I was reading a discussion on GitP about PrCs that suck (or otherwise don't work well). One of the things that was brought up was the Apostle of Peace and the idea that it should have been the goodly anti-Ur-Priest, but instead it kinds floundered due to rough prerequisites (Vow of Peace, Vow of Poverty, etc.) and a mediocre spell list. So how could this be fixed?
Keeping with the original idea of a divine caster working off of the power granted by being Exalted and following his vows, how about an Apostle of Justice? Rather than being all about non-violence and healing, how about kicking butt and taking names for goodness (just like D&D is normally played, but with justification). The basic Cleric spell list could probably fit nicely into this without any modifications. Add on a few class features, drop the feat prerequisites to Sacred Vow and Vow of Justice (which would be a Vow of Peace-esque feat that doesn't force your whole party to follow your mindset), and there you go. I don't think that it quite fits as an Exalted class with those concepts behind it, and that's fine by me. As long as it gets to be a good-aligned counterpart to the Ur-Priest, I'm happy.
Replacement BoED Vows:
Honorable Vow [Exalted]
You have a code of honor that you follow willingly. In exchange for holding yourself to your highest ideals, your deity or the pure power of good grants you extra strength to keep to your ideals.
Prerequisites: Diplomacy 2 ranks.
Benefit: You gain a +2 perfection bonus on Diplomacy checks. In addition, the blessings of your deity or the power of your ideals protects you, granting you a +1 perfection bonus to AC against the attacks of evil creatures and a +1 perfection bonus to saves against the effects created or used by evil creatures.
Special: This feat can be used in place of Sacred Vow to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other option. If you would gain Sacred Vow as a bonus feat, you can choose to gain this feat instead.
Vow of Conviction [Exalted]
You vow to remain true to your ideals. Nothing can sway you from you beliefs.
Prerequisites: Sacred Vow or Honorable Vow
Benefit You gain a +4 perfection bonus on all saves against charm and compulsion effects. If your effective character level is at least 15, you also gain immunity to all charm and compulsion effects to which you are not willing.
You also gain a +4 perfection bonus on Sense Motive checks. If your effective character level is at least 10, you automatically detect if a creature is trying to influence your actions in a manner opposed to your ideals.
Additionally, you always know if a course of action runs a significant risk of changing your alignment or is otherwise opposed to your ideals and beliefs.
Special: To fulfill your vow, you must not willingly change your alignment. If your alignment is changed unwillingly, such as the result of a magical compulsion, you must attempt to return to your original alignment as soon as possible, otherwise you lose the benefits of this feat until you perform penance and receive an
atonement spell. If you intentionally break your vow, you immediately and irrevocably lose the benefit of this feat. You may not take another feat to replace it.
This feat can be used in place of Vow of Obedience to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other option. If you would gain Vow of Obedience as a bonus feat, you can choose to gain this feat instead.
Vow of Determination [Exalted]
You have vowed never to give up and never to surrender. Once you start a task, you should see it through to its end as best you can.
Prerequisites: Vow of Conviction, one of Sacred Vow or Honorable Vow
Benefit You gain a +4 perfection bonus on all saves against mind-affecting effects and fear effects. If your effective character level is at least 15, you also gain immunity to all mind-affecting effects and fear effects to which you are not willing.
You also gain a +4 perfection bonus on all saves against effects that would be prevented by the
freedom of movement spell, on all grapple checks made to resist or escape a grapple, and on all Escape Artist checks. If your effective character level is at least 10, you gain the benefits of the
freedom of movement spell at all times. You can suppress or resume the
freedom of movement effect as a free action.
Special: To fulfill your vow, you must attempt to complete all tasks that you willingly start, within reason. Significantly more important tasks that come up may take priority over a prior task that you have set yourself, but you must attempt to complete it when the greater issues have been resolved. You may not surrender except against overwhelming odds or to protect others, and you must seek to escape your captors if you do. If you are unwillingly forced to surrender or abandon a task that you have set yourself, such as from the result of a magical compulsion, you must attempt to escape captivity or complete the task as soon as possible, otherwise you lose the benefits of this feat until you perform penance and receive an
atonement spell. If you intentionally break your vow, you immediately and irrevocably lose the benefit of this feat. You may not take another feat to replace it.
