Hello all,
The co-creator of my homebrewed campaign world and I have just completed our work on our pantheon of gods (three years in the making, yeah we're slow) and we are transitioning to the creation of prestige classes associated with the gods.
I was hoping to get opinions (especially concerning balance) on the prestige classes. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated.
(Note that our campaign world does not have a paladin core class, and that the world is, in general, geared toward low power and low magic)
Thanks,
Dave
Honors (Paladins of Kryphon)
Honor is the title bestowed upon worshippers of Kryphon who successfully complete all the tests and passages set forth by the Grand Protectors for entrance into Paladinhood. As an obvious duty to the will of Kolairis and in reverence to his teachings, Honors specialize in wielding shields. Paladins of Kryphon follow a strict code of honor that is threefold and in tune to the writings of Kryphonian Scripture. Specifically, the code is drawn from the Third Recorded Word of the Voice of Kryphon, which focuses on Kryphon’s appearance before the first known paladin of Kryphon, Lady Honored Jaukena Stormlilly.
The Third Recorded Word of the Voice of Kryphon
And he spoke to me, and told me those who bring harm to others must know Kryphon is merciful, and will not bring his wrath unless evil refuses his warming embrace…
And he spoke to me, and told me that those who were helpless and incapable of standing against evil can call out his name, and that he would send protectors to shield them from harm…
And he spoke to me, and spoke of the offering to him, a sign of great unselfishness, unbridled love, and of great bravery. Those that can traverse these three obstacles will receive his gift…
Although the word of Kryphon is spread throughout the lands and he has many followers, there are only about twenty of the Honored known to exist.
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Honor, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Shield Proficiency, Weapon Focus (mace)
Skills: Knowledge (religion), 8 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells.
Special: An Honor must worship Kryphon as his patron deity. An Honor who chooses to no longer worship Kryphon immediately loses all special abilities.
Class Skills
The Honor’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis) and Ride (Dex). See chapter 4: Skills in the Dungeons & Dragons® Player's Handbook for skills descriptions.
Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features for the Honor prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Honors are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields.
Spells per Day: An Honor continues his training in divine spellcasting. When he gains an even level of Honor, he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before he became an Honor, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Honor for determining spells per day when he gains a new level.
Lay on Hands (Sp): An Honor can heal wounds by touch. Each day he can heal a total number of hit points equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) times his level. The Honor can heal himself. He can also choose to divide his curing among multiple recipients, and he doesn’t have to use it all at once. Lay on Hands is a spell-like ability, and its use is a standard action. Alternatively, the Honor can use any or all of these points to deal damage to undead creatures or evil outsiders. Treat this attack just like a touch spell. The Honor decides how many points to use as damage after successfully hitting the target.
Patient Observation: As per their code of conduct, Honors may not initiate combat except with an inherently evil being such as a demon or devil. Furthermore, Honors are instructed in the art of observation and strategic planning. Honors who study an opponent for two rounds after a melee has begun gain insight into their enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. Essentially, this means that an Honor must study a single opponent and not attack (they can defend themselves, but cannot cast spells, use items, or conduct any other action that would divert their attention from their enemy). If the Honor is wounded during the period of observation, he must make a successful concentration check (DC 10 + amount of damage inflicted) or his observation is disrupted. If the Honor successfully completes the period of observation, he receives an attack and damage bonus equal to his Honor level for the duration of the melee with the observed opponent. (Any actions that cause the Honor to reroll initiative during combat, therefore, will negate the bonuses). This ability can be used at will.
Shield of Faith (Su): A faint blue aura surrounds the shield of an Honor at all times, constantly providing him a supernatural deflection bonus. This bonus increases as the Honor gains levels, but it is only active when an Honor is using his shield.
Kryphon’s Touch (Su): This supernatural ability allows the Honor to share his Shield of Faith deflection bonus with one character that is within 10 feet of the Honor.
Detect Evil (Sp): This spell-like ability allows the Honor to cast detect evil at will.
Divine Health (Su): At 3rd level, the Honor is immune to all mundane and magical diseases such as mummy rot and lycanthropy.
Divine Sacrifice (Su): This ability allows the Honor to channel hit points from himself to any willing character as a move equivalent action. If the target character is unwilling, the Honor must make a touch attack to successfully channel his hit points as a standard action. An Honor may only reduce his own hit points down to 1 by using Divine Sacrifice.
Heart’s Quest: Upon reaching 5th level, an Honor can undertake a Heart’s Quest. The reward of the quest is the Gift of Kryphon, which is usually in the form of a holy shield or armor that is blessed by Kryphon and includes a Protection from Evil enchantment. The quest must be trying indeed as the only Honor known to have successfully completed a Heart’s Quest was Lady Honored Jaukena Stormlilly. The Dungeon Master should design a Heart’s Quest fitting of their campaign and reward the character with a Gift of Kryphon accordingly.
Kryphon’s Blessing (Su): An Honor can give his life to resurrect that of another character, essentially casting a True Resurrection spell, but with the life of the Honor as the material components. An Honor who gives his life through Kryphon’s Blessing can never be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated through any means.
Honor Advancement
BAB and Saves as fighter
Spells per day: +1 to existing class on 2nd and 4th level
Class features:
1. Lay on Hands, Patient Observation
2. Shield of Faith +1, Detect Evil
3. Divine Health, Divine Sacrifice, Kryphon’s Touch
4. Shield of Faith +2
5. Heart’s Quest, Kryphon’s Blessing
The co-creator of my homebrewed campaign world and I have just completed our work on our pantheon of gods (three years in the making, yeah we're slow) and we are transitioning to the creation of prestige classes associated with the gods.
