WARRIOR-BARBARIAN KIT

Forest Runner

Description:  Forest Runners are Barbarians who inhabit thick and verdant belts 
of woodlands, generally in temperate or subarctic climes, though Forest Runners 
can rarely be found even in subtropical areas where hardwood trees proliferate; 
tropical jungles are outside their experience and are generally the domain of the 
Savage.  They rely on their ability to hide and move quickly through the shadows 
and cover of the forest to strike and are often noted for the green and black 
pigments with which they cover their skin.  Forest Runners also habitually use 
distinctive leather laces to keep their clothing close-fitting so as not to disturb the 
undergrowth through which they move.  Forest Runners place as much 
importance on their boots as they do on their weapons, and they will spend time 
and money decorating the leather with intricate motifs and beadwork.  Forest 
Runners enjoy most of all the shaded pathways of the woods and sometimes 
serve as scouts or guides for those traveling through the forest.  When 
cooperating with other Barbarians, Forest Runners are usually the first to arrive 
and the last to flee during a raid, softening up defenses while others advance and 
holding the rear guard with missile fire from cover.

Forest Runners live in large longhouses built of mud and timber.  These halls are 
often places of merriment where nights are passed in friendly contests of strength 
or arm-wrestling or similar amusements.  A lodge of this sort can usually 
accommodate up to 50 people, and usually at least 10 people and a shaman will 
be present at any time.  These lodges are often open to small groups of travelers 
in the forest, as Forest Runners are generally ready to extend hospitality to those 
who do not threaten them.

Requirements:  Unlike other Barbarians, Forest Runners may be of any 
alignment.  They must have scores of at least 12 in Wisdom and Strength and 14 
in Dexterity and Constitution.  Forest Runners must be humans, half-elves, half-
orcs, half-ogres, or wild elves.

Weapons & Armor:  Forest Runners can wear leather, hide, studded leather, or 
studded hide armor, though they generally prefer to go unarmored (or sometimes 
to wear light leather) so as not to interfere with their stealth abilities.  Forest 
Runners cannot use shields.

Forest Runners must spend their initial proficiency slots on the following 
weapons:  axe (hand), blowgun, bow (short), club (war), knife, and spear.  Later 
weapon proficiencies can be spent as desired.

Special Benefits:  Forest Runners are more concerned with stealth than are other 
Barbarians, and they are especially deadly when fought on their home turf in the 
woods.

Forest Fighting:  Forest Runners are deadly combatants when fighting in the 
woods.  In addition to their already deadly Natural Stealth abilities, they are so 
used to fighting in areas where there are obstructions to free movement and 
ample concealment, Forest Runners reduce all penalties due to cover or 
concealment in wooded terrain by half (rounded down).  Even in other situations, 
they reduce cover and concealment bonuses to Armor Class by 1 point for the 
targets of their attacks.  They are so skilful at using available cover and 
concealment in the woods that anyone trying to attack them there suffers a -2 
penalty to hit, and a Forest Runner gains a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. attack 
forms that can be dodged or interrupted by woodland cover.

Hardiness:  As a standard Barbarian.

Missile Skill:  Forest Runners are expert at the use of missile weapons and gain 
double the normal Dexterity missile bonus if they are unarmored or wearing 
leather armor; if wearing heavier armor, this benefit is lost.  Forest Runners can 
also move at up to half normal speed and still use their full complement of missile 
attacks, or they can move at full speed and take one-half their usual missile 
attacks (rounding down).  Forest Runners gain multiple attacks with missile 
weapons as well as melee weapons as they advance in level.

Natural Stealth:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Forest Runner's thieving 
abilities are doubled when he or she is in a forest.  In fact, a Forest Runner in the 
woods can effectively disappear from view even while under direct observation 
with a successful Hide in Shadows roll, as long as no observer is closer than 15'.  
A Forest Runner's thieving abilities operate at only half their normal level in other 
wilderness settings, and of course cannot be used at all in urban, subterranean, or 
aquatic settings.

