Wild Herd (Silvermane Exemplar)
Last fall, we asked for your input on what you wanted to see more of in Best in Class, and one of the things you wanted to see was more support for content made by other third party publishers. As a result, we’ve been making an effort to include archetypes and class features for classes from a variety of publishers this year. Today, it’s Rite Publishing’s turn in the spotlight, with one of my personal favorite products of theirs, In the Company of Unicorns. I’d give you a sales pitch for why this book is so great, but frankly, I don’t think I need to: you know you want to play a unicorn. And today’s Best in Class provides a new herd for the book’s primary class, the silvermane exemplar.
New Silvermane Exemplar Herd
Wild
All silvermane exemplars yearn to roam wild and free, but for some, the call of the open road and the commitment to be true to oneself serves as their singular most driving need and desire. These silvermane exemplars find themselves drawn to the wild herd, a loosely-affiliated unicorn herd that values personal sovereignty above all else.
Herd Ability: The silvermane exemplar is highly independent, and knows how to fend for herself. She gains a bonus equal to 1/2 her class level on Survival checks. Additionally, whenever she is fighting without allies, she gains a +4 bonus to initiative checks, and a +2 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Investments: A silvermane exemplar of the wild herd has access to the following investments.
Clear Mind (Su): With a touch, the silvermane exemplar can free an ally from an effect that has ensnared his mind. Doing so is a standard action, and requires that she expend 1 point from her alicorn pool. The touched creature may immediately make a new saving throw to end a single charm or compulsion effect she is suffering from, with a +4 bonus.
Dodge (Ex): The silvermane exemplar gains Dodge as a bonus feat. At 6th level, she also gains Mobility as a bonus feat.
Evasion (Ex): The silvermane exemplar can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the silvermane exemplar is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless silvermane exemplar does not gain the benefits of evasion.
Lockbreaker (Su): The silvermane exemplar can destroy locks, manacles, chains, ropes, and similar impediments simply by touching them with her horn. Doing so is a standard action and requires that she expend 1 point from her alicorn pool. She rolls 1d20 and adds 1/2 her silvermane exemplar level and her Charisma modifier. If the result is equal to or greater than the object’s break DC, then the object is immediately destroyed by the power of her pure devotion to ideals of freedom. This ability functions only on objects being used to bind or restrict creatures, or to keep them in or out of somewhere.
Free-Willed (Ex): The silvermane exemplar is strong of mind and spirit, and resists attempts to control her. The DC of Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks made against her increases by +5. Additionally, she gains a +2 racial bonus on saving throws made to resist charm and compulsion effects. At 10th level, this increases to a +4 bonus.
Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): The silvermane exemplar can select a single terrain from the ranger’s favored terrain list. She is a master at hiding in that terrain, and while within that terrain, she can use the Stealth skill to hide, even while being observed.
Improved Evasion (Ex): Whenever the silvermane exemplar fails a Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she takes only half damage even on a failed saving throw. A helpless silvermane exemplar does not gain the benefit of improved evasion. The silvermane exemplar must be at least 10th level and have the evasion investment (or have evasion from another source) in order to select this investment.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): The silvermane exemplar gains the improved uncanny dodge class feature of a rogue. She treats her silvermane exemplar level as her rogue level for the purposes of determining which creatures are able to flank her. The silvermane exemplar must be at least 8th level and have the uncanny dodge investment (or have uncanny dodge from another source) in order to select this investment.
Planestrider (Sp): The silvermane exemplar roams wild and free, and even planar boundaries cannot hold her. By expending 3 points from her alicorn pool, she can cast plane shift as a spell-like ability. The silvermane exemplar must be at least 14th level and have either the alicorn translocation alicorn ability or the tree stride investment in order to select this investment.
Slippery (Ex): The silvermane exemplar is particularly wily and maneuverable, and is difficult to pin down. She gains a bonus equal to 1/2 her silvermane exemplar level on Escape Artist checks. Additionally, she adds 1/3 her silvermane exemplar level (rounded down, minimum +1) to CMD against grapple attempts.
Smite Law (Su): The silvermane exemplar is able to call upon her belief in the sanctity of freedom and self-governance in order to strike down one who would infringe upon those freedoms. This functions as a paladin’s smite evil class feature, except that it works only if the target is lawful, rather than evil, and never does double damage on the first successful attack. The silvermane exemplar can use this ability once per day.
Stormrider (Ex): The silvermane exemplar is particularly agile and maneuverable in the air. Her maneuverability while flying increases by 2 steps. Additionally, while flying, she can expend 1 point from her alicorn pool in order to conjure a bolt of lightning, which strikes a single creature within 120 feet that she can see, dealing 1d6 points of electricity damage per 2 class levels (to a maximum of 10d6 points of electricity damage at 20th level). The silvermane exemplar must have some means of flight (such as the flight alicorn ability), and be at least 8th level to select this investment.
Sure-Footed (Ex): The silvermane exemplar is able to move easily over uneven, slippery, or even magically altered ground. The silvermane exemplar ignores the effects of difficult terrain. This does not prevent any other effects of a hostile environment (such as damage from moving through thorny underbrush, or the effects of quicksand, etc.).
Swift (Ex): The silvermane exemplar is exceptionally fleet of hoof. She gains a +10-foot enhancement bonus to each of her movement speeds. This investment can be selected multiple times. Each time it is selected beyond the first, it increases the silvermane exemplar’s movement speeds by an additional 5 feet.
Thorny Mind (Su): The silvermane exemplar’s mind resists attempts to control and ensnare it, visiting psychic pain upon any who try. Whenever the silvermane exemplar is subject to a charm or compulsion effect, that effect’s caster suffers 1d6 points of damage per two class levels the silvermane exemplar possesses. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the silvermane exemplar’s class level + the silvermane exemplar’s Charisma modifier) halves this damage. This damage applies regardless of whether or not the charm or compulsion effect is successful.
Tree Stride (Sp): The silvermane exemplar is one with the forest and can flit easily from tree to tree, making her all but impossible to catch. By expending 2 points from her alicorn pool, she can cast tree stride as a spell-like ability. The silvermane exemplar must be at least 10th level to select this investment.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): The silvermane exemplar gains the uncanny dodge class feature of a rogue.
Undetainable (Su): The silvermane exemplar cannot be held by normal magic. She is immune to magical effects that would restrain her or impede her movement, as though she were affected by a freedom of movement spell. This does not grant any other benefits of the freedom of movement spell (such as automatically succeeding on attempts to escape a grapple, being immune to grapple attempts, and being able to move normally underwater). The silvermane exemplar must be at least 12th level and have the slippery investment in order to select this investment.
Final Investment: At 20th level, the silvermane exemplar gains the following ability.
Jailbreaker (Sp): The silvermane exemplar is immune to the imprisonment spell. Additionally, by expending 3 points from her alicorn pool, she can cast freedom of movement as a spell-like ability, and by expending 5 points from her alicorn pool, she can cast freedom as a spell-like ability.