Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 12:45 PM	Here is the revised and (most-likely) final version of the Knight-errant. It has many mentions of my specific campaign, but I imagine it can be used anywhere. Cheers! **************************************** ************ The Knight-Errant When a world lies in darkness, very few beacons of light remain to guide the souls of the righteous and the paths of the weary. Occasionally a hero will arise on Ord, only to be thrown down and trampled under by the legions of Bahal, or the shadowfells that cover the land. Some warriors of virtue, however, are able to fight back, whether with followers and friends, or alone, with only his courage at his back. Whether they are free crusaders who take it upon themselves to save the world, or guardians of a princes and dukes on the Southlands, sent on quests to do his bidding, the knight-errant is one warrior who will not fight from the shadows. Adventures: Knights-errant take their quests very seriously. Whether it is a mission to slay a Wraith-king, surrounded by an army of drumen in a stronghold, or a mission to escort a family into hiding, the knight-errant will find a way to do it. Characteristics: A knight-errant’s primary and only goal is to defeat evil and protect the innocent. He must stand strong in the face of unprecedented odds, and must never let fear overcome him or those around him. Though he must defeat evil first and foremost, he will always go an extra distance to protect his comrades. Alignment: Knights-errant must be good. Whether they are lawful good guardians of kings, the neutral good guardians of the innocent, or the chaotic good guardians of all that would be suppressed, they are always good. Religion: Knights-errant are often religious in a way that is unremembered on Aune. Though they do not worship Aune directly, they do have a faith. They believe, one and all, that the Light can overcome the Shadow. Knights-errant often do not expect miracles, but still spend a few moments of solitude each day, basking in the radiance of the rising or fleeting sun. Background: Knights-errant come from all walks of life. The aristocrat who sees the future of Aune falling to dusk, the warrior who must defend his liegemen and friends against the Shadow to the west, or the commoner who is tired of the tyrannical dukes who do nothing as monsters overrun the land. They usually begin training as adolescents, and study for years under knights or fellow knights-errant, practicing in secret, until they are strong enough to accept their duty. All knights-errant, regardless of background, recognize in each other an eternal bond that transcends culture, race, and religion. Any two knights-errant, no matter their immediate goal, consider themselves comrades. When they have proved their worthiness as a knight-errant (usually some sort of ritual unique to the various cultures they live in), they are knighted by their lord in a public ceremony. There is usually celebration and feasting after the knighting. Races: Any race can become a knight-errant. Humans from all walks of life become knights-errant, dwarves, with their huge senses of honor and loyalty, all often become knights-errant. Sul, with their roguish nature, and gnomes, with their scholarly past, aren’t very common as knights-errant, but they are occasionally seen behind the mantle of the knight-errant. Role: More often than not, the knight-errant is the leader of the party. He is the chief melee combatant, but also makes excellent support as well. GAME RULE INFORMATION\ The knight-errant (KNE) has the following game statistics. Alignment: Any good Hit Die: d12 Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Con) Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4 Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Knights-errant are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields. Quick Recovery: The knight-errant heals faster than other people. He recovers hit points at a rate of ½ his knight-errant level per hour. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects. Protect: At second level, the knight-errant gains the ability to protect his comrades if they are wounded or in trouble during battle. By using the ability protect, a knight-errant may "loan" a portion of his armor class to an ally that is within 10 feet. By declaring what he is doing at the start of the round, the knight-errant can give 1 point of his AC to an ally in combat. At 3rd level, he can give up to 2 points, and the points increase by 1 for every 2 levels thereafter, when at level 20, the knight-errant can give up to 10 points of his AC. Any points loaned to another character are lost by the knight-errant for the duration of the battle. The ability lasts until the knight-errant decides to end the ability. He can use this ability any number times of day as he pleases. