NeoExodus Classes of NeoExodus - Caneus High Guard.pdf - NeoExodus - sororita

classes of NeoExodus:

LPJ9709

caneus

High Guard

Written By Owen K.C. Stephens

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook, Third Edition, published by

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product utilizes updated material from the v.3.5 revision.

classes of NeoExodus: Caneus High Guard

The Caneus High Guards are among the world of

Exodus’ craftiest fighters, concentrating on defen-

sive maneuvers combined with a style of fighting

that induces their opponents to defeat themselves.

The High Guard are the personal defenders of the

Queen of the Empire, trained rigorously to defend her

person and resist all efforts to be duped or magically

enchanted. A single member of the High Guard can be

the lynchpin of an elite unit, a whole legion of them

can overcome any army in the known world.

lose much of the conviction that makes them such

formidable foes.

Combat

While the abilities of the High Guard are focused on

detecting danger and protecting a nearby creature

( generally a noble the High Guard legionnaire is

guarding ), these abilities also make the High Guard

one of the most dangerous fighting forces in the World

of Exodus. A line of High Guard legionnaires can

defend one another, preventing foes from flaking or

getting past them and taking a wounds for one another

to ensure all legionnaires are wounded before a single

of the number falls, making it difficult to whittle down

their numbers. Foes are often demoralized during a

fight with the High Guard, and surprised when the

High Guard fights more viciously as its members

approach death.

The primary duties of the High Guard, however, are

to protect the lives and interests of those nobles the

Queen has commanded them to protect. A minor

member of royalty or a favored functionary might

be assigned a single High Guard, while a regional

Imperial governor or influential noble may be

assigned as many as a dozen. Of course since the

loyalty of the High Guard is first and foremost to the

Queen of the empire, having them nearby important

officals also allows her to keep an eye on those who

might wish to betray her. A legionnaire of the High

Guard is a warrior, but also a tactician, spy, and confi-

dant. Since the High Guard was established, only one

royal of the Caneus Empire has been assassinated

while under the High Guard’s protection.

training

The training required to become a member of the

High Guard takes a minimum of two months, and

is normally undertaken in the coldest months in the

lands of Nas to minimize disruption to military opera-

tions. This training has physical, mental and spiritual

components. The physical training consists of tests,

exercises and intense sparing to instill the fighting

techniques unique to the High Guard. Similarly the

mental training is largely introduction to spycraft

– ways to ferret out an assassin or traitor and alertness

exercises.

High Guard legionnaires make excellent bodyguards

and soldiers, but their abilities can also be turned

toward shadier pursuits, and many retired High Guard

work as smugglers and spies in service to the Empire.

The High Guards aren’t ashamed of such illicit activi-

ties, although they don’t go to any extremes to shout

them to the world. Similar to underground spies, older

High Guards are the shadows in the court, gathering

information and protecting Caneus’ interests through

whatever means are necessary. If something is needed,

the High Guards can find it. If there’s a shipment that

must get through, there’s a High Guard willing to take

it there. Let courtiers and diplomats use their skills

to hide any political repercussions; the Caneus High

Guards are willing to do what must be done, for the

sake of the Empire.

The spiritual training is more secretive, and more

brutal. The trainee is professionally and painfully

broken, all traces of belief, faith, and self-worth

removed by means that would be considered torture if

the trainee hadn’t volunteered. As the trainee’s person-

ality is broken down he is freed of distractions, and

the ability to learn other skills accelerates. However,

the main function of this cult-like reprogramming of

the mind is to replace all precious beliefs with the

thought that Caneus in general, and the Queen in

particular, are important and deserve to be served. By

the time the trainee is done his loyalty to Queen and

country is absolute and unwavering, and much of the

High Guard’s abilities are drawn from this extreme

devotion.

While most characters in the Caneus High Guard

school are fighters, a few rogues also train in the

school and adopt the High Guard prestige class.

Caneus High Guards, as the name suggests, are most

commonly found serving as bodyguards to Caneus

nobles and other important members of the Empire’s

society. As long as they are members of the High

Guard, they must obey orders given directly from

the Queen. Those that retire are given more latitude,

though they must remain loyal to their homeland or

Requirements

To qualify to become a Caneus High Guard, a char-

acter must fulfill all the following criteria.

