Hida Defender

Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Alignment: Any Nonevil

Feats: Heavy Armor Proficiency, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (battleaxe, warhammer, or greatclub)

Summary

The Hida samurai school is well known as the most relentlessly brutal training grounds in the empire. Students undergo a grueling regime of swordplay drills, mock combat, and military philosophy, designed to sharpen the mind and toughen the body. Hida defenders train in great armor, a unique characteristic that fits well with the Crab philosophy of strength and endurance. Unlike the Hirumas, who emphasize speed and tact, the Hidas need their students to be strong, and they push them to the limits of their endurance. As a result, Hida defenders have the stamina to fight for hours without tiring and can hold a formation against any aggressor. Their training gives them the power they need to defend Rokugan against the Shadowlands and forms the backbone of the Crab military machine. Hida defenders are almost exclusively drawn from the samurai and fighter character classes.

Role: DPS Tank

Characteristics: Enduring combatants that can smite evil and fill themselves with rage.

Source: Oriental Adventures

Game Rule Information

The Hida Defender has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Constitution is huge for being successful as is strength, having high wisdom also helps with will saves you have to make.

Alignment: Any Nonevil

Hit Die: d12

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Hida Defender's class skills are Climb (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Shadowlands) (Int), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Hida Defender.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Hida Defender is proficient with whatever they were already proficient with prior to taking levels in this class.

Smite Su: Once per day, a Hida defender can make a single melee attack with a +4 attack bonus and a damage bonus equal to his defender level (if he hits). The defender must declare the smite before making the attack.

Critical Focus Ex: When using a weapon for which he has the Weapon Focus feat, a Hida defender increases the critical multiplier of the weapon by 1. If he has Weapon Focus with more than one weapon, he must choose a single weapon for his critical focus, and he must choose the battleaxe, warhammer, or greatclub. Thus, the critical multiplier for the battleaxe or warhammer increases to ×4, while the greatclub increases to ×3. The threat range for the weapon does not change, though the defender can still choose the Improved Critical feat with the same weapon if he meets the prerequisites.

Rage Ex: When he needs to, a Hida defender can fly into a screaming blood frenzy. In a rage, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability but becomes reckless and less able to defend himself. He temporarily gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, but suffers a -2 penalty to AC.

The increase in Constitution increases the defender's hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the rage when the Constitution score drops back to normal. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While raging, a Hida defender cannot use skills or abilities that require patience and concentration, such as moving silently or casting spells. (The only class skills he can't use while raging are Craft, Iaijutsu Focus, and Sense Motive.) He can use any feat he might have except for Expertise, item creation feats, metamagic feats, and Skill Focus (if it's tied to a skill that requires patience or concentration). A fit of rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + plus the character's (newly improved) Constitution modifier. The defender may prematurely end the rage voluntarily. At the end of the rage, the defender is fatigued (-2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, can't charge or run) for the duration of that encounter. The defender can only fly into a rage once per encounter, and only a certain number of times per day (determined by level). Entering a rage takes no time itself, but the defender can only do it during his action, not in response to somebody else's action. A defender can't, for example, fly into a rage when struck down by an arrow in order to get the extra hit points from the increased Constitution, although the extra hit points would be of benefit if he had gone into a rage earlier in the round, before the arrow struck.

If a Hida defender has a rage ability from another class (such as barbarian), he gains the ability to rage more often. Each daily use he gains from his Hida defender levels adds to the daily uses he has from his barbarian levels. Thus, a 6th-level barbarian/4th-level Hida defender can rage four times per day—twice from his barbarian levels and twice from his Hida defender levels.

Damage Reduction Ex: Starting at 3rd level, the Hida defender gains the extraordinary ability to shrug off some amount of injury from each blow or attack. Subtract 1 from the damage the defender suffers each time he is dealt damage. At 5th level, this damage reduction rises to 2. At 7th, it rises to 3. At 9th, it rises to 4. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.

Table 1-1: Hida Defender Progression

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Smite, critical focus
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Rage 1/day
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Damage reduction 1/—
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Rage 2/day
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Damage reduction 2/—
6th	+6	+5	+2	+2	Rage 3/day
7th	+7	+5	+2	+2	Damage reduction 3/—
8th	+8	+6	+2	+2	Rage 4/day
9th	+9	+6	+3	+3	Damage reduction 4/—
10th	+10	+7	+3	+3	Rage 5/day