Outdoor Craft:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Forest Runner's Intelligence 
check for this ability gains a bonus of +1 per level of experience (rather than 
every three levels) when he or she is in a forest.  This bonus also applies to a 
Forest Runner's Tracking ability.

Survival Skill:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Forest Runner can only use 
the foraging portion of this skill in a forest.  A Forest Runner gains an extra 
+20% bonus to his or her chance to climb trees.

Tribal Stature:  As a standard Barbarian with respect to dealings with other 
Barbarians; however, Forest Runners are generally uninterested in boasting and 
intimidation of non-barbarians, and they have no special skill in these areas.

Woodland Lore:  A Forest Runner has a great understanding of the forest and the 
plants and animals that live there.  While in any forest, a Forest Runner can use 
the Animal Lore and Herbalism proficiencies without needing to spend slots to 
learn them.  If in his or her 'home' forest, he or she can also add a +1 bonus to 
these proficiency scores for every three levels of experience (rounding up).

A Forest Runner can even use his or her Animal Lore to communicate (after a 
fashion) with wild birds and mammals native to a forest.  This requires a round of 
concentration and a successful Animal Lore proficiency at half the normal chance 
of success, but if it succeeds the Forest Runner learns something from the 
creature being studied (assuming that there is something meaningful to be 
learned) or that the Forest Runner has successfully conveyed some request to the 
animal in question.  Whether it follows through on such a request is dependent on 
the animal's reaction to the Forest Runner.  As long as the creature has at least 
Animal (1) intelligence, the Forest Runner can add his or her Charisma reaction 
adjustment to his or her reaction with the animal; if in his or her home forest, this 
is determined as for the Forest Runner's Tribal Stature, as the animals of the 
wood have some knowledge of the human clans who live among them and 
recognize and respect persons whom such humans deem important.

Special Hindrances:  Forest Runners are experts in the areas of woodland stealth, 
but they are basically peaceful in outlook and prefer to avoid conflict when 
possible, slipping silently away from their enemies and harassing them from 
cover, delaying their approach until the non-warrior members of the tribe can 
escape.  Forest Runners do of course engage in running feuds with other clans or 
with those who invade the forest, but they place no special emphasis on training 
for Tribal Warfare.  They also tend to be fairly cooperative as barbarian groups 
go and place more emphasis on group success or failure than individual glory or 
bravery; this is not to say that individual action is never taken or never 
recognized, but only that Forest Runners do not focus on individual Heroic 
Effort to the degree that other Barbarians do (i.e., they do not gain that special 
ability).

Forest Runners traditionally use weapons made of stone, wood, or (rarely) bone, 
rather than crafted metal.  All of a Forest Runner's initial weapons must be 
crafted in this way, which causes them to suffer a -1 penalty to hit and damage 
versus metal-armored foes, and such weapons also have a 1 in 6 chance of 
breakage any time they strike for maximum damage (this does not apply for clubs 
and other weapons that are normally manufactured from wood or stone).  A 
Forest Runner is initially very uncomfortable with the idea of abandoning 
traditional tribal weapons in favor of their metal equivalents, and will suffer a -2 
penalty to hit with such weapons due to his or her reticence.  However, each time 
a Forest Runner advances a level he or she has a 5% chance times the new level 
attained that he or she is able to overcome this resistance and use metal weapons 
without hesitation.

Finally, Forest Runners are most comfortable in the woodlands that are their 
home.  Their affinity for the woods, however, is a disadvantage when they are in 
any type of terrain that does not contain trees or dense shrubs, as many of their 
abilities function at reduced effectiveness or not at all if not in the woods.  In 
addition, a Forest Runner suffers a -2 penalty to all attack rolls made in a non-
forested area.

Bonus Proficiencies:  Endurance, Hunting
Preferred Proficiencies:  Ambush, Animal Handling, Animal Lore, Animal Noise, 
Bowyer/Fletcher, Camouflage, Carpentry, Cobbling, Direction Sense, Disguise, 
Fire-building, Healing, Herbalism, Leatherworking, Musical Instrument, Reading 
Lips, Religion, Rope Use, Set Snares, Singing, Tannery, Tracking, Trailing, 
Weather Sense