300! The Spartan Hoplite [Archive] - Wizards Community

300! The Spartan Hoplite [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Infinitive
03-15-07, 02:25 AM PEACH if you like. This was mostly made for fun (though anyone is free to use it).

Someone mentioned making a “300” based PrC. I figured, what the hell? This’ll probably never be used, but it’s fun to talk about. The thread that mentioned the idea is here, as well as a very solid (and different) version of the hoplite, based more on Troy:
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=421024

The Spartan Hoplite

The Spartan Hoplite was the apex of ground-based military forces until the end of the Bronze age. Trained from birth in the art of war, Hoplites were taught that dying for one’s country was the greatest honor a man could gain in his lifetime. Savaged beyond belief in their lifelong training, these Spartans, members of a single city, held back the invasions of many nations for hundreds of years until the cultural hegemony of Rome finally did what Xerxes and his hordes could not. Even still, the Romans recognized the inherent strength of the fighting style, and adapted it to become one of the greatest empires the world has ever known.

Entry Requirements:
BAB: +6
Skills: Intimidate 9 ranks, Profession (Soldier) 5 ranks.
Feats: Phalanx Fighter, Shield Bash, Weapon Focus (Shortsword or Longspear), Heavy Shield Proficiency.
Special: Must have been trained as a Spartan warrior since birth.

Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 From Thigh to Neck, Versatile Weapon, Spartan Oath
2 +1 +3 +0 +0 Versatile Shield Bash
3 +1 +3 +1 +1 Short Haft, Improved Shield Bash
4 +1 +4 +1 +1 Phalanx
5 +1 +4 +1 +1 Missile Immuntiy, Unity
6 +1 +5 +2 +2 Blastproof
7 +1 +5 +2 +2 Weapon Specialization
8 +1 +6 +2 +2 Prepare for Glory
9 +1 +6 +3 +3 Unfellable
10 +1 +7 +3 +3 Glory

Spartan Oath: When a Spartan warrior joins the ranks of the hoplites, he takes an oath that reflects a budding determination that wells up within himself. He may no longer flee a battle or surrender voluntarily under any circumstances. If a Hoplite does so, he loses all benefits from this class until he seeks an Atonement spell. Even still, other Hoplites will forevermore view him as a deserter or a coward (depending on whether he fled or surrendered), and may at their option suspend the benefit granted by the From Thigh to Neck class feature.

From Thigh to Neck: The strength of a Spartan Hoplite comes not from the strength of his own arm, but from the protection of the hoplite to either side of him. Each warrior shields the next as he makes an attack, and is in turn shielded when he strikes. A Spartan Hoplite gains a +2 bonus to AC when he is adjacent to 2 allies that would flank him if they were enemy units.

Versatile Weapon: At first level, the Spartan Hoplite must choose to specialize with either his sword or spear. If he chooses spear, he may wield his Longspear as though it were a one-handed weapon. If he chooses sword, he may throw his Shortsword with a range increment of 10 feet, and as though he had the Power Throw feat.

Versatile Shield Bash: If a Spartan Hoplite of second level chooses to do so, he may make a special Shield Bash as the first attack of a full-round attack, but only if his opponent begins the round directly adjacent to the Hoplite. Resolve this attack as a Bull Rush attempt against which the hoplite’s target is granted no attack of opportunity; the Shield Bash does no damage and, if the opposed Strength check is successful, the Hoplite’s target is moved five feet directly away from the Hoplite.

Short Haft: At third level, the Spartan Hoplite gains Short Haft as a bonus feat.

Improved Shield Bash” At third level, a Spartan Hoplite may forego the benefits he would both grant and be granted by the From Thigh To Neck class feature. If he does so, he may make Shield Bash attacks with a Heavy Shield for that round with no penalty to attack for wielding an offhand weapon.

Phalanx: A group of fourth level or higher Spartan Hoplites may choose to form a phalanx. If they do so, they must form into a unit at least half as deep as it is wide, and with no spare room on the interior. Doing so is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunities only if a member would have to move through a threatened square to reach his designated location, in which case attacks of opportunity occur as normal. Spartan Hoplites in a phalanx count as a collective creature of a size equal to its’ depth for the purposes of determining vulnerability to all attacks (such as grappling, Swallow Whole, etc.). Each round, the phalanx must adjust to fill any gaps left by fallen members or the benefit of this ability is lost.

