The war master is a class designed to lead others in battle, using (mostly) nonmagical talents to grant combat benefits to friends and followers, place enemies at disadvantages, and use the many arts of war in all aspects of his life. A war master is designed to allow both experienced tacticians and players with no sense of strategy to play a cunning commander able to turn the tide with a quick command, clever stratagem, and strong sword-arm used in just the right way at just the right time.
The war master is a warrior, leader, and planner. As their name might suggest, typical war masters are first and foremost military commanders, able to both slay foes directly and to aid their allies by suggesting various tactics and maneuvers to maximize their allies’ gifts and minimize their drawbacks. But the art of war is far more than the ability to kill and lead killers, and war masters must also learn at least some skills of negotiation, espionage, and organization to dominate all aspects of armed conflict. Similarly, the lessons learned in battle can often be applied in less violent venues, allowing war masters to see how to gain an advantage in a wide range of situations.
Many war masters come from families of wealth and power, raised as lords as well as battle leaders. Noble families often push their junior scions to be war masters (along with clerics or wizards) to ensure the family has the skills and power needed to defend its holdings and organize its forces. Noble war masters are often younger children with little chance of inheriting major holdings, or the offspring of trusted servants who have been given an opportunity to become knights, squires, or royal guards. Almost as common are noble war masters whose families have lost their lands, forcing them to become skilled generals as they seek the skills, troops, and allies necessary to take back their homelands.
Not all war masters are from such lofty backgrounds. Standing armies exist in some lands and, whether mercenary company or formal kingdom soldiers, they require skilled leaders at every level of organization. A war master may be an experienced squire often left to command a knight’s retinue, a grizzled veteran leading detachments of 120 men through a dozen border wars, or a young commoner who showed promise in training and was placed in charge of a squad of 6 spearmen. Middle-class war masters are often the children of guards, craftsmen, scholars and successful businessmen. They have much of the advantage in contacts and wealth true nobles do, but have fewer eyes watching them and patrons demanding their help. Professional mercenaries often fall into this category, but so do loyal members of troubled guilds that are under attack from brigands, nobles, or opposing trade groups. While noble-born war masters often learn to apply the rules of war to business, middle-class war masters may have been taught salesmanship first, and how to rally a band of hammer-wielding blacksmiths to defend their had-earned gold second.
Lower class war masters may seem unlikely, but the denizens of the street have their own hierarchy. Tavern keepers, slum lords, crime bosses, procurers, con men, beggars and smugglers have the same needs to organize warriors, engage in negotiations and make contacts as other castes, and war masters rise to fill these roles. Many low-class war masters are crime lords, running shadow empires in back allies and basements out of sight of polite society. Others are open brigands, seeking to become bandit kings and perhaps someday claim a title through force of arms.
Role: At low levels a war master is generally a secondary warrior in combat and an extra source of information and negotiation in towns and cities. Though he is not as skilled in weapons or personal combat maneuvers as a fighter, the war master is able to fight on the front line next to a party’s barbarian and paladin or hold his own when cut off from allies. However, he excels when working closely with other warriors, using his battle tactics to turn a small unit into more than the sum of its parts. When a force of men-at-arms is not available, a war master can aid any group that finds itself united against a foe, from peasants with pitchforks to less-martially inclined wizards and bards.
As he gains levels the war master is more likely to take center stage in combat, working to place himself at the middle of any conflict to ensure his allies are all in range to hear and see his directions. His network of social support may also grow, allowing him to use followers to hold areas important to himself and his allies while they are away adventuring, gain safe passage from tribes of monsters in return for bribes or tribute, or secure aid from powerful lords and noble’s on his party’s behalf. At high levels a war master is an impressive figure able to augment any group he is with in many kinds of situations, and may well be the head of a guild, mercenary company, or even small nation.
Alignment: A war master may be of any alignment, though most are lawful.
Hit Die: d10.
Starting Wealth: At 1st level a war master begins play with 5d6 x 10 gp.
The war master’s class skills are Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (engineering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (Wis).
Skill Ranks per Level: 4 + Int modifier.
All of the following are class features of the war master.
A war master is trained to use tactics and strategy to direct units and individuals to create beneficial combat situations that favor his allies. (A war master may always choose to count as one of his own allies, both for fulfilling conditions required by tactics, and for receiving the benefit of them.) He can use this ability for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + his Charisma modifier. At each level after 1st a war master can use battle tactics for 2 additional rounds per day. Each round, the war master can produce any one of the types of battle tactics that he has mastered, as indicated by his level.
