WARRIOR-BARBARIAN KIT

Feralan

Description:  Feralans represent those children who have wandered into (or been 
abandoned in) the wilderness and never been recovered, but have been taken in 
and raised by animals.  Cut off from civilization, they gradually take on many of 
the characteristics of the creatures who adopted them.  Feralans may look human, 
but for the most part they act like wild animals.  They speak the languages of 
some animals and live in their lairs, leading them on hunts, defending them 
against predators, and acting as one of the pack family.  However, the Feralan 
retains vestiges of his or her human intellect and an unshakable curiosity about 
human civilization.  Feralans must choose a familial species (e.g., bears (any), 
wolves, great cats (any), or primates (any)), representing the type of animal that 
raised him or her.  Feralans thus are Barbarians not by choice or tradition, but 
rather by force of circumstances that has led to them being raised in a bestial, 
primitive environment.

Many people fear Feralans, considering them to be ferocious wild men or savage 
werecreatures of some sort.  Those who befriend them, however, know that they 
can be as trustworthy, noble, and gentle as any other human or animal, though 
Feralans will always remain somewhat wary of most humans and demi-humans, 
finding their actions unpredictable and sometimes incomprehensible.  On the 
other hand, while a Feralan's human and demi-human companions may admire his 
or her courage, skills, and instincts, they may find his or her beast-like behavior 
offensive at best and frightening at worst.  A Feralan may drag the carcass of his 
or her prey back to the party's campsite and eat it raw, or may groom animal 
friends by picking parasites from their fur and then bedding down with them to 
sleep.  Personal hygiene is rarely a priority for a Feralan, though they may 
occasionally lick themselves clean.  It is not common for Feralans to join 
adventuring parties, but they sometimes do so, as much out of curiosity and a 
desire to travel and see the world as anything else.  It is similarly uncommon for 
an adventuring party to want such a strange traveling companion.

Requirements:  Feralans share the normal restrictions for Barbarians but also 
require a 14 Dexterity.  In addition, halflings and half-elves can become Feralans.

Weapons & Armor:  Feralans may not wear any armor nor use a shield, adorning 
themselves in crude smocks or loincloths made of furs and hides, wearing only 
what is necessary to keep them warm and comfortable, without regard to 
protective value.

Feralans must take proficiency in club and knife at 1st level.  Their remaining 
slots, both at 1st level and gained thereafter, must be spent on the following 
weapons:  axe (hand), blowgun, bow (short), dagger, dart, sling, spear.  The 
weapons they use are generally those they make themselves from natural 
materials, such as bone, rock, and wood.  These weapons suffer a -1 penalty on 
attack and damage rolls against creatures in metal armor, and on any hit where 
they score maximum damage there is a 1 in 6 chance that they will break.  If a 
Feralan loses or breaks one of these weapons, another can be improvised in a few 
hours, assuming that materials of some sort are available.  Feralans can use 
manufactured weapons of metal of these types but prefers not to do so.

Special Benefits:  Feralans are perhaps the most barbaric of all Barbarians, being 
raised by animals and adopting many of their habits.

Bestial Combat:  Feralans are extremely tough and resilient, gaining three six-
sided hit dice at 1st level (Constitution bonus applies to all), though they gain hit 
dice at the normal rate thereafter.  They also are able to combine acute senses 
and an innate sense for danger with their own natural agility, allowing them to 
gain double the normal Dexterity adjustment to Armor Class and saving throws 
vs. dodgeable attacks, provided they are unarmored.

In addition to these abilities, a Feralan can elect to make unarmed attacks using 
the normal Punching or Wrestling rules with a +1 bonus to hit and damage.  They 
can also choose to engage in a brutish barrage of blows with hands, feet, head, 
and anything else they can manage, with the same net effect as a club (one attack 
per round, 1d6/1d3 points of damage, all of which is considered real damage, not 
temporary), plus the Ravager's Strength bonus and any other bonuses.  This 
precludes any chance of stunning the target, however.  In either case, a Feralan's 
familiarity with such close-in combat against enemies with superior natural 
weapons enables them to ignore the normal 'weapons in defense' rule when they 
attack without weapons against an armed foe.

Familial Species:  Feralans can speak with animals (as the spell) at will with their 
Familial Species, requiring no components or casting time.  Any creature of a 
Feralan's Familial Species will generally do as the Feralan asks; when dealing with 
such creatures, a Feralan may add his or her level to his or her Charisma score to 
determine the appropriate reaction adjustment.  A Feralan can always use the 
equivalent of the Animal Handling, Animal Lore, and Animal Training 
proficiencies with any member of his or her Familial Species, gaining a +1 bonus 
to their proficiency score for every three levels of experience (rounding up).

