THE HINTERLANDER
"I am as much a priest as you are, cleric - the whole world is my church, and the spirits of all things are my gods. If you know what's good for you, still your tongue and preach elsewhere."-Leaves-In-Autumn, an Elven Hinterlander
Far from the cities and high vaults of the "civilized", an older order still wanders. Out in the reaches, where the land has not been domesticated, spirits still roam and threaten the safety of men and their small settlements. Those settlements call upon the shamans and the wise, pleading with them to act as intercessors between the humanoid races and the laws of nature.
A Hinterlander is one kind of such Shamans, calling upon ancient pacts and the force of their own personalities to protect the small points of light flickering in the night wind. Sometimes, their duties call them far from their homes, either drawing them from the safety of the cities into the wilds that they
know are their home, or sending them to the city to represent their tribes and friends in the courts of men.
MAKING A HINTERLANDER Short description of play style.
Abilities: The important abilities and why they are important.
Races: Basically how common is the class in the various core races (and other races if you wish to put information in here about them).
Alignment: Alignment restrictions (if any).
Starting Gold: Xd4x10(average gp)
Starting Age: As (core class name).
Class SkillsThe Hinterlander's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive, Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + int)x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + int
Hit Dice: d8
Level | Base
Attack Bonus | Fort
Save | Ref
Save | Will
Save |
Special |
The Old Laws |
| 1st | +0 | +0 | +0 | +2 | Blessings of the Wild Prince, Nature's Armory +1d6, Wildhome | - |
| 2nd | +1 | +0 | +0 | +3 | Wild Empathy, Woodland Stride | First |
| 3rd | +2 | +1 | +1 | +3 | Nature's Armory +1d6/+1, Wild Passage | First |
| 4th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Laughing Off Spirits | Second |
| 5th | +3 | +1 | +1 | +4 | Nature's Armory +2d6/+1 | Third |
| 6th | +4 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Untouchable (Creatures) | Third |
| 7th | +5 | +2 | +2 | +5 | Nature's Armory +2d6/+2 | Fourth |
| 8th | +6/+1 | +2 | +2 | +6 | Woodland Sprint | Fourth |
| 9th | +6/+1 | +3 | +3 | +6 | Nature's Armory +3d6/+2 | Fifth |
| 10th | +7/+2 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Untouchable (The Elements) | Sixth |
| 11th | +8/+3 | +3 | +3 | +7 | Nature's Armory +3d6/+3 | Sixth |
| 12th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Woodland Hunter | Seventh |
| 13th | +9/+4 | +4 | +4 | +8 | Nature's Armory +4d6/+3 | Seventh |
| 14th | +10/+5 | +4 | +4 | +9 | Perceptive Tracker, Untouchable (Wild Sorcery) | Eighth |
| 15th | +11/+6/+1 | +5 | +5 | +9 | Nature's Armory +4d6/+4 | Ninth |
| 16th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Envoy to the Wilds | Ninth |
| 17th | +12/+7/+2 | +5 | +5 | +10 | Nature's Armory +5d6/+4 | Tenth |
| 18th | +13/+8/+3 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Instinctive Tracker | Tenth |
| 19th | +14/+9/+4 | +6 | +6 | +11 | Nature's Armory +5d6/+5 | Eleventh |
| 20th | +15/+10/+5 | +6 | +6 | +12 | Stranger's Form | Twelfth |
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Hinterlander is proficient with all Simple weapons, and Light Armor.
The Old Laws: A Hinterlander is bound by and binds with the
Old Laws, a set of pacts between man and nature itself before time began. All of the Old Laws are Supernatural abilities, though they do not produce a glow for
Detect Magic to discover; the Old Laws are a feature of the world, rather than something innate to the Hinterlander.
Each Old Law may be used at-will, though some have other limits on their use. Further information is in the next post.
Blessings of the Wild Prince (Su): Watch how the grasses and winds understand that an intercessor has come. Watch how the earth offers up tracks and pathways, and how the birds and beasts lay food at their feet.
A Hinterlander adds their class level to all Handle Animal and Survival checks they make as a Perfection bonus; in addition, they reduce any penalties they suffer due to weather by the lower of their class level or their Charisma modifier. Finally, they may use the epic uses of Handle Animal and Survival if they can achieve the necessary DCs.
Nature's Armory (Su): Fists and nice solid wood are the weapons of a woodsman; hide and leather is armor enough.
At 1st level, any attack they make with a natural weapon or a weapon made entirely out of wood and stone deals +1d6 Bludgeoning damage, ignores any Damage Reduction possessed by an Aberration or Magical Beast, and strikes incorporeal Fey and Elementals as if the weapon was magical. At 5th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the bonus damage from this feature increases by 1d6.
At 3rd level, the armor bonus given by Leather or Hide armor increases by 1 and applies against Touch attacks, and they receive DR 1/Cold Iron. At 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the armor bonus and DR increase by 1.
Wildhome (Ex and Su): They are more at home in the deep wilderness then in a bed or at the awkward table of civilized manners.
A Hinterlander selects a specific area with well-defined boundaries that they are familiar with to be their "home" terrain. As long as they are within that terrain, they may take 10 on all Survival checks and treat any time they receive a full night's rest as if they had received a full day of bed rest.