Starting a war master’s tactic is a standard action, but it can be maintained each round as a free action. Changing a war master’s tactic from one effect to another requires the war master to stop the previous tactic and start a new one as a standard action. A war master’s tactic cannot be disrupted, but it ends immediately if the war master is killed, paralyzed, stunned, knocked unconscious, or otherwise prevented from taking a free action to maintain it each round. A war master cannot have more than one war master’s tactic in effect at one time.
Each war master’s tactic has audible components and some also have visual components. Targets must be able to hear the war master for the tactics to have any effect, and such tactics are language dependent. A deaf war master has a 20% chance to fail when attempting to use a war master’s tactic. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts as one round of battle tactics against his daily limit. If a war master’s tactic has a visual component, the targets must have line of sight to the war master for the tactic to have any effect. A blind war master has a 50% chance to fail when attempting to use a war master’s tactic with a visual component. If he fails this check, the attempt still counts as one round of battle tactics against his daily limit.
At 1st level a war master learns to direct his allies to overwhelm a foe’s defenses, forcing the enemy to divide its attention among multiple targets. The war master selects one foe he can see. If that foe is threatened by three of the war master’s allies, it is considered flanked for the first melee attack each ally makes in the ally’s round.
At 9th level, this power causes any foes the war master can see that are threatened by three allies to be flanked for the first attack each ally makes in a round. At 17th level, this power causes any foes the war master can see that are threatened by two allies to be flanked for the first attack each ally makes in a round.
At 1st level, a war master learns to counter the advantages foes gain by superior planning, morale, or position. Each round of the countering tactics he makes a Knowledge (nobility) skill check. The war master compares this to every foe he can see and has line of effect to. If the war master’s Knowledge check hits a DC of (10 + target’s hit dice or level), that foe gains no benefit from morale bonuses, luck bonuses, or battle tactics; cannot flank; and suffers a –4 penalty to all attacks of opportunity made. A creature the war master fails to affect with a use of countering tactics remains immune to any further use of the ability by the same war master for 24 hours.
A 1st level war master can use his tactics to direct his allies to watch out for one another, and assist each in remaining safe and protected. Any affected allies adjacent to at least one additional ally receives a +1 morale bonus to armor class, CMD, and Reflex saving throws. At 5th level, and every six war master levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +1, to a maximum of +4 at 17th level. Covering maneuvers requires both audible and visual components.
At 1st-level a war master can direct allies to get into advantageous positions quickly. All the war master’s allies he can see gain a +10 foot enhancement bonus to their base movement if they take a double move or run action. At 10th level this becomes a +15 foot enhancement bonus for allies that take a double move or run action.
A war master of 3rd level or higher can use his tactics to help an ally use combat strategies outside the ally’s normal repertoire. The war master selects one ally within 30 feet. The war master grants that ally the use of one combat feat selected by the war master that he knows, and that the ally meets the prerequisites for. The war master can change what feat the ally gains access to as a move action while maintaining the war master’s tactic. At 6th level, and every 6 war master levels afterward (12th, 18th, and so on) the war master can select an additional feat to grant to his ally. All feats must be combat feats known by the war master, for which that the ally meets the prerequisites. Individual tactics requires both audible and visual components.
A war master of 5th level or higher can use his tactics to force a foe into immediate action. He selects one foe he can see and has line of effect to within 60 feet. That target must make a Will save against a DC of (10 + ½ the war master’s class level + the war master’s Intelligence bonus). If the foe fails, it cannot ready or delay any actions. If it does not take its turn in the normal initiative order, it loses its action until the next round. The targeted foe is allowed a new saving throw against the goad at the beginning of every turn. Goad is an enchantment (compulsion), mind-affecting ability.
A war master of 7th level or higher can employ tactics to protect weaker allies from being hampered by complex maneuvers by foes. All allies within 60 feet able to see and hear the war master may use his CMD rather than their own, if they choose to do so.
A war master of 9th level or higher can use his tactics to develop quick raids that maximize the potency of his allies while minimizing their weaknesses. This ability affects allies within 60 feet that can see and hear the war master. Affected allies ignore penalties from confused, exhausted, fatigued, frightened, shaken, and sickened conditions for the duration of the tactics. These conditions are not removed, but they have no effect on creatures under the effects of the raid tactics. Each round the war master maintains the raid tactics, he expends two rounds of his battle tactics daily maximum. Raid tactics requires both audible and visual components.
