Smelling the stench of orcs on the wind, Targunn drew his maul. Before his companions could react to his warning, a towering orc stepped in front of him and swung a spiked club against his head. Dizzy and hearing nothing but ringing, Targunn swung the Behemoth up. With a great cry he brought forty pounds of steel down on his opponent. The orc was instantly dead as its head was reduced to a bloody pulp. Targunn laughed and started searching for a clean bit of cloth or fur on the orc to wipe the gore off his weapon.

Bashmasters specialise in combat with enormous weapons, of a size normally reserved for giants. "Hit ‘em as hard as possible with a really big weapon" is a Bashmaster’s philosophy – there’s no grace involved, only raw power.

Bashmasters are most often fighters, though barbarians, paladins, rangers and the occasional cleric take up the class as well. Other classes are generally too constricted by the weight of a large weapon for stealth or arcane spellcasting.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a bashmaster, a character must meet all of the following criteria.

Abilities: Strength 17

Base Attack Bonus: +7

Feats: Monkey Grip, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (any two-handed weapon)

Class Skills

The bashmaster’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the bashmaster prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Bashmasters gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Intimidating Weaponry (Ex): A bashmaster uses his weapon size as a modifier to his Intimidate checks rather than his own size.

Superior Leverage (Ex): Bashmasters learn to use the size of their weapon to deal more damage than others do. A 2nd-level bashmaster adds 2 times his Strength bonus to his damage. This multiplier increases to 2-1/2 times at 6th level and 3 times at 10th level.

Knockdown (Ex): When a bashmaster of at least 3rd level, wielding a two-handed weapon larger than himself, deals damage to an opponent of his size or smaller on a critical hit, using the Power Attack feat or after a charge, he can attempt to knock his opponent prone. The rules for trip attempts apply, but the defender can only make a Strength check and the bashmaster gets to use his weapon’s size as a modifier rather than his own. This trip attempt does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity, and the bashmaster can not be tripped following a failed attempt.

Greater Knockdown (Ex): A bashmaster of at least 5th level can also knock down opponents up to one size category larger than himself.

Awesome Blow (Ex): Upon reaching 7th level, bashmaster’s critical multiplier when wielding a two-handed weapon larger than himself is increased by one. Thus, 19-20/x2 becomes 19-20/x3, x3 becomes x4, and so on. This increase does not stack with anything else.

Circle Strike (Ex): As a full-round action, a bashmaster of at least 8th level can swing his weapon wildly at everyone in reach. Make a single attack roll at a –5 penalty and compare it to each AC. Critical hits are not possible, and a Circle Strike does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity.

Better Bashing: When a bashmaster reaches 10th level, he is highly skilled in bashing things with a really big weapon. He can choose one of two ways to refine his style. This choice can be made only once, and it is irreversable.

Complete Control (Ex): When a bashmaster chooses Complete Control, he no longer has the –2 penalty normally applied to attack rolls with a weapon larger than himself.

Disregard of Physics (Ex): When a bashmaster chooses Disgregard of Physics, he is able to wield a two-handed weapon up to two size categories larger than himself, instead of one. Thus, a Small bashmaster could wield a Large greataxe, a Medium bashmaster could wield a Huge greatsword and so forth. The –4 penalty to attack rolls resulting from using a weapon two size categories larger still applies.