Base Requirements

• Races: Any
• Sub-Classes: Any Warrior
• Ability Requirements: Appearance 13
• Alignments: Any
• Starting Cash: By class

Weapon Proficiencies

• Weapon Slots: By class
• Bonus Weapon Proficiencies: none
• Required Weapon Proficiencies: Spear or Lance
• Allowed Weapons: By class
• Allowed Armors: Chainmail or lighter, no shields

Non-Weapon Proficiencies:

• Non-weapon Slots: By class
• Available Categories: By class, plus Pastoral
• Bonus Non-weapon Proficiencies: Animal Handling (Horse), Animal Training (Horse), Land-based Riding (Horse), Musical Instrument
• Required Proficiencies: none
• Recommended Proficiencies: Animal Lore, Armorer, Blind-fighting, Direction Sense, Fire-building, Herbalism, Hunting, Intimidation, Leatherworking, Navigation, Sign Language, Signalling, Singing, Survival, Tracking, Tumbling, Veterinary Healing
• Forbidden Proficiencies: none

Overview: Horsemen are classic warriors: well-trained, mounted fighters sweeping out of the barren wastes-living their lives and fighting their battles from the saddle. To nomadic tribes, horsemen are romantic heroes, exemplifying the traditions of bravery, honesty, and freedom.

Description: As much performers as warriors, horsemen dress in brightly colored clothes and carry instruments (often a drum, chimes, gong, harp, or warhorn) on horses that are seldom left unmounted. The horses themselves are often dyed to resemble the horseman’s clothing, in deep reds and bright yellows.

Role-Playing: Horsemen are the protectors and elite shock troops of their nations. They are well trained, but something of an anomaly in a military based on infantry units. They stick together and consider themselves both elite and superior to other soldiers, whom they see as lowly foot-sloggers. They are free to roam, however, and often go on long journeys to display their prowess before the common people so that their deeds will be remembered.

Special Abilities:

• Each horseman starts with a free Light War Horse of high-spirited quality at 1st level.
• A horseman has complete empathy with horses, being able to sense their basic drives, needs, and emotions with only a round of direct observation. This power is extended to make the horse almost a familiar to its master. The horseman and his horse both gain +1 hp/level of the horseman, and both gain a +2 bonus to armor class while the horse is being ridden.
• A horseman gains a +1 bonus on all Land-based Riding proficiency checks related to horses. This bonus improves by +1 for every three levels of the horseman. In addition, the horseman may try several maneuvers on horseback without penalty. These include: vaulting into the saddle, horse jumping, guiding the mount with his knees, leaping from horseback to attack, hanging behind the steed, and firing missile weapons from horseback. He may increase the steed’s speed by double the amount and for double the amount of time that a normal rider could.
• The horseman can use any Spear as if it were a light lance. Although they ride light horses, they may use any weight of lance, regardless of the horse’s size.
• The horseman may alter the mood of onlookers while mounted by producing music, shouting, and performing intricate feats of equestrian prowess. This should be treated as an emotion spell, with the saving throw taken by onlookers at -1 for each five horsemen so performing. This is not considered magic for purposes of magic resistance, and takes at least two rounds of riding and music playing, during which no other actions may be attempted.

Special Disadvantages:

• If the horseman’s horse dies, the horseman loses double the amount of hit points that were gained by riding it. These cannot be regained for one year, during which time a new mount can be trained. All powers are lost with the hit points, except for the riding bonuses, until a new mount is chosen and trained.
• Regardless of class, a horseman may never wear armor heavier than chainmail, nor carry a shield.

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