A war master of 13th level or higher can direct his allies to take positions that makes the most of their attack types. This ability affects allies within 60 feet that can see and hear the war master. Affected allies deal an additional 1 hit point of damage for each die of damage they deal, to a maximum of half the war master’s class level.
A war master of 15th level or higher can employ tactics that allow a number of allies to employ strategies outside their normal repertoire. The war master selects one combat feat he knows. All allies within 60 feet that meet the prerequisites for the selected feat gain use of it. The war master can change what feat his allies gain access to as a move action while maintaining the war master’s tactic, but all allies are given access to the same feat.
Though not all war masters move in highly-placed circles, they all learn the ins-and-outs of political maneuvers as part of their training in the art of war. At 2nd level a war master learns to use his understanding of the rules of the courts and places of political power to assist him in any social interaction, even with individuals of low social standing. The war master may use his Knowledge (nobility) bonus in place of his Diplomacy bonus whenever making a Diplomacy check.
As a war master gains experience, he learns a number of talents that aid him and his allies. Starting at 2nd level, a war master gains one war master talent. He gains an additional war master talent for every 2 levels of war master attained after 2nd level except for 20th level. A war master cannot select an individual talent more than once unless the talent says otherwise.
Talents marked with an asterisk add effects to the battle tactics ability. Only one of these talents can be in effect at a time and the decision to add it to a use of battle tactics must be made when the tactics are first started.
Born Leader (Ex): This talent adds half a war master’s class level to his Leadership score, for purpose of determining the total number of followers he gains from the Leadership feat (but NOT to determine the level of his cohort) . If this bonus causes the war master’s Leadership score to be 26 or higher, the war master gains further followers. To determine how many additional followers above the normal maximum the war master receives, subtract 10 from the war master’s Leadership score, and compare this new number to the Leadership chart to determine additional followers gained.
A war master must have the Leadership feat prior to selecting the born leader talent.
Contacts (Ex): As a leader of men and lord of command, a war master is likely to have contacts among any large population. Upon reaching a new community, the war master may immediately make a Diplomacy check to see if he is aware of a contact in the community. A check result of 9 or less indicates no specific contact. A check result of 10–29 means that the war master knows one contact that is indifferent, a check result of 30–39 means he knows one contact that is friendly, and a check result of 40 or more means he knows one contact that is helpful.
Contacts are always typical members of the community, rather than knights or court wizards, and the war master must treat a contact well to gain actual aid. A contact has no special connection to the war master’s allies, and has an initial attitude toward them consistent with how others in the community would feel.
Coordinated Attacks (Ex)*: All allies affected by the war master’s battle tactics coordinate their attacks, aiding each other in locating and targeting foes. An ally can ignore a target’s concealment, or treat total concealment as normal concealment, if he can hear an ally against whom the target does not have concealment. An ally able to reduce an invisible target’s concealment as a result of this ability is considered to have pinpointed the invisible target.
Cover Fire* (Ex): Whenever the war master grants benefits to his allies from any battle tactic, the allies also gain the ability to take the aid another combat action with ranged attacks. Both the target of the attack, and the ally to benefit from the aid another, must be in line of effect of the war master.
Esprit de Corps (Ex): Any follower of the war master (gained from the Leadership feat) gains a +2 morale bonus to attacks, skill checks, damage rolls, CMD, and saving throws when within 60 feet of the war master. If they are currently suffering any fear effects, they may attempt a new save to resist those effects (against the original DC) once a round as long as they are within 60 feet of the war master.
These bonuses apply as long as followers know they are close to the war master, even if the war master is unconscious, paralyzed, or unable to react. The effect even carries on for 24 hours after the war master’s death, as long as followers are within range.
The feeling of confidence the war master instills in his troops allows him to recruit additional kinds of creatures as cohorts. The following creatures may be taken as monster cohorts, with the listed effective cohort “level.” Many war masters use such special cohorts as bodyguards or steeds.
A war master must have the Leadership feat to select this war master talent.
Faith (Sp): Fighting men often depend on the gods for good fortune, and in some cases are actually faithful enough to receive direct answers to their prayers. A war master with this talent gains the ability to cast a 0 level spell from the cleric spell list. This spell can be cast three times a day as a spell like ability. The caster level for this ability is equal to the war master’s level. The save DC for this spell is 10 + the war master’s Wisdom modifier. The war master must have a Wisdom of at least 10 to select this talent.
