Caveman: King of the Club Club

[username]

Homebrew Class: Caveman



Characteristics: Willpower, Strength, Constitution
Skills: Athletics, Animal Ken, Arcana, Brawl, Crafts, Drive, Intimidation, Perception, Weaponry
Sword Schools: Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw
Bonus for Completion: +2 damage with Clubs

Trog
Level: 1
Prerequisites: Weaponry 2, Arcana 2
Feats:
Weapon Proficiency (Basic)
*Unremarkable
Weapon Focus (Club)
*Animal Companion

Power Attack

Sound Constitution

Primitive
Level: 2
Prerequisites: Weaponry 3, Arcana 3, Weapon Focus (Club), Power Attack
Feats:
Frenzy
*Armor Proficiency (Light)
Furious Assault
Weapon Specialization (Club)

*Weapon Proficiency (Throwing)

Sound Constitution

Caveman
Level: 3
Prerequisites: Weaponry 4, Arcana 3, Weapon Specialization (Club), Frenzy
Feats:
Jaded
True Grit
Crushing Blow
*Improved Animal Companion

*Wild Empathy

Sound Constitution

Aborigine
Level: 4
Prerequisites: Weaponry 5, Arcana 4, Weapon Specialization (Club), Weapon Focus (Club), True Grit
Feats:
Battle Rage
*Worf Effect
Hardy
*Cleave

Improved Weapon Focus (Club)

Sound Constitution

Chieftain
Level: 5
Prerequisites: Weaponry 5, Arcana 5, Improved Weapon Focus (Club), Battle Rage
Feats:
Improved Weapon Specialization (Club)
Counter Attack
Devastating Critical
*Beastmaster

Naturalize

Sound Constitution

[username]

A pretty simple class I had in my mind for a while, focusing mostly on hitting things with clubs.

I tried to keep it as basic as possible, using only book 1 and 2 feats alongside book 1 sword schools. I limited myself to 5 feats a level so it was a bit tight at times.
It is a bit of a mix of Barbarian, Fighter and Druid and so probably multi classes pretty well. With how it and those book 1 classes are laid out though, it is probably better to take Caveman second rather than first from an optimal build standpoint, but then you'd be missing out on the joy of being a caveman from the get go.

I went with Weaponry and Arcana, with Arcana representing superstitions and such that seems relevant for a Caveman. It's a good skill all around too, although I may switch it out for Animal Ken. Most of the Druid feats are optional so if you don't want to bother with an animal companion you don't need to invest in it. With so much optional though, it ends up leveling up rather quickly so I may switch out some of the feats for less optional ones to slow progression. As it is now, I believe it will hit level 5 100 xp sooner than even Druid, which is rather incredible, although finishing level 5 costs quite a bit more xp.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, as always, feel free to let me know as I'm always interested in feedback.

[ScrapyardDragon]

does the club boost work on improvised weapons? They use the profile of one.

[username]

Sept 4, 2022 22:13:11 GMT -6 ScrapyardDragon said:

does the club boost work on improvised weapons? They use the profile of one.

I was uncertain at first, but it is a little more complicated than that. Technically the club entry just states that most improvised weapons count as a club, not all, so it is no guarantee.

But if the Improvised weapon does count as a club, then the club boost would work and so would the Weapon Focus and Specializations. This in the same way that a Weapon Focus(Hand Weapon) will work with any Hand Weapon, be it a mace, sword or axe as long as it is a hand weapon as per the entry.

This does mean that if you pick up the improvising feats your club could still get stronger. It also means Tech-Priests make good Cavemen, since their Manipulator Mechadendrite can be used as a club in melee with a bonus +2 strength.

[username]

After some feedback, I changed the class in a simple manner, but one that has a big impact. There were concerns that the lower levels were too cheap. It overall had a very low requirement to get to level 3 and 5, similar to stuff like Druid.
This was amended in a simple manner by making each level have and require a Sound Constitution. This adds 500xp to the cost of completing the entire class, making it more expensive than some book 2 classes such as arcane knight, druid and courtier. Hopefully this doesn't make the class too much less worth considering.
One other question raised was whether the class should have Nerves of Steel or Fearless. I figured I wouldn't do that at this point. I figure cavemen aren't likely to have a pinning immunity and a superstitious savage might be scared of the stuff out there.