Again, thanks Penn for the editing work ;)
Qhari-dre
“Let me show you what I do to the soft shelled ones.”
- Dej G’sed, to’ksa qhari-dre
The quari-dre, or “bringer of death”, is a kreen stalker that devotes itself to hunting intelligent humanoids. They hate their quarry with a passion, their hate fueled by a desire to avenge all the clutchmates they have lost to them. Qhari-dre are the quintessential image that all humanoids fear of the kreen: a killing insect-man that plows through their ranks, rapidely dealing death with its claws and mandibles.
Qhari-dre are usually warriors or fighters, and more rarely psychic warrior, for they concentrate more on their martial prowess than their psionic might. Unclassed kreen that meet the requirements can also have some levels in the class. Qhari-dre usually come from the ranks of those kreen especially proud of their racial heritage, and may as such have taken levels in the thri-kreen paragon class.
NPC qhari-dre can be found as part of any kreen clutch, protecting their clutchmates from the depravities of the soft shelled races. Some that are without clutch anymore, wander the wastes alone, with the purpose of venging the deaths of their former clutchmates.
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
To qualify to become a qhari-dre, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Race: Thri-kreen.
Base Attack Bonus: +5.
Skills: Move Silently 5 ranks, Spot 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks.
Feats: Improved Overrun, Multiattack.
Special: Must have lost a clutchmate to a humanoid’s attack.
Class Skills
The qhari-dre’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis).
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
There are not enough thri-kreen specifice classes out there, which is a shame.
Overall I really like it. The one thing I have a question on is about Pierce the Soft Shell ability. It says that the damage die is increased as if by one size catagory, so I want to know if this in anyway would stop them from taking Improved Natural Weapon feats? And just to be clear on this, does this ability effect all of their natural attacks- bite and claw or just one?
I will definatly have to use this one soon- great job Meth.
There are not enough thri-kreen specifice classes out there, which is a shame.
I too find that there needs to be more kreen PrC out there. I have some ideas for 2 more, I'll see what I can come up with.
The one thing I have a question on is about Pierce the Soft Shell ability. It says that the damage die is increased as if by one size catagory, so I want to know if this in anyway would stop them from taking Improved Natural Weapon feats? And just to be clear on this, does this ability effect all of their natural attacks- bite and claw or just one?
Here is a revised wording for the two abilities related to feats and unarmed attacks, clarifying the abilities I hope:
Pierce the Soft Shell (Ex): At 5th level, the damage the qhari-dre inflicts with his claw attacks increases by one step, as if he had the Improved Natural Attack feat (see Chapter 6 of the Monster Manual, for more details).
Tear the Soft Shell (Ex): By 7th level, the qhari-dre treats his claw attacks as if he had the Improved Critical feat when fighting humanoids with a +2 or less natural armor bonus.
Since the Improved Natural Attack does not say its effect can stack, if a kreen would take this feat again, it would have to be for its bite attack. The same is also true for the Improved Critical feat, even though it is normally used with weapons.
Thanks!
I too find that there needs to be more kreen PrC out there. I have some ideas for 2 more, I'll see what I can come up with.
Here is a revised wording for the two abilities related to feats and unarmed attacks, clarifying the abilities I hope:
Pierce the Soft Shell (Ex): At 5th level, the damage the qhari-dre inflicts with his claw attacks increases by one step, as if he had the Improved Natural Attack feat (see Chapter 6 of the Monster Manual, for more details).
Tear the Soft Shell (Ex): By 7th level, the qhari-dre treats his claw attacks as if he had the Improved Critical feat when fighting humanoids with a +2 or less natural armor bonus.
Since the Improved Natural Attack does not say its effect can stack, if a kreen would take this feat again, it would have to be for its bite attack. The same is also true for the Improved Critical feat, even though it is normally used with weapons.
Darn- I was kinda hoping that they would be able to get both of these abilities AND take the feats- which was my first impression. I think this would show how much more capible of killing the 'soft shells' then the rest of the thri-kreen. So please, please, please make it this way- IMO taking your alternate route waters down the reason for taking the PrC, why go through all of the requirements if you could just take the feats. Those are my two bits :D
I'll add a sentence to Pierce to Soft Shell that say that its effect can stack with Improved Natural Attack feat. I will kept Tear the Soft Shell as is because of the normal use of the used feat (ie used with weapons normally).
