Way back in June, I worked out the
first few powers for a Roux
Swordsman character class and suggested additional attack descriptors that
might lend more of a cut-and-thrust feel to 4e combat. Today, I'm working on
the Rowan Berserker school, also taken from King's Gate. They fight with
shields made of rowan, and share in the tree's incredible strength and toughness.
The choice to make the berserker school shield-users is strange in the context
of D&D, but in KG they had powers involving beating their weapons
against their shields, and I certainly plan to retain that.
This class takes a certain amount of inspiration from the Warden, though I write it without the PH2 open in front of me. It is, at least, a defender in light armor who draws on the wisdom of nature, and I've carried over the Warden's high hit point and healing surge values to support the Rowan Berserker's approach to life. What I haven't (quite) done is carry over the shapeshifting aspect of Warden daily powers, because it's a little more mystical than I care to go with this class. I do, after all, still see them as a martial school, not a primal one.
If you're wondering about the High, Middle, and Low descriptors, click on the Roux Swordsman link above, where I lay out several of the ideas behind these martial schools and cut-and-thrust combat.
Rowan
Berserker
Role: Defender, Striker
secondary
Power Source: Martial
Key Abilities: Strength,
Constitution
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth,
Leather, Hide, all Shields
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
Melee, Simple Ranged, Military Melee, Military Ranged
Heart of Rowan: Add either
your Constitution bonus or your Dexterity bonus to your Armor Class when
wearing light armor. Add your Constitution bonus to your damage when making an
attack granted to you through a mark you placed.
Rager's Yell - Rowan
Berserker Attack 1
With a primal yell of challenge,
you beat your weapon against your shield; your foes must face YOU before they
can threaten your allies.
At-Will - Martial
Minor Action Close
blast 3
Target: All enemies in area
Effect: Target is marked
until the end of your next turn, and takes a -2 penalty to attacks that do not
include you as a target. If the target makes an attack that does not include
you as a target, you may make a melee basic attack as an immediate reaction
against that target if you are within range.
Special: You may not use
this attack more than once per round.
Skullsplitter - Rowan
Berserker Attack 1
With a brutal overhand strike,
you attempt to split your foe's skull. Even if you miss, your opponent will be
scrambling to recover.
At-Will - Martial, Weapon, High
Standard Action
Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs AC
Hit: [W] + Str damage
Miss: If your target is
wielding a shield, you receive a +2 bonus to your next attack against that
target before the end of your next turn. If your target is not wielding a
shield, your target takes a -2 penalty to its next melee attack against you
before the start of your next turn. (Editor's Note: if Cleave can have a miss effect,
so can Skullsplitter.)
Shield Bash - Rowan
Berserker Attack 1
You throw your weight behind a
strike with your shield, and your opponent staggers back.
At-Will - Martial, Shield,
Middle
Standard Action Melee
1
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs
Fortitude
Hit: 1d8 + Str + Con damage,
and push the target 1 square.
Scars Make Me Stronger -
Rowan Berserker Defense 1
Don't you know that blood only
makes a Rowan crazier?
Encounter - Martial, Shield,
Middle
Immediate Reaction
Trigger: You take damage and
are bloodied afterward (regardless of whether or not you were bloodied before)
Effect: Gain temporary hit
points equal to 5 + Str, and add your Constitution bonus to all defenses until
the end of your next turn.
Special: If the attack that
triggered your use of this power was a critical hit, your next melee attack
against that opponent is a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.
Strong Arm - Rowan Berserker
Attack 1
The force of your blow hurls
your opponent to the ground. He
don't own you!
Encounter - Martial, Weapon,
Middle
Standard Action Melee
weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs AC
Hit: [W] + Str damage, and
make a secondary attack
Secondary Attack: Strength
vs. Fortitude
Hit: Target is knocked
prone, and choose one: deal your Str + Con in damage to that opponent, or you
are grappling your opponent, or that opponent is marked (save ends; this is a fear effect) as if by your Rager's Yell ability.
Rowan's First Lesson - Rowan
Berserker Attack 1
The first lesson of the rowan is
defiance - of wind, of stone, and of black magic.
Daily - Martial, Weapon, Shield,
High
Standard Action Melee
weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Str vs AC
Hit: 2[W] + Str
Effect: You enter the stance
of the Rowan of the Vale. You gain resist 5 arcane, divine, psionic, and
necrotic, and you may resist up to two squares of any push, pull, or slide
(this part of the effect is cumulative with other forms of resistance to forced
movement, such as the dwarven racial ability). You may not run while in the
stance of the Rowan of the Vale.
Defy the Storm - Rowan Berserker
Defense 2
Your arrows may blot out the
sun, but my shield has the strength of the ages.
Encounter - Martial, Shield,
High
Minor Action
Effect: Gain a +4 bonus to
all defenses against attacks with the High descriptor, and resist 5 all against
attacks with the High descriptor.
From the Roots - Rowan Berserker Defense 2
It's important to have a quick hand with the shield, to defend against underhanded treachery. Those who strike at you from beneath will feel your hobnailed boot.
Encounter - Martial, Shield, Low
Minor Action
Effect: Gain a +2 bonus to AC and Reflex against attacks with the Low or Middle descriptors. The first time a melee attack with the Low descriptor misses you before the beginning of your next turn, you may make the following attack.
Target: One creature within 1 square of you
Attack: Str vs Reflex
Damage: 1d6 + Str, and the creature is slowed and marked until the end of your next turn.