Additionally, they are immune to the normal natural hazards of the area - a Human Hinterlander that selects a coral reef as their home terrain would be able to breath the water there as if it were air, while one that chose a group of ruins in the center of the desert would find the burning sun pleasantly warm. This protection doesn't extend past the borders of the area, and does not extend to the claws of local creatures or sudden storms. This portion of this class feature is a Supernatural ability.
However, this ability comes at a cost - namely, they are uncomfortable within civilized areas. A Hinterlander cannot have a good night's rest in a bed, and treats 5 ft of movement through a crowd as if it were 15 ft of movement.
Wild Empathy (Ex): It is important to be polite to the beasts of the wilds - sometimes, there will be no-one else to depend on.
This class feature functions exactly like the Druid class feature of the same name, except it is gained at 2nd level rather than 1st.
Wilderness Step (Ex): Even the plants, rocks, and mud move to allow a friend to pass.
Starting at 2nd level, a Hinterlander may move through any sort of undergrowth at their normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment. However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated to impede motion still affect them.
For the purposes of this class feature, any naturally occurring difficult terrain that can be found in their home terrain counts as undergrowth.
Wild Passage (Ex): The very footsteps of other creatures echo hours after they have fallen; the places they have been are as obvious as if they had left markers. As for the Hinterlander... well, anyone would be hard-pressed to know where they had been 5 minutes before.
At 3rd level, a Hinterlander gains Track as a bonus feat, and may ignore any increase to the DC due to poor visibility. In addition, they do not leave a trail when travelling through natural settings unless they wish to. This class feature is treated as Trackless Step for the purposes of prerequisites.
Laughing Off Spirits (Ex): The Old Laws are a shield against the vagaries of elemental magics and the trickery of Unseelie princes alike.
At 4th level, a Hinterlander adds their Wisdom modifier as a perfection bonus to all of their saves against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of Elementals and Fey. In addition, they add this bonus to any Sense Motive check they make with regards to creatures of the Elemental or Fey type.
Untouchable (Su): The beasts and birds of the land pay them homage, and the squalls and violence of the weather does not touch them.
At 6th level, a Hinterlander gains the benefit of a permanent Sanctuary effect, which only applies to creatures that they may use the Hold Old Law on. They may only break this effect by making an attack against a creature they can use the Hold Old Law on, and the effect resumes one minute later. In addition, they are immune to any natural Poisons or Diseases that such creatures might possess.
At 10th level, this protection extends to protect against the harm caused by the elements; as long as they can use the Hold Old Law on a particular element, they are immune to any damage or ill effect directly caused by a naturally-occurring instance of that element, or a natural lack thereof.
At 14th level, this protection extends to the mystical abilities from natural sources, such as the innate spell-like abilities of one of the Fey or the spells of a Druid. The Hinterlander always receives a Will Save to Negate such effects, and always treats creatures summoned or called through such effects as if they were creatures that they could use the Hold Old Law against.
Woodland Sprint (EX:) The plants and earth of the world understand the concept of "diplomatic immunity", even if those using them do not.
At 8th level, a Hinterlander may move at their normal speed through thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that have been magically manipulated. They do not take damage or suffer any other impairment, since they become immune to such magical effects.
Woodland Hunter (Ex): Word of nature's favored child precedes them - birds reveal berries, and rabbits offer themselves to the knife.
At 12th level, a Hinterlander can make "get along in the wild" checks while moving at their full overland speed.
Perceptive Tracker (Ex): The very soil dares not to aid the enemies of their beloved intercessor; their tracks become as rifts in the earth.
At 14th level, a Hinterlander never takes longer than a full-round action to find tracks with a Survival check. A second roll is still required to follow any discovered tracks.
Envoy to the Wilds (Su): The Hinterlander is a true ambassador - they speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongue.
They speak for the beasts and the birds, for they have no voice.
And the message they carry is terrifying and simple.
At 16th level, a Hinterlander within any area of natural terrain comes under a permanent
Nondetection effect, which functions as if they had cast it on themselves with a caster level equal to their class level.
More troublingly, the Hinterlander learns the first of the five words that declare the ancient pacts between men and nature null and void. Thankfully, they lack the authority to do so completely, but they gain the ability to use the First Undeclaration Old Law.
At 17th level, they learn the second word, and may use the Second Undeclaration Old Law.
At 18th level, they learn the third word, and may use the Third Undeclaration Old Law.
At 19th level, they learn the fourth word, and may use the Fourth Undeclaration Old Law.
At 20th level, they learn the final word; rather than gaining the authority to use an additional Old Law, they instead treat Humanoids and Monstrous Humanoids as Beasts, regardless of their intelligence.
Instinctive Tracker (Ex): If one closes their eyes, and listens to the wilds around them, the voices of the plants and worms may tell them the way that their foe went.
At 18th level, a Hinterlander takes a standard action to find tracks with a Survival check, allowing them to simultaneously move at their speed.
Stranger's Form (Ex): Men did not literally treat with nature when they made the pacts that are the Old Laws - instead, they spoke to the spirits of the wild places, requesting that they respect these arcane and primal laws. At this point, the intercessors of man have become like the strangers that originally ratified the pacts.
At 20th level, a Hinterlander's type changes to Fey, and their DR/Cold Iron is increased by 5. Finally, they no longer age or accrue ability score penalties due to aging, and remove any penalties to their physical ability scores due to aging. They also lose their maximum age - they will live forever unless they are somehow slain.
