WARRIOR-BARBARIAN KIT

Nomad

Description:  Nomads represent the classic mounted warriors of the high plains 
and sweeping desert wastes.  They live their lives and fight their battles primarily 
from the saddle, usually riding horses but sometimes (in the case of some desert 
nomads) camels or other mounts.  Opinions on Nomads vary depending on 
whom you ask.  To many, they represent heroes, exemplifying survival, 
endurance, bravery, honesty, and freedom.  To others, however they are haughty 
thieves and brigands, sweeping into civilized lands to raid and then turning tail 
and fleeing into the empty wastes.  Nomads often regard the dwellers of settled 
lands as impoverished cousins, unaware that the greatest riches are those of the 
soul and that such rewards can only be found in the freedom of the endless plains.  
They tend to perceive their way of live as superior to that of settled folk (hence 
their reputation for haughtiness).  They are not bound to land or property, save 
for their mounts.  Nomads will only grudgingly part with their mounts, and if 
they are forced to leave their mounts behind they will only leave them with others 
who appreciate the steed's quality and can be trusted to take care of it 
appropriately.

Requirements:  Nomads must be agile and hardy to survive the hardships of life 
in the open plains and must have scores of at least 15 in both Dexterity and 
Constitution and 9 in Strength.  Nomads must be of non-lawful alignment and 
must be humans, half-elves, or half-orcs.

Weapons & Armor:  Nomads disdain the use of heavy armor, and they will never 
wear armor heavier than studded leather.  Further, they will use only small shields 
or bucklers, never large or body shields.  
A Nomad's initial weapon proficiencies must be spent on one of the following 
sets of weapons:

	Desert	bow (short composite), lance (light and medium), jambiya, 
sword (scimitar), whip
	Plains	axe (hand), bolo, club, bow (short), knife, spear
	Steppe	bow (short composite), dagger, lance (light or medium), lasso, 
sword (saber and tulwar)

All Nomads are also able to use a coup stick without needing to spend a 
proficiency slot.

Special Benefits:  Nomads are expert riders and love nothing more than to ride 
full-out across the vast open spaces of the world with the wind blowing through 
their hair, moving in perfect synchronization with the mount beneath them.  All 
Nomads begin play with a free light warhorse or camel, and they can 'trade up' to 
a medium warhorse if they wish and can pay the difference in cost.  Most of a 
Nomad's special abilities relate to their exceptional riding skill and their love of 
the open wilderness.

Animal Rapport:  Nomads have a great deal of rapport with animals of their 
mount species (generally horses or camels, as noted above).  This provides them 
with the benefits of the Animal Care, Animal Handling, Animal Lore, Animal 
Training, Riding (Land-based), and Riding Specialization with that species only, 
and all of these proficiencies gain a +1 bonus for every three levels of the Nomad 
(rounding up).  In addition, Nomads can develop a deep bond with their personal 
mount equivalent to that provided by an animal friendship spell by personally 
staying with and caring for that animal for a full week without interruption.

Any mount animal that has been bonded in this fashion gains one bonus hit point 
per level of the Nomad (even if this exceeds its normal maximum hit points), and 
its movement rate increases by 3.  It also gains a +1 bonus to all attack and 
damage rolls and its morale will be increased by 4.  If the mount is separated 
from the Nomad for over a week, it will drop back to its former characteristics 
until a full week has been spent back under the Nomad's care (which often 
accounts for Nomads' reputation for selling high-quality mounts that later turn 
out to be mere nags).  In addition to the above, a Nomad of 5th level or higher 
can locate animals at will with respect to his or her bonded mount.  At 9th level 
or higher, the Nomad can speak with animals with his or her bonded mount at 
will.

Counting Coup:  By tradition, any Nomad who can approach an opponent 
without weapons of war, touch him or her with a hand or with a coup stick, and 
get away without being struck in turn is considered to have bested his or her 
opponent.  Duels are sometimes fought in this way, both in single combat and in 
large team competitions like mock skirmishes in which combatants are unarmed 
(or carry only coup sticks).  In such games the coup sticks are usually coated 
with soot or sap so as to keep score by marking the bodies of the combatants 
when a blow is struck, adding points for marks on the front of opponents and 
subtracting them for marks on themselves.