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects. Aura of Courage: At 3rd level, a knight-errant is immune to fear, and all allies within 10 feet of him gain a +4 morale bonus to saves against fear effects. This ability only functions when the knight-errant is conscious. Sacrificial Healing The knight-errant heals another creature’s wounds, transferring some of its damage to himself. At 4th level, when the knight-errant gains the ability, he can heal as much as 1d10 points of damage. This increases by d10 for every 4 levels, to a maximum of 4d10 at level 16. The target regains a number of hit points equal to the dice result, and the knight-errant loses hit points equal to half of that amount. (This loss can bring the knight-errant to 0 or fewer hit points.) Powers and abilities he may have such as damage reduction and regeneration do not lessen or change this damage, since he is taking the target’s pain into himself in a sacrificial manner. The damage transferred by this power has no type, so even if the knight-errant has immunity to the type of damage the target originally took, the sacrifice occurs normally and deals hit point damage to him. Alternatively, the knight-errant can use this power to absorb one poison or one disease afflicting the target creature into himself. When he absorbs a poison or disease, he does not take any of the damage previously dealt to the target by the affliction, but does assume the burden of making the secondary and/or continuing Fortitude saves to combat the affliction. Martyrdom Starting at level 5, the knight-errant gains the ability to help his allies overcome the trauma of battle. By declaring his action of using martyrdom at the start of the round, the knight-errant can elect to receive half of the damage that his ally is taking during combat. When comrade is attacked, he will only take half of the rolled damage (rounded down), and the rest of the damage will go to the knight-errant. He can do this for an ally up to 25 feet away at 5th level, and the range increases by 25 feet per five levels, to a maximum of 100 feet at level 20. He can use this ability unlimited times a day. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects. Counter: At 9th level, a knight-errant can counter an attack made against him. He must declare that he will be countering after the attack is made, but before hit or damage are rolled. If the damage done to him is greater than his remaining hit points, he still makes a counter attack, but falls after the attack is made. He can move up to five feet to counter attack. At 13th level, he can do this twice a day, and thrice a day at 17th level. Shield of Faith: Beginning at 10th level, the knight-errant projects an aura of defense around himself. He gains a 2/- damage reduction, and at 20th level, it increases to 5/-. Bonded At level 11, the knight-errant may create a permanent, spiritual bond between himself and a target. That person becomes "bonded" to the knight-errant in a way that very few understand. The bonding ceremony is done with both members present, and they must both have known each other for at least 30 days (1 month). Bonds can be broken by either member, but only with both members present. There are a few special properties of the bond. At level 11, only one person may be bonded to the knight-errant at once; at level 19, a second recipient may be added so that two different people are bonded to the knight-errant at the same time. Below, the abilities "Empathy" and "Energy" are part of "Bonded." Empathy: The knight-errant and the bonded recipient have a deep and personal connection. They each have a sense of the direction, distance (very roughly), and emotional and physical state of the other. Each knows when the other is awake, asleep, unharmed, wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, or the like. Awareness of the other's state dims over greater distances but can be sensed over an unlimited distance with a little bit of concentration. For one to sense the other, the person must first make a Sense Motive check, modified by the distance between the two. The check starts at a DC 5, and increases by 1 for every 100 miles distant. The greater difference between the actual roll and the DC, the more information that is known. Amount of Success Information Provided Equals or exceeds the DC Becomes aware if the bonded one is in a by 0-5 unatural/painful physical or emotional state Exceeds the DC by 6-10 Becomes aware of what kind of pain is involved (mainly emotional or physical), and a general sense of direction (north, south, across the ocean, etc) Exceeds the DC by 11-15 Becomes aware of the reason of the pain and situation (poisoned, frightnened, sick, etc), and he knows approximately where the bonded one is (what city) Exceeds the DC by 16 or above Gives him a vision of the person, and maybe an unclear flash about what happened, in addition to what he would know with a lower check Energy: The knight-errant and bonded recipient share, to a limited extent, their life energy. Either can loan hit points to the other. For example, if the bonded recipient becomes severely wounded but is still faced with several attacking creatures, the knight-errant could lend him some of his hit points to keep him alive. The lender does not become injured as a result of such a loan, but his hit point total falls, since the loss of hit points represents a reduction in life energy. For example, a knight-errant with 42 hit points who loans 10 hit points to his bonded recipient temporarily has his hit point total reduced to 32. The total amount of hit points that can be lent is equal to 1/2 (rounded down) the lender's total hit points + his level. Thus, a level 5 knight errant with 33 hit points can lend up to 21 hit points to the bonded