Warlord · Salorras Codex

Salorras Paragon: Warlord · Base path: Armsman (Fighter) A Pathfinder 1e prestige class for the ancestor-bonded warrior-leaders of the Warlords of Ancestry — the oldest faction of Asmeda, who draw power from the spirits of their fallen forebears.

The warlords, known also as Tabaat in the tongue of the Anserians, form the oldest faction surviving today on the continent of Asmeda — the Warlords of Ancestry. Trained from childhood, they are raised in the traditions of the desert and the aged nomads of the Siaba Danuma; in time, strong psychic bonds are woven between them and the spirits of their fallen ancestors, from which they draw power and knowledge to crush the enemies of their mother-land of Anseri and of the first humans of Asmeda. Over the years these devoted warriors began to gain supernatural traits, much like the warriors of Eone — yet without obeying the doctrine of any deity, giving all their faith instead to the land and the values of the desert folk.

Warlords often lead nomadic bands of the desert, great or small, following the ancient way of life still kept by the smallest tribe of the country, the Erathan. They hold with zeal and fanaticism that the desert peoples must remain on their ancestral soil, and that only cowards migrate “like birds of passage.” Of course, there are plenty of warlords who chose to belong to the Khaliren tribe and “live the easy life,” as the nomads of the Siaba Danuma say, since the Khaliren choose to dwell in cities.

These fanatical warriors hold exceptional knowledge of tactical war and are renowned for the ambushes they set. Despite the harsh climate, they are accustomed to heavy armor — unusual for the desert, and a thing of awe to the average traveler. A small band of warlords has the fighting power of a small army. Superbly disciplined, they have learned to act as one and to obey their leader absolutely, fanatically supporting the rest of their band and following without question the orders of their eldest members, who hold the final word.

While most commonly a warlord draws power from their ancestors to crush the ancient enemies — the orilyni or the Saragothan demons — in the last fifteen years a number of warlords have come to the fore who know much of Salorras’s new enemy, the darkfallen. There are also many warlords reckoned “lost,” as the Warlords of Ancestry call them, who were converted to the faith of the archdemon of gates, Nasbael, during the war against the demons. These particular warlords count the sworn enemies of their ancestors — the noble faye — among their own foes no longer. (This dual nature — the ancestor-faithful Warlords of Ancestry and the Nasbael-corrupted splinter, the Warlords of the Abyss — is canonical; both draw on the same ancestral gifts.)

In appearance, warlords bear the familiar designs of golden paint upon their faces, as is the custom among the Anserians. But they do not change them with their mood, as ordinary tribesfolk do; sworn instead to the motif of war and discipline, each adopts a single, unchanging design. These designs symbolize strength, respect, discipline, and battle, while their size denotes seniority and rank in the band’s hierarchy.

In matters of faith, warlords keep their distance from most of the deities of Salorras. Even so, some are devoted to the goddess Mother, believing that her eldest face — the Hag — gave them the gift of communing with their ancestors. Scattered through the desert are bands who instead worship the archdemon Nasbael, certain that sooner or later their lord will wake once more.

Warlords usually arise from characters who previously walked the path of the fighter or the legatee, or from wilderness-hardened armsmen of the desert. It is not unlikely, either, for some to be clerics of Mother, of Orya, of the Ominous Three, or even of Nasbael.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

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

Race: Human (Anserian).

Alignment: Any lawful.

Charisma: 14+.

Base Attack Bonus: +4.

Base Fortitude Save: +4.

Skills: Knowledge (history) 2 ranks, Survival 4 ranks.

Feats: Great Fortitude, Toughness.

The Warlord

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Ancestral lore, ancestral smite 1/day
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Authority, hardened, bonus feat
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Ancestral weapon 1/day
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Ancestral smite 2/day, rally +1, bonus feat
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Endurance, fanaticism
6th	+6	+5	+2	+2	Ancestral clarity, ancestral weapon 2/day, bonus feat
7th	+7	+5	+2	+2	Diehard, rally +2
8th	+8	+6	+2	+2	Ancestral smite 3/day, war-hardened, bonus feat
9th	+9	+6	+3	+3	Ancestral weapon 3/day, ancestral wrath
10th	+10	+7	+3	+3	Warcry of the ancestors, desert survivor, rally +3, bonus feat

Class Skills

The warlord’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are features of the warlord prestige class.

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

Bonus Feats. At 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th level, a warlord gains a bonus combat feat (from the fighter bonus feat list), meeting all prerequisites as normal.

Ancestral Lore. At 1st level, the spirits of the warlord’s ancestors — by right of their lineage — share with them ancient knowledge of the primordial enemies of their homeland, Anseri. The warlord chooses one of the following enemy categories: the orilyni, the darkfallen, the noble faye, or the Saragothan demons. This innate knowledge grants a +1 insight bonus per warlord level on all Knowledge checks concerning the chosen category.

The same bonus also applies against the half-blooded kindred that descended from those ancient enemies over the history of Salorras — the eidolai (descended from the orilyni), the eyafen (from the noble faye), and the eyalen ria (from the Saragothan demons).

Ancestral Smite (Su). Once per day, a warlord may strike down an ancient enemy of their ancestors as part of a normal attack. They add their Charisma modifier (if any) to the attack roll and deal 1 extra point of damage per warlord level. The target must belong to the enemy category — or its half-blood descendants — chosen with ancestral lore; otherwise the attack has no extra effect, though the daily use is still expended. The extra damage from ancestral smite is of no particular type. The warlord gains one additional use per day at 4th and 8th level.

