Named Man (3.5e Prestige Class)
Named Man
| “ | “I’ve fought in three campaigns,” he began. “In seven pitched battles. In countless raids and skirmishes and desperate defences, and bloody actions of every kind." | ” |
| —Logen Ninefingers, Named Man, The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie | ||
Named Men come from tribal settings, where barbarians rule and war is a law of the land. They have fought as the lowest of thralls, and made their ways up through the ranks, fighting in battle after battle and killing man after man. In performing some great deed -- slaying scores of men, holding a fortress against impossible odds, etc. -- the Named Man earns his name. The Name almost always pertains to some obvious aspect of the character, or the great deed he performed in order to become what he is. They also tend to have that tribal feel to them (Ninefingers, Thunderhead, etc.). Named Men are more than just skilled combatants, however. They're heroes in their lands, commanding respect in fear wherever they tread. Only Named Men can become Chiefs, and as such most, if not all, Named Men have the ability to lead a group of men or an army. They're tacticians, ruthless savages, and perfect killing machines.
Becoming a Named Man
Most often, Barbarians from tribal settings become Named Men. There is no greater honor in a barbarian tribe than to be called a Named Man, so it is a common goal for those born to that culture. While Barbarian is a common class which becomes a Named Man, other combat-based classes can too. Rangers, Fighters, even the occasional Paladin or Monk, all can become Named Men. Tribes in which Named Men are made have a deep distrust of all magic, however, so spell-casting classes (both divine and arcane) are incapable of becoming a Named Man. They tend to have a great deal of strength and constitution, the hallmarks of an excellent fighter, but they also have something that most warriors lack; something that gives them a great edge in battle. Named Men learn to rely on their senses more than a common soldier, and so they are always much wiser than the average man. Charisma doesn't hurt a Named Man when leading, either.
| Base Attack Bonus: | +10 |
|---|---|
| Feats: | Great Cleave, Eyes In The Back Of Your Head |
| Spellcasting: | No Spell levels |
| Special: | The character must have performed some great deed while fighting among a barbaric people to have earned his/her name. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Leadership, Skill Focus (Intimidate) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | First Strike is the Last +1, Gut Instinct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Weapon Focus, In The Circle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Monkey Grip, First Strike is the Last +2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Weapon Specialization | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | First Strike is the Last +3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | You Can Never Have Too Many Knives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Better to do a Thing, First Strike is the Last +4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +3 | The Great Leveler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class Skills (<-skill points-> + Int + 4 Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering), Knowledge (Geography), Listen, Ride, Survival, Swim, Use Rope. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Named Man.
Leadership: At Level 1, the Named Man gains Leadership as a bonus Feat.
Skill Focus (Intimidate): At Level 1, the Named Man gains Skill Focus (Intimidate) as a bonus Feat
First Strike Is The Last: In battle, he who strikes first strikes last. With this philosophy in mind, Named Men always do their best to make the first attack. A Named Man with this class feature gains a +1 to his/her initiative modifier. This bonus increases by one every 2 levels, ending at +4 at level 8.
Gut Instinct: A Named Man is a veteran of combat. He has learned to use all of his senses to his advantage, making him much more difficult to bring down in battle. Starting at level 2, a Named Man may add his Wisdom Modifier to his armor class, so long as he is wearing light or no armor.
In The Circle: A tradition among his/her culture is the Circle. Each opposing faction chooses a Champion, and the champions enter a circle created by men standing around them with shields, barring any exit. Each Named Man may bring one weapon to the fight, which is laid out in the middle. A shield is tossed (represented by a coin toss), and he who calls the correct side gets to choose which weapon he wants to use. This tradition has forced Named Men to become acquainted with all sorts of weapons and armors. After receiving this benefit, Named Men is now treated as being proficient with any weapon or armor. However, if the armor is heavier than light, (s)he will still lose the Gut Instinct benefit.
Weapon Focus: While a Named Man is able to wield anything, most still have a preferred weapon. A Named Man is granted Weapon Focus as a bonus feat.
Monkey Grip: It is fairly common for a Named Man to find himself matched up against men who are much larger than they should be. As such they have learned to wield much larger weapons, for the same reasons that they learned to wield every other weapon. (S)he gains Monkey Grip as a bonus feat.
Weapon Specialization: The Named Man gains Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat. Even if he does not meet the requirements of the feat.
You Can Never Have Too Many Knives: A common philosophy among Named Men. Starting at 7th level a Named Man can carry twice his normal weight capacity if the majority of the weight comes from weapons.
Better to do a Thing: Named Men have resolve like no other. They have stared fear, pain, death, and danger in the face more times than any man cares to count. This has not made them immune to fear or pain, and it has not made them any stronger than the average man. However, it has given them the unique advantage of being able to swallow everything down and soldier on. Starting at level 8 a Named Man can add his Named Man levels as a morale bonus to Fortitude and Will Saves.
The Great Leveler: None epitomize death like the Named Man. Any weapon a Named Man has its threat range doubled. This does not stack with keen or improved critical.
Playing a Named Man
Named Men are killers, leaders, and tactical minds. They control the battlefield both with their tactics and by sheer force.
Combat: Named Men are most often the damage dealers or tanks. They also tend to take a leading role.
Advancement: Most Named Men stay as Named Men. Multi-classing isn't unheard of, but not necessarily recommended.
Resources: Named Men will find a great deal of respect among Barbarians. They also tend to show each other respect, though there is no real organization or code among them.
Named men in the World
Few Named Men ever make it outside of their homeland. The ones that do find themselves confused and disliked by civilization. Marked as savages and cretins.
| “ | “You were a hero round these parts. That's what they call you when you kill so many people the word murderer falls short.” | ” |
Named Men rarely fit in anywhere but in their own homelands. However a few, just like Barbarians, make their way into more civilized lands and find work as soldiers, adventurers, or murderers. When a comrade of the Named Man falls -- they refer to this as "going back to the mud" -- it is customary for the leader of the Named Man's crew, the Chief, to say words over the grave of that comrade. A Named Man feels obligated to perform this ceremony, no matter how brief their relationship was with the fallen comrade or how much (s)he disliked the man or woman.
NPC Reactions: Barbarians respect and fear a Named Man. Most others just look on with frightful disdain. While few spell-casters harbor any ill-feelings toward a Named Man, any more than they have toward another combat-based class, Named Men are very distrusting of spell-casters, creating a tense relationship.
Named Man Lore
Named Men are an uncommon sight in the civilized world, but those who have studied that history of the world, and heard the tales of those who hail from the homeland of barbarians have heard whispers of these great men. Heard the talk of their deeds, their names, and on the rarest of occasions, the story of how they came to be.
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (history) can research <Named Men> to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | The character recognizes the role a Named Man plays in his culture. Leader, and legend. |
| 16 | From the name (if given) or identifying feature, the character recognizes this Named Man from tales told by barbarians of his homeland. |
| 21 | Each Named Man has a story for how he earned his name. A successful check allows the character to know this Named Man's story, and possibly tales of what he did after earning his name. |
| 26 | The character knows of the origin of Named Men. Once chiefs of an early civilization, ruled by 12, they split into their own separate tribes and clans centuries ago. Now the tradition has become one of bloodshed and fear, rather than true competence and respect |
Named Men in the Game
Named men are the leaders of barbarian hordes, and highly skilled warriors. They are most often seen where civilization is not, possibly leading a group or army of barbarians across the country-side, or forming raiding parties.
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