Class: Berserker

The Berserker
		Maneuvers
Level	Special	Max Rage	Max Maneuver Grade	Schools	Maneuvers Known
1	Provoke	2	Basic	1	4
2	Fury	2	Basic	1	6
3		3	Lesser	1	7
4	Fury	3	Lesser	1	8
5		4	Lesser	2	10
6	Fury	4	Lesser	2	11
7		5	Lesser	2	12
8	Fury	5	Expert	2	14
9		6	Expert	2	15
10	Berserker Talent	6	Expert	2	16
11		7	Expert	3	18
12	Berserker Talent	7	Expert	3	19
13		8	Greater	3	20
14	Berserker Talent	8	Greater	3	22
15		9	Greater	3	23
16	Berserker Talent	9	Greater	3	24
17		10	Greater	3	26
18	Berserker Talent	10	Master	3	27
19		11	Master	3	28
20	Berserker Talent	11	Master	3	30

 

Berserker

Gerolt, iconic berserker

"Go ahead, take the first swing. Make it count."

Fueled by rage and the thrill of combat, berserkers are incredibly dangerous melee combatants, able to give in to their instincts to become whirling engines of absolute destruction. They have little use for subtlety or finesse, putting everything they have - and then some - into every swing of their axe. The approach of the berserker is such that they do not fear pain or death, and in fact relish in the former, using the wounds inflicted upon them by their foes as impetus to bring them to greater heights of fury: after all, if you can actually put up a fight, that makes the exchange of blows all the more entertaining.

Sometimes associated with Chaos, due to their approach to combat, berserkers do not actually have a natural Force alignment, and their combat style can sometimes mask an eerie mental calm: for some berserkers, giving in to the beast within is a crucial mental exercise that allows them to maintain a level head in other situations. Among more learned students of the arts martial, it is said that a berserker whose face becomes a neutral mask and who makes no noise in combat is even more deadly than those who hoot and holler and revel in destruction, representing a focus on dealing death to their foes that allows them to bring expert precision to their exaggerated movements.

Berserkers come from several different schools of thought towards their approach to combat, though "schools" may be giving them too much credit: these approaches are more about how a given berserker channels his rage, and his general approach to combat. Some berserkers will intentionally put themselves in harm's way, seeking a good fight (and potentially a good death) - ironically, these berserkers make for excellent protectors of others, as their insistence that they be the one to make their enemies bleed often leads them to interject themselves between friend and foe. Others, however, are more stereotypical, simply bringing death and destruction to all who stand in their path.

Game Rule Information

Archers have the following game statistics.

Force Alignment: None.

Force Resistances: None.

Abilities: Strength, Constitution, and Bravery are all important to the berserker, though their relative importance depends upon which combat schools the berserker follows.

Hit Points at 1st Level: 20 + Con score.

Hit Points at Each Additional Level: 11 + Con modifier.

Healing Surges: 12 + Con modifier.

Defenses: Fort +2; Ref +2; Will +0; Det +2.

Starting Age: Simple.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the berserker.

Proficiencies

Weapons: Axes, any three melee, any one ranged, any one.

Armor: Leather, Mail.

Implements: None.

Maneuvers

Berserkers are warriors, and as such make use of maneuvers, specific attacks or other abilities attained through rigorous training.

To use maneuvers, berserkers must expend rage, which they gain through taking or dealing damage, and can sometimes gain in other ways.

 

Berserker Schools
School	Primary Ability	Description	Rage Descriptor
Berserk	Brv	You allow yourself to be overtaken by rage and fury on the battlefield, letting your actions become automatic.	Savage
Defiance	Con	You seek out blood and glory on the field, demanding challenges and goading your foes into attacking you.	Wrath
Deliverance	Str	You become an engine of destruction, letting anger guide your swings while keeping your head clear.	Abandon

 

Maneuvers are almost universally completely physical in nature and have no Force components; they are expressions of the mortal body pushed to its limits. Maneuvers are divided into schools, which represent particular thoughts and approaches to combat, training, and martial abilities. The rage cost and minimum primary ability needed to use a maneuver are indicated on the table to the right.