recipient (<33/2 = 16> + 5 = 21). Refer to the table below for DC’s for the Bonded ability. Lvl Base Attack Fort Ref Will Special 1 +1 +2 +0 +0 Quick Recovery 2 +2 +3 +0 +0 Protect/1 AC 3 +3 +3 +1 +1 Aura of Courage 4 +4 +4 +1 +1 Sacrificial Healing/1d10, Protect/2 AC 5 +5 +4 +1 +1 Martyrdom/25 ft 6 +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 Protect/3 AC 7 +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 8 +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 Sacrificial Healing/2d10, Protect/4 AC 9 +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 Counter Attack 1/day 10 +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 Protect/5 AC, Martyrdom/50 ft, Shield of Faith 2/- 11 +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +3 Bonded/1 12 +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +4 Sacrificial Healing/3d10, Protect/6 AC 13 +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +4 Counter Attack 2/day 14 +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +4 Protect/7 AC 15 +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +5 Martyrdom/75 ft 16 +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +5 Sacrificial Healing/4d10, Protect/8 AC 17 +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 Counter Attack 3/day 18 +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 Protect/9 AC 19 +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +6 Bonded/2 20 +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +6 Martyrdom/100 ft, Shield of Faith 5/-, Protect/10 AC I apologize for how crappy the code/chart above looks; it's hard to get everything perfectly aligned on these messageboards with the limited html allowed. Edits: Changed a few abilities that were too powerful. Added the "Protective Measures" ability. Fixed several abilities, as well as added "Martyrdom" and "Spirit Link," and also rearranged the placement of several abilities. Replaced the "Spirit Link" ability with "Bonded," and did some editing. Got rid of the combat abilities, now focused completely on defense. FINAL EDIT - Updated some flavor text to be current with the campaign, fixed and tweaked some abilities.
Ismaul 12-12-04, 01:18 PM	At first look, your class looks underpowered. The paladin gets turn undead, lay on hand, spells and mount while your knight doesn't get much to make up for it. Protect seems a bit weak to me. I actually don't see the purpose of it as written, it doesn't work. He's giving up his attacks to protect someone, so why doesn't he move between his ally and the enemy at his turn and try to block the way? Right now as written it seems that he teleports under the enemy's blade if his ally is hit (he predicts it before it happens). It is really awkward (sp?) and doesn't really give a significative advantage. I would suggest looking at the Knight Protector PrC in Complete Warrior, it has similar ideas to yours and has a main ability called Defensive Stance that transfers part of his AC to weak allies. Other than that, Shield of Faith is too good. Look at the barbarian for a reference about DR/-. Alternatively, you might make him have DR against evil creatures or something like that. Just my 2 cents.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 01:50 PM	Thanks for the reply. I should have put somewhere up there that this is very much still in rough-draft form, so there will be many changes. Protect seems a bit weak to me. I actually don't see the purpose of it as written, it doesn't work. He's giving up his attacks to protect someone, so why doesn't he move between his ally and the enemy at his turn and try to block the way? Right now as written it seems that he teleports under the enemy's blade if his ally is hit (he predicts it before it happens). It is really awkward (sp?) and doesn't really give a significative advantage. I would suggest looking at the Knight Protector PrC in Complete Warrior, it has similar ideas to yours and has a main ability called Defensive Stance that transfers part of his AC to weak allies. Here are my thoughts on this. Firstly, it's not quite the same as just using his move at the beginning or end of round to stand in the way. With that method, the enemies could still attack the ally; with "Protect," the knight-errant takes all the attacks made against the ally. But on your other note, maybe I should make it so that he cannot hold his initiative, but instead must move on his initiative, so that it wouldn't be the equivalent of him just "appearing" under the enemies' blades? And on that note, I would also probably make it so that he could use his "Counter" ability whenever he is attacked while Protecting someone. Thoughts on that? Other than that, Shield of Faith is too good. Look at the barbarian for a reference about DR/-. Alternatively, you might make him have DR against evil creatures or something like that. I understand that it's pretty powerful, and I could be talked into lowering it to 4 and 8 instead of 5 and 10, but since my world is a low-magic world, and this class does not have the automatic spellcasting abilities of a paladin, it seems to me that it would be balanced as it is. Of course, I have thought of also giving him a healing-type ability that could be used in battle to bring back an ally from the brink of death, so this would add a bit more of the magical element to him. Cheers!
