Kerrick
First Post
This is one of my more ambitious projects - a generic holy warrior that can be customized for each god. This PrC is kind of a template - it gives some base abilities, but the rest is totally dependent on the god you worship and the campaign world. As such, some DMs/players might not like it, since it largely depends on them to say what are acceptable/appropriate powers/prereqs, but I think others will like the ability to play a holy warrior that isn't a paladin or a Blackguard, or who don't believe paladin should be a base class.
On another note, this isn't quite fully finished - I couldn't come up with an 8th level ability. I thought about bumping Divine Might up to 8th and giving them a mount or companion of some sort, but I couldn't think of anything good - I didn't really want to copy that huge block of stuff from the paladin's mount.
Divine Champion
Divine Champions are, simply put, holy warriors of their gods. They are the ones who are sent forth to smite the enemies of the church, recover artifacts of the faith, or lead the faithful on crusades. In the church hierarchy, they are considered equal to knights – above the rank and file clerics and worshippers, but slightly below the high priests.
"Divine Champion" is a generic title for the holy warrior – each religion has its own name for the champions of the faith - Warden, Equalizer, Dawnbringer, Slayer, Paladin, etc.
Divine Champions are always drawn from the ranks of the faithful, but sometimes those who are especially pious but not direct representatives of their gods (read: clerics) can be called upon to become champions of the faith. Clerics are most often the ones chosen to be Divine Champions, but those closely tied to the god's precepts (fighters of a god of battle, rogues for a god of secrecy, or rangers for a god of the hunt) often equal or exceed the number of clerics.
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
Alignment: Must be the same as the patron deity's.
Skills: Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, 7 ranks in a skill tied to the god's portfolio(s)
Feats: Any two tied to the god's portfolio(s)
Special: Must have been recommended by a divine messenger of the god or by an elder of the church.
The Divine Champion‘s class skills are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion)(Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int).
Other class skills can be added according to the specific god. For instance, a Champion of a god of thieves would add Climb, Hide, Move Silently, and Search to her class list. It is recommended that no more than 4 skills be added to the list in such a manner.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: Fighter
Saves: Fort good, Ref/Will poor
Spells: As Blackguard
1st Aura of faith, detect alignment, god's right hand
2nd Divine grace
3rd Smite the unbelievers 1/day
4th Granted power
5th Divine might
6th Smite the unbelievers 2/day
7th Granted power
8th
9th Smite the unbelievers 3/day
10th Granted power
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Divine Champions are proficient in all simple weapons, and light and medium armor and all shields (except tower shields). They gain additional proficiencies as appropriate to their deities - for example, the Champion of a god of war would gain martial weapons and heavy armor.
Aura of Faith (Ex): The power of a Champion's alignment aura (see the detect good spell) is equal to his class level plus any cleric levels.
Detect Alignment (Su): At will, a Divine Champion can use detect chaos/evil/good/law, as appropriate, at will. Champions of a Neutral god can use any of the above spells, but only to detect those of extreme alignment (LG, CG, LE, CE).
God's Right Hand (Ex): The Divine Champion gains proficiency with her god's chosen weapon (if necessary) and the Weapon Focus feat applied to it for free.
Spells (Sp): A Divine Champion has the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a spell, a Champion must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + spell level.
Champion bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + Wisdom modifier. When the Champion gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Champion’s spell list appears below. A Champion has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare, just as a cleric. A Champion prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though a Champion cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).
Divine Grace (Ex): At 2nd level, the Divine Champion gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on her saves.
Smite the Unbelievers (Su): Once per day, a Champion can attempt to smite chaos, evil, good, or law (depending on her alignment) with one normal melee attack. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 2 extra points of damage per class level. If the Champion accidentally smites a creature that is not of an alignment opposed to her own, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
Champions of a Neutral deity can use this ability to smite chaos, evil, good, or law, but only those of extreme alignments – LG, CG, LE, or CE. If the Champion attempts to smite a creature that is not of the proper alignment (trying to smite evil on a LG being, for instance) or has a neutral component in its alignment, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
Granted Power: At 4th, 7th, and 10th levels, the Divine Champion can choose from among the following abilities. Others appropriate to the god can be added by the DM; domain abilities from the god's domains make good choices for these powers. If the power is one that can (or does) scale, like sneak attack, then the Champion gains a new tier or use of the ability every three levels, unless otherwise noted.
Aura of Divine Power (Su): The Champion radiates an aura of power in a 10-foot radius. All those of similar alignment (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) within 10 feet of the Champion gain a +2 morale bonus to saves, and those of opposing alignment suffer a -2 penalty to saves. Champion of Neutral gods radiate an aura that affects all those of extreme alignments (LG, CG, LE, CE).
