WARRIOR-BARBARIAN KIT

Savage

Description:  Savages are those Barbarians who inhabit the steaming jungles of 
the world's tropical regions, sometimes in the midst of ancient and crumbling 
ruins of lost civilizations from a forgotten age.  They hunt the ferocious and 
exotic beasts that travel their lands, but only as a matter of necessity.  They see 
themselves fitting quite naturally into the circle of life that includes all living 
things, and they may just as often work in partnership or friendship with the 
animals with whom they share their realm.  Despite the name usually applied to 
them by 'civilized' folk, Savages are actually quite introspective and 
contemplative.  During those times when they are not fighting for survival, they 
may pass time in quiet contemplation on the world around them.  Many Savages, 
in fact, believe that the gods created the jungle as a test for their people and that 
each person's life forms a maze-like pattern.  When a Savage dies, he or she is 
called before the gods and told to draw the mazes that represent their own lives.  
Those who succeed are invited to live with the gods in eternal paradise.  Those 
who fail are cursed to remain on earth as restless spirits, eternally unfulfilled.  As 
children, Savages learn the rudiments of this pattern of life from the shamans who 
guide their tribes, and as they go through life they add to the pattern of their lives 
(sometimes idly tracing this pattern when deep in thought or worry).  Savages 
pay close attention to the natural world and the environment in which they live, 
always looking for how the pattern of their life might change with each new day.

Requirements:  Savages may be of any alignment but must be humans, jungle 
dwarves, wild elves, halflings, half-elves, half-orcs, or half-ogres.  Savages must 
have scores of at least 15 in Dexterity and Constitution and 9 in Strength and 
Intelligence.

Weapons & Armor:  Savages rarely wear any armor, though high-ranking 
warriors will sometimes wear a breastplate manufactured from leather or hide 
(AC 9 or 8, depending on the strength of the material being used).  All Savages, 
however, are highly skilled in the use of shields.  A Savages initial weapon 
proficiencies must be spent on the following weapons:  atlatl, axe (carrikal), 
blowgun, bow (long), club (kerrie), and spear (yklwa).

Special Benefits:  Savages are tough and hardy warriors who are also 
contemplative and in tune with their natural surroundings.  Their special abilities 
represent this unity of function in following the path that they follow in life.

Animal Friendship:  This ability allows a Savage to calm down hostile or 
threatening animals and to make friends with animals native to their tropical 
homes.  This ability has the same basic effect as the priest spell animal friendship, 
but it can be attempted no more than once per day.  To use this ability, the 
Savage must confront the animal face to face, no further away than the limits of 
the animal's attack range.  If an animal is hostile or threatening, the Savage can 
attempt to pacify it, forcing a save vs. rods with a penalty of -1 for every three 
levels of the Savage (rounding down); if the save is failed, the animal is calmed 
and takes no aggressive action against the Savage or anyone accompanying him 
or her, assuming no threatening moves are made against it.

If a Savage gains an indifferent or better reaction with an animal, he or she can 
attempt to befriend it on a permanent basis as per the animal friendship spell, 
though the Savage must have no ulterior motives (e.g., kill and eat the animal 
while it sleeps, send it ahead to look for traps), as such will be detected by the 
animal and will cause Animal Friendship to fail.  A Savage's Animal Friendship 
can affect only animals native to tropical jungles, grasslands, marshes, or aquatic 
environments, though even non-intelligent creatures can be affected.  A Savage 
can have no more than 2 HD of befriended animals for each level of experience, 
and all creatures must be natural or giant-sized animals of some sort (including 
dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures), but not fantastic or magical creatures.  
Creatures with Low or better intelligence cannot be befriended in this fashion.

Note that it is quite common for Savages to form cadres of special 'beast-rider' 
warriors who use their befriended animals as war mounts, riding dinosaurs or 
pterosaurs, zebras, giant boars, giant beetles, rhinoceri, elephants, hyaenodons, 
manta rays, giant eagles, giant seahorses, and similar creatures.

If a befriended animal is ever killed, a Savage immediately suffers 2d6 points of 
damage and must save vs. spells or be feebleminded with grief and despair for the 
next 2d6 hours.

Hardiness:  As a standard Barbarian.  In addition, Savages gain a +2 bonus to 
saving throws vs. attacks based on heat, water, gas, and poison, since they are 
inured to the natural dangers of their home climate and the special attack forms 
common to the creatures that live there.  They also suffer no environmental 
penalties for very hot weather, assuming that they are not wearing any sort of 
heavy armor or clothing.

Natural Attunement:  Savages are very much in tune with their natural 
surroundings.  As a result, any time a Savage is resting or sleeping in a quiet 
place he or she gains a benefit similar to an alarm spell that alerts him or her to 
any intrusion within 10' if awake or awakens him or her if asleep.  Thus, he or she 
cannot be surprised by a creature coming within this radius while resting or 
asleep.  This benefit does not apply when a Savage is traveling or when any other 
sentient creature is resting or sleeping within 10', though a Savage still gets his or 
her normal bonuses to avoid surprise for Natural Stealth, Dexterity, and the like.

Savages also have the ability to notice the presence of illusions, as their Natural 
Attunement can provide clues about the unreality of the illusion.  A Savage has a 
base 25% chance to immediately notice any illusion for what it is, and this chance 
increased by 5% per level after 1st (maximum of 90%).  This chance is in 
addition to any saving throw normally allowed, and it should be checked 
automatically when a Savage is confronted with an illusion.  He or she need not 
declare this as an action, and it does not interfere with other actions taken during 
the same round.