Ismaul 12-12-04, 03:20 PM	Here are my thoughts on this. Firstly, it's not quite the same as just using his move at the beginning or end of round to stand in the way. With that method, the enemies could still attack the ally; with "Protect," the knight-errant takes all the attacks made against the ally. But on your other note, maybe I should make it so that he cannot hold his initiative, but instead must move on his initiative, so that it wouldn't be the equivalent of him just "appearing" under the enemies' blades? And on that note, I would also probably make it so that he could use his "Counter" ability whenever he is attacked while Protecting someone. Thoughts on that? Your suggestions make sense, a least they remove that teleport under the blades thing. The problem is, as a main ability this is not very powerful, and has lots of disadvantages. He can't attack the round he protects (but can counter so that's ok I guess), and takes all the damage, which might hurt or kill him. You really should look at the Knight Protector that gives up part of his AC to give it to his allies, and the spell Shield Other in the PHB, that grants AC to an ally and makes you take half of the damage inflicted. You could also make an ability similar to Lay on Hands, but instead of healing a certain hitpoint amount equal to his level X Cha modifier per day, he would heal 2 X his level X Cha modifer, but would take half the hitpoints healed as damage. That way you would keep the idea of making others' burden his. I understand that it's pretty powerful, and I could be talked into lowering it to 4 and 8 instead of 5 and 10, but since my world is a low-magic world, and this class does not have the automatic spellcasting abilities of a paladin, it seems to me that it would be balanced as it is. The problem is, it's not by making something overly powerful that you blance out loss of abilities. You should make more good abilities than one really good. In a low magic campaign, DR is much more potent because there are less ways to overcome it. A spell may deal lots of damage in one blow while a fighter makes less powerful blows repeatedly, so for a same number of base damage dealt, a fighter would hurt someone with DR/- significatively less. What I would do is lower it to DR 2/- and 5/-, and give him some other protective abilities. Hope that helps.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 03:59 PM	Okay, I like that spell Shield Other as an ability, but I have no way of knowing anything about the Knight Protector's abilities, because I don't have that supplemental book... can you describe it to me? And as far as balancing him out a little more (to make him less under-powered), what would you think of me adding some bonus feat options at certain levels?
Ismaul 12-12-04, 05:00 PM	The Knight Protector's Defensive Stance permits him to give a certain number of AC points to an ally he is within 5 feet. He removes that number from his AC. The maximum number of points he can transfer goes up with levels, and he does not have uses per day (he can do it any time). It scales from 2 at level 1 of the PrC to 5 at level 20. I would make it scale from 1 to 6 for a base class, going up each 4 levels if you make it start at 1st level, or from 2 to 6, going up at each 4 levels, starting at 3rd level. If you use this, I would replace the Protect and Shield Other abilities by an ability to share wounds, calling it Share their Pain or something like that. Essentially, you would be dividing the effects of the Shield Other spell in two abilities (one for AC, one for sharing HP), giving your class more versatility. If you want to add bonus feats, you should closely look at the fighter. Your knight has better skill points than the fighter, so that counts as a fighter feat or two. You already got Weapon Focus and Improved Critical, so that makes it four. Then you have to weight your abilities, which would be pretty much equal to 5-7 fighter feats when you finish adjusting them. So, that makes it something like 10 feats, and the fighter gets 11. Do as you like, but IMHO, I would make the abilities a bit better, or add a minor one instead of a bonus feat.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 05:44 PM	Okay, I really like the sounds of that ability, especially split into 2 separate abilities. I took a few liberties in the description of the abilities, so let me know what you think on those. Here's what I've come up with, based on your description of the abilities and your suggestions: Protective Measures: At first level, the knight-errant gains the ability to protect his comrades if they are wounded in battle. By using the ability protective measures, a knight-errant may "loan" a portion of his armor class to an ally that is within 5 feet. By declaring what he is doing at the start of the round, the knight-errant can give 1 point of his AC to an ally in combat. At 4th level, he can give up to 2 points, and the points increase by 1 for every 4 levels thereafter, when at level 20, the knight-errant can give up to 6 points of his AC. At the same time, the range of the ability increases, but at a slower rate. At level 8, it is increased to 10 feet, and at level 16, it is increased to 15 feet. He can use this ability any number times of day as he pleases. Martyrdom: Starting at level 5, the knight-errant gains the ability to help his allies overcome the trauma of battle. By declaring his action of using martyrdom at the start of the round, the knight-errant can elect to receive half of the damage that his ally is taking during combat. When comrade is attacked, he will only take half of the rolled damage (rounded down), and the rest of the damage will go to the knight-errant. He can do this for an ally up to 5 feet away at 5th level, and the range increases by 5 feet per five levels, to a maximum of 20 feet at level 20. He can use this ability unlimited times a day. Do these work? Are they too powerful/not powerful enough? Should there be more to them?