Hardened (Ex). Warlords train in the most inhospitable climates of the desert. A 2nd-level warlord ignores the –4 penalty on Fortitude saves against the effects of extreme heat, even while wearing light or medium armor. While wearing no armor, the warlord gains a +4 insight bonus on saves to resist that effect. Through constant training, warlords can also move at their full speed even while wearing medium armor.

Authority. A 2nd-level warlord gains a +1 circumstance bonus per warlord level on all Charisma-based skill checks made against other warlords of lower level than themselves. If two warlords are of equal level, the one with the higher Charisma score prevails.

Ancestral Weapon (Su). At 3rd level a warlord draws such energy from the power of their ancestors that they can imbue their weapon with the magic needed to pierce the defenses of their ancient enemies more easily. Once per day, for a number of rounds equal to the warlord’s class level, the warlord’s weapon changes according to the ancient enemy chosen at 1st level with ancestral lore:

Orilyni — the weapon, or a quiver of arrows, gains the thundering and screaming qualities: attacks count as +2 more magical for the purpose of piercing damage reduction, each successful hit deals an extra +1d6 points of sonic damage, and each successful critical hit deals an extra +1d8 points of sonic damage. If the weapon’s critical multiplier is ×3, the critical sonic damage is 2d8; if ×4, it is 3d8.
Darkfallen — the weapon, or a quiver of arrows, gains a +1 enhancement bonus and a fine coating of the meteorite metal Voidsteel, granting +1 on attack rolls, on Armor Class (only weapons used defensively), and on damage rolls, and functioning as a piercing material against the damage reduction of the darkfallen (or other enemies with similar damage reduction). In addition, a light Voidsteel weapon deals +1 extra point of sonic damage; a one-handed weapon +2; a two-handed weapon +3. A quiver of arrows or other ballistic ammunition each gain +1 point of sonic damage. Regardless of weapon size, after each successful attack the Voidsteel has a 15% chance to make a supersonic “burst” dealing an extra +1d6 points of sonic damage to the victim.
Noble faye — the weapon, or a quiver of arrows, gains a +2 enhancement bonus and a coating of cold iron, granting +2 on attack rolls, on Armor Class (only weapons used defensively), and on damage rolls, and functioning as a piercing material against the damage reduction of the noble faye (or other enemies with similar damage reduction).
Saragothan demons — the weapon, or a quiver of arrows, gains the holy quality and a coating of cold iron, dealing +2d6 points of damage against any evil-aligned enemy and functioning as a piercing material against the damage reduction of the Saragothan demons (or other enemies with similar damage reduction).

The warlord gains one additional use per day at 6th and 9th level.

Rally (Ex). At 4th level a warlord’s ability to fight beside their kin grows. While fighting alongside at least one other warlord within 30 feet, the warlord gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, to Armor Class, on damage rolls, and on saving throws against mind-affecting effects. This bonus increases to +2 at 7th level and +3 at 10th level. Bonuses from different warlords do not stack; those who benefit use only the bonus granted by the highest-level warlord present.

Endurance (Ex). At 5th level a warlord gains Endurance as a bonus feat.

Fanaticism (Ex). Through their terrible fanaticism, warlords who reach 5th level gain a +2 insight bonus on damage rolls against any enemy.

Ancestral Clarity (Ex). At 6th level a warlord gains an insight bonus equal to one-half their warlord levels (minimum +3, rounded down) on saving throws against mind-affecting and fear effects originating from the ancient-enemy category chosen with ancestral lore. The bonus applies to any spell or special attack (including spell-like abilities).

Diehard (Ex). At 7th level a warlord gains Diehard as a bonus feat.

War-Hardened (Ex). At 8th level the warlord’s intense devotion to their beliefs lets them complete an inconceivably hard training. From this point on, they can move at their full speed even while wearing heavy armor.

Ancestral Wrath (Ex). At 9th level a warlord gains a +2 insight bonus on attack rolls, to Armor Class, and on damage rolls made against the ancient-enemy category chosen with ancestral lore.

Warcry of the Ancestors (Su). At 10th and final level, the warlord comes into full communion with the spirits of their ancient ancestors, who grant them such psychic strength that they can share some of their own traits with their allies, even those who are not warlords.

As a full-round action, loosing a primordial cry in a 20-foot radius centered on themselves, the warlord grants their allies the following class features for 10 rounds: ancestral clarity, ancestral lore, ancestral smite, ancestral weapon, rally, and ancestral wrath. Ancestral clarity, ancestral lore, and rally apply to the allies as though they were 10th-level warlords. Allies may use ancestral smite and ancestral weapon normally, but they have no separate daily uses — they draw on the warlord’s, so each use spent by an ally is subtracted from the warlord’s own.

A warlord can use this ability 3 + Charisma modifier times per day.

Desert Survivor (Ex). The harsh survival training warlords undergo lets them ignore the desert’s extremes. At 10th level, a warlord becomes immune to nonlethal damage caused by a hot environment. In addition, whenever a warlord makes a Fortitude save for which they are entitled to a bonus from the Endurance feat, they may reroll the save once if the first roll fails.

Ex-Warlords

A warlord who ceases to be lawful loses authority, ancestral clarity, ancestral lore, ancestral smite, ancestral weapon, ancestral wrath, and rally, and cannot gain new levels in the warlord class. Even so, they continue to benefit from all the class’s remaining special abilities (diehard, endurance, desert survivor, hardened, fanaticism, and war-hardened).