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I saw this prestige class in the d20 future book, and proceeded to make it a class for Starfinder that is a genetically superior combination of a barbarian and a monk. The Helix Warrior uses surge abilities to augment their fighting instead of a rage. Many of the Surge abilities were taken from the Pathfinder 2 Playtest rulebook, some others were taken from the d20 Future rulebook, others are of my own making. Let me know what you guys think.
The subjects of rigorous scientific experimentation, Helix Warriors are soldiers whose DNA has undergone a process of conversion sometimes referred to as “forced evolution.” Science corrects their physical flaws and enables Helix Warriors to surpass the natural limitations of their racial form. The genetic mutation process is ongoing. As their DNA continues to transform, Helix Warriors manifest new abilities that make them into better, more resilient super-soldiers, security guards, bounty hunters, and law enforcement officers.
Hit Points: 7
Stamina Points: 7 + Constitution modifier
KEY ABILITY SCORE
Your Constitution represents your natural hardiness and lets you shrug off damage, so Constitution is your key ability score. A high Strength score can make you better at melee attacks.
CLASS SKILLS
SKILL RANKS PER LEVEL 4 + INTELLIGENCE MODIFIER.
Acrobatics (Dex), Athletics (Str), Engineering (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Life Science (Int), Medicine (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Cha, Int, or Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).
PROFICIENCIES
ARMOR PROFICIENCY: Light armor.
WEAPON PROFICIENCY: Basic and advanced melee weapons, and small arms.
Base Attack Bonus: Full
Fort Save Bonus: Good
Reflex Save Bonus: Bad
Will Save Bonus: Good
BIOTECH SPECIALIST [Level 1]
As a Helix Warrior, you have an almost instinctual grasp over biotech augmentations. You gain an insight bonus equal to half your class level to Life Science and Medicine checks to identify and repair biotech. Additionally, in typical settlements, you can find and purchase any biotech augmentation with an item level up to your character level + 2. As normal, the GM can restrict access to some items regardless of their level.
ABILITY SURGE [Level 1]
Requirements You can’t be fatigued or exhausted.
The Helix Warrior gains Ability Surge at level 1. Activating ability surge is a free action, and you gain a number of temporary Hit Points equal to your level plus your Constitution modifier. You enter a state of ability surge that lasts for 3 rounds. While you are surging, you are affected in these ways:
• Gain a +2 enhancement bonus to damage rolls with melee weapons and unarmed strikes and a +2 enhancement bonus to your Athletics and Acrobatics skills. This bonus increases by 1 at level 3 and every 4 levels thereafter. While surged your unarmed strikes do not count as archaic.
• Take a –1 penalty to KAC.
• You can’t use actions that require concentration.
After you have stopped surging, you lose any remaining temporary Hit Points from using the ability surge action, you can’t use ability surge again for 1 round, and you are fatigued for 1 round. You can’t voluntarily stop surging. If you stop surging before its usual duration
expires, you are fatigued and can’t ability surge again until after the end of your next turn. Following the ability surge, the Helix Warrior may negate the fatigued penalty as a free action by spending 2 Resolve Points.
SURGE POWER [Level 2]
As you gains levels, you will learn to surge in new ways. You learn your first surge power at 2nd level, and you learn an additional every 2 levels thereafter. You gain the benefits of surge powers only while Surging. Some of these powers are always active during a surge, and others require you to take an action to use them.
EVASION [Level 2]
If you succeed at a Reflex save against an effect that normally has a partial effect on a successful save, you instead suffer no effect. You gain this benefit only when unencumbered and wearing light armor or no armor, and you lose the benefit when you are helpless or otherwise unable to move.
GENETIC ENHANCEMENT [Level 3]
At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, your biology is boosted making your genetics better than previously before. Choose from the genetic enhancements listed below. Some genetic enhancements require you to reach a certain Helix Warrior level to select them; this level is indicated in parentheses after the enhancement’s name.
WEAPON SPECIALIZATION [Level 3]
You gain Weapon Specialization as a bonus feat for each weapon type this class grants you proficiency with. Helix Warriors also gain weapon specialization with unarmed attacks.
UNCANNY AGILITY [Level 5]
You are immune to the flat-footed condition, and your opponent doesn’t gain any bonuses to attack rolls against you from flanking you or attacking you when you’re prone. Furthermore, covering fire and harrying fire don’t provide any advantage against you.
FLASHING STRIKES [Level 7]
Your mastery of melee combat allows you to make multiple attacks more accurately. When making a full attack entirely with melee weapons or unarmed strikes, you take a –3 penalty to each attack roll instead of the normal –4 penalty.
