Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aleolus 07-24-07, 02:48 AM	OK. I was reading through the Grey Guard PrC from Complete Scoundrel, and I got the idea to make up a variant of this class for the other classes that have Code of Conducts, and penalties for violating them, such as the Samurai from Complete Warrior. Does anyone have any ideas for a build for it? For those of you who don't know, the Grey Guard is a PrC for the Paladin which lets you (as a Paladin) have more leniency with your Code of Conduct. Violations of your Code are less serious if made to further your faith. You still lose all abilities, but a Cleric casting attonement doesn't have to spend XP on you for it. Once you max it out, you can act with near impunity, and retain your Paladin and GG abilities, and can Smite any alignment! There are limits, but you have a lot more flexibility.
The_Shaman 07-24-07, 03:44 AM	I don't think it is a good idea - although, for the record, I did not think the GG was a good thing when it came out, too (especially after the ton of variant paladins and the shadowbane inquisitor). First, the CW samurai is not a great class to begin with - the OA version is much better. Second, how do you fall from being a samurai? Paladins have a code and purpose, but samurai need to stick by their lord - and if they do not, they just become ronin by default, as they were keeping neither to the letter nor the spirit of their oath. If you want a sneaky samurai or the like, just roleplay one with a character with levels of rogue, ranger, or what have you. Besides, a samurai who fails a certain lord can find a way to atone - with or without the spell, and search for another one. Third, there is the Ronin PrC, which on top of everything is better than the samurai class itself. All in all, I would not bother, but I also fail to see what exactly is the problem with the samurai code you want to "fix." The paladin code at least has clauses in place if you want to stick with the paladins (afaik even GGs have to be LG) but you really, positively have to be a "means justify end" kind of guy. I do not think the samurai class has that issue.