Stalwart Defender
The military history of the dwarves is a story of largely defensive combat and tactics, whether it be as simple as guarding a camp during the Quest for Sky or a protracted siege, such as at the Sky Citadel of Kraggodan. The martial discipline of the stalwart defender arose over the course of centuries to become an iconic dwarven warrior, capable of holding their ground against overwhelming odds and not ceding an inch of stone.
To be a stalwart defender is to stand with the resilience of a mountain. When danger arrives you face it unflinchingly, allowing your enemy’s blows to glance off you like wind whistling past granite. This mindset comes naturally to dwarves, while other ancestries typically need specialized training to attain the determination needed for such a style.
Stalwart Defender Dedication Feat 2
Prerequisites trained in light armor
Access You are a dwarf or have undergone defender training in a dwarven settlement such as Highhelm.
You have completed your initial training in the ways of a stalwart defender. You gain the Tenacious Stance action.
Special You cannot select another dedication feat until you take two other feats from the stalwart defender archetype.
Mountain Skin Feat 4
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
You become trained in medium and heavy armor. Whenever you gain a class feature that grants you expert or greater proficiency in any armor (but not unarmored defense), you also gain that proficiency rank in the armor types granted to you by this feat.
Tunnel Wall Feat 4
Prerequisites Shield Block, Stalwart Defender Dedication
Requirements You are in Tenacious Stance.
Using your shield, you guard against the movement of foes as surely as if you were a wall of stone. You Raise a Shield and become anchored for 1 round. While anchored, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus to the DC to Tumble Through your space.
Crushing Step Feat 6
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
The weight of your armored feet casts aside natural impediments. When wearing medium or heavy armor, you ignore difficult terrain from non-magical sources. If you are a master in the armor you are wearing, you also ignore greater difficult terrain from non-magical sources.
Gravel Guts Feat 6
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
Stone never becomes queasy, so why should you? You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against the sickened condition. When you succeed at a Fortitude save to reduce your sickened value, you reduce it by 2 (or by 3 on a critical success).
Upset Balance Feat 6
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication, expert in Athletics
Trigger You are damaged by a melee Strike.
Requirements You are in Tenacious Stance.
You lean into your foe’s attack, using the weight of your body and armor to send them reeling. Attempt an Athletics check against the creature’s Reflex DC. On a success, the target becomes Clumsy 1 until the end of its next turn (Clumsy 2 on a critical success). If you are anchored, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to this check.
Rupture Stomp Feat 8
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
Frequency once per day
Requirements You are in Tenacious Stance.
Every dwarf knows that the rock they walk upon can be either a best friend or a treacherous path. With a heavy impact of your armored heel, you crack the ground underneath you. The ground within a @Template[type:emanation|distance:10] becomes difficult terrain. If you are a master or better in the armor you are wearing, this becomes greater difficult terrain. The cracked ground settles and reverts to normal terrain after 1 minute.
Special At 16th level, you can take this feat again. If you do, you can use it once per hour instead of once per day.
Unshaken in Iron Feat 8
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
You know the precise limits of your armor, and trust it to save you from harm. You gain the armor specialization effect of light armor. If you are trained in medium or heavy armor, you gain the respective armor specialization effect for those armors as well. While in Tenacious Stance, you increase the value of your armor specialization effects by an amount equal to the value of your armor check penalty (adding +3 to the resistance while wearing plate armors, for example).
Gathering Moss Feat 10
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
Frequency once per day
Trigger You enter Tenacious Stance.
By rooting yourself in place, you are able to focus your body’s natural healing to work faster. You gain fast healing equal to your level. This fast healing remains for 1 minute or until you end your Tenacious Stance, whichever comes first.
Cracked Mountain Feat 12
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
Frequency once per hour
Trigger You would be reduced to 0 Hit Points but not immediately killed.
Requirements You are in Tenacious Stance.
You fight on, staying on your feet and lashing out at a foe. You avoid being knocked out and remain at 1 Hit Point, and your wounded condition increases by 1. Make a melee Strike at an enemy within reach. You immediately end your Tenacious Stance.
Stone Body Feat 16
Prerequisites Stalwart Defender Dedication
Frequency once per hour
Requirements You are in Tenacious Stance.
Emulating the great defenders throughout dwarven history, you close your mind to the sensation of pain, becoming as resolute as stone itself. You gain resistance 10 to all damage. This effect lasts until the end of your next turn or immediately upon being critically hit.