Gnomish Precisionist

Gnome class — see Classes for the full list.

Prime Requisite:	STR and CON
Requirements:	Int 9
Hit Dice:	1d6
Maximum Level:	12

Before the great cataclysm, the gnomes of Zilargo kept peace with their neighbors through the cunning diplomacy and mutual trade, but even the most cunning nation knows that they will occasionally need to fall back on force of arms. The modern order of gnomish precisionists can be traced back to those times. They are trained on the premise that a small, precise strike can topple the largest foes.

Gnomish Precisionist Level Progression

Experience	Title	Level	Hit Dice	Damage Bonus
0	Gnomish Scout	1	1d6	+1
2,350	Gnomish Outrider	2	2d6	+1
4,700	Gnomish Forester	3	3d6	+2
9,400	Gnomish Commando	4	4d6	+2
18,800	Gnomish Guide	5	5d6	+2
37,600	Gnomish Tracker	6	6d6	+3
75,000	Gnomish Pathfinder	7	7d6	+3
150,000	Gnomish Ranger	8	8d6	+3
305,000	Commando Lord	9	9d6	+4
460,000	Commando Lord, 10th level	10	9d6+2	+4
615,000	Commando Lord, 11th level	11	9d6+4	+4
770,000	Commando Lord, 12th level	12	9d6+6	+5

Gnomish Precisionist Saving Throws and Attack Bonus

Level	Paralysis	Death	Blast	Implement	Spells	Attack Bonus
1	13+	14+	15+	16+	17+	+1
2-3	12+	13+	14+	15+	16+	+2
4	11+	12+	13+	14+	15+	+3
5-6	10+	11+	12+	13+	14+	+4
7	9+	10+	11+	12+	13+	+5
8-9	8+	9+	10+	11+	12+	+6
10	7+	8+	9+	10+	11+	+7
11-12	6+	7+	8+	9+	10+	+8

Combat Characteristics

Precisionists are perfectly precise combatants.

Combat Proficiencies: Due to their short stature, gnomes cannot wield large-sized weapons such as arbalests, great axes, morning stars, lances, long bows, polearms, or two-handed swords, and must use two hands when wielding medium-sized weapons such as battle axes, maces, staffs, and swords. Precisionists have weapon proficiency with all missile weapons and with all tiny, small, and medium melee weapons. They have armor proficiency with light, medium, and very light armor, and fighting style proficiency with the dual weapon, two-handed weapon, and weapon and shield styles.

Combat Progression: Precisionists advance in attack throws and saving throws by two points every three levels of experience. They increase their base damage from successful missile and melee weapon attacks by +1 at 1^st level, and by an additional +1 at 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th level. They can cleave after felling a foe up to once per round per class level.

Starting Class Powers

Active Avoidance: After achieving awareness of adjacent adversaries, a precisionist is able to apply his athletic abilities to actively avoid an affray. When the precisionist guides a party in familiar territory, the party gains a +5 bonus to proficiency throws to evade wilderness encounters. The precisionist’s party can evade wilderness encounters even when surprised provided the precisionist is not surprised.

Constant Courage: The precisionist’s care for his kind companions compels him to cultivate clarity and comport with confidence contrary to the any chaos or confusion they must confront. The precisionist is immune to all effects which cause fear, both magical and mundane.

Faint Footfalls: Precisionists force their fleet feet to flutter faintly and their forms to fade flawlessly from the foreground when foes are to be found. Opponents suffer a -2 penalty to surprise rolls when encountering a precisionist approaching from outside line of sight or lying in wait in cover or darkness.

Paragon of the Paramilitary: The precisionist is principally perfect in paramilitary procedure, personnel, and performance. He can automatically identify the battle standards, equipment, great captains, military slang, and rank insignia of his homeland. He can identify those of other realms with a proficiency throw of 11+. He can fight as a regular (rather than irregular) in formed and loose units. He can begin play as a member of a legion, mercenary’s guild, or other military organization (Judge’s discretion). (This class power is equivalent to one rank of the Manual of Arms proficiency.)

Perceptive Pathfinding: A precisionist is unparalleled in their potential for preventing perplexity by picking the proper path when progressing through places they’ve previously passed. When the precisionist guides a party in familiar territory, the party gains a +4 bonus on proficiency throws to avoid getting lost.

Pinpoint Penetration: Precisionists pride themselves on their ability to perfectly pinpoint the precise places to pierce their poor opponents. They gain a +1 bonus to all missile and melee attack throws (already factored into the chart above).

Polished Parlance: A precisionist practices their prowess in parlance, picking patterns of praises and platitudes to persuade participants in parley to perceive partnership as preferable to provocation. They gain a +1 bonus to all diplomatic reaction rolls. (This is power is equivalent to the Diplomacy proficiency).

Primal Persistence: Precisionists are pillars of perseverance, practically proof against perishing even through powerful punishment. When forced to consult the Mortal Wounds table, the player can roll twice and choose the preferred result to apply. Additionally, the precisionist subtracts their class level from the number of days of bed rest needed to recover.

