[Screen Name] Holy Blades of Zagaroth

[Zagaroth]

Light gleamed off the blade as it briefly flashed with holy power, slashing down in an arc that crashed against a darker, blood stained axe, whose orcish wielder staggered back a step from the impact. The human bearing that bright blade growled with a low fury, and his eyes were a disturbing sight: cat like pupils, surrounded by a molten gold color which was eerily reminiscent to that of a dragon’s eyes. “You’ll not harm these people!” behind him, several people were watching the fight with mixed fear and hope in their eyes.

The orc merely snarled in return, and swung his blade again, only to find it easily turned aside before the noble warrior lunged forward with a sudden surge of strength and speed, driving his blade into the slaver’s heart in one quick thrust, then letting the body drop as he spun to face the other slavers who had watch from the opposite side of the battle field. “Your leader is dead, those who surrender themselves now I will recommend for lenient treatment by the magistrate. Those who attempt to fight or flee I will sentence myself.” The body at his feet declared what sort of sentence that was likely to be.

The Holy Blades of Zagaroth are (usually non-dragon) warriors who have dedicated themselves to the ideals laid out by the draconic deity Zagaroth, which include nobility and a passionate sense of duty, tempered by wisdom and mercy, giving kindness and gentleness to the innocent, and bringing justice to the cruel and the evil. They do not shirk in either their duty to fight against evil, or to care for those in need. In return for this dedication, they are granted powers to aid them in defending those who need it, and to help them find the truth of a situation so they may act most appropriately as dispensers of justice.

Though he is a dragon, Zagaroth is not aloof from the affairs of other races as some other draconic deities tend to be. Instead, he encourages people from all races to strive to follow his ideals as best they can, and rarely chastises some one who fails when they have striven their best.

Hit Die: d10

Prerequisites:
Alignment: Lawful Good
Diplomacy: 4 ranks
Knowledge, Religion: 6 ranks
Knowledge, Arcane: 2 ranks
Sense Motive: 4 Ranks
Feats: Dragonfriend, Sacred Vow
BaB: +7
Languages: Draconic
Special: the ability to use Smite Evil at least once per day.

Class Features:
Weapon & armor proficiency: A Holy Blade is proficient in all simple & martial weapons, all armors, and small & large shields.
Skills: the following skills are class skills:
Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge(all), Listen, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Search, Spellcraft, Spot
Skill points: (4+int bonus) per level

  
  BAB Fort  Ref  Will Abilities
1. +1  +2   +0   +2  Dragonmark, Oath, Aura of Good, Smite Evil +1/day
2. +2  +3   +0   +3  Divine Grace
3. +3  +3   +1   +3  Holy Fervor 1/day
4. +4  +4   +1   +4  Exalted Feat, Truth Sense
5. +5  +4   +1   +4  Smite Evil +2/day
6. +6  +5   +2   +5  Zone of Truth, Holy Fervor 2/day
7. +7  +5   +2   +5  Greater Holy Fervor
8. +8  +6   +2   +6  Dragon Feat
9. +9  +6   +3   +6  Smite Evil +3/day, Holy Fervor 3/day
10.+10  +7   +3   +7  Pure Blade

Dragonmark:(Ex) Upon completion of the right of initiation, a Holy Blade of Zagaroth is marked by a very noticeable change in his eyes: they change appearance to look look like a dragon’s eyes. This tends to make them stand out, and they are often targeted by assasins from evil organizations who have a minimum bounty they’ll pay for the body (or other suitable proof of death) of even the lowliest Holy Blade. The eyes retain this appearance in any form that has normal eyes, even in illusionary forms or if Shapechanged.

The Holy Blade receives a Circumstance Bonus of +3 to all diplomacy checks when interacting with people who consider themselves allies or benificiaries of Zagaroth's church. (good aligned dragons, celestials, paladins, and most people who spend their lives focused on justice, such as a judge or policeofficer, woudl consider themselves allies, while most good aligned commonors would be benificiaries).

A circumstance penalty of -6 applies to all diplomacy to all who consider themselves active foes of Zagaroth or his church, but the Holy Blade also gains a +3 circumstance bonus to any intimidate checks made against the same.

These bonuses and penalties apply only to those who see the dragonmark, or otherwise know that the character is a Holy Blade.

