[Eberron] Knight (OA Samurai variant)

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Here's a OA Samurai variant I came came up with for my games. It's designed to be very modular so one can have different flavors of knight without separate classes. I've included three sample orders.

 

[Enforcer]

Personally, I found the class to be very weak. I'd much rather sacrifice the extra skill points and increased Will save for a Fighter's extra feats and access to Fighter-only feats.

Just out of curiosity, have you seen the Knight core class in the PHB II? I like it an awful lot myself.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Just out of curiosity, have you seen the Knight core class in the PHB II? I like it an awful lot myself.

Yep, that's why I made this one, I didn't like the PHB II knight at all.

 

[Arkhandus]

I think this is a fine variant, Twiggly. Fewer bonus feats and much more limited selection than the Fighter, but it has the greater skills and Will saves of the OA Samurai.

Though, what real penalties/limits are imposed with the alignment restriction? What do they suffer if they violate that alignment restriction at some point? The Samurai of Oriental Adventures has detailed drawbacks for it, and loses a class feature IIRC in the event that they dishonor themselves to the point of becoming nonlawful. They also have a code of conduct, which your variant doesn't seem to have. I think the alignment restriction is needed for sufficient balance, but I'd prefer it be "any lawful" rather than "any nonchaotic" for the sake of imposing sufficient restriction on behavior. Likewise I'd prefer a Code of Conduct attached to the class; it doesn't have to be extensive or anything, of course. Drunken debauchery, dishonesty, ignoring orders, etc. shouldn't be considered acceptable knightly behavior.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Though, what real penalties/limits are imposed with the alignment restriction? What do they suffer if they violate that alignment restriction at some point? The Samurai of Oriental Adventures has detailed drawbacks for it, and loses a class feature IIRC in the event that they dishonor themselves to the point of becoming nonlawful. They also have a code of conduct, which your variant doesn't seem to have.

If the character becomes non-lawful, the OA Samurai forfeits the ability to advance further in the class and loses access to the "awakened abilities" of the ancestral weapon. Since this varient lacks the latter feature, the penalty is basically no more knight levels until the character resumes an acceptable alignment and makes an atonement.

I think the alignment restriction is needed for sufficient balance, but I'd prefer it be "any lawful" rather than "any nonchaotic" for the sake of imposing sufficient restriction on behavior.

Yeah, I wrestled with that one a bit. I think my main motivation for the "any non-chaotic" restriction was to leave wiggle room for troubador-knights, so it's the reverse of the Bard's restriction, leaving three viable alignments for that particular multi-class.

Likewise I'd prefer a Code of Conduct attached to the class; it doesn't have to be extensive or anything, of course. Drunken debauchery, dishonesty, ignoring orders, etc. shouldn't be considered acceptable knightly behavior.

I was thinking along the cleric model in this regard, so the CoC would be tied to the knights specific order. Order of Galifar knights would be of the classic chivalric mold, Order of Dhakaan knights would have a code closer to bushido, and the Order of Tairnadal would be more neo-confucian in its' precepts.