FURY

Salorras Paragon: Fury · Base path: Armsman (Fighter) A 10-level 3.5e prestige class for the iron-drinkers — the rarest warriors of Salorras, whose rage grows so absolute that it touches the raw Iron Thread of the Fabric with no teacher, no formula, and no book; their own fury is the invocation and their own flesh the page.

The furies are among the rarest sights of war in all of Salorras. They are those few fighters whose rage reaches such a pitch that it touches the raw Iron Thread of the Fabric — the thread of the hammer and the flame — without ever having passed through a mage’s library, without having been taught a single formula, without even knowing what it is their hands give birth to. Among those who understand the Fabric, the few theorists who have recorded the phenomenon name them iron-drinkers, for their very rage is the invocation, and their very flesh is the book.

Furies may be born to any blood and in any corner of Salorras — the disposition is of the spirit rather than of lineage, and no single ancestry holds it to the exclusion of others. From the eyafen and eyalen ria of Neluvia to the orcs of Uzgar, from the dwarves of the Brutalstrikers in Khalendianil to the humans of Asmeda, from the wandering nomads of Vrashmadna to the nobles of the Free Cities of South, any body may carry the gift. It surfaces more often, though, in the harshest reaches of the world — where life itself demands a weapon be raised early, where battle is not a profession but a condition of survival, where rage outruns words. So the jungles of Neluvia and Uzgar, the heavy clans of the Brutalstrikers on the mountain of Khalendianil, and isolated tribal villages on the edges of every civilization breed proportionally more furies than the enlightened courts and lavish universities — not because they are more “worthy” of the gift, but because the very conditions of their lives give rage the room to ripen before cultured convention can silence it. In the enlightened states — Braora, Praecaria, Katjemeran, Ylna’Anor, and the city-states of the Free Cities of South — they appear from time to time, but always as a rare and terrible spectacle; and in the uncharted marches of Anseri, Gorndarat, and Vrashmadna they become the stuff of legend and song — at times glorified as heroes, at times cursed as demons, but always burned into the memory of any who saw what can break loose from inside a living person when the Fabric answers their rage raw.

In battle the fury looks nothing like a common soldier. Their eyes turn dead-white or pitch-black, their flesh swells with a muscular surge their own comrades fail to recognize, and their voice drops from a human cry into something primordial — nearer the roar of a beast than the speech of a civilized being. Iron-colored sparks leap around their hands or along their blade, small lightnings race up their arms, and unsteady tongues of flame rise from their very mouth when the rage crests. Metal objects near them lose their luster and take on, for moments, a silver-brown aura as though longing to rust; in those same moments, their own open wounds close themselves, leaving behind marks like prints of rust upon the flesh.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

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

Alignment: Any nonlawful. The untaught spark answers passion, not discipline; no rigidly lawful temperament can drink the Iron Thread raw.

Base Attack Bonus: +5. The fury’s rage is not born of theory but of accumulated experience of violence — only a battle-hardened veteran can reach this rung.

Special: The ability to enter a rage or frenzy (such as the barbarian’s rage class feature). This represents the Silent Awakening — the warrior must already have known the moment when primal fury seized them for the first time. (In Salorras canon the spark is innate and need not come from the barbarian class label specifically; any rage or frenzy ability satisfies the gate. Flag for the keeper if a campaign wants to broaden what counts.)

Feats: Power Attack.

Skills: Intimidate 4 ranks, Survival 4 ranks.

