Forest Warden


Forest warden is a title that few can reasonably hope to earn. Among the freedom fighters, wardens have proven themselves again and again, taking on enemies that threaten the fate of the land. With their unmatched martial prowess and tactical skills, forest wardens are masters of the forest. They specialize in neutralizing enemies without being seen, but they are not a threat to be taken lightly even in close-quarters combat.

This title is earned only by those who have overcome insurmountable odds and survived unimaginable danger. There are just a handful of wardens alive at any given time, as it is a position that places one in constant peril. Wardens set themselves apart by wearing crests or armor fashioned from trophies won in battle. Traditionally, these were made from the horns or hide of great beasts of the wild, but in recent years, regalia of high-ranking officials has become more common.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a forest Warden, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any Nonevil and Nonlawful.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Stealth 5 ranks; Survival 5 ranks.

Special: You must defeat an evil enemy of a CR 5 levels higher than your character level. This victory must be witnessed by another forest Ranger.

Class Skills

The forest Warden’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier.

Table: Forest Warden
Level Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st +0 +0 +1 +1 Forest magic 1, unchained heart +2
2nd +1 +1 +1 +1 Aligned class, bonus feat
3rd +2 +1 +2 +2 Forest magic 2, guerrilla tactics
4th +3 +1 +2 +2 Aligned class, unchained heart +3
5th +3 +2 +3 +3 Bonus feat, forest magic 3
6th +4 +2 +3 +3 Advanced tactics, aligned class
7th +5 +2 +4 +4 Forest magic 4, unchained heart +4
8th +6/+1 +3 +4 +4 Aligned class, bonus feat
9th +6/+1 +3 +5 +5 Forest magic 5, second tactic
10th +7/+2 +3 +5 +5 Aligned class, phantom strike

Class Features

The following are class features of the forest warden prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Forest wardens are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and light armor and bucklers.

Forest Magic (Sp)

A forest warden is one with the forest and gains a number of spell-like abilities due to this arboreal affinity. She uses her forest warden level as her caster level.

She can select one of the following spells to gain as a spell-like ability at 1st level, usable once per day: alarm, detect snares and pits, endure elements, entangle, jump, longstrider, or pass without trace. Spell-like abilities selected from this list can be used three times per day at 3rd level and five times per day at 5th level.

At 3rd level she gains a second spell-like ability and adds the following spells to her available choices: fog cloud, snare, spider climb, and spike growth. Spell-like abilities selected from this list can be used once per day at 3rd level, three times per day at 5th level, and five times per day at 7th level.

At 5th level she gains a third spell-like ability and adds the following spells to her available choices: barkskin, cure light wounds, darkvision, gravity bowAPG, lead bladesAPG, plant growth, and spectral scout. Spell-like abilities from this list can be used once per day at 5th level, three times per day at 7th level, and five times per day at 9th level.

At 7th level she gains a fourth spell-like ability and adds the following spells to her available choices: commune with nature, cure moderate wounds, nondetection, sylvan hideaway, and tree shape. Spell-like abilities selected from this list can be used once per day at 7th level and three times per day at 9th level.

At 9th level, she gains a fifth spell-like ability and adds the following spells to her available choices: cure serious wounds, discern lies, freedom of movement, and tree stride. Spell-like abilities selected from this list can be used once per day.

Unchained Heart (Ex)

A forest warden’s free spirit goes far beyond simple stubbornness. At 1st level, she gains a +2 bonus on Will saving throws made against compulsions and mind-affecting effects. If she succeeds at this saving throw, the forest warden gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls against the source of the spell or effect for 1d4 rounds.

The bonus on saving throws increases to +3 at 4th level and +4 at 7th level.

Aligned Class (Ex)

Forest wardens come from all walks of life, each offering a unique perspective and skill set. At 2nd level, a forest warden must choose a class she belonged to before adding the prestige class to be her aligned class. She gains all the class features for one additional level of her aligned class as if she had gained a level in it. She gains the class features of an additional level of her aligned class at 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th levels.

She still retains the Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, and skill ranks of the prestige class.

Bonus Feats

At 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels, a forest warden gains a bonus feat. She must meet the bonus feat’s prerequisites. She can choose one from the following list: Broken Wing Gambit, Combat Expertise, Combat Patrol, Delayed Spell, Greater Dirty Trick, Improved Dirty Trick, Learn Ranger Trap, Overwatch Style, Overwatch Tactician, Overwatch Vortex, Paired Opportunists, Quick Trapper, Shot on the Run, Silent Spell, Spring Attack, Still Spell, Target of Opportunity, Weapon Trick, and Whirlwind Attack.

Guerrilla Tactics (Ex)

A forest warden is an expert at hit-and-run attacks, sabotage, and subterfuge. At 3rd level, she can use the following tactics in combat. She can gain the bonus of only a single tactic at a time, but can switch between them as a swift action. If the forest warden becomes confused, frightened, panicked, or shaken, she cannot gain any bonuses from guerrilla tactics for as long as the condition persists.

Exploit Weakness: When flanking an enemy, a forest warden can forgo the +2 bonus on attack rolls from flanking until the start of her next turn in order to further punish the foe. On a successful hit against a flanked enemy while forgoing the attack bonus, the Forest warden can perform a disarm, sunder, or trip combat maneuver against the target as a swift action at her full base attack bonus. This action still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.

Sneak Attack: A forest warden gains sneak attack +1d6. This increases to +2d6 at 6th level and +3d6 at 9th level.

Sniping Prowess: The forest warden takes advantage of any available cover. Her penalty on Stealth checks to snipe changes to –16. The penalty changes to –12 at 6th level and –8 at 9th level.

Sprite Step: When moving through wooded terrain, the forest warden gains a +4 competence bonus on Acrobatics and Climb checks. While climbing, she does not lose her Dexterity bonus to AC and does not take a penalty for climbing quickly.

Advanced Tactics (Ex)

At 6th level, a forest warden adds the following tactics to her list of choices.

Preemptive Strike: The forest warden strikes before her targets can react. When acting during a surprise round, she can take one move action and one standard action. She cannot take a full-round action during a surprise round, as normal.

Trick Shot: This tactic allows the forest warden to attempt Dirty Trick combat maneuver checks with a ranged weapon at a –4 penalty. At 9th level, this penalty changes to –2.

Second Tactic (Ex)

At 9th level, a forest warden is able to benefit from two tactics at a time. She can change one of these at a time as a swift action.

Phantom Strike (Ex)

At 10th level, a forest warden becomes a true master of the battlefield. She can always move at her full speed across nonmagical difficult terrain and does not take movement penalties due to poor visibility.

A number of times per day equal to her Intelligence modifier, when the forest warden deals weapon damage to an opponent who is unaware of her presence, she can deal an additional 2d6 points of precision damage or cause the target to cower for 2d6 rounds.

The target receives a Will saving throw to negate the cowering effect (DC = 10 + half the forest warden’s character level + her Intelligence modifier).

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Ironfang Invasion, Book 2: Fangs of War. Copyright 2017, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Ron Lundeen.

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