Grunt [base] (Magipunk)

[sirpercival]

I need one more base class to have the Racial Subs work out evenly, and this is just begging to be paired with Half-Orc.  So, yeah.

GRUNT


Picture Credit: Google Image Search

   
"Hnrf..."

-Whorp, grunt for G.E.T.

A Grunt hits things until they fall down.

MAKING A GRUNT
A grunt is good at bashing things until they don't care to be bashed anymore (because they are dead).
Abilities: Str >> else.
Races: Any, but usually races with a Strength bonus and an Int penalty.
Alignment: Any.  Grunts do what they're told, usually.
Starting Gold: As fighter.
Starting Age: As fighter.

Class Skills
 The Grunt's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Concentration (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Perception (Wis), and Persuasion (Cha).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int

The Grunt				HD: d12
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	Base Attack Bonus +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 /+1 +7 /+2 +8 /+3 +9 /+4 +10 /+5 +11 /+6 /+1 +12 /+7 /+2 +13 /+8 /+3 +14 /+9 /+4 +15 /+10 /+5 +16 /+11 /+6 /+1 +17 /+12 /+7 /+2 +18 /+13 /+8 /+3 +19 /+14 /+9 /+4 +20 /+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 +0 +0 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +5 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6	Special Iron recovery 1d4, musclebound Clobber, hearty whack Follow-through Crunch Swat Improved clobber Iron recovery 1d3 Skilled whack 1 Improved swat, thick skull Improved follow-through Improved crunch Punish Iron recovery 1d2 Skilled whack 2 Pound Improved punish Greater follow-through Greater crunch, thicker skull Iron recovery 1 Greater punish, skilled whack 3	Maneuvers Known 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13	Maneuvers Readied 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6	Stances Known 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A grunt is proficient with simple weapons and martial weapons, all non-exotic armor, and with shields (including tower shields).

Maneuvers: A grunt begins his career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Iron Heart, Iron Tortoise, and Stone Dragon. Once he knows a maneuver, a grunt must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by grunts is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. A grunt's maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one.

A grunt learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on the above table. He must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. The highest-level maneuvers he can learn are based on his initiator level, as normal. Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered grunt level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), a grunt can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, he loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes his restriction on the highest-level maneuvers he can learn; he need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level.

Maneuvers readied: A grunt can ready two of his three maneuvers per encounter at level 1, and as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he is able to ready more, but still must choose which maneuvers to ready.  A grunt readies maneuvers by meditating and exercising for 5 minutes; once readied, the maneuvers remain so until he spends 5 minutes to ready new ones.  A grunt begins an encounter with all his maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he might have already used them since he readied them. When he initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his maneuvers can be used once per encounter unless he recovers them (see Iron Recovery, below).

Stances Known: A grunt begins play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline available to him. At 4th, 10th, and 16th level, he can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and he does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he currently uses as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, a grunt cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

Iron Recovery (Ex): Whenever a grunt initiates a Grunt maneuver, he automatically recovers it 1d4 rounds later if he hasn't already recovered it. Starting at 7th level, he instead recovers it 1d3 rounds later. At 13th level, he recovers it 1d2 rounds later. At 19th level, he recovers it only 1 round later (i.e., the next round after he expends it).  For example, a 5th-level grunt initiates Iron Heart Surge to throw off the effects of a hold person spell.  He rolls 1d4 and gets a 3; this means he automatically recovers IHS 3 rounds later at the beginning of his turn.

Musclebound (Ex): At his option, a grunt may use his Strength modifier instead of his Constitution modifier for determining his bonus hit points at each level of Grunt.  He may make the choice again for each level of Grunt.

Clobber (Ex): A grunt is well-versed in using a shield for leverage in combat.  While wielding a one-handed or light weapon in one hand and a shield in the other, a grunt of 2nd level or higher adds his shield bonus to the main hand's weapon damage rolls when initiating a strike maneuver.