Fighting Spirit (Ex): Some war masters are dedicated fighting men nearly as skilled as members of the fighter class. This talent grants the war master one bonus combat feat. The feat may be one normally restricted to fighters, using half the war master’s class level as his fighter level for purpose of the feat’s prerequisite. The war master must meet all other prerequisites of the feat.
Hand Up (Ex): As a move action, the war master can assist an adjacent prone ally to stand. The ally must take a move action on their turn to actually stand from prone, but if the war master is still adjacent the ally does not suffer an attack of opportunity for standing.
Hard March (Ex): The war master can keep his allies focused on moving forward with alacrity, using careful planning to reduce the breaks required, directing a group’s scouts to find the best route through terrain, and ensuring assistance is given to anyone at risk of falling behind. As a result the war master and his allies (to a maximum of 20 people per war master level) double their miles per hour of overland speed. The group may still hustle or use a forced march to further increase their speed or time traveled, but suffers the normal penalties for doing so.
Hold!* (Ex): Whenever the war master grants benefits to his allies from any war master’s tactic, the allies also gain the ability to ready a full round action (rather than ready a standard action, as normal).
Perspicacity (Ex): This talent represents the war master’s mastery of studying details, and using them to draw a conclusion about the bigger picture. The war master may use his Perception bonus in place of his Appraise or Sense Motive bonus whenever making an Appraise or Sense Motive check.
Sphere of Influence (Ex): A war master with this talent has learned how to maximize his efforts within a certain class of skills. The war master gains a +1 bonus to all skill and ability checks based on a single ability score selected when this talent is taken. If the war master is 10th level or higher, this bonus increases to +2. This talent may be selected more than once. A different ability score must be selected each time the talent is taken.
Stay Down! (Ex): Any ally able to see and hear the war master gains an additional +1 bonus to AC and Reflex saves when the ally has any kind of cover. This increases to a +2 increase if the war master is 8th level or higher, and to a +3 increase if the war master is 16th level or higher.
Strong Faith (Sp): A war master with this talent gains the ability to cast a 1st level spell from the cleric spell list two times a day as a spell like ability. The caster level for this ability is equal to the war master’s level. The save DC for this spell is 11 + the war master’s Wisdom modifier. The war master must have a Wisdom of at least 11 to select this talent. A war master must have the faith war master talent before choosing this talent.
Take Them Alive!* (Ex): Whenever the war master grants benefits to his allies from any war master’s tactic, the allies also gain the ability for half the damage they deal to be nonlethal damage.
Undermine (Ex): As a full-round action, a war master with this talent can make a single undermine attack against a foe. If the attack hits, the foe suffers a -2 penalty to its saving throws and a -4 penalty to its CMD until the beginning of the war master’s next turn.
At 5th level the war master’s experience with high-quality gear grows into a knack for getting more out of masterwork equipment. Anytime the war master uses a masterwork weapon, armor, tool kit or similar item he receives a +1 circumstance bonus. If the object is a masterwork weapon,the bonus is applied to attack rolls. If armor, the maximum Dex bonus is increased by 1 when the war master is wearing it. If the equipment is some other piece of gear (such as a masterwork tool), the bonus applies to whatever skill or ability check the equipment normally grants a bonus to.
These bonuses apply to all magic weapons and armor the war master may use (which must be masterwork to be imbued with magic), but normally do not apply to other magic items unless they are magical versions of mundane masterwork tools or kits. If the war master is 10th level or higher, the circumstance bonus increases to +2.
At 11th level a war master can rally flagging forces, giving them renewed hope and endurance to carry on and win victory. A rally affects all allies in a 30-foot radius burst. Those allies gain 4d6 temporary hit points, +1d6 for every two war master levels beyond 11th (5d6 at 13th, 6d6 at 15th, and so on). Each ally may also make one saving throw against any one effect it currently suffers which could have been prevented with a successful saving throw (with the same save DC as the original saving throw), and on a successful save the effect ends. A war master may rally once per day. At 19th level, the war master may rally twice per day.
At 12th level, and every two levels thereafter, a war master can choose one of the following advanced talents in place of a war master talent.
Agents (Ex): This talent represents the war master’s efforts to have spies and emissaries in areas he is likely to operate. Any time the war master enters a new kingdom, town, or settlement, he may make a DC 25 Diplomacy check. On a successful check, the war master may choose to have one of his followers of 2nd level or higher be an agent within the community. This agent is removed from the total number of followers the war master has available, and is attached to the community. Depending on the nature of the community, the GM must decide if the agent is a clandestine spy or an open representative of the war master or his patrons. In either case the agent is loyal to the war master and knows the lay of the land and local rumors, and is likely to be able to provide information about current events, a place to hide, and someone who can safely sell items or buy supplies without raising suspicions.