Maneuver Stats by Grade
Grade	Minimum Primary Ability	Rage Cost
Basic	10	1
Lesser	12	2
Expert	14	3
Greater	16	5
Master	18	8
Epic	20	11

The berserker has a maximum amount of rage, based upon his class level. You gain a bonus to this amount equal to the highest of your Strength, Constitution, and Bravery modifiers; this bonus is limited to half your class level, rounded down.

Whenever you take at least one point of damage from a single action (not a single attack), you gain an amount of rage equal to the potency of the attack (minimum 1), unless you spent rage to take that action or on a reaction to that action. Attacks that do not deal damage rated in potency instead generate an amount of rage equal to half of the highest of your Strength, Constitution, and Bravery modifiers (rounded down, minimum 1). If you take damage from ongoing damage, you instead gain half the rage you normally would (rounded down, minimum 1).

Your current amount of rage cannot exceed your max. After a short rest or long rest, your rage is reset to 0.

Whenever you gain rage, you automatically become tired five minutes later. (A berserker with the tired status loses all rage and cannot gain rage until he takes a short rest.)

Each berserker school has a basic stance; whenever you gain access to a school, you automatically learn its basic stance. Unlike maneuvers, you do not need to expend rage to enter a stance.

To use a maneuver, you must expend some amount of rage; in addition, the rage you expend must have the descriptor that matches the maneuver's descriptor.

The berserker begins with four known maneuvers. He gains knowledge of additional maneuvers each level, as per the class table, above. At fourth level and every four levels after, he can trade out up to two maneuvers for new maneuvers from any school he can access, of any grade he can access.

If you would gain access to a school, you can choose to instead gain a bonus feat, which must be a feat for which you qualify. If you would gain access to a school and already have access to three schools, you gain a bonus feat instead.

The berserker's key ability for his physical attacks is dependent upon the weapon he wields; when using a maneuver, if his primary ability score for the maneuver's school is greater than the ability score he would use for his weapon, he can use that instead.

Provoke

All berserkers are able to bring significant attention to themselves on the battlefield, and can goad their foes into attacking them.

As a swift action, you can give a creature within 60 feet of you the malice status for 1 round, with you as the target. (A creature with malice must resolve all attacks against the object of this status; if the creature makes an area attack, the object of this status must be included in the area. This status immediately ends if the object of this status gains unconscious or dead.)

Fury

As a berserker grows in skill, he learns how to better tap into the inner beast.

At each of the levels indicated on the class table, you can choose one ability from the following list. Unless otherwise specified, each ability can only be taken once.

▶ Attitude Adjustment

Prerequisites: Access to at least two berserker schools

You can end your current berserker stance and enter another you know as the same free action. When you do, you do not gain tired from the stance you ended. If your rage loses a rage descriptor, you lose half your current rage, rounded down.

▶ All the Feels

Choose a rage descriptor for a school you can access. Your rage always has that rage descriptor in addition to any other it has.

You can take this ability multiple times; each time, select a different rage descriptor for a school you can access.

▶ And $&%@ Your Buddy Too

When you use provoke, you can target one additional creature.

You can take this ability multiple times; its effect stacks.

▶ Better Now

When you end a berserker stance, if you have no rage, you do not gain tired.

▶ Anger Management

Prerequisites: Better Now

At the end of your turn, if you did not gain or spend rage during your turn, you can voluntarily reduce your rage by your Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).

▶ Infuriate

As a move action, you can spend a healing surge. You gain no hit points; instead, your current rage becomes equal to your max rage.

Berserker Talent

You have reached the upper echelons of skill and tapped into the most primal elements of your anger, allowing you to unlock abilities that most only dream of.

At 10th level and every two levels thereafter, choose one of the following abilities. Unless otherwise specified, each ability can only be taken once.

▶ Deep Fury

You can select another fury ability.

You can take this ability multiple times.

▶ Equilibrium

As a move action, you can spend an action point. If you do, you gain benefits dependent upon your current rage descriptor.

Abandon: You gain rage equal to one-half your maximum rage.

Savage: You gain two additional standard actions this turn.

Wrath: You regain hit points as though you had spent a healing surge.

▶ Feat

The berserker may gain a bonus feat in place of a talent.

Maneuvers

The following is the berserker maneuver list, ordered by school, then by grade.