SUPERIOR CONDITIONING [Level 9]
You learn how to shake off adverse conditions. When you are subjected to one of the following conditions, the duration of the condition’s effect is halved: cowering, dazed, exhausted, fatigued, nauseated, panicked, paralyzed, shaken, and stunned. If the condition’s duration is only 1 round, you are not affected at all.
WARRIOR'S ONSLAUGHT [Level 11]
When making a full attack, you can make up to three attacks instead of two attacks. You take a –6 penalty to these attacks instead of a –4 penalty. If you have the flashing strikes class feature, you instead take a –5 penalty to these attacks as long as they are all melee attacks.
IMPROVED EVASION [Level 13]
When you fail a Reflex save against an effect that has a partial effect on a successful save, you take the partial effect instead of the full effect. You must have evasion to learn this exploit.
TIRELESS SURGE [Level 17]
You are no longer fatigued at the end of your surge. If you enter another surge again within 1 minute of ending a surge, you don’t gain any temporary hit points from the surge.
PARAGON SURGE [Level 20]
You have complete mastery over your surge ability. Your surge ability now last for 5 rounds instead of the original 3 rounds. In addition, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to extend the surge by an additional 2 rounds on top of the 5.
Accelerated Metabolism
You may add half your level (minimum 1), to any healing you receive to hit point damage. Once you have benefited from this enhancement, you can’t gain the benefits again until you takes a 10-minute rest to recover Stamina Points.
Elasticity
You can bend and twist your body in unnatural ways and squeeze through very tight spaces. You gain a +10 enhancement bonus on Acrobatics checks to Escape. Moreover, you can squeeze through an opening or passage one-tenth as wide and tall as your height, in inches. A creature using this enhancement to move through a tight space moves at one-quarter normal speed.
Haul
You can carry more heavy gear than the typical soldier. A Helix Warrior can carry an amount of bulk up equal to 4 + half their Strength score before becoming encumbered. At level 11, this increases to 6 + half their Strength score.
Improved Reaction
Your reflexes are faster than average, you gain a +2 competence bonus on initiative checks.
Light Sleeper
You are a light sleeper and can make Perception checks even while asleep, without penalty. (A sleeping character normally takes a –10 penalty on Perception checks.)
Paragon Swiftness
Your base land speed increases by 5 ft. If you have burrowing, climbing, flying, or swimming speeds those also increase by 5 ft.
Pheromone Attraction
You can regulate the production of pheromones in your body and release them at will, altering the moods of other nearby creatures. You gain a +2 racial bonus on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Survival (handle animal) checks made against creatures within 30 feet of you.
Skeletal Reinforcement
Your bones become more resilient, allowing you withstand greater amounts of punishment. The damage you take from a fall is reduced by 1d6 + half your level.
Superior Darkvision
You gain darkvision and can see in total darkness out to a range of 90 feet. Darkvision is black-and white only, but is otherwise like normal sight. The range of the Helix Warrior’s darkvision improves to 120 feet at 8th level and 180 feet at 14th level.
Superior Skin
You gain a racial resistance 2 to two kinds of energy. Once these are chosen they cannot be changed. You can stack this natural resistance with one other form of resistance.
Survivor
When you spend a Resolve Point to reroll the result of a saving throw, she may take the best result, discarding the lower roll.
Ultra Immune System
You develop a powerful immune system capable of repelling many poisons, diseases, and radiation sickness. You gain a +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws to resist poisons, diseases, and radiation sickness. Furthermore, any permanent ability drain inflicted upon you is treated as temporary ability damage instead.
DIE HARD
You gain the benefits of the Diehard feat while surging.
FLURRY OF BLOWS
Once per round, you may make two unarmed attacks as a standard action (both are taken at you full attack bonus). If both attacks hit the same creature, combine their damage and enhancements for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses.
INTERNAL FORTITUDE
You bury your disgust to overcome your queasiness. When you attempt a Fortitude save
to recover from being sickened or nauseated while surging, you may make a new save against the condition, but new save is at a -4. At level 8, you become immune to the sickened and nauseated conditions.
MOMENT OF CLARITY
You concentrate deeply, pushing back your surge for a moment. Once per surge, as a move action, you may concentrate on a standard action of your choice.
NO ESCAPE
When an adjacent foe attempts to move away from you, you may use a reaction move up to your speed in tandem with the foe, following the foe’s path and remaining adjacent to the foe throughout its movement until the foe stops moving or you are out of movement.
