Bush Runner[]
Description: The fleet-footed Brushrunner lives a life of serenity, basking in the sun and chasing wild game on lushly vegetated plains. His long legs and lean body make him a natural athlete; he sprints with the speed of a cheetah and leaps with the grace of a gazelle. His harmonious relationship with nature has sharpened his aesthetic sense, encouraging him to develop his artistic skills. Most Brushrunners belong to extended families called moieties, consisting of a hundred or more relatives and friends. A moiety lives and hunts on a particular section of land, called the moiety estate. Brushrunners must obey all directives of their moiety elders, which usually involve the care and protection of the estate.
Requirements: Standard.
Homeland Terrain:
- Required: Plains.
Role: Brushrunners are social creatures who value tradition, order, and cooperation. When a Brushrunner joins an adventuring party, he selects a party member to act as his surrogate moiety elder, usually the strongest party member or the one with the most forceful personality. An acceptable surrogate must be older than the Brushrunner and preferably of the same sex. The Brushrunner honors the surrogate with a pledge of loyalty and a small gift of food or trinkets. If the chosen party member declines to serve as the Brushrunner's surrogate, the Brushrunner picks someone else. (Note that the Brushrunner's surrogate doesn't necessarily have to be the party's actual leader.)
Once he secures a surrogate, the Brushrunner follow his orders implicitly and without hesitation. Should the surrogate dishonor himself for instance, by mistreating the weak or needlessly endangering the party the Brushrunner severs his ties with the surrogate by snapping a bone in front of his face or spitting on his feet. The Brushrunner then selects another surrogate to follow. If no suitable surrogate is available, the Brushrunner may noint himself as a moiety elder. He then expects the other party members to do as they're told. If they decline, he sulks and whines. But because cooperation means more to a Brushrunner than getting his way, he will eventually comply with the consensus of the party and agree to follow the designated leader. If comfortable with the party's chain of command, a Brushrunner is easy going and playful. He enjoys catching butterflies, watching clouds drift by, and slipping worms down the backs of stuffy companions. He makes a good hunter and scout, though he's somewhat undependable. A Brushrunner on the trail of a deer may become distracted and not return for the rest of the day. He may disappear into the brush with out a word of warning, showing up an hour later with a rabbit carcass or a colorful wild flower.
Secondary Skills: Primitive Artist, Crude Bowyer/Fletcher, Hunter, Storyteller, Crude Weaponsmithing.
Weapon Proficiencies:
- Required: Boomerang* (either returning or non returning).
- Recommended: Blowgun, club, short bow, dagger, dart, sling, spear, rabbit stick*.
Nonweapon Proficiencies:
- Bonus: Artistic Ability, Running (unlike other characters with this proficiency, a Brushrunner suffers no penalty to his attack rolls during a day he spends running).
- Recommended: Crude Bowyer/Fletcher*, Danger Sense*, Hiding*, Hunting, Set Snares, Crude Weaponsmithing*.
- Barred: Leadership.
Economic System: Both simple barter and animal products barter.
Wealth Options: A Brushrunner begins with 3d4 gp worth of animal products or tradable goods.
Armor and Equipment: A Brushrunner receives no beginning armor. He prefers to dress lightly, typically wearing a leather loincloth, a small feather headdress, and arm bands made of flowers and vines. If he wishes, he may trade some of his goods for armor, but he suffers several penalties when he wears it (see the Special Hindrances section). A Brushrunner also begins with a leather pouch filled with various art supplies, including carving tools (files, picks, and wedges made of stone), paint brushes (grass or hair attached to sticks), and needles (slivers of stone or bone). He receives these supplies at no cost; when in his homeland terrain, he can replenish them in a few hours. Art supplies cannot be used as weapons or have significant trade value.