To use this ability, a Nomad carrying no shield and no weapons (other than a 
coup stick, if desired) must approach an armed character or creature that is not 
currently engaged with anyone else in melee and who is aware of the Nomad's 
presence and try to touch him or her with a hand (or a coup stick).  Whether or 
not the hit is made, the Nomad will attempt to dart away as quickly as possible to 
retrieve weapons and shield (which must be left at least one round's travel away).  
The opponent always gets at least one free attack at +2 as the Nomad breaks 
melee, and he or she may elect to pursue the Nomad and attack again.  If the 
Counting Coup attack hits and the Nomad is able to evade attack by the 
opponent until he or she reaches his or her weapons and shield and is able to 
rearm (at least one round to reach his or her equipment, plus another round to 
rearm), he or she is considered to have bested the opponent and gains a full 
experience point award for defeating the opponent.  The Nomad can also gain the 
normal experience point award if he or she later succeeds in killing, capturing, 
subduing, or driving the opponent from the field.

In order to gain the experience point bonus for Counting Coup, the person or 
creature touched must have at least as many hit dice/levels as the Nomad.  If he 
or she is mounted, the hit dice of his or her mount (rounding all hit die bonuses 
up to the next full hit dice) must be added to the Nomad's effective level for this 
determination.  Since it is often impossible to tell the level or hit dice of a 
creature, it is not always certain whether Counting Coup is possible against a 
particular creature.  A Nomad can only gain a bonus for besting a creature that 
represents a true danger; e.g., Counting Coup is not possible against a foe who is 
magically held, slowed, or confused, or against a creature for whom the Nomad 
has a special immunity or resistance (e.g., a fire lizard against a Nomad who 
wears a ring of fire resistance).  A Nomad under the effect of any spell or psionic 
power that improves his or her THAC0 or AC cannot gain the bonus, though 
magical items that increase AC can be used as long as they do not eliminate a 
realistic element of danger to the Nomad (DM's discretion) and as long as it is 
one the Nomad ordinarily uses in combat; hence, borrowing a companion's ring 
of protection is not allowed.

It should be noted that many Nomads strip themselves of all defenses before 
Counting Coup as a way of seeking the greatest possible honor and glory.  For 
much the same reason (and for the distaste involved in turning one's back on an 
opponent), some Nomads prefer to withdraw from an opponent by backing away 
(thus moving at 1/3 normal speed) rather than turning to run.  At the DM's 
option, Nomads who engage in acts of such bravado may earn an additional 
bonus for Counting Coup in such a reckless fashion.

Hardiness:  As a standard Barbarian.

Mounted Combat:  Nomads are most effective in fighting when astride their 
mounts, and they and their mounts are able to fight extremely well in conjunction.  
A Nomad who is mounted fights as if he or she was one level higher in all 
respects, and in addition the Nomad and his or her mount gain a +1 bonus to 
attack and damage rolls versus opponents on foot.  A Nomad and his or her 
mount and both gain a +1 bonus to their Armor Class for every five levels of the 
Nomad (rounding up).

In addition to the above, Nomads can coax their mounts up to 50% greater than 
normal speed once per day for up to one turn per level by making a successful 
Riding proficiency check at half the normal chance of success.  This urge to high 
speed has no ill effects on the mount, but it is not cumulative with bonuses from 
the use of any non-weapon proficiencies.

A Nomad can ride at full speed without interfering with his or her normal missile 
or melee attacks, as long as he or she is using one of his or her 'preferred' 
weapons.  A Nomad can also have his or her mount attack in the same round as 
his or her own attacks if a Riding proficiency check is successful (at half the 
normal chance of success if the animal must move more than half its normal 
movement rate during the same round that it attacks).

Natural Stealth:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Nomad has no ability to 
Hide in Shadows.  Nomads is able to apply their normal chance to Move Silently 
(and without leaving tracks) while mounted; Nomads on foot may attempt to 
Move Silently at half their normal chance of success.

