CAS

CAS

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Characters - #3) Gizurr - Berserker - Northman



#3) Gizurr - Berserker - Northman

-Ftr 6th Lvl - HP 56 (94 when Berserk) - AC 9 (4 when Berserk) +1 To hit (+3 to Hit/ +3 Dmg when Berserk). Immune to all spells and effects which attempt to slow, bind, charm, transmute or render unconscious while Berserk.

Gizuur lives in the hills above the fjord. He has been blessed by the Raven God with the red strength that comes from the old blood of bears. He is a sworn man to Rolfr and accompanies him on raids or when called upon at the settlement around the Fjord. When not raiding or fighting for Rolfr he works as a miner in the old caves and sells the red iron ore to the local smiths.

Once per day he can choose to go berserk (see Note). As a berserk wearing armor or even clothing is difficult as his muscles increase in size and he can split seams or cause damage to himself from the leather straps or chain links. He chooses to wear no shirt and only a loose kilt-like wrap of animal fur around his loins. For a weapon he wields an old axe called "Skull-Splitter" which can split a man from pate to breast bone on a natural '20' (double-damage on a save versus death magic otherwise an instant kill). Only those in a Berserk state can wield 'Skull-Splitter' properly and it is considered a holy weapon blessed by the
Raven King.

Note: Those blessed by the Raven King can go into a wild state called Berserking once per day. They can summon this state in a single combat round and it will last for 2 combat for every point of their constitution.
Their strength becomes exceptional and they are at +3 to Hit and +3 to Damage. Their AC becomes AC4 unless they are wearing armor of some sort which raises them to AC6 till it is removed. Many berserkers fight in the nude and at the very least fight bare-chested. Wearing metal armor causes 2HP of damage per combat round and leather armor will split and fall from their arms and chest.

 Berserkers gain HP equal to their maximum for both their level and their constitution bonus with a 10HP bonus. Thus a 6th level fighter with 18 constitution would have 94HP while berserk. If a berserker is injured beyond his natural HP he will collapse after leaving the berserk state, if he is injured to a point more than 10HP below his natural HP he will die immediately upon leaving the berserk state.

While in a berserk state the berserker is immune to all spells and effects magical that would cause him to be bound, lose consciousness, be hasted or slowed, charmed, or transmuted. He is immune to natural poison, pain, or injuries that would render him unconscious.


Once all enemies are dead a berserker will turn on his friends and most save versus spells to keep them for every combat round that the berserk state is in effect. A berserker cannot control the length of his berserk state (2xConstitution in combat rounds) and must remain berserk for the entire duration. Once a Berserker has left his berserk state he will be at -4 to Hit and -4 damage till he has rested for at least 12 hours.

4 comments:

  1. Great writeups. What game are those pics from?

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  2. Thanks! These counters are part of an expansion to an English game called Viking Raiders. It is part of the Cry Havoc! series of games. Each character in the game is represented by 4 counters. They show the character healthy, wounded, incapacitated and dead. The game itself is okay but the rules aren't great.

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  3. those counters with the four stages of health are just great. I'm a sucker for paper minis and counters over metal miniatures any day. And I like the berserk right up. Clear, great description of why they don't wear armor and the consequences of doing so. I dig it.

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    Replies
    1. It is a bit fiddly but it makes going berserk a danger to friend and foe alike. You can make it even more powerful and dangerous by giving the berserk a special crit table and make him attack the nearest person or monster regardless of whose side they are on (and maybe allow the character to roll a save each combat round when they are turning on a friend, ally or innocent bystander).

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