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Berserks are warriors who dress themselves in bearskins, taking advantage of the fear most people have for wild animals and inviting the wild rage of the animal into the warrior's body.

Requirements

Class Features

Weapon and armor Proficiency: Berserks gain proficiency with light armor as well as all simple and martial melee weapons, if they did not have these proficiencies from a previous class.

Battle Fury (Ex): Starting at 1st level, berserks can enter battle fury as a standard action. They gain +6 to Strength, +6 to Constitution, and a +3 moral bonus on Will saves, but suffer a -2 penalty to AC while in battle fury. The increase in Constitution increases the berserk's hit points by 3 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the fury when the Constitution score drops back to normal. (The Extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) While in his fury, a berserk cannot use skills or abilities that require patience and concentration, such as moving silently or casting spells (the only class skills he can't use are Animal Empathy and Wilderness Lore.) He cannot use ranged weapons. He can use any feat he might have except for Expertise, item creation feats, metamagic feats, and Skill focus (if it's tied to a skill that requires patience or concentration). While in a fury, berserks attack every being they can see. When a berserk begins attacking a foe, she continues until the foe dies, the berserk dies or becomes incapacitated, or the fury ends.

In order to avoid attacking a friend or innocent bystander, the berserk must make a Will save (DC 15 + number of rounds already spent in a fury). A fit of battle fury lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the character's (newly improved) Constitution modifier. The berserk may not prematurely end the battle fury voluntarily. If there are no longer any beings in sight, the berserk randomly attacks walls, rocks, trees, doors, or anything else she can see. At the end of a fury, the berserk is fatigued (-2 to Strength, -2 to Dexterity, can't charge or run) for the duration of that encounter. The berserk can only fly into a fury once per encounter and only a certain number of times per day (determined by level).

Movement Bonus (Ex): At 1st level, berserks increase their movement rate by 10 feet. This bonus only applies to the berserk's human and hybrid forms.

Beast Shape (Su): At 3rd level, the berserk selects a totem animal from the following list: bear (brown), boar, eagle, raven, whale (cachalot), or wolf. A number of times per day determined by level, the berserk may change shape into a hybrid creature with features that combine human and animal, or into the animal itself. A hybrid retains the use of human arms, hands, and intelligence, but loses the power of speech. A hybrid cannot use skills or abilities that require patience and concentration, such as moving silently or casting spells ( the only class skills he can't use are Animal Empathy and Wilderness Lore). He can use any feat he might have except for Expertise, item creation feats, metamagic feats, and Skill Focus (if it's tied to a skill that requires patience or concentration). Hybrids also gain +2 Strength and +2 Constitution. The increase in Constitution increases the berserk's hit points by 1 per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the fury when Constitution score drops back to normal. ( These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.)

While in animal form, the berserk gains the abilities and movement speeds of the animal and retains her human intelligence. A berserk cannot use battle fury while in either hybrid or animal form, nor can she use beast shape while in battle fury. A berserk can always change back to human form. No equipment or clothing transforms with the berserk.

Damage Reduction (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the berserk gains the ability to shrug off some amount of injury from each blow or attack. Subtract 1 from the damage the berserk, takes each time she is dealt damage. At 4th level, this damage reduction rises to 2. At 6th level it rises to 3. At 8th level it rises to 4. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.

Advancement