Still Not Done With PF1: Hill Folk Class (Patreon)

It's time for the weekly Pathfinder 1e content available to all members! I first wrote this class in late 2018, while working as an on-staff developer for Pathfinder's official publisher. The class is inspired by one of my very favorite fantasy films, and anyone familiar with that film will see the influence immediately.

But I didn't just write the class to do an ode to a beloved film from my childhood. I felt there was an entire class of major fantasy characters that had no really good representation in Pathfinder -- the Brave Little Backups. Not always comic relief (and never JUST comic relief), and not always minions or sidekicks, the BLBs were not the focus of the fantasy stories they were in (unless they ended up with the One Ring, which only happened twice, but it's weird that it occurs that often and has little representation within ttRPGs). These BLB characters are not seasoned adventurers. Not soldiers, not wizards, not famous archers or powerful clerics. They tend to just be... folk. But a hardy, determined, brave kind of folk, who end up in groups of more clearly prepared spellcasters and champions. Despite seeming to be utterly unprepared for danger, BLB are never any more a detriment to their party than any other character. In fact, groups are generally better off with their BLB, who can Keep Up Morale, Rise to the Challegne, and Have Their Moment.

They aren't all hill folk, of course. They may be shire folk, or fisher folk, or crofters, or dalelanders, or the provincial, or even just someone who isn't a graduate of Spellcaster College, Dueling School, Battle Priest Seminary, or even Adventure University (Go Fighting 'Minions!). The core idea is this is the class for the people who don't seem to be adventurers, who not only survive going adventuring, they are a boon to their companions.

Hill Folk

The hill folk are as much a culture as an occupation. They have traditions and customs different from civilization, but those off-the-norm backgrounds come with powers that are just as different from the standards of society. Hill folk often suffer from significant wonderlust, and it is not unusual for them to spend many years adventuring. However, they dislike committing violence, and generally look for places they can safely travel, or companions they can safely travel with. However on the rare occasion they are pushed to defend those they love, their powers to do so are significant.

Despite not fitting any of the classic roles of heroes, most groups who have a hill folk as an ally are delighted to have their knowledge, good cheer, and not a small bit of luck along even in the darkest of times. And hill people are rugged and sturdy enough (though they mostly don’t look it) to survive even the most dangerous of adventures without being a significant drain on their allies.

Alignment: Any

Hit Die: d8

Starting Wealth: 2d6 × 10 gp (average 70 gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less, and one pie.

Class Skills

The hill folk’s class skills are Acrobatics (Dex), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Dex), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (all, each skill taken individually) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Perception (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Skill Ranks per Level: 8 + Int modifier.

Table: Hill Folk

Level     BaB                       Fort        Ref         Will        Special

1st          +0                          +2           +2           +2           Knack, lack the power to do harm, organize notes, professional folk, ways of the hills

2nd        +1                          +3           +3           +3           Luck of the hill folks 1/day

3rd         +2                          +3           +3           +3           Knack

4th         +3                          +4           +4           +4           Luck of the hill folks 2/day

5th         +3                          +4           +4           +4           Knack

6th         +4                          +5           +5           +5           Luck of the hill folks, 3/day

7th         +5                          +5           +5           +5           Knack

8th         +6/+1                   +6           +6           +6           Luck of the hill folks 4/day

9th         +6/+1                   +6           +6           +6           Knack

10th       +7/+2                   +7           +7           +7           Luck of the hill folks 5/day

11th       +8/+3                   +7           +7           +7           Knack

12th       +9/+4                   +8           +8           +8          Luck of the hill folks 6/day

13th       +9/+4                   +8           +8           +8          Knack

14th       +10/+5                 +9           +9           +9          Luck of the hill folks 7/day

15th       +11/+6/+1           +9           +9           +9           Knack

16th       +12/+7/+2           +10        +10        +10        Luck of the hill folks 8/day

17th       +12/+7/+2           +10        +10        +10        Knack

18th       +13/+8/+3           +11        +11        +11        Luck of the hill folks 9/day

19th       +14/+9/+4           +11        +11        +11         Knack

20th       +15/+10/+5         +12        +12        +12         Hill lord, luck of the hill folks 10/day

Class Features

The following are class features of the hill folk.

