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The Holy Knight or PaladinOriginally this started out as an idea, a vague and most likely insane one. What if the paladin class was designed to facilitate different kinds of fictional paladins, namely the highpowered ones. I mean it, Roland or Orlando of the Matter of France was described as an inspiration for the paladin class in 1st and 2nd edition. But you can't easily have a Roland-like paladin in 3.5, mostly because they can't toss things like swords miles away. Now I'm trying to fix that.
I need help with flavor text.AlignmentAny Good but typically Lawful (paladin) or Chaotic (blessed liberator).
Hit Died10.
Class SkillsThe holy knight’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha), Jump (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Martial Lore (Int), Perform (oratory) (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level(4 + Int modifier) ×4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level4 + Int modifier.
Table: The Holy KnightLevel | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | 0 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Man. Known | Man. Readied | Stances Known |
1 | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/day | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | 1 |
2 | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Divine Grace, Lay on Hands | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | 1 |
3 | +3 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Aura of Courage, Divine Health, Holy Endowment I | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 | 1 |
4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Turn Undead | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 1 |
5 | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Smite Evil 2/day, Holy Endowment II | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | 2 |
6 | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Remove Disease Cha bonus/Week | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | 2 |
7 | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Holy Endowment III | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | 7 | 4 | 2 |
8 | +8/+3 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Mettle, Well of Courage | 6 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 7 | 4 | 2 |
9 | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Remove Disease (Cha bonusx2)/week, Holy Endowment IV | 6 | 4 | 3 | - | - | 8 | 4 | 2 |
10 | +10/+5 | +7 | +4 | +7 | Smite Evil 3/day | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | 8 | 5 | 3 |
11 | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +4 | +7 | Holy Endowment V | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | 9 | 5 | 3 |
12 | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +5 | +8 | Remove Disease (Cha bonusx3)/week, Remove Curse Cha bonus/week | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
13 | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +5 | +8 | Holy Endowment VI | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 3 |
14 | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +6 | +9 | Tounges | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 3 |
15 | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +6 | +9 | Remove Disease (Cha bonusx4)/week, Remove Curse (Cha bonusx2)/week, Smite Evil 4/day, Holy Endowment VII | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
16 | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +7 | +10 | - | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
17 | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +7 | +10 | Holy Endowment VIII | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
18 | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +8 | +11 | Remove Disease (Cha bonusx5)/week, Remove Curse (Cha bonusx3)/week | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
19 | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +8 | +11 | Holy Endowment IX | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 4 |
20 | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +9 | +12 | Smite Evil 5/day | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 5 |
Weapon and Armor ProficiencyHoly knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Aura of Good (Ex)The power of a holy knight’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to her holy knight level. She also gains a +4 bonus to all Intimidate checks against Evilly-aligned creatures either four hit dice lower than the holy knight's class level or half of it, which ever is lower.
Detect Evil (Sp)At will, a holy knight can use detect evil, as the spell.
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart,
Iron Tortoise,
Scarlet Bravara and White Raven.
Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by holy knights is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.
You learn additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on Table 1-3. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisite to learn it. See Table 3-1, page 39, to determine the highest-level maneuvers you can learn.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered holy knight level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready all three of the maneuvers you know at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to exercise again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in practice, you can change your readied maneuvers.
You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for one round per every three levels rounded up.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one 1st-level stance from any discipline open to holy knight. At 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th level, you can choose additional stances. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All the stances you know are available to you at all times, and you can change the stance you are currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.
Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know.
Smite Evil (Su) Once per day, a holy knight can call out to the powers of good to aid in her struggle against evil. As a swift action, the paladin chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, she adds her Cha bonus to her attack rolls and adds her holy knight level to all damage rolls made against the target of his smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per holy knight level she possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess. In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the holy knight gains a deflection bonus equal to her Charisma modifier to her AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If she targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect. The smite evil effect remains until the target of the smite is either dead or incapacitated or the next time the holy knight rests and regains her uses of this ability.
At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the paladin may smite evil one additional time per day, as indicated on Table: The Paladin, to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.