Gak was hatched in the grasses of the Hitherlands free from the problems of men and their cities. It all came to a sudden end when a the thok shook so hard it split open and the great cliff opened and the mists from below oozed in like blood. Some time later, a great party of men came from over the mountains to see the great split in the land. At first, they were strangely exciting to see and a few of the weaker ones tasted good, if a little salty, but they had other things in mind when they began to return to their cities. The dra began catching some of the strange creatures they found, caging them to bring back with them. They found the kreen of the grasslands to be exotic with their different coloring and decided to bring back some.
Gak resisted, along with his g'tokmma'aks, until only he stood among the fallen, the soft shelled human deep around his people, but still they came, until he was bore down by their weight. He watched as the jidz of his fallen tekmma'aks were ripped from their bodies and piled into wagons to be sold later. His fate was to be different.
He was sold, and forced to fight, for the pleasure of the howling dra-trin, and he grew to hate them. Their stink seem to saturate his jidz and their soft, spongy flesh repulsed him, until the very sight of them filled him with such a fury that it would not be contained.
He has his freedom now, and the trail of dra corpses behind him is a long one as he seeks out those flesh-bags who first crossed the mountains and killed his people. He does not take their zer, but instead leaves it to rot instead of taking in their filth.
Nice work with the Prc's
Thanks, and quite evocative NPC intro Kal!
Thanks, and quite evocative NPC intro Kal!
Thank you Meth- the wierd thing is that this is kind of a character that played in my first DS campaing when it first came out- AND his name was Gak- which we later found out was actually a kreen word- strange ha.
Dra Slayer (Ex): At 10th level, the qhari-dre gains an ability equivalent to the assassin’s Death Attack ability (see the Dungeon Master Guide), except it can only be used against humanoids with a +2 or less natural armor bonus, is usable only with one of the kreen unarmed attacks, and does not requires a successful sneak attack. The humanoid must still be denied its Dexterity bonus.
Great work, really love both the flavor and mechanics of the PrC, I'll definitely use it!
I think the Dra Slayer ability might need some re-thinking though.
The Fortitude Save necessary for an assassin's death attack has a DC of 10 + the assassin’s class level + the assassin’s Int modifier. Had you intended to use Int as the relevant stat for the Qhari-dre as well? I think maybe Strength might be more appropriate - the assassin's death attack is based on cunning and searching out the appropriate weak spot, while I imagine the Qhari-dre's attack as wild and ferocious without a lot of thinking behind it, but still deadly due to the raw strength and force behind the attack (as well as the surprise, which explains why it can only be used "once").
Also, did you intend for the DC to be equal to the Qhari-dre's class level? It will be pretty high in that case. E.g. DC 27 for Strength 24 - not unlikely at lvl 15, the minimum ECL. Compare the DC to the average good save at level 15 - let's say 14 (+9 from base, +5 from Con, +3 from item), and you have a pretty deadly ability...
At least if you adjust to use Strength, I'd put the DC at 15 (10 + half the class level) + modifier, or at least lower than 10 + class level. With Int as the base, the DC will obviously be lower in 99% of all cases. My personal opinion of course
Excellent work.
The Fortitude Save necessary for an assassin's death attack has a DC of 10 + the assassin’s class level + the assassin’s Int modifier. Had you intended to use Int as the relevant stat for the Qhari-dre as well?
Also, did you intend for the DC to be equal to the Qhari-dre's class level?
Thanks for the comments DarkSoulman!
I looked into the other classes that have abilities similar to the assassin Death Attack. All use Int or Wis modifier. For the Dra Slayer ability, I'll precise that Wis modifier is used, the stat being described in the PHB as 'being in tune with and aware of one's surroundings' as opposed to reasonning with Intelligence.
The DC will be set at 10+class level+Wis modifier because it is only available at 10th level, while most Death Attack ability are available at the 1st level of a class and continue to increase in DC as more level are taken. Average DC would be 22 (with average NPC kreen fighter/qhari dre Wis 14). hi!