#1 D&D 3.5 prestige class: Dwarven sapper
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2006 4:01 pm
Again, I thought I'd reposted this here, but I guess I didn't. This one's another Rogue 9 original. I originally wrote it for a prestige class contest on Monte Cook's message boards. Though it didn't win, it scored quite high. Later I submitted it for use in the Astel online D&D campaigns. All material accepted for the game is registered under the Open Gaming License by the game master under the name of the author, so this is Open Gaming Content and as such is copyright and subject to all the rules and regulations of the OGL and d20 License. To make matters simpler, since I'm the copyright holder, I grant permission for home use. Please don't spread this around without giving me credit, though. 
Dwarven Sapper
The drow looked over the barrier into the tunnel. He wondered what was going on. The priestesses had dragged in a very important looking dwarf earlier for the sacrifice, but no dwarven rescue team had walked into the trap. It was unlike the dwarves to abandon one of their leaders like this. As he glanced around the rock-strewn natural cave leading up to the drow splinter group's camp, his eyes lit upon a small barrel that he didn't remember being next to the barrier before. His eyes went wide as a crossbow bolt flew from behind a stalagmite. The bulge on the tip burst and flooded the barrel in liquid flame. He was immolated a second later.
The dwarf smiled grimly as the rest of his team rushed in. Two more drow popped up out of a hole in the cave floor in front of the dark temple and opened fire on the advancing dwarves, coming in and out at random intervals. The first dwarf quickly pulled a small iron sphere from his backpack and lit a fuse on it. He lobbed it into the hole. A gout of flame and iron shards flew up. There were no more arrows from that direction.
The dwarven team expertly drew a wedge between the drow and the temple door. As the fighting raged behind him, the first dwarf set a barrel from his bag of holding next to the door. His tindertwig lit the fuse and he ran. The door blew open and six sturdy warriors rushed in. The acolyte priestesses were dragging a struggling dwarf towards the alter. They never made it. One of the dwarves gave the prearranged signal that the thain was safe.
The team began to withdraw. There was only one thing left. These followers of the Spider Queen must not have a temple to sacrifice dwarves in. The first dwarf evaluated the pillars and decided on one. He reached into the bag of holding and pulled out a large barrel with a long fuse. He lit it and uttered his first words of the engagement.
"Fire in the hole!"
All the dwarves sprinted. As they rushed down the tunnel the temple went up in an enormous blast behind them. The entire strike had lasted less than two minutes.
Dwarven sappers are an essential part of an elite dwarven strike team. They are masters of the use of black powder. Few are the buildings that can withstand a determined sapper.
Prerequisites:
Race: Dwarf
Alignment: Any nonevil, nonchaotic
Skills: Alchemy 9 ranks, Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) 9 ranks, Craft (Blacksmithing) 5 ranks
Feat: Run
Special: Must have trained as a sapper with the dwarven Special Forces
BAB: As cleric
Base save bonuses: Fortitude and Reflex high, Will low (as ranger)
Level
1 Plant Charges
2 +1 to saves vs. explosions
3 Handgrenades
4 +2 to saves vs. explosions
5 Fire in the Hole!
6 +3 to saves vs. explosions
7 Chink in the Wall
8 +4 to saves vs. explosions
9 Central Pillar
10 +5 to saves vs. explosions
Class skills: Alchemy (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) (Int), Knowledge (Siegeworks) (Int), Knowledge (War) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis)
Skill Points: 4+INT modifier per level
Hit Die: d6
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Dwarven sappers are proficient in all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields. Note that armor check penalties apply to Hide, Jump, Climb, and all that jazz.
Beginning at 1st level, the dwarven sapper is trained in how to plant an explosive charge on a structure so as to damage or destroy it. See Explosives, below, for bomb damages.
Save bonus vs. explosions. The sapper learns how to avoid explosions. At 2nd level he gets a +1 bonus to saves against explosions. This includes magical explosion like fireball and meteor swarm, but excludes effects that don't have a central origin, like flame strike and cone effects. The bonus increases by +1 at every even level
Handgrenades: At 3rd level the sapper learns to make grenades, detailed below.
Fire in the Hole! (Ex.): At 5th level the sapper can shout a warning to his companions about an impending explosion. This grants the effects of the Run feat to his allies as long as they move away from the bomb. This does not stack with the Run feat. The companions can also disengage from combat to run without provoking attacks of opportunity. (Any AoOs incurred by passing through a threatened area after leaving the initial threatened square occur normally.) These effects last one round per dwarven sapper level or until the bomb goes off.