STUNNING FIST
Make an unarmed attack to slow or stun an enemy. You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). Stunning Fist forces a foe damaged by your unarmed attack to make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Con modifier), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw is flat-footed for 1 round (until just before your next turn). A defender who fails by more than 10 is stunned. You may attempt a stunning attack no more than once per round. Constructs, oozes, plants, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits cannot be stunned.
SUDDEN CHARGE
With a quick sprint, you move up to your foe and swing. As a standard action, move up to double your speed, however you must be wearing light or no armor. If you end the move within melee reach of at least one enemy, you can make a melee attack against that enemy. You can use Sudden Charge while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead if you have the corresponding movement type.
SURGING COURAGE
You concentrate on the power of your surge, overcoming your fear. While surging, you may make a new save against fear effects, but new save is at a -4. At level 12, you become immune to the shaken and frightened conditions.
ANGRY ARMS
When you are surging, your weapons gain one of the following weapon fusions of your choice: bleeding, devastating, ominus, punishing, or vicious. The weapon can’t gain a fusion it already has, and this bonus fusion doesn’t count toward the maximum total level of fusions the weapon can have at once.
CRUSHING GRAB
When you successfully Grapple a creature, you can deal bludgeoning damage to that creature equal to your Strength modifier and surge damage bonus. You can choose whether to treat this attack as nonlethal.
FLYING KICK
Once per round, as a standard action make a Leap or attempt a Long Jump. At the end of the jump, if you’re adjacent to a foe, you can immediately make an unarmed attack against that foe.
GHOST STRIKE
As a standard action, you may make an unarmed attack against the target’s EAC. Your unarmed attack is also treated as if it has the Ghost Killer weapon fusions.
IMPROVED STUNNING FIST
A defender who instead fails their saving throw by more than 5 is stunned. You can choose to make the target fatigued instead of stunned. This condition replaces stunning the target for 1 round, and a successful saving throw still negates the effect.
At 8th level, he can make the target sickened for 1 minute.
At 12th level, he can make the target staggered for 1d6+1 rounds.
At 16th level, he can permanently blind or deafen the target.
At 20th level, he can paralyze the target for 1d6+1 rounds.
You must choose which condition will apply before the attack roll is made. These effects do not stack with themselves (a creature sickened by Stunning Fist cannot become nauseated if hit by Stunning Fist again), but additional hits do increase the duration.
METAL STRIKES
Your unarmed attacks gain metallic properties and are treated as Cold Iron and Silver, they gain an additional quality at Level 7 and are treated as Noqual, at Level 10 they are treated as Inubrix, and at Level 16 as Adamantine.
SWIPE
You gain Cleave as a bonus feat. If you already have this feat, you gain Great Cleave instead. At 9th level, you may strike a third target with the Great Cleave feat, before you must spend 1 Resolve Point to make additional melee attacks against each subsequent foe. You can’t attack an individual foe more than once during this attack action.
FIERCE FLURRY
If you hit with both attacks in a Flurry of Blows, increase the weapon damage dice of each attack to d8s. You must have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat to take this surge power.
KNOCKBACK
As a standard action, you may make a melee attack and attempt to push a foe back 5 feet. After successfully melee attack a foe, you may attempt a unique combat maneuver to knock the target back 5 feet, plus 5 additional feet for every 5 by which the result of your attack roll exceeds the target’s KAC + 4. If an obstacle is in the way, the target stops at the obstacle instead.
RENEWED VIGOR
You pause to recover some of your surging vigor. As a move action, you gain temporary Hit Points equal to half your level plus your Constitution modifier.
SUDDEN LEAP
When making a Sudden Charge, instead of running, you can Leap. If you succeed at an athletics check when you make the Leap, you can move the same distance you could with a Long Jump. Even if you’re Leaping vertically, you determine the DC for the height you’re jumping using the DC of a Long Jump. After your melee attack, you fall to the ground if you’re in the air. If the distance of your fall is no more than the height of your jump, you take no damage and land upright. This ability requires the Sudden Charge ability and wearing light or no armor.
WALL RUN
You must start your movement on a horizontal surface and can move up to your speed. During this movement, you can run up vertical surfaces like walls at your full speed. If you end the movement off the ground, you fall (though you can Grab an Edge if applicable).
WHIRLING THROW
As a standard action, you propel a foe that you have grappled or restrained a great distance. Choose a distance in feet of up to 10 + 5 × your Strength modifier that you want to throw the creature. Attempt an Athletics check with a DC of 5 plus the total distance in feet you’re trying to throw the creature. You take a –2 circumstance penalty to your check for every size the target is larger than you or a +2 for every size the target is smaller than you.
