Pelorian Crusader

[Lord_Gareth]

Pelorian Crusader

"No rest for the wicked."

When one thinks of a knight, one usually imagines a shining figure resplendant in plate armor, riding to the rescue upon a raging battlefield. One rarely conceptualizes a haggard, worn woman in rusty chain, barely able to hold the weight of her own sword. And yet, this image is exactly what the Pelorian Crusaders are - looks are deceiving.

Many dismiss Pelorian Crusaders as incompetants or down-on-their-luck sellswords at first sight, but these men and women are fanatics of the highest order, swearing off both sleep and rest until their ceaseless mission is at an end - to purge evil from the world with Pelor's blinding light. They are instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with them from their haggard, exhausted look - one that comes from months and even decades (centuries in the case of some elves) without sleep as they crusade endlessly against evil.

Members of all classes can become Pelorian Crusaders, but fighters, crusaders, knights, samurai, paladins, rangers, and rogues are the most common candidates.

Requirements

Alignment: Any Good
B.A.B.: +5
Skills: Concentration 4 ranks, Knowledge (Religion) 4 ranks
Feats: Endurance, Iron Will
Patron Deity: Pelor
Special: Must undergo the Trial of the Sleepless and be judged worth by the Crusaders.
Special: Must be able to suffer Exhaustion through sleep deprivation.

Class Features

Hit Die: D10

B.A.B: Good
Fortitude: Good
Reflex: Poor
Will: Good

Class Skills: Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Military Tactics / Religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis)

Skill points per level: 2+intelligence modifier

Oath of Restlessness (Ex): Upon entering this prestige class, the Pelorian Crusader swears never to sleep nor rest until evil is purged from the world. She may force her body not to sleep, no matter how exhausted she gets (and indeed must, for failure to keep this oath under any but involuntary circumstances results in the loss of all class features for 24 hours) and is treated as exhausted as long as she is upholding this oath. However, the strength of her convictions, as well as special training from her fellow Crusaders, grants her a +4 morale bonus to Will saves and a +2 competance bonus to melee attack rolls. She is immune to sleep effects, magical or otherwise.

No Excuses (Ex): Physical exhaustion is no reason to slack in the Pelorian Crusader's duty - no matter how tired she gets, she may move at her full normal speed and take her normal number of actions (subject to normal encumbrence rules and armor). This ability cancels the effects of any Slow effects that would otherwise affect the Crusader - they simply shrug off the hindering magic like they shrug off their exhaustion.

At first level, the Pelorian Crusader gains a +1 enhancement bonus to Strength and Dexterity while exhausted. This bonus increases every level, until it maxes out at +10 at tenth level.

Holy Strike (Su): Starting at level two, once per encounter, the Pelorian Crusader may channel the Sunlord's vengeful light into a melee attack. By declaring her intent and making a normal melee attack, a Crusader may perform a holy strike. If she hits, it deals an additional 1d6 +1 per Pelorian Crusader level of damage to the victim that results from divine origin. If she misses, the holy strike is wasted. She may use this ability an additional time per encounter for every two levels after 2nd (2/encounter at 4th, 3/encounter at 6th, and so on).

Walk it Off (Ex): The Pelorain Crusader isn't about to let wounds and diseases stop her from her duty, and her body, like it or not, is forced to cooperate. Starting at 3rd level, she benefits from natural healing (within normal time frames), regardless of whether or not she has rested. Additionally, the Pelorian Crusader gains a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws versus poison and disease.

Die Harder (Ex): Mortal wounds and blood loss are no reason to take a breather - at 4th level, the Pelorian Crusader gains Diehard as a bonus feat, even if she doesn't meet the prerequisites. Unlike the normal version of the feat, she continues to fight without penalty until she dies.

No Rest for the Wicked (Su): Starting at 7th level, the blessing of Pelor forces evil to make the same sacrifice as his Crusaders. Any evil being that comes within 30 feet of the Pelorian Crusader must make a Will save (DC = 10 + class level + Crusader's charisma modifier) or have the energy sapped from them, becoming exhausted and unable to sleep for one day per character level of the Pelorian Crusader. The affected being may make a new save once every 24 hours. A being that makes its save cannot be affected by that Crusader's aura for another 24 hours.