Every two levels the war master gains after selecting this talent he may “reassign” one of his agents, removing the agent from the community it was previously in and returning it to the pool of available followers. A war master with no available followers of 2nd or higher level can’t use the agent talent until he has an available follower.
Back-Up Plan* (Ex): Whenever the war master grants benefits to his allies from any battle tactic, each ally also gain the ability to reroll any one attack roll, damage roll, or saving throw. If an ally does choose to reroll one of these die rolls, the ally must take the second result even if it is worse than the original die roll. An ally may only make one reroll from a specific war master’s backup plan talent in a given day, even if that war master uses this talent multiple times during the day. Each time an ally chooses to make a reroll, the war master expends one additional round of battle tactics from his daily limit.
Formation* (Ex): Whenever the war master grants benefits to his allies from any war master’s tactic, they also gain the ability to make one additional attack of opportunity each round, and a +4 morale bonus to attack rolls for attacks of opportunity.
Lasting Tactics (Ex): With this talent, a war master may opt to have a war master’s tactic continue to be effective for 2 rounds after he stops maintaining it (even if the war master begins a new set of tactics). These 2 rounds count against the war master’s daily total of battle tactics.
Parley (Ex): The art of trying to reach a truce of some kind with foes is represented by the parley talent. With this talent, a war master can make a special Diplomacy check as a full round action with hostile, unfriendly or indifferent NPCs to attempt to convince them to agree to a temporary cessation of hostilities. This can be attempted in combat, even against foes wishing the war master or his allies immediate harm. The DC for this special check is the same as the DC for improving the attitude of an NPC (see Diplomacy for more information.) A successful check convinces a foe to stop attempting to harm the war master and his allies for 1d4 rounds, as long as the war master and his allies do nothing to improve their situation (or at least aren’t caught doing anything). Thus neither the war master nor his allies may heal, move to better positions, cast spells, or ready equipment during the parley. In most cases if the war master and his allies don’t offer concessions to a hostile foe, violence is renewed (even if negotiations seem to be going well) after the 1d4 rounds of parley.
At 20th level, the war master becomes an expert in the fine art of directing a battle, able to assess his foes with great skill and use that knowledge to guide his allies to victory. The war master can assess a single foe as a move action, and use that information to guide his allies in defeating the foe. The war master makes a Sense Motive check with a DC of (10 + foe’s total Bluff bonus) or (10 +foe’s base attack bonus + foe’s Charisma modifier), whichever is higher. If the war master succeeds, he learns the target’s current and maximum hit points, base attack bonus, armor class, and total Fortitude, Reflex and Will saving throw bonuses. Any ally able to see and hear the war master gains a +5 bonus to attack and damage rolls against any target the war master has assessed in the past 24 hours. If the war master fails an assess check, he cannot attempt to assess the same foe again for 24 hours.
Instead of receiving an additional skill rank or hit point whenever they gain a level in a Favored Class, some races have the option of choosing from a number of other bonuses, depending upon their Favored Classes. The following options are available to the listed race who have war masters as their Favored Class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the listed Favored Class reward.
When a character selects a class, he must choose to use the standard class features found or those listed in one of the archetypes presented here. Each alternate class feature replaces a specific class feature from its parent class. For example, the elemental fist class feature of the monk of the four winds replaces the stunning fist class feature of the monk. When an archetype includes multiple class features, a character must take all of them—often blocking the character from ever gaining certain familiar class features, but replacing them with equally powerful options. All of the other class features found in the core class and not mentioned among the alternate class features remain unchanged and are acquired normally when the character reaches the appropriate level (unless noted otherwise). A character who takes an alternate class feature does not count as having the class feature that was replaced when meeting any requirements or prerequisites.
A character can take more than one archetype and garner additional alternate class features, but none of the alternate class features can replace or alter the same class feature from the core class as another alternate class feature. For example, a paladin could not be both a hospitaler and an undead scourge since they both modify the smite evil class feature and both replace the aura of justice class feature. A paladin could, however, be both an undead scourge and a warrior of the holy light, since none of their new class features replace the same core class feature.
Archetypes are a quick and easy way to specialize characters of a given class, adding fun and flavorful new abilities to already established adventurers. Characters may take more than one archetype if they meet the requirements.