Straight Shooting: Precisionists’ slings and shots will surely strike the soft spots of their foes without being stopped by the solid substance of their superb associates. The gnomish precisionist may make missile attacks against enemies engaged with their allies, albeit with a -4 penalty, and have no chance of striking their allies when they do so. This is effectively one rank of the Precise Shooting proficiency, and can be improved by taking that proficiency again, reducing the penalty by 2 each additional time it is taken.

Swift Step: With steady strides that supersede the standard for their species, the precisionist’s steps swiftly swing him to his selected space. The precisionist does not suffer the usual movement penalty from their gnomish stature.

Additional Class Powers

Gnomish Vault (9^th): A gnome who achieves enough fame and fortune from his adventures may build a gnomish vault when he reaches 9th level. Gnomes usually live in clans, so gnomes of the character’s clan will be the first to live under his roof, but gnomes from other clans will also come and live nearby to be ruled by the character. A total of 3d6x10 1st level NPCs of the same race will move in to help maintain and defend the vault at no cost to the character. A gnome is expected to employ only soldiers of gnomish descent but may hire members of other races for other tasks.

Racial Traits

Gnomish Awaregness: Gnomes gain a +1 bonus to surprise rolls in urban settlements. When using the Adventuring proficiency to search or listen, they succeed on a proficiency throw of 14+ (instead of the usual 18+). If separately proficient in Searching they gain a +2 bonus to their throw instead. If separately proficient in Listening, they gain a +4 bonus to their throw instead.

Gnose for Potions: The physiology of gnomes grants them a natural talent for identifying alchemical substances by smell. As such they are all trained from a young age to develop this talent for Alchemy, granting them one free rank of that proficiency.

Multilingual: Gnomes are raised to be multilingual, able to converse in Gnome, Goblin, Kobold, and able to speak with all normal burrowing mammals.

Short-Statured: Due to their short stature, gnomes can never wield large-sized weapons such as arbalests, great axes, morning stars, lances, long bows, polearms, or two-handed swords, and must use two hands when wielding medium-sized weapons such as battle axes, maces, staffs, and swords. While most gnomes are also slowed by their stature, the precisionist’s swift stride supersedes that setback.

Underfoot: Because of their small size, gnomes can more easily avoid attacks by big, clumsy creatures. Monsters of larger than man-sized suffer a -2 penalty to their attack throws against halflings.

Class Proficiencies

Proficiency Progression: At 1^st level, fighters gain one class proficiency from their class proficiency list and one general proficiency from the general proficiency list (as indicated by the template rolled). They select an additional class proficiency at 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th level. They select an additional general proficiency at 5^th, and 9^th level.

Gnomish Precisionist Proficiency List: Alchemy, Ambushing, Beast Friendship, Berserkergang, Blind Fighting, Caving, Climbing, Combat Reflexes, Combat Trickery (disarm, incapacitate, sunder), Eavesdropping, Endurance, Fighting Style Specialization, Goblin-Slaying, Mapping, Military Strategy, Mimicry, Mountaineering, Naturalism, Navigation, Passing Without Trace, Precise Shooting, Riding, Running, Skirmishing, Survival, Swashbuckling, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus

Precisionist Templates

3d6	Template	Proficiencies	Starting Equipment
3 – 4	Gnosebiter	Berserkergang Trapping	Scavenged mace, worn leather armor, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, scuffed low boots, backpack, 2 week’s iron rations, tinder box, 18 torches, wine skin, dagger, 4gp (enc 7 5/6 st)
5 – 6	Fortune Seeker	Eavesdropping Survival	War hammer, short bow, quiver and 20 arrows, chain mail armor, well-worn wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, tinder box, 6 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, wine skin, mallet and 4 stakes (enc 7 1/6 st)
7 – 8	Mercenary	Combat Reflexes Military Strategy	Broad-leaf bronze spear, short bow, quiver and 20 arrows, chain mail armor, notched shield, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, tinderbox, 6 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, water skin, 16gp (enc 8 5/6 st)
9 – 10	Sniper	Ambushing Craft (fletching)	Arbalest, case and 20 bolts, scale armor, hand axe, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, tinderbox, 6 torches, 1 week’s iron rations, water skin, 4gp (enc 7 st)
11 – 12	Armsgnome	Weapon Focus (hammers) Endurance	War hammer with family crest, crossbow, case and 20 bolts, dagger, chain mail armor, shield with vault crest, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, high boots, backpack, 1 week’s iron rations, water skin, 6 torches, tinder box, 2 flasks of military oil, 17gp (8 3/6 st)
13 – 14	Deep Gnome	Goblin-Slaying Caving	War hammer, crossbow, case and 20 bolts, dagger, chain mail armor, shield, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, 1 week’s iron rations, lantern, 2 flasks of lantern oil, 2 flasks of military oil, 50’ rope, hammer, 6 iron spikes, tinder box, water skin, 22gp (enc 10 st)
15 – 16	Stalwart	[[Fighting Style Specialization	Fighting Style Spec.]] (weapon & shield) Manual of Arms
17 – 18	Highborn	Command Riding	War hammer, arbalest, case of 20 bolts, hand axe, shield, chain mail armor, wool tunic and pants, leather belt, low boots, backpack, 1 week’s iron rations, mule, riding saddle and tack, wine skin, woolen blanket, saddlebags, 10gp (enc 8 st with rations and blanket on mule)