Wild Women

Celtic Age Roleplaying the Myths, Heroes and Monsters of the Celts

Closely tied to the Druidic religion is the warrior society known simply as the “Wild Women.” These are female warriors who have sworn to defend the sacred oak groves and the druids themselves at the cost of their own lives if necessary. Candidates must show not only a devotion to the faith, but a skill with arms.

The wild women train constantly, but, since their main function is to guard selected sites or people, they concentrate on individual skills rather than fighting as a unit. The druids were known to commit them to battle, particularly against the Romans. Because the druids were one of the focal points of the anti-Roman movement, they cannot be seen holding back what little military force they possess, and so the Wild Women are often in the forefront of attacks on Rome.

A few of these devout soldiers fought in Gaul against Caesar and others against Emperor Claudius, but the largest commitment of them appears to have been in defense of the Druidic groves on Anglesey. Candidates are trained by female masters at Anglesey and then assigned to posts in Britannia. Rarely, they are sent to Gaul to guard sites or druid, but almost all recruits are British and they remain in the islands.

Like other warrior societies, a Wild Woman abandons her tribe and family when she takes the oath. She does not forswear sex, but does renounce marriage. Children she might bear are fostered out, but a Wild Woman who becomes pregnant will lose great status (since she is unable to perform her duties for some time, and this is a drain on the whole society).

The name of the society comes from the performance of these women in action: they apparently have no fear (using mental exercises, and psychotropic drugs, to help build a frenzy before action). They attack with no regard for personal safety, flinging themselves on their enemies with reckless abandon. Their initial charge is hard to stand, but if they do not overwhelm their opponents quickly they usually suffer heavy casualties. While their oath says nothing about refusal to retreat, their wild style of fighting usually means they either win or die.

A Wild Woman does swear to never be taken captive and will stab herself to death before surrendering. Despite their savagery in battle, they are well-educated and are expected to be familiar with Druidic methods and the great epic poetry of the Celts.

Wild Women dress all in black, to symbolize the feminine ties to the moon. They prefer the spear and Dagger as their weapons of choice. Unlike many male warriors, they have no problem wearing armor since they have sworn not to seek personal glory. They usually choose to don a mail shirt under
their black tunics. Their oaths compel them to obey the druids in all things, and, while this usually consists of guard duty, they also have been known to carry out special missions.

Most Wild Women are young. It is acceptable to retire from the society, and those who do are greatly honored for their service to the Druidic religion. They will be well cared-for, as they are considered clients of the druids and thus have great status. Most who retire do so while still young enough to
marry and raise a family.

Roleplaying

These legendary warriors serve the druid as bodyguards, an organized fighting force, and special agents. They swear to give their lives to their masters and to never be taken alive. Thus, they will do anything the druid command them to do – no matter how suicidal and they will stab themselves to death rather than be captured.

Wild Women are savage in battle. They work themselves into a frenzy and then attack with reckless abandon, showing no mercy to their opponents. While this sometimes leaves them open to counterattack, fighting one of these women is not a job any sane warrior should relish.

In addition to their devotion to the druid and their savagery in battle, Wild Women are expected to be well-educated. They must understand the basics of Druidism and be knowledgeable of the poetry of their people. In all, they are a very wellrounded class of warriors.

Requirements: Female,
Base Attack Bonus +3, Forsake Clan (see below).
Hit Die: d12
Skill Points per Level: 4 + Intelligence Modifier
Class Skills: Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nature), Wilderness Lore
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Wild Women are proficient with all spears, Light and Medium Armor, and Shields.

Special Restriction Forsake Clan: Wild Women must forswear their tribal and familial ties while they serve. Until they quit the band, their loyalty must be solely to the druid and to their current master. This vow takes the form of a Lesser Geis (levels 1-4) and (Major Geis
Levels 5-10).

Assuming she survives, such breaking of faith usually results in the expulsion of the character from the band.

Wild Women Class Features	Druid Spells per Day
Level	Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Class Features	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1	+1	+2	+0	+2	Fearless, Forsake Clan	0	–	–	–
2	+2	+3	+0	+3	Rage 1/Day	1	–	–	–
3	+3	+3	+1	+3	Mad Rush	2	0	–	–
4	+4	+4	+1	+4	Bonus Feat	3	1	–	–
5	+5	+4	+1	+4	Forsake Clan	3	2	0	–
6	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5	Rage 2/Day	3	3	1	–
7	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Song of Courage	3	3	2	0
8	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Bonus Feat	3	3	3	1
9	+9/+4	+6	+3	+6	Rage 3/Day	3	3	3	2
10	+10/+5	+7	+3	+7		3	3	3	3

Class Features:

Fearless (Ex): Wild Women are absolutely fearless. They cannot be affected by Fear spells or Fear effects of any sort.

Rage (Ex): Wild Women enter a battle rage that makes them stronger, tougher, and more dangerous, but which, unfortunately also leaves them more open to attack. When the character enters this state of mind, she gains a +4 Bonus to her Strength, +4 to her Constitution, and a +2 Morale Bonus to any Will Saves she has to make. However, she suffers a -2 Circumstance Penalty to her Armor Class. The increase in Constitution grants the Wild Woman an additional 2 Hit Points per Level, but they are lost when she exits the Rage.

When Enraged, a Wild Woman cannot use any Skills or abilities that require Concentration or patience. She’s not really thinking about that. The only thing that matters is killing her enemies.

The Rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to the Wild Woman’s (newly improved) Constitution Modifier +3. Afterwards, she is Fatigued. The number of times per day she can do this is a function of her Class Level.

Mad Rush (Ex): This is the ability of the Wild Woman to charge headlong into combat and wreak devastating havoc on her opponents in the initial sortie. To use this ability, the character must be at least 5 feet away from her target and use a Charge Action. Every character in the area into which she charges must make a Will Save at DC 10 + the Wild Woman’s Charisma Bonus + her Class Level. If it is successful, the opponent may make an Attack of Opportunity against her. Otherwise, they stand there, struck dumb with horror as she crashes into their ranks. The Wild Woman gets a +4 Circumstance Bonus to her initial attack roll on the target and a +2 Bonus for the next two rounds owing to the chaos her attack caused. She also receives a +2 Circumstance Bonus to her damage for the first three rounds of her attack.

Song of Courage (Sp): By telling the tale of one her comrades’ great adventures, the Wild Woman can inspire the rest of the troop. All characters who hear the tale gain a +1 Bonus to Attack and Damage rolls.