The Forged

“A good pounding only makes me harder.”

It’s not enough to work in the forges of the Great Foundry and beat iron into shape. No, for the truly devout of the forges must be placed in a crucible of sorts. They crave to be tested through trials by fire, figuratively and literally. Only then can they prove their skills as master tacticians and craftsmen of martial wares.

To achieve these ends, the forged learn metalworking inasmuch as it applies to the conditioning the Great Foundry imposes. Dodging molten steel makes one swifter in combat. The heat pushes the endurance of the body to new limits while strength brings heavy labor down to a light exercise to keep one’s tone. For the hardened, few places in the multiverse serve as better proving grounds.

Fire Resistance: At 1st level, the Forged becomes resistant to fire and heat. When damaged by such sources, the character gains a +1 to saves against these conditions and suffers one point less damage when attacked by heat or fire. These totals increase by +1 at 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th levels.

Fury of the Forge: The Forged learn to harness the power found in the flames of the forge. Once per day, the Forged may launch himself into a fury. This works exactly like the barbarian’s rage with the following exceptions: the Strength and Constitution bonus is only +2, no bonus to morale, and the forged can use skills and feats normally. The forged can use this ability twice a day at 4th level, and three times a day at 8th.Hammer’s Strike: Wielding a hammer over a forge does wonders to upper body physique. Once per day, the Forged can use a similar technique to deal maximum damage with bludgeoning weapons. The player must declare the use of this ability and then make a successful attack roll. Additional damage from using the Power Attack feat, the sneak attack ability, and other similar abilities is determined normally; this damage is not maximized.Forge Adept: At 3rd level, the Forged may choose to increase the ranks of any forging-dependent Craft skills. The character gets +3 that may be divided amongst the Craft skills as he so chooses.Iron Grip: At 5th level, the Forged gains the feat Iron Grip.Forge Expert: At 6th level, the Forged gains a bonus feat taken from the fighter’s bonus feat list or from those available to Godsmen.Forge Master: At 9th level, the Forged gains mastery of a number of metalworking Craft skills equal to 3 + Int modifier. Even when stressed, the character may take 10 on skill checks when normally unable to do so.Crack the Anvil: At 10th level, the Forged permanently increases his threat ranges by +1. This represents the superb skill gained from shaping metal. The forged’s ability to place force behind each hammer blow manifests itself in combat.