Ismaul 12-12-04, 06:40 PM	I think it looks great now. The only problem I see, is how would you explain the increase in distance, particularly for Protective Mesures. The way I see it, it's him helping his ally's defence, which costs him a bit of his attention, making him less protected. For Martyrdom, you could explain that at first he just puts himself in front of the enemy (5 feet distance). After that, say at level 10, he establishes a spiritual link with his ally (30 feet or something) which increases later, at level 15 maybe (60 feet). I feel limiting it to 20 feet is too much considering that using martyrdom has a big price to pay. Shield Other actually has a range of 25ft + 5/2 level. Then, you could add something to Martyrdom like creating a long lasting link with someone (one link at a time, duration 1 day/level), that took a certain time like 1 hour (10 mins maybe?) to create. It would let you know if that person is hurt, letting you feel her pain (emotional or physical). Because of the distance you would not be able to take damage from that person, but would incur 1d6 damage when she is first hurt/attacked. You would be given some kind of vision/information about the location where she is at this moment. IMHO, that would be very cool. :D EDIT: found a spell that does something similar to my idea. It's Status, a level 2 Cleric spell. You could use it for inspiration. Also, maybe it's better to separate this idea from Martyrdom to avoid confusion. That is, if you want to use it.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 06:43 PM	Heh, that link idea is excellent :) Do you think that would be something the knight-errant could do at the first level of Martyrdom, or would that be a separate ability gained later that would be used in conjunction with martyrdom? For the distance increase on Protective measures, you're right, they shouldn't increase. I think I'll just put them at 10 feet ( making *slightly* better than the Knight Protector's ability) and let it stay there. Edit: You answered my question while I was posting this :) I will use it as a separate ability that is sort of a "sequel" to martyrdom.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 07:23 PM	Spirit Link At level 13, when the knight-errant has used martyrdom on an ally, he can develop a spirit link with that person that allows him to know how his comrade fares as per the spell "Status". Once he uses martyrdom, he has the spirit link with that comrade for one hour. Each level after that, the duration increases by one hour, to a maximum of eight hours at level 20. He becomes aware of his comrades direction and distance from himself, and also becomes aware of any conditions affecting them: unharmed, wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, or the like. The distance between the knight-errant and the ally does not affect this ability, as long as they are on the same plane of existence. If the subject leaves the plane, or if it dies, the ability ceases to function. He can have one spirit link at a time at level 13, and at level 19, can have two at a time. That work? The flavor text isn't quite how I want it, but it'll work for the time being to figure out how it works.
Ismaul 12-12-04, 08:45 PM	13th level seems a good place to put this ability, as it is the same level a Druid gains Alter Self at will, a level 2nd spell. For Spirit Link, Status is very combat oriented, and only tells about physycal pain (I really liked the idea about sharing emotional pain). You have named the class a knight, so I was thinking about chivalry and knightly love when I thought about this ability. The link would have been some kind connection with his loved one if he goes on a mission, or with his best friend. That's why I thought to make the duration 1day/level (13 hours at level 13, 20 at 20). To balance that and not make him change his link often (making it significative), you would have to be between 1day-1hour with that person to establish a link (nothing special to do, just being near and doing anything is fine). That was the idea behind it. If you want to make it more like Status, which is a plain utility spell, go ahead. But I feel it lacks a bit of flavor. Apart from that, if you allow me to nitpick, I don't really like the name Protective Mesures :P . Also, Spirit Link seems to make allusion to spirits, ghosts, etc. I would call it Spiritual Link instead. And I would make the range of "Protective Mesures" 5 feet, but that's just me.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 09:03 PM	For Spirit Link, Status is very combat oriented, and only tells about physycal pain (I really liked the idea about sharing emotional pain). You have named the class a knight, so I was thinking about chivalry and knightly love when I thought about this ability. The link would have been some kind connection with his loved one if he goes on a mission, or with his best friend. How would the emotional connection be worded in game terms, and what kinds of abilities and stats would be granted with that definition? Some of my thoughts: I'm leaning towards it being a form of "bonding," such as in Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series, between a Warder and Aes Sedai (do you read those books?). So, it would start with an awareness, but eventually, strength and certain emotions could be "lent" to the recipient. Perhaps those 2 can loan hit points to each other. And even the "Proximity" effect, which allows the knight-errant or the recipient to "draw" the other towards them if there is dire need. Of course, if I went this route, the duration would become permanent, and it should probably be made a higher-level and only allowed on 1 (or at most, 2) recipients. Yeah, I don't like Protective Measures either as a name, that's just what I have for the time being while working on better names.