I was hoping to get opinions (especially concerning balance) on the prestige classes. Any criticism would be greatly appreciated.
(Note that our campaign world does not have a paladin core class, and that the world is, in general, geared toward low power and low magic)
Thanks,
Dave
Honors (Paladins of Kryphon)
Honor is the title bestowed upon worshippers of Kryphon who successfully complete all the tests and passages set forth by the Grand Protectors for entrance into Paladinhood. As an obvious duty to the will of Kolairis and in reverence to his teachings, Honors specialize in wielding shields. Paladins of Kryphon follow a strict code of honor that is threefold and in tune to the writings of Kryphonian Scripture. Specifically, the code is drawn from the Third Recorded Word of the Voice of Kryphon, which focuses on Kryphon’s appearance before the first known paladin of Kryphon, Lady Honored Jaukena Stormlilly.
The Third Recorded Word of the Voice of Kryphon
And he spoke to me, and told me those who bring harm to others must know Kryphon is merciful, and will not bring his wrath unless evil refuses his warming embrace…
And he spoke to me, and told me that those who were helpless and incapable of standing against evil can call out his name, and that he would send protectors to shield them from harm…
And he spoke to me, and spoke of the offering to him, a sign of great unselfishness, unbridled love, and of great bravery. Those that can traverse these three obstacles will receive his gift…
Although the word of Kryphon is spread throughout the lands and he has many followers, there are only about twenty of the Honored known to exist.
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Honor, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Shield Proficiency, Weapon Focus (mace)
Skills: Knowledge (religion), 8 ranks
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level divine spells.
Special: An Honor must worship Kryphon as his patron deity. An Honor who chooses to no longer worship Kryphon immediately loses all special abilities.
Class Skills
The Honor’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis) and Ride (Dex). See chapter 4: Skills in the Dungeons & Dragons® Player's Handbook for skills descriptions.
Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All of the following are class features for the Honor prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Honors are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields.
Spells per Day: An Honor continues his training in divine spellcasting. When he gains an even level of Honor, he gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in whatever divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before he became an Honor, he must decide to which class he adds each level of Honor for determining spells per day when he gains a new level.
Lay on Hands (Sp): An Honor can heal wounds by touch. Each day he can heal a total number of hit points equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) times his level. The Honor can heal himself. He can also choose to divide his curing among multiple recipients, and he doesn’t have to use it all at once. Lay on Hands is a spell-like ability, and its use is a standard action. Alternatively, the Honor can use any or all of these points to deal damage to undead creatures or evil outsiders. Treat this attack just like a touch spell. The Honor decides how many points to use as damage after successfully hitting the target.
Patient Observation: As per their code of conduct, Honors may not initiate combat except with an inherently evil being such as a demon or devil. Furthermore, Honors are instructed in the art of observation and strategic planning. Honors who study an opponent for two rounds after a melee has begun gain insight into their enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. Essentially, this means that an Honor must study a single opponent and not attack (they can defend themselves, but cannot cast spells, use items, or conduct any other action that would divert their attention from their enemy). If the Honor is wounded during the period of observation, he must make a successful concentration check (DC 10 + amount of damage inflicted) or his observation is disrupted. If the Honor successfully completes the period of observation, he receives an attack and damage bonus equal to his Honor level for the duration of the melee with the observed opponent. (Any actions that cause the Honor to reroll initiative during combat, therefore, will negate the bonuses). This ability can be used at will.
Shield of Faith (Su): A faint blue aura surrounds the shield of an Honor at all times, constantly providing him a supernatural deflection bonus. This bonus increases as the Honor gains levels, but it is only active when an Honor is using his shield.
Kryphon’s Touch (Su): This supernatural ability allows the Honor to share his Shield of Faith deflection bonus with one character that is within 10 feet of the Honor.
Detect Evil (Sp): This spell-like ability allows the Honor to cast detect evil at will.
Divine Health (Su): At 3rd level, the Honor is immune to all mundane and magical diseases such as mummy rot and lycanthropy.
Divine Sacrifice (Su): This ability allows the Honor to channel hit points from himself to any willing character as a move equivalent action. If the target character is unwilling, the Honor must make a touch attack to successfully channel his hit points as a standard action. An Honor may only reduce his own hit points down to 1 by using Divine Sacrifice.
Heart’s Quest: Upon reaching 5th level, an Honor can undertake a Heart’s Quest. The reward of the quest is the Gift of Kryphon, which is usually in the form of a holy shield or armor that is blessed by Kryphon and includes a Protection from Evil enchantment. The quest must be trying indeed as the only Honor known to have successfully completed a Heart’s Quest was Lady Honored Jaukena Stormlilly. The Dungeon Master should design a Heart’s Quest fitting of their campaign and reward the character with a Gift of Kryphon accordingly.
Kryphon’s Blessing (Su): An Honor can give his life to resurrect that of another character, essentially casting a True Resurrection spell, but with the life of the Honor as the material components. An Honor who gives his life through Kryphon’s Blessing can never be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated through any means.
Honor Advancement
BAB and Saves as fighter
Spells per day: +1 to existing class on 2nd and 4th level
Class features:
1. Lay on Hands, Patient Observation
2. Shield of Faith +1, Detect Evil
3. Divine Health, Divine Sacrifice, Kryphon’s Touch
4. Shield of Faith +2
5. Heart’s Quest, Kryphon’s Blessing