If the circumstances surrounding a task you have set yourself (or your knowledge thereof) change sufficiently to act against your goals, ideals, or vows, you may change or abandon the task as necessary and without risking the loss of this feat.
Vow of Justice [Exalted]
You vow to bring justice to those who have wronged others. You must remember that you are here only to ensure that justice is carried out, not to determine it. You are law enforcement, but never judge, jury, and executioner.
Prerequisites: Sacred Vow or Honorable Vow
Benefit You never suffer any penalties for attempting to deal nonlethal damage, and you may choose to have any damage that you deal be considered nonlethal damage (including damage that cannot normally be made nonlethal, such as damage from spells). Creatures that are damaged in this way suffer nonlethal damage equal to the amount of lethal damage that they would otherwise have suffered, even if they are normally immune or resistant to nonlethal damage.
In addition, the saving throw DC of any abilities you use against unjust creatures is increased by 4. This benefit only applies if the effect does not deal lethal damage, deal Constitution damage, deal ability drain, bestow negative levels, or function primarily by causing pain. The benefit of this feat does not stack with Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus, Ability Focus, or similar feats.
Special: For the purposes of this feat, unjust creatures are creatures with an Intelligence of at least 6 that have wronged others intentionally or are planning to do so. Natural predation (including hunting and farming of domesticated animals), self-defense (including the protection of others), and similar actions are not considered wrongdoings. A creature that has atoned for its wrongdoings (whether through an
atonement spell or by making restitution to the victim, as appropriate according to the wrongdoing and the societal laws and values) is not considered unjust for those wrongdoings, although other wrongdoings may still cause it to be considered unjust.
To fulfill your vow, you must not willingly and intentionally harm an innocent creature, kill an unjust creature, or become unjust yourself. If an unjust creature surrenders peacefully, you may not harm it or allow it to come to harm. If it breaks the terms of surrender by willingly and intentionally attacking you, your allies, or others, you may deal with it as you see fit without breaking your vows. If you are forced to act contrary to the above, such as the result of a magical compulsion, you lose the benefits of this feat until you perform penance and receive an
atonement spell. If you intentionally break your vow, you immediately and irrevocably lose the benefit of this feat. You may not take another feat to replace it.
This feat can be used in place of Vow of Nonviolence to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other option. If you would gain Vow of Nonviolence as a bonus feat, you can choose to gain this feat instead.
Vow of Redistribution [Exalted]
You vow to keep only the material possessions you need to continue your good deeds, giving the remainder to those in greater need.
Prerequisites: Character level 3rd, Sacred Vow or Honorable Vow
Benefit You gain a number of benefits according to your level and the amount of wealth you redistribute. The benefits are indicated below and are summarized in Table: Vow of Redistribution Benefits. If you have not yet redistributed the indicated amount of wealth when you gain a level, you do not gain the indicated abilities until you have done so.
Special To fulfill your vow, you must redistribute at least one half of all wealth that you acquire (by market value), giving it to others who can use it for worthy causes.
***I can't think of good wording, but you know what this is supposed to be. You can't benefit from it yourself, nor can ventures you undertake directly benefit from it, but you should be able to be reasonable with it. DM's discretion and all that, but be reasonable. Any such wealth that you do benefit from doesn't count as being redistributed, but as long as you stay above 50% you're still fine.
You can give away more than this minimum fraction of your wealth if you so choose. In order to gain the full benefits of this feat, you will likely have to.
This feat can be used in place of Vow of Poverty to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other option. If you would gain Vow of Poverty as a bonus feat, you can choose to gain this feat instead.
