WARRIOR-RANGER KIT

Giant Killer

Description:  The Giant Killer is a skilled combatant, often from humble 
beginnings, who has been trained for the specific purpose of killing giants.  He 
or she has mastered combat techniques designed to fell giants and has become an 
expert in their behavior and habits as well as their combat tactics.  Giant 
Killers have keen minds and strong bodies, as well as often unshakable egos.  
Most Giant Killers have reputations that precede them, often due to their own 
shameless self-promotion, boasting of their latest triumphs to anyone who will 
listen.  Reactions among others vary; for every person who reveres a Giant 
Killer as a hero, another dismisses him or her as an arrogant blowhard.  When 
giants plague a community, though, everyone welcomes a Giant Killer with open 
arms.  The mere promise of an encounter with a giant is often reason enough for 
a Giant Killer to accept an adventure.  For the most part a Giant Killer leaves 
party decision-making to others, because while in principle he or she may share 
the party's fervor for whatever the expedition at hand may be, he or she is 
usually more concerned with finding some giants to battle.  They often become 
impatient and even surly if the party goes for too long a time without meeting 
one!  Giant Killers relish violent encounters of all kinds, if only to exercise 
their skills in combat, but they really come into their own when fighting giants 
and their kin, and it is a wise party that will follow the Giant Killer's lead 
in such situations.

Giant Killers can be of any good alignment and generally follow the normal 
allowed races for Rangers, though it is also possible for dwarves to become 
Giant Killers.  In addition, Giant Killers must have scores of at least 15 in 
both Strength and Dexterity.

Weapon Proficiencies:  Because Giant Killers must face tall adversaries and 
creatures against whom it is sometimes difficult to close into melee, their 
initial training always includes learning the use of one missile fire device and 
one hurled weapon.  Because of their usefulness against large foes, a Giant 
Killer must also begin play with proficiency in one polearm (which can include 
lance or spear) and one other two-handed weapon (including weapons that do 
alternate damage when used one-handed or two handed, such as a spear or bastard 
sword).

As they tend to be less concerned with stealth than other Rangers, Giant Killers 
often wear heavy armor, though they only rarely use shields.

Special Benefits:  Because they make regular use of two-handed weapons, a Giant 
Killer can specialize in such a weapon at the normal cost of one slot per level 
of specialization, rather than the double cost normal for Rangers who specialize 
in a weapon other than the bow or crossbow.  Not surprisingly, most of a Giant 
Killer's class abilities are either wholly concerned with giants or are focused 
in their application toward giants:

Dodge Giants:  Giant Killers have an unusual ability to evade giantish attacks.  
If a giant has initiative in a round and hits the Giant Killer, he or she may 
attempt a save vs. death magic (applying only Dexterity and any agility, 
quickness, or luck-related adjustments) to avoid the blow, and each such dodge 
will cause the Giant Killer to lose one attack that round.  If he or she has no 
attacks remaining in the round, the blow causes only half damage if a successful 
save is made.  If the Giant Killer has initiative, he or she can forego any 
attacks and Dodge Giants instead, applying a -2 penalty to attack rolls and 
allowing a saving throw as above versus all giant attacks against him or her 
that round, plus being able use his or her normal attack opportunities to dodge 
individual giant attacks, as described above.

This ability can also be used to dodge the attacks of giant-kin such as ogres, 
ettins, trolls, and the like, but the saving throw vs. such attacks is made at -
4, and dodging for a full round applies only a -1 penalty to attack rolls.

Giant Lore:  Giants are experts in giantish history, customs, behavior, 
language, and tactics.  If a Giant Killer discovers a footprint, lair, campsite, 
or any other physical evidence of a giant, a successful Wisdom check (with a +1 
bonus for every three levels of experience, rounded up) enables him or her to 
learn some general information about the giants in question.  Such information 
may include the giant's type, approximate size and age, and any companions.  He 
or she may also learn how recently the giant was in the area and in what 
direction it traveled.  A Giant Killer has a similar chance to identify any 
giant or giant-kin he or she sees (though creatures other than true giants 
impose a -4 penalty to this roll), learning all special strengths and weaknesses 
of their giant subtype.  A Giant Killer can also use this ability to pick out 
unusual individual giants, such as chieftans or shamans, when such might be 
indistinguishable to other characters.  A check against Giant Lore can be used 
in lieu of the Etiquette proficiency when dealing with giants, and if this roll 
is made a Giant Killer is able to impress, intimidate, or earn the grudging and 
cautious respect of giants he or she encounters, halving their usual reaction 
penalty with giants (see Special Hindrances).  Finally, at 3rd level and every 
three levels thereafter a Giant Killer gains a free non-weapon proficiency slot 
to use in learning any giantish language.  When spending other non-weapon 
proficiency slots to learn the languages of giants or giant-kin, they cost only 
half the normal number of proficiency slots.

Giant Slaying:  Giant Killers gain a variety of special combat bonuses when 
fighting giants and their kin, inflicting one additional point of damage per 
level of experience on any successful hit against a giant in melee combat (e.g., 
a 7th level Giant Killer would gain a +7 damage bonus).  When using missile 
weapons against a giant, a Giant Killer gains only half this bonus (rounding 
down) with each successful missile attack.  In addition, giants of all types 
suffer a -1 penalty to their rolls to hit when attacking a Giant Killer for 
every three levels of experience (rounding up).

