Pit Survivor (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Any survivor of the pit will tell you, it doesn't matter how well you fight—all the crowd cares about is blood, and they don't care if it's yours or the other guy's. So if you want to survive your time in the pit, make sure the people get their blood, and lots of it. If you're lucky enough, the audience will be on your side, you'll feel the roar of the crowd pounding in your chest, and nothing can stop you.

While pit fighters' lives might seem defined by their profession, some do manage to escape the pits, either by winning their freedom in battle or by breaking their chains in the night. Though they may no longer be pit fighters by profession, they will always be pit fighters at heart, and often long for the excitement of battle and the roar of the crowd years after they've officially retired.

This prestige archetype is all about performance combat from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat and needs these rules to function properly. An optional set of class features below can compensate for not using performance combat.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. Pit fighters are ragers living for the cheers of crowd.

Publisher: Purple Duck Games.

Prestige Class: Pit fighter from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Paths of Prestige.

Build Classe: Barbarian.

Role: The pit survivor is a stylish and brutal combatant who fights for style even when there is no crowd around. On a team, she keeps the strongest melee enemies occupied, but is still out to show off.

Alignment: Any non-lawful. The pit survivor might be addicted to the cheer of the crowd, but she is not there by her own devices and generally hates those who put and keep her there.

Hit Die: d12.

Class Skills

The pit survivor's class skills (and the key ability for each) are Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks Per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The pit survivor has all barbarian class features, except as follows.

Poor Equipment (Ex)

Pit fighters are often forced to fight with poorly maintained equipment. At 2nd level, a pit survivor can spend a swift action to ignore the broken condition of a single weapon or piece of armor she wields or wears for the remainder of the encounter. The selected weapon or piece of armor is treated in all ways as though it did not have the broken condition, though its hit points remain unchanged. The pit survivor can affect several at a time with this ability but must activate it separately for each item. This replaces uncanny dodge.

Showmanship (Ex)

Once per day at 2nd level, a pit survivor can treat a regular combat as a performance combat, with the crowd's starting attitude being indifferent. She makes performance checks, may use performance feats, and takes bonuses or penalties based on the crowd's reaction as normal, even if there is no crowd actually watching the fight. Only the pit survivor is affected by this ability. Activating this ability is a swift action. The encounter's CR determines the DC of the pit survivor's performance checks, as summarized in the table below.

Starting or Current Attitude	DC to Improve Attitude
Hostile	15 + CR
Unfriendly	10 + CR
Indifferent	5 + CR
Friendly	10 + CR
Helpful	15 + CR

The pit survivor can use this ability one additional time per day for every six levels after level 2. This replaces the rage powers gained at levels 2, 8, 14, and 20.

Arena Weapon Expertise (Ex)

At 4th level, when using a weapon with the performance quality, a pit survivor gains a +1 bonus on damage rolls and on attack rolls made to confirm critical hits. This bonus increases to +2 at 10th level and to +3 at 16th level. This replaces the rage powers gained at levels 4, 10, and 16.

Weapon Trick (Ex)

At 5th level, a pit survivor gains Improved Dirty Trick as a bonus feat. If the pit survivor already knows this or a later bonus feat gained as a class feature, she may pick a combat feat whose prerequisites she fulfills as a replacement.

Finally, the pit survivor can use any weapon with the performance quality to perform a dirty trick combat maneuver. When the pit survivor performs a dirty trick maneuver against an enemy, she may deal damage to the enemy as if she had struck it with her normal melee attack. The pit survivor must be wielding a weapon to use this ability. Weapon trick replaces improved uncanny dodge.

Roar of the Crowd (Ex)

At 6th level, the roar of applause spurs a pit survivor on to greater acts of violence and brutality. When fighting a performance combat, the pit survivor does not count a round against the daily limit on rage during any round in which the crowd's attitude toward her is helpful. This is in addition to the normal bonuses the crowd's attitude provides. If, after using this ability, the crowd's attitude ever drops to unfriendly or hostile, the pit survivor becomes fatigued. She remains fatigued for as long as the crowd remains unfriendly or hostile or until the end of the combat, whichever comes first. This replaces the rage power gained at level 6.

Tricky Assault (Ex)

At 12th level, a pit survivor gains Quick Dirty Trick as a bonus feat. This allows the pit survivor to perform a single dirty trick combat maneuver in place of one of her melee attacks on her turn. She must choose the melee attack with the highest base attack bonus to make the dirty trick combat maneuver. This replaces the rage power gained at level 12.

Greater Roar of the Crowd (Ex)

At 14th level, the crowd's effect on a pit survivor grows even more pronounced. The pit survivor may enter and maintain a rage so long as the crowd's attitude toward her is friendly or better. Additionally, after using this ability, the pit survivor does not become fatigued until the crowd's attitude becomes hostile. This replaces indomitable will.

Brutal Trick (Ex)

At 18th level, a pit survivor gains Greater Dirty Trick as a bonus feat. In addition, a creature that spends a standard action to remove a condition applied by the pit survivor's dirty trick combat maneuver provokes an attack of opportunity from the pit survivor. This replaces the rage power gained at level 18.

Table: Pit Survivor

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Fast movement, rage
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Poor equipment, showmanship 1/day
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Trap sense +1
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Arena weapon expertise +1
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Weapon trick
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Roar of the crowd, trap sense +2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Damage reduction 1/—
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	Showmanship 2/day
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Trap sense +3
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Arena weapon expertise +2, Damage reduction 2/—
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	Greater rage
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4	Trap sense +4, tricky assault
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Damage reduction 3/—
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4	Greater roar of the crowd, showmanship 3/day
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Trap sense +5
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5	Arena weapon expertise +3, damage reduction 4/—,
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Tireless rage
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6	Brutal trick, trap sense +6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Damage reduction 5/—
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Mighty rage

Variant: Without Performance Combat

If the performance combat rules from performance combat from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat are not used, the following optional abilities are changed.

Showmanship (Ex)

When fighting before an appreciative crowd of non-combatant onlookers, at least two creatures per pit-survivor level, the pit survivor can rage without expending any of her daily allotment of rage rounds.

Roar of the Crowd (Ex)

When the pit survivor reduces an opponent to -1 hit points or less, or when she verifies a critical hit, she can choose to end her rage and not suffer fatigue.

Greater Roar of the Crowd (Ex)

When the pit survivor reduces an opponent to -1 hit points or less, or when she verifies a critical hit, her rage recycles; she can choose to end her rage and not suffer fatigue, or continue her rage but regain the ability to use any power that is normally restricted to once per rage.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Rage Powers (all)
• Uncanny Dodge
• Improved Uncanny Dodge
• Indomitable Will

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