Crusader Strike (Su): Also at 7th level, the Pelorian Crusader can chain multiple holy strikes together into a shining display of righteous fury. Every holy strike she lands on a creature deals an additional 1d6 points of damage for each other holy strike inflicted on that creature in that round (so the first strike deals 1d6 + Crusader level, the second does 2d6 + Crusader level, the third 3d6 plus Crusader level, and so on).

Dead on your Feet (Ex): So great is the Pelorian Crusader's fanatacism in keeping her oath that she tries to even deny herself the rest of death. Starting at level 8, she is considered dead at -20 H.P., not -10, and her Die Harder feature continues to function normally until she reaches -20. Additionally, the Pelorian Crusader becomes immune to magical death effects.

Sleep is for the Weak (Ex): Starting at level 9, the Pelorian Crusader forces her body to cooperate with her utterly, sleep or no sleep, rendering her immune to damage or drain to her Strength and Dexterity scores. Her body still yearns for sleep - she just denies it.

Wrath Unending (Su): At 10th level, once per day, the Pelorian Crusader can become a direct conduit for Pelor's vengeful light. Once per day, as a full round action, she may declare any creature in melee range the target of her Wrath Unending (activating this ability uses up all her Holy Strikes for the encounter). She makes a full attack against that creature, with each blow being a holy strike (subject to her Crusader Strike ability as normal), but when she runs out of normal attacks, she continues making holy strikes against that creature at her lowest base attack bonus until she misses. Once she does, the flood of energy leaves her too exhausted to continue, forcing her to pass out and sleep soundly for 1d6 hours, during which she cannot be awoken by anything less than divine intervention.

[nobodylovesyou4]

lol, thats one of the funniest classes ever, but its really cool. good work on that one.

[Lord_Gareth]

Thanks ^_^. To tell you the truth, though, I designed it in all seriousness - I just like coming up with clever names. Look for my Accursed One later, with such class features as "Bad Mojo" and "Share the Love".

This class has yet to be playtested, to tell ya'll the truth, and I would -love- to hear how it goes down. I'd also love to hear what the exhausted condition actually does, because the SRD doesn't have it, so I was going off of guesswork here ^_^.

[Kai-Palin]

Wow, that takes fanaticism to a whole new level. I really like the concept.

With the Holy Strike, does it affect a certain type of creature? Or can he/she just use it against anything?

Is there any feat that requires Iron Will as a pre-req? If there is, I think it should be made part of the requirements for the class.

Finally, what is Trial of the Sleepless?

[Lord_Gareth]

I knew I forgot something ^_^.

Trial of the Sleepless: Only the truly fanatical are admitted into the Crusaders, and it is widely known from sea to shining sea that there is no test as harsh or strenuous as the Trial of the Sleepless. For a fortnight, the applicant must forgo sleep, and rest, proving her skill in battle, her faith in Pelor, and her knowledge of Pelor's doctrines - all at the same time, for her duels are with those who are already Crusaders. To this day, only two people went the whole fortnight - the test is not meant to be passed in that sense. Rather, the Crusaders measure the applicant's resolve, tenacity, skill, and faith through it, then admit them for training if they are found worthy.


As far as I'm aware, there's nothing that requires Iron Will, and besides, I already made two jank feats pre-req's. No need to punch the poor player in the gut more ^_^.

Holy Strike does indeed affect anything struck, but remember, she's got to remain Good in alignment or she loses PrC features (ah, alignment req's for PrCs).

[namo]

The SRD does have it : exhausted.

[Roderick_BR]

I like it. The flavor is pretty interesting. A tireless hunter that persecutes evil, never stopping, never sleeping, never standing behind.
It may get harder to work with some groups (specially spellcasters), but can make an interesting character to play.

[Lord_Gareth]

Well, it's really just a matter of how creative you are. If the rest of the group is sleeping, why not scout out the surrounding area? While the casters do their spells, you can practice weapon routines. It's a matter of Finding Things To Do - sorta like a Warforged character.

