Mariner
Dragonlance: Age of Mortals p26

The mariner is a character class introduced in the Age of Mortals supplement published by Sovereign Press. It is an extremely useful character class particularly for fishing communities which is where my fourth Iourn campaign is set. Because I have a player who has taken the mariner class, the details of this class are produced below in full. This saves me bringing the book to the game every week. A few changes have also been made the text.

Game Rule Information

Class Features

Hit Die: d8

Skill Points: (6 + Int modifier) × 4 at 1st level, then 6+ Int modifier per level thereafter.

Class Skills: The mariner's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Jump (Str), Profession (Sailor) (Wis), Speak Language, Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: I use the rules for Weapon Group Feats (UE p94). At first level the mariner gains the Weapon Group (Basic Weapons) and the Weapon Group (Mariner Weapons) feats. The mariner's proficiency with armour is unchanged - i.e. Light Armour only and no proficiency in the use of a shield.

Bonus Feats: At 1st level and every three levels thereafter the mariner receives a bonus feat. The feats must be chosen from the following list: Alertness, Combat Expertise (Improved Disarm, Improved Feint, Improved Trip), Combat Reflexes, Dodge (Mobility), Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Point Blank Shot (Far Shot), Power Attack (Improved Bull Rush), Quick Draw, Toughness, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Weapon Group (Exotic Weapons).

Sailor Lore: A mariner picks up a lot of knowledge by listening to local gossip in various ports of call or from the sea stories of shipmates. A mariner may make a a special sailor lore check with a bonus equal to his class level + his Intelligence modifier to see whether he knows some relevent information about local people or history, far away places or strange superstitions. This check will not necessarily reveal true information, as much of the time the mariner has heard the information from someone who has heard it from someone else, who heard it from someone else etc. The mariner may not take 10 or take 20 on this check. The DM will determine the difficulty of the check.

Seamanship: Mariners receive a competence bonus to all Balance, Climb and Profession (Sailor) checks. The bonus increases as they gain levels.

Dirty Strike: The mariner is adept at manoeuvres such as hitting below the belt, head butts, sucker punches and the like. From 2nd level the mariner gains the ability to perform an unexpected manoeuvre to cause additional damage. In order to bring this ability in line with the version 3.5 game, I have made a few changes.

This ability now function in exactly the same manner as the Dirty Fighting feat presented on p6 of Sword and Fist. In any round that the mariner makes a full attack action he may add his Dirty Strike damage to each successful mêlée attack. This damage increases as the mariner gains levels. Damage from the Dirty Strike ability stacks with additional damage gained from selecting the Dirty Fighting feat, or from sneak attack damage derived from levels in Rogue or similar class. The additional damage inflicted with a Dirty Strike is not multiplied in the event of a critical hit.

See Also:

• Languages
• Mariners of Iourn