Table: Vow of Redistribution Benefits |
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Level | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
| | | Minimum Wealth Redistributed | 100g | 600g | 1600g | 3400g | 6000g | 8900g | 13000g | 18000g | 24000g | 33000g | 45000g | 60000g | 75000g | 100000g | 134000g | 195000g | 230000g | 300000g | 400000g | 500000g |
| | |
Benefits | Masterwork (tools) | Masterwork (armor, shields, weapons) | Exalted Armor +1 (magic) | Exalted Strike +1 (magic) | Endure Elements, Exalted Resistance +1, Recuperation (fast healing 1) | Exalted Armor +2 | Exalted Strike +2 | Ability Score Enhancement +2, Exalted Resistance +2 | Energy Resistance 5, Exalted Armor +3 | Exalted Strike +3, Recuperation (fast healing 2) | Ability Score Enhancement +4, Exalted Resistance +3 | Energy Resistance 10/10, Exalted Armor +4 | Exalted Strike +4, Protection From Evil | Ability Score Enhancement +6, Exalted Resistance +4 | Energy Resistance 20/20/10/10/10, Exalted Armor +5, Recuperation (fast healing 5) | Exalted Strike +5, Freedom of Movement, Inherent Ability Bonus +1 | Exalted Resistance +5, Inherent Ability Bonus +2 | Energy Resistance 30/30/15/15/15, Exalted Armor +6, Inherent Ability Bonus +3 | Death Ward, Exalted Strike +6, Inherent Ability Bonus +4 | Exalted Resistance +6, Inherent Ability Bonus +5, Recuperation (regeneration 5), True Seeing |
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Lvl WBL Remain Donate Change Benefit
1 0 -- 100 100 skill +2
2 900 300 600 500 mwk stuff
3 2700 1100 1600 1000 +1 armor
4 5400 2000 3400 1800 +1 weapon
5 9000 3000 6000 2600 endure elements, recuperation 1, resistance +1
6 13000 4100 8900 2900 +2 armor
7 19000 6000 13000 4100 +2 weapon
8 27000 9000 18000 5000 ability +2, resistance +2
9 36000 12000 24000 6000 +3 armor, energy resistance 5
10 49000 16000 33000 9000 +3 weapon, recuperation 2
11 66000 21000 45000 12000 ability +4, resistance +3
12 88000 28000 60000 15000 +4 armor, energy resistance 10/10
13 110000 35000 75000 15000 +4 weapon, Protection From Evil
14 150000 50000 100000 25000 ability +6, resistance +4
15 200000 66000 134000 34000 +5 armor, energy resistance 20/20/10/10/10, recuperation 5
16 260000 85000 195000 61000 +5 weapon, Freedom of Movement, inherent ability +1
17 340000 110000 230000 35000 resistance +5, inherent ability +2
18 440000 140000 300000 70000 +6 armor, energy resistance 30/30/15/15/15, inherent ability +3
19 580000 180000 400000 100000 +6 weapon, Death Ward, inherent ability +4
20 760000 260000 500000 100000 +6 resistance, true seeing, recuperation 5/5, inherent ability +5
Masterwork: Starting 1st level, if you have redistributed at least 100g, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on all skill checks, as though using a masterwork tool. This bonus does not stack with the benefits granted by masterwork tools.
Beginning at 2nd level, if you have redistributed at least 600g, all weapons, armor, and shields you wield are considered to be masterwork.
Exalted Armor: Starting at 3rd level, if you have redistributed at least 1700g, you gain a +1 enhancement bonus to the armor bonus you add to your Armor Class (treat your normal armor bonus as +0 if you don't already have one). This does not stack with the enhancement bonus of armor you wear. In addition, all armor you wear is considered to be magic armor. If you wield a shield, this effect also applies to your shield the shield bonus you add to your Armor Class.
At 6th level, if you have redistributed at least 8900g, this bonus improves to +2.
At 9th level, if you have redistributed at least 24000g, this bonus improves to +3.
At 12th level, if you have redistributed at least 60000g, this bonus improves to +4.
At 15th level, if you have redistributed at least 134000g, this bonus improves to +5.
At 18th level, if you have redistributed at least 300000g, this bonus improves to +6.
Exalted Strike: Starting at 4th level, if you have redistributed at least 3500g, you gain a +1 enhancement bonus to all attack and damage rolls you make with weapons and weapon-like effects. In addition, all weapons you wield are considered to be magic weapons.
At 7th level, if you have redistributed at least 13000g, this bonus improves to +2.
At 10th level, if you have redistributed at least 33000g, this bonus improves to +3.
At 13th level, if you have redistributed at least 75000g, this bonus improves to +4.
At 16th level, if you have redistributed at least 195000g, this bonus improves to +5.
At 19th level, if you have redistributed at least 400000g, this bonus improves to +6.
Endure Elements: Starting at 5th level, if you have redistributed at least 6000g, you gain the effects of the
endure elements spell at all times. You can suppress or resume this effect as a free action.