[Mewtarthio]

Speaking of which, what happens if a Warforged takes this class? Nothing prevents it, but it seems kind of contrary to the flavor.

[Lord_Gareth]

The Special requirement - do you think the Crusaders, the ultimate fanatics, are going to let someone swear a meaningless oath? As long as the DM isn't dumbtarded, it works out.

[Mewtarthio]

The Special requirement - do you think the Crusaders, the ultimate fanatics, are going to let someone swear a meaningless oath? As long as the DM isn't dumbtarded, it works out.

True, but it's always best to explicitly spell these things out.

[Lord_Gareth]

It's a sad day when I -have- to do that, but I'll edit it in.

[Ganon11]

*subscribing*

This looks interesting.

[smart thog]

how does a caster with levels in this class prepare spells if they cannot sleep?

[FireSpark]

how does a caster with levels in this class prepare spells if they cannot sleep?

Because caster don't have to sleep, simply rest. And by resting, it usually means doing nothing strenous. If all a crusader is doing for eight hours is liesurely walking down the road, then I'd say that that qualifies as rest. After all, as mentioned above, Warforged don't sleep and they can be spellcasters. (Although the concept of rest does seem somewhat counter-intuitive to this class.)

[Lord_Gareth]

That, and this is quite obviously a martial class - if a wizard or sorcerer is taking it, that's their problem.

[JackMage666]

Well, it's easiest entry is with Paladin, but I digress...

No Rest for the Wicked: Starting at 7th level, the blessing of Pelor forces evil to make the same sacrifice as his Crusaders. Any evil being that comes within 30 feet of the Pelorian Crusader must make a Will save (DC = 10 + class level + Crusader's charisma modifier) or have the energy sapped from them, becoming exhausted and unable to sleep for one day per character level of the Pelorian Crusader. A being that makes its save cannot be affected by that Crusader's aura for another 24 hours.

This is pretty potent. Alot of evil creature (the most likely that the character would be fighting), would become exausted, reducing it's difficulty tenfold. It's a little strong that it effects every evil character, an the PC doesn't even have to target them. Plus, it'll make a Detect-Evil paladin so excited. Now instead of using Detect Evil, he'll just look for tired people.

Also, how does this effect Outsiders, who don't need to sleep? Demons and Devils, for example, don't sleep, so the flavor of this ability doesn't make all that much sense for them.

[Lord_Gareth]

Unless it's otherwise immune to exhaustion effects, No Rest for the Wicked saps their energy like it would anyone else's.

And if you believe it to be too strong, some suggestions to fix it would be appreciated ^_^

[JackMage666]

I think even makeing him take a standard action to target the ability would balance it out.

[Deesix]

Having a -6 to Dex and Str really burns this class until level 5. Like, really bad. Sure, you get a +2 to attack rolls and +4 to will saves, but...it evens out like this:

-3 to AC
-3 to Reflex
-3 to damage with one-handed weapon
-1 to Attack rolls (with the +2 included)
-3 to all Dex and Str based skills
-3 to resist Grapple, Trip, and Bullrush
Probably some other things I'm forgetting. What you get in return is kind of...meh.

+4 to Will Saves
Immunity to Slow and Sleep effects

It needs a boost...

My suggestion would be that any Exhaustion from sleep deprivation at level one be instead treated as fatigue. It will really help the class, but not make it too dip-worthy.

[paigeoliver]

What is with the class skills? You have a few nonstandard ones listed as class skills.

Warforged couldn't take the class anyway. Pelor is a Greyhawk god and Warforged live in Eberron.

[Irreverent Fool]

I like the flavor of this class very much. A couple things I would like to mention though:

Sleep is for the Weak: Starting at level 9, the Pelorian Crusader forces her body to cooperate with her utterly, sleep or no sleep, removing all penalties she would otherwise suffer for fatigue or exhaustion and rendering her immune to damage or drain to her Strength and Dexterity scores. Her body still yearns for sleep - she just denies it.

The bit about removing all penalties for fatigue or exhaustion is kind of redundant, since two other abilities have already completely negated exhaustion.