Oath: Like a Paladin (which many Holy Blades are), a Holy Blade must adhere to a strict code of behavior. Failure to follow this code will lead to the loss of all class abilities:
A Holy blade may never commit an evil act (apply all the rules of a paladin who commits an evil act here)
A Holy Blade must always do his best to protect the innocent from harm.
A Holy Blade should temper punitive justice with both wisdom and mercy whenever feasible.
As an arbitrator of Justice, a Holy Blade is bound to settle civil disputes when asked of him by all parties involved, so long as there is no more appropriate authority around (such as a priest of a domestic deity for domestic troubles) and it would not cause a delay in an urgent quest. (Adventures like exploring an old ruined castle do not count as urgent unless there is a specific reason such as some one needing rescue, or a special spell to break a deadly curse, etc.)
A Holy Blade may not lie. Should circumstances force the holy blade to lie to protect others or otherwise more truly serve justice, the Holy Blade must present himself to high ranking officials in his church and explain the situation and serve penance as judged by his superiors. Failure to do so as soon as possible results in the loss of all class abilities until such a time as penance is achieved and an Atonement is made. As befits the wisdom of Zagaroth, "As soon as possible" means AFTER you finish your quest if delay means the potential endangerment of others.

Aura of Good: (Ex) The power of a Holy Blade’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to the Holy Blade's class level. This stacks with any other Aura of Good effect

Smite Evil:(Su) As part of an attack action, a Holy blade may Smite Evil 1 more time per day. This ability functions as the source of his perquisite Smite Evil ability does, and if he can use Smite Evil from more than one source, then he may choose which one to use as his qualifier when he takes this class. Example; A half-celestial Paladin can either add this Smite Evil to his Paladin Smite evils (stacking class levels) or may choose to make it so that he can Smite Evil as per his ability from being a Half-Celestial. An additional use of Smite Evil is granted at 5th and at 9th level.

Divine Grace:(Su) At 2nd level, a Holy Blade gains a bonus equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws. If a Holy Blade already has this ability, add +1 to all saving throws instead.

Holy Fervor:(Su) At 3rd Level, Once per day, while actively defending an innocent or helpless person, a Holy Blade gains a Sacred Bonus of +2 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. This lasts a number of rounds equal to his class levels in Holy Blade, but never any longer than the current battle. An Extra Use of this ability is gained at 6th and at 9th level. Activating this ability is a free action.

Exalted Feat: At 4th level, a Holy Blade may choose any exalted feat as a bonus feat. The Holy Blade must meet all prerequisites for the feat they select

Truth Sense:(Ex) From 4th level on, a Holy Blade gains a Competence bonus equal to his class level to Sense Motive and to Diplomacy.

Zone of Truth:(Sp) At 6th level, a Holy Blade gains the Ability to cast Zone of Truth a number of times per day equal to his Charisma Bonus (minimum 1). Caster Level is equal to his Character Level, and the save DC is 10 + Class Level +Charisma Modifier

Greater Holy Fervor:(Su) At 7th level, the bonuses from Holy Fervor increases to +4.

Dragon Feat: at 8th level, a Holy blade may select one of the following feats even if he does not normally qualify for them: Dragon Cohort, Dragon Familiar, Dragon Steed, Dragonsong. Note: if Dragon familiar or dragon Steed is chosen, add 1/2 class levels towards effective class levels of paladin or Wizard for determining the steed or familair's abilities, even if he has no levels in that class.

Pure Blade:(Su) The purity of the Holy Blade’s faith and will enables any weapon the Holy Blade is currently wielding to bypass the damage reduction of any creature with a subtype of [Evil]. For Example, a Holy Blade with a non-magical sword of normal steel could bypass the damage reduction of a Demon or a Devil because they have a subtype of [Evil], but an evil dragon doesn't have that subtype, so a magical blade would still be needed.


NOTES: much editing has occurred..
Now that Z got me thinking about the dragon eyes more, I've actually woudn up adding a lot fo text. That's what you get for making me think!

Divine grace will remain un-named, because the paladin's ability is un-named.

I was going to make Zone of truth be based of the normal spell level for DC, but then decided i LIKED the idea of an Epic Holy Blade having a kick-ass Zone of Truth ability, so took Zherog's suggestion and made it class-level based.

[Starbuck_II]

Well for one:

A Holy Blade may not lie. Should circumstances force the holy blade to lie to protect others or otherwise more truly serve justice, the Holy Blade must present himself to high ranking officials in his church and explain the situation and serve penance as judged by his superiors. *

Maybe it should say should not lie instead of may not. But it may just be me lol.