Ismaul 12-12-04, 09:36 PM	I haven't read Robert's Jordan books, so I can't really comment on that. Just do it, and then we'll see how it looks. For the emotional connection, well it's not everything that should be mechanics. A bit of flavor give a plus to a class. It's fun, and that's what RPGs are about. But I can see some uses, but they are already included in Status I think. Knowing if someone is panicked, nauseated, frightened, cowering, etc. is more about emotional status than physical. It's just that Status was really mechanically oriented, which is ok for a spell, but for a class ability I guess you need a bit more flavor. For Protective Measures, you could just call the ability Shield Other. It's not the most original, but it fits.
Ishmayl 12-12-04, 10:01 PM	For Protective Measures, you could just call the ability Shield Other. It's not the most original, but it fits I'll just go with Protect as the name for now, since I don't want to confuse anyone with Shield Other (being a spell name and all). Okay, here's my idea on the ability in question, tentatively entitled "Bonded" It plagiarizes a bit of "Status" and "Bond Warder," which is a WoT d20 Weave. Bonded At level 11, the knight-errant may create a permanent, spiritual bond between himself and a target. That person becomes "bonded" to the knight-errant in a way that very few understand. They are linked for life; the bond ends only with the death of either the knight-errant or the recipient. There are a few special properties of the bond. At level 19, a second recipient may be added so that two different people are bonded to the knight-errant. Empathy: The knight-errant and the bonded recipient have a deep and personal connection. They each have a sense of the direction, distance (very roughly), and emotional and physical state of the other. Each knows when the other is awake, asleep, unharmed, wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, or the like. Awareness of the other's state dims over greater distances but can be sensed over an unlimited distance with a little bit of concentration. Energy: The knight-errand and bonded recipient share, to a limited extent, their life energy. Either can loan hit points to the other. For example, if the bonded recipient becomes severely wounded but is still faced with several attacking creatures, the kngiht-errant could lend him some of his hit points to keep him alive. The lender does not become injured as a result of such a loan, but his hit point total falls, since the loss of hit points represents a reduction in life energy. For example, a knight-errant with 42 hit points who loans 10 hit points to his bonded recipient temporarily has his hit point total reduced to 32. The total amount of hit points that can be lent is equal to 1/2 (rounded down) the lender's total hit points + his level. Thus, a level 5 knight errant with 33 hit points can lend up to 21 hit points to the bonded recipient (<33/2 = 16> + 5 = 21). Proximity: If the knight-errant needs the bonded recipient, the bonded recipient can feel the need and is drawn to the knight-errant (or vice versa, depending on the need). The one that is needed must make a Will save equal DC 25 minus the other's level. Thus, if the level 8 bonded recipient is in dire need of the level 7 knight-errant, the knight-errant must beat a Will save of 17 (25 - 8). Distance dulls the pull: for every one hundred miles between them, the one being "drawn" has less of a chance of feeling the pull. There is a +1 added to the DC of the pull save per 100 miles distance. So, in the example above, if the two are 300 miles apart, there is a +3 added to the DC, or the total DC is then 20. Once the needed one feels the pull, he may take whatever actions he deems fit to try to reach the other.