Hearty whack (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, a grunt's combat training allows him to consistently perform at a higher level in battle than others.  When making an attack roll, a grunt may choose to roll 4d6 instead of 1d20.  Rolls of 4 and 5 are considered critical failures, while a roll of 20 or above is still an automatic hit (and a critical threat for all weapons).  A roll of 24 automatically confirms the critical threat.
 
Follow-through (Ex): At 3rd level, a grunt learns to follow a strike by his weapon with a strike by his shield.  Whenever the grunt successfully attacks an opponent with a one-handed or light weapon in his main hand, if he is wielding a shield in the other hand, he gains an additional shield bash attack against the same opponent at the same attack bonus.  A grunt may use this ability a maximum of once per round.

Crunch (Ex): A grunt of 4th level or higher gains a special benefit when making a bull rush. If he forces an opponent to move into a wall or other solid object, the opponent stops as normal; however, the grunt's momentum crushes it against the wall, dealing an amount of bludgeoning damage equal to 4d6 points + twice the grunt's Strength bonus (if any).

Swat (Ex): Upon reaching 5th level, a grunt learns to knock enemies away from him with a little effort.  By making a single attack as a full-round action, the grunt deals double damage and immediately initiates a bull rush as per the Knockback feat (gaining the normal benefit from using Power Attack, if applicable).  This ability may only be used against creatures who are no more than one size category larger than the grunt; for example, a Large grunt could use this ability against creatures of size Huge or smaller.

Improved clobber (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a grunt who gains the benefit of his Clobber ability also adds half his shield bonus to the main hand's attack rolls.

Skilled whack (Ex): Whenever a grunt of 8th level or higher uses his Hearty Whack ability, he may expend a grunt maneuver he has readied to force one of the dice to be an automatic 6 (essentially rolling 3d6+6 instead of 4d6).  A maneuver expended this way takes twice the normal time to recover via Iron Recovery.  He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to his initiator level, but only once per attack roll.  At 14th level, when using this ability, the grunt may instead expend two readied maneuvers to forced two dice to be 6 (rolling 2d6+12); at 20th level, he may instead expend three readied maneuvers to force three dice to be 6 (rolling 1d6+18).

Improved swat (Ex): Starting at 9th level, a grunt can use his Swat ability against creatures of any size.  In addition, the attack deals triple damage instead of double damage.

Thick skull (Ex): At 9th level, a grunt learns to let his muscles think for him.  He may use his Strength modifier in place of his Wisdom modifier on Will saves.

Improved follow-through (Ex): Upon reaching 10th level, a grunt may use his Follow-through ability when making attacks of opportunity without counting against the once-per-round limit.

Improved crunch (Ex): Beginning at 11th level, whenever a grunt uses his Crunch ability, he instead deals 8d6 + three times his Strength bonus, and the opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC of damage dealt by this ability) or be dazed for 1 round.

Punish (Ex): A grunt of 12th level or higher teaches his enemies to regret messing with him.  Whenever the grunt targets the same opponent with more than one strike maneuver in the same encounter, he doubles his Strength bonus to damage on the attack.

Pound (Ex): At 15th level, whenever a grunt damages an opponent with a shield bash attack, the opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC equal to the damage dealt) or be stunned for 1 round.

Improved punish (Ex): Beginning at 16th level, whenever a grunt gains the benefit of his Punish ability, he instead triples his Strength bonus to damage on the attack.

Greater follow-through (Ex): At 17th level, a grunt may use his Follow-through ability any number of times per round up to the maximum number of attacks he gains with his main-hand weapon; however, all attacks and Follow-through attacks must be made against the same opponent.

Greater crunch (Ex): Whenever an 18th-level grunt uses his Crunch ability, he instead deals 12d6 + four times his Strength bonus, and the opponent must make a Fortitude save (DC of damage dealt by this ability) or become paralyzed for 1 round as his body goes into shock.

Thicker skull (Ex): A grunt of 18th level or higher learns to shrug off punishment that would cripple a lesser man.  He may substitute a Fortitude save for a Reflex save once per round.