For shield, maybe say Shield (not Tower shield)
Because if you have shield proficency it means all shields but tower usually anyway lol.

Not a bad class, I don't often play Lawful good but when I do I might steer toward this one.

[Zagaroth]

noted, cool, no major glaring bad things about the class then. :) Just minor wording issues, ic an lvie with that.

I take it you do nto think I shoudl add any of the other abilities I talked about at the end then?

[kirellagen]

Love the class, but I have a suggestion. Maybe give it a familiar so that you can get dragon familiar without having to be a wizard/paladin/Holy Blade. Plus, I love familiars, and this would be an awsome class if it allowed one to be decent in combat and have a familiar too.

Kire :)

[Zagaroth]

Hmmm, I know! A little variation on that idea...

There, how's that? Less powerful than what you suggested, but much the same flavor wise and restricts the familiar to being a dragon. It also allows a non-paladin HB (such as a celestial-human Fighter for example) to get a Steed.

[AngelSword]

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Aura of Good: (Ex) The power of a Holy Blade’s aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to Holy Blade level

I'd say that Holy Blade and Paladin levels (if applicable) stack for the purposes of Detect Good.

Otherwise, it sounds pretty cool.

[Zagaroth]

knew I forgot something...

[Musrum]

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Dragonmark:(Ex) Upon completion of the right of initiation, a Holy Blade of Zagaroth is marked by a very noticeable change in his eyes: they change appearance to look look like a dragon’s eyes. This tends to make them stand out, and they are often targeted by assasins from evil organizations who have a minimum bounty they’ll pay for the body (or other suitable proof of death) of even the lowliest Holy Blade.

Is there a code of conduct related to hiding this? I can imagine some people doing everything they can to ensure this limitation does not come into play.

I'd think it would also give a circumstance bonus/penalty is some situations.

[Zagaroth]

hmmm, now there's a thought. I hadn't considered that.

as the the circumstance modifier, I think the appropriate skill descriptions should already cover that, based on the target's feelings towards you (friendly, hostile, etc) which could be set by those eyes (other paladins tend to default friendly, evil people tend to be default unfriendly or hostile). I'll let the Dm determine that.

Now to go edit the Dragonmark a bit.

[Zagaroth]

*bump*

:)

C'mon, anything more to say about it? Please?

[Zherog]

Hi Zag. Just finished reading it. Overall, I enjoyed it. Specific comments below. ;)

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

“Your leader is dead, those who surrender themselves now I will recommend for lenient treatment by the magistrate. Those who attempt to fight or flee I will sentence myself.” The body at his feat declared what sort of sentence that was likely to be.[/i]

Nice. :) I'm currently playing my first paladin (Paladin/Monk actually). I may have to *ahem* borrow that line :)

I bolded the word "feat." I believe you mean "feet."

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Hit Die: d10

Prerequisites:
Alignment: Lawful Good
Diplomacy: 4 ranks
Knowledge, Religion: 6 ranks
Knowledge, Arcane: 2 ranks
Sense Motive: 4 Ranks
Feats: Dragonfriend, Sacred Vow
BaB: +7
Languages: Draconic
Special: the ability to use Smite Evil at least once per day.

The hit die is appropriate for the class, and the pre-reqs look OK. A 7th level paladin should have no problems qualifying for this class.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Skills: the following skills are class skills:
Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge(all), Listen, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Search, Spellcraft, Spot
Skill points: (4+int bonus) per level

The skill list and skill points look OK to me. I don't know that I'd apply Knowledge (All), but I can accept your reasoning.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Dragonmark:(Ex) Upon completion of the right of initiation, a Holy Blade of Zagaroth is marked by a very noticeable change in his eyes: they change appearance to look look like a dragon’s eyes. This tends to make them stand out, and they are often targeted by assasins from evil organizations who have a minimum bounty they’ll pay for the body (or other suitable proof of death) of even the lowliest Holy Blade. The eyes retain this appearance in any form that has normal eyes, even in illusionary forms or if Shapechanged.

I agree with Musrum that you should explicitly grant some sort of bonus/penalty for this change. In fact, it's a chance to apply a bit more draconic feel to the class. You can apply the bonus to skills when dealing with a good dragon, and a penalty when dealing with an evil dragon.

