NPC Prestige Class - Flame's Bane (name under development)

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Above is a link to one of my earlier prestige classes - you may
remember it, or if not, the ensuing grammar discussion. Don't bother
clicking on it, I just have it there for reference. In it, I mentioned
how I had mused over the posibility of NPC prestige classes - PrCs that
would be valuable to NPCs like Commoners and Experts for non-combat
purposes, but not so great for PCs. Though D&D is not really built to
reflect civilian life, that just encouraged me. At this point I've
whipped up a PrC that I think fits the description. Maybe even, you
guys can make use of these to add a bit of spice to your NPCs. So, with
no further ado...
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(more space to seperate my info from the PrC)
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FLAME'S BANE
Adventurers are trouble. Although the most major support of any
society's economy, the overwhelming majority are chaotic neutral and
have a flagrant disregard for the property and safety of anyone who
isn't part of their elitest circle. One of the most obvious signs of
this are fires. Adventurers sling around fireballs in the middle of
orchards, or use improvised molotov cocktails against ransacking
trolls. Some of the less moral even deliberately set the building they
suspect houses their enemies ablaze as a safer - for them - means of
dealing with them.
Though Adventurers quite often are wanderers and are content to visit
any city only once if convenient, the population of a settlement have
to deal with an out-of-control blaze. Experts and Commoners are
entrusted with the duty of stopping fires before they can engulf a
town's major landmarks (town hall, blacksmith's place, temple...that
about covers it), and with the highest level commoner being
4d4+CommunityModifier level, and firefighting being the most obvious
source of XP, the individual can start to become very proficient at
their job...
Hit Die: d8

Prerequisites:
Skills: Profession [firefighter] 8 ranks, Heal 4 ranks
Feats: Endurance
Special: The character must have either proactively combated or rescued
someone from a blaze dangerous enough to warrant XP.

Lev BAB Frt Ref Wil FireRes. Special
01 +00 +00 +02 +00 2________Sooty Lungs
02 +01 +00 +03 +00 2________Evasion(fire), Smokevision
03 +02 +01 +03 +01 3________Refreshment
04 +03 +01 +04 +01 3________Spider Climb 1/day
05 +03 +01 +04 +01 3
06 +04 +02 +05 +02 4________Improved Smokevision
07 +05 +02 +05 +02 4
08 +06 +02 +06 +02 4________Spider Climb 2/day
09 +06 +03 +06 +03 5
10 +07 +03 +07 +03 5________Greater Smokevision, Quench

Skills: Balance (DEX), Climb (STR), Concentration (CON), Heal (WIS),
Jump (STR), Listen (WIS), Open Lock (DEX), Profession (WIS), Spot
(WIS), Use Rope (DEX)
Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int. Modifier

The following are class features of the flame's bane:

Weapon and armour proficiency: Flame's Banes gain no proficiency in any
weapon or armour.

Fire Resistance (Ex): As a flame's bane gains levels, his (there. I'm
using the male pronoun. Pleased?) contant exposure to fire and hot
temperatures eventually causes his body to become resistant to their
effects. The flame's bane gains fire resistance as shown on the
previous table. This is an extraordinary ability and cannot be
dispelled.

Sooty Lungs (Ex): A flame's bane has, by the time he qualifies for the
class, inhaled so much smoke that he no longer is choked by it. He no
longer needs to make checks to breath in a smoke-filled environment.

Evasion (fire) (Ex): You all know what evasion is. However, a
flame's bane's evasion only works on heat- or fire-based threats, such
as a backdraft or a suddenly exploding vial or oil. This *does* apply
against magical attacks, but only fire-based ones. For example, if a
2nd-level flame's bane makes his save versus a wizard's Fireball or red
dragon's fire breath, he takes no damage, but if he successfully saves
against Otiluke's Freezing Sphere or a black dragon's breath weapon, he
takes half damage as normal. In the very unlikely event that a flame's
bane already has evasion from previous levels, he gains Improved
Evasion instead, but still only versus fire-based threats.

Smokevision (Su): At 2nd level, a flame's bane has adapted to see
through smoke. In smoke, fog, rain, or similar visual impediments (but
not darkness or the like) he can see double the range of other
characters - that is, opponents ten feet away have concealment, and
total concealment beyond. At fifth level, this visual range extends to
15 feet, and at tenth level, 20 feet.