Missile Immunity: If a fifth level Spartan Hoplite takes a total defense action, he is immune to any physical projectiles fired at him, such as arrows, sling bullets, and javelins, even if they’re magically enchanted. Targeted, magical projectiles, such as Melf’s Acid Arrow and Magic Missile, may strike them as normal.

Unity: A unit of Spartan Hoplites arrayed into a phalanx may take its actions as a single entity. Each individual makes its movements and attack rolls individually, but they happen for all purposes simultaneously.

Blastproof: A Spartan Hoplite may substitute a Fortitude save any time a Reflex save is called for, at his option. Further, if he does so to resist part of an area effect spell, he takes no effect on a successful save.

Weapon Specialization: A Spartan Hoplite of seventh level gains Weapon Specialization with his choice of Longspear or Shortsword as a bonus feat. If he already has Weapon Specialization with either, he may instead take Greater Weapon Specialization with that weapon.

Prepare for Glory: At eighth level, a Spartan Hoplite is close to realizing the ideal of his people as a warrior. Whenever he is reduced below 50% of his total HP, he is affected by a rage, as the barbarian ability. If he is ever restored to above 50% of his health, he suffers no ill effect from ending a rage. More, when the combat ends, he suffers no ill effect for ending a rage.

Unfellable: The greatest Spartan Hoplites are no stranger to pain, and are particularly resistant to even the most grievous of wounds. A Hoplite of this level does not die until he is reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to his constitution modifier. Thus, a Hoplite with a constitution of 20 would not die unless reduced to -20 HP or more. More, if a Hoplite is reduced to negative HP but not killed, he automatically stabilizes.

Glory: At tenth level, a Spartan Hoplite’s determination and steadfastness reach their peak, allowing him to fight on long after lesser warriors would die. When reduced to negative hit points, a Spartan Hoplite does not fall, but instead continues to fight. Taking a standard or full-round action provokes one point of damage as usual. However, the Hoplite does not bleed for one point of damage per turn (as per Unfellable). Finally, when a Spartan Hoplite is reduced to negative HP, the benefit from his Prepare for Glory class feature is tripled, and the effect lasts until the end of the current combat, even if his HP are restored. Afterwards, however, he is fatigued until he can gain one full night’s sleep.
JonnySpaz
03-18-07, 01:09 AM This is a very good class, and reflects Spartans well. The thing I like the most about this class is that it can be done historically, with heavy armor, or naked like in the Movie "300" and works just as well. Fun class features as well. Perfect for war campaigns.
enygmatic_me
03-18-07, 04:02 AM I am not sure if I would say this reflects the Spartans well, but I will say that it is a more balanced attempt to recreate them then the other version that have been placed on the boards and are a good interpretation of the 300 as presented by Frank Miller.

The abilities look balanced and the class has good flavor.
SlanderPanic
03-20-07, 04:05 PM I like it. Vastly superior, in mechanics and in flavor, to other hoplite attempts I've seen. The only glaring flaw is this: You forgot to include a hit die type! I'd suggest a d12. I'd also suggest restricting the class to characters of Lawful alignment. A Spartan hoplite's life is one of incredible discipline and they're pledged to uphold the law of Sparta, even if that means their deaths.
Flan
03-20-07, 08:13 PM You're missing the class features:

-Dress Like a Pro-Wrestler: Removes the need to eat or drink, so you can march off to war without bringing food or water with you. Also allows you to start fires by shooting heat beams out of your eyes so you don't need to bring along flint or tinder, and also grants ability to summon wood.

-Talk Like a Pro-Wrestler: Mind effect, make an intimidate roll at +2 if nearly naked to have pre-pubescent boys scream "SPARTA" randomly 5 times a day for a week, and each day seek you out and give you the price of a movie ticket to hear you talk again.

-Script Writer Can't Think of How To Beat This: Any giant pre-historic sized animal stolen from The Lord of The Rings that looks like it will utterly defeat you with no chance of victory will inexplicably fall off a cliff in a completely uninteresting manner.

-Channel Legolas: Unbeatable enemy can be defeated once per day by throwing a spear. Only oversized animals and druids can be the target of this ability. Any spectators must make a will save DC 300 or yawn in boredom.

-Edited Right Out: If a spartan is felled by a horseman, his body will fall to the ground in slow motion and the horseman and horse will mysterious vanish causing anyone with INT higher than 3 watching to suffer the effects of Confusion for one round.