Recuperation: Starting at 5th level, if you have redistributed at least 6000g, you can gain fast healing 1 for a number of rounds each day equal to your character level. Activating or deactivating this ability is a free action, and you can spread the rounds of use over multiple uses in the same day (although each use consumes at least 1 round). If whenever you fall unconscious, you can activate this ability as an immediate action (assuming you have any rounds of use remaining for the day).
Starting at 10th level, if you have redistributed at least 33000g, the fast healing provided by this ability improves to fast healing 2.
Starting at 15th level, if you have redistributed at least 134000g, the fast healing provided by this ability improves to fast healing 5.
Starting at 20th level, if you have redistributed at least 500000g, you also gain regeneration 5 while benefiting from this ability. This regeneration is bypassed only by evil-aligned attacks and by effects with the Evil descriptor.
Exalted Resistance: Starting at 5th level, if you have redistributed at least 6000g, you gain a +1 resistance bonus on all saving throws.
At 8th level, if you have redistributed at least 18000g, this bonus improves to +2.
At 11th level, if you have redistributed at least 45000g, this bonus improves to +3.
At 14th level, if you have redistributed at least 100000g, this bonus improves to +4.
At 17th level, if you have redistributed at least 230000g, this bonus improves to +5.
At 20th level, if you have redistributed at least 500000g, this bonus improves to +6.
Ability Score Enhancement: At 8th level, if you have redistributed at least 18000g, choose one of your ability scores. You gain a +2 enhancement bonus to that ability score.
At 11th level, if you have redistributed at least 45000g, this bonus improves to +4.
At 14th level, if you have redistributed at least 100000g, this bonus improves to +6.
Energy Resistance: At 9th level, if you have redistributed at least 24000g, choose one energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic). You gain energy resistance 5 against that type of energy.
At 12th level, if you have redistributed at least 60000g, this resistance improves to 10, and you can choose another energy type to gain resistance 10 against.
At 15th level, if you have redistributed at least 134000g, these resistances improve to 20, and you gain resistance 10 against all remaining energy types.
At 18th level, if you have redistributed at least 300000g, your chosen resistances improve to 30, and the remaining resistances improve to 15.
Protection From Evil: Starting at 13th level, if you have redistributed at least 75000g, you gain the effects of the
protection from evil spell at all times. You can suppress or resume this effect as a free action.
Freedom of Movement: Starting at 16th level, if you have redistributed at least 195000g, you gain the effects of the
freedom of movement spell at all times. You can suppress or resume this effect as a free action.
Inherent Ability Bonus: At 16th level, if you have redistributed at least 195000g, choose one of your ability scores. You gain a +1 inherent bonus to that ability score.
At 17th level, if you have redistributed at least 230000g, this bonus improves to +2.
At 18th level, if you have redistributed at least 300000g, this bonus improves to +3.
At 19th level, if you have redistributed at least 400000g, this bonus improves to +4.
At 20th level, if you have redistributed at least 500000g, this bonus improves to +5.
Death Ward: Starting at 19th level, if you have redistributed at least 400000g, you gain the effects of the
death ward spell at all times. You can suppress or resume this effect as a free action.
True Seeing: Starting at 20th level, if you have redistributed at least 500000g, you gain the effects of the
true seeing spell at all times. You can suppress or resume this effect as a free action.
Vow of Vigilance
- detect evil, detect magic, arcane sight, blindsense, etc. as you gain levels
- bonus to Spot/Listen/Initiative
- need less sleep
Vow of Protection
- requires honorable vow, vow of justice
- in place of vow of Peace
- aura grants Sanctuary spell effect to non-opponents nearby while you are conscious (attacker must make Will save DC 10 + 1/2 level + Cha to attack them); doesn't affect you; bonuses to save DC from VoJ may apply based on attacker
- gain fast healing based on level, eventually regeneration as well?
Typos:
Recuperation: Starting at 5th level, if you have redistributed at least 6000g, you can gain fast healing 1 for a number of rounds each day equal to your character level. Activating or deactivating this ability is a free action, and you can spread the rounds of use over multiple uses in the same day (although each use consumes at least 1 round). If Whenever you fall unconscious, you can activate this ability as an immediate action (assuming you have any rounds of use remaining for the day).