Divine Grace (Su) At 2nd level, a holy knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Lay on Hands (Su) Beginning at 2nd level, a holy knight with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to three times her holy knight level × her Charisma bonus. A holy knight may choose to divide her healing among multiple recipients, and she doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action.
Alternatively, a holy knight can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The holy knight decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Aura of Courage (Su)Beginning at 3rd level, a holy knight is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This does not mean that she lacks fear, only that her divinely backed courage and determination prevents the holy knight from cowering and panicking.
This ability functions while the holy knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.
Divine Health (Ex)At 3rd level, a holy knight gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Holy Endowment (Ex or Su)At 3rd level and every two levels afterword, a holy knight gains one salient ability. This may grant superhuman strength, berserker's fury or some other blessing.
Turn Undead (Su)When a holy knight reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn undead. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.
SpellsBeginning at 6th level, a holy knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the holy knight spell list.
To cast a spell, a holy knight must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a holy knight’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the holy knight’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a holy knight can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Holy Knight. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. The paladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
Unlike a cleric, a holy knight need not prepare spells to cast them. A holy knight may and cast any spell on the holy knight spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level.
Through 5th level, a holy knight has no caster level. At 6th level and higher, her caster level is equal to her holy knight level -5.
Remove Disease (Sp): At 6th level, a holy knight can produce a
remove disease effect, as the spell, a number of times per week equal to her Charisma modifier. She can use this ability one additional time per Charisma modifier a week for every three levels after 6th (twice per week at 9th, three times at 12th, and so forth).
Mettle (Ex): A holy knight can resist magical attacks with greater effectiveness than other warriors. Beginning at 8th level, by drawing on your boundless energy and righteousness, she can shrug off effects that would hinder even the toughest warriors. If a holy knight succeeds on a Fortitude or Will Save against an attack that would normally produce a lesser effect on a successful save, she instead negates the effect. A holy knight does not gain the benefit of mettle when she is unconscious or sleeping.
Well of Courage (Ex): At 8th level the holy knight may inspire courage in others. This functions as the Inspire Courage ability of a bard 7 levels lower, except that it is based solely on Perform (oratory), does not affect the user, and inflicts a penalty on enemies equal to the bonus granted to allies. If the holy knight gains the ability to modify her uses of Inspire Courage (eg. the Dragonfire Inspiration feat) she may also modify the bonuses she gains from encouragement.
Remove Curse (Sp) At 12th level, a holy knight can produce a
remove curse effect, as the spell, a number of times per week equal to her Charisma modifier. She can use this ability one additional time per Charisma modifier a week for every three levels after 12th (twice per week at 15th and three times at 18th).
Tounges (Su) Upon her 14th holy knight level she can speak with any creature that has a language, as though using a
tongues spell (caster level 14th).
Last Stand (Su): At 20th level a holy knight may create a
transcend mortality effect once per day. She gains the benefits of A Hero Never Dies while under this effect, as well as automatic martyr bonuses. Alternately she can create a
miracle effect, but this use kills the holy knight instantly. If a holy knight dies with a use of this ability remaining she may expend it at any point in the next minute to create a
true resurrection effect targeted on herself, but immediately dies again (this death is delayed by A Hero Never Dies, as normal).
Code of ConductA holy knight or must be of Good alignment and loses all supernatural class abilities if she ever willingly commits an evil act. They may atone, but this can require more than recieving an
atonement as the spell.
A truly holy knight may not lie out of spite or for selfish gain, she may not betray those close to her unless they have abused innocents or otherwise proven themselves' unworthy of her trust, nor act in a cowardly and craven manner. She must also be willing to help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil), punish those who harm or threaten innocents and if
necessary and requested by the sufferer or potential threat, end his or her misery or the threat he or she poses.
AssociatesWhile she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a holy knight will never knowingly associate with evil characters, except to provent them from causing harm to any innocents or leading them to trial and punishment. Nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A holy knight may accept only henchmen, followers or cohorts who are Good in alignment.
Will of the Hero: You get to be a superhero by believing in the hero within you and summoning him or her forth by an act of will. -Adrian Veidt, billionaire philanthropist, former crime fighter and well-intentioned mass murderer.
A holy knight's class features stem from her own righteousness and will and cannot be copied or stolen by others.