John Henry - Steel Drivin' Man

"John Henry was a Steel Drivin' man."

A towering, barrel chested railroad worker dressed in thick leather dungarees, with a huge sledge hammer perched casually on his shoulder. Not the sharpest tool in the shed...and possessed of a short fuse, John Henry drifts from job to job, making a living hitting things VERY, VERY HARD.  

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

John Henry
STR 24 +7
DEX 18 +4
CON 20 +5
INT 8 -1
WIS 8 -1
CHA 8 -1
Vitality = 45
Wound points = 12
Initiative = +4
Speed = 30 ft

Goliath / Townie (ruffian) / Barbarian = Level 7
Theme: Specialist

Fortitude = 25
Will = 13
Reflex = 19

Armor = +3 Studded leather +3 DR, +2 DR vs fire = 6 DR 8 DR vs fire

Main weapon = Great Club (Railroad hammer) = Heavy, 1d10
Attack = + 4 (half level) + 7 (prime attribute) +2 (powerful build) +2 (rage) +2 (favorite weapon) -2 (power attack) = +15
Damage
14 (2 handed heavy weapon) +5 (favorite weapon) +4 (fire, primal weapon) + 5 (power attack) = +28
Rage +10 / Charge +5 (10 ft move required) / Raging assault +15 (once daily, 5v) / Stunning blow +15 (once daily, 5v)

0 Level / Racial:
Dual Heritage: For all effects related to race, you are considered both a giant and a human.
Low-Light Vision: You see 2x as far as a human in moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. You can distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Powerful Build: Boost Athletics checks by +5. Apply a +2 bonus on attacks and a +5 bonus on saves to resist Bull Rush, Charge, Grapple, Overrun, and Trip attacks. Also, you function as 1 size larger when determining whether a foe’s special attacks based on size (such as Swallow Whole) can affect you. These benefits stack with abilities such as Enlarge that change a subject’s size.
Primal Acclimation: Apply a +2 bonus on saves and DR to resist attacks that deliver fire.

1st level & 2nd level: Ruffian
Bully: If you beat an adjacent person’s Fortitude, he loses 1d6 vitality and either moves back 5 ft or falls prone, as you desire.
Cruel Prank: Once daily, an adjacent sentient foe is dazed for 1 round by your prank or stunned for 1 round if you beat its Will. Costs 5 vitality.
Fearful Strike: As a swift action, a foe hit by your melee weapon must resist using Will or flee in fear for 5 minutes. You can target a particular foe only once daily.
Romantic: Apply a +5 bonus on Diplomacy checks, or +10 in romantic situations.
Swashbuckler’s Mark: As a move action, you leave a lasting scar on a dazed or defenseless foe.
Humiliate: This improves Bully such that the person loses 4d6 vitality, or ½ that amount even when he resists, and also suffers 1 wounds, bursts into tears, and soils himself.
Trusted Weapon: Select 1 specific Light or Medium melee weapon such as a long sword. When using this weapon, apply a +1 bonus to attack rolls and +1d6 damage.

3rd level: Barbarian 1
*Theme / Minor / Prodigy: When you attain 3rd level, you gain 1 advanced class ability rather than the usual 4 basic class abilities for that level, which you gain at 9th level instead. This award does not grant access to advanced tier boons, which you access at 9th level, as usual.
Racial / Super Strength: Boost your Strength score by +1. You can take this ability a second time for a total bonus of +2.
Racial / Super Strength: Boost your Strength score by +1. You can take this ability a second time for a total bonus of +2.
Core/ Longstrider: Boost your speed by +10 ft for 1 hour. Costs 1 vitality.
Core/ Outdoor Athlete: Boost Athletics and Survival checks by +5.
Core/ Rage: Once daily as a swift action, you can fly into a rage for 2 minutes. In a rage, you temporarily gain a +1 bonus on Will and attack rolls, deliver +5 damage, and enjoy +5 vitality. The bonus vitality goes away when the rage ends. While raging, you cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity- or Intelligence-based skills except Acrobatics. You cannot use abilities that require concentration, activate craft abilities or magic abilities except boons from your deity, or activate magic items except armor and weapons. You may prematurely end the rage as a swift action. After raging, you lose the rage modifiers and restrictions, and are fatigued for 5 minutes (unless you have Tireless Rage).

