Planar Savage

The Quintessential  Barbarian

Author Robert Schwalb

Series Quintessential Series

Publisher Mongoose  Publishing

Publish date 2003

Beyond the lands of mortal ken is an infinite cosmos holding beings both pure and foul, gods and demons and vistas unreachable by ordinary means. While it is true wizards frequently treat with such beings in their native planes and it is also true that clerics pay homage to their gods in their distant halls of immortality, the lowly barbarian  usually has little opportunity to see these realms on his own. Perhaps the key word here is ‘usually’, for the planar savage is the exception. Either through design or accident, this planar savage stumbled through the veil separating the world of matter and into the realms of the ethereal and astral or even somewhere more dangerous. Regardless of the where, if the planar savage survives, he gains a sense of the larger world. His interest, now piqued, leads him to great minds and further expeditions to these realms. Over time, he grows so accustomed to these strange worlds, mortal and mundane ties no longer bind him into one place or realm.

Planar savage Non-Player Characters are often members of plane-travelling adventuring groups. No overarching alignment is necessary for this barbarian as motives for planar travel vary wildly. Planar savages are of many different races, several native to the planes themselves, who just so happened to stumble into the world of mortals. In any event, planar savages may be legions of astral warriors, or a philosophical barbarian seeking the vaunted battlefields of Valhalla.

Hit Die: d12

Requirements

To qualify to become a planar savage, a character must fulfil all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +12
Skills: Knowledge (planes) 7 ranks and Survival 15 ranks
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus (exotic weapon)
Special: Must have spent at least a week on another plane of existence and survived

Class Skills

The planar savage’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Strength), Jump (Strength), Knowledge (planes) (Intelligence), Listen (Wisdom), Spot (Wisdom) and Survival (Wisdom).
Skill points at each level: 2 + Intelligence modifier.

Planar Savage
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Elemental Resistance
2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Cosmically Attuned
3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Elemental Resistance
4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Slip-step
5	+5	+4	+1	+1	Dimensional Barrier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the planar savage prestige class.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The planar savage gains no new proficiency in arms or armour. Note that armour check penalties for armour heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket and Tumble.

Elemental Resistance (Ex): Upon earning the first level in planar savage, the character gains a resistance to one type of energy source. These types include cold, electricity, fire and sonic. The player must choose one of the aforementioned types. Once chosen, the planar savage gains energy resistance 10 against the chosen energy source. At 3rd level, the planar savage may choose a second energy source to which he is resistant.

Cosmically Attuned (Su): Having dwelled in the infinite planes of existence, the planar savage is able to recognise the ripples in the currents of reality suggesting when something is amiss. For game purposes, the planar savage’s vision extends into the ethereal, thus allowing him to identify any threats originating from there.

In addition, if the planar savage did not already have Darkvision or Low-Light Vision, he now gains both. His range with Darkvision is 60 feet.

Slip-Step (Sp): The planar savage has developed a technique to exploit gateways to allow him to engage foes more quickly. For a number of times per day equal to the planar savage’s Dexterity modifier, he may dimension door as a sorcerer equal to the planar savage’s total class levels.

Dimensional Barrier (Sp): The planar savage aura of control extends around him, preventing surprises from nefarious enemies. Extradimensional travel into an area within 60 feet of the planar savage is barred. Forms of movement affected are the same as those affected by a dimensional anchor. Once within the area of the Dimensional Barrier, extradimensional travel is possible, but only out of the area of the planar savage’s effect. For example, Zankar, a planar savage, explores an ancient temple devoted to a fallen evil deity. As he explores the altar in search of treasure and clues to his larger quest, he stumbles over a glyph normally gating a balor into the room on the Spot of the magical scribbling. The dimensional barrier effect prevents the demon from appearing within 60 feet of the stalwart barbarian and so the gate effect fails.