GLOG Class: the Dunerider

This is a class for my WIP desert-naval setting called the Seas of Sand; outside the context of a giant ocean of sand, it's not clear to me how much utility it will have.

>>This version is old and bad, use this one instead.<<

GLOG Class: the Dunerider (aka the Sandsurfer)

A: Sandsurfing, Stunts, Dunespeech, 

B: Evasion, Catch the Dune

C: Soul Arch, Top Glide

D: Shoot the Tube, The Big One

It's worth noting, before we get anywhere, that while the dunes of the Seas consist of a lot of ups and downs and real sandsurfers can really only go down, I broadly assume that trained duneriders can move up and down a dune-side with equal speed. Call it subtle wind-sand magic, if you want.

Almost all of these template benefits only apply while on your duneboard; Dunespeech you can use anywhere, but the others require you to be on your duneboard (or, you know, immediately near it). Use your good judgement. 

You gain +5 ft. of movement while on your duneboard per Dunerider template you have. (I assume an ordinary person's walking speed is 30 ft.)

Starting skills [d3]: 1 = beach bum; 2 = caravan scout; 3 = psammologist (like an oceanographer but for sandy seas).

Starting equipment: a duneboard with a custom paint job, a 15-foot ankle leash, and a see-through headscarf to keep the sand out

(A) Sandsurfing

You are trained in sandsurfing, the sport of standing on a piece of treated wood and riding up and down the dunes. You travel at your normal speed while on your duneboard (compared to sandshoes, which go at half-speed), and can travel equally well on both daytime and nighttime sands. Your board is of high enough quality such that it can sit on the surface for any length of time without sinking, although it might drift.  

(A) Stunts

When you pull a sweet stunt, navigate a tricky spot, stick a landing, or otherwise do something more risky or badass than basic surfing, you have a 2-in-6 chance of success. This increases by 1-in-6 chance per additional Dunerider template you have. When you fail this check, in addition to other consequences, you fall off your board. 

(A) Dunespeech

You know the strange dialect of sandsurfers, called Dunespeech. It mainly consists of the terms "radical," "gnarly," and "dude," along with subtle variations within the ubiquitous Shaka Sign. All duneriders know the Dunespeech, and it's said communications between them can be incomprehensible to the point of seeming to be encoded. 

It's also possible, though perhaps unlikely, that certain intelligent creatures within the Seas—like dune dolphins or hellbenders—might respond better to those that know the Dunespeech, or even speak a little themselves. 

(B) Evasion

When you end your turn, for every 10 ft. you are from where you started this turn, you gain +1 Defense, up to a maximum of +6. This extra Defense lasts until the beginning of your next turn.

The key thing here is displacement vs. distance travelled; it's 10 ft. from where you started, so just surfing in a circle and ending up in the same spot gets you nothing. 

(B) Catch the Dune

If you fall onto sand, you ignore falls that are 20 ft. or less. If it's more than 20 ft., you can make a duneboarding roll (that currently-3-in-6 roll) to negate the falling damage. If it's more than 100 ft., you have disadvantage on the roll, and your duneboard will shatter on impact. 

(C) Soul Arch

For the next minute after successfully performing an especially sweet stunt, you have advantage on Charisma checks towards those who witnessed your stunt. 

(C) Top Glide

When you crest the top of a dune, you can make a stunt check to leap and then glide through the air on your board; while in the air in this way, you have double movement speed, but generally cannot turn.

If you use 15 of your 45 ft. of movement to make it to the top of a dune and then leap off it, you have 30 ft. of movement remaining, and thus can glide for 60 ft. 

(D) Shoot the Tube

Once per day, you can, for a round, boost your speed by an amount equal to the highest dune you have surfed down. (You must keep track of the highest dune you've surfed down.) If you've surfed down a 50-foot dune, you can boost your speed by 50 ft. for a round. 

(D) The Big One

Once, you can declare some large dangerous psammitic phenomenon (like one of God's Sanding Blocks, or a firestorm, or one of the bigger sand-geysers) to be The Big One. Until that phenomenon leaves or ceases, you can surf across the surface or outside of it as if it were a regular dune. 

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As always, this is largely untested. If you get a chance to try it, tell me!