Greater punish (Ex): Upon reaching 20th level, whenever a grunt gains the benefit of his Punish ability, he instead quintuples his Strength bonus to damage on the attack
 

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PLAYING A GRUNT
 Brief description on how to play the class you are designing.
 Combat: Here's a section where you will describe common combat methods for your class. Remember to include information on how your class will use his powers in combat.
 Advancement: This is a section on different options and paths that the class can go down when they advance in power.
Resources: What resources might a member of this PrC be able to draw on..

GRUNT IN THE WORLD
"A quote of somebody else talking about your class!"

-name of quote originator

A brief description of how your class is persevered in the world and how he interacts with the world.
 Daily Life: Some general information about the typical day in the life of your class.
 Notables: Make up some cool information about notable figures in the history of your class. It's best to give a little information from one of the good alignment and evil alignment (unless it's a good or evil only class).
 Organizations: Some information about organizations dedicated to the practice of your class and other organizations which members of your class will be attracted towards.

NPC Reaction
 This is an in detail description of how NPC's would perceive your class and the immediate generalization that people would give of your class.

GRUNT IN THE GAME
 This is a good place to provide a quick note on how your class will effect game play statistically.
 Adaptation: This is a place where you put in detail how people can adapt your class into their campaign setting.
 Encounters: This is a place to describe what sort of encounters PC's will have with NPC versions of your class.

Sample Encounter
Give an example of how one might encounter a member of this PrC.
EL x: Give the encounter level and description of a sample member of this class and a stat block for him/her.


Name
alignment/Gender/Race/Levels
Init +0, Senses: Listen +, Spot +,
Languages
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AC , touch , flat-footed   ()
hp  ( HD)
Fort +, Ref +, Will + 
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Speed   ft. ( squares)
Melee
Base Atk +, Grp +
Atk Options
Combat Gear
Spells Prepared
Supernatural Abilities
-----------------------------------------------
Abilities Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
SQ
Feats
Skills
Possessions


EPIC GRUNT

Hit Die: dx
Skills Points at Each  Level : x + int
Class Ability
Class Ability.
Bonus Feats: The Epic Class Name gains a Bonus Feat every x levels higher than 10th

[sirpercival]

Grunt Feats

Bounce-Back
You can ricochet an opponent's blocked attack back at them.
Prerequisites: Iron Shell or Wall of Blades maneuver.
Benefit: Whenever you successfully block an opponent's attack with Iron Shell or Wall of Blades, you can immediately make an attack against that opponent as a free action.  Treat the attack as an attack with the weapon or shield you blocked with (including all relevant modifiers), but use the base damage (and any weapon enchantments) of the blocked weapon instead.

Combat Momentum
Once you get going, it's tough to take you down.
Prerequisites: BAB +3, Con 13.
Benefit: Whenever you successfully strike an opponent in melee, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your base attack bonus, which last until the beginning of your next turn.  Temp hp granted by this feat are cumulative; for example, if you make have a BAB of +16 and make 4 successful attacks in a single round, followed by a successful attack on an AoO, you gain 160 temporary hp until the beginning of your next turn.

Dish Out Punishment
Enemies do not like it when you attack them.
Prerequisites: Punish class feature, Martial Lore 6 ranks.
Benefit: You may initiate a strike maneuver that you have readied in place of one attack in a full-attack action.  The maneuver must take no more than a standard action to initiate, and you may replace no more than one attack per round.

Knock 'Em Down
You can send enemies flying with a single hit.
Prerequisites: Swat class feature, Stone Vise or Crushing Vise maneuver.
Benefit: Whenever you use your Swat class feature, if the result of the bull rush would move the creature further than its base land speed, the creature must make a Reflex save (DC equal to damage dealt with the Swat) or end up prone at the end of its movement.  Additionally, if you have Stone Vise or Crushing Vise readied and not expended when performing a Swat, you may initiate the maneuver as part of the same action (and attack) as the Swat.

