Harrier Scout (Legendary Ranger Archetype)

Rangers are often employed by larger militaries to act as advanced scouts, entering enemy territory and gathering intelligence, sabotaging supplies, and outright killing enemies. With more emphasis on speed and aggression than other rangers, harrier scouts can strike hard and then disappear.

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies

The harrier scout does not gain medium armor or shield proficiency. This modifies weapon and armor proficiency.

Harrier Storm Techniques

The harrier scout may choose this option for his natural gift class feature. The harrier scout has trained for a specialized combat style, one which prioritizes the mastery of how thrown weapons fly through the sky, utilizing them as melee weapons, and swiftly delivering death to his foes. This grants the harrier scout a wide array of abilities known as storm techniques. These techniques are split into three categories: Primers, which are special methods in which the harrier scout can debilitate his foe. Follow-ups, which allow the harrier scout to move swiftly and defend themselves in situations that demand it, and Executions, which are powerful blows and techniques meant to swiftly end his enemies.

These techniques can be used as part of any of the harrier scout’s attacks during his turn, but only one technique of each category can be used in any given round, and an attack can only have one technique applied to it at a time. Certain techniques entirely replace the attack roll, although this does not stop him from making more attacks in that round. Any technique that replaces or uses an attack roll still uses the same modifier and penalties that attack roll would have had from penalties from Two-Weapon fighting, iterative attacks or even feats and abilities such as Rapid Shot.

If a technique calls for a DC, the DC is 10 + 1/2 the harrier scout’s level + his Wisdom modifier.

At 1st level, the harrier scout learns three basic techniques, one of each category.

Pummeling Primer: The harrier scout may apply this primer to any ranged attack made with a throwing weapon during his turn. If the attack hits, the target suffers a -1 penalty to their armor class for 1 round. This penalty increases by -1 at 5th level, and every four levels thereafter.

Dashing Follow-Up: The harrier scout prepares himself to dash, applying this follow-up to any attack he makes during his turn. Instead of making this attack, he can move half his movement speed as a free action, but only in a straight line. This movement still provokes attacks of opportunity. At 5th level, he may move his full movement speed. At 9th level, the movement no longer provokes attacks of opportunity.

Puncturing Execution: The harrier scout may apply this to any melee attack made with a slashing or piercing throwing weapon. If the attack hits, the target must make a Reflex saving throw. If they fail, the weapon embeds itself into the target’s body, causing them to take bleed damage equal to the harrier scout’s level. The weapon can be pulled out as a standard action by the target or any other adjacent creature, or as a swift action by the harrier scout. If they do so, the bleeding ends, but the target suffers damage equal to three times the bleed damage applied by this ability. A Heal skill check against the technique’s DC + 5 can be made to stop the bleed damage and pull out the weapon safely.

At 5th level, the harrier scout may choose one of the following techniques to learn:

Boomerang Primer: The harrier scout throws their weapon in such a way that it seems to miss, only to return and strike his foe. As part of the attack they turn into a primer, they may attempt a Bluff check to feint against the target as a free action.

Confounding Follow-Up: Mixing up their attack style, the harrier scout can confuse his enemy and stop them from reacting properly to his actions. In order to use this followup, he must use it as part of a melee attack. If the harrier scout successfully deals damage with the melee attack, the creature must make a Will save. If they fail, they cannot make any attacks of opportunity against the harrier scout until the beginning of the harrier scout’s next turn.

Critical Execution: With great focus, the harrier scout ensures a deadly attack. He can turn any attack into this execution; however, he may not make any additional attacks for the end of his turn after using this execution. The critical threat range for the attack is doubled (which does not stack with improved critical, or similar effects), and if this attack threatens a critical hit, the harrier scout gains a bonus to their critical confirmation roll equal to his level.

At 9th level, the harrier scout may choose one of the following techniques to learn:

Stopping Primer: This primer may be used in place of any melee or ranged attack with a thrown weapon. If the attack successfully strikes a creature, it deals no damage. Instead, the weapon punctures the creature’s body and pins them to a floor, wall, or other solid object larger than the creature being pinned. The creature doesn’t suffer from any penalties but cannot move from their square unless they succeed at a Strength check against the harrier scout’s technique DC to remove the weapon, or successfully destroys it (such as with a sunder attempt). The harrier scout can always remove the weapon as a free action, if they are adjacent to the creature.

Cyclone Follow-Up: This follow-up must be used in place of the first attack a harrier scout makes on his turn. By throwing his weapon in such a method that causes the winds nearby to change, the harrier scout halts all wind effects caused by the weather in a radius equal to their throwing weapon’s first range increment, and grants himself a +2 bonus on all attack rolls made within this area. The weapon stays mid-air until the beginning of the harrier scout’s next turn, pausing the winds. Alternatively, instead of causing the wind to halt, he can instead create an area of strong wind in the same radius for the same duration. Using this follow-up also allows thrown weapon attacks to be made underwater without penalty.

