained to show no fear or pain. A level 3 Winterborn gets a +5 bonus to will saves to resist fear effects.

Improved Armour (Ex): As of level 4, a Winterborn has upgraded his armor to provide even better protection. His armor grants him an additional DR 3/-.

Improve Shield Ally (Ex): At 4th level, the Winterborn's ability to absorb damage increases. Once per round he can absorb all the damage from a single attack directed against an adjacent ally. In addition, he continues to absorb half the damage from other physical attacks on an adjacent ally, if he so chooses. He must decide whether to use this ability after the attacker determines that an attack has succeeded but before they roll for damage.

"And in our dying..." (Su): If a level 5 Winterborn reaches 0 HP, he may immediately make a single attack before he falls unconscious.

Final Stand (Ex): A level 6 Winterborn has learned the value of personal sacrifice. He will not stop fighting until his heart stops. For every 50 HP below maximum, a Winterborn gains an additional DR 1/-. This DR stacks with any other DR.

Greater Armour (Ex): As of level 7, a Winterborn has upgraded his armor to truly astronomical levels. He gains DR 6/-.

"...We're more alive (Su): If a level 8 Winterborn reaches 0 HP, he may immediately make a full attack before he falls unconscious.

Elite Armour (Ex): As of level 10, a Winterborn has perfected his armor's protection. He gains DR 9/-.

Born of Winter (Su): At level 10, a Winterborn is truly of Epic Proportions. He will not stop fighting no matter what. If he reachs 0 HP and his body is not somehow destroyed before his next action (such as by disintegrate), he may spend all of his remaining uses of his Knights challenge (must be at least 4) to gain 50 temporary HP. While there are still temporary HP remaining, any and all DR is removed from him, and he has a +5 to hit and deals +1d8 damage. The temporary HP will be removed if the Winterborn stops fighting, or after 5 rounds, whichever comes first. When all of his temporary hit points run out, the Winterborn automatically drops to -10 HP. This ability can only be used once per week, and cannot be used in conjunction with "And in our dying...". If the Winterborn manages to land a killing blow while under the effect of Born of Winter, he gains back his uses of knights challenge, − 4.

Epic Winterborn

Table: The Epic Winterborn

Level	Special
11th	Epic Armour
12th	Bonus Feat
13th
14th
15th	Bonus Feat
16th
17th
18th	Bonus Feat
19th
20th

The epic Winterborn gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Winterborn feats) every 3 levels after 12th.

Epic Fighter Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Damage Reduction, Devastating Critical, Energy Resistance, Epic Endurance, Epic Leadership, Epic Prowess, Epic Toughness, Exceptional Deflection, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Whirlwind Attack, Infinite Deflection, Instant Reload, Legendary Commander, Overwhelming Critical, Penetrate Damage Reduction, Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting, Reflect Arrows, Spellcasting Harrier, Superior Initiative, Two-Weapon Rend. In addition to the feats on this list, the Winterborn may treat any feat designated as a Fighter Bonus Feat, but not listed here, as being on his or her bonus feat list as long as it does not involve ranged, mounted, or unarmed combat.

Ex-Winterborn

If a Winterborn Breaks a promise intentionally or leaves behind a teammate, they loose all class features except for the 'Armour' line, and are regarded with disdain those who know their name.

Like a member of any other class, a Winterborn may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Winterborn face a special restriction. A Winterborn who gains a level in any class other than Winterborn or knight may never again raise her Winterborn level, though she retains all her Winterborn abilities.

Campaign Information

Winterborn in the World

“	Hold your head up high-for there is no greater love Think of the faces of the people you defend And promise me, they will never see the tears within our eyes (my eyes are closed) Although we are men, with mortal sins, angels never cry	”
—Winterborn, Cruxshadows

Winterborn are men of myth, soldiers cursed to fight a losing battle with pride or warriors who go down fighting to the last, honored to live a triumphant death. Rarely are such men identified as winterborn in their own lifetime, only once their lives pass on from history to myth. As such, this class represents more of a fate than a skillset, a destination more than a journey.

NPC Reactions: An NPC would identify a Winterborn as nothing more than a skillful soldier.

Winterborn Lore

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

Knowledge (mythology)

DC	Result
0	Winterborn were brave warriors.
5	They payed almost no heed to damage they took.
15	They laid down their lives to save their team.
20	(anything relevant to campaign).

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