Berserk School

Berserk Basic Stance
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Berserk	Free	Stance	You act automatically on instinct, dealing more damage and gaining resistance to many status effects; your rage gains the savage descriptor.

 

Berserk Basic Maneuvers
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Crackdown	Standard	Strike	Deal your weapon damage and possibly remove protect, shell, and reflect.
Cripple	Standard	Strike	Deal damage equal to one-half the target's current hit points.
Envenom	Standard	Boost	You coat your blade in venom, dealing half physical and half poison damage.
Furore	Full	Strike	Deal potency 2 physical damage to adjacent creatures, and also push them.
Hone Senses	Swift	Boost	Increase your critical threat range by 1.
Mad Rush	Full	Strike	Charge attack against a creature may deal significant damage, but has a high chance of missing.
Savage Comeback	Swift	Boost	Hurt yourself to remove a status ailment.
Scream	Standard	Strike	Deal potency 2 sonic damage to creatures near you, and remove status boons.

 

Defiance School

Defiance Basic Stance
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Defiance	Free	Stance	You harm your foes in an aggravating fashion, dealing less damage but drawing attention to yourself; your rage gains the wrath descriptor.

 

Defiance Basic Maneuvers
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Barbaric Instinct	Reaction	Boost	When you would become dazed, negate that effect; when you would become stunned, become dazed instead.
Bloodthirsty Resurgence	Reaction	Boost	When you spend a healing surge, allies who can see you gain temporary hit points.
Fearsome Smash	Standard	Strike	Deal weapon damage, and target suffers a -2 power penalty to attack rolls for 5 rounds.
Fight Me	Reaction	Boost	When you hit a creature, if you fail to drop it, it gains malice against you, and all attacks you make against the target and the target makes against you deal +1 potency for 5 rounds.
Foresight	Reaction	Boost	When you are attacked, gain a +4 power bonus to the targeted defense.
Ignore Pain	Reaction	Boost	When you take damage, gain temporary hit points equal to the amount of damage you would take.
Overpower	Standard	Strike	Deal potency 2 earth and sonic damage to creatures in a cone in front of you, cause malice.
Skull Sunder	Standard	Strike	Deal weapon damage with +1 potency, cause malice.

 

Deliverance School

Deliverance Basic Stance
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Deliverance	Free	Stance	Your blows are mighty, but you retain composure, increasing your damage; your rage gains the abandon descriptor.

 

Deliverance Basic Maneuvers
Maneuver Name	Action	Type	Effect
Fracture	Standard	Strike	Deal weapon damage, and cause potency 1 bleeding for 5 rounds.
Heavy Swing	Standard	Strike	Deal weapon damage with +2 potency.
Internal Release	Swift	Boost	Gain a +2 power bonus on your next physical attack roll.
Maim	Standard	Strike	Deal weapon damage with -4 potency (minimum 1), gain a +1 power bonus to all physical attack potency for 5 rounds.
Roar of Triumph	Reaction	Boost	When you drop an enemy, give all nearby enemies a -2 power penalty to defenses for 5 rounds.
Swift Charge	Reaction	Strike	When you drop an enemy, you can charge an enemy as a free action.
Tomahawk	Standard	Strike	Throw a thrown weapon or light melee weapon and deal +1 potency damage, cause malice.
War Cry	Reaction	Boost	When you drop an enemy, push all nearby enemies.

 

Design Notes

New class, t20 v3.

New approach to martial class design, I think that 9 levels of anything is a little much and a little too granular, especially given our changes to how weapon damage works: there really isn't room for "do +Xd6 damage" maneuvers anymore. I also like this school-based approach, I think we can make the martial classes a bit more versatile and increase differentiation between members of the same class, while still keeping the themes tight.

Just did a bit of math-hammering... berserkers can have the most HP in the game, with a max of 1352 (yes, that is the upper limit for a 20th-level character in Trinity). That is equivalent to 44 potency at that level, meaning that spending one healing surge gets you back 11 potency worth of hp. Now, to do that, you have to devote yourself entirely to Constitution and improving your HP (and I mean entirely), but it can be done, which is kind of hilarious.

In case it wasn't clear - this is intended to be a tanking class. Their defenses suck and they're very offensive, but they're basically giant meat-shields of hate and fury.

Updated to t20 v4.

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