Crowd Execution: This execution can be used in place of a ranged attack made with a throwing weapon. If the attack successfully strikes a creature, it quickly bounces around nearby creatures, dealing damage to them as well. The harrier scout chooses a number of other creatures within 30 feet of the original creature equal to his Wisdom modifier. Such creatures suffer damage equal to the weapon’s base damage dice + the harrier scout’s Dexterity or Strength modifier (whichever he uses on damage rolls with throwing weapons).

At 13th level, the harrier scout may choose one of the following techniques to learn:

Bloodied Primer: This primer can be used as a swift action after successfully dealing damage with an attack. The attack injures the target in such a way that causes their blood to spray in a 15-foot cone in any direction, centered on the target. Creatures in this cone must make a successful Reflex saving throw or be blinded for 1 round. A successful saving throw means they are dazzled rather than blinded.

Switcheroo Follow-up: The harrier scout prepares to save themselves from potential danger by cleverly positioning around a foe. This follow-up must be used with a melee attack. After successfully striking an enemy with a melee attack, the enemy must make a Reflex save, or have the harrier scout dangerously intermix his footing with theirs. The enemy cannot use any of their movement speeds to walk more than 5 feet away from the harrier scout (but may walk around him, as long as they remain within 5 feet) until the beginning of the harrier scout’s next turn, and if the harrier scout is targeted by a ranged attack before the start of their next turn, they may immediately switch positions with their target, exchanging the squares they stand upon, and forcing the ranged attack to resolve against the victim of this ability.

Sawing Execution: The harrier scout winds up their attack, sending their weapon slicing through several enemies. This execution can be used in place of a ranged attack made with a throwing weapon. The attack is made in a line, attacking all creatures in that line. This line starts from any corner of your space and extends to the limit of the weapon’s first range increment, or until it strikes a barrier it cannot penetrate. When using this execution, make a single attack roll and compare it to the armor class of each creature in the line. Resolve the attacks in order of which creatures are closest to you, with the furthest being resolved last. Should any target of this ability fail to take damage, all further targets are automatically missed, and the execution ends.

At 17th level, the harrier scout may choose one of the following techniques to learn:

Mind-Shattering Primer: In order to use this primer, the harrier scout must replace one attack. Make a single ranged or melee attack roll; if it hits, the attack deals no damage, but the creature must make a Will saving throw or otherwise be stunned for 1 round.

Flying Follow-up: This follow-up must be either the first or last attack the harrier scout takes on their turn. Rather than attacking a creature, they may attack a solid surface within 5 range increments of their weapon, and do not suffer penalties for attacking beyond their weapon’s first range increment. If they do so, they lunge the attack in such a way that their weapon carries them through the air, moving them to the location they struck. If the attack hits a location with no floor, the harrier scout may have their weapon puncture the wall, allowing them to use it as a piton for climbing.

Final Execution: As an ultimate display of his hunting prowess, the harrier scout can unleash single attack meant to completely and fully end a creature’s life. This execution must be made as the first attack in the harrier scout’s turn, and the harrier scout may not make any more attacks afterwards. The harrier scout adds his base attack bonus as additional damage on the attack, and the creature must make a Fortitude saving throw, with a penalty to it equal to the harrier scout’s Dexterity modifier. On failure, the creature dies. On success, the creature is staggered for 1 round.

This modifies natural gift but does not prevent the archetype from being compatible with other archetypes that modify this class feature.

Twice as Dangerous (Ex)

At 1st level, the harrier scout automatically gains Two-Weapon Fighting and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats. At 3rd level, he automatically gains the Quick Draw feat. At 7th level, he automatically gains Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. At 11th level, he automatically gains Greater Two-Weapon Fighting.

The harrier scout gains these feats even if he does not need to meet the normal prerequisites.

Predation

The harrier scout uses d4’s for predation instead of d6’s. This modifies predation.

Harrier Talents

The harrier scout adds the following to the list of talents he may choose his ranger talents from:

Aerodynamic Mastery (Ex): The harrier scout becomes a master of all thrown weapons. He increases the range increment of any thrown weapon he uses by 20 feet. Additionally, as a free action when attacking a creature with a thrown weapon within its first range increment, he can cause the weapon to immediately bounce back into his hands after the attack resolves. If he has one hand free, he can automatically catch the weapon after it rebounds in this manner, otherwise the weapon lands in his square (or nearest legal square beneath him, if he is not standing on the ground).

Double Throw (Ex, 6th level): When the harrier scout makes a full attack with a thrown weapon, he may throw two thrown weapons with his first attack. Only one attack roll is made, but if successful, both thrown weapons hit.

Thrown Weapon Technique (Ex): When the harrier scout uses a thrown weapon, he can fire into melee without receiving a -4 penalty and does not provoke attacks of opportunity for making a ranged attack with a thrown weapon.

Two-Weapon Parry (Ex): The harrier scout gains the Two-Weapon Defense feat as a bonus feat. When the harrier scout’s quarry makes a melee attack against the harrier scout, he can expend an immediate action to attempt to parry that attack. The harrier scout makes an attack roll as if he was attacking with the weapon in his main hand; for each size category the quarry is larger than the harrier scout, he takes a –2 penalty on this roll. If his result is greater than the quarry’s result, the quarry’s attack automatically misses. The harrier scout must declare the use of this ability after the creature’s attack is announced, but before its attack roll is made.