Stone Sentinel (3.5e Prestige Class)

Stone Sentinel
"The strongest man last a century before passing out and fall into oblivion. The strongest mason last for ages and is forever engraved into the mind of generations. Stone persist where flesh fail, this is our creed."

The Stone Dragon discipline, Dwarven Defenders, and slow tanks in general all have their strengths but suffer from the same crippling weakness. All the opponent needs to do to win is... step back. Frustrated by their opponents ability to simply stay out of reach of their weapons, certain initiators of a magical bent went searching on how to better harness the power of earth and found the answer, naturally, residing on the Plane of Earth itself.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Stone Sentinel.

Maneuvers: At 1st and every two levels beyond, you gain a new maneuver known from the Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon discipline. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. You add your full stone sentinel levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At 3rd and every three levels beyond, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Stances Known: At 5th level and every five levels beyond, you learn a new martial stance from the Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon discipline. You must meet a stance’s prerequisite to learn it.

 : You obtain a spiritual connection to the earth through your Stone Pact (see below), allowing you to channel your attacks through the ground. You may attack up to 10 feet away (or your normal reach range if you are larger than medium) with a melee weapon by conjuring a stone simulacrum of your weapon from the ground, before vanishing. The attack deals as much damage and is the same type, material, and enhancements as the weapon you swing. The reach of your weapon is irrelevent, so you do not gain an extra benefit from reach weapons. Your enemies must be touching the ground for you to hit them with this ability, though you are not restricted by terrain, only that it be a solid surface underneeth your feet and that of the enemy's. Even though your weapon effectively reaches out to 10 feet, you only threaten half the distance (5 feet usually). You gain this extra reach whenever you do not move more than 5 feet in a round, if you move more than 5 feet you do not gain access to the additional reach.

At 3rd level and every two levels beyond, the reach increases by another +10 feet. You continue to threaten half the distance you can attack with. For example if you have 40 feet of reach with this ability, you threaten 20 feet of it. This continues to grow well into epic levels.

By making a pact, the earth elemental breaks off a small portion of its form and embeds it harmless into the hand or other body part of the stone sentinel, allowing him to progress through the class. As the stone sentinel grows in power, the fragment of earth expands and begins assimilating the creature from the inside out, bringing minor earth traits such as rocky skin, an air of dust around them, an unusually heavy weight for their size, and earthtone skin, hair, and eyes. At 10th level it pays off and the creature undergoes an apotheosis into an elemental themselves.

 : Going airborne won't save you from the stone sentinel. The stone sentinel is able to project the earth-based effects farther up into the air than normal, kicking up rocks and debris to achieve it. Any maneuver, effect, or spell which is limited to striking earthborne targets can now strike creatures flying up to 5 feet high per level, although any flying creature gets a +2 bonus on its saving throws against such effects.

He must still qualify for the feats as normal. Choose from the following: Active Shield DefensePH2, Armor SpecilizationPH2, Blind-Fight, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Diehard, Dwarven Armor ProficiencyRoS, Earth AdaptRoS, Earth MasterRoS, Earth SenseRoS, Endurance, Exotic Armor ProficiencyRoS, Exotic Shield ProficiencyRoS, Extraordinary ConcentrationCAdv, Formation ExpertCW, Great Fortitude, Greater Heavy Armor OptimizationRoS, Heavy Armor OptimizationRoS, Heavy Armor Proficiency, Hold the Line, Improved Combat ExpertiseCW, Improved Natural Armor, Improved Shield Bash, Improved ShieldmateMini, Improved ToughnessCW, Iron Will, Mountain WarriorRoS, Power CriticalRoS, Power Attack, Shield Proficiency, Shield SpecializationPH2, Shield WardPH2, ShieldmateMini, Skill Focus (concentration, knowledge arcana, knowledge geology, knowledge history, knowledge the planes), Stand Still, Steadfast Determination, Steady ConcentrationRoS, Steady MountaineerRoS, Stone PowerToB, StonebackRoS, Toughness, Tower Shield Proficiency, Tunnel FightingRoS.

 : At 2nd level, your body syngerizes with the earth, allowing it to deal less harm against you. Any fall damage you take against solid ground, and any attacks from stone (such as from an earth elemental, stone golem, or a boulder) deal nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage.

 : At 2nd level, you can sense the passage of your opponents via the ground. While not strong enough to be tremorsense, you do get to make attacks of opportunity even if you are flatfooted. If you have the Combat Reflexes feat the benefits improve, and instead of Dexterity, you can use your Constitution modifier to determine the number of attacks of opportunity you can gain. You may also use your Con in place of your Dex for the pre-requisites of any feats dealing with attacks of opportunity.

 : At 3rd level, the presence of the earth helps energize your metabolism. You automatically stabilize if you are dying, and you recover twice as much health and ability damage than normal when you rest for 8 hours. This does not apply if you are somehow not in contact with the ground such as being on an airship, a boat, a non-stone structure which is not itself touching the ground.

 : At 4th level, you gain the ability to conjure a protective shield of earth around you. When you are in a Stone Dragon stance, you can forgo its usual benefits as a swift action to receive the benefits of the Iron Tower Stance. This ability lasts as long as you maintain the Stone Dragon stance or as defined below. You can stop using the Iron Tower Stance and resume gaining normal benefits of your stance as a swift action.

