The Anvil of Galgiran
by Harry "Mac" MacKenzie and Philip "Mac" McPherson.

Before the War of the Undead, the Rakanus Clan of priestly dwarves sat across a large valley from the Warkore Clan of fighters and rogues. The two clans were enemies in faith, as well as arms, until the combined menace of orcish hordes and undead armies nearly overwhelmed both clans. Together, they fought and attained victory -- but only together. To mark the union of the two clans, a number of dwarves from each clan were paired together to learn from one another, grow stronger together, and perhaps obtain a level of Galgiran's blessings seen before only during legendary times. Since that time, the secrets of the Hammers and Anvils of Galgiran have spread to many dwarven clans. Some Hammers or Anvils loose their partners in battle -- and others search still for a partner to match their power and abilities -- in Galgiran's name.

Dwarven fighters with a healthy dose of religion most often become Anvils, though dwarven monks and paladins have also found their calling in this way. The faith and dedication required of an Anvil precludes most other classes, such as rogues or bards, from taking up the call of the faithful. Incidents abound, however, of dwarves taken up with vision or faith at some later point in their lives, and swearing to become the Anvil of Galgiran, upon which he beats his foes, and tempers his smiths.

Most Anvils are found paired with a Hammer of Galgiran. Both, together, can be found in dwarven temples and monasteries where they practice their respective arts until the priests have need of them. The Hammer and Anvil of Galgiran, together, are more formidable than a whole troop of dwarves -- and can be sent by the dwarven leadership most truly needs them. Hammers and Anvils together have returned from battles that no other dwarf survived, and have taken on enemies that hundreds of dwarves could not bring down.

Hit Die: d8

Requirements
To qualify to become an Anvil of Galgiran, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria:
Base Attack Bonus: +8
Alignment: Any Good
Feats: Power Attack
Craft (weapon- or armorsmith): 11 ranks
Knowledge (tactics): 11 ranks
Intimidate: 11 ranks
Special: Character must be a faithful dwarf to Galgiran.

Class Skills
The Anvil of Galgiran's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Intuit Direction (Wis), Jump (Str), and Profession (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 +Int modifier.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Anvil of Galgiran prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Anvils are proficient in the use of all simple and martial weapons, and all armor ( heavy, medium, and light) and shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every 5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.
Elemental Link: With Galgiran's blessing, an Anvil is granted the Half-Earth Elemental template (p189, Manual of the Planes). This means that the character's natural Armor Class improves by +3, Strength and Constitution improve by +4, and Dexterity decreases by -2 -- as well as being able to cast spell-like abilities as per their combined character level.
Tremorsense: Anvils of Galgiran can automatically sense the location of anything within 60ft that is moving, and in contact with the earth. This means that an Anvil cannot be caught off-guard in melee by opponents who are in contact with the earth. This ability activates at 2nd-level.
Immobile Stone: When he needs to, an Anvil can become as a stone breastwork that is as immoveable as stone, and as hard to dislodge. In his Immobile Stone stance, he gains phenomal strength and durability, but he cannot move from the spot he is defending. He gains the following benefits:

  • +2 resistance bonus on all saves.
  • +4 natural armor class, cumulative with all other natural armor classes.
  • +5 defensive bonus to all checks to dislodge the Anvil from his position, including spells, grapples, and the like (though not AC).
    When acting as Immobile Stone, the Anvil cannot use skills or abilities that would require him to shift his poisition, such as Move Silently or Jump. The Immobile Stone state last 3 rounds, +1 round per total level. An Anvil can perform this ability a number of times per day, dependant upon his level (see table below). Making use of Immobile Stone takes no time itself, but the Anvil can only do so during his action.
    Damage Reduction: At 6th-level, the Anvil of Galgiran gains the extraordinary ability to shrug off some amount of injury from each blow or attack. Subtract 3 from the damage the Anvil takes each time he is dealt damage. At 10th-level, this damage reduction rises to 6. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0, but not below 0. (That is, the Anvil cannot actually gain Hit Points in this manner.)
    Hammer and Anvil Teamwork: Together, the Hammer and Anvil are far more formidable than apart. From the start, they compliment their crafting abilities, such that an Anvil receives a +4 circumstance bonus to his craft skill when working with a Hammer of Galgiran. At 4th-level, if the Hammer and Anvil are within 30ft of one another, the Anvil gains half-earth elemental spell-like abilties as though he were two character levels higher. At 7th-level, the Hammer and Anvil duo can summon a large, celestial magma para-elemental (p183, Manual of the Planes and p211, Monsterous Manual). The magma elemental takes on the shape of Galgiran's avatar, and is empowered by one of his archons. The Hammer and Anvil together can perform this feat once per week.
    Bonus Feats: Anvils of Galgiran gain a bonus feat every fourth level. When a Hammer and Anvil are fighting together in melee, they gain the feat Dual Strike (p 6, Sword and Fist).

    Class
    Level
    Base
    Attack
    Bonus
    Fort
    Save
    Ref
    Save
    Will
    Save
    Special
    1st +1 +2 +2 +2 Immobile Stone 1/day, Teamwork - Bonus to Craft, Half-Earth Elemental Template.
    2nd +2 +3 +2 +2 Tremorsense.
    3rd +3 +4 +2 +2 Bonus Feat, Immobile Stone 2/day.
    4th +4 +5 +3 +3 Teamwork - Enhanced Half-Earth Elemental Spells.
    5th +5 +5 +3 +3 Immobile Stone 3/day.
    6th +6 +6 +3 +3 Damage Reduction (3).
    7th +7 +6 +4 +4 Teamwork - Summon celestial magma para-elemental 1/wk.
    8th +8 +7 +4 +4 Bonus Feat.
    9th +9 +7 +4 +4 Immobile Stone 4/day.
    10th +10 +8 +5 +5 Damage Reduction (6).

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