-Absorb Blood: All spartan weapons and equipment gain the ability to drink blood and any blood falling on the spartan will be absorbed into their skin granting them fast healing 1 to close any wounds they have. Any blood on the ground near a spartan is similarly absorbed, leaving spartan battlefields, weapons and equipment relatively clean. This ability will not restore sight in a damaged eye but will remove any other wounds and leave the hard-bitten warrior scar-free.
ShneekeyTheLost
03-20-07, 11:24 PM Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks.

I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time.
enygmatic_me
03-20-07, 11:37 PM Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks.

I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time.

You can't completely blame Hollywood for this one. Frank Miller had already "stylized" the story line before the producers and director got to it.

I haven't seen it yet, but what I have been told by those that have is to not look for anything remotely historical and you will have a fun time.
tui
03-23-07, 05:05 PM Not sure how balanced this is, but I like the flavor a lot.. I also like that you made the low levels quite useful but not particularly attractive for a short dip.

I think you should include a requirement that the character must be wielding a heavy shield in order to get the benefits of most of the abilities, such as From Thigh to Neck, Missile Immunity, and Blastproof, and maybe even Unfellable and the Glorys too.

Also, how does Phalanx and Unity work for groups where some of the members of the Phalanx are 4th level, but others are 5+? Do they act as one, or not?

[Note that I haven't seen the movie, but I have seen a few trailers. ]
Infinitive
03-26-07, 01:12 AM Actually, several of the benefits from this class are rendered null by using a tower shield. No shield bashing drops the bull rush variant and the improved shield bashing right out.

The idea of Missile Immunity is to extend one of the primary benefits of dealing with a tower shield to heavy shields (with a condition, of course) that substantially reduces the drawback one must suffer (-2 to all attacks with a Tower Shield).

As far as mixed-level phalanxes are concerned, a phalanx is maintained as long as the conditions demanded may be met; those soldiers moving as one can fill in any gaps they might gain by acting as one. Also, fourth level Hoplites can stack their initiative to act immediately after the group; in this case, the phalanx might be disbanded for a moment after the group acts but before the stragglers get back into position, but when the unit is whole again, the phalanx is re-formed. I'm pretty sure that that's kosher as far as the rules are concerned (i.e., if an action is legal at the time you declare it, it is resolved. Afterwards, any status that that action changed is resolved.).

As an interesting side-note, a group of 5th+ level Hoplites are the only way that I know of that a unit as a whole can make a charge attack. Think front rank Short Hafting and second rank not. Ouchies.
Critalondel
03-26-07, 10:13 AM Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks.
No, they don't use Tower Shields. Since these Spartans are based on the ones from the movies, they're pretty obviously using Large Metal (Bronze, technically, but who's counting?) Shields, not Towers.

I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time.
Nothing at all, because Hollywood never so much as half-heartedly claimed the movie was based on history at all. It's very obviously based on Miller's graphic novel, which also makes no claims to be actually based on history (in the back of the collection, in fact, Miller has a list of books you should read if you do want to learn about the history of the battle itself).

It's a movie based on a very over-the-top stylized version of history; and never claims to be anything else.

Fun Prestige Class, Infinitive. The only thing I'd think to add would be some sort of Armor Class bonus (I've considered a Con bonus, instead of the usual Int/Wis, to reflect them just toughing it out), if you really want to capture the "we're a bunch of crazy naked guys" feel of the flick.
garou85
03-26-07, 02:24 PM I think Flan needs a hug :P

I really like the idea, i'm thinking about using it for a "historical"
campain. only problem is our group is 4 strong and i'm not sure if I wanna DM a bunch of NPC Spartans.

Oh and the movie was great. Not real historical but entertaining, that is why we go to see movies right?
Infinitive
03-26-07, 11:14 PM I'm actually thinking about using these guys as members of a shield wall division of NPC's for an upcoming plot arc in a campaign I'm DMing (though without the Spartan flavor; this should make for a really good, versatile division).

The campaign is set in the same world and timeframe as Living Grayhawk is, and the PC's are eventually going to need to get from the Shield Lands through the Bandit Kingdoms and into the Empire of Iuz itself to retrieve a certain relic. Sending a unit of these guys ahead of them might prove to be an efficient distraction, though the whole unit would very likely end up dead in short order.