When you use this ability you conjure four stone monoliths and heavy dust which orbit your body, shielding you from harm and granting offensive benefits. Opponents get a 20% miss chance from concealment due to the dust (your vision is unaffected), you gain a +4 circumstance bonus to AC, and you can launch large slabs of stone like a catapult. As an attack action, you launch one or more slabs at your opponents as a ranged attack with a range increment of 50 ft., dealing 5d6 points of damage, and the target must make a Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + Strength modifier) or fall prone. Attacking with the stone slabs You may attack the same creature multiple times, but they only need to make one save a round regardless how many slabs they have been hit with. Using the stone slabs reduces the circumstance bonus to AC by 1 each (down to 0), and the slabs reappear at a rate of 1 per round. You retain the benefits of this stance so long as you do not move more than 5 feet a round, otherwise you outrace the rotating monoliths and the stance fails.

 : At 5th level, you glide over the ground with unnatural ease, allowing you to slide farther with a simple nudge. You may choose to take a 10 foot step instead of a 5 foot step. You do not lose any stances or other abilities which require you to only take 5 foot steps.

 : At 6th level, your connection to the ground strengths to actively heal you in combat. You gain fast healing 1, so long as you are in contact with the ground. This has the same conditions as Geo Recovery.

 : At 7th level, you become aware of the life within the earth itself. You may use stone tell at will.

 : At 8th level, you gain the ability to transform yourself into a bastion of defense. When you are in a Stone Dragon stance, you can forgo its usual benefits as a swift action to receive the benefits of the Diamond Castle Stance. This ability lasts as long as you maintain the Stone Dragon stance or as defined below. You can stop using the Diamond Castle Stance and resume gaining normal benefits of your stance as a swift action.

When you use this ability you gain DR/adamantine equal to half your initiator level. The Stone Dragon maneuvers which grant DR/adamantine stack with this ability. Your pose allows you to completely take up your square, preventing creatures from attempting to tumble through your space and providing 100% cover and concealment to creatures behind you. Your virtual bulk also makes it difficult for creatures to get around you, the tumble DC to avoid attacks of opportunity for moving becomes 15 + your initiator level. Finally, any weapons you wield are treated as adamantine for the purposes of bypassing damage reduction and hardness. You retain the benefits of this stance so long as you do not move more than 5 feet a round, otherwise you outrace the rotating monoliths and the stance fails.

 : At 9th level, your connection to the earth re-enforces you with the strength to survive anything. Your fast healing 1 is replaced by regeneration 1, which is bypassed by [Air] subtype damage, adamantine weapons, and sonic damage. As before, you must stay in contact with the ground as per Geo Recovery.

 : At 10th level, your bond with the elemental transforms you into a creature of earth yourself. You become an Elemental with the [Earth] subtype, becoming immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, and critical hits and sneak attacks. You gain DR 10/magic, darkvision out to 60 ft., and are able to use the earth glide ability of an earth elemental for up to 1 round per HD a day. You cannot be forced prone by any effect and in fact if you die, you die standing, transforming your body into a statue which continues to stand and provide cover.

 : At 10th level, your ability to slide with a nudge improves. You may take a 15 foot step instead of a 5 or 10 foot step. You do not lose any stances or other abilities which require you to only take 5 foot steps.

The epic stone sentinel gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic stone sentinel feats) every two levels after 22nd.

Epic Stone Sentinel Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Damage Reduction, Energy Resistance, Epic Endurance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Prowess, Epic Toughness, Epic Will, Extended Life Span, Fast Healing, Great Constitution, Great Strength, Great Wisdom, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved Darkvision, Penetrate Damage Reduction, Perfect Health, and Spellcasting Harrier. Alternatively you can choose two feats from the non-epic class bonus feats in place of one epic bonus feat.

Playing a Stone Sentinel
Combat: Look at them all, running around the battlefield chasing down enemies. You don't need no such wild hootnanny. By standing right here you got all the power you need, both to survive and to bring down the pain on your enemies. You're a tank in the truthest sense of the word, but you can help out even if you aren't very mobile.

Advancement: Now that you can attack at range, dwarven defender and other unmoving tank options are a valid option for you.

Resources: Stone Sentinels are usually found in dwarven military ranks, as living mobile walls that slowly advance forward over a growing ramp of corpses.

Stone Sentinels in the World
"A thousand years ago the mountains were, and a thousand years they shall remain. Come at me with your worthless fury, feeble creature of meat and bone. For I shall see you and your children buried."

NPC Reactions: Stone Sentinels represent an unyielding force, a knight who will not fall in the face of danger, and in a way there is something brave and romantic about that. Stone Sentinels are treated much like one would treat a knight in shining armor, someone who will defend you in times of need. The fact they can actually achieve this is even better.

Stone Sentinel Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge The Planes can research stone sentinels to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Stone Sentinels in the Game
Adaptation: Perhaps give this as a replacement to Dwarven Defender. Instead of maneuvers, you gain extra armor bonus, extra fighter bonus feats, and/or free armor enhancements up to +5.

Sample Encounter: Nothing can move The Wall! Each year The Wall, a Dwarven Stone Sentinel comes and challenges warriors to move him in the arena before he defeats them. None have yet succeeded.

EL 15: PENDING.