Berserker

Fighters as a whole are known for their prowess on the battlefield, but among old veterans, there are rumors and stories of unstoppable warriors, killing machines who can take punishment far beyond what a normal person could sustain and keep coming. These people can send themselves into a different level of consciousness, where pain doesn't matter, physical limitations don't exist, and even the most heinous of injuries barely slows them down. They are known for rampaging over the battlefield, killing foes by the dozen, and taking all comers and walking away. These people (monsters, some call them) are Berserkers.

Berserkers are fighters who have learned to channel their rage ability to make themselves immensely powerful, but only for a short time - unfortunately for their foes, even this short time is usually enough for them to inflict massive carnage. They always engage in melee combat - ranged combat for them is picking up and hurling a nearby large, heavy object to break down an obstacle or crush an annoying enemy they can't reach.

All Berserkers are fighters, or occasionally fighter/paladins - monks are too disciplined, and rangers rely too much on ranged combat; paladins of the gods of war or chaos may be granted the rage ability, which also qualifies them to become Berserkers (and also supports their gods' ethos of death and destruction).

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Berserker (Bkr), the character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Alignment: Any non-lawful

Base Attack Bonus: +6

Feats: Endurance

Rage and Pain Resistance class abilities

Class Skills

The Berserker's class skills are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Perception (Wis), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str).

Skill Points Per Level: 2 + Int modifier



Table 1: The Berserker
Level Base
Attack Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save
Special
1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Improvised weapon, battlerager
2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 Pain resistance (2/-)
3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 Enduring rage
4th +4 +4 +1 +4 Engine of destruction
5th +5 +4 +2 +4 Greater rage, pain resistance (2/-)
6th +6 +5 +2 +5 Blood fury
7th +7 +5 +2 +5 Visage of terror
8th +8 +6 +3 +6 Pain resistance (2/-)
9th +9 +6 +3 +6 Tireless rage
10th +10 +7 +4 +7 Mighty rage, incite rage


Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Berserker.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Berserkers gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Improvised Weapon (Ex): A barbarian can pick up any item that is not normally used as a weapon – table legs, chairs, ham hocks, small humanoids - and use it as an improvised weapon without suffering the normal -4 penalty for nonproficiency. He can throw such objects (the range increment varies; objects that weigh up to his Strength score have a 10-foot increment, while heavier objects have a 5-foot increment), but he suffers a -4 attack penalty.

Battlerager (Ex): The Berserker's class levels stack with those of any other class that grants the rage ability for purposes of saves for class abilities.

Pain Resistance (Ex): At 2nd, 5th, and 8th levels, the Berserker's damage reduction while raging increases by 2 points. This stacks with damage reduction gained from the fighter's pain resistance ability and DR of the same type from other sources.

Enduring Rage (Ex): If the Berserker drops below 0 hit points while raging, he is not rendered unconscious as normal - instead, he can continue to act as normal, as if he had the Diehard feat. If he drops below his death threshold, he immediately goes unconscious and is treated as being on death's door (see Death and Dying). If the rage wears off while he is below 0 hit points, but above his death threshold, he goes unconscious (this supercedes the effects of the Diehard feat, since the Berserker is fatigued after a rage). If he has the tireless rage class ability, he can act normally, as per the Diehard feat.

Engine of Destruction (Ex): When the Berserker is raging, he ignores the first 10 points of hardness for any object (including spell effcts like wall of force) he strikes, and doubles his Strength bonus for the purposes of any Strength check made to break an object with sudden force rather than by dealing normal damage (including bursting bindings, such as ropes or manacles).

Greater Rage (Ex): The bonuses to the character's Strength and Constitution while raging increase to +6, and the morale bonus on Will saves increases to +3. The penalty to AC remains at -2.

Blood Fury (Ex): If the Berserker is reduced to 25% or fewer of his hit points while raging, he can draw upon extra reserves of energy to fuel his strength, effectively giving himself an additional +4 bonus to Strength. Using this ability is exhausting, however - when the rage wears off, he must rest for 20 minutes instead of 10. If he has the Tireless Rage ability, he must rest for 10 minutes.

Visage of Terror (Ex): When the Berserker a rage, he gains a terrifying aura - anyone who views him in this state must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 character's character level + character's Cha modifier) or become panicked (if its ECL is less than his character level) or shaken (if its ECL is equal to or up to twice his character level) for 4d6 rounds. An enemy with an ECL greater than twice the character's level is not affected by this ability.

Mighty Rage (Ex): The Berserker's bonuses to Strength and Constitution during his rage each increase to +8, and his morale bonus on Will saves increases to +4. The penalty to AC remains at -2.

Incite Rage (Ex): When the Berserker enters a rage, he can incite up to one ally per class level within 60 feet who can see him into a rage of their own. (Any ally who doesn't wish to become enraged is unaffected.) Affected allies gain +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, but take a -2 penalty to AC, for as long as they remain raging. The rage of affected allies lasts a number of rounds equal to 3 + their Constitution modifier, regardless of whether they remain within 60 feet or can see the Berserker (these limitations apply on the first round only). This is otherwise identical to the fighter's rage ability (including the fatigue at its end). This is a mind-affecting effect.

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