Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 04-01-06, 01:38 AM	The autonomic combatant is a soldier who has mastered herself to the extent of mastering her own bodily processes. Completely in control of themselves at all times, autonomic combatants are able to shrug off wounds by semi-consciously "rewiring" their circulation systems around the wounded areas, ignoring pain, and amplifying their power beyond their ordinary biological limits through almost superhuman control of their muscles and bodily processes. Hit die: d12 Prerequisites: Alignment: Any lawful Autohypnosis: 4 ranks Heal: 4 ranks Base Attack Bonus: +5 Feats: Autonomous, Combat Expertise, Iron Will Class Skills: Autohypnosis, Climb, Concentrate, Craft, Handle Animal, Heal, Jump, Listen, Ride, Survival, Swim Skill points at each level: 4 + int modifier Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Damage Reduction 1/-, Autonomic residue, Combat Attunement 2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Body Adjustment 3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Bolstered Immune System 4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Damage Reduction 2/- 5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Effortless Combat Attunement 6 +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 Improved Combat Attunement 7 +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 Damage Reduction 3/-, Stave off fatigue 8 +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 Diehard, Psychophysical Supervenience 9 +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 Effortless body adjustment 10 +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 Damage Reduction 4/-, Greater Combat Attunement Weapon and Armor proficiency: Autonomic Combatants are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, all types of armor, and shields (except tower shields). Damage Reduction (ex): At 1st level, an autonomic combatant gains Damage Reduction. Subtract 1 from the damage the autonomic combatant takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack. Every three autonomic combatant levels thereafter (4th, 7th, and 10th level), this damage reduction rises by 1 point. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0. Autonomic residue (ex): An autonomic combatant's autonomic residue is the built up fatigue and psychological toll of controlling her own bodily processes. To be more precise, it is the DC of autohypnosis checks to activate her autonomic powers (body adjustment and combat attunment). This DC gradually rises as she uses her powers, but is reset to a base level after eight hours of sleep or quiet rest. Base autonomic residue is 15 if the autonomic combatant had no barbarian levels prior to becoming aan autonomic combatant, and is lowered by 1 for every two ex-barbarian levels she has. Combat Attunement (ex): By focusing on the essential functions of her body for combat, and to some extent shutting off non-essential (in the short term) parts of her body, the autonomic combatant can add +4 to her strength and constitution, for 3 + the autonomic combatants attuned constitution modifier (i.e., 5 + her ordinary constitution modifier), or whenever the autonomic combatant wishes to end her attuned state, whichever comes first. Activating body attunement requires a successful autohypnosis roll, DC autonomic residue, as a free action. Successfully activating combat attunement increases her autonomic residue by 4. A failed attempt to activate combat attunement means that the autonomic combatant cannot try again until next turn, but otherwise has no ill consequences. After combat attunement ends, the autonomic combatant becomes fatigued for 30 - constitution minutes. Body Adjustment (ps): By focusing on amplifying her own innate biological healing abilities, the autonomic combatant may heal herself, as with the psionic power Body Adjustment (unaugmented). Doing so requires a successful autohypnosis roll, DC autonomic residue, as a full round action. Successfully activating body adjustment increases the autonomic combatant's autonomic residue by 4. A failed attempt to activate body adjustment means that the autonomic combatant has wasted a full round, and cannot try again until next turn, but otherwise has no ill consequences. Bolstered Immune System (ex): At third level level, the autonomic combatant gains immunity to all diseases except supernatural and magical diseases. Effortless Combat Attunement (ex): The autonomic combatant finds attuning her body for combat less taxing. She only increases her autonomic residue by 2 if she successfully activates her body attunement, not 4. Improved Combat Attunement (ex): The autonomic combatant now can amplify the level of her combat attunement to new levels: her bonuses to strength and constitution increase to +6. Stave off Fatigue (ex): The autonomic combatant can stave off fatigue from using combat attunement through a successful autohypnosis roll, DC autonomic residue, as part of ending her combat attunement. Success increases her autonomic residue by 2. Diehard: The autonomic combatant gains Diehard as a bonus feat. Psychophysical supervenience (ex): The autonomic combatant understands now that the mind -- the brain, specifically -- is merely an aspect of the body. If the body can be commanded and controlled, so can the mind. The autonomic combatant gains the ability to make fortitude saves in the place of will saves. Effortless body adjustment (ex): The autonomic combatant gains greater control of her ability to direct her natural healing processes. Activating the body adjustment psi-like ability now only increases her autonomic residue by 2, rather than 4. Greater Combat Attunement (ex): The autonomic combatant's attunement to combat now gives her +8 bonuses to strength and constitution. ex-Barbarians In spite of the vast difference between the barbarian's uncontrolled, emotional rage and the autonomic combatant's conscious, deliberate control over her body, many former barbarians who have since become more orderly find that their experience in flying into rage gives them insight on how to manipulate their bodily processes. An ex-barbarian who becomes an autonomic combatant gains the following benefits. -An ex-barbarian lowers her autonomic residue by a number equal to half her barbarian class levels. -An ex-barbarian may lower the level requirements needed to acquire effortless combat attunement, stave off fatigue, improved combat attunement, and greater combat attunement by 1 for every 2 barbarian class levels she has. -If an ex-barbarian had 11 or more levels in barbarian, she may trade barbarian levels beyond the 10th in for autonomic combatant levels.
JulesCARV 04-01-06, 04:52 PM	BTW, even if you find the class as a whole unnecessary or boring or whatever, what do you think of the "autonomic residue" mechanic? I'm not sure it's ever been done in D&D before, which usually prefers "uses per day" or "slot" based mechanics. What do you think? Interesting idea? Too much bookkeeping? Too weird? Broken? It could also be applied to other situations, for some classes (i.e., a spellcaster who has some kind of "arcane exhaustion" pool rather than typical spell slots or power points, who cast spells by concentrating, but with continually rising concentration DCs over the day).