Alright, take three (I keep re-posting the material because I find it's easier to track the progress of the PrC this way).
I wanted to keep things a bit general, but I guess it should be more focused, to make 'em more of a "prestige" class. So, I'm going with a "god-touched" feel to it, for paladins (and I got rid of the LG requirement, so Solange can leave me alone!)
I also "toughened" it up a bit, with the Holy Smite ability, as well as adding a few flavour additions. I think, all in all, it works, though.
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HOLY VOICE
Many deities grant powers to paladins, who serve as a weapon against their deity's enemies. Holy orders of Paladins quest against demons, undead, and abberations, whether it be in the name of Hyrag, Halina, or any of the other gods of the land.
However, some paladins are more than just dedicated to their holy patron. Some, for reasons unknown to them, feel a direct bond to their deity that transcends that typically felt by holy men. Some paladins instead become almost an avatar of their deity, someone infused with just a spark of divine will.
These paladins, referred to as Holy Voices, have been placed in the faith of their patron. No longer do they follow the precepts of their church; they are the will of their lord, on the mortal planes.
Each deity may only have three Holy Voices active at any one time; typically, only Hyrag makes use of them frequently. Few deities truly put much faith in them, instead relying on the more organized paladin orders. It seems that to create a holy voice takes patience and a little bit of the deity's personal power, making the creation of a Holy Voice a discomforting process for many gods. Only deities that lack sizable paladin orders seem to regularly make use of Holy Voices.
Holy Voices are seperate entities of their church, and often feel as if their powers and obligations override those of their god's church. In fact, subtle struggles between Holy Voices and church leaders occur all too often, with Holy Voices often pursuing a more active (and typically a little less "realistic") pursuit of their deity's goals on the material plane.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 8 ranks, Concentration 5 ranks
Feat: Extra Turning
Special: Lay on Hands
Class Skills
The Holy Voice's Class skills are Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (the planes), Knowledge (religion), Ride, Sense Motive, and Spellcraft.
Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier
Code:
Table: Holy Voice
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special
1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Paladin Spells, Lay On Hands, Fearless Aura
2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Extra Domain
3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Morale Aura
4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Voice's Wrath
5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Healing Aura
Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: If the character is not already proficient, he receives proficiency in his deity's favoured weapon.
Spells: The character gains spells as a paladin. Paladin levels and Holy Voice levels stack when determing caster level, spells learned each level, etc.
Lay on HandsHoly Voicelevels stack with paladins when determining the amount of hit points healed by the lay on hands ability.
Extra Domain: At 2nd level, the Holy Voice can select one domain granted by his deity. He gains one additional spell slot for each spell level he has access to; this spell must be taken from this extra domain. Thus, a 5th level Paladin/2nd Level Holy Voice with the Healing Domain could cast Cure Light Wounds as a bonus Domain spell.
In addition, the character gains the listed Domain ability.
If the character already has domain spells (such as if he were a cleric), this bonus stacks with the Cleric's existing domains.
Fearless Aura: By spending one of his daily turn undead attempts for the day as a standard action, the Holy Voice projects an aura that calms his allies. For a number of rounds equal to his Holy Voice level plus his charisma modifier, all allies that remain within 20 feet of the Holy Voice are immune to all fear effects.
Note that allies within the aura are immune to further fear effects; any fear effects that they had before the aura was activated still remain.
Morale Aura: By spending one of his daily turn undead attempts for the day as a standard action, the Holy Voice projects an aura that envigors his allies. All allies that remain within 30 feet of the Holy Voice receive a +1 morale bonus on melee attack rolls and damage rolls. This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to the character's Holy Voice level plus his charisma modifier.
Voice's Wrath: By spending one of his daily turn undead attempts, the Holy Voice can make a single attack infused with a little bit of divine essence. He spends the Turn undead attempt as part of making a standard attack.
The Voice's Wrath attack is considered to be made by a Good weapon, for purposes of overcoming Damage Reduction. It has a +4 bonus to attack, and deals a number of points of extra damage equal to the Holy Voice's class level.
In addition, the attack deals +1d6 damage against Evil creatures.
This ability does not stack with any smite attacks that the Voice may have.
Healing Aura: At 5th level, the Holy Voice is able to heal nearby allies. By spending one of his daily turn undead attempts as a free action, the Holy Voice can use his Lay on Hands ability on any willing target within 20 feet. Lay on Hands can be used as normal, with the exception that the Holy Voice does not need to physically lay hands on the target.
The Holy Voice can, if he so chooses, heal multiple targets with this ability, splitting up points from his Lay on Hands ability among all eligible targets.
Note: A character that takes levels in Holy Voice is still able to take levels in the Paladin character class.
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So, I changed the Smite attack a bit (powered it up, since it was fairly lame). I also got rid of the alignment restriction, and reworded a few things.
One thing I was thinking of is making a feat that more or less says the character is in the attention of his God (sort of like what Galwynn has now), and making that feat a prereq for the PrC. Haven't figured out the feat, though.
