Biting Wind
Where oceans ice over and the arctic gales blow, there are found the warriors of the Biting Wind. Impervious to cold, rough bitten but masters of grace, they are the elite of frozen warfare. No one moves faster over ice, nor know the ways of the glacier or the taste of the bitter breeze better. They are stone cold in resolve and just as solid. A guard of the biting wind off his skates is naught but a corpse.
Biting Wind guardians are, almost without fail, glacier dwarfs, the students of older warriors learned in the century long war with the Frostfolk. The Azure Floe was the battle ground, an ancient frozen sea with depths unheard of, but filled with treasure; the wondrous Blue Ice. The dwarfs had been first to discover it, but the secret was heard upon the wind and such riches appealed to the Frostfolk. Though many already followed the discipline of the Bitter Edge, it was during that battle that it was perfected and their skill tempered. Like a tempest they at last drove back the Frostfolk. Glots and razor skipdisks rolled like an avalanche, and behind it came a thousand mighty warriors with blade on foot and blade in hand. To this day the scene of that final battle is stained red with the frozen blood of the fallen.
Becoming a Biting WindStandard dwarfs and humans are sometimes taught the ways if known to be a trusted friend of the people of the Azure Floe, but even then they are not considered to be a true member of the guard. Any race could learn it, but only a glacier dwarf uses it to it's full potential.
Swordsages and Crusaders are the most common to go the way of the Biting Wind. Warriors of all types are capable, though must have at least a couple levels in a martial class to meet the prerequisites.
Hit Dice: d10
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RequirementsTo qualify to become a warrior of the Biting Wind, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Attack: Base Attack Bonus +4
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (dwarven war axe, glot, iuak, or razor skipdisc)
Skills: Balance 9 ranks, Tumble 2 ranks
Martial Maneuvers: Must know three
Bitter Edge maneuvers.
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Maneuvers Known Maneuvers Readied Stances Known Special
1st +1 +2 +2 +0 1 0 0 Skate Speed 40 ft., Flurry of Blades, Stability
2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 1 0 1 Bonus Feat, Skateby Attack
3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 1 1 0 Skate Speed 50 ft., Slick Charge
4th +4 +4 +4 +1 1 0 0 Ice Mastery, Skate Like the Wind
5th +5 +4 +4 +1 1 0 0 Floe Sense, Skate Speed 60 ft.
6th +6 +5 +5 +2 1 1 0 Bonus Feat, Light of Blade
7th +7 +5 +5 +2 1 0 0 Skate Speed 70 ft., Slice the Ice
8th +8 +6 +6 +2 1 0 0 Perfect Form
9th +9 +6 +6 +3 1 1 1 Bonus Feat, Skate Speed 80 ft.
10 +10 +7 +7 +3 1 0 0 Poised Upon the Pinnacle
Class SkillsBalance (Dex), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (history/martial/nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: (2 + Int modifier)
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Class FeaturesAll the following are Class Features of the Biting Wind prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Biting Wind is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, armor, and shields, except tower shields.
Maneuvers: At each level you gain a new maneuver known from the Bitter Edge discipline. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. You add your Biting Wind levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At 3rd and 9th level, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.
Skate Speed (Ex):At first level a Biting Wind guardian gains a skate/ski speed of 40 feet that supersedes their land speed when wearing skates/skis and upon suitable terrain. At each odd-numbered level, he gains a +10-foot bonus to his skating/skiing speed. A Biting Wind may use the run and sprint action, and feats such as Run and Speed of Thought can be used on the ice and snow. It takes two full rounds to work up to a run. Once they achieve this velocity it requires much less effort to continue it, as they will continue to skid across the ice. Once the run speed has been met they only require a move action to continue at that velocity and do not have to make Constitution checks. They may also sprint, which allows them to move 5 times their normal skating speed (6 times with the Run feet), but are affected normally by the Run rules. Even if the Biting Wind stops actively skating he may allow himself to continue on, his speed decreasing by 10 feet per round.
They may also jump while on skates with the bonuses applied by their speed at the time of the leap.