In an environment where his or her Familial Species can be found, a Feralan can 
attempt to call for assistance from them by howling at the top of their lungs for 
1d6 rounds.  The DM then secretly rolls percentile dice.  If the result is less than 
or equal to the Feralan's Charisma score plus twice his or her level, then 1d4 
familial animals show up within the next hour and act as willing and obedient 
followers to the Feralan for the next 1d4 hours.  At the end of this period, the 
animals disappear into the wilderness.  This 'call of the wild' may be attempted 
only once per day.

Feral Rage:  During melee combat, the initial wounding of an opponent may 
impel the Feralan into a frenzy of bloodlust, increasing his or her fighting 
effectiveness.  A Feralan can make one attempt to become enraged at a given 
opponent.  After the first round in which the Feralan inflicts damage on that 
opponent, the Feralan may attempt an unmodified save vs. death magic.  If 
successful, the Feralan goes into a Feral Rage for the next 2d6 rounds, granting a 
+2 bonus on attack and damage rolls and a +2 bonus to Armor Class.  However, 
all attacks must be made against the designated opponent and the Feralan must 
attack every round that he or she is able and cannot break off an attack, choose 
not to attack, parry, or attempt to attack a different opponent.  The Feralan must 
continue to attack that foe until the Feral Rage wears off or the opponent dies or 
escapes.  If the opponent dies, the Feral Rage ends immediately.  If the opponent 
tries to flee, the Feralan must pursue him or her for the duration of the Feral 
Rage.  Once the Feral Rage has ended with respect to a particular opponent, the 
Feralan can attempt to become enraged at a second opponent.  The use of this 
ability applies a +3 penalty to the Feralan's initiative roll for the round in which it 
is attempted.

Hardiness:  As a standard Barbarian.

Heroic Effort:  As a standard Barbarian.

Natural Stealth:  As a standard Barbarian, but their thieving abilities gain a +10 
bonus per level (not +5).

Outdoor Craft:  As a standard Barbarian, but a Feralan is able to track as well as 
a Ranger (i.e., no penalty to initial Tracking score, with a +1 bonus for every 
three levels of experience (rounding down) in wilderness settings.

Sense Magic:  Feralans are very attuned to the natural world, being able to sense 
things that are unnatural much as animals are often able to do.  As a result, a 
Feralan has a 25% chance per level of experience, plus 5% per level over 1st 
(maximum of 90%) to sense the presence of an illusion.  This ability need not be 
declared as an action; it simply reflects a Feralan's attention to all the senses and 
attunement to subtle natural cues that give away the unreality of an illusion.  
Even if a Feralan does not note the presence of an illusion, he or she is still 
entitled to disbelieve and attempt a saving throw as usual vs. illusion magic.

Besides the ability to sense illusions, a Feralan has the ability to 'sniff out' magic.  
This ability requires one round of concentration by the Feralan and allows a 5% 
chance per level of experience (maximum 75%) to detect magical auras within 
10'.  A Feralan's ability to Sense Magic notes the presence of magical items or 
spells as well as enchanted or summoned creatures, but not the ability to use 
magic.

As a side note, Feralans have a child's curiosity about magical devices and enjoy 
collecting them.  As a result, Feralans will often purchase or trade for magical 
items even if they do not know what they are or how to use them.  Unlike other 
Barbarians, Feralans are not limited in the number or type of magical items that 
they may own, though they follow the usual Barbarian restrictions on the type of 
magical items they may actually use.  The exception is that a Feralan can learn up 
to one 'command word' per level of experience, and he or she may thus learn how 
to use certain additional magical items that require words of activation.  In the 
case of a multiple-function item, only a single function can be activated by each 
command word, so it may take several levels for a Feralan to be able to activate 
all functions of such an item.

Survival Skills:  As a standard Barbarian.

Will to Live:  As might be guessed, a child who survives to maturity in the wild 
possesses an incredible Will to Live that allows them to survive when others 
would fail.  If missing any saving throw would be fatal (including the Feralan 
being turned to stone or otherwise permanently incapacitated), he or she gains a 
+2 bonus to the saving throw roll.  In addition, if any damage roll would reduce 
the Feralan to zero hit points or less, he or she may attempt a Constitution check.  
If successful, he or she is reduced to 1 hit point instead.  This ability cannot be 
used if the Feralan has only 1 hit point remaining already.  In addition, if a 
Feralan is reduced to negative hit points, he or she may attempt a system shock 
roll to continue fighting on for 1d4 rounds or until he or she is reduced to -10 hit 
points, at which point death occurs.

