This is my first attempt at a Prestige Class. I've designed it specifically for my homebrew setting, inspired by the actions of a character who's player I'm now going to entice with it. It's essentially supposed to be a ranger version of the paladin class. Please evaluate, especially regarding the power level when set against a straight ranger.
EDIT: Changed prerequisites to enable other classes to qualify for the PrC. Changed the description of Ehlonna's Blessing abillity so that it doesn't stack with paladin's Divine Grace.
Ehlonna's Chosen
Where an ordinary paladin protects the destitute, Ehlonna's Chosen protects the living. Where and ordinary paladin seeks out enemies of his faith, Ehlonna's Chosen seeks out that which perverts life. Where an ordinary paladin gladly enters battle, Ehlonna's Chosen seeks peace.
In centuries past it would happen that Ehlonna would choose champions for her cause: those willing to protect life and harmony of the natural world, those willing to restore and preserve this harmony without resorting to violence, but finally those who when facing the threat of unnatural creations that seek to twist or destroy life, will not hesitate to strike them down. Those champions were called Ehlonna's Chosen.
The Chosen came almost exclusively from the ranks of Ehlonna's elven followers, elves having a natural affinity for nature and harmony. However throughout the Unfinished War, as the elven nations sought new power to prevail against the Altadian Empire in transformative and necromantic magics, the goddess turned away from them, taking away the powers of many of her Chosen. Today, with the elves gone altogether and the cult of Ehlonna all but forgotten in the fragmented Empire, it is unknown whether any such champions still exist. However it is a certainty that a prospective Chosen would have to be a special being indeed to even be noticed by the goddess in this bleak, new world.
Ehlonna's Chosen were almost exclusively rangers, since they are the only ones who could meet the stringent entry requirements. They sacrificed their spellcasting, animal companion, and favored enemy progression in return for an increased affinity with the living world and becoming increasingly deadlier against unnatural creatures. Some druids who took up the martial ways of the ranger also became Ehlonna's Chosen, but they were few and far between.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
Alignment: Neutral Good
BAB: +6
Skills: Handle Animal 5 ranks, Knowledge: Nature 5 ranks
Feats: Animal Affinity, Weapon Focus (ranged weapon, double weapon, or main hand weapon of TWF style)
Special: Wild Empathy class feature, Manyshot, or Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. Must be a follower of Ehlonna. Must abide by the Chosen's Code (see below).
Class Skills
Ehlonna's Chosen skills (and the key ability for each) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge: Geography (Int), Knowledge: Nature (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill points at each level: 6 + Int modifier.
EHLONNA'S CHOSEN
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|+1|+2|+0|+2|Wild empathy, Magical rapport, Smite unnatural 1/day
2nd|+2|+3|+0|+3|Ehlonna's blessing, Cleansing touch 1/day
3rd|+3|+3|+1|+3|Resilient weaponry
4th|+4|+4|+1|+4|
5th|+5|+4|+1|+4|Combat style mastery, Smite unnatural 2/day
6th|+6|+5|+2|+5|
7th|+7|+5|+2|+5|Consecrated weaponry
8th|+8|+6|+2|+6|Greater rapport, Cleansing touch 2/day
9th|+9|+6|+3|+6|
10th|+10|+7|+3|+7|Bane of the Unnatural, Smite unnatural 3/day[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Ehlonna's Chosen.
Armor and Weapon Proficiencies: Ehlonna's Chosen gains no new proficiencies with weapons or armor.
Wild Empathy (Ex): Ehlonna's Chosen class levels stack with his ranger levels for the purpose of determining the bonus he gets to any Wild Empathy rolls.
Magical Rapport (Su): Starting at 1st level, Ehlonna's Chosen develops a connection to the living world that extends beyond the natural. He may use his Wild Empathy ability to influence creatures with the Magical Beast type in addition to those with the Animal type. Secondly, when negotiating with a magical beast whose Intelligence is 6 or higher (such as persuading a Pegasus to serve as his mount) he may use a Wild Empathy check in place of Diplomacy. Lastly, he may use a Knowledge: Nature check in place of a Knowledge: Arcana check to recall lore on magical beasts.
