General Prestige Class : Knight of the Sword
Knights of the Sword are warriors who fight with power and faith to defend justice and truth. They believe that the spirit is the wellspring from which courage flows. Their willingness to sacrifice their own needs - even their own lives, if necessary - makes the Knights of the Sword such powerful champions of good.
Kir-Jolith grants the Sword Knights magic that give them strength in battle, the power to defeat dangerous opponents, and the ability to protect others in need. Even when they do not have divine magic from their deity, faith and courage sustains them.
Hit Die: d8.
Requirements
To qualify to become a Knight of the Sword, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Lawful Good
- Skills: Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 2 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, Ride 4 ranks.
- Feats: Diehard, Endurance, Honor-Bound.
- Base Attack Bonus: +6.
Base Save Bonuses: Will +4. - Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st level divine spells.
- Special: To become a Knight of the Sword, the character must have at least one level of the Knight of the Crown prestige class and the knightly courage class ability.
Knightly Virtue: A character must be a Knight of the Crown in good standing before he can petition the Order of the Sword to be accepted into that body. During his time as a Knight of the Crown, the candidate must demonstrate his virtue and his adherence to the Oath and the Measure. Before he can apply to a Knightly Council for acceptance into the Order of the Sword, he must have accomplished all the following, and be able to present witnesses to attest to his performance.- A journey of 500 miles or more in length and 30 days or more in time.
- Three tests of the knight's wisdom.
- One test of his generosity.
- One test of compassion.
- The restoration of something that was lost.
- Single combat with a worthy evil opponent (whose Challenge Rating is no more than two lower than the knight's character level).
- A deed of heroism and valor that upholds the virtues of knightly honor and good.
Class Skills
The knight of the Sword's class skills are Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Profession, and Ride.
Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Knights of the Sword do not gain any additional weapon or armor proficiency.
Spells per Day/Spells Known: At each level, the Knight of the Sword gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class to which he belonged before adding the prestige class level. He does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (improved chance of turning undead, bonus feats, and so on). If the character had more than one divine spellcasting class before becoming a Knight of the Sword, the player must decide to which class to add each Knight of the Sword level for the purpose of determining spells per day. Sword Knights receive their divine powers from Kir-Jolith.
Smite Evil (Su): Once per day, a Knight of the Sword may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. He adds his Charisma modifier (if positive) to his attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per level. If the knight accidentally smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect but it is still used up for that day.
At 5th level, and again at 10th level, the Knight of the Sword may smite evil one additional time per day as indicated by the number in parentheses, to a maximum of 3 times per day at 10th level.
Aura of Good (Ex): The power of a Knight of the Sword's aura of good is equal to his class level plus his cleric or mystic level (if any).
Turn Undead (Su): When a Knight of the Sword reaches 2nd level, he gains the supernatural ability to turn undead. He may use this ability a number of times per day equal to three plus his Charisma modifier. He turns undead as a cleric of one level lower would. If he is also a cleric, he adds his Knight of the Sword levels -1 to his cleric levels to determine his turning ability. In this case, he does not gain additional turning attempts per day.
Aura of Courage (Su): A Knight of the Sword of 3rd level or higher gains a +4 morale bonus against fear effects. Allies within 10 feet of the Knight of the Sword gain a +4 morale bonus against these effects as well.
Soul of Knighthood (Su): At 10th level, a Knight of the Sword is the living embodiment of knightly devotion to the deities of Good and the principles of his alignment. Any weapon the knight uses in combat is considered a holy weapon for purposes of overcoming the damage reduction of certain evil outsiders. In addition, he can cloak himself in a holy aura once per day, as the spell, with a duration of 10 rounds. Only the knight is protected by the holy aura; it does not extend to his allies.
| Knight of the Sword | Hit Die: d10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Spells per Day |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Smite evil (1/day), aura of good | +1 level of existing class |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Turn undead | +1 level of existing class |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Aura of courage | +1 level of existing class |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | +1 level of existing class | |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Smite evil (2/day) | +1 level of existing class |
| 6th | +4 | +5 | +2 | +5 | +1 level of existing class | |
| 7th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +5 | +1 level of existing class | |
| 8th | +6 | +6 | +2 | +6 | +1 level of existing class | |
| 9th | +6 | +6 | +3 | +6 | +1 level of existing class | |
| 10th | +7 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Soul of knighthood, smite evil (3/day) | +1 level of existing class |
Source: Dragonlance Campaign Setting