(Hill folk's actions give them weight. Art by Jacob Blackmon)

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Hill folk are proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, but not with shields.

Hill folk Knacks: You gain one hill folk knack at 1st level, and an additional knack at 2nd level and every level thereafter. You cannot use a knack when wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a shield. You cannot take a knack more than once unless it says otherwise.

Actions Give You Weight (Su): Hill folk often place themselves at risk to aid others. As a standard action you can give an ally within 30 feet the benefits of your Lack the Power to Do Harm class feature until the beginning of your next turn. If the ally makes an attack (as defined by the invisibility spell) during this time, they lose this benefit and cannot regain it for 24 hours.

BACK! (Ex): As a standard action, you can use something a foe (including swarms) are leary of to hold them at bay. Anything a creature is vulnerable to qualifies, and for most creature a lit torch also qualifies unless it has fire resistance. You must make a special level-based Charisma check (1d20 + class level + Charisma bonus) against a DC of 5 + the target’s Hit Dice + the target’s Wisdom modifier. If you succeed, the creature cannot move within melee range of you (neither getting within your reach, or placing you within its reach). If already within melee range, it moves 5 feet away from your as a reaction if possible (not provoking attacks of opportunity). The DC to use this increased by 2 each time you use it against the same creature within 24 hours. Once you fail this check against a creature, you cannot affect it again for 24 hours.

Dropping Eaves (Ex): You gain one of the follow feats as a bonus feat: Alertness, Skill Focus (Perception) Skill Focus (Stealth), or Stealthy as bonus feats. You gain an addition bonus feat from that list at 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level.

Helper (Ex): You can always find a way to help, even if it's just as a calming presence. You automatically succeed an an aid another action taken as at least a standard action, and your bonus when aiding another is +4 rather than +2.

General Knack: You gain two untyped general feats (feats that are not also any other kind of feats) for which you meet the prerequisites, as bonus feats. You may take this knack more than once. Each time, you must select two different untyped general feat.

Great Chooser of Roads (Ex): You and your allies increase your overland travel speed by 20%, and do not have it reduced for terrain.

I Can Carry You (Ex): If you carry an ally, only half the weight of the ally and their gear count against your encumbrance. While you are carrying them, they receive the better of your AC and saving throw bonuses or their own, and gain a +4 bonus to AC and saving throws. Time carrying your ally does not count towards time passing for afflictions worsening or bleed effects dealing damage, or the time that has passed for purposes of a breath of life spell. If an ally you are carrying takes an action other than just communication, you lose all bonuses from this ability (when carrying anyone) for a week.

Minstrel (Ex): You have learned some of the storytelling and singing art of the hill folk. You know spells and have spells per day as a bard of 1/3 your class level. Your caster level is equal to your class level. You must be at least 3rd level to select this knack.

Narrow of Purpose (Ex): Hill folk are capable to being very focused, directing all their attention to a single goal. You gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat. Each day when you try to organize your notes, you may select what skill this bonus feat applies to. This must be a skill you have ranks in.

Not As Bad As It Looked (Ex): You are often able to show that injuries just as as serious as they first appeared, while applying the herbs and curing techniques of your people. When you successfully make a Heal check to treat injuries, you can heal the target of an additional 1d8 + level points of damage. This deals an additional 1d8 of healing at 2nd level, and every other level thereafter. A creature can only benefit from these additional dice of healing (from any hill folk) once per day. You cannot use this ability on yourself, however, once per day if you are knocked unconscious and someone else succeeds at a Heal check to treat your injuries, you can apply this additional healing to yourself.

Not While I'm Here! (Ex): When you are adjacent to a creature that would otherwise be helpless, you can choose for it to not be helpless. Additionally if it is forced to make a saving throw, you may also throw a saving throw for it using your bonus and it can take the better of its save or your save. You cannot use this ability is you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC or are yourself helpless.