Oh, well.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Infinitive 03-15-07, 02:25 AM	PEACH if you like. This was mostly made for fun (though anyone is free to use it). Someone mentioned making a “300” based PrC. I figured, what the hell? This’ll probably never be used, but it’s fun to talk about. The thread that mentioned the idea is here, as well as a very solid (and different) version of the hoplite, based more on Troy: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=421024 The Spartan Hoplite The Spartan Hoplite was the apex of ground-based military forces until the end of the Bronze age. Trained from birth in the art of war, Hoplites were taught that dying for one’s country was the greatest honor a man could gain in his lifetime. Savaged beyond belief in their lifelong training, these Spartans, members of a single city, held back the invasions of many nations for hundreds of years until the cultural hegemony of Rome finally did what Xerxes and his hordes could not. Even still, the Romans recognized the inherent strength of the fighting style, and adapted it to become one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. Entry Requirements: BAB: +6 Skills: Intimidate 9 ranks, Profession (Soldier) 5 ranks. Feats: Phalanx Fighter, Shield Bash, Weapon Focus (Shortsword or Longspear), Heavy Shield Proficiency. Special: Must have been trained as a Spartan warrior since birth. Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 From Thigh to Neck, Versatile Weapon, Spartan Oath 2 +1 +3 +0 +0 Versatile Shield Bash 3 +1 +3 +1 +1 Short Haft, Improved Shield Bash 4 +1 +4 +1 +1 Phalanx 5 +1 +4 +1 +1 Missile Immuntiy, Unity 6 +1 +5 +2 +2 Blastproof 7 +1 +5 +2 +2 Weapon Specialization 8 +1 +6 +2 +2 Prepare for Glory 9 +1 +6 +3 +3 Unfellable 10 +1 +7 +3 +3 Glory Spartan Oath: When a Spartan warrior joins the ranks of the hoplites, he takes an oath that reflects a budding determination that wells up within himself. He may no longer flee a battle or surrender voluntarily under any circumstances. If a Hoplite does so, he loses all benefits from this class until he seeks an Atonement spell. Even still, other Hoplites will forevermore view him as a deserter or a coward (depending on whether he fled or surrendered), and may at their option suspend the benefit granted by the From Thigh to Neck class feature. From Thigh to Neck: The strength of a Spartan Hoplite comes not from the strength of his own arm, but from the protection of the hoplite to either side of him. Each warrior shields the next as he makes an attack, and is in turn shielded when he strikes. A Spartan Hoplite gains a +2 bonus to AC when he is adjacent to 2 allies that would flank him if they were enemy units. Versatile Weapon: At first level, the Spartan Hoplite must choose to specialize with either his sword or spear. If he chooses spear, he may wield his Longspear as though it were a one-handed weapon. If he chooses sword, he may throw his Shortsword with a range increment of 10 feet, and as though he had the Power Throw feat. Versatile Shield Bash: If a Spartan Hoplite of second level chooses to do so, he may make a special Shield Bash as the first attack of a full-round attack, but only if his opponent begins the round directly adjacent to the Hoplite. Resolve this attack as a Bull Rush attempt against which the hoplite’s target is granted no attack of opportunity; the Shield Bash does no damage and, if the opposed Strength check is successful, the Hoplite’s target is moved five feet directly away from the Hoplite. Short Haft: At third level, the Spartan Hoplite gains Short Haft as a bonus feat. Improved Shield Bash” At third level, a Spartan Hoplite may forego the benefits he would both grant and be granted by the From Thigh To Neck class feature. If he does so, he may make Shield Bash attacks with a Heavy Shield for that round with no penalty to attack for wielding an offhand weapon. Phalanx: A group of fourth level or higher Spartan Hoplites may choose to form a phalanx. If they do so, they must form into a unit at least half as deep as it is wide, and with no spare room on the interior. Doing so is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunities only if a member would have to move through a threatened square to reach his designated location, in which case attacks of opportunity occur as normal. Spartan Hoplites in a phalanx count as a collective creature of a size equal to its’ depth for the purposes of determining vulnerability to all attacks (such as grappling, Swallow Whole, etc.). Each round, the phalanx must adjust to fill any gaps left by fallen members or the benefit of this ability is lost. Missile Immunity: If a fifth level Spartan Hoplite takes a total defense action, he is immune to any physical projectiles fired at him, such as arrows, sling bullets, and javelins, even if they’re magically enchanted. Targeted, magical projectiles, such as Melf’s Acid Arrow and Magic Missile, may strike them as normal. Unity: A unit of Spartan Hoplites arrayed into a phalanx may take its actions as a single entity. Each individual makes its movements and attack rolls individually, but they happen for all purposes simultaneously. Blastproof: A Spartan Hoplite may substitute a Fortitude save any time a Reflex save is called for, at his option. Further, if he does so to resist part of an area effect spell, he takes no effect on a successful save. Weapon Specialization: A Spartan Hoplite of seventh level gains Weapon Specialization with his choice of Longspear or Shortsword as a bonus feat. If he already has Weapon Specialization with either, he may instead take Greater Weapon Specialization with that weapon. Prepare for Glory: At eighth level, a Spartan Hoplite is close to realizing the ideal of his people as a warrior. Whenever he is reduced below 50% of his total HP, he is affected by a rage, as the barbarian ability. If he is ever restored to above 50% of his health, he suffers no ill effect from ending a rage. More, when the combat ends, he suffers no ill effect for ending a rage. Unfellable: The greatest Spartan Hoplites are no stranger to pain, and are particularly resistant to even the most grievous of wounds. A Hoplite of this level does not die until he is reduced to a number of negative hit points equal to his constitution modifier. Thus, a Hoplite with a constitution of 20 would not die unless reduced to -20 HP or more. More, if a Hoplite is reduced to negative HP but not killed, he automatically stabilizes. Glory: At tenth level, a Spartan Hoplite’s determination and steadfastness reach their peak, allowing him to fight on long after lesser warriors would die. When reduced to negative hit points, a Spartan Hoplite does not fall, but instead continues to fight. Taking a standard or full-round action provokes one point of damage as usual. However, the Hoplite does not bleed for one point of damage per turn (as per Unfellable). Finally, when a Spartan Hoplite is reduced to negative HP, the benefit from his Prepare for Glory class feature is tripled, and the effect lasts until the end of the current combat, even if his HP are restored. Afterwards, however, he is fatigued until he can gain one full night’s sleep.
JonnySpaz 03-18-07, 01:09 AM	This is a very good class, and reflects Spartans well. The thing I like the most about this class is that it can be done historically, with heavy armor, or naked like in the Movie "300" and works just as well. Fun class features as well. Perfect for war campaigns.
enygmatic_me 03-18-07, 04:02 AM	I am not sure if I would say this reflects the Spartans well, but I will say that it is a more balanced attempt to recreate them then the other version that have been placed on the boards and are a good interpretation of the 300 as presented by Frank Miller. The abilities look balanced and the class has good flavor.
SlanderPanic 03-20-07, 04:05 PM	I like it. Vastly superior, in mechanics and in flavor, to other hoplite attempts I've seen. The only glaring flaw is this: You forgot to include a hit die type! I'd suggest a d12. I'd also suggest restricting the class to characters of Lawful alignment. A Spartan hoplite's life is one of incredible discipline and they're pledged to uphold the law of Sparta, even if that means their deaths.
Flan 03-20-07, 08:13 PM	You're missing the class features: -Dress Like a Pro-Wrestler: Removes the need to eat or drink, so you can march off to war without bringing food or water with you. Also allows you to start fires by shooting heat beams out of your eyes so you don't need to bring along flint or tinder, and also grants ability to summon wood. -Talk Like a Pro-Wrestler: Mind effect, make an intimidate roll at +2 if nearly naked to have pre-pubescent boys scream "SPARTA" randomly 5 times a day for a week, and each day seek you out and give you the price of a movie ticket to hear you talk again. -Script Writer Can't Think of How To Beat This: Any giant pre-historic sized animal stolen from The Lord of The Rings that looks like it will utterly defeat you with no chance of victory will inexplicably fall off a cliff in a completely uninteresting manner. -Channel Legolas: Unbeatable enemy can be defeated once per day by throwing a spear. Only oversized animals and druids can be the target of this ability. Any spectators must make a will save DC 300 or yawn in boredom. -Edited Right Out: If a spartan is felled by a horseman, his body will fall to the ground in slow motion and the horseman and horse will mysterious vanish causing anyone with INT higher than 3 watching to suffer the effects of Confusion for one round. -Absorb Blood: All spartan weapons and equipment gain the ability to drink blood and any blood falling on the spartan will be absorbed into their skin granting them fast healing 1 to close any wounds they have. Any blood on the ground near a spartan is similarly absorbed, leaving spartan battlefields, weapons and equipment relatively clean. This ability will not restore sight in a damaged eye but will remove any other wounds and leave the hard-bitten warrior scar-free.