The Fury

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Untaught rage, iron spark +1d6
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Storm-veined, fast movement
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Trap sense +1, uncanny dodge
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Greater rage, rust-touch
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Damage reduction 1/—, thread-burst, iron spark +2d6
6th	+6	+5	+2	+2	Improved uncanny dodge, rust-breath
7th	+7	+5	+2	+2	Tireless rage, trap sense +2
8th	+8	+6	+2	+2	Damage reduction 2/—, greater rust, iron spark +3d6
9th	+9	+6	+3	+3	Frightful presence
10th	+10	+7	+3	+3	Mighty rage, living gate of the thread, iron spark +4d6

Class Skills

The fury’s class skills (and the key ability for each) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the fury prestige class. The fury’s powers fall into two intertwined pillars — the body transformed, the raw rage that remakes their flesh beyond human limits, and the thread unbidden, the Iron Thread that this same rage calls as its conduit. They are not two disciplines but one act seen from two sides: the rage is the channel, and the thread is what passes through it.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency. A fury is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Untaught Rage (Ex). The heart of the fury. Once per day at 1st level, the fury can fly into a rage much like a barbarian’s: they gain a +4 bonus to Strength, a +4 bonus to Constitution, a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, and a –2 penalty to Armor Class, and the rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the fury’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. The fury may rage one additional time per day at 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level. If the character already has a rage or frenzy ability from another class, the fury’s daily uses stack with it, and the character’s barbarian (or equivalent) levels stack with fury levels for determining when greater rage, tireless rage, and mighty rage are gained and how strong the rage becomes. Entering a rage is a free action; at the end of it the fury is fatigued for the duration of the encounter, until they gain tireless rage at 7th level.

Iron Spark (Su). From the first stirring of the gift, the fury is a raw conduit of the Iron Thread. At the start of each rage the fury chooses one energy of the thread — fire, electricity, or force (the flame, the thunder, and the crushing force of the hammer). While raging, every successful melee attack deals an extra +1d6 points of damage of that chosen type. The fury does not consciously command this; it erupts from their fury unbidden, sparks leaping along the blade and small lightnings racing up the arm. This extra damage rises to +2d6 at 5th level, +3d6 at 8th, and +4d6 at 10th.

Storm-Veined (Ex). At 2nd level the fury draws from the same primal source the indomitable will that makes them impossible to bend by psychic assault. While raging, the fury is immune to fear and gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against all mind-affecting effects — charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale alike. Fear, illusion, and spells that strike at the mind break upon the fury like waves on a sea-rock.

Fast Movement (Ex). Also at 2nd level, the fury’s own stride grows swifter than a soldier’s: their land speed increases by +10 feet whenever they wear no armor, light armor, or medium armor and are not carrying a heavy load. This benefit applies only while raging or otherwise in motion of the same fury, exactly as a barbarian’s fast movement.

Trap Sense (Ex). At 3rd level the fury’s heightened senses warn them of danger before they meet it — there is, for them, no “behind.” They gain a +1 bonus on Reflex saves to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to Armor Class against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise to +2 at 7th level, and stack normally with trap sense from other classes.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex). Also at 3rd level, the fury fights with the instincts of a cornered beast, retaining their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class even when caught flat-footed or struck by an unseen attacker (they still lose it if immobilized). A fury who already has uncanny dodge from another class instead gains improved uncanny dodge (see below).

Greater Rage (Ex). At 4th level, the rage that once seized the fury with violence begins to answer their will. The bonuses of untaught rage increase: the morale bonus to Strength and Constitution rises to +6, and the morale bonus on Will saves rises to +3.

Rust-Touch (Su). At 4th level the fury’s fury begins to gnaw at metal. While raging, as a melee touch attack the fury can corrode a metal weapon, shield, or suit of armor that is wielded, borne, or unattended: the attack ignores the hardness of metal and deals it 2d6 points of structural damage (an unattended object small enough is simply destroyed). This is the corrosion that leaves enemy blades snapping in the moment they are drawn to defend.

Damage Reduction (Ex). At 5th level the fury’s transformed flesh turns harder than common skin — blows that would pierce another merely graze them. The fury gains damage reduction 1/—, rising to 2/— at 8th level. This stacks with damage reduction from the barbarian class (and similar sources).