Command/Rebuke Undead (Su): The Champion gains the ability to command or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She commands undead as a cleric of equal level. If the Champion already has cleric levels, her Champion levels stack for puposes of determining what undead she can command or rebuke, and she gains an additional 3 uses per day instead of 3+Cha modifier. This ability is available only to neutral or evil Champions.
Divine Health (Ex): The Champion is immune to normal diseases, and gains a +10 bonus to Fort saves vs. supernatural and magical diseases like mummy rot.
Healing Touch (Su): Once per day, the Champion can use this ability to either remove disease or cure ability damage (as per lesser restoration) by touch. The target must be willing for this ability to work; if the target is not, the ability fails and the use is wasted for that day. This ability is available only to good or neutral Champions.
Lay on Hands (Su): A Champion with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or others') or inflict wounds by touch. Each day she can heal or inflict a total number of hit points of damage equal to her class level × her Charisma bonus. She 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 Champion can use any or all of this energy to heal or deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack, if the target is unwilling, and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The Champion decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Champions of good alignment can only heal damage; those of evil alignment can only inflict it. Those of neutral alignment (LN, TN, or CN) can do either, but once the choice is made for the first time in a day, all the points must be used to either heal or harm – the Champion can't do both in the same day.
Summon Planar Ally (Sp): Once per day, a Champion can call a planar ally to aid her and her comrades. This ability is otherwise similar to the summon monster spells; the creature remains for 1 round per character level or until dismissed.
The type of creature summoned depends on the Champion's alignment: archon (LG), inevitable (LN), devil (LE), angel (NG), elemental (TN), demon or devil (NE), eladrin (CG), slaad (CN), or demon (CE). Other creatures of similar alignment can be substituted at the DM's discretion.
Summoned creatures can have up to twice the Champion's class level in HD. Calling planar allies is a divine privilege, not a right; Champions who abuse this ability (summoning creatures for frivolous tasks, or to fight creatures of similar alignment) will be punished by the deity (DM's discretion; the punishment should be commensurate with the degree of the infraction.
Touch of Evil (Su): Once per day the Champion can use this ability to either inflict a disease on the target or poison it (as per the poison spell). The target gets a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 class level + Wis modifier) to resist the effect; if it fails, the target is infected with a nonmagical disease of the Champion's choice (see the contagion spell) or a poison that deals 1d6 Con damage (initial and secondary).
Turn Undead (Su): The Champion gains the ability to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of equal level. If the Champion already has cleric levels, her Champion levels stack for puposes of determining what undead she can turn, and she gains an additional 3 uses per day instead of 3+Cha modifier. This ability is available only to good or neutral Champions.
Divine Might (Su): Once per day per point of her Cha bonus, a Divine Champion can call upon the strength of her deity. Her eyes glow with an aura based on her alignment – gold for lawful good, shading to silver for chaotic good, dark gold for lawful evil, silver-gray for neutral, and black for chaotic evil. The Champion gains the following: her base attack bonus becomes equal to her character level (which may grant her extra attacks), she gains a +4 bonus to both Strength and Con, and she deals +1d4 divine damage with melee attacks to those of opposing alignment. These bonuses last for one round per class level.
Divine Champion Spell List
Divine Champions choose their spells from the following list. Spells like cure and inflict wounds follow the same guidelines as for lay on hands (see above). This list is just a guideline – other spells can be added for Champions of individual gods at the DM's disretion, and some spells can't be used due to alignment restrictions.
1st Level: Bless weapon, cause fear, command, corrrupt weapon, cure light wounds, divine favor, doom, inflict light wounds, light, magic weapon, shield of faith, summon monster I.
2nd Level: Bull's strength, cure moderate wounds, darkness, death knell, eagle's splendor, inflict moderate wounds, owl's wisdom, resist energy, summon monster II.
3rd Level: Contagion, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, dispel magic, greater magic weapon, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, prayer, protection from elements, remove curse, remove disease, summon monster III.
4th Level: Cure critical wounds, death ward, dispel chaos/evil/good/law, inflict critical wounds, righteous might, summon monster IV.
Ex-Champions
A Champion whose alignment shifts for whatever reason, who willfully commits act not in keeping with the precepts of her faith, or who grossly violates the tenets of her faith loses all spells and abilities (but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Divine Champion unless and until she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Lesser infractions (frivolous use of granted abilities, minor violations of the code of conduct, etc.) can be met with lesser short-term punishments – removal of spellcasting ability or granted abilities, a divine curse that lowers stats by 1-2 points, etc. These should last no more than a week or until the Champion atones for her actions, whichever comes first.