ShneekeyTheLost 03-20-07, 11:24 PM	Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks. I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time.
enygmatic_me 03-20-07, 11:37 PM	Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks. I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time. You can't completely blame Hollywood for this one. Frank Miller had already "stylized" the story line before the producers and director got to it. I haven't seen it yet, but what I have been told by those that have is to not look for anything remotely historical and you will have a fun time.
tui 03-23-07, 05:05 PM	Not sure how balanced this is, but I like the flavor a lot.. I also like that you made the low levels quite useful but not particularly attractive for a short dip. I think you should include a requirement that the character must be wielding a heavy shield in order to get the benefits of most of the abilities, such as From Thigh to Neck, Missile Immunity, and Blastproof, and maybe even Unfellable and the Glorys too. Also, how does Phalanx and Unity work for groups where some of the members of the Phalanx are 4th level, but others are 5+? Do they act as one, or not? [Note that I haven't seen the movie, but I have seen a few trailers. ]
Infinitive 03-26-07, 01:12 AM	Actually, several of the benefits from this class are rendered null by using a tower shield. No shield bashing drops the bull rush variant and the improved shield bashing right out. The idea of Missile Immunity is to extend one of the primary benefits of dealing with a tower shield to heavy shields (with a condition, of course) that substantially reduces the drawback one must suffer (-2 to all attacks with a Tower Shield). As far as mixed-level phalanxes are concerned, a phalanx is maintained as long as the conditions demanded may be met; those soldiers moving as one can fill in any gaps they might gain by acting as one. Also, fourth level Hoplites can stack their initiative to act immediately after the group; in this case, the phalanx might be disbanded for a moment after the group acts but before the stragglers get back into position, but when the unit is whole again, the phalanx is re-formed. I'm pretty sure that that's kosher as far as the rules are concerned (i.e., if an action is legal at the time you declare it, it is resolved. Afterwards, any status that that action changed is resolved.). As an interesting side-note, a group of 5th+ level Hoplites are the only way that I know of that a unit as a whole can make a charge attack. Think front rank Short Hafting and second rank not. Ouchies.
Critalondel 03-26-07, 10:13 AM	Missile Immunity is redundant. They use Tower Shields, which can be used to grant Total Cover with a full round action, thus making themselves immune to ranged attacks. No, they don't use Tower Shields. Since these Spartans are based on the ones from the movies, they're pretty obviously using Large Metal (Bronze, technically, but who's counting?) Shields, not Towers. I haven't seen the movie yet, and I cringe to think what Hollywood has done to history this time. Nothing at all, because Hollywood never so much as half-heartedly claimed the movie was based on history at all. It's very obviously based on Miller's graphic novel, which also makes no claims to be actually based on history (in the back of the collection, in fact, Miller has a list of books you should read if you do want to learn about the history of the battle itself). It's a movie based on a very over-the-top stylized version of history; and never claims to be anything else. Fun Prestige Class, Infinitive. The only thing I'd think to add would be some sort of Armor Class bonus (I've considered a Con bonus, instead of the usual Int/Wis, to reflect them just toughing it out), if you really want to capture the "we're a bunch of crazy naked guys" feel of the flick.
garou85 03-26-07, 02:24 PM	I think Flan needs a hug :P I really like the idea, i'm thinking about using it for a "historical" campain. only problem is our group is 4 strong and i'm not sure if I wanna DM a bunch of NPC Spartans. Oh and the movie was great. Not real historical but entertaining, that is why we go to see movies right?
Infinitive 03-26-07, 11:14 PM	I'm actually thinking about using these guys as members of a shield wall division of NPC's for an upcoming plot arc in a campaign I'm DMing (though without the Spartan flavor; this should make for a really good, versatile division). The campaign is set in the same world and timeframe as Living Grayhawk is, and the PC's are eventually going to need to get from the Shield Lands through the Bandit Kingdoms and into the Empire of Iuz itself to retrieve a certain relic. Sending a unit of these guys ahead of them might prove to be an efficient distraction, though the whole unit would very likely end up dead in short order. Oh, well.