Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Alignment: Any nongood

Skills: Intimidate 5 ranks, Knowledge (local) 2 ranks, Search 2 ranks

Feats: Iron Will

Summary

Life as a half-orc in a human city is never easy, and some half-orcs are driven to desperation by the struggle of living in a place where one is never truly welcome. The menacing brute takes advantage of how most humans fear half-orcs, playing on that dread to make his living. He combines resourcefulness and determination with a ready wit and the willingness to do jobs that others find distasteful—and do them well.

Menacing brutes typically combine levels of fighter with one or two levels of rogue. Fighter levels are essential for bringing the brute’s base attack bonus to a respectable level, while brutes enjoy adding a little sneak attack damage to their first solid hits in melee. Rogue levels are not necessary, but they can help a half-orc who is not exceptionally intelligent meet the skill prerequisites for the class.

Role: DPS

Characteristics: Violent, demoralizing fighters, that can extend their crit range.

Source: Races of Destiny

Game Rule Information

The Menacing Brute has the following game statistics.

Abilities: Charisma to menace others, and Strength to deal more damage on your critical damage

Alignment: Any Nongood

Hit Die: d10

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Menacing Brute's class skills are Climb (Str), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spot (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 Menacing Brute.

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

Demoralizing StarEx: You gain a competence bonus on Intimidate checks equal to your menacing brute level. In addition, when you successfully use the Intimidate skill to demoralize an opponent, the target remains shaken for an additional 1 round per class level.

Resourceful SearchEx: At 2nd level, you become extremely resourceful at finding "discarded" pieces of equipment. Once per day, you can attempt a Search check in order to find any nonmagical item of your choice, with a maximum market price of 200 gp, without paying for it. The gold piece value of the item determines the time it takes for you to find it, as well as the minimum size of community in which it can be found (see the table below). For example, if you are searching for a wagon (35 gp), you would need to look in a small town or larger community and succeed on a DC 15 Search check after spending 2d4 times10 minutes searching. If you sought a breastplate (200 gp), you could find it in a metropolis by making a DC 25 Search check and spending 2d4 hours digging through alleyways, trash bins, and the like. You can never find a masterwork item or magic item of any value while using this ability.

Sneak AttackEx: Beginning at 3rd level, you deal extra damage when flanking an opponent or any time the target would be denied its Dexterity bonus (except on ranged attacks, which must be point-blank to deliver the extra damage).

Ruthless CutEx: At 4th level and higher, you gain a +4 bonus on a roll to confirm a threat on a critical hit.

Making an ExampleEx: At 5th level, any time you deal enough damage with a melee attack to drop a creature (typically by dropping it to less than 0 hit points or killing it), all foes within 30 feet of the enemy must succeed on a Will save (DC 15 + your Cha modifier) or cower until the start of their next turn. If the blow that dropped the creature was a critical hit, add +4 to the save DC. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.

Table 1-1: Menacing Brute Progression

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Demoralizing stare
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Resourceful search
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Sneak attack +1d6
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Ruthless cut
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Making an example

Table 1-2: Resourceful Search Requirements

GP Value	Search DC	Search Time	Minimum Community Size
up to 20 gp	10	1d4×10 minutes	Hamlet
21-50 gp	15	2d4×10 minutes	Small town
51-100 gp	20	1d4 hours	Small city
101-200 gp	25	2d4 hours	Metropolis

Adaptation

The menacing brute is a fairly generic class and should require little adaptation to use in any campaign. You could use it without alteration in any evil or criminal organization, such as the Zhentarim in Toril or the Order of the Emerald Claw in Eberron. (Eberron's dragonmarked mercantile houses undoubtedly make use of menacing brutes as well, though they are more likely to disavow all knowledge of their activities.) You might choose to significantly alter the class by opening it to races other than half-orcs. The class is designed to expand a particular aspect of the half-orc mind-set: the realization that humans fear half-orcs, and a savvy half-orc can exploit that fear for personal gain. If you open the class to other races, you might add an additional feat requirement, such as Persuasive, to reflect the idea that the character should have an innately frightening demeanor.