Chink in the Wall: At 7th level the sapper may make a Search check (DC 20 or DM's discretion, stonecunning applies if used on a stone surface.) to find a weak point in a structure. (DM's discretion over whether one exists.) A bomb planted here will ignore the hardness of the structure.
Central Pillar: At 9th level, the sapper's knowledge of buildings becomes so great that he may make a Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) check (DC 25) to recognize a structural support that is critical enough to bring down the building if destroyed. (DM's discretion over whether any such point exists, though it is noted that most large stone buildings have a central pillar.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Explosives: These are common bomb types. Failing any bomb save results in being knocked prone in addition to taking full damage.
Structural Charge: This large bomb is designed to damage or destroy buildings. This type of bomb deals 15d8 points of damage in a 15ft. radius (Reflex save DC 23 for half, damage is 6d8 fire and 9d8 impact), and is typically on a 10-12 second fuse. It consists of 20 pounds of gunpowder in a 10 pound reinforced cask.
Antipersonnel Charge: Smaller than the structural charge, an antipersonnel charge is typically packed with iron shards. This type of bomb does 7d8 points of damage in a 10ft. radius (Reflex save DC 20 for half, damage is 2d8 fire, 3d8 impact, and 2d8 piercing). It consists of 10 pounds of gunpowder and 2 pounds of iron in a 3 pound keg. A 5-6 second fuse is typical
Handgrenade: These small thrown bombs are difficult to make, therefore they can only be made by sappers of 3rd level or higher. A grenade deals 3d8 points of damage in a 5ft. radius (1d8 fire, 1d8 impact, and 1d8 piercing from casing shards, Reflex save DC 18 for half). It consists of a hollow iron shell packed with gunpowder, total weight 1 pound. The shell requires a Craft (Blacksmithing) check against DC 25 to forge, as well as 3 levels in the dwarven sapper prestige class to even know what you're making. A special fuse is required also. (A normal one would go out in flight.) A grenade fuse requires a DC 20 Alchemy check to make. It is a five second fuse. (One, two, FIVE!) Anyone trying to use a grenade who is not a dwarven sapper must make an Intelligence check (DC 12) or light the fuse incorrectly, resulting in shortening the time to blast by 1d3 seconds.
Gunpowder requires a DC 20 Alchemy check to make one pound. It costs 75 gp per pound to make, and the creation time is one day per pound.
Dwarven Sapper
The drow looked over the barrier into the tunnel. He wondered what was going on. The priestesses had dragged in a very important looking dwarf earlier for the sacrifice, but no dwarven rescue team had walked into the trap. It was unlike the dwarves to abandon one of their leaders like this. As he glanced around the rock-strewn natural cave leading up to the drow splinter group's camp, his eyes lit upon a small barrel that he didn't remember being next to the barrier before. His eyes went wide as a crossbow bolt flew from behind a stalagmite. The bulge on the tip burst and flooded the barrel in liquid flame. He was immolated a second later.
The dwarf smiled grimly as the rest of his team rushed in. Two more drow popped up out of a hole in the cave floor in front of the dark temple and opened fire on the advancing dwarves, coming in and out at random intervals. The first dwarf quickly pulled a small iron sphere from his backpack and lit a fuse on it. He lobbed it into the hole. A gout of flame and iron shards flew up. There were no more arrows from that direction.
The dwarven team expertly drew a wedge between the drow and the temple door. As the fighting raged behind him, the first dwarf set a barrel from his bag of holding next to the door. His tindertwig lit the fuse and he ran. The door blew open and six sturdy warriors rushed in. The acolyte priestesses were dragging a struggling dwarf towards the alter. They never made it. One of the dwarves gave the prearranged signal that the thain was safe.
The team began to withdraw. There was only one thing left. These followers of the Spider Queen must not have a temple to sacrifice dwarves in. The first dwarf evaluated the pillars and decided on one. He reached into the bag of holding and pulled out a large barrel with a long fuse. He lit it and uttered his first words of the engagement.
"Fire in the hole!"
All the dwarves sprinted. As they rushed down the tunnel the temple went up in an enormous blast behind them. The entire strike had lasted less than two minutes.
Dwarven sappers are an essential part of an elite dwarven strike team. They are masters of the use of black powder. Few are the buildings that can withstand a determined sapper.
