Feral (Character Kit)

Feral
Description: Ferals are primitive warriors who have bonded their beings with those of their chosen animal spirits. This bond may occur at the warrior’s choosing through a spiritual quest performed upon becoming an adult, or it may be the result of a ceremony performed by the village shaman at the feral’s birth. Often, the animal spirit is also the totem of the tribe.
A feral warrior can call upon the strength of the animal spirit to help him defeat his enemies. He should choose his totem animal from one of the following types:
Raptor — birds of prey (eagles, hawks, owls, and so on) Canine — dogs, wolves, and foxes
Ursine — bears
Porcine — boars
Feline — cats (ranging lynx to lions)
Equine — horses
Of course the player and DM may agree to modify this list depending upon the area in which the feral lives. So a feral from the arctic wastes could choose from Ursine (polar bear) or Feline (snow leopard), while one who dwelt in the mountains would probably be more apt to choose a Raptor (condor) or Feline (puma), or he may even ask the DM to add a category for mountain goats to the list. As part of the acceptance of the animal spirit, the feral’s personality slowly changes to resemble the animal’s. A feline feral might become aloof, an equine feral could be driven to wander, and a porcine feral likely develops a quick temper. A feral character must have a minimum Dexterity and Strength of 13, and a Constitution no less than 14.
Role: A Feral is a unique member of his tribe. He is the link between the world of the warrior and the unnatural world of the spirit realm. In effect, the feral is the bridge between the common folk of the tribe and the shamans, so he holds a position of great respect. At times of war, the feral leads his people into battle, while in times of peace he may roam the countryside, driven by the animal nature within his heart. Unless the campaign includes savage demihumans, feral warriors must be human. Most tend to be Neutral in alignment, like the animals themselves, but both noble and base examples have been known.
Weapon Proficiencies:
* Required: Knife. A feral’s remaining slots must be spent on primitive weapons: club, dagger, short bow, dart, hand axe, sling, or spear. As the character becomes more exposed to the world, he may adopt new weapons.
Secondary Skills: Hunter, trapper/furrier. These skills would be useful ways of providing food and clothing for the warrior’s tribe.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
* Required: Hunting, tracking.
* Recommended: Animal handling, animal lore, camouflage, endurance, foraging, set snares, survival.
Equipment: Ferals wear clothing only for warmth and protection. They adorn themselves with fur and often the teeth, bones, or claws of their chosen animal. While some might consider this a strange irony, ferals believe that such remains are a link that makes channeling the spirit far easier.
Special Benefits: The binding of the animal spirit to the feral’s soul gives him greater courage. Thus, a feral makes all saving throws against fear and similar effects at +2.
The feral can also call upon the heightened perception of the animal. This allows him to roll as if he possessed the alertness proficiency at +1. (Should the character already have this proficiency, he makes the roll at a +2 bonus instead.) This channeling can be performed a number of times a day equal to the feral’s level, and the effect lasts only a single round.
At 5th level, a feral can call upon the bonded spirit to grant him temporary prowess in one aspect of the animal. He may choose to use one of the following abilities each day:
Increased agility (lowering AC by 1), increased fierceness (+1 to THAC0), or expertise in one of the below traits (proficiencies), listed according to animal type.
Raptor — Awareness rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Canine — Tracking rolls are at +4.
Ursine — Survival rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Porcine — Endurance rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known then consider character to possess the proficiency.
Feline — Hunting rolls are at +4.
Equine — Running rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known, then consider character to
possess the proficiency.
At 9th level, the feral can shapechange once per day into the form of the animal spirit. The transformation is not an easy one and requires physical activity; thus the character must be running hard, in the midst of combat, or performing some other physical exertion. Whatever the character is wearing, barring furs or skins, will not transform with him, so a feral wearing a suit of chain mail and trying to turn into a horse would injure himself in doing so. Thus, at this level, such characters rarely wear anything truly constricting. It takes two full rounds to transform and four to turn back to human.
Special Hindrances: Due to his wild mannerisms and dress, the feral character receives a -2 reaction adjustment from all NPCs except for members of his tribe. Ferals are naturally susceptible to any magic that might provoke them to vio- lence. They suffer a -1 on all saving throws against such magic (including such spells as taunt, or hate caused by an emotion spell). Ferals are naturally superstitious and believe greatly in animal spirits. Should they ever encounter an unnatural example of their animal guide, they would be entirely loathe to harm it unless in self- defense. Thus, the feral that has a horse as his guide would look upon a nightmare as something fascinating, even though the creature’s evil alignment may differ from his own.
Finally, due to their close ties to the animals they worship, ferals are more prone to contract lycanthropy. They suffer a -2 on their saving throw against the arcane disease, but only if bitten by a werebeast of the same type as the feral’s animal spirit (i.e., a canine feral attacked by a werewolf). If the feral warrior is of a higher level than the were beast that attacked him, he may still contract lycanthropy, but he will not have his alignment changed by the disorder.
Wealth Options: 2d6 × 10 gp.
Category:Character Kit
Category:Character Kit Dragon Magazine