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classes of NeoExodus: Caneus High Guard

caneus high guard

Base

Attack Fort Ref Will

Level Bonus Save Save Save Special

1 +1 +2 +0 +2 Danger sense, Dedicated +1

2 +2 +3 +1 +3 Piercing Gaze

3 +3 +3 +1 +3 Take the Blow

4 +4 +4 +1 +4 Dedicated +2, Tenacity

5 +5 +4 +2 +4 Hold the Line

6 +6 +5 +2 +5 Evasive Push

7 +7 +5 +2 +5 Dedicated +3, Control Zone

8 +8 +6 +3 +6 Uncanny Dodge

9 +9 +6 +3 +6 Hostile Spirit

10 +10 +7 +3 +7 Dedicated +4, Fight On

Alignment: Any lawful

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Iron Will

Skills: Listen +4, Sense Motive +4

Special: Must be trained by senior High Guard

member. Must remain loyal to the Queen of the

Empire. Failure to remain loyal means a character no

longer qualifies for this class, and loses its special

benefits.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Caneus High Guards are proficient with all simple and

martial weapons and with all armor and shields.

Danger Sense - Ex

At 1st level a High Guard legionnaire gains a preter-

natural ability to detect danger. Any time there is a

surprise round, you may make a DC 15 Sense Motive

check to act in the surprise round, even if you failed

the Listen or Spot check needed to be aware of the

threat. If you make a DC 20 check, you have a basic

idea of what threat initiated the surprise round.

Class Information

The following information pertains to the Caneus

High Guard prestige class.

Dedicated - Ex

The extreme dedication of a Caneus High Guard

member grants bonuses to alertness, quick action,

pressuring others to obey you and resisting attempts

at coercion. You gain a +1 morale bonus to all Listen

and Spot skill checks, as well as to initiative checks

and Will saves against mind-affecting spells. You also

add this to the number of attacks of opportunity you

may take in a round.

Hit Dice

A Caneus High Guard member gains 1d10 plus consti-

tution modifier hit points per level.

Class Skills

The Caneus High Guard’s class skills ( and the key

ability for each skill ) are Bluff ( Cha ), Climb ( Str ),

Craft ( Int ), Diplomacy ( Cha ), Disguise ( Cha ), Forgery

( Int ), Gather Information ( Cha ), Hide ( Dex ), Jump

( Str ), Intimidate ( Cha ), Knowledge ( nobility &

royalty ) ( Int ), Listen ( Wis ), Move Silently ( Dex ), Ride

( Dex ), Search ( Int ), Sense Motive ( Wis ), and Spot

( Wis ).

This bonus increases to +2 at 4th level, +3 at 7th

level, and +4 at 10th level.

Piercing Gaze - Ex

At 2nd level a High Guard member learns to analyze

everything as a threat, be in a dark corridor, a

friendly-sounding barkeep or a locked door. This

piercing gaze cuts through many guises and subtleties,

and often unnerves those examined under it.

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Caneus

High Guard.

You may make a Spot check in place of any

Intimidate, Search or Sense Motive check. Most High

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classes of NeoExodus: Caneus High Guard

Guard members buy maximum ranks of spot for this

reason.

Control Zone - Ex

At 7th level a High Guard member can control an area

in battle with such skill it is extremely difficult for

anyone to pass through it without provoking an attack

of opportunity, even if they normally do not provoke

when moving.

Take the Blow - Ex

At 3rd level a High Guard member may attempt to

take an attack aimed at any one target in an adjacent

square. This requires a Reflex save ( DC 15 ) and

counts as one of your attacks of opportunity for the

round. On a successful check you are the target of this

attack rather than its original victim. An attack roll

is still made, but you are not allowed your Dexterity

bonus against this attack.

Any time a target leaves a space you threaten, you

have a chance of taking an attack of opportunity

against them. If they try to avoid your Attack of

Opportunity by using the Tumble skill, you get an

attack but your attack roll must exceed both the

target’s AC and its Tumble check. If the target has

a special ability or uses a maneuver that allows it to

not provoke an Attack of Opportunity from leaving

a space you threaten ( such as Spring Attack or with -

draw ), you make a Reflex save opposed by your

target’s Reflex save. If you win the opposed check,

you may make an Attack of Opportunity. If your

foe wins the opposed check, you are not allowed

an Attack of Opportunity, but lose one Attack of

Opportunity for the round as if you had taken one.

If you are allowed multiple attacks of opportunity a

round, you may use this ability multiple times. Each

attempt uses one of your attacks of opportunity.

Tenacity - Ex

At 4th level a High Guard legionnaire becomes

able to fight with renewed vigor when others would

collapse. If you have 25% of fewer of your total hit

points remaining, you gain a +2 morale bonus to all

attack and weapon damage rolls. Additionally, you are

considered disabled ( but conscious ) from 0 hit points

to a number of negative hit points equal to half your

High Guard class level. You also add you High Guard

class level to the number of negative hit points you

may reach before being dead.

