Herder

For centuries, the hyrdskraa have been a nomadic host of mounted warriors who have alternately terrorized or protected the plains and steppes of the Ombesh, depending on the attitude of the governments of the day. In the heyday of the Empire, the herders were a distinct ethnic and linguistic group employed sometimes as mercenaries; many of these have acculturated considerably and principally speak Ombesh, while those living outside the Empire’s reach remain highly culturally and linguistically distinct.

Level	BAB	BDB	BMB	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1	+1	+0	+0	+2	+0	+0	Great mount, Mounted fighting
2	+2	+1	+1	+2	+1	+1	thrown combat feat
3	+3	+1	+1	+3	+1	+1	Track
4	+4	+2	+1	+3	+1	+1	charm animal
5	+5	+2	+2	+4	+2	+2	Travel
6	+6	+2	+2	+4	+2	+2	thrown combat feat
7	+7	+3	+2	+5	+2	+2	dominate animal
8	+8	+3	+3	+5	+3	+3	mighty charge
9	+9	+4	+3	+6	+3	+3	Talk to horses
10	+10	+4	+3	+6	+3	+3	thrown combat feat
11	+11	+4	+4	+7	+4	+4	supreme charge
12	+12	+5	+4	+7	+4	+4
13	+13	+5	+4	+8	+4	+4	Summon horde
14	+14	+6	+5	+8	+5	+5	thrown combat feat
15	+15	+6	+5	+9	+5	+5
16	+16	+6	+5	+9	+5	+5
17	+17	+7	+6	+10	+6	+6

Hit Die: d10
Ability requirement: Dexterity 16
Class Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Perception, Profession, Ride, Survival, Swim
Skill points: 4 + Int
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: All simple and martial weapons, plus bolas and whip; light and medium armor and shields

Powers

1st Level: Great mount: The young herder receives a warhorse from the elite lineages of the herd, to serve as his personal mount and companion. The horse is extremely well-trained and can fight independently of the herdsman or alongside him in combat.

1st level: Mounted fighting: The herder receives an insight bonus of +1 to attack and +1 to damage whenever fighting on horseback. This bonus is doubled to +2 when fighting on his great mount. A herder adds 1/2 his level on Handle Animal and Ride skill checks (minimum +1).

Additionally, the herder is trained to be fluent in the Herd-tongue, the lingua franca used by herders throughout their territories. 2nd level: Thrown Weapon Style: The herder may use bolas either for lethal or nonlethal damage. He gets additional bonus feats at 2nd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level, for which he does not need any of the ordinary prerequisites. At 2nd level, he may choose from Distance Thrower, Improved Trip, Mounted Archery, or Precise Shot. At 6th level, he may also pick Close-Quarters Thrower and False Opening to the list. At 10th level, he may also pick Pinpoint Targeting and Shot on the Run to the list.

3rd level: Track: The herder adds ½ his level to Survival checks made to follow tracks.

4th level: As a standard action, a herder can use charm animal as a spell-like ability once per day (increasing to twice at 8th, 3 times at 12th, 4 times at 16th), with a save DC of 10 + ½ the herder’s level + the Herder’s Charisma modifier.

5th Level: Free travel: The herder can travel and fight in difficult terrain, either on foot or mounted, without any penalty for hampered movement.

7th level: As a standard action, a herder can use dominate animal as a spell-like ability once per day (increasing to twice at 11th, 3 times at 15th, 4 times at 19th), with a save DC of 10 + ½ the herder’s level + the Herder’s Charisma modifier.

8th level: Mighty charge: The herder can make devastating charge attacks while mounted. Double the threat range of any weapons wielded during a charge while mounted. This increase does not stack with other effects that increase the threat range of the weapon. In addition, the herder can make a free bull rush, disarm, sunder, or trip combat maneuver if his charge attack is successful. This free combat maneuver does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

9th level: The herder acquires the ability to speak normally with and comprehend the language of horses. While horses are not exceedingly intelligent (excepting great mounts), they are capable of conveying information about their environments and report on activities they have observed in the recent past.

11th level: Supreme charge: Whenever the herder makes a charge attack while mounted, he deals double the normal amount of damage (or triple if using a lance). In addition, if the herder confirms a critical hit on a charge attack while mounted, the target is stunned for 1d4 rounds. A Will save reduces this to staggered for 1d4 rounds. The DC is equal to 10 + the herder’s base attack bonus.

13th level: The herder may summon a horde of 100-500 warriors of level 1-4 of the class, who will serve for a period of up to one month on a specific task. This duration may be extended in extreme circumstances such as wartime. The horde may be summoned at most once per year, and the herder must exercise reasonable judgement in the tasks to be completed or the horde will disband. An Intimidate check (DC 20) may be required if the task is one that the horde is disinclined to complete.