Suggestion: Create a Stalwart Defender PrC

[MrSmith]

Dwarven Defender is a strong PrC that perpetuates Dwarven lore about indestructible stout folk standing solid-as-stone in the face of any threat. Suggestion: Use Dwarven Defense PrC as a template, but modify it to allow for other races to be eligible under a new PrC named Stalwart Defender or merely Defender if IP rights are an issue. The RP options are considerable.

Race: Any
Deity: Race aligned
Alignment: Any lawful
Base Attack Bonus: +7
Feats: Dodge, Toughness

Cheers!

[Steve]

Devoted Defender.

[Theodore01]

Noooo, it's a dwarfen privilege

[Jepop]

It's dwarven only and should stay that way.

[Terankar]

Isn't that man at arms basically is for other races?

A 20maa/10ak with 12 Dr would almost be a dwd

[MrSmith]

Dwarven Defender is a strong PrC that perpetuates Dwarven lore about indestructible stout folk standing solid-as-stone in the face of any threat. Suggestion: Use Dwarven Defense PrC as a template, but modify it to allow for other races to be eligible under a new PrC named Stalwart Defender or merely Defender if IP rights are an issue. The RP options are considerable.

Race: Any
Deity: Race aligned
Alignment: Any lawful
Base Attack Bonus: +7
Feats: Dodge, Toughness

Cheers!

I would like to resurrect this post now that the Champion of Corellon Larethian PrC is a functioning class. CoCL, like Dwarven Defender, is both a high fortitude and will save class. Like DD, CoCL also provides natural increases to Dodge AC, albeit +3 bonus vs. +4. CoCL has some pretty cool offensive capabilities, while DD includes 6 DR and 5 x Defensive Stance.

The responses to my original post were fairly critical of the idea of sharing the DD template with other races, and I understand their passion. The point of my original post was to promote race agnostic stalwart defenders, without taking a unique and favored class away from a specific race. Now we have two races (Dwarves and Elves) that can access Stalwart Defender like PrCs with high will/fortitude saves and increased AC - two critical attributes that are necessary to survive on this server ---- Please consider DD and CoCL like PrC for Halflings (at a minimum) and the Planetouched races.

Note: I purposely did not include Breach Gnome as a comparable PrC to DD and CoCL because it does not enjoy high fortitude and will saves, only high reflex saves.

Cheers!

[Most Horrible]

Hida Defender and rename it to something like: Heavy Mercenary

Hida Defender

(Oriental Adventures variant, p. 212)

Hida defenders train in great armor, a unique characteristic that fits in well with the Crab philosophy of strength and endurance. They have the stamina to fight for hours without tiring, and can hold a formation against any aggressor.
Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Alignment: Any Nonevil

Race: Human (Crab)

Feats: Armor Proficiency (heavy) , Power Attack , Weapon Focus (battleaxe, warhammer, or greatclub)

Hit die

d12
Skill points

2 + Int
Class Features

*Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Hida defenders do not gain any additional weapon or armor proficiency.

Smite (Su): Once per day, a Hida defender can make a single melee attack with a +4 attack bonus and a damage bonus equal to his defender level (if he hits). The defender must declare the smite before making the attack.

Critical Focus (Ex): When using a weapon for which he has the Weapon Focus feat, a Hida defender increases the critical multiplier of the weapon by 1. If he has Weapon Focus with more than one weapon, he must choose a single weapon for his critical focus, and he must choose the battleaxe, warhammer, or greatclub. Thus, the critical multiplier for the battleaxe or warhammer increases to ×4, while the greatclub increases to ×3. The threat range for the weapon does not change, though the defender can still choose the Improved Critical feat with the same weapon if he meets the prerequisites.

Rage (Ex): When he needs to, a Hida defender can fly into a screaming blood frenzy. In a rage, a defender gains phenomenal strength and durability but becomes reckless and less able to defend himself. He temporarily gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and a +2 morale bonus on Will saves, but suffers a -2 penalty to AC.

The increase in Constitution increases the defender's hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the rage when the Constitution score drops back to normal. These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are. While raging, a Hida defender cannot use skills or abilities that require patience and concentration, such as moving silently or casting spells. (The only class skills he can't use while raging are Craft, Iaijutsu Focus, and Sense Motive.) He can use any feat he might have except for Expertise, item creation feats, metamagic feats, and Skill Focus (if it's tied to a skill that requires patience or concentration). A fit of rage lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + plus the character's (newly improved) Constitution modifier. The defender may prematurely end the rage voluntarily. At the end of the rage, the defender is fatigued (-2 Strength, -2 Dexterity, can't charge or run) for the duration of that encounter. The defender can only fly into a rage once per encounter, and only a certain number of times per day (determined by level). Entering a rage takes no time itself, but the defender can only do it during his action, not in response to somebody else's action. A defender can't, for example, fly into a rage when struck down by an arrow in order to get the extra hit points from the increased Constitution, although the extra hit points would be of benefit if he had gone into a rage earlier in the round, before the arrow struck.

If a Hida defender has a rage ability from another class (such as barbarian), he gains the ability to rage more often. Each daily use he gains from his Hida defender levels adds to the daily uses he has from his barbarian levels. Thus, a 6th-level barbarian/4th-level Hida defender can rage four times per day—twice from his barbarian levels and twice from his Hida defender levels.

Damage Reduction (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, the Hida defender gains the extraordinary ability to shrug off some amount of injury from each blow or attack. Subtract 1 from the damage the defender suffers each time he is dealt damage. At 5th level, this damage reduction rises to 2. At 7th, it rises to 3. At 9th, it rises to 4. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.

[EasternCheesE]

Honestly, making a PrC that is just a mix of weaponmaster's most "tasty" ability while also giving them barb rage doesn't sound like a "new PrC", more like "a compilation of most juicy feats from both".
Smite is totally useless in this description as well. 1/day +4 AB is kinda nothing.

[Most Horrible]

Well, what can you do? Even Wizards of the Coast started to run out of PRC ideas.

On BGTSCC that Critical Focus could be replaced with just a regular Improved Critical feat.

As for the Smite ability, it could have its duration improved based on either Strength or Constitution ability score modifier, and potentially be put on some kind of a timer as well. Instead of some 'Divine Smite' it would be just hitting things, again and again. Battering until the opposition breaks, which might actually offer a better name for the ability itself 'Heavy Battering' or something else like it. So, if I gather my thoughts, +10 Damage and +4 AB for X amount of rounds, something based on the character's Constitution modifier... With or without a reset timer... So an Constitution based Earth Genasi Barbarian 20/"Hida Defender 10" could potentially have something like a 43 Constitution Ability Score with Epic Rage active, and thus +16 Constitution ability score modifier. But you probably would not have it that high in order to get stuff like Epic Damage Reduction, Fast Healing, etc, while a high Strength build would get more AB and Damage overall.

As for the DR... If it is difficult to make it stack, the PRC could just offer Greater Resiliency feat at level 3 and the first Epic Damage Reduction feat at level 9 for a total of +4 stacking DR. Thus if someone wants to get all three Epic Damage Reduction feats, they have to get 9 levels of this PRC by level 21 or something like it.

As for the ability to Rage, +4 Strength and Constitution is nothing to shrug at, but you are not getting Barbarian's rage improvements.

But eh, just tossing a suggestion.