The beastmen hordes pounded our forces all day. The other boys and I from the Forsaken Sons hunkered in the shelter of a broken wall, catching a few minutes of respite while the other forces of Law fought and died in the ruins of the city. Maiden’s Tower would soon fall, and the Chalice of Silver Tears would be in the clutches of evil.
We each looked to each other and nodded, no words needed. It was time to turn and run. There was no shame in it. All was lost.
Then a thunder of hooves, and Captain Belwyn rode up on his exhausted horse. He leaped from his saddle and strode towards us. His armor was rent in a dozen places. The left side of his helmet was dented, and his face was covered in blood with one eye swollen shut. Still, his voice was clear as a bell as he stood over us.
“Up! Get up, lads! We have them right were we want them! See? Soon the sun will rise and burn away these black clouds. With Bramah’s light behind us we’ll send these beasts back to their pits!” He grabbed me roughly by the shoulder and lifted me to my feet, then turned and did likewise to the other Sons. “Up! Up and fight, I say! Fight on for the fate of Law and the kingdoms of men!” Our hearts stirred, and strength came back to our arms as we picked up our spears and shields once more.
Suddenly, a black shadow fell across the battlefield, and the Dread Wyrm Therrovaux landed in the shattered city square. Black waves of terror washed from the beast like a palpable force. Elves and dwarves dropped their arms and fled in fear, but we did not falter. The beast spotted us, turned its serpentine eyes to us, and bellowed its defiance. Acidic death sizzled on its lips.
Captain Belwyn just grinned. He spat a wad of blood and broken teeth from his mouth and gripped his massive two-handed warblade. “C’mon, lads. Let’s show these curs what human courage looks like!” The Captain bellowed a wordless warcry and charged the dragon.
And we followed.
The captain is a fighting man trained in leading and inspiring others. He may be a beloved commander who earns his troops’ love and respect, or a tyrannical bully whose men follow him out of fear. While not as sturdy as a pure fighter, he is competent in all weapons and armor. His most powerful ability, though, his his skill in instilling courage and confidence in the men and women that follow him. With an few rallying words he can remove fear and bring strength to his fellows’ arms. An experienced captain is so commanding, that even kings and emperors might pause and follow his orders.
The captain class is inspired by the marshal and warlord classes from D&D, and the captain class from Lord of the Rings Online.
I’m not going to post the entire creation process like I did with Loremaster, because the captain is a little more straight-forward.
Class Values:
Hit Dice: 1 (1d6)
Fighting: 2
Thievery 1 (trading in all three skills for three custom powers, then splitting one power into two delayed powers)
Divine: 0
Arcane: 0
XP: 1700
Class Abilities
Prime Req: CON and CHA
Hit Die: d6 (+2 HP after 9th level)
Fights as: Fighter (+2 every 3 levels)
Saves as: Fighter
Allowed Weapons: All
Allowed Armor: All
Fighting Syles: Two-Handed, Two Weapons, Weapon & Shield
Melee and Ranged Damage Bonus: +1 per 3 levels
Uses magic items restricted to Fighter.
Master Commander: The character has mastered the art of command. His authority inspires men to follow him into danger. The character’s henchmen and mercenaries receive a +2 bonus to morale.
Inspire Courage: The class can improve the morale of troops. Inspiring courage requires a few moments of oration before a battle (one round), and grants the character’s allies within a 50’ radius a +1 bonus to attack throws, damage rolls, morale rolls (for monsters or NPCs allied with the caster), and saving throws against magical fear. The bonus lasts for 10 minutes (1 turn). The character can inspire courage in any given character once per day per class level. The character cannot inspire courage on characters who are already engaged in combat.
Fifth Level:
Bravery: The character is immune to all natural and magical fear effects.
Ninth Level:
Commanding Voice: The character gains a +2 bonus to reaction rolls with creatures he speaks to. If this bonus results in a total of 12 or more, the subjects act as if charmed while in his presence. Creatures with a WIS greater than the character’s CHA are immune to this power (and the character will know they are immune). This power is a slightly modified version of the Mystic Aura proficiency.
At ninth level (Marshall), a captain can build a castle. His legendary leadership abilities will attract 5d10 0-level warriors looking for training under his leadership, as well as 1d6 low-level captains (level 1-3) rallying to his banner.
Proficiencies: Alertness, Ambushing, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, force back, knock down, overrun, sunder), Craft (armorsmith, weaponsmith), Diplomacy, Dungeon Bashing, Dragonbane*, Endurance, Fighting Style, Healing, Intimidation, Laying on Hands, Leadership, Manual of Arms, Military Strategy, Mountaineering, Precise Shooting, Riding, Siege Engineering, Skirmishing, Survival, Wakefulness, Weapon Focus
*Dragonbane (New Proficiency): The character has be trained in how to resist a dragon’s special attacks and deadly breath and how to strike at the beast’s weak spots. He receives a +1 to any saving throws he makes against a dragon or dragonkin’s breath weapon or special abilities (but not spell-casting). In addition, the character gets a +1 bonus to attack throws against all dragons and dragonkin.