Special Benefits[]
Sprinting: A Brushrunner can sprint at triple speed (45 Movement Rate) for up to three consecutive rounds on a single Strengh heck (refer to the Jogging and Running section in the Player's Handbook). All checks made while running are made at one category better; a normal Strength check for triple movement and Strength -4 for quintuple movement. He may move and fight normally afterward, but before sprinting again, he must rest without moving for as many rounds as he sprinted. Enhanced Leaping and Springing: A Brush runner leaps and springs as a barbarian two levels higher (see Table 8 in Chapter 1).
Battle Frenzy: When making a melee attack, the Brushrunner can go into a frenzy of whirls, spins, and darts that confuses opponents and makes the Brushrunner more difficult to hit. A successful Dexterity check begins the frenzy. If the check fails, he may try again in another hour. If the check succeeds, the Brushrunner gains a -3 bonus to Armor Class. A Brushrunner can maintain a battle frenzy for a number of rounds equal to his Constitution.
The frenzy ends automatically at the end of this period; he may also voluntarily end the frenzy at any point. A Brushrunner can use his battle frenzy ability no more than once per hour.
Create Artworks: Once per month, a Brush runner can create any of the following objects, assuming necessary materials are available. Each work takes 3d4 hours to complete, after which the Brushrunner must make an artistic ability proficiency check. If the check succeeds, the art work has the properties described below. If the check fails, the work has no special properties. e A painting on a sheet of bark, called an orroboree, portraying an ailing or wounded character or creature.
The Brushrunner carefully touches each section of the subject's body; sections that are sensitive, warm, or obviously distressed are depicted on the orroboree in striking shades of primary colors. If a character with the healing proficiency including the Brushrunner himself ministers to a patient represented by an orroboree, the patient recovers at twice the normal rate (2 hit points per day even when traveling or engaging in nonstrenuous activity; 4 hp per day if the ailing character gets complete rest; 6 hp per day if the wounded character rests and the ministering character has both the healing and herbalism proficiencies.) A 6-foot hardwood pole called a rangga, carved with crude images of human faces and decorated with vines.The rangga turns undead at a level equal to the Brushrunner. A rangga loses its properties if uprooted or defaced; it is not possible to carry a rangga through an adventure and use it as needed. It repels undead for 1d4 weeks. * A small wooden bust of a deer or other herd animal, called a maraiin. Though crudely sculpted, the maraiin's flawless symmetry and understated beauty gives it a value of 3d8 gp.
Special Hindrances[]
Armor Penalty: Though a Brushrunner may wear any armor normally allowed barbarians, he finds it uncomfortable and confining. If he wears armor, he can't use the Special Benefits of sprinting, leaping and springing, or battle frenzy. (However, he still gains these benefits when carrying a shield.)
Moiety Tasks: Every year, a Brushrunner must complete a task designated by his moiety elders. Completing the task proves allegiance to the elders and affirms kinship with the moiety. The Brushrunner must return to his moiety estate every year to receive a new task. If this is impractical, the Brushrunner repeats the same task from the previous year. The DM assigns the task from the following list, or may make up his own:
- Slay a particular creature without the help of his companions; the creature must have a number of Hit Dice equal to at least half of the Brushrunner's experience level. (A 5th-level Brushrunner must slay a creature with 3 hit dice.)
- Take a young Brushrunner into the outworld and act as the child's mentor for a few weeks. If the youngster is lost, killed, or seriously wounded, the Brushrunner fails his task.
- Spend a week serving the moiety, collecting food, tending to the infants, and caring for the sick.
- Fetch a particular gem or precious stone as a gift for the moiety elder. A Brushrunner who fails to complete the task is overwhelmed with shame. He must destroy a favorite weapon or possession (chosen by the DM) and may not use any special benefits for one month. An atonement spéll halves the duration of the special benefits suspension.
- Spend a week serving the moiety, collecting food, tending to the infants, and caring for the sick.
- Fetch a particular gem or precious stone as a gift for the moiety elder.
A Brushrunner who fails to complete the task is overwhelmed with shame. He must destroy a favorite weapon or possession (chosen by the DM) and may not use any special benefits for one month. An atonement spéll halves the duration of the special benefits suspension.
| |||||||||||||||||||