Lock 'Em Up
Enemies have trouble attacking your allies.
Prerequisites: Follow-through class feature, Combat Reflexes.
Benefit: Any time a creature that you threaten targets someone other than you with a melee attack, you may make an attack of opportunity against them with a shield bash.

Push 'Em Around
It's easy to scare people when you're much bigger than them.
Prerequisites: Improved Bull Rush, Tickets to the Gun Show, Persuasion 8 ranks.
Benefit: Whenever you successfully bull rush an enemy, you may make a demoralization attempt against them as a free action.  The enemy receives a -1 morale penalty to the check for every 5 feet that they were moved by your bull rush.

Renewed Purpose
You draw strength from adversity.
Prerequisites: One martial maneuver, base Fort, Reflex, or Will save +3.
Benefit: Choose Fortitude, Reflex, or Will (you must have a base +3 bonus to whichever save you choose).  Whenever you make a successful save of the chosen type, but no more often than once per round, you may automatically recover one expended maneuver.
Special: You may select this feat up to three times, choosing a different save each time.  You may recover one maneuver per round per successful save for which you select this feat; for example, a character who selects Renewed Purpose (Fortitude) and Renewed Purpose (Will) could recover up to two maneuvers per round, one each for a successful Fort and Will save.

Skilled Muscle
You're better at using your body than most people.
Prerequisites: Skilled whack, one martial maneuver.
Benefit: Whenever you make a skill check with a Strength-, Dexterity-, or Constitution-based skill, you may expend a readied maneuver as part of the same action (or no action, if applicable) to roll 4d6 instead of 1d20.  Expending a maneuver this way grants you no additional benefit.

Tickets to the Gun Show
The size of your biceps is, frankly, extremely intimidating.
Prerequisites: Strength 16, Persuasion 4 ranks.
Benefit: You use your Strength in place of your Charisma when using Persuasion to demoralize, and for any feats, spells, or other effects which would cause an enemy to become shaken, frightened, panicked, or cowering.
Note: This means that you may use your Strength score to qualify for feats such as Imperious Command.

[sirpercival]

Done!  Is this boring/sucky?  Is bounce-back granted at too low of a level?  Does the recovery mechanism work??

[Garryl]

Don't get caught up in the die size thing for Iron Recovery. It obfuscates an otherwise simple concept. Use the version below instead (which also includes a clause to prevent you from recovering a maneuver you've already recovered, which could be relevant if you expend it again before the delay is up). Also, woot for a built-in Idiot Crusader. That's a very metallic discipline list you've got there.

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Iron Recovery: Whenever a Grunt initiates a Grunt maneuver, he automatically recovers it 1d4 rounds later if he hasn't already recovered it. Starting at 7th level, he instead recovers it 1d3 rounds later. At 13th level, he recovers it 1d2 rounds later. At 19th level, he recovers it only 1 round later.

Musclebound should be optional. Some people like their Con scores, tyvm. Ditto for Thick Skull.

Block: It's like Wall of Blades. Or Iron Shell. Both low-level maneuvers from disciplines you have access to. You're covering the same design space over and over.

Fluff-wise, this feels like an NPC class. The lack of any truly interesting class features sort of reinforces the feel. It's like a Repo Dog without the personality.

[Nanshork]

I feel that it needs a third discipline but I have no suggestions.

[sirpercival]

Don't get caught up in the die size thing for Iron Recovery. It obfuscates an otherwise simple concept. Use the version below instead (which also includes a clause to prevent you from recovering a maneuver you've already recovered, which could be relevant if you expend it again before the delay is up). Also, woot for a built-in Idiot Crusader. That's a very metallic discipline list you've got there.

(click to show/hide)

Iron Recovery: Whenever a Grunt initiates a Grunt maneuver, he automatically recovers it 1d4 rounds later if he hasn't already recovered it. Starting at 7th level, he instead recovers it 1d3 rounds later. At 13th level, he recovers it 1d2 rounds later. At 19th level, he recovers it only 1 round later.

