Doom Warrior (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Some people know early on that they have a destiny; they carry their doom with them, only waiting for it to strike. Prophesied to fight some terrible enemy, these warriors spend their lives fighting mightier and mightier foes in an attempt to make themselves ready for the ultimate challenge. For while it is roughly known what their fated enemy will be, the outcome is very much in doubt.

Class Information

Role: Doom warriors are grim individuals, facing each day as if it were their last. Some do this with boisterous gaiety, others with glum determination, but all do their best to steel themselves and prepare for their day of judgement. They seek companions to aid them and by facing lesser trials on the way, making doom warriors trustworthy companions. Naturally, not all doomed heroes are brave and some seek to flee their fate, but those are rarely told of in the sagas.

The doom warrior class is a hybrid class, a combination of cavalier and oracle, combining the cavalier's battle prowess with a doom similar to an oracle's curse.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Dice: d10.

Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

Class Skills

The doom warrior's class skills are: Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str). She gains additional class skills from the fated enemy ability.

Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following are the class features of the doom warrior.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Doom warriors are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Defiance (Ex)

Once per day, a doom warrior can defy a foe, making the defeat of that enemy part of her destiny. As a swift action, the doom warrior chooses one target within sight to defy. The doom warrior's attacks deal extra damage whenever the attacks are made against the target of her defiance. This extra damage is equal to the doom warrior's level. The doom warrior can use this ability once per day at 1st level, plus one additional time per day for every three levels beyond 1st, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level.

Defiance heightens the danger of the situation. The doom warrior takes a –2 penalty to her Armor Class against attacks made by the target of her defiance. Defiance remains in effect until the target is dead or unconscious or for 24 hours.

Doomed

Every doom warrior carries their fate with them, and no ability manifests this as clearly as the doom they carry. Each doom warrior must choose a doom at first level, but this comes with benefits as well as a hindrance. This doom can never be changed, removed, or dispelled without the direct intervention of a deity. The effective level of a doom warrior’s doom is her doom warrior level plus one for every two levels or Hit Dice from other sources.

Most dooms give new abilities at level 5, 10, and 15, as noted in Table: Doom Warrior. But not all.

A doom warrior that is also an oracle (or other class that has the curse or doom class feature) can choose the same or a different curse. If selecting the same curse, use levels in other cursed classes as doom warrior levels for the effective level of the doom. Bonuses and penalties from curses and dooms do not stack, but when the benefit from a curse and a doom are different, both apply.

Fated Enemy (Ex)

Table: Fated Enemy

Type	Class Skills
Aberration	Knowledge (dungeoneering), Survival
Animal	Knowledge (nature), Survival
Character class	Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility)
Construct	Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (engineering)
Dragon	Appraise, Knowledge (arcana)
Fey	Knowledge (nature), Sense Motive
Magical beast	Knowledge (arcana), Survival
Monstrous humanoid	Knowledge (nature), Sense Motive
Ooze	Knowledge (dungeoneering), Use Magic Device
Outsider (by subtype)	Knowledge (planes), Spellcraft
Plant	Knowledge (nature), Survival
Undead	Knowledge (religion), Linguistics
Vermin	Knowledge (nature), Survival

At first level, the doom warrior selects what her particular doom is. Combat against such a fated enemy is more dangerous for both the doom warrior and her enemy.

Select one character class or creature type. If the type is outsider, the doom warrior must also select a subtype. The doom warrior cannot select the humanoid type, this choice is replaced by the option to choose a class. The doom warrior gains two additional class skills from her choice, see Table: Fated Enemy.

Against the selected type of enemy, the doom warrior gains several advantages and disadvantages.

• The doom warrior can use her defy ability against a fated enemy, and this use does not count against the doom warrior's daily use of that ability. While she is defying a fated enemy, the doom warrior is immune to fear, but cannot use her defy ability except against other fated enemies.
• The doom warrior gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls, CMB checks, Will and Fortitude saving throws, and opposed skill checks.
• The doom warrior suffers a -2 penalty on Armor Class and Reflex saving throws against creatures of the chosen type.

Resolve (Ex)

At first level, the domed warrior's resolve expresses itself in a specific way. The doom warrior can choose one of the following abilities.