Thread-Burst (Su). At 5th level the fury’s manifestations of the Iron Thread grow great enough to leap and crack beyond their reach. Once per round while raging, as a free action when the fury hits with a melee attack, they may release a burst of the thread — choose one: a bolt of the chosen energy that arcs to one additional creature within 10 feet, dealing it the fury’s iron spark damage; or a thunderclap that forces one creature adjacent to the struck foe to succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + fury level + the fury’s Strength modifier) or be deafened for 1 round and pushed back 5 feet.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex). At 6th level the fury can no longer be flanked, meeting every direction with the same vigilance. They deny enemies the ability to sneak attack them by flanking and the +2 flanking bonus on attack rolls — unless the attacker has at least four more levels (in a class that grants sneak attack) than the fury has fury levels. Levels of uncanny dodge from other classes stack to determine this threshold.

Rust-Breath (Su). At 6th level the thread breaks loose from the fury’s very mouth. Once per rage, as a standard action, the fury exhales a 15-foot cone of unstable Iron-Thread energy of the type chosen for their iron spark — a gout of flame, a sheet of crackling lightning, or a roaring wave of force, like the breath of a dragon. Every creature in the cone takes 1d6 points of that energy per fury level (Reflex save, DC 10 + fury level + the fury’s Constitution modifier, for half).

Tireless Rage (Ex). At 7th level the fury no longer suffers fatigue at the end of their rage; they rise from it as though it had never gripped them.

Greater Rust (Su). At 8th level the corrosion spreads from a touch to an aura. Once per rage, as a standard action, the fury can rust every metal object in a 10-foot radius: unattended metal objects are destroyed if small enough, and each wielded or borne metal weapon, shield, or suit of armor takes 4d6 points of structural damage, ignoring hardness (a successful Reflex save, DC 10 + fury level + the fury’s Strength modifier, halves the damage to a borne item).

Frightful Presence (Su). At 9th level the fury’s rage grows so towering that their mere presence can break the will of common foes — the roar shakes them, the sight buckles their knees, and many fall before the blade ever finds their flesh. Whenever the fury enters a rage or charges into battle, each enemy within 30 feet that has fewer Hit Dice than the fury’s character level must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + fury level + the fury’s Charisma modifier) or become shaken for 4d6 rounds (or panicked if it has half the fury’s character level in Hit Dice or fewer). A creature that succeeds is immune to that fury’s frightful presence for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Mighty Rage (Ex). At 10th level the rage reaches its fullest. The morale bonus to Strength and Constitution rises to +8, and the morale bonus on Will saves rises to +4.

Living Gate of the Thread (Su). At 10th and final level the fury arrives at the deepest initiation of their art — they become a living gate of the Iron Thread, the field around them stirred by elements that civilized mages would beg for hours to control and that here erupt without command, following only the fury’s will and passion. While raging, the fury radiates the thread in a 10-foot aura: each creature that begins its turn within the aura, or that strikes the fury with a metal melee weapon, takes the fury’s iron spark damage (the chosen energy type), and any metal weapon that strikes the fury is subject to the fury’s rust-touch. In addition, once per rage the fury can loose a catastrophic eruption — a single combined release of rust-breath and thread-burst in a 20-foot radius centered on themselves. Few who reach this point ever return to their human state without carrying a piece of the Fabric in their soul for the rest of their days.

Ex-Furies

A fury who can no longer rage — who becomes lawful, or is otherwise stripped of the spark that drinks the thread — loses untaught rage, iron spark, storm-veined, rust-touch, thread-burst, rust-breath, greater rust, frightful presence, and the living gate of the thread: every gift that flows through the fury’s rage goes silent. The purely physical hardenings remain — fast movement, trap sense, uncanny dodge, improved uncanny dodge, damage reduction, and tireless rage — for these are forged into the body and not borne on the rage alone. As the lore warns, few who reached the deepest initiation of the thread ever became again what they were before the first flame of rage woke inside them.