Please rate the Knight Protector of the Great Kingdom

[smetzger]

Knight Protector of the Great Kingdom
S & F p.24

Requirements: BAB +4; Dwarf or Elf or Half-Elf or Human; Diplomacy 6 ranks; Knowledge (Nobility & Royalty) 4 ranks; Ride 6 ranks; Power Attack; Cleave; Mounted Combat; Great Cleave; Heavy armor proficiency; Lawful; Gain membership in the order

Class Features: Defensive blow, Shining Beacon, Iron Will, Best Effort, Supreme Cleave, No Mercy

 

[Stalker0]

I'd rate it a 5. Its got some good stuff in there, defensive blow can be damn powerful if some of the other party members are lower level, depending on how the dm rules it. Supreme cleave and no mercy are cool too, although best effort and iron will are kind of lame.

The prereqs are preety steep, the only one who could get this at 5th level would be a paladin/fighter, otherwise your talking usually 7th if your human. Also, the flavor is lacking, there's nothing very cool about this Prc, its just a "here are some extra bonuses, go play" kind of class.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I like it; it's a bit like a non-divine paladin should be. It's not particularly powerful but by the it doesn't suck either. And all you need is one party member who lost a level to get the defender abilities.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I think it's an excellent class. It's what a prestige class version of a knighthood ought to be.

Contrary to the other poster, I think that there's quite a bit of flavor to the abilities (defensive blow, for instance) and prerequisites.

A few other things that are worth pointing out: No Mercy doesn't seem like a particularly nifty ability, but for characters who will rarely have a good dex (fullplate armored knights aren't known for dexterities any higher than 13 and usually have dexes of 10), it's just about the only worthwhile way to get the ability to perform multiple AoOs in one round. Supreme Cleave is also a very useful ability--not just because of the way it allows maximal use of Great Cleave but also because it increases the utility of cleave. A KotGC charging in to attack two rogues doesn't have to set himself up to be flanked in order to keep the possibility of cleaving from one rogue into the other. Similarly, if he's fighting two warriors, he doesn't need to expose himself to two full attacks in order to keep the possibility of cleaving open.

 

[smetzger]

5.65 after 20 votes

-----------------------------
7. Shadowdancer(7.05,93,40632), Duelist(7.18,62,44686)

6. Arcane Archer(6.23,70,38773), Assassin(6.07,54,38913), Blackguard(6.29,52,39353), Loremaster(6.58,79,40493), Archmage(6.91, 110, 4073), Church Inquisitor(6.74,27,41662), Devoted Defender(6.68,53,43342), Drunken Master(6.03,37,43839)

5. Dwarven Defender(5.72,69,39947), Cavalier(5.45,53,42534), Fist of Hextor(5.41,29,45277)

4. Ghost Walker(4.95,37,46163), Gladiator(4.85,34,46981)

3. Halfling Outrider(3.73,49,47746)

 

[smetzger]

bump

 

[hong]

I think the underlying class concept is a fine one, and easily portable to most settings. Although I might be a bit biased here, since I like playing knightly types.

However, the actual class abilities are rather blah. Supreme Cleave is mundane now it's been errataed, and most of the other abilities don't have a lot to do with the actual concept of the knight-in-shining-armour.

But the BEST part of the knight protector, I must say, has to be the background material about the order. I especially like the description of how, once a year, all the knight protectors stage a great get-together in the forest to talk, exchange news, fight duels, and, apparently, mate and reproduce. N knight protectors go in, and 2N knight protectors come out, thus ensuring the propagation of the species.

 

[Norfleet]

The class itself isn't bad. Perks aren't overpowered, and the feat demands are reasonable and useful, but the skills requirements are a tad steep.

I could see a Paladin perhaps considering this class, but this would effectively kill the progression of most of his paladin abilities, such as lay on hands effectiveness progression, and smite evil effectiveness. Fighter/Paladin could also consider this, but pure Fighter is basically right out, as Diplomacy is not a skill available for fighters, and 6 points puts it way out of reach.