Some hume berserkers have lived among monsters for so long that they’ve begun communicating and learning from their savage tendencies. Most such berserkers live as outcasts from society and take solace in the wilderness.
The veldt rager is an archetype of the berserker class, available only to hume berserkers.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The veldt rager mainly focuses on STR/DEX for martial combat and CON/CHA for her class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Proficiencies, Rage, Rage Forms, Fast Movement. 2nd – Rage Powers. 3rd – Confuse Immunity. 4th – Destructive. 9th – Silent Threat. 13th – Fearless Killer. 17th – Tireless Rage.
Prerequisite
The veldt rager must have the heart of the wilderness alternate racial trait for humes.
Class Skills
The veldt rager adds Handle Animal and Knowledge (nature) to his list of class skills and removes Knowledge (dungeoneering).
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
The veldt rager gains no weapon proficiencies, but is still proficient in light armor and nonmetal medium armor.
Improved Unarmed Strike
At 1st level, a veldt rager gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat.
This ability replaces fast movement.
Rampage (Ex)
The veldt rager cannot voluntarily end his rage. His rage only ends when combat is over, he falls unconscious, or he runs out of total rage rounds. The veldt rager cannot rage outside of combat.
This ability modifies rage.
Rampage Styles (Ex)
The veldt rager copies the fighting techniques of other creatures as rampage styles. The veldt rager may memorize the rampage styles of up to three creatures. At 5th level, and every 5 levels thereafter, the veldt rager may memorize the style and abilities of an additional creature. The veldt rager can communicate with any creature whose species match those of a rampage style he has memorized as though he had a shared language.
At 1st level, the veldt rager begins with one CR 1 or lower creature memorized as a rampage style. The veldt rager may learn another rampage style by spending 24 hours among creatures of the rampage style he wishes to learn; a successful handle animal check (DC 10 + the creature’s CR + the creature’s Wisdom modifier) means that he allow him to temporarily live among them without harm. Failure means that the creatures act appropriately to intruders (usually by attacking or fleeing). If the veldt rager wishes to learn a new rampage style over the limit, he may choose to overwrite an old one after he completes his 24 hours of live study. A veldt rager may only learn the rampage styles of creatures who are of equal or lower CR than his berserker level. The veldt rager cannot gain rampage styles from creatures with the Mini-boss, Boss, Super Boss, Sin Eater, Cie’th, Archfiends, or Primal Subtypes.
When the veldt rager begins raging, he enters one of his known rampage styles. A veldt rager cannot change his rampage style while in a rage. While raging, the veldt rager gains the special attacks of the creature he is emulating. The veldt rager uses his own statistics for calculating the effects and save DCs of any abilities (DC 10 + half the berserker’s level + the relevant attribute modifier). The veldt rager uses his Charisma in place of Intelligence or Wisdom for any special attacks that use those attributes. If a creature has any weaknesses (such as fire vulnerability or light-blindness), the veldt rager gains those weaknesses while using his raging style.
The veldt rager does not gain any of the natural attacks of the creatures he emulates, but he may use special attacks that utilize natural weapons with his own unarmed strike or natural weapons. At the GM’s discretion, some abilities attached to natural attacks may be physiologically impossible for the veldt rager to replicate (such as swallow whole). By default, he does not gain any spellcasting, special abilities, special qualities, or any ability that is learnable by a blue mage. The veldt rager never gains any abilities granted to a creature by class features.
At 11th level, the veldt rager gains the elemental resistances of the creature he is emulating (to a maximum equal to his berserker level), reducing immunity to the maximum resistance. If the creature is immune to status effects, the veldt rager instead gains a bonus to any saving throws related to those status conditions by an amount equal to half of his berserker level.
At 20th level, the veldt rager also gains any immunities to elements or status effects related to the creature he is emulating.
This ability replaces rage forms.
Rage Magic (Su)
Starting at 2nd level, the veldt rager can tap into the arcane abilities of the creatures he emulates with rampage style. He may emulate any creature ability learnable as blue magic as a supernatural ability, provided he is high enough level to replicate the effect. The veldt rager does not use MP to use these abilities and instead may only use each spell once per rage. The veldt rager uses Charisma to calculate the effects and save DCs for spells and his berserker level as his effective caster level. The veldt rager always uses the spell entry version of an ability when available.
At 2nd level, the veldt rager can use blue mage spells and abilities of 1st level. At 4th level, and every two levels thereafter, the level of spells and abilities that can be used increases by 1 (to a maximum of 6th level.)
At 9th level, the veldt rager can use each spell twice per rage.
At 13th level, the veldt rager can use any spell on the emulated creature’s spell list with rage magic, not just those learnable by blue magic. The veldt rager cannot emulate spells granted to a creature by class features. Each non-blue mage spell can only be used once per rage.
At 17th level, the veldt rager can use each blue mage spell three times per rage. Each non-blue mage spell can be used twice per rage.
At 20th level, the veldt rager can use his rage magic with no limit to the number of uses per rage for blue magic. Each non-blue mage spell can be used three times per rage.
The veldt rager is not considered a spellcaster for prerequisites and does not benefit from boosts to its caster level from other sources.
This ability replaces rage powers, silent threat, fearless killer, and tireless rage.
Savage Tenacity (Ex)
At 3rd level, the veldt rager counts his berserker levels twice for the purposes of the hume’s heart of the wilderness racial trait. When the veldt rager is reduced below 0 hit points while raging, he may choose to avoid unconsciousness as per the Diehard feat. If the veldt rager has the Diehard feat, he is no longer staggered when acting at negative hit points while raging.
This ability replaces confuse immunity.
Fast Movement (Ex)
The veldt rager receives fast movement at 4th level.
This ability replaces destructive.