Natural Stealth:  As a standard Barbarian.

Outdoor Craft:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Savage's skills are limited to 
use in jungle, marsh, and grassland.

Shield Use:  Although Savages disdain wearing armor, they are very skilled in the 
use of the hlang, a large oval shield made of hide hung upon a frame of sticks.  
When a Savage is using a hlang, he or she gains a +1 bonus to their Armor Class 
for every six levels of experience (rounding up) in addition to the normal bonus 
allowed for the shield.  A Savage using any other type of shield gains a +1 AC 
bonus for every six levels (rounding down).

Survival Skills:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Savage's skills are limited to 
use in jungle, marsh, and grassland.  A Savage can also use his or her Survival 
Skills to 'brachiate' or swing or leap from tree limb to tree limb or using jungle 
vines to get from place to place by moving through the jungle canopy without 
traveling on the ground.  Base movement rate is 3 but can be as high as 6 or even 
9 depending on conditions.

Tribal Warfare:  As a standard Barbarian.

True Path:  Savages have a natural sense of direction that derives from their 
constant attention to the course of their life-path and its interaction with the 
world around them.  They gain a +1 bonus to their Direction Sense proficiency 
for every three levels of experience (rounding up).  In addition, Savages have a 
5% chance per level of experience (maximum of 75%) to be able to overcome 
any spell or attack that might cause them to wander aimlessly or lose their way, 
including maze, confusion, chaos, lose the path, guards and wards, false sensory 
input, daydream, id insinuation, cause insanity, and similar effects.  This 
percentage chance to avoid such effects is in addition to any saving throw 
allowed.

Special Hindrances:  Savages share all of the usual hindrances of Barbarians.  In 
addition, to the Savage mindset each individual walks his or her own life path and 
tries not to interfere unduly with that of others.  Hence, individual Savages do 
not gain the Tribal Stature common to other Barbarians.  Likewise, they accept 
things that happen as the will of the spirits and the gods and a natural part of their 
life pattern, and they are not inclined to make a Heroic Effort to alter the natural 
course of events.

As noted above, Savages eschew wearing armor, mostly because to the ever-
present heat and humidity make wearing any heavy body covering very 
uncomfortable.  Most Savages wear simple loincloths, loose-fitting tobes (long 
sleeveless tunics), or kilts.  Any Savage who is forced to wear armor heavier than 
a hide or leather breastplate loses all Natural Attunement, Natural Stealth, and 
Tribal Warfare benefits.  A Savage's traditional garb is crafted with a sense of 
harmony with nature and freedom to move and flow and feel; if they are forced to 
wear any sort of 'civilized' clothing or gear (including most forms of magical 
articles of clothing), they will suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls, ability checks 
(including proficiency checks), and saving throws due to their discomfort.

Savages generally work within a barter or gift economy rather than working with 
markets and money.  A Savage thus begins play with no money, but may select 
up to four weapons (if a shield or breastplate is desired, this must be selected as a 
'weapon') from his or her 'preferred list'.  A Savage may then select up to ten 
additional items, subject to the DM's approval, that he or she has acquired over 
the years with his or her tribe.  Such items must be those which a Savage tribe 
could have, including basic items of metalwork, though items such as backpacks, 
lanterns, mirrors, surgical kits, telescopes, and the like should not be allowed.  As 
they adventure, Savages will generally avoid taking coinage as a portion of their 
treasure share; they prefer items such as gems, jewelry, and equipment.  In 
general, however, they are not very interested in treasure and the hoarding of 
loot.  In simple terms, they will give away (to NPCs only) or sacrifice to the 
spirits half of all wealth they acquire, as appeasing the spirits and venerating the 
gods is far more important than simply accumulating wealth.

Savages often travel with beasts of the jungle, which they consider perfectly 
natural.  Unfortunately, others do not see it that way.  As a result, a Savage who 
is traveling with one of his or her bestial companions suffers a -1 reaction penalty 
for each such companion when interacting with folk from any culture other than 
his or her own.  Very small animals (less than one hit die, such as small monkeys, 
tropical birds, or cats) are generally considered simply exotic pets and do not fall 
under this restriction, but any larger creature will cause a penalty.

Finally, Savages are very used to warm weather and dealing with conditions of 
extreme heat.  If forced to adventure in an environment where the temperature is 
below 60 degrees, he or she will suffer a -1 penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, 
and ability checks (including proficiency checks).  Savages also are very in tune 
with the natural world but easily thrown off kilter by foreign environments where 
their Natural Attunement cannot help them find their way.  Thus, they suffer a 
similar penalty when adventuring on any plane other than the Prime Material, and 
these penalties are cumulative if the extraplanar realm where they must adventure 
is not a warm one.  These penalties are doubled if a Savage is in an arid 
environment.

Bonus Proficiencies:  Direction Sense, Endurance
Preferred Proficiencies:  Ambush, Animal Lore, Animal Noise, Animal Training, 
Blacksmithing, Bowyer/Fletcher, Camouflage, Carpentry, Engineering, Healing, 
Herbalism, Leatherworking, Riding (any), Rope Use, Set Snares, Tannery, 
Trailing, Weaponsmithing, Wickerwork