Few are brave enough to climb the highest mountains and tread the deepest deserts. But where nature’s fury is at its height, there you’ll find the kings and queens of the wild, undaunted by the challenges before them—that is, if you’re strong enough to look for them there. When choosing this prestige class, you must specify one of the following eight terrain types: desert, Forest, hills, marsh, mountain, plains, sea, skies, or underground. Other terrain types are not harsh enough to engender this kind of survivalism.

Anyone with a tie to nature and sufficient hardiness can become a king or queen of the wild. Rangers, barbarians, and druids tend to be the most comfortable with this lifestyle. However, many adventurers have clashed with snow wizards and desert sorcerers who have augmented their powers by adopting this prestige class.

A character can choose this prestige class more than once but must select a different terrain type and start again at 1st level each time. Levels of different king/queen of the wild classes do not stack for determining level-based class features.

Role: DPS

Characteristics: Transversers and masters of specific terrains that are bolstered by said terrain

Source: Masters of the Wild

Game Rule Information

The King/Queen of the Wild has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Wisdom for your Wilderness Lore checks, Dexterity for lying in wait and then strength to make your ambush strike true

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d12

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The King/Queen of the Wild's class skills are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (any) (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Search (Int) Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), Use Rope (Dex), and Wilderness Lore (Wis)

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

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the King/Queen of the Wild.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A King/Queen of the Wild is proficient with simple weapons and light armor

Terrain Skill Bonuses: At 1st level, a king or queen of the wild gains a +2 insight bonus on both Wilderness Lore checks and checks made with his or her terrain-dependent prerequisite skill while in the chosen terrain.

Endure Elements Sp: The king or queen of the wild can ignore some damage from the element associated with the chosen terrain type (see Terrain-Dependent Features, below) as though under a permanent Endure Elements effect. At 2nd level, the character ignores the first 5 points of damage from that element. (The terrain elements correspond to the five energy types: acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic.) This amount increases by an additional +5 at 5th, 8th, and 10th level.

Terrain Movement Ex: At 2nd level, if the chosen terrain is land-based, the king or queen of the wild can move overland through it as if it were plains. A king of the sea or a queen of the marsh swims along the surface of water at one-half his or her land speed.

Attack Native Creatures Ex: The king or queen of the wild gains a competence bonus on attack rolls against any creature that has the character's chosen terrain listed in the Climate/Terrain section of its statistics. (In the case of a king or queen of the skies, this means any naturally flying creature who lives outdoors.) A creature with a listing of "Any land" does not trigger these bonuses. This bonus is +1 at 3rd level, and it increases by +1 for every two king/queen of the wild levels the character gains thereafter.

Terrain Camouflage Ex: At 3rd level, kings and queens of the wild may use the raw materials of their chosen terrains to conceal their presence from others. This full-round action grants a character a +10 competence bonus on Hide checks in the chosen terrain.

Bonus Feat: At 4th and 8th level, a king or queen of the wild may choose a bonus feat from the list for his or her terrain type (see below). This is in addition to the feats that a character of any class normally gets every three levels. The character must still meet any prerequisites for these bonus feats.

Detect Animals and Plants Sp: At 6th level, the character can use detect animals or plants within the chosen terrain as a druid of his or her king/queen of the wild level. This ability is usable three times a day.

Adaptation Su: At 7th level, the character can function as if wearing a necklace of adaptation for a total of up to 30 minutes per day.

Freedom of Movement Sp: At 10th level, the king/queen of the wild can function as if under the influence of a freedom of movement spell tor up to 30 minutes. This ability is usable once per day.