Special Hindrances:  Feralans share the basic restrictions of all Barbarians, 
though as noted above Feralans cannot wear armor or use shields.  A Feralan 
forced to wear armor will not gain his or her doubled Defensive Adjustment (see 
Bestial Combat) and in addition will suffer a penalty to all die rolls equal to the 
AC benefit provided by the armor and shield being used (e.g., -2 for leather, -10 
for full plate and shield).  Feralans prefer to use their own naturally made 
weapons and will never carry or use more than two manufactured metal 
weapons, magical or otherwise.  They also learn their fighting styles from the 
animals who raised them and thus have no sense of Tribal Warfare.

Though Feralans are curious about human society, they have no desire to become 
entangled in it.  They will never build strongholds or own property or real estate 
of any sort, and they also tend to have little interest in material wealth.  They will 
keep only enough funds to cover training costs, equipment replacement and 
purchase, and basic living expenses.  Feralans begin at 1st level with no money; 
instead, he or she may begin with up to four handmade stone or bone weapons 
(as described under Weapons & Armor).  The Feralan should then assemble a list 
of up to ten additional items, subject to the DM's approval, that he or she will 
have accumulated over the years.  These must be items that could be made from 
natural materials or perhaps found in the wild.  The player must be able to 
describe how the Feralan came to possess the item, and crafted devices such as 
lanterns, mirrors, and the like are generally not allowed.

The wild nature and appearance and animalistic mannerisms of Feralans result in 
double the normal reaction penalty with 'civilized' NPCs (civilized wizards have 
triple the normal reaction penalty), and no reaction better than 'cautious' is 
possible unless a Feralan adopts a 'hostile' or 'threatening' approach, in which case 
he or she might manage to force temporary cooperation.  No lasting friendship 
can be built on such bullying and threats, however, and Feralans will only rarely 
develop close relationships with civilized NPCs.  Any group traveling in the 
company of a Feralan will suffer a -2 reaction penalty from 'civilized' NPCs.  
Finally, since Feralans were raised by animals and are not truly a part of barbarian 
society, they possess no Tribal Stature and thus gain no reaction benefits when 
dealing with other barbarians.

Feralans have a difficult time communicating with other humanoids, because their 
speech is often punctuated with howls, grunts, and growls, and they also make 
extensive use of nonverbal cues that are crystal clear to animals of their Familial 
Species but utterly meaningless to most humanoids.  As a result, any NPC has a 
50% chance minus their Intelligence score to be completely unable to understand 
what a Feralan is attempting to say even when they are (theoretically) speaking 
the same language.  In fact, there is a chance equal to 25% minus the Feralan's 
Charisma score that the NPC mishears or misinterprets what was said and 
believes that the Feralan has said something rude, insulting, or in very bad taste, 
with possible comic or angry consequences.  Even PCs who are familiar with the 
Feralan's manner of communication have a chance to fail to understand or 
misinterpret what a Feralan says; determine the chance as above and cut it in half 
when dealing with communication with Pcs.  The chance of miscommunication in 
either case is also reduced by an amount equal to the Feralan's level, since he or 
she gradually becomes more facile in communicating with humanoid creatures in 
the course of dealing with them over long periods of time.

It should be noted that the concept of written communication is quite foreign to 
Feralans, and any non-weapon proficiency related to reading or writing costs 
double the normal number of slots for a Feralan.  In addition, the above chances 
of verbal miscommunication also apply when a Feralan is reading another 
character's writing (using the Feralan's Intelligence score, of course) or when 
another character attempts to read something written by a Feralan.

Finally, Feralans are even more superstitious than other Barbarians, being treated 
as only half their actual level (rounding down) when attempting to overcome 
their barbaric fears when confronted by an object of superstition.

Bonus Proficiencies:  Endurance, Weaponsmithing (limited, see Weapons & 
Armor above)
Preferred Proficiencies:  Alertness, Animal Handling, Animal Lore, Blind-
Fighting, Direction Sense, Fire-building, Fishing, Foraging, Hunting, Rope Use, 
Running, Set Snares, Survival (any), Swimming, Veterinary Healing, Weather 
Sense