And I have a question about the capstone ability. Would the sleep they fell into afterwards cause the crusader to lose their class abilities for 24 hours or is it considered non-voluntary?

Someone mentioned warforged taking it. I think the requirements

Special: Must undergo the Trial of the Sleepless and be judged worth by the Crusaders.
Special: Must be able to suffer Exhaustion through sleep deprivation.

negate that possibility. Or was that an edit?

[Jaerc]

<insert Pelor Is Evil joke>

Ahem;

• It can has flavour write-up? Look like you already have a good start with the Trials of Sleeplessness.
• I feel it should get Intimidate as a class skill.
• It can has class table?
• Why d10, it should have a d8 as a cleric-style class.
• Oaths of Restlessness should include swearing not to become immune to fatigue or exhaustion through any means save faith (i.e. taking more levels in this class.)
• Either give the PlCr something else in addition to Dieharder at 4th level, or make the ability stronger. Essentially granting +10 hp is nothing to a d8/d10 class. Also a PlCr at this level can likely auto-make their Autohypnosis check to do the same thing. It's also a dumb name, so there! :P
• What's the justification for Holy Strike instead of just Smite? I can think of a few, but want it from the Lord Gareth's mouth.
• Have Walk It Off also grant resistance against poison and disease.
• No Rest For The Wicked should allow a new save each day the creature is affected, at the very least.
• Dead on Your Feet suffers the same problems as Dieharder. If you do retain this setup make the negative hp variable. Like 15+Con bonus or similar.
• Sleep is for the Weak doesn't really seem to provide any benefit to the PlCr
• Does Wrath Unending's forced sleep break her Oaths?

[Lord_Gareth]

Why Intimidate?

The table...never really got done <.<

Sleep is For the Weak renders them immune to strength/dex damage from any source - ANY SOURCE - as well as Strength/dex drain.

Cleric-style? Do you see spells anywhere? This has a D10 for the same reason Divine Champion has a D10 - they're holy WARRIORS, not priests.

Nice call on Oaths. Incidentally, Wrath Unending doesn't break the Oath, due to it being involuntary, but it does stop them from being exhausted until they manage to tire themselves out (which means they lose most of their abilities).

I could drop in abilities at levels 5 and 6 - I don't usually like giving more than one ability per level.

I'll change up No Rest for the Wicked.

Holy Strike was chosen for several reasons. First and foremost, I've never really liked Smite. Second, I saw it in the WoW D20 and went, "Huh. That's awesome." Third, it has a more...visceral feel to it. Sword blazing with light, Pelor's dazzling benificence illuminating his champion, as the blade strikes deep into the heretic - oh yes, it feels a lot better.

I didn't know how to write a table when I made this and still pretty much don't <.<

[Jaerc]

The whole angry-tired person archetype seems like it would be able to growl others down via Intimidate.

Sleep Is For The Weak is still pretty meh.

d10 it is.

You could drop in abilities, or you could make the bad ones better. :)

The flavour you just described when using Holy Strike could be the very same for describing a Smite. I'll agree that WoW d20 has some cool things in it, but also some poor game design and some flat-out brokeness. So it is with all systems.

I seem to recall I muddled out the usage of the tables with a bit of work when I posted Scion of the Sun. I can pop one up later for Pelorian Crusader.

Which brings me to another point. The name of the prestige class isn't tied to what it does, nor even really who it is. I'm sure you can come up with something more thematically-linked.

[Lord_Gareth]

They're crusaders. For Pelor. Do you have a better name??

I'm thinking about what I can put in at levels five and six, I really am...

[Devils_Advocate]

"Restless Crusader of Pelor", maybe? Or "unresting"? Something like that. Jaerc's basically right, the current name gives no indication of the class's main theme.

Anyway, I like the basic flavor of this. It definitely brings to mind some of my own thinking on the subject of devotion to goodness. Essentially, if you're completely serious about being a good moral utilitarian, there is no such thing as "free time" so far as you are concerned.

Aside from there always being something to do, a Pelorian Crusader might also decline all opportunities to sleep based on the suspicion that if she did at this point, she wouldn't wake up for a week.