Outdoor Craft:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Nomad is able to track as 
well as a Ranger (i.e., no penalty to initial score, with a +1 bonus per three levels, 
rounding down) in plains or desert terrain (player's choice, based on the Nomad's 
terrain of origin).

Tribal Stature:  As a standard Barbarian.

Tribal Warfare:  As a standard Barbarian, save that a Nomad does not double his 
or her 'damage pool' bonus when making weaponless attacks.  However, a 
Nomad does double his or her 'damage pool' bonus for any attacks made while he 
or she is mounted.

War Cry:  In any combat encounter a Nomad can (and usually will) utter a wild, 
ululating War Cry that is quite daunting to his or her foes.  Any sentient 
opponents (besides other Barbarians, who treat a War Cry as a normal and 
expected part of combat) within 10' per level of the Nomad must make an 
immediate morale check.  If it is failed, creatures of less than 1 hit die or level 
will immediately flee in fear from the Nomad until out of sight and earshot.  
Creatures with 1 or more hit dice or levels (but not more than the level of the 
Nomad) who fail their morale check will not be forced to flee, but they will suffer 
a -2 penalty to morale and a -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls for 2d6 
rounds.  Creatures with more hit dice or levels of the Nomad cannot be affected 
the War Cry, and animals, mindless creatures, undead, and extra-planar creatures 
are never affected.  NPC allies who are within this range and succeed in a morale 
check gain a +1 bonus to morale and saves vs. fear for 2d6 rounds.  In addition, 
all Nomad allies within this radius have a 5% chance per level of the Nomad to 
gain a +1 bonus to hit and damage for 2d6 rounds, assuming they can clearly hear 
and see the Nomad PC and are able to take up the War Cry themselves.

Special Hindrances:  Nomads share the usual restrictions of all Barbarians.  In 
addition, they focus more than other Barbarians on achieving a synergy of action 
with their mounts, treated more as brothers or sisters than simple beasts of 
burden.  They are able to greatly improve the quality of a mount by bonding with 
it, as described above, but there is a risk inherent in this.  If a Nomad's bonded 
mount is killed, he or she will become depressed and morose for 1d4 weeks, 
suffering a -2 penalty on attack rolls and ability or proficiency checks.

Because of their focus on riding and caring for their mounts and working in 
conjunction with them, the Heroic Effort of other Barbarians is unknown to 
them.  In addition, though they are knowledgeable in the Survival proficiency in 
their native terrain, they do not have the holistic and wide-ranging Survival Skills 
of other Barbarians.

It should be noted that Plains Nomads are typically more primitive than Steppe or 
Desert Nomads, and such Nomads generally use weapons of wood, stone, or 
bone.  Steppe and Desert Nomads possess metalworking skills, however, and use 
weapons made of metal.  Even Plains Nomads, however, have no reservation 
about using metal weapons when they can get them; they simply do not possess 
such items as part of their native technology.

Nomads are used to traveling the wide open spaces of the world, and they 
therefore become rather claustrophobic if forced to spend large amounts of time 
indoors (other than in the small tents they dwell in) or underground.  Nomads 
who are forced to remain in such conditions for more than an hour suffer a -1 
penalty to attack rolls, saving throws, and ability or proficiency checks due to 
their discomfort and restlessness.  For every day after the first that they are 
forced to remain indoors or underground, these penalties increase by one (to a 
maximum of -10).

Bonus Proficiencies:  Survival (Desert or Plains)
Preferred Proficiencies:  Acute Hearing, Alertness, Awareness, Bowyer/Fletcher, 
Chanting, Dancing, Direction Sense, Display Weapon Prowess, Distance Sense, 
Endurance, Excellent Vision, Foraging, Hunting, Jumping, Leatherworking, 
Navigation, Night Vision, Running, Set Snares, Sixth Sense, Tracking, 
Veterinary Healing
Forbidden Proficiencies:  All Aquatic, Urban, or Rural proficiencies (These may 
be gained after the character is created)