Frostrager (Homebrew Prestige Class)

Many barbarian tribes have members whose ferocity and rage impress and terrify even their fellow barbarians, and the tribes of the frostfell are no different. The frostragers are powerful and dangerous warriors believed by some to be gifted from (and others cursed by) the frost giant deity Thrym with an unstable but powerful supernatural battle rage. This terrible fury not only causes the frostrager to increase in size when he enters his battle rage, but infuses his fi sts and weapons with cold shards of ice. Those tribes that view a frostrager’s prowess as a gift point to the fact that their skills in battle can be matched by few, while those that view these abilities as a curse point to the fact that while in a rage, frostragers tend to revel in destruction and slaughter a little too much to make them trustworthy. In truth, frostragers retain control of their actions while in a frostrage the simple fact is that most frostragers enjoy causing mayhem and destruction. All frostragers are barbarians to some degree, although many are multiclass barbarian/druids. Stories of such characters who activate their frostrage and wild shape abilities in succession abound in the frostfell; a frostraging character in the shape of a dire bear is a terrible opponent indeed. Other barbarians pick up some levels of fighter or ranger to further focus their combat prowess before becoming frostragers, and a rare few barbarian/sorcerer frostragers exist in some tribes that embrace arcane magic, but other combinations are virtually unknown.

#### Requirements

* **Feats**: Power Attack
* **Spellcasting**: Caster level 3 in any spellcasting class.
* **Special**: Rage power class feature. Moment of Clarity Rage Power.
* **Special**: The character must have been reduced to fewer than 0 hit points by cold damage (either from magical cold attacks or by taking enough damage from exposure to extreme cold environments). Whether or not this trauma is what allows the frostrage to take root in the character's soul, or if the trauma merely unhinges the character's mind enough that he decides to become a frostrager, is unknown.

#### Class Skill

The Frostrager's class skills are Acrobatics, Climb, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (nature), Perception, Ride , Swim and Survival.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

#### Class Features

**Weapon and Armor Proficiency**: Frostragers gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shields.

**Spells per Day/Spells Known**: When a new frostrager level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class granted her access to the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus metamagic or item creation feats, bard or assassin abilities, and so on), except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. This essentially means that she adds the level of frostrager to the level of whatever other spellcasting class granted her access, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a frostrager, she must decide to which class she adds each level of frostrager for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.

**Frostrage (Su):** While raging, the character grows larger and more massive, and his freezing sweat forms icicles as it streams out of his pores, coating his body in a glittering crust of ice. The frostrager's actual size category does not change (nor does his space/reach), but he does gain a +4 natural armor bonus to Armor Class from the sheets of ice that form over his body. In addition, a frostrager's unarmed attacks deal 1d6 points of damage plus 1d4 points of cold damage on a successful hit. If the frostrager is Small, his unarmed attack deals 1d4 points of damage, and if the frostrager is Large, his unarmed attack deals 1d8 points of damage.

**Freezing Blood (Su):** At 1st level, a frostrager's blood becomes freezing cold. His wounds instantly freeze over and stop bleeding; he is immune to attacks that cause wounding effects. If reduced to negative hit points, he automatically stabilizes. He still takes 1 point of damage if he takes any actions while at 0 or negative hit points, however.

**Snowstride (Ex):** At 1st level, a frostrager gains the ability to move effortlessly through snow and ice. He never treats either as difficult terrain.

**One-Two Punch (Ex):** At 2nd level, while making an unarmed attack, the frostrager may make one extra attack in a round at his highest base attack bonus, but each attack made in that round (the extra one and the normal ones) take a —2 penalty.

**Cold Rage (Su)**: Starting at 2nd level, a frostrager’s spells grow more potent when he rages. When using moment of clarity, he adds his barbarian level to his caster level. At 7th level, he adds his strength bonus to the save DC of any spells with the cold descriptor cast while raging.

**Absorb Cold (Su):** At 3rd level, while raging, the frostrager not only gains immunity to cold, but it heals him. For every 2 points of cold damage that would have otherwise have been dealt by an attack, the frostrager heals 1 point of damage.

**Improved Frostrage (Su):** At 4th level while raging, the frostrager's natural armor bonus increases to +6. His unarmed attacks deal 1d8 points of damage plus 1d6 points of cold damage on a successful hit. If the frostrager is Small, his unarmed attack deals 1d6 points of damage, and if the frostrager is Large, his unarmed attack deals 2d6 points of damage.

**Rend (Ex):** At 5th level, a frostrager gains the ability to rend a target. In any round that the frostrager hits the same foe with two or more unarmed attacks, he immediately deals an additional 2d8 points of damage (plus 1-1/2 times his Strength bonus), plus an additional 1d6 points of cold damage. If he is Small, his rend deals 2d6 points of damage; if he is Large, his rend deals 3d8 points of damage.

**Prophet of Icy Rage (Su)**: At 6th level, a frostrager is able to cast spells with the cold descriptor while raging, without having to use clarity of mind.

**Ice Glide (Ex)**: At 7th level, the frostrager has become so attuned to traveling on icy surfaces that he can control his sliding. Any time the frostrager is on icy ground and completes a charge, it can make a full attack (including rake attacks if the creature also has the rake ability).

**Jagged Shards (Su)**: At 8th level, any attack the frostrager makes with unarmed strikes or natural weapons leaves shards of ice embedded in the flesh of their enemies. These magical shards of ice cause a bleed effect that does 1d6 cold damage per point of constitution modifier the frostrager has. This bleed can only be cured by taking a full round action to remove all of the ice shards imbedded in their flesh. Once removed, the ice shards melt naturally. This bleed effect stacks with other bleed effects, but not with itself.

**Frozen Path (Su)**: Any time the frostrager moves, the ground before then withers at their approach. A sheet of ice forms on the ground 5 feet in front of them and lasts for one round before thawing.