Pack Mule (Ex): Hill folk can be surprisingly hearty when carrying large piles of gear. Your carrying capacity is tripled.

Reflexive Form (Su): If the result of an attack against you is a critical hit, or causes you to be unconscious or dead, as an immediate action you can expend one daily use of your hill shape ability to turn yourself into a tiny 1 HD animal. This causes the attack to miss entirely, doing no damage to you, but you are stuck in that shape for 1d4 rounds.

Rushed Flight (Su): Once per day you can expend one daily use of your hill shape ability to turn into a fireball that flies through the air at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour. You can do nothing but fly during this time, and if you touch down, hit an object, or are stopped or slowed down at any point the effect ends. Navigation in this form is difficult, and requires a Survival check with a DC equal to 10 +1 per 100 miles travelled. You must have hill shape option of way of the hills to select this ability.

Short in Stature (Ex): You are particularly slight of build, even for one of the hill folk. While your weapon and equipment use, space, reach, and movement are determined by your true size category, for all other purposes you calculate your modifiers as if you were one size smaller.

Startling Fury (Ex): Once a day you can unleash your righteous fury to scream at a creature, make a speech about it's inevitable failure, or just dance about and wave your arms furiously. As a standard action select one creature able to see and hear you, and make a special level-based Charisma check (1d20 + class level + Charisma bonus) against a DC of 5 + the target’s Hit Dice + the target’s Wisdom modifier. If you succeed, the creature is so startled by your outburst it is dazed for 1 round. You can use this ability an additional time per day at class level 6, 12, and 18. Once you have used this ability, you cannot use it again on your target (or any creature that saw your starling fury) for 24 hours.

Sweet Tooth (Ex): Many hill folk are strongly drawn to sweets, from gooseberry pies to nut bars. However, they do not carry such things themselves, and do not wish to pay for them. You are one such hill folk. If you acquire a dessert through a skill check (Bluff, Diplomacy, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth are most common), once during the next 24 hours you can use that skill check result in place of any failed skill check for a skill you have at least as many ranks in. If you acquire a new dessert with a new skill check before you use the old one, you can keep the new check in reserve if it is better, but you may only have one in reserve at a time. Once you use this ability to replace a skill check, you can’t use it again until you organize your notes.

Underfoot (Ex): If you are adjacent to a creature, as a standard action you can cause it to suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls, concentration checks, and Spellcraft and USe Magic Device checks for 1 round.

Wide of Vision (Ex): Hill folk are often very alert to their surroundings. You gain a bonus to Perception checks equal to half your class level (minimum +3). Additionally, if you succeed at a Perception check to act on a surprise round, at the beginning of the suprise round you may choose to limit yourself to a move action while warning your allies within 60 feet of the danger you spotted, allowing them to also act on the surprise round.

Wishful Banter (Ex): Hill folk are excellent at cheering people up and imagining better circumstances. Over the course of one minute, you can daydream about better circumstances for yourself, and a number of willing allies equal to your Charisma bonus (who must be willing to discuss things they would prefer with you). You and those allies each gain a +1 morale bonus to one d20 check made in the next 24 hours. The decision to use this bonus must be made prior to the check. No creature can have more than one bonus from wishful banter at a time. The bonus increases to +2 at 5th level, and by an additional +1 for every 5 levels thereafter.

Lack the Power to Do Harm (Su): The hill folk dislike violence, and are blessed by powerful good fortune when they avoid it while maintaining strong hill folk traditions. A hill folk gains a luck bonus to AC and saving throws equal to his Charisma bonus. However, if the hill folk makes an attack (as defined by the invisibility spell), they lose this power for 24 hours. Additionally, if a hill folk multiclasses to the point they don’t have more “hill folk” levels than all other combined class levels, they also lose access to this power.

Organize Notes (Ex): All hill folk have a pile of notes, generally in the form of a loose shuffle of papers and mementos, but they can take nearly any easily-recognizable form, which contain their thoughts on mystic incantations, cooking, and anything else they find important.

These are never organized.

