Chapter 1 - Class - Character Kits - Warrior Kits
Wilderness Warrior
This hero represents some tribe (either civilized or barbarian) living in a
dangerous, threatening, or unusual wilderness environment—such as the desert, deep in
swamp territory, in the frozen North, tucked away in the jungle or tropical rain forest, or
in distant mountains.
The Wilderness Warrior is different from the Barbarian. He's not automatically a
menacing figure when travelling around in the campaign's normal society; he's just exotic
and unusual. He can be very cultured and civilized, but, coming as he does from a
different culture, will have different attitudes from the other player-characters on many
subjects.
For example, a desert nomad character may be merely offended at the theft of his
property but be outraged by (and demand the death penalty for) theft of his water; he may
believe that women should stay in camp and leave fighting to the men (an opinion he will
find himself quickly disabused from when in the outer world); he may feel the need to
prostrate himself whenever he passes the church or temple of the deity he worships; and
so on.
The player decides (with DM's permission) what sort of tribe and environment the
Wilderness Warrior comes from. Then, working with the DM, he must determine what
sort of unusual beliefs and customs the character and his tribe possess. He may later
abandon a few of these beliefs in the outer world, but should not abandon most of them;
they are part of what makes him unique in the campaign.
To be a Wilderness Warrior, the character must have a Constitution score of at least
13.
Role: - In a campaign, like the Barbarian and Savage, the Wilderness Warrior is the
"outsider's voice" who questions all the strange quirks and discrepancies in the playercharacters' culture. He's also an opportunity for some comic-relief adventures, when he
misinterprets some aspect of the society and it leads him into confusion and trouble.
More importantly, the DM should arrange for the occasional adventure to take place in
lands like those of his birth, so that he can demonstrate his skills in that environment.
Secondary Skills: - If you're using the Secondary Skills rules, the Wilderness Warrior
may choose his skill from the following list: Fisher, Forester, Hunter, Sailor,
Trapper/Furrier.
Weapon Proficiencies: - The Wilderness Warrior may spend his Weapon
Proficiencies any way he pleases. The DM may insist that he spend one or two on
weapons appropriate to his culture: A desert nomad should have Scimitar and Short
Composite Bow, while an arctic warrior should have Harpoon and Spear, for instance.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: - Bonus Proficiencies: Survival (in his native
environment), Endurance. Recommended: Any relating to the land of his birth, such as
Animal Handling, Animal Training, Dancing (his cultural dances), Fire-building, Fishing,
Riding (Land-based), Swimming, (Warrior) Mountaineering, Tracking.
Equipment: - The Wilderness Warrior may only spend his starting gold on items
appropriate to his culture. For example, the desert nomad couldn't buy any armor at all
with his starting gold, while the arctic warrior could only have leather or hide armor. (Of
course, if the DM determines that his is a trading culture, he could have access to goods
from all over the world.) The Wilderness Warrior doesn't have to spend all his starting
gold before entering play. Once he begins play, there are no restrictions on what sorts of
equipment he may buy.
Special Benefits: - The Wilderness Warrior gets a special bonus of +5 to his Survival
proficiency roll. This only applies to the Survival proficiency pertaining to environments
like that of his origin; if he later takes a second Survival proficiency for another type of
territory, the bonus doesn't count toward it.
Special Hindrances: - The Wilderness Warrior, in his early years, is occasionally
hindered by his unfamiliarity with the player-characters' society, but this is a role-playing
consideration; the DM must occasionally enforce it until he believes the character is
sufficiently familiar with the usual culture.
Wealth Options: - The Wilderness Warrior gets the usual 5d4 x 10 gp in starting gold.
Races: - This is a very appropriate Warrior Kit for demihuman warriors, and the DM
may wish to create some unusual demihuman tribes to showcase it. For example,
everyone would expect Dwarven Wilderness Warriors from the mountains, Elf and
Gnome Wilderness Warriors from the tropical rain forest, etc. But what about Desert
Dwarves? Arctic Elves? Swamp Gnomes? Mountain Halflings? Such unusual choices can
add some color to a campaign.