A biting wind may move across slippery terrain even without skates or skiis but if attempting to move faster than their base speed must succeed on a DC 20 balance check each round. At 4th level they no longer need to make balance checks. They do not have to make checks to keep from falling on slippery services, even the affects of a Grease spell.
Flurry of Blades (Ex):Stability (Ex):A Biting Wind gains the Stability ability alike to a dwarf's, even while on ice. If you already have the Stability ability, the bonus doubles.
You may also take 10 on all Balance checks. At 5th level you may take 20.
Bonus FeatAt 2nd level a Biting Wind may choose one of the following feats if he meets the prerequisites: Agile, Cold Endurance, Combat Expertise, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (dwarven waraxe, glot, razor skipdisc), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Trip, Martial Maneuver, or Speed Skating (see below).
At 6th and 9th level he may choose from
Combat Acrobat, Improved Cold Endurance, Martial Stance, Mobility,
Storm of Flying Strikes, Two-Weapon Fighting
Skateby Attack (Ex):When skating, the Biting Wind can take a move action and another standard action at any point during his move. The Biting Wind cannot take a second move action during a round when it makes a skateby attack.
Slick Charge (Ex):When a Biting Wind charges, he can make one turn of up to 90 degrees during his movement. All other restrictions on charges still apply; for instance, you cannot pass through a square that blocks or slows movement, or that contains a creature unless you can make a successful jump check to clear the obstruction. You must have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn. He may make two full turns at 6th level, and three turns at 9th.
Skate Like the Wind (Ex): You know just how to skate into the wind or be pushed along by it. You may skate, unhindered, by any wind. Roll a 1d8 each minute to see what direction it blows towards. 1 is North, 2 North-East, 3 East, 4 South-East, 5 South, 6 South-West, 7 West, 8 North-west. When you skate in the exact direction of the blow you may add your own skate speed to it. If it is within one direction of the wind you may add half the wind speed to your skate speed. You may stop skating and let the wind carry you as well at its exact speed in a straight line, able to perform a full round action as you continue on.
If you are skating against the wind, i.e. going in the opposite direction of its blow, you may continue to skate at your base speed but may not use the run or sprint action.
Ice Mastery (Ex):At 4th level a biting Wind has become accustomed to the constant slipping upon the ice and can use it to his advantage. As long as he is upon a slippery surface, regardless of whether he is wearing skates, he gets a +2 bonus on all Balance and Tumble checks, and a +1 bonus on Attack rolls and Initiative checks. Even without skates he can use both the Run and Sprint action without the need of a balance check.
Floe Sense (Ex):A Biting Wind can intuit the strength of any ice within twenty feet and knows how much weight it can hold.
Light of Blade (Ex):A Biting Wind soon learns the perfect spread of weight upon frozen surfaces and is treated as being two size categories smaller for the purposes of determining the results of his actions on thin ice.
Slice the Ice (Ex): As a move action you can dig your skates in deep, cutting the ice where you pass. You effectively decrease it's thickness by 2 inches plus 2 inches per size category above Medium. You must end and start your move action in the same square when you use this ability. You may affect an area up to equal to your base skate speed. You may follow the same path you did before, cutting it further each time. If the ice is a foot or less in depth, it buckles, and those in the space fall into the water or whatever else may lie beneath.
Perfect Form (Ex): Beginning at 8th level, you initiate your maneuvers with great fluidity and grace. The save DC (if any) of any maneuver you initiate increases by 1. A Bitter Edge maneuver DC increases by +2.
Poised Upon the Pinnacle (Ex): At 10th level you learn a poise and stability that borders on the supernatural, but what has occurred is you have fully adapted to life on the edge, in your mind and body. This aids you in several ways.
First, you can no longer be tripped, having achieved the perfect equilibrium. If a trip attack is made you automatically gain an attack of opportunity against your opponent.
Second, you automatically succeed on all non-epic Balance checks. Slippery surfaces, narrow areas, and similar. Even during an earthquake you retain your footing.
Finally you gain a +10 perfection bonus to your Armor Class, though you lose this bonus if flat-footed.
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Speed Skater [General]You are lightening on ice.
Prerequisites: Skate speed
Benefit: Your skating speed increases by 20 feet.
