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Avengers
Avengers are fighters who are driven by an almost obsessive need for revenge. At some point in their past, they witnessed a great wrong or tragedy and have dedicated themselves to seeing that those responsible, or others like them, are punished for their crimes or actions. Ability Requirements An avenger has spent years perfecting his physical condition and training for his war against his chosen enemy. To reflect this, his physical ability scores must be well above average. An avenger must have a Strength score of at least 15, a Dexterity score of no less than 14, and a Constitution score of 15 or better. The prime requisites for avenger characters are Strength and Constitution. If an avenger has a score of 16 or higher in both of these scores, he earns a bonus of +10% to any experience points awarded to him during the course of play. Alignment All avenger characters must be either neutral or chaotic. Apart from this, the alignment of avenger player characters is spread evenly between good and neutral. Only nonplayer characters can be of an evil alignment. In general, the alignment of the avenger is the opposite of his enemy. If the character seeks revenge upon an evil person, then his alignment is good. However, a. Dungeon Master could choose to have both an avenger oonplayer character and the target of his hatred to be evil. Arms and Armor As with the fighter, an avenger can use any type of weapon or armor available to him. Because of his intense training, he can also choose to specialize in a weapon. Weapon Specialization Avengers devote much of their time to training and exercise. Because of this, they have the ability to specialize in a melee weapon of their choice. Since their need for face-to-face vengeance is so great, avengers cannot choose to specialize in any type of ranged weapon. For further details on weapon specialization, see Appendix Five. Spells and Magical Items Avengers, like most other warriors, cannot cast spells. They focus on their own obsession too much to devote their minds to the involved study required for spellcasting. Only the martial exercises hold any fascination for them. Avengers use the same magical items as normal fighters. Thus, they can use all manner of magical arms, armors, and shields. In addition, they can use most magical rings, potions, and scrolls of protection. Extra Hit Points An avenger's focused need for revenge is such that whenever he confronts an enemy that reminds him of his nemesis in melee combat, he gains 5 hit points to help him through the encounter. This bonus increases to 10 hit points when he faces the subject of his vengeance. These hit points work exactly like the aid spell in that they are the first hit points the avenger loses when he takes damage. Once the combat is over, the extra hit points (if any) go away. Intuition If an avenger makes a successful Wisdom check while pursuing his foe, he intuitively "knows" which direction he should head. This ability helps an avenger by providing him with a general direction to go; it does not guide him directly to a specific location. Followers and Holdings Avengers do not attract followers as some types of warrior do. Like rangers, they are often nomadic in nature, moving from place to place as they stalk their enemy. While avengers do not pause in their endeavors long enough to establish fortifications, they sometimes take up residence somewhere if their prey is stationary. The nature of these accommodations is not a keep or a stronghold, however. More often than not, an avenger's lair resembles the safehouse or hideout established by many types of rogue characters. |
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