Rider Of The Golden Horde

In the endless steppes of the east, there dwells a race of barbarian who are masters of Mounted Combat.

Quintessential Barbarian II

Author Patrick Younts

Series Quintessential Series

Publisher Mongoose Publishing

Publish date 2004

These barbarian, the warriors of the golden horde, hold within their souls the spirits of the mighty chargers who thunder across the steppes. The barbarian of this tribe love the freedom that comes from living a nomadic life, free of the chains of permanent homes and obligations. They are ferocious warriors and vivacious lovers of the open plains.

The rider of the Golden Horde is the epitome of the mounted warrior, born to the saddle and skilled in the use of the bow. He is a great war leader and plunderer, swooping down on unsuspecting kingdoms, claiming their treasures and their grains as his own and leaving the survivors weeping in the ashes. Freedom, the feeling of this wind in his hair and the thrill of combat, these are all that the rider of the Golden Horde desires.

The rider of the golden horde is the ideal prestige class for those Players who wish their barbarian to recall the ferocious Mongol warriors. Inspired by Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun, the members of this prestige class are ferocious in battle and skilled leaders of men. Rather than axes and swords, their primary weapons are massive composite bows built with their rage enhanced Strength in mind.

Hit Die: d12.

Requirements

In order to qualify for the rider of the golden horde prestige class, the character must meet or exceed all the following requirements.
Base Attack Bonus: +11.
Skills: Ride 13 ranks, Survival 7 ranks.
Feats: Animal Soul, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat.
Alignment: Any chaotic.
Special: Must possess the ability to rage.

Class Skills

The rider of the golden horde’s class skills (and the relevant abilities) are: Balance (Dexterity), Craft (Intelligence), Handle Animal (Charisma), Intimidate (Charisma), Jump (Strength), Ride (Dexterity), Spot (Wisdom), Survival (Wisdom) and Tumble (Dexterity).
Skill Points: 4 + Intelligence bonus per level.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the rider of the golden horde.

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: The rider of the golden horde is proficient with all simple and all martial weapons and is proficient with light and medium armour and with all shields, save the tower. Remember that a rider of the golden horde loses his fast movement when wearing medium armour or carrying a medium or heavy load.

Horse Lord: The rider of the golden horde treats his steed as he would a brother, for it is his greatest weapon and his greatest ally. When he gains his 1st level in this prestige class, the rider of the golden horde gains an altered version of the Horse Lord feat.

The rider gains a light or heavy warhorse as normal but its animal companion abilities are calculated as a druid’s animal companion’s are, using the character’s rider of the golden horde and barbarian class levels combined to determine its advancement.

If the rider has any levels in the ranger or druid classes, then these are added as well. If the rider of the golden horde already possesses a companion mount, whether because of druid levels, ranger levels or because he selected the Horse Lord feat, then his companion mount gains a bonus of two hit dice but otherwise advances as above.

If the rider of the golden horde’s mount is killed, then he can attract another. If he does so, then that new mount gains all the benefits of this class level one month after it is tamed by the rider.

Born To Ride: The rider of the golden horde is intimately familiar with every aspect of Mounted Combat and horsecraft. Beginning at 1st level, he gains a bonus to his Ride skill equal to his class level.

Greater Mounted Archery: The rider of the golden horde is such a skilled mounted warrior that he can fire his arrows with deadly accuracy even while his mount is moving at full speed. At 2nd level, the rider of the golden horde reduces his penalties to attack rolls while mounted by -2, which stacks with the benefits of the Mounted Archery feat. This means that the rider of the golden horde suffers no penalties to attack rolls while his mount is taking a double move and only a -2 penalty when his mount is running. The benefits of this ability apply only when the rider of the golden horde is using a composite longbow.

Leadership: The rider of the Golden Horde is a living legend, a warrior who all members of his tribe wish to follow, in the hopes that they can share a portion of his greatness.

At 3rd level, the rider of the Golden Horde gains the Leadership feat for free, even if he does not meet the normal requirements for the feat.

Greater Rage: Upon reaching 4th level, the rider of the golden horde gains the greater rage ability, just as a barbarian does. This increases his Strength and Constitution bonus to +6 each when he enters a barbarian rage.

Rage: At 5th level, the rider of the golden horde gains the ability to rage one additional time each day.

Spur Mount (Ex): The rider of the golden horde is a master of riding, a man born to the saddle. Beginning at 6th level, the rider of the golden horde’s fast movement ability applies to his mount, increasing the base speed of his horse’s movement by 10 feet per round. This bonus applies only while the mount is lightly encumbered. Beginning at 10th level, the rider of the golden horde’s mount gains the benefits of this ability while wearing medium armour, or while carrying a medium load.

Weapon Specialisation: The rider of the golden horde is a deadly warrior with his bow, with a steady aim and effortless accuracy that is the envy of all. At 7th level, the rider of the Golden Horde gains the Weapon Specialisation feat for his composite longbow. If he already has the Weapon
Specialisation feat and has applied it to his composite longbow, then he gains the Greater Weapon Specialisation feat, even if he does not have the Greater Weapon Focus feat.

Thunder Across the Steppes (Ex): The rider of the golden horde’s bow is so powerful and his arms so steady that even a glancing blow from one of his arrows can pierce armour and bone with ease. Beginning at 8th level the rider of the golden horde can substitute his Strength bonus for his Dexterity bonus when making ranged attacks with his composite longbow. The benefits of this ability apply only while the rider of the golden horde is raging.

Tireless Rage: At 9th level and higher, the rider of the golden horde no longer becomes fatigued at the end of his rage.

Raging Steed: The rider of the golden horde and his mount think, act and fight as one. At 10th level, the rider of the golden horde’s animal companion mount enters a rage when the rider of the golden horde does. The mount’s rage begins and ends in conjunction with the rider of the golden horde’s and only continues so long as the rider remains mounted. If the rider dismounts or is knocked from his horse then the mount is no longer considered raging and does not regain the benefits if the rider remounts while still under the effects of rage.

Rider of the Golden Horde
Level	BAB	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Horse Lord, born to ride
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Greater Mounted Archery
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Leadership
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Greater rage
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Rage
6th	+6	+5	+5	+2	Spur mount
7th	+7	+5	+5	+2	Weapon Specialisation
8th	+8	+6	+6	+2	Thunder across the steppes
9th	+9	+6	+6	+3	Tireless rage
10th	+10	+7	+7	+3	Raging steed

The Epic Rider of the Golden Horde

Hit Die: d12.
Skill Points Per Level: 4 + Intelligence bonus.
Bonus Feats: The rider of the golden horde gains a new feat every three levels.
Barbarian Rage: The rider of the golden horde gains an additional rage use every four class levels.
Greater Mounted Archery: Upon gaining his 5th level in this class, the rider no longer suffers a penalty to ranged attacks made with his bow while mounted, even while his mount is running.