AWESOME BLOW
Your attacks are so powerful that they can flatten your opponents. When you use Knockback combat maneuver on a success you gain benefits of knockback followed by the target falling prone at the end of the movement. You must have the Knockback ability to use awesome blow. One a failure you gain the normal effect of Knockback.
DECISIVE ATTACK
You may spend a Resolve point to modify the result of an attack roll, she may roll a 1d6 and add it to the attack roll. This can only be done once per surge.
PERFECT CLARITY
As a reaction, when you fail or critically fail an attack roll or Will save while you are surging. You burn out all of your surge to ensure that your attack lands and your mind remains free. Spend 2 Resolve Points to reroll the triggering attack roll or Will save, use the best result, and resolve the effect. You then immediately stop surging.
SHATTERING STRIKE
When you are surging, your unarmed attacks gain one of the following weapon fusions of your choice: annihilator, knockdown, or vorpal.
STAMINA BOOST
You can recover stamina while surging as a standard action. You can regain a number of Stamina Points (up to your maximum) equal to two times your level + your Constitution modifier. Once you have benefited from this boost, you can’t gain the benefits of your boost again until you takes a 10-minute rest to recover Stamina Points.
WHIRLWIND STRIKE
You attack all foes within your reach. You use a full-attack action to make a melee attack against all enemies within your melee reach. The first melee attack is at your highest attack bonus, the second attack takes a –3 penalty, and all other remaining attacks each take a –5 penalty. You must make a separate attack roll against each opponent.
I was wondering when rage was going to be implemented, and you managed to combine the barbarian and monk together very well, particularly in a way that fits the lore. Still, with many of those surge powers requiring or utilizing unarmed strikes, I wonder if Improved Unarmed Strike should just be a bonus feat for the Helix Warrior as opposed to having your fists be non-archaic when raging. I know it's partially based on the monk, but I think there could also be more surge powers that benefited using weapons over unarmed combat, to bring out a bit more of the barbarian side. Still, this is a great start!
Interesting idea. Might it be a concept better fitted for an Archetype? Starfinder classes are generally designed to be able to accommodate a wide range of backgrounds and flavours in ways that classes in other RPGs are not. Some of the features here would make standout Archetype features that would actually be worth giving up regular class features for.
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I love this class and will probably use it (If that is okay) in my home games.
The one thing that bugs me is pretty much the same thing BluLion mention earlier. I feel like Improved Unarmed Strike should just be a bonus feat for the Helix Warrior as opposed to having your fists be non-archaic when raging.
I love this. Way back when I was designing Dark Angel style setting using GeneTech, My *Max* character would have been Helix Warrior with a little Cat Moreau thrown in. Revisiting the idea found this, great work.
Unless it is mentioned somewhere I am not finding it, Improved Unarmed Strike doesn't make your unarmed attacks non-archaic, so the current Ability Surge wording makes taking a worthwhile option if you want to be a sci-fi monk. But as it also improves melee weapons, it is not the only route a character could take.
But I was expecting the class to lean into the transhumanism aspect of the idea more. With something like the Augmentation Upgrade Biohacker theorem (also the Test Subject ability from the Biotechnician theme or the Nested Augmentation ability of the Augmented archtype), or an ability to have free biotech implants with a total level no higher than your level - 2, that can be changed when you level. (Which is an ability I swear I saw somewhere, but cannot find right now.)
You might also look at the Personal Modification ability from the Genethurge Mystic Connection for ideas for the Genetic Enhancement ability, although you have very similar ones in a few cases already.
Unless it is mentioned somewhere I am not finding it, Improved Unarmed Strike doesn't make your unarmed attacks non-archaic, so the current Ability Surge wording makes taking a worthwhile option if you want to be a sci-fi monk. But as it also improves melee weapons, it is not the only route a character could take.
But I was expecting the class to lean into the transhumanism aspect of the idea more. With something like the Augmentation Upgrade Biohacker theorem (also the Test Subject ability from the Biotechnician theme or the Nested Augmentation ability of the Augmented archtype), or an ability to have free biotech implants with a total level no higher than your level - 2, that can be changed when you level. (Which is an ability I swear I saw somewhere, but cannot find right now.)
You might also look at the Personal Modification ability from the Genethurge Mystic Connection for ideas for the Genetic Enhancement ability, although you have very similar ones in a few cases already.
Apparently the third printing of the CRB errata's improved unarmed strike to have unarmed strikes not count as archaic & deal lethal damage.