Dawa Defender

Many jungle warriors adorn themselves with fetishes — representations of the things they wish to protect themselves from — in the hopes it makes them impervious to such weapons in battle. A warrior may adorn himself in arrowheads to keep away their sting, or wear smooth pierced river stones for defense.

A select few possess such a deep belief in this kind of sympathetic magic, undergoing rituals to bind magics to their body. With the assistance of a village shaman or witch doctor who empowers the fetish worn by the defender, the warrior finds they can shrug off the damage caused by a particular type of weapon.

As dawa defenders grow in power and prowess, they become accustomed to magic, and find they become resistant to the effects of magical spells, and eventually, some magical spells.

Role: Dawa defenders put trust to the magical fetishes for protection and can enhance characters that opt not to wear heavier armor, such as barbarians, druids, and rangers.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements

To qualify for a dawa defender, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria:

Armor: Dawa defenders can wear only padded, leather, hide armor or no armor at all.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Knowledge (religion) 3 ranks, Use Magic Device 3 ranks.

Special: Must undergo a ritual led by a village elder, shaman, or magic user who empowers the fetishes worn by the character.

Class Skills

The dawa defender’s class skills (and the key ability for each skills) are Craft (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int) and Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: Dawa Defender
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st +1 +0 +0 +1 Dawa
2nd +2 +1 +1 +1 Dawa
3rd +3 +1 +1 +2 Dawa, juju
4th +4 +1 +1 +2 Dawa
5th +5 +2 +2 +3 Dawa, greater juju
6th +6 +2 +2 +3 Dawa, juju
7th +7 +2 +2 +4 Dawa
8th +8 +3 +3 +4 Dawa
9th +9 +3 +3 +5 Dawa, juju
10th +10 +3 +3 +5 Dawa, greater juju

Class Features

The following are class features of the Dawa defender.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

The dawa defender is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. Dawa defenders are proficient with light and medium armor, but are prohibited from wearing metal armor (as a druid). Dawa defenders are proficient with all shields but must use those only crafted from wood. A dawa defender who wears prohibited armor loses any dawa or juju benefits while doing so and for 24 hours afterward.

Dawa (Su)

Beginning at 1st level and every level thereafter, the dawa defender has the choice of the type damage reduction it benefits from, by choosing the associated fetish. As the dawa defender progresses in levels, he can increase the damage reduction in a given type by 1 or choose another.

There are three types of damage reduction available at each level. A dawa defender must pick one of the following fetishes.

  • Beads Adorning himself with pebbles, seeds or other round objects, the dawa defender gains a +1 damage reduction to bludgeoning damage.
  • Points The dawa defender decorates himself with pointed objects such as arrowheads, nails and needles. This grants a +1 damage reduction to piercing damage.
  • Razors Thin slivers of metal, bone fragments or obsidian flakes grant the dawa defender a +1 damage reduction to slashing damage.

At each level, the dawa defender has the choice of selecting a new type of fetish, or by selecting one it already wears, and increasing the corresponding damage reduction by +1.

Juju (Su)

Beginning at 3rd level, a dawa defender gains a +2 bonus to their saving throws against magic.

At 6th level, this bonus increases to +3, and at 9th level this increases to +4. The fetish associated with this is a star.

Greater Juju (Su)

Beginning at 5th level, the damage reduction granted from the dawa class ability becomes “and magic” (ex. DR 5/magic and slashing).

At 10th level, the dawa defender gains SR 18. The fetish associated with this is a collection of stars.

Section 15: Copyright Notice
Wayfinder #4. © 2011, Paizo Fans United. Author: Adam Strasser, Carl Rossi, Charles Evans, Dane Pitchford, Darrin Drader, Dave Gross, David Schwartz, Dustin Nelson, Elaine Cunningham, Elizabeth Leib, Guy Fox, Jesper Haglund, Jess Door, Jodi Reynolds, John C. Rock, Jonathan McAnulty, Justin Sluder, Michael Kortes, Mike Richards, Mike Welham, Neil Spicer, Oliver von Spreckelsen, Phil Tucker, Robert Andrade, Robert Gresham, Russell Estes, Ryan Costello Jr., Theodore Thompson, Trevor Gulliver, Troy E. Taylor, Truly Clark.
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