Outdoorsman

The Outdoorsman is a woods-wise warrior, similar to both a ranger and a barbarian, but with key differences. Unlike the ranger, they do not necessarily have a dedication to the health and safety of others… outdoorsmen might be poachers, smugglers, or marauders, happy to devastate a township or simply quickly move illegal goods over the land. Unlike the barbarian, however, there’s no necessary component of chaos in their alignment; an outdoorsman could equally be a King’s Forester, responsible for catching those poachers and smugglers, or stopping marauders along the road. Or an outdoorsman may be a tribesman, not quite so tough or superstitious as a barbarian, but still capable of living off the land and surviving the wilderness.

While able combatants, most Outdoorsman favor tools over weapons; they might learn to use a sword, but facility with a hand axe, spear, or bow is a lot more practical. While they benefit greatly from the physical attributes of Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, they also find Wisdom to be of great use, given its relation to key skills such as Hunting, Survival, and Weather Sense.

Unsurprisingly, those Outdoorsmen who are religious favor deities such as The Traveller, The Great Huntress, and the Bear, but there’s not restriction on their following other deities or no religion at all. Most are moderately suspicious of magic, especially those of a tribal background, but it seldom manifests as a true phobia, as one sees amongst barbarians; it is simply something beyond their ken, and so they may have little use for it.



Combat
Initiative Bonus: Keen observers with hunter’s reflexes, Outdoorsmen have a better initiative die than is common, an ability which improves as they gain in levels.

Fatigue Bonus: Used to living rough and running long, Outdoorsmen have a -3 Fatigue factor bonus. If they choose the Talent of Physical Conditioning, the total modifier will be -6.

Proficiencies: Outdoorsmen begin with proficiency in hand axe, javelin, knife (both melee and thrown), sling, spear, short bow, and throwing axe. They also begin with proficiency in light armor. Proficiency in other weapons, heavier armor, or shields costs the usual amount. Proficiency in Glersee, Hiking/Roadmarching, Skinning/Tanning, and Maintenance/Upkeep costs only half (rounded down).

Specialization: Outdoorsmen are not warriors, though they’re a cut above mages. Specialization with most weapons costs 8 BP per category per level, save for hand axes, javelins, knives, slings, spears, short bows, and throwing axes. For those weapons, specialization costs only 6 BP per category, and weapon talents (Attack Bonus, Swiftblade, Parry Bonus, Damage Bonus, Crack Shot, and Greased Lightning) likewise only cost 6 BP.

Skills
Outdoorsmen rely heavily on their skills. At first level, they receive a free purchase of Survival, plus one free purchase of five additional skills from amongst: Animal Empathy, Animal Mimicry, Botany, Climbing, Fire-Building, Forestry, Hiding, Hunting, Listening, Observation, Rope Use, Swimming, Sneaking, Survival, Tracking, Trapping (q.v.) and Weather Sense.

At each subsequent level, they receive 10 BP with which they may purchase additional mastery dice in any of these skills, and any mastery dice purchased in these skills (either with bonus BP or with the usual BP from leveling) require one less BP (minimum 1). Their training also gives them a minimum mastery die bonus of 0 in these skills; if all relevant attributes attributes provide a better bonus, they gain that, but being a bit dim never prevented an outdoorsman from being clever at hiding, or knowing about plants and trees.

Talents
Outdoorsmen have reduced cost access to a few talents. The following talents may be purchased at half price: Less Sleep, Long Distance Running, Physical Conditioning, and Poison Resistant

Future Aspirations:
Outdoorsmen seldom have great aspirations for the future; theirs can be a very day to day existence. However, some will choose to establish a wilderness freehold, where they might hunt, trap, and fish as they desire. Those of a tribal background often grow into positions of leadership, and, indeed, Outdoorsmen might fill the bulk of the leadership of such tribes.

Level	Hit Die (d8)	Attack Bonus	Initiative
1	1	0	One Better
2	1+rr	0	One Better
3	2	+1	One Better
4	2+rr	+1	One Better
5	3	+2	One Better
6	3+rr	+2	One Better
7	4	+2	One Better
8	4+rr	+3	Two Better
9	5	+3	Two Better
10	5+rr	+3	Two Better
11	6	+4	Two Better
12	6+rr	+4	Two Better
13	7	+4	Two Better
14	7+rr	+5	Two Better
15	8	+5	Three Better
16	8+rr	+5	Three Better
17	9	+6	Three Better
18	9+rr	+6	Three Better
19	10	+6	Three Better
20	10+rr	+7	Three Better

BP Cost by Race:
Dwarf: 50
Elf: 25
Gnome: 35
Gnome Titan: 40
Grel: 20
Half-elf (elf): 25
Half-elf (human): 30
Half-Hobgoblin: 40
Half-orc: 35
Halfling: 30
Human: 20

Lizard Men: 55
Shapechanger: 30
Sil-karg (revision): 40
Hobgoblin: 35
Goblin: 30
Gnole: 35
Kobold: 50

Sidebar: Barbarians and Outdoorsmen
Barbarians and Outdoorsmen seldom coexist in the same tribes; the unbridled machismo that leads to a barbarian tribe makes little allowance for the more understated Outdoorsmen. However, where such classes co-mingle, the cultural fear of magic infects the Outdoorsmen, too. Outdoorsmen from such tribes gain the Barbarian fear of magic (PHB, pg 50), but receive the barbarian resistance to magic and poison in return.