CLASSified: The Woodsman

An alternative to the ranger for those players that want a fighter type that treks the wilderness, but isn't tied to a particular alignment. I love the ranger class, so I didn't write this with the intent of replacing it in my game. However, I wanted a class that was about as woods crafty as the ranger, but more prevalent in numbers and that might be found serving in any number of capacities. 

A woodsman might be a bounty hunter, tracker, guide, scout for an armed force, light infantry, missileer, robber, etc., and serve with nearly any type of lord or institution, good or evil, or even be a mere freelancing sword for hire. A woodsman might be a decent chap (a man of Sherwood, for example), an indifferent loner for hire if the price is right, or a cruel brigand engaged in rapine and mayhem at the behest of an evil lord.

Woodsman

Exp. Level	Requisite Exp. Points	Cumulative Hit Dice (d8)	Character Rank
1	0	1+1	Tracker
2	2,000	2+1	Scout
3	4,000	3+2	Forager
4	8,000	4+2	Chasseur
5	18,000	5+3	Jaeger
6	35,000	6+3	Harrier
7	70,000	7+4	Huntsman
8	125,000	8+4	Stalker
9	250,000	9+5	Woodsman
10	475,000	+2 hp	Master Woodsman
11	700,000	+2 hp	Master Woodsman

Woodsmen must earn (225,000) experience points for each level past the 9^th level, and 2 hit points are gained each level thereafter.

Alignment Allowed: Any.

Race Allowed: Elf, half-elf, half-orc, and human.

Minimum Attribute Scores: 9 strength, 12 constitution.

Experience Point Bonus: +10% on all earned experience if constitution is 15 or above.

Weapons Allowed: Axes (battle, hand), bows (all types), crossbows, dagger, hammer, javelin, scimitar, sling, spear, and swords (all types).

Weapon Disciplines: Woodsmen begin with 2 weapon disciplines, and have a -3 penalty when using weapons with which they have not trained. Woodsmen gain an additional weapon discipline every 4 levels thereafter.

Armor & Shield Use: Leather, studded leather, and ring mail armor only. No shields allowed.

Poison Use: The use of poison by woodsmen is left to the Referee's discretion.

Oil Use: Allowed.

Starting Funds: As thieves (i.e., 2d6 gold multiplied by 10).

Saving Throws: As fighting men.

Attack Rolls: As fighting men.

Multiple Attacks: As rangers.

Archery: Woodsmen are accomplished bowmen, employing bows or crossbows of any type proficiently and gaining +2 to attack rolls with them.

Surprise Bonus: Woodsmen can be surprised by monsters or other opponents only on a roll of a 1 on a d6. They surprise enemies on a roll of 1-3 on a d6.

Tracking: Woodsmen are able to track other creatures both in the wild and indoors. In the wild, woodsmen are able to track creatures with a base chance of 80% success, gaining +1% from 2nd to 9th level to a maximum of 89%. Indoors, woodsmen have a base 65% chance to follow their prey, and must have had the creature in sight no more than half an hour prior to the attempt to follow. Tracking both in and out of doors is modified by various conditions at the Referee's discretion (weather, time lapsed, attempts by the pursued to cover their trail, etc.). Further, at 3rd level, woodsmen are able to determine the number of foes they are tracking by successfully rolling an additional tracking attempt, and at 5th level the type of foes by the same means.

Thieving Abilities: Woodsmen move silently, hide in shadows, hear noise, and climb walls as though they are thieves of an equivalent experience level.

Determine Direction: Woodsmen determine the direction they are traveling unfailingly out-of-doors when the skies are clear (i.e., the sun is shining, or the stars/moon are plainly visible). Overcast conditions reduce the chance of determining direction to a 75% probability, while a heavy fog, snow storm, or torrential rain will reduce this chance to a mere 50%.

Detect Snares & Pits: Woodsmen detect snares, pits, dead falls, and other traps set against them out-of-doors 65% of the time. This ability increases by 2% each level thereafter.

Identify Plants: At the 3rd level of ability, woodsmen are able to identify plants by type.

Identify Animals: At the 3rd level of ability, woodsmen are able to identify animals by type.

Pass Without a Trace: At the 5th level of ability, woodsmen are able to pass through densely overgrown areas (thickets, tangles of undergrowth, patches of thorn bushes, and so on) at half their normal rate of movement while leaving no trace of their passing. At the 7th level of ability, woodsmen are able to pass without a trace at their normal movement rate. At the 9th level of ability, a woodsmen passes without a trace even over terrain that would typically be impossible to avoid leaving a back trail, such as snow, mud, or sand, at half their normal movement rate.

Recruit Followers: At the 9th level of ability, woodsmen are able to recruit men to form a band of woodsmen, scouts, or outlaws (brigands or bandit types), depending on the tracker's alignment. Typically, other trackers, fighters, brigands, bandits, and perhaps even thieves or assassins could be attracted to such a band.

Copyright GA Norris 2011