Refreshment (Su): At third level, a flame's bane body has become so
resistant to dehyrdration that it utilizes every drop of water to its
utmost efficiency. When wounded, a flame's bane can drink water and
have it act as a Potion of Cure Light Wounds, with a caster level equal
to the character's level in Flame's Bane. As with all potions, drinking
water is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. This
is internal, rather than external of the flame's bane - this power is
only effective on the flame's bane himself, and the same water will
only act as water for anyone else.
This power only works on water significantly cooler than the
surrounding area. F'rex, a flame's bane could carry several flasks of
water into a burning building as de facto healing potions, but couldn't
use water found inside the building (because it is just as hot as the
surrounding area) nor could he use water in an everyday, temerate
setting (unless the water was ice cold).
At DM's discretion, other drinks (such as fruit juice, iced tea, et
cetera) could be used for this purpose, but only if the character had
already established an affinity for these drinks (which is unlikely, as
roleplaying is usually not a big part of NPCs). The DM should remember
that this is the exception to the rule, and alcoholic drinks being used
for these purposes is practically unheard of.
Unlike acutal Potions of Cure Light Wounds, this technique heals
rather than harms undead.
Being drenched in water, if by a cleric's Create Water for example,
heals 1 hit point to the flame's bane. It is limited by all the
conditions of the above (except of course, that the character need only
be drenched, and so obviously doesn't require an action).

Spider Climb (Sp): A fourth level flame's bane can cast Spider Climb on
himself as a spell-like ability with a CL equal to his flame's bane
level. At eighth level, a flame's bane can use this ability twice per
day. Please note that this ability, while useful for rescues, does not
make you weightless, and burning walls tend not to react well to
suddenly having to support either a flame's bane or his rescued quarry
well!

Quench (Sp): At tenth level, a flame's bane is capable is extinguishing
fires around himself, though at great sacrifice to himself. This
ability acts like the druid's Quench spell, except that this spell
requires no divine focus, and each use causes four points of constution
damage to the flame's bane. Obviously, only the most zealous and
poor-planning flame's bane would use this on any but the most extreme
of circumstances.

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

I was thinking of giving out a good Fort save, but by the books a Fort
save really doesn't mean much to a firefighter. You use Reflex saves to
avoid bursting aflame (or to put yourself out), and after that Sooty
Lungs ability you don't have to make Fort checks to breath. If all
you're doing is fire-fighting, a good Fort is meaningless. By the
books, that is. But it would fit in with the flavour of the class...

I wanted an axe proficiency as well, except that:
1 - This would give them combat ability. Well, duh, but I wanted the
challenge of making this a valuable PrC that PCs wouldn't take.
2 - Axes, if I remember correctly, don't really help to break objects
in the D&D world any more than any other high-damage weapon. If I
remember correctly.
3 - Well, I suppose so. I was thinking since he's only dealing with
house fires, a FB would never need more than 6 points of fire
resistance, but then again...

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

snikers000@hotmail.com <snikers000@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I was thinking of giving out a good Fort save, but by the books a Fort
> save really doesn't mean much to a firefighter. You use Reflex saves
> to avoid bursting aflame (or to put yourself out), and after that
> Sooty Lungs ability you don't have to make Fort checks to breath. If
> all you're doing is fire-fighting, a good Fort is meaningless. By the
> books, that is. But it would fit in with the flavour of the class...

I'd give good reflex, medium fort (1+$level/2.5), then. That's mostly
because classes IMC generally start with one good, one medium, and one
poor save.

> I wanted an axe proficiency as well, except that:
> 1 - This would give them combat ability. Well, duh, but I wanted the
> challenge of making this a valuable PrC that PCs wouldn't take.

Most people who would care about axe proficiency would already have it,
especially by the time they reach the point of taking a PrC.

> 2 - Axes, if I remember correctly, don't really help to break objects
> in the D&D world any more than any other high-damage weapon. If I
> remember correctly.
> 3 - Well, I suppose so. I was thinking since he's only dealing with
> house fires, a FB would never need more than 6 points of fire
> resistance, but then again...

House fires burn marked hotter than d6 points of damage, I'm sure.
They're much bigger than bonfires (books not handy, but I'm pretty sure
a bonfire does more than d6 points of damage).


Keith
--
Keith Davies "Trying to sway him from his current kook-
keith.davies@kjdavies.org rant with facts is like trying to create
keith.davies@gmail.com a vacuum in a room by pushing the air
http://www.kjdavies.org/ out with your hands." -- Matt Frisch

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

snikers000@hotmail.com wrote:

> I was thinking of giving out a good Fort save, but by the books a Fort
> save really doesn't mean much to a firefighter. You use Reflex saves to
> avoid bursting aflame (or to put yourself out), and after that Sooty
> Lungs ability you don't have to make Fort checks to breath. If all
> you're doing is fire-fighting, a good Fort is meaningless. By the
> books, that is. But it would fit in with the flavour of the class...

Maybe instead of Fort, make them have some sort of specific save, like against
Fatigue. For the long hours at battleing fires, be they forest or neightborhood,
and it is somewhat applicable to non-fire related, but not combat related.
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk. For here, at the
end of all things, we shall do what needs to be done."
--till next time, Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- <<poetry.dolphins-cove.com>>