Ishmayl 12-13-04, 09:54 AM	*bump* Any other advice from anyone? Thanks! -Brandon
Ismaul 12-13-04, 12:55 PM	I think it looks good now. As I helped you on a couple of abilities, I don't have an exterior/fresh look on the class, so I can't be sure about balance. But it seems okay. For Bonded, it is, right now, roleplaying heavy. That might be good or not, but it forces a bit the player in a way of playing, and you would never see something like that in an official book. That said, it is a personal class for your specific campaign, so if the player if minded to play it this way, it's going to be real good. The way I see to make it a bit more open would be to let the knight release bonds, create new ones, and strenghten previously released bonds. You could just say that to create a bond he has to be with the person for 1 day, involve some sort of spiritual ritual or something. The ritual has not to be fixed, it may differ between each chosen one to make it even more open (It could be a simple thing such as making love with your loved one). About the DC to feel the other's need you've got a problem here. It lies in the Empathy thing: you already know the emotional state of the other, so feeling the need of the other and being drawn to her is redundant and doesn't work right now. What I would do is require a DC check to know about anything. Make it start at 0, add modifiers for distance, and make those not that hard. If he succeeds the DC, he knows if the bonded one is in a unatural/painful physical or emotional state . The more he exceeds the DC with the check, the more he knows about the situation. A good check makes him get an idea of what kind of pain is involved (mainly emotional or physical), and a general sense of direction (north, south, kingdom of X, etc). A better check makes him know more about the reason of the pain and situation (poisoned, frightnened, sick, etc), and he knows approximately where she is (what city). An even better check gives him a vision of the person, and maybe an unclear flash about what happened, in addition to what he would know with a lower check. Another thing. You shouldn't be able to share hitpoints if you know nothing about the person (fail the check). Or, you could make it that the knight always know if there is a disturbance in the physical or emotional state, and that he must make a check if he wishes to know more. That I think is much better. Also, I think you would be better off without modifying the DC with the bonded one's level. A knight's lover might be a lvl 3 aristocrat while his friend might be a level 8 fighter, but the bond wouldn't be stronger with the fighter, it might be quite the opposite. And I don't know about making a Will save. Saves are supposed to be a reaction to save you from danger, so it doesn't fit too well. If you use the idea that a knight always knows a small bit of info on the bonded one, just make the check a Sense Motive check. Anyways, keep low DCs. It isn't fun to have an ability that you can't use.
MadLordNad 12-13-04, 02:11 PM	The Forgotten Realms Silver Marches book has a Knight Errant prestige class. You might want to compare and contrast your ideas with what is there.
Ishmayl 12-14-04, 06:01 PM	Okay, here's a revision of it, based on your suggestions, and also taking out the "proximity" option, because I didn't really like that too much. Bonded At level 11, the knight-errant may create a permanent, spiritual bond between himself and a target. That person becomes "bonded" to the knight-errant in a way that very few understand. The bonding ceremony is done with both members present, and they must both have known each other for at least 30 days (1 month). Bonds can be broken by either member, but only with both members present. There are a few special properties of the bond. At level 11, only one person may be bonded to the knight-errant at once; at level 19, a second recipient may be added so that two different people are bonded to the knight-errant at the same time. Empathy: The knight-errant and the bonded recipient have a deep and personal connection. They each have a sense of the direction, distance (very roughly), and emotional and physical state of the other. Each knows when the other is awake, asleep, unharmed, wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, or the like. Awareness of the other's state dims over greater distances but can be sensed over an unlimited distance with a little bit of concentration. For one to sense the other, the person must first make a Sense Motive check, modified by the distance between the two. The check starts at a DC 5, and increases by 1 for every 100 miles distant. The greater difference between the actual roll and the DC, the more information that is known. Amount of Success Information Provided Equals or exceeds the DC Becomes aware if the bonded one is in a by 0-5 unatural/painful physical or emotional state Exceeds the DC by 6-10 Becomes aware of what kind of pain is involved (mainly emotional or physical), and a general sense of direction (north, south, across the ocean, etc) Exceeds the DC by 11-15 Becomes aware of the reason of the pain and situation (poisoned, frightnened, sick, etc), and he knows approximately where the bonded one is (what city) Exceeds the DC by 16 or above Gives him a vision of the person, and maybe an unclear flash about what happened, in addition to what he would know with a lower check Energy: The knight-errant and bonded recipient share, to a limited extent, their life energy. Either can loan hit points to the other. For example, if the bonded recipient becomes severely wounded but is still faced with several attacking creatures, the kngiht-errant could lend him some of his hit points to keep him alive. The lender does not become injured as a result of such a loan, but his hit point total falls, since the loss of hit points represents a reduction in life energy. For example, a knight-errant with 42 hit points who loans 10 hit points to his bonded recipient temporarily has his hit point total reduced to 32. The total amount of hit points that can be lent is equal to 1/2 (rounded down) the lender's total hit points + his level. Thus, a level 5 knight errant with 33 hit points can lend up to 21 hit points to the bonded recipient (<33/2 = 16> + 5 = 21). This ability only works if the empathy method above succeeds by at least 6.