The Deathsquealers are the elite aerial cavalry of the dohwar. Mounted on mighty space swine, only the most skilled, courages, and noble dohwar have what it takes to become a Deathsquealer, or so they say. Truth be told, most dohwar consider the Deathsquealer Legion to be suicidal idiots, only tolerated because they are cheaper than mercenaries. Considering their tactics, the Deathsquealer Legion is seen as a great way of weeding out certain undesirable traits in the population. Deathsquealers are expected to look impressive—by dohwar standards, anyways—and protect all dohwar from the predations fo their enemies.
Deathsquealers are drawn from the ranks of the Protectors and as such tend to be fighters. Spell casting ability brings great prestige in dohwar society, so as such rarely associate themselves with the Deathsquealers. Dohwar rouges are better suited for sabotage and spying, and are likewise rarely join the Deathsquealer ranks.
Deathsquealers are found in squads of four deathsquealer riders and their mounts. Lone deathsquealers are rare, possibly the result of missions that have gone bad or members being drummed out of the service.
Deathsquealer squads are often deployed as bodyguards and outriders for traveling cartels. Their off hours are spent trying to impress one another and the locals with feats of courage and bravery. Although not often successful, deathsquealer tournaments are wildly popular for the entertainment they provide.
Hit Die: d10
To qualify to be a Deathsquealer, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Race: Dohwar
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Handle Animal 4 ranks, Ride 6 ranks.
Feats: Blind-fight, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge.
Weapons: Must be proficient with weega and lance.
The deathsquealer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Profession (merchant) (Int), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).
Skill points at each level: 2 + Int modifier.
All of the following are class features of the dohwar deathsquealer prestige class.
Weapon and Armor proficiency: The Deathsquealer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons. They are also proficient with heavy armor but not shields.
Mount: A deathsquealer gains a trained space swine mount along with standard tack and harness.
Mounted Weapon Bonus (Ex): A deathsquealer gains a competence bonus on his attack roll when using a weega or lance while mounted. This bonus is +1 at 1st level and increases to +2 at 5th level.
Unstoppable Charge (Ex): At 2nd level and higher, a mounted deathsquealer can move through difficult terrain due to the mount's momentum and gliding ability when performing a charge action.
Ride Bonus (Ex): A deathsquealer of 3rd level or higher gains a +3 competence bonus on Ride checks.
Deadly Charge (Ex): When performing a charge action, a deathsquealer of 3rd level or higher may declare a "deadly charge" before making his attack roll (thus, a failed attack ruins the attempt). If he hits, he deals triple damage with a melee weapon or quadruple damage with a lance. This ability does not stack with the benefit of the Spirited Charge feat.
Burst of Speed (Ex): At 4th level and higher, a deathsquealer can urge his mount to greater than normal speed when charging. This ability doubles the maximum distance the mount can travel when making a charge, up to four times its speed. This ability can be used once per day.