Generally, I don't like relying on a DM to figure these things out, for two reasons. One, there are players who will abuse the DM and weasel every possible bonus from it; two, there are DM's who look to screw players and will never grant the bonus. *shrug* just my thoughts.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Oath:<<snipped>>

Nice flavor.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Aura of Good:<<snipped>>

This doesn't appear in the table at all.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Smite Evil:(Su) <<snipped>>

Nice, solid ability that fits the class. I often like seeing abilities progress, like you've done here.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Divine Grace:(Su) At 2nd level, a Holy Blade gains a bonus equal to his *Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws. If a Holy Blade already has this ability, add +1 to all saving throws instead.

Ah. You've hit on something else I like - contingencies for when a character already has the ability. One thing you might want to do is name the type of bonus you're granting here. Sacred seems like a good type for the flavor.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Holy Fervor:(Su) At 3rd Level, Once per day, while actively defending an innocent or helpless person, a Holy Blade gains a bonus of +2 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. This lasts a number of rounds equal to his class levels in Holy Blade, but never any longer than the current battle. An Extra Use of this ability is gained at 6th and at 9th level. Activating this ability is a free action.

Again, your bonus has no type. That might be what you intended. Just remember, though, that an unnamed bonus stacks with everything - including other unnamed bonuses.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Exalted Feat: At 4th level, a Holy Blade may choose any exalted feat as a bonus feat.

Just a minor suggestion. You might want to add the text. "He must meet all the pre-requisites of the feat normally." to the end. I've actually seen somebody make an attempt to rules lawyer that. :-/

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Truth Sense:(Ex) From 4th level on, a Holy Blade gains a bonus equal to his class level to Sense Motive and to Diplomacy.

Again, no type has been given for the bonus, so it stacks with everything. Sacred would work, but Competence would probably work better.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Zone of Truth:(Sp) At 6th level, a Holy Blade gains the Ability to cast Zone of Truth a number of times per day equal to his Charisma Bonus (minimum 1). Caster Level is equal to his Character level.

You also need a save DC. Typical for a PrC is 10 + class level + charisma mod.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Greater Holy Fervor:(Su) At 7th level, the bonuses from Holy Fervor increases to +4.

I like seeing in-class abilities improve. It has good flavor, in my opinion. You need to name the type, and it should have the same type you opted to assign to Holy Fervor.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Dragon Feat:<<snipped>>

Nice. 8)

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

Pure Blade:(Su) The purity of the Holy Blade’s faith and will enables any weapon the Holy Blade is currently wielding to bypass the damage reduction of any creature with a subtype of Evil.

This is really strong as worded - but that might be exactly what you intended. As worded, it's going to bypass any DR - Good, Cold Iron, Silver, whatever. If that's what you've intended, that's OK. Perhaps an example - pick a creature with the [Evil] subtype and explain.

Originally Posted by Zagaroth

NOTES: Mmm, my biggest problems with the class in it’s current incarnation: not enough dragon flavor (I was thinking of giving a small Natural Armor bonus in the form of fine scales, and changing type to Dragon at 10th level) and no ability to mystically heal (I was thinking of Lay on Hands). But that feels to be unbalanced if I add any, let alone all, of these. Of course, the Holy Blade has a really rough job, basically Paladin in nature, with some extra specific duties. And Holy Fervor is generally useless while dungeoneering unless you come upon some prisoners to rescue, and once they are safe it’s useless again. Well, give me some feedback, while I way whether or not to add anything. And yes, the skill points are necessary. They have a lot to do, and the knowledge skills are so they can know enough to be more likely to find the truth.

regarding dragon flavor: I'm guessing it's improved since it was first posted. At the minimum, you've added the Dragon Familiar stuff. One option might be to grant a feat from Draconomicon. Find one that has nice flavor and isn't super powered, and you could toss it into 2nd level without much problem.

regarding healing: I wouldn't worry about it too much. A character has to give up something to get something. In this case, the paladin has to give up his Lay on Hands improving for the stuff in this class.

on Holy Fervor: It definitely is a useless ability in some circumstances. However, characters with this class might be better off not going on random dungeon delves, and instead focusing on areas that allow them to maximize their abilities.

Overall, I liked the class. It has good flavor as a slightly beefed up Paladin. They gain some nice abilities, but at the cost of other stuff.

[Zagaroth]

alrighty, I've tweaked it a bit more then. :) Thanks for the feedback Z!