• Armor Training (Ex) Starting at 1st level, a doom warrior learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever she is wearing light or medium armor, she reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by her armor by 1. Every five levels thereafter (6th, 11th, and 16th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed. At 6th level, a doom warrior can also move at her normal speed wearing medium armor.

• Mount This is the same as the cavalier ability of the same name.

• Heroic Stance (Su) As long as the doom warrior is not wearing medium or heavy armor and has light encumbrance, she gains a dodge bonus to Armor Class equal to her Charisma modifier. She can use a shield with this ability. This makes her a martial artist of the way of life.
  At 6th level, the doom warrior gains Uncanny Dodge (Ex). The doom warrior can react to danger before her senses would normally allow her to do so. She cannot be caught flat-footed, nor does she lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if the attacker is invisible. She still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. A doom warrior with this ability can still lose her Dexterity bonus to AC if an opponent successfully uses the feint action against her. If a doom warrior already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.
  At 11th level, the doom warrior gains Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex). She can no longer be flanked. This defense denies the ability to sneak attack the character by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more levels in classes that grant sneak attack than the doom warrior has in classes that grant uncanny dodge.

Combat Style

Gained at 2nd level, this is the same as the ranger ability of the same name. She gains bonus feats from her combat style at 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level.

Deadly Defiance (Ex)

At 3th level, when the doom warrior strikes a target she is defying, her attacks always do lethal damage. She cannot choose to deal nonlethal damage. If her attack normally deals nonlethal damage, she deals lethal bludgeoning damage instead. Similarly, any nonlethal damage she takes from a defied enemy becomes lethal damage to her.

Resolute Charge (Ex)

A doom warrior of third level does not suffer any penalty to her AC after making a charge attack.

Seal of Doom (Ex)

At 5th level, a doom warrior learns to focus on her destined enemies. When the doom warrior is within 100 ft. of a defied enemy, she ignores difficult ground when moving or charging. Difficult ground that costs more than 2 squares of movement is treated as normal difficult ground. She also receives a +2 bonus on attack rolls against a target of her defiance.

Threatening Defiance (Ex)

At 8th level, a defied creature ignores her at its peril. When making an attack roll against anyone except her, the target of her defiance provokes an attack of opportunity from the doom warrior. A creature with an Intelligence score automatically understands that this is the case.

Sense the Fated (Su)

At 9th level, the bond of fate between the doom warrior and her fated enemies strengthens; whenever they are close to one another, they know of each others presence. This manifests as a distinct feeling of unease. This feeling is vague enough that attempts to pinpoint the enemy (by such means as trailing the circumference of the area and similar tricks) do not work. If either the doom warrior or her fated enemy sees the other, they can immediately identify the other as an enemy but gains no other information. This ability has a range of 100 ft. per class level.

If the doom warrior has a common type of fated enemy, such as a fighters, she can choose to limit this ability so she will only work against enemies of an opposite alignment, on either the law-chaos or good-evil axis. She makes this choice when first gaining the ability, and this decision cannot be changed. A Neutral doom warrior cannot select this option.

Defiant Damage Penetration (Su)

At 12th level, when attacking a defied enemy, the doom warrior's attacks ignores any damage reduction or hardness the target may have.

Defiant Slayer (Su)

At 17th level, when the doom warrior strikes the target of her defiance, her attacks bypass all kinds of resistance, temporary hit points, incorporealness, etherealness, regeneration, or other damage preventing or damage redirecting ability.

Seal Fate (Su)

At 20th level, when a doom warrior attacks a defied enemy, she automatically confirms all critical threats. When she slays or destroys a fated enemy, that creature cannot be resurrected, reincarnated, rejuvenated, or otherwise come back by any means. A summoned creature is not permanently slain.

Table: Doom Warrior

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Defy 1/day, doom, fated enemy, resolve 1
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Combat style feat
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Deadly defiance, resolute charge
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Defy 2/day
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Doom ability, seal of doom
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Combat style feat, resolve 2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Defy 3/day
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	Threatening defiance
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Doom sense
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Defy 4/day, combat style feat, doom ability
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	Resolve 3
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4	Defiant damage penetration
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Defy 5/day
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4	Combat style feat
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Doom ability
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5	Defy 6/day, resolve 4
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Defiantcslayer
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6	Combat style feat
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Defy 7/day
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Seal fate

See Also

• Dooms

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