On another note, this isn't quite fully finished - I couldn't come up with an 8th level ability. I thought about bumping Divine Might up to 8th and giving them a mount or companion of some sort, but I couldn't think of anything good - I didn't really want to copy that huge block of stuff from the paladin's mount.
Divine Champion
Divine Champions are, simply put, holy warriors of their gods. They are the ones who are sent forth to smite the enemies of the church, recover artifacts of the faith, or lead the faithful on crusades. In the church hierarchy, they are considered equal to knights – above the rank and file clerics and worshippers, but slightly below the high priests.
"Divine Champion" is a generic title for the holy warrior – each religion has its own name for the champions of the faith - Warden, Equalizer, Dawnbringer, Slayer, Paladin, etc.
Divine Champions are always drawn from the ranks of the faithful, but sometimes those who are especially pious but not direct representatives of their gods (read: clerics) can be called upon to become champions of the faith. Clerics are most often the ones chosen to be Divine Champions, but those closely tied to the god's precepts (fighters of a god of battle, rogues for a god of secrecy, or rangers for a god of the hunt) often equal or exceed the number of clerics.
Hit Die: d10.
Requirements
Alignment: Must be the same as the patron deity's.
Skills: Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, 7 ranks in a skill tied to the god's portfolio(s)
Feats: Any two tied to the god's portfolio(s)
Special: Must have been recommended by a divine messenger of the god or by an elder of the church.
The Divine Champion‘s class skills are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (religion)(Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int).
Other class skills can be added according to the specific god. For instance, a Champion of a god of thieves would add Climb, Hide, Move Silently, and Search to her class list. It is recommended that no more than 4 skills be added to the list in such a manner.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: Fighter
Saves: Fort good, Ref/Will poor
Spells: As Blackguard
1st Aura of faith, detect alignment, god's right hand
2nd Divine grace
3rd Smite the unbelievers 1/day
4th Granted power
5th Divine might
6th Smite the unbelievers 2/day
7th Granted power
8th
9th Smite the unbelievers 3/day
10th Granted power
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Divine Champions are proficient in all simple weapons, and light and medium armor and all shields (except tower shields). They gain additional proficiencies as appropriate to their deities - for example, the Champion of a god of war would gain martial weapons and heavy armor.
Aura of Faith (Ex): The power of a Champion's alignment aura (see the detect good spell) is equal to his class level plus any cleric levels.
Detect Alignment (Su): At will, a Divine Champion can use detect chaos/evil/good/law, as appropriate, at will. Champions of a Neutral god can use any of the above spells, but only to detect those of extreme alignment (LG, CG, LE, CE).
God's Right Hand (Ex): The Divine Champion gains proficiency with her god's chosen weapon (if necessary) and the Weapon Focus feat applied to it for free.
Spells (Sp): A Divine Champion has the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a spell, a Champion must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + spell level.
Champion bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + Wisdom modifier. When the Champion gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Champion’s spell list appears below. A Champion has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare, just as a cleric. A Champion prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though a Champion cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).
Divine Grace (Ex): At 2nd level, the Divine Champion gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on her saves.
Smite the Unbelievers (Su): Once per day, a Champion can attempt to smite chaos, evil, good, or law (depending on her alignment) with one normal melee attack. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 2 extra points of damage per class level. If the Champion accidentally smites a creature that is not of an alignment opposed to her own, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
Champions of a Neutral deity can use this ability to smite chaos, evil, good, or law, but only those of extreme alignments – LG, CG, LE, or CE. If the Champion attempts to smite a creature that is not of the proper alignment (trying to smite evil on a LG being, for instance) or has a neutral component in its alignment, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
Granted Power: At 4th, 7th, and 10th levels, the Divine Champion can choose from among the following abilities. Others appropriate to the god can be added by the DM; domain abilities from the god's domains make good choices for these powers. If the power is one that can (or does) scale, like sneak attack, then the Champion gains a new tier or use of the ability every three levels, unless otherwise noted.
Aura of Divine Power (Su): The Champion radiates an aura of power in a 10-foot radius. All those of similar alignment (chaotic, evil, good, or lawful) within 10 feet of the Champion gain a +2 morale bonus to saves, and those of opposing alignment suffer a -2 penalty to saves. Champion of Neutral gods radiate an aura that affects all those of extreme alignments (LG, CG, LE, CE).