4th level:  Barbarian 2
Theme / Minor / Prime Attribute Boost: The prime attribute associated with your class permanently increases by +1.
Class / Basic / Charge: As a swift action, apply +5 damage to your next melee weapon attack. You must move at least 10 ft in a straight line just prior to using this ability.
Class / Basic /Raging Assault: Once daily, you may inflict +15 damage as part of 1 melee weapon attack. Costs 5 vitality.
Class / Basic / Power Attack: As a swift action, apply a -2 penalty to your next attack roll but add +5 damage to that attack’s damage if you hit.
Class / Basic / Vitality Surge: Once daily you regain 1d6 vitality.

5th level:  Barbarian 3
*Class / Advanced / Greater Rage: This improves Rage, such that you boost Will and attack rolls by +2, deliver +10 damage, and gain +10 vitality.
Racial / Primal Blade M: Boost your melee weapon damage by +4. The damage is fire, as fits your heritage.

6th level: Barbarian 4
Theme / Minor / Stunning Blow: Once daily, you inflict +15 damage on 1 foe as part of an attack that normally delivers hit point damage. Costs 5 vitality.
Class / Basic / Cleave: Up to once per round, when 1 of your melee attacks drops a foe (it falls unconscious or dies), you may immediately make 1 more melee attack against any adjacent foe. This bonus attack delivers your weapon’s normal damage if you beat your target’s Fortitude, or Reflex for Light weapons.
Class / Basic / Bonus Rage: Each time you take this ability, you gain 1 additional daily use of the Rage ability.
Class / Intermediate / Rapid Attack: You may make 2 attacks with the same melee weapon in rapid succession as a standard action. You may direct attacks to the same foe or different foes. Apply a -2 penalty on both attack rolls.
7th level: Barbarian 5
Attribute boosts +1/+1: Strength and Dexterity.
Class / Intermediate / Favorite Weapon: Select 1 weapon with which you are proficient. Apply a +2 bonus on attacks and +5 damage when using that weapon.
Class / Intermediate / All You Need is Kill: An adjacent foe suffers 2d6 damage from your melee weapon, or is slain outright if it is level 2 or lower.


8th level: Barbarian 6
Theme / Major / Penetrating Power: Once daily after expending a move action to focus, apply a +20 bonus on your next attack roll that round. Costs 2 vitality.
Class / Basic / Bonus Rage: Each time you take this ability, you gain 1 additional daily use of the Rage ability. You must already have Rage.
Class / Intermediate / Great Cleave: This improves Cleave, such that you may use it up to 5x per round.

9th level: Barbarian 7
Class / Racial / Stomp: You stomp to express your wrath. Creatures up to size Medium within 15 ft and in contact with the ground must resist using Reflex or fall prone. Costs 1 vitality.
Class / Intermediate / Dazing Blow: As a swift action when making a melee attack while using Rage, the target must resist using Fortitude or be dazed for 1 round in addition to any damage you inflict. Costs 2 vitality.
Class / Intermediate / Wounding Strike: As a swift action, your next weapon attack delivers 1d2 wound damage in addition to any other damage dealt. Requires Rage. Costs 2 vitality.

Athletics +10
Bluff
Craft
Diplomacy +5 / +10 in romantic situations.
Disguise
Dungeoneering
Endurance
Handle Animal
Heal
History
Insight
Intimidate
Literacy
Mechanics
Music
Nature
Nobility
Perception
Pilot
Religion
Stealth
Streetwise
Survival +5
Trick
Warcraft

