Bravo Subclass

Before the subclass itself, some notes on the gangs of the Baronial Capital.

In this setting all humans, between the ages of about 16 - 24, undergo a period of what we would call clinical sociopathy. Normal human empathy is established after these years. Every culture has its own ways of dealing with this population, and most do it by enacting extremely rigid societal structures (things like military service, conscription into labour gangs, religious pilgrimages, grail quests) with very harsh punishments for deviancy, to make the risk/reward calculations around social and antisocial behaviour simple and obvious to a person without functional empathy. Long term chemical sedation is also extremely common. 

These teenage sociopaths are not all murderous or dangerous (and they don't frighten their societies), but they do significantly lack impulse control and the ability to project the consequences of actions, and must generally be spoken to and reasoned with in very different ways to people with better regulated brain chemistry.

In the Baronial Capital, it is very common for teenagers and young adults to join one of the city's many street gangs during this period of their life. The gangs are violent, territorial, and often engage in minor criminal behaviour, but they are tolerated by the state as long as they target one another and not the general population. They gangs know this, and mostly honour this arrangement. Any who fail to do so are rounded up by the police, or given up to enemy gangs by their own comrades.

Brawls and clashes are common (and tend to happen after dark), but actual killings are quite rare outside of formal duels, which tend to be fought between leaders and champions. Open warfare does occasionally happen, but when it breaks out the Baroness cracks down quickly and hard.

The gangs are famous for their flamboyant fashion, which tend to feature bright primary colours and flowing fabric, as well as outlandish makeup, corpse paint, and masks that resemble disease-ridden cadavers. They are also known for their 'hunting languages'; shrill, coded whistles that they use to communicate with one another when patrolling the streets after dark.

Because youths of all social classes join the gangs, individual fighters can be surprisingly well armed and armoured. They usually fight with small, easily concealed weapons or with fists, and are fond of acid attacks on truly hated enemies. When they duel to the death or otherwise fight to kill they use 'cross knives', edgeless iron daggers with long handles and wide cross guards, so-called because they look like large, iron cruciforms. These weapons are designed for parrying, and for quick and brutal stabbing executions. 

In the rich districts of the capital it would not be at all unusual to see a gang champion lounging against the wall of the public bathhouse in brightly painted masterwork plate mail, draped in linked chains of flashing jewels, the lower part of their face obscured by a rictus-mask, and the long spine of their knife glowing red and spitting in the rain.

Gang bravos are obsessed with respect, honour, and maintaining face; all things that are considered childish liabilities in the ruthless and pragmatic political culture of the Barony. Even outside politics, most people believe that young men and women should bleed themselves of these impulses before they can properly shoulder the responsibilities of adult life. 

Everyone should watch Battles Without Honour and Humanity.

BRAVO

You are a member of one of the many street gangs of the Capital, and at night you wear their colours and face paint. Where others see the city streets you perceive a swirling pattern of alliance and betrayal, ascendency and ruin. You live as much by your reputation and force of personality as by the long, ornamented knife at your belt. 

Note: if your party is not also your gang, then the gang will be an entity in the city (unless the DM decides to kill them or something). They won't mind you running with another group (this is actually pretty common), but they will mind if you wear their colours while doing so. 

Starting gear: cross knife (this replaces the sword from your core class starting gear), one bravo weapon (see below), a mask that matches the colour of your armour. If you wish you may begin with your mask and armour unpainted, signalling neutral/unaligned status. 

Starting skills: one hunting language (every gang has its own dialect), an intimate knowledge of the layout of the Capital.

A Boast, Opulence, Acrobat
B Knife Duelist, Calling Your Shots

Boast: You may shout a boastful challenge at an enemy on your turn as a free action. Humans with fewer templates than you check morale, and if they fail will attack you at -2. If you go on to kill that enemy you gain +1 to hit all enemies for the remainder of the combat. This bonus stacks to a maximum of +3. You lose all bonuses if your morale fails, and if this happens you may no longer boast this combat. 

Opulence: For each 200 silver you have spent on personal ornamentation - clothing, jewels, cosmetics, etc. - you gain +1 to your morale checks. You must be wearing them for it to count, and the effect stacks up to +5. All bonuses are lost if your morale ever fails, or if you are defeated in a single combat in front of your friends or enemies. If this happens, you may regain the bonuses by buying fresh finery, starting again from 0. 

Acrobat: As long as you are not wearing heavy armour, you may jump three times farther or higher than a normal person, and fall twice as far before taking damage. You also receive +4 on all checks to perform acrobatic feats of tumbling, balancing, leaping, springing etc. 

Knife Duelist: When using a cross dagger in melee you gain the following bonuses: your critical range increases by one, your damage dice explodes, and you may parry an enemy attack once per turn. To parry an attack, roll a d12 and subtract the result from their hit roll. If their total misses you by more than 5, you may make an attack against them for free. 

Calling Your Shots: When you make your boast, you may choose to do so against 2 or more enemies. When you do this you must specify the order in which you plan to kill them. If you go on to kill them in exactly that order, then all remaining enemies must check morale with a penalty corresponding to the number of enemies slain. 

Bravo Weapons

• Jewel Weapons. Small knives and shivs concealed in pieces of worn jewellery. Will not be found on inspection. 
• Acid Bow and 3 rounds. A single-shot mechanical hand crossbow, which fires expensive glass ampules full of acid. Range 20ft, d8 acid damage on a hit, takes a turn to reload. Ammunition is 5 silver per ampule, and this weapon is generally considered an impractical affectation for rich kids. 
• Doping Spine. A thin, brittle needle with an injector mechanism in the handle. It does 1 damage, and automatically delivers whatever compound it has been loaded with into its target. It can be concealed easily, and breaks on a critical failure to hit. 
• Telescoping Baton. These are steel clubs that can be carried around in a pocket when collapsed, and extended for use nearly instantly. They will be found on a thorough inspection, but are a lot less conspicuous than normal clubs.
• Mask Knife. A sharpened steel nose or horn protruding from your mask. While wearing the mask you may head-but for d6 damage instead of attacking normally. 
• Heated Cross Knife. No additional weapon, but your cross knife is heated. You definitely have wealthy parents, or killed someone who did.