Command/Rebuke Undead (Su): The Champion gains the ability to command or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She commands undead as a cleric of equal level. If the Champion already has cleric levels, her Champion levels stack for puposes of determining what undead she can command or rebuke, and she gains an additional 3 uses per day instead of 3+Cha modifier. This ability is available only to neutral or evil Champions.
Divine Health (Ex): The Champion is immune to normal diseases, and gains a +10 bonus to Fort saves vs. supernatural and magical diseases like mummy rot.
Healing Touch (Su): Once per day, the Champion can use this ability to either remove disease or cure ability damage (as per lesser restoration) by touch. The target must be willing for this ability to work; if the target is not, the ability fails and the use is wasted for that day. This ability is available only to good or neutral Champions.
Lay on Hands (Su): A Champion with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or others') or inflict wounds by touch. Each day she can heal or inflict a total number of hit points of damage equal to her class level × her Charisma bonus. She 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 Champion can use any or all of this energy to heal or deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack, if the target is unwilling, and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The Champion decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Champions of good alignment can only heal damage; those of evil alignment can only inflict it. Those of neutral alignment (LN, TN, or CN) can do either, but once the choice is made for the first time in a day, all the points must be used to either heal or harm – the Champion can't do both in the same day.
Summon Planar Ally (Sp): Once per day, a Champion can call a planar ally to aid her and her comrades. This ability is otherwise similar to the summon monster spells; the creature remains for 1 round per character level or until dismissed.
The type of creature summoned depends on the Champion's alignment: archon (LG), inevitable (LN), devil (LE), angel (NG), elemental (TN), demon or devil (NE), eladrin (CG), slaad (CN), or demon (CE). Other creatures of similar alignment can be substituted at the DM's discretion.
Summoned creatures can have up to twice the Champion's class level in HD. Calling planar allies is a divine privilege, not a right; Champions who abuse this ability (summoning creatures for frivolous tasks, or to fight creatures of similar alignment) will be punished by the deity (DM's discretion; the punishment should be commensurate with the degree of the infraction.
Touch of Evil (Su): Once per day the Champion can use this ability to either inflict a disease on the target or poison it (as per the poison spell). The target gets a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 class level + Wis modifier) to resist the effect; if it fails, the target is infected with a nonmagical disease of the Champion's choice (see the contagion spell) or a poison that deals 1d6 Con damage (initial and secondary).
Turn Undead (Su): The Champion gains the ability to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of equal level. If the Champion already has cleric levels, her Champion levels stack for puposes of determining what undead she can turn, and she gains an additional 3 uses per day instead of 3+Cha modifier. This ability is available only to good or neutral Champions.
Divine Might (Su): Once per day per point of her Cha bonus, a Divine Champion can call upon the strength of her deity. Her eyes glow with an aura based on her alignment – gold for lawful good, shading to silver for chaotic good, dark gold for lawful evil, silver-gray for neutral, and black for chaotic evil. The Champion gains the following: her base attack bonus becomes equal to her character level (which may grant her extra attacks), she gains a +4 bonus to both Strength and Con, and she deals +1d4 divine damage with melee attacks to those of opposing alignment. These bonuses last for one round per class level.
Divine Champion Spell List
Divine Champions choose their spells from the following list. Spells like cure and inflict wounds follow the same guidelines as for lay on hands (see above). This list is just a guideline – other spells can be added for Champions of individual gods at the DM's disretion, and some spells can't be used due to alignment restrictions.
1st Level: Bless weapon, cause fear, command, corrrupt weapon, cure light wounds, divine favor, doom, inflict light wounds, light, magic weapon, shield of faith, summon monster I.
2nd Level: Bull's strength, cure moderate wounds, darkness, death knell, eagle's splendor, inflict moderate wounds, owl's wisdom, resist energy, summon monster II.
3rd Level: Contagion, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, dispel magic, greater magic weapon, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, prayer, protection from elements, remove curse, remove disease, summon monster III.
4th Level: Cure critical wounds, death ward, dispel chaos/evil/good/law, inflict critical wounds, righteous might, summon monster IV.
Ex-Champions
A Champion whose alignment shifts for whatever reason, who willfully commits act not in keeping with the precepts of her faith, or who grossly violates the tenets of her faith loses all spells and abilities (but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Divine Champion unless and until she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Lesser infractions (frivolous use of granted abilities, minor violations of the code of conduct, etc.) can be met with lesser short-term punishments – removal of spellcasting ability or granted abilities, a divine curse that lowers stats by 1-2 points, etc. These should last no more than a week or until the Champion atones for her actions, whichever comes first.
