Table: The Strategist | HD: d6 |
Level | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Base Attack Bonus | | +0 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +5 | +6/+1 | +6/+1 | +7/+2 | +8/+3 | +9/+4 | +9/+4 | +10/+5 | +11/+6/+1 | +12/+7/+2 | +12/+7/+2 | +13/+8/+3 | +14/+9/+4 | +15/+10/+5 |
| Fort Save | | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 |
| Ref Save | | +0 | +0 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 |
| Will Save | | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 |
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Special | | Tried and True | Battle Clarity | Know Thine Enemy | Element of Surprise | — | Tried and True | Siege Engine Experience | Cunning Tenacity | — | Terrain Advantage | Tried and True | Siege Engine Mastery | — | Mental Temerity | Tactical Advantage | Tried and True | — | Saw it Coming | Ward Battlefield | Siegebreaker |
| Hand Size | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| IP / Idea Limit | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Deck Composition | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | — | — | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | — | — | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | — | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | — | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | — | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Ideas Known | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | — | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | — | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
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Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Strategists are proficient with simple weapons, with the longsword, warhammer, longbow, and net, and with light and medium armor and shields.
Ideas: The Strategist begins play knowing 6 0th-level ideas and 3 1st-level ideas. At every subsequent level, the Strategist learns one or more new ideas as given in the Ideas Known section of the table above, and can use between 0 and 2 of each to create the deck composition that corresponds to her level (also given above). She may choose lower-level ideas whenever she would be allowed higher-level ones, both when learning new ideas known and when building her deck. At 4th level and every 4 levels afterward, she may exchange one idea known for another idea of her choice of that level or lower. The DC for her ideas is 10 + the idea's level + her Intelligence modifier.
Tried and True: While the Strategist generally likes to adapt to the circumstances of each battle, some techniques work too well not to keep up her sleeves for every occasion. At 1st level and every 5 levels afterward, she selects a non-unique idea on her list of ideas known (which may be one that she already chose for this feature). Once per day per time chosen, she may treat an idea in her hand of equal or greater level as that idea.
Battle Clarity: The 2nd-level Strategist can use her wits to keep herself out of danger. She adds her Intelligence modifier or her class level, whichever is lower, to her Reflex saves.
Know Thine Enemy: At 3rd level, the Strategist gains a +2 bonus to Knowledge checks made to identify enemy monsters and Spellcraft checks made to identify enemy spells and spell-like effects.
Element of Surprise: The 4th-level Strategist knows how best to seize the advantage of striking first. Whenever she is able to act in the surprise round, she may take any actions that would be available to her in a normal round (normally, a character acting in a surprise round is restricted to a single move or standard action).
Siege Engine Experience: Siege Engines are a vital component of many armies, and so the Strategist familiarizes herself with them in order to better incorporate them into her battle plans. She gains Siege Engine Experience (described below) as a bonus feat at level 7, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. If she already has the feat, she can take any other feat for which she meets the prerequisites instead.
Cunning Tenacity: At level 8, the Strategist's understanding of battlefield dangers like poison and death effects helps her body physically withstand them better. She adds her Intelligence modifier or her class level, whichever is lower, to Fortitude saves.
Terrain Advantage: The 10th-level Strategist knows how to make the most out of whatever cover is available. She gains +2 to AC and Reflex saves while behind cover (for a total of +6 to AC and +4 to Reflex saves due to cover). The feat Precise Shot only negates 4 points of the AC bonus, not the remaining +2.
In addition, the Strategist is treated as having cover as long as there is a square adjacent to her in which she would normally be considered to have cover. Thus, for instance, a Strategist standing west of a 5-by-5-foot boulder would count as having cover from a far-off archer to the north, since she is within 5 feet of the space just south of the boulder from which the archer's shot is obstructed.
Siege Engine Mastery: At level 12, the Strategist gains Siege Engine Mastery (described below) as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. If she already has the feat, she may take any other feat for which she meets the prerequisites instead.
Mental Temerity: The 14th-level Strategist's intelligence provides her with resolve in the face of mental attacks. She adds her Intelligence modifier or her class level, whichever is lower, to Will saves.
Tactical Advantage: The 15th-level Strategist is a master tactician, choreographing her allies' movements to devastating effect. All allies within 60 feet of the Strategist (including the Strategist herself) gain an additional +2 to melee attack rolls when flanking (for a total of +4). In addition, allies within this range do not provoke attacks of opportunity when moving out of threatened spaces.
Saw it Coming: By level 18, the Strategist knows every trick in the book; nothing surprises her anymore. She always acts during the surprise round, rolling initiative as normal, even if only the enemy side has the surprise advantage. This does not necessarily guarantee that she will be able to accomplish anything; for instance, if someone sneaks up on her while she is sleeping, if she wins initiative before the attack and does not manage to awaken, she will spend that round continuing to sleep. However, if the enemy wins initiative and attacks her, then assuming she survives, she would wake up and be able to counterattack within that surprise round.
Ward Battlefield: The level-19 Strategist can instantly imagine magical defenses into being in order to hold their position. Once per day as a standard action, she may produce the effects of a
Guards and Wards spell cast at her expresser level as a spell-like ability. However, this version of the spell is less strict when it comes to where the aspects of the spell can be placed. The fog,
Web,
Dancing Lights,
Gust of Wind,
Magic Mouth,
Suggestion, and
Stinking Cloud effects can be placed anywhere, not just in corridors, though no square can contain more than two of these effects in it. In addition, the confusion effect can be placed on any intersection, not necessarily indoors (though the paths must be clearly delineated, such as a fork in a road; a tree that can be passed either to the right or to the left is not a sufficiently universal intersection). The DC for any effect produced by this class feature is 16 + the Strategist's Intelligence modifier.
Siegebreaker: At level 20, the Strategist learns of a powerful technique capable of changing the tide of battles and singlehandedly breaking sieges. She may indicate a location within 1 mile to be affected by an extreme version of the
Repulsion effect. Its area can be of any radius up to 10 miles, and rather than being indiscriminate, it only applies to creatures the Strategist indicates, as though setting the trigger for a
Glyph of Warding. Any applicable creature already within the warded area must make a Will save (DC 19 + the Strategist's Intelligence modifier) or be forced to leave the area as quickly as it is able without expending limited resources (i.e., an army will run, but if it has siege weapons within the area, it will not abandon them, even though recovering them would slow it down). Creatures outside the warded area must succeed on the Will save or be unable to enter for 24 hours.
This effect lasts 1 day per class level, with each day requiring a new saving throw for creatures wishing to enter the area and creatures already within it. The Strategist may end it at any time as a free action. If the Strategist dies or moves more than 1 mile from the warded area, the effect ends automatically. The Strategist must wait at least 1 week after the end of one use of this effect to use it again.