Uncanny Dodge - Ex

At 8th level, a High Guard member can move to avoid

attacks he can’t perceive. You retain you Dexterity

bonus to Armor Class ( if any ) even if you are caught

flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However,

you still lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class if

immobilized. If you already have uncanny dodge from

a different class, you automatically gains improved

uncanny dodge instead.

Hold the Line - Ex

At 5th level a High Guard member can prevent foes

from moving past him. Whenever you make an

attack of opportunity against an opponent, you make

a special grapple check. You receive a bonus to this

check equal to your High Guard class levels ( though

this bonus does not apply to any other grapple check ).

If you win the grapple check, the foe must stop move-

ment in the space he provoked the attack of opportu-

nity ( and not move again until his next round ). If the

foe wins, it may continue to move normally. In neither

case are either you or the foe actually ever grappled.

Hostile Spirit - Ex

At 9th level a High Guard is so hardened against

mind-affecting magics, it can actually damage spell-

casters to attempt to affect him. His spirit instinctively

hurls such magic back at the creature that cast it in the

form of a simple mental bolt of pain.

If you make a saving throw against a mind-affecting

spell or ability, the creature that targeted you must

make a Will save ( DC 10 + your High Guard class

level + your Wisdom modifier ). On a failed save, that

counts as their full-round action, that creature takes

2d6 hit points of damage.

Evasive Push - Ex

At 6th level a High Guard member gains the ability

to push any one character in an adjacent square out of

an area affect attack. If an attack allows a Reflex save,

and you successfully make yours, you may chose to

fail your save and push someone in an adjacent space

into a safe area. ( The character in the adjacent space

doesn’t actually move to a different space, you find a

safe position within their space, or shield them from

the attack with your body. ) This has the effect of the

person pushed making their save.

Fight On - Ex

By 10th level, even death may not be enough to stop a

High Guard from his sworn duty.

When performing an act you have been ordered to

undertake ( usually to keep an individual safe ), you

can keep fighting after you reach negative hit points.

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classes of NeoExodus: Caneus High Guard

You can fight, taking full actions and not counting

as disabled, until you reach a number of negative hp

equal to your Constitution score ( not modifier ) plus

your Wisdom score (not modifier). You do not need to

make a check to see if you have stabilized, and do not

lose 1 hp for taking strenuous actions.

Prerequisites: Combat Expertise, Shield proficiency

Benefits: When you use Combat Expertise to reduce

your attack bonus and increase your Armor Class,

and you have a shield, you may extend the additional

Armor Class to one target in an adjacent space. Both

you and the additional target receive the bonus to

Armor Class.

However, if you reach the number of negative hit

points that would normally mean you have died, you

can only maintain this activity for a number of rounds

equal to 10 plus your Constitution modifier. At the

end of that time, if your are still in negative hit points,

you die. If you are healed into positive hit points, you

fall unconscious at the end of this ability, and can’t be

roused for 1d4 hours.

Additionally, you may designate one target in an adja-

cent space to gain the shield bonus to Armor Class

from your shield. In this case, you do not gain the

shield bonus to Armor Class.

All mechanics on all pages is Open Game Content as

defined by the Open Gaming License. See page 6 for

more information.

Feats

The following feats are common among members of

the Caneus High Guard, though anyone who qualifies

for them may take them.

Blood Focus - General

You can use pain to overcome mind-affecting magics.

Prerequisites: Constitution 13, Wisdom 13, Iron Will

Benefits: If you fail a save against a mind-affecting or

fear-based spell or ability, you may chose to attempt

to focus past it on your next round, even if the spell

would normally prevent you from doing so. You must

deal hit point damage to yourself ( minimum 1d6 )

to create a sensation of pain you may concentrate

on, allowing you to ignore the mind-affecting spell.

You may make a second saving throw against the

spell, with a +1 circumstance bonus for every 2 hp of

damage you deal to yourself to activate this ability.

Intimidating Aura -

General

You can frighten lesser mortals with ease.

Prerequisites: Charisma 13, Intimidate +8

Benefits: You may make one Intimidate check per

round as a free action to demoralize an opponent ( see

the Intimidate skill ). If the target you chose to demor-

alize has fewer hit dice/levels than you, you gain a

bonus to this Intimidate check equal to the difference

in the target’s hit dice/levels and your own.

Shield Expertise - General

You can use your own body to protect someone else in

combat.

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NeoExodus Classes of NeoExodus - Caneus High Guard.pdf

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