Smite Unnatural (Su): Starting at 1st level, Ehlonna's Chosen may attempt to once per day smite an unnatural foe with one normal melee attack. He adds his Charisma modifier (if any) to the attack roll and his class levels in Ehlonna's Chosen to the damage roll. This attack may be used against the following creature types: aberrations, constructs, and undead. At 5th level Ehlonna's Chosen may use Smite Unnatural twice per day, at 10th this increases to three times per day.
Ehlonna's Blessing (Su): At second level Ehlonna blesses her chosen with supernatural resilience. The character may add his Charisma modifier to all his saves. This does not stack with the paladin's Divine Grace ability.
Cleansing Touch (Sp): At 2nd level Ehlonna's Chosen receives the ability to cure himself, or his allies of adverse conditions once per day. As a standard action, he may attempt to remove one of the following conditions from a willing target: blinded, deafened, diseased, nauseated, paralyzed, poisoned, or sickened. The roll for the attempt is 1d20 + Ehlonna's Chosen level + Wisdom modifier against the save DC of whatever caused the condition such as a Hold Person spell, or a monstrous scorpion's poison. Alternately, he may use it to automatically stabilize a dying creature.
At 8th level Ehlonna's Chosen may use Cleansing touch twice per day and may alternately use it to instantly heal a number of points of ability damage or ability drain equal to his Wisdom modifier (minimum 1).
Resilient Weaponry (Su): The weapons which Ehlonna's Chosen wields in battle gain supernatural speed or resilience. At 3rd level if the Chosen is using the Two Weapon Combat Style, his weapon's hardness and hit points double and he receives a +6 holy bonus to resist disarm attempts. If he is using the Ranged Combat Style, he ignores the first attack of opportunity in every round that he uses a bow or crossbow in melee. This ability works only with weapons in which the Chosen has the Weapon Focus feat.
Combat Style Mastery (Ex): At 5th level Ehlonna's chosen gains the benefits of Combat Style Mastery, as the ranger ability (p. 48 of PHB) if he doesn't have it already. The character cannot use this feature if wearing medium or heavy armor.
Consecrated Weaponry (Su): The weapons which Ehlonna's chosen wields in battle gain a supernatural ability to score critical hits against unnatural foes that would normally be immune to them. Starting at 7th level, this ability works against aberrations, constructs, and undead, but applies only to weapons in which the Chosen has the Weapon Focus feat.
Greater Rapport (Su): At 8th level Ehlonna's Chosen selects one of the following creature types: dragon, fey, giant, monstrous humanoid, plant, or vermin. From then on he may apply all the benefits of his Magical Rapport ability to this type of creature.
Bane of the Unnatural (Su): At 10th level the Chosen becomes Ehlonna's weapon in the fight against the unnatural. Any of the weapons he wields in which he has the Weapon Focus feat are treated as Bane weapons against aberrations, constructs, and undead. If the Chosen's weapon is already a Bane weapon against one of those foes, its enhancement and damage bonus is increased by one step. For example, a +2 Undeadsbane Longsword would ordinarily be treated as a +4 weapon against undead and deal +2d6 extra points of damage to them. In the hands of a 10th level Ehlonna's Chosen the same longsword would be treated as a +5 weapon against undead and deal +3d6 extra points of damage to them.
The Chosen's Code
In the service of Ehlonna, her champions must abide by the following code of conduct:Should the Chosen grossly violate this code, or become an alignment other than Neutral Good, he loses all his supernatural and spell-like abilities granted by the class and cannot progress in levels as Ehlonna's Chosen, until he can atone for his violations.
- Respect life and preserve harmony.
- Let your acts be guided by honor and conscience.
- Never kill needlessly.
- But be without mercy to those who'd destroy, twist, and pervert life.
