Berserker (Sebaste)
The Berserker is a warrior who has special attributes and abilities when he's in combat. In combat, he can achieve an ecstatic state of mind that will enable him to fight longer, harder, and more savagely than any human being has a right to. This makes him a deadly warrior... who can be as much a menace to himself as to his enemies. The berserkers are an elite Sebaste fighting force who are so extreme they are ostracized even from Sebastite communities leading to an outcast life on the forest floor. Berserkers live life for action, death is not an element in decision making leading to reckless and unorthodox behavior. Sebaste clans who have children that they are unable to cope with, cast them out of their homes to the forest floor where they are often found and inducted into the Berserker way of life. If not, they die.
Role
Despite their estranged relationship with other Sebastite clans, they are dedicated to their protection. They see themselves as the chosen warriors – chosen to give their lives in the defense of, who they deem, the defenseless (usually everyone else!). Berserkers are deeply religious, though they see their connection to Palanos through a sacred animal totem (usually the bear, however, some groups have broken from this tradition) and not a religious order. Often, priests unfamiliar with this way of life, will mistake their spirituality with worship of Du'Makh rather than Palanos. Such ignorance has lead to the death of more than one of these Sebastite berserkers at the hands of a zealous priest.
Distinctive Appearance
None
Special Benefits
Berserkers receive a +3 reaction adjustment bonus from Sebastite NPCs - they recognize the Berserker instinctively and respect him, even if he is an enemy.
The Berserker may, at any time, choose to “Go Berserk.” This isn't an instantaneous process - he must spend a little time to "psych himself up." It takes a full turn (ten combat rounds) to Go Berserk. In that time, the character is growling, moaning, uttering imprecations... it's impossible to be quiet when trying to Go Berserk. He may also be fighting during that time, meaning that he can start to Go Berserk on the round the fight begins, fight for ten full rounds, and then be Berserk on the eleventh round.
He is immune (no Saving Throw is necessary) to the wizard spells charm person, friends, hypnotism, sleep, irritation, ray of enfeeblement, scare, geas, and the clerical spells command, charm person or mammal, enthrall, cloak of bravery, and symbol.
He gets a +4 to save against the wizard spells blindness, Tasha's uncontrollable hideous laughter, hold person, charm monster, and confusion, and the clerical spells hold person and hold animal.
The emotion spell has no effect on the Berserker, unless the caster chose the fear result. If fear was chosen, the Berserker gets a normal Saving Throw; if he makes it, he continues on as before, but if he fails it, he is prematurely snapped out of his Berserk, with all the normal effects of coming out of the Berserk (but he doesn't suffer other fear effect). The fear spell has exactly the same effect: If he saves, there is no effect, and if he doesn't save, he's snapped out of the Berserk. If he fails a saving throw against charm monster, he simply counts the caster as one of his allies; he doesn't come out of the Berserk or obey the caster's commands.
Being Berserk offers no real protection from finger of death, except that the spell effects do not take place until the character has come out of his Berserk. If the Berserker saves, he doesn't suffer the 2d8+1 damage until immediately after he snaps out of the Berserk. If he fails to save, he doesn't die until he snaps out of the Berserk.
The Berserker, while Berserk, is immune to KO results from the Punching and Wrestling rules, and takes only half damage from bare-handed attacks from these rules.
While Berserk, the character gets +1 to attack, +3 to damage, and +5 hp.
Special Hindrances
The Berserker has hindrances as severe as all those benefits he receives.
The Berserker character receives a -3 reaction from all NPCs (except, that is, characters from tribes which have berserkers in them, as described above).
When the Berserker goes Berserk, the DM should immediately say to him, "Tell me how many hit points you currently have." From that point until the fight is done and the Berserker has returned to normal, the DM keeps track of his hit points. The player is not told how many hp he has left, nor how many points of damage he is taking with each attack. (After all, the character can feel no pain... so he cannot keep track of how close he is to death.) The DM simply tells him something like: "The orc-captain hits you with his axe, a mighty blow which you barely feel..." It is therefore very possible for a Berserker to be nickled and dimed to death and not know it until he drops dead. The DM can also, if he so chooses, roll all Saving Throws for the Berserker, not telling the player whether they were failures or successes.
While Berserk, the character can use no ranged weapons. He kills only in hand-to-hand or melee-weapon combat.
While Berserk, he must fight each opponent until that opponent is down. Once an opponent is felled, the Berserker must move to the nearest enemy and attack him. He can't, for instance, choose to attack the enemy leader if that leader is behind seven ranks of spearmen. The Berserker must keep fighting until all enemies are down, as described earlier.
While Berserk, the character cannot take cover against missile fire.
If, while the character is Berserk, another character tries something he can interpret as attack (for instance, hits him to move him out of the way of an incoming attack,) the Berserker must roll 1d20 vs. his Intelligence. If he succeeds (that is, rolls his Intelligence score or less), he's dimly aware that his friend is not attacking him. If he fails (rolls higher than his Intelligence), he now thinks his friend is an enemy, and continues to think so until the fight is done and he is no longer Berserk.
While Berserk, the character is temporarily unaffected by the clerical spells bless, cure light wounds, aid, cure serious wounds, cure critical wounds, heal, regenerate (and wither). He will gain the benefits of those spells only after he has come out of his Berserk and suffered any and all damages which occurred then.
The Taunt spell is automatically successful, and will cause the Berserker to abandon his current enemy and rush to attack the taunter.
Finally, when the character comes out of his Berserk, bad things happen to him. He loses the 5 hp he gained when he became Berserk. (This could drop him to or below 0 hp and kill him, of course.)
Of course, when the Berserker knows a fight is coming, he can begin to Go Berserk, even if there is no fight currently going on. At the end of a full turn of preparation, he can become Berserk instantaneously. If there's no enemy in sight yet, he can hold the Berserk until combat is engaged. But if no combat takes place within five more full turns, he automatically reverts to "normal" and suffers the ordinary consequences for coming out of a Berserk (described below). The character can come out of his Berserk once the last enemy is down (he must literally be down on the ground, even if still alive and surrendering; the Berserker will stay berserk and continue fighting so long as there are enemies still on their feet). Once the fight ends, the Berserker must come out of his Berserk state.
For these reasons, Berserking is a more appropriate reaction when the characters are about to attack or be attacked by a foe they know about. If the characters are, instead, jumped by a small party of orcs, it's usually not worth the effort to Go Berserk; the consequences and effort outweigh the benefits.
When Berserk, the character has phenomenal endurance and resistance to pain and some forms of magic. Only while Berserk, he gains the following benefits:
He collapses in exhaustion (exactly as if hit by a ray of enfeeblement, no saving throw possible, for one round for every round he was Berserk. He suffers the effects of any spells which wait until he's returned to normal before affecting him (finger of death, for instance). And only then can healing spells affect him.
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