7000
Magic Items -
x10, Potion, Endurance: Apply a +5 bonus Endurance checks. Also, you enjoy a
+5 bonus to resist abilities that cause fatigue or exhaustion, and you
can sleep in armor without experiencing fatigue the next day. The
effect lasts 12 hours.
x10, Potion, Enlarging: You grow 1 size category for 5 minutes. A larger size
doubles height, applies a -2 penalty to Reflex, a +2 bonus to damage
rolls, a +5 bonus to Athletics checks, +3 wound points, +10 ft
speed, a +5 bonus to resist Bull Rush, Grapple, and Trip attacks, a -5
penalty to Stealth checks, and a 8x weight increase.
x10, Potion, Healing: You recover 2d4 wound points.
X10, Potion, Resistance: You enjoy a +2 bonus on saves and DR for 5 minutes.
You can benefit from only 1 of these potions at a time.
x9, Potion, Speed: Apply a +30 bonus to your land speed for 5 minutes.
x10, Potion, Climb: You gain a climb speed of 30 ft. While climbing, you are
not defenseless and you enjoy a +10 bonus to Athletics and Acrobatics
checks. The effect lasts 5 minutes.
x10, Potion, Water Breathing: You can breathe in water as easily as in air for up to 1
hour, usable nonconsecutively over the next 4 hours.
x2, Potion, Gaseous Form: You become a dark gas and fly slowly for 5 minutes. In
this form, you have a 10 ft fly speed, can only take move actions,
perceive as normal, have DR 10, and enjoy a +5 bonus on Stealth
checks and immunity to all ailments. You can pass through cracks but
cannot enter liquids. The Gust of Wind ability affects you normally.
x2, Potion, Invisibility: You turn invisible for 5 minutes or until you
make an attack, whichever comes first. This grants a +10
bonus on Stealth checks and refuses line of sight to you.
x2, Potion, Demon Blood: Select 1 basic magic ability from the blackguard or warlock
class. You know and can use the ability for 1 hour, after which
time you wretch for 2 minutes and lose 1 wound point.
x2, Potion, Shadowmancy: Select 1 basic magic ability from the shadowcaster class.
You know and can use the ability for 1 hour, after which time you
wretch for 2 minutes and lose 1 wound point.
x2, Potion, Curing: You recover from 1 ailment. Ailments include blindness,
confusion, deafness, disease, exhaustion, fatigue, insanity, nausea,
poison, and taint. This potion does not remove curses such as
mummy rot or lycanthropy.

at quick glance

saves are base of 10 +4 (1/2 level) for each + attribute + any abilities (racial, class, etc)

Fort gets bonus from either Str or Con
Ref from Dex or Int
Will from wis or cha

Fort - 10 + 4 (lvl) +4 (what you listed) +7 attribute = 25
etc

Vitality is 40 (level) + 5 Con

The Ruffian levels count and also give a +2 to 1 attribute, not sure if you counted that.

and we get $13,000 for magic items
and a +3 for a bonus magic item (like your hammer) or +3 dr for magic armor

Looks good, and Chris is correct about saves. They act like defenses. And there's no AC, just DR. Armor has hit points too.

Skills look incomplete. Be sure to add your modifier.

Be sure that Ruffian Townie replaces two levels worth of abilities. You can pick which two levels, but they have to be sequential. He should be 8th level. Otherwise, he'll miss out on the advanced abilities .Also adds 2 years to character's age.


Glad to have John Henry in the adventure!

okay, JH abilities breakdown, by level

0 level - Goliath standard racial Traits.
1 - Ruffian abilities, 2 Racial abilities
2 - Ruffian (no Minor)
3 - Barbarian, 3 core class abilities, 1 Basic, 1 Racial (Prodigy doesn't work in this instance)
4 - 2 Basic, 1 Intermediate, 1 Minor
5 - 2 Int, +1/+1
6 - 1 Basic, 1 Int, 1 Major
7 - 2 Int, 1 Racial
8 - 2 Int, 1 Minor

The ability modifier for skills is just a matter of adding them when I roll - I just notated non-ability mods that are additional adds.

The prodigy theme award kicks is purchased at barbarian 1 but kicks in at barbarian 3, which is character level 5. If this gums everything up, Ill ll just reverse everything and do the 6 barbarian levels first and then 2 levels of of townie.

Maybe we can take 10 minutes to straighten this out tomorrow at your place?

Taking Ruffian at 7th level would allow you to use Prodigy, sure. Doing Ruffian 7-8 means JH would miss out on 4 intermediate abilities. You have to decide if the trade-off is worth it.

Specialist theme isn't supposed to multi-class, so it makes sense to do Ruffian first, then pick up a class, but Townie isn't really a class, it's a profession. Themes are class-based, so whatever.