A Giant Killer can also attempt a called shot against a giant or giant-kin at 
only half the normal penalty.  A Giant Killer also learns to make several 
special types of 'called shots' versus giants:

 - A successful called shot against a giant's arm will cause it to drop anything 
   held or carried.  A second called shot against the same arm will render it 
   useless for 1d6 days or until the wound has been healed. 
 - A called shot can also be made against a giant's leg, causing the giant to 
   suffer a MV penalty of 3 for 1d6 rounds.  If a second called shot is made 
   against that leg, it has been damaged sufficiently to slow the giant to half 
   speed for 1d6 days or until the wound has been healed, and it also suffers a 
   +2 AC penalty due to its inability to move or dodge effectively.  If both 
   legs are incapacitated in this way, a giant can be effectively immobilized 
   and able to be attacked as if prone.
 - A called shot can be used to avoid a giant's armor and shield by firing at an 
   area that has no armor protection (usually the head or face).
 - A Giant Killer can attempt a special called shot with no penalty to hit in 
   order to 'distract' a giant, causing it to lose a combat action as long as 
   the Giant Killer's shot comes prior to the giant's action for the round.  If 
   not, the shot is simply resolved as a normal damaging blow.

Note that a Giant Killer must be able to reach the portion of the giant in 
question with a weapon in order to attempt a called shot, and thus these are 
usually attempted with missile weapons rather than melee weapons (save for shots 
at the legs, obviously, a favorite of dwarven Giant Killers for obvious 
reasons).

Giant Slaying bonuses apply versus all forms of giant-kin, including ogres, ogre 
magi, trolls, and the like, but the damage bonus is halved (rounding down) and 
the attack roll penalty for such creatures against the Giant Killer is only -2.

Infuriate:  Giant Killers can attempt to Infuriate one or more giants and drive 
them into making careless attacks.  To do this, the Giant Killer must spend two 
rounds not attacking (though he or she may Dodge Giants), darting between the 
giants' legs, waving his or her hands, and shouting insults in the giants' 
native tongue (if the native language is not known, this ability can still be 
used but allows a +4 bonus to the saving throw).  After two rounds of such 
activity, all giants within 10 yards per level must save vs. spell.  If failed, 
the giant becomes enraged for the next 2d6 rounds, charging into melee combat 
and directing all attacks against the Giant Killer (if possible) in preference 
to other targets but suffering an additional -4 penalty to its attack rolls and 
a -2 penalty to its Armor Class.

Missile Mastery:  As a standard Ranger, but a Giant Killer suffers a -4 penalty 
when attempting to dodge missiles other than those launched by giants or giant-
kin.

Primary Terrain:  As a standard Ranger.

Priestly Powers:  As a standard Ranger, save that because Giant Killers focus 
more on combat than spellcasting, and they gain spellcasting ability as if they 
were four levels below their actual level.  In addition, Giant Killers who gain 
spellcasting abilities do not gain access to the Animal or Plant spheres, though 
they do gain access to the Combat sphere.

Roguish Repertoire:  Giant Killers are much less concerned about stealth than 
other Rangers, and they do not gain the Escape Bonds, Hide in Shadows, or Move 
Silently abilities that other Rangers do.  They do gain the Detect Noise and 
Climb Walls abilities as normal, however.  A Giant Killer's surprise bonuses 
apply only to encounters with giants and giant-kin.

Superior Conditioning:  As a standard Ranger.

Tracking:  As a standard Ranger, save that a Giant Killer has only half the 
normal chance to track any creature that is not a giant or giant-kin.  
Information gained is similarly as if the Giant Killer was only half his or her 
actual level (rounding up).

Special Hindrances:  Due to their extreme concentration on the study of giants, 
Giant Killers suffer numerous disadvantages when using their standard Ranger 
abilities, and these are described above.  In addition, because they focus so 
intently on their mission of smiting giants rather than tending to natural 
animals, they do not gain the Animal Empathy ability of standard Rangers, nor do 
they gain the Pathfinding skill that enables Rangers to lead others rapidly 
through difficult terrain.  They welcome the challenge that such terrain 
represents, and as extreme loners they fail to see the point in bringing others 
into the path of danger along with them.  A Giant Killer also does not gain the 
ability to select a Species Enemy at each level, since of course his or her 
training and hatred are focused so directly at giants and their relatives.  
Giant Killers also spend so much time learning about giants during their 
training to begin their career that they start with only one non-weapon 
proficiency slot, though they gain bonus slots as normal for high Intelligence 
and gain slots normally thereafter.

In addition to these limitations, Giant Killers are sometimes singled out for 
harassment because of their reputations.  They may be challenged to duels by 
others seeking to prove their toughness, and they may be sought out by giants in 
revenge for slaying of their comrades or relatives.  In all encounters with 
giants of any alignment, a Giant Killer will suffer at least a -4 reaction 
penalty (though successful use of Giant Lore can reduce this by half).

Bonus Proficiencies:  Survival (home terrain), Tracking
Preferred Proficiencies:  Armor Optimization, Artillerist, Bowyer/Fletcher, 
Cobbler, Cooking, Endurance, Hunting, Lightning Reflexes, Mountaineering, 
Pottery, Riding/Land-Based, Running, Seamstress/Tailor, Survival, Swimming, 
Weaponsmithing