Musclebound should be optional. Some people like their Con scores, tyvm. Ditto for Thick Skull.

Block: It's like Wall of Blades. Or Iron Shell. Both low-level maneuvers from disciplines you have access to. You're covering the same design space over and over.

Fluff-wise, this feels like an NPC class. The lack of any truly interesting class features sort of reinforces the feel. It's like a Repo Dog without the personality.

Yeah... that's why I asked if it was boring.  I'll axe Block and Bounce-back (since it depends on Block), and make the other changes you suggested.  Then I'll replace the axed features with something interesting, I promise.

I feel that it needs a third discipline but I have no suggestions.

I kept the number of disciplines low for both thematic reasons and because of the auto-recovery.  However, if I was going to add another I'd add Army of One and add Persuasion to the class skill list.

[sirpercival]

...okay, maybe I've been 'brewing too much lately.  I've been trying to think of unique and interesting abilities for this, and I've got next to nothing.

All I've thought of is inspired by Nord's Blade: allowing adjustment of die types, like you could roll 4d6 or 3d6 instead of 1d20 for attack rolls and skill checks, etc.  I have no idea how such a thing would be implemented robustly.  And that's all I've got.

...help?

[Jackinthegreen]

Stone Dragon might work for this actually.  A Grunt will be fond of battering his opponent senseless and such maneuvers as Colossus Strike and Bonecrusher synergize with a Grunt's strength.  Then there's stuff like Elder Mountain Hammer which will help the Grunt smash through walls and such.  Walls are objects after all.

Modifying the base die from 1d20 to 3d6 will really only serve to make average rolls more common and play may need tweaking based on that.

[sirpercival]

OK, I added some new class features.  Thoughts?

[Jackinthegreen]

Dungeoncrasher on steroids.  I like it.  Going into Repo Dog will be rather fun with this.   

Edit:  Might want to specify Follow Through's extra shield attacks as being at the same attack bonus as the 1h hit, if that's the intention.

[sirpercival]

Dungeoncrasher on steroids.  I like it.  Going into Repo Dog will be rather fun with this.   

Edit:  Might want to specify Follow Through's extra shield attacks as being at the same attack bonus as the 1h hit, if that's the intention.

Clarified.

Any other comments?

[SneeR]

For Iron recovery you should specify if the number of rounds rolled is when you get the maneuver or how long you wait BEFORE you get it. What I mean is, at 17th level, does he recover the maneuver the next round, oe does he recover it the round after next?

I like this class' flavor like crazy.

[sirpercival]

For Iron recovery you should specify if the number of rounds rolled is when you get the maneuver or how long you wait BEFORE you get it. What I mean is, at 17th level, does he recover the maneuver the next round, oe does he recover it the round after next?

I'll clarify.

I like this class' flavor like crazy.

Woot!  In that case, may I direct you to Repo Dog?

[FireInTheSky]

The Grunt's class skills class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Concentration (Wis), Martial Lore (Int), Perception (Wis), and Persuasion (Cha).

Typo there.

[Nanshork]

Does Follow-Through activate on martial strikes as well as normal attacks?

[sirpercival]

Does Follow-Through activate on martial strikes as well as normal attacks?

Yes indeed.

[oslecamo]

For example, a 5th-level grunt initiates Iron Heart Surge to throw off the effects of a hold person spell.  He rolls 1d4 and gets a 3; this means he automatically recovers IHS 3 rounds later at the beginning of his turn.

Just pointing out hold person is one of those things IHS cannot get you rid off, because you need to be able to perform actions to initiate it, and hold person blocks your actions.

[Amechra]

I might need to steal Hearty Whack and stick let the Nord's Blade take it as a feat that expands Fate's Swordsman (with you adding one of the resulting dice of your choice to your Fate Dice after the roll is succesful/fails).

After all, I'm thinking of a revision to the way that their maneuvers work...