Each day you try to organize your notes. You can only do this once per day, and only after getting 8 hours of rest. This takes one hour, and resets your daily class abilities. Also, if you have not attempted to organize your notes for more than 24 hours, you lose access to one randomly determined hill folk knack, plus one additional knack for every additional 12 hours. These return once you properly attempt to organize your notes.

With the GM's permission, you can have some other signal morning ritual that serves the same function. Examples include cooking breakfast, drawing in a sketch book, cleaning and organizing equipment (possibly a lot of people's equipment).

Professional Folk: At each hill folk level, you gain ranks in 3 professions of your choice. This may not be used to gain more ranks in a profession than your total character level.

Ways of the Hills: Select one of the ways of the hills -- hill shape or untouchable. Once made, this choice cannot be changed. You cannot use or benefit from a way of the hills if you are in medium or heavy armor or using a shield.

Hill Shape (Su): You gain the ability to turn yourself into any Tiny or Small animal of no more than 1 HD (and back again) three times per day. This ability functions like the beast shape III spell, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per hill folk level, or until you change back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The form chosen must be that of an animal you are familiar with. You retain the ability to speak in this form, though you can also make sounds appropriate to the form, and speak to creatures of the same general grouping (canine, feline, avian, etc.) as determined by the GM as though using speak with animals.

You can also attempt to use this power on another target, in which case it functions as baleful polymorph. However, you must roll a natural 20 on a d20 for this to work. Otherwise, you transform yourself into the desired creature, as if you had used the reflexive form knack. (Though you can use luck of the hill folk to try this roll multiple times).

You can use this ability an additional time per day at 6th level and every six levels thereafter, for a total of six times at 18th level.

As you gain levels, this ability allows you to take on the form of larger and smaller animals and elementals as an extreme measure. Each form expends one daily usage of this ability, regardless of the form taken. Any time you use this ability to become anything except a Tiny or Small animal of 1 HD or less, it counts as making an attack for purposes of your Lack the Ability to Do Harm class feature.

At 6th level, you can use hill shape to change into a Medium or Large animal or a Small elemental. When taking the form of an elemental, your hill shape functions as elemental body I.

At 8th level, you can use hill shape to change into a Huge or Diminutive animal, or a Medium elemental. When taking the form of an elemental, your hill shape now functions as elemental body II.

At 10th level, you can use hill shape to change into a Large elemental. When taking the form of an elemental, your hill shape now functions as elemental body III. At 12th level, you can use hill shape to change into a Huge elemental. When taking the form of an elemental, your hill shape now functions as elemental body IV.

Untouchable (Ex): You are often saved from damage and misfortune by mercy, happenstance, and the instinctive protection of your allies. Whenever you would take damage or gain a condition with penalties or affliction, there is a chance (50% + 1 % per level) that something prevents the damage, condition, or affliction from applying to you. If you make an attack (as defined by the invisibility spell), you lose this power for 24 hours. Additionally, if you multiclasses to the point you don’t have more “hill folk” levels than all other combined class levels, you also lose access to this power.

Luck of the Hill Folk (Su): Things just tend to go well for hill folk, and their allies, and tend to go badly for those who wish them harm. Beginning at 2nd level, once per day as a swift or immediate action after a d20 roll of a creature within 60 feet has been determined to be a success or failure, you may immediately force the die to be rerolled. The new roll is used to determine if the original roll was successful or note. The reroll is either a boosted reroll (meaning if the d20 shows a 1-10, it gains a +10 bonus), or a hindered reroll (meaning if the die shows an 11-20, it takes a -10 penalty), whichever you prefer when you force the reroll. This is pure luck, and your character need not be aware of an event for you to use this power to influence it.

You gain an additional use of this ability at 4th level, and every 2 levels thereafter.

Hill Lord (Su): At 20th level if the hill folk would lose the lack the power to do harm class feature due to making an attack or a hill folk power that gives some other condition, he can decide not to lose the benefits of the ability by expending a daily use of luck of the hill folk. This leaves the hill folk clear to take actions without them counting against losing lack the power to do harm for 1 minute.