Prerequisites:
Race: Dwarf
Alignment: Any nonevil, nonchaotic
Skills: Alchemy 9 ranks, Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) 9 ranks, Craft (Blacksmithing) 5 ranks
Feat: Run
Special: Must have trained as a sapper with the dwarven Special Forces
BAB: As cleric
Base save bonuses: Fortitude and Reflex high, Will low (as ranger)
Level
1 Plant Charges
2 +1 to saves vs. explosions
3 Handgrenades
4 +2 to saves vs. explosions
5 Fire in the Hole!
6 +3 to saves vs. explosions
7 Chink in the Wall
8 +4 to saves vs. explosions
9 Central Pillar
10 +5 to saves vs. explosions
Class skills: Alchemy (Int), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) (Int), Knowledge (Siegeworks) (Int), Knowledge (War) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis)
Skill Points: 4+INT modifier per level
Hit Die: d6
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Dwarven sappers are proficient in all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields. Note that armor check penalties apply to Hide, Jump, Climb, and all that jazz.
Beginning at 1st level, the dwarven sapper is trained in how to plant an explosive charge on a structure so as to damage or destroy it. See Explosives, below, for bomb damages.
Save bonus vs. explosions. The sapper learns how to avoid explosions. At 2nd level he gets a +1 bonus to saves against explosions. This includes magical explosion like fireball and meteor swarm, but excludes effects that don't have a central origin, like flame strike and cone effects. The bonus increases by +1 at every even level
Handgrenades: At 3rd level the sapper learns to make grenades, detailed below.
Fire in the Hole! (Ex.): At 5th level the sapper can shout a warning to his companions about an impending explosion. This grants the effects of the Run feat to his allies as long as they move away from the bomb. This does not stack with the Run feat. The companions can also disengage from combat to run without provoking attacks of opportunity. (Any AoOs incurred by passing through a threatened area after leaving the initial threatened square occur normally.) These effects last one round per dwarven sapper level or until the bomb goes off.
Chink in the Wall: At 7th level the sapper may make a Search check (DC 20 or DM's discretion, stonecunning applies if used on a stone surface.) to find a weak point in a structure. (DM's discretion over whether one exists.) A bomb planted here will ignore the hardness of the structure.
Central Pillar: At 9th level, the sapper's knowledge of buildings becomes so great that he may make a Knowledge (Architecture & Engineering) check (DC 25) to recognize a structural support that is critical enough to bring down the building if destroyed. (DM's discretion over whether any such point exists, though it is noted that most large stone buildings have a central pillar.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Explosives: These are common bomb types. Failing any bomb save results in being knocked prone in addition to taking full damage.
Structural Charge: This large bomb is designed to damage or destroy buildings. This type of bomb deals 15d8 points of damage in a 15ft. radius (Reflex save DC 23 for half, damage is 6d8 fire and 9d8 impact), and is typically on a 10-12 second fuse. It consists of 20 pounds of gunpowder in a 10 pound reinforced cask.
Antipersonnel Charge: Smaller than the structural charge, an antipersonnel charge is typically packed with iron shards. This type of bomb does 7d8 points of damage in a 10ft. radius (Reflex save DC 20 for half, damage is 2d8 fire, 3d8 impact, and 2d8 piercing). It consists of 10 pounds of gunpowder and 2 pounds of iron in a 3 pound keg. A 5-6 second fuse is typical
Handgrenade: These small thrown bombs are difficult to make, therefore they can only be made by sappers of 3rd level or higher. A grenade deals 3d8 points of damage in a 5ft. radius (1d8 fire, 1d8 impact, and 1d8 piercing from casing shards, Reflex save DC 18 for half). It consists of a hollow iron shell packed with gunpowder, total weight 1 pound. The shell requires a Craft (Blacksmithing) check against DC 25 to forge, as well as 3 levels in the dwarven sapper prestige class to even know what you're making. A special fuse is required also. (A normal one would go out in flight.) A grenade fuse requires a DC 20 Alchemy check to make. It is a five second fuse. (One, two, FIVE!) Anyone trying to use a grenade who is not a dwarven sapper must make an Intelligence check (DC 12) or light the fuse incorrectly, resulting in shortening the time to blast by 1d3 seconds.
Gunpowder requires a DC 20 Alchemy check to make one pound. It costs 75 gp per pound to make, and the creation time is one day per pound.