Note: This archetype makes use of rules from Path of War by Dreamscarred Press.
Knight Disciples are holy protectors who defend the
innocent for the predations of evil creatures. Blessed
with the martial might of heaven, they boldly charge
into battle to defend their allies.
Class Skills
A knight disciple gains 2 additional skill
ranks each level.
Maneuvers
A knight disciple begins her career with
knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines
available to her are Golden Lion, Iron Tortoise, and Silver
Crane. A knight disciple gains Bluff and Perception as
class skills.
Once the knight disciple knows a maneuver, she
must ready it before she can use it (see Maneuvers
Readied, below). A maneuver usable by knight disciples
is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise
noted in it or its discipline’s description. A knight
disciple’s maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance,
and she does not provoke attacks of opportunity when
she initiates one.
The knight disciple learns additional maneuvers at
higher levels, as indicated on Table: Archetype
Maneuver Progression. The maximum level of
maneuvers gained through knight disciple levels is
limited by those listed in that table as well, although
this restriction does not apply to maneuvers added to
his maneuvers known through other methods, such as
prestige classes or the Advanced Study feat. A knight
disciple must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it.
See the Systems and Use chapter in Path of War for more
details on how maneuvers are used.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered
initiator level thereafter (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), the
knight disciple can choose to learn a new maneuver in
place of one she already knows. In effect, she loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. She can choose
a new maneuver of any level she likes, as long as she
observes the restriction on the highest-level maneuvers
she knows; the knight disciple need not replace the old
maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. She can
swap only a single maneuver at any given level. A knight
disciple’s initiation modifier is Charisma, and each
knight disciple level is counted as a full initiator level.
Maneuvers Readied
A knight disciple can ready all
three of her maneuvers known at 1st level, and as she
advances in level and learns more maneuvers, she is able
to ready more, but must still choose which maneuvers
to ready. A knight disciple must always ready her
maximum number of maneuvers readied. She readies
her maneuvers by performing weapon drills or praying
to her deity for ten minutes. The maneuvers she chooses
remain readied until she decides to meditate again and
change them. The knight disciple does not need to sleep
or rest for any long period of time in order to ready her
maneuvers; any time she spends ten minutes in prayer
and practice, she can change her readied maneuvers.
A knight disciple begins an encounter with all her
readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how
many times she might have already used them since she
chose them. When she initiates a maneuver, she expends
it for the current encounter, so each of her readied
maneuvers can be used once per encounter (unless she
recovers them, as described below).
In order for the knight disciple to recover maneuvers,
she must project her power, protecting her allies from
harm as a full-round action. When she does so, she
recovers a number of expended maneuvers equal to
her knight disciple initiation modifier (minimum 2) and
each ally within 30 feet gains a sacred bonus equal to the
knight disciple’s initiation modifier (minimum 1) to their
AC and on saving throws for one round. Alternately, the
knight disciple may focus inward and recover a single
maneuver as a standard action.
Stances
A knight disciple begins play with
knowledge of one stance from any discipline open to
knight disciples. At 4th, 7th, 11th, and 13th levels, she
can select an additional stance to learn. The maximum
level of stances gained through knight disciple levels
is limited by those listed in Table: Archetype
Maneuver Progression. Unlike maneuvers, stances
are not expended and the knight disciple does not have
to ready them. All the stances she knows are available
to her at all times, and she can change the stance she
is currently maintaining as a swift action. A stance is
an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the
stance or discipline description.
Unlike with maneuvers, a knight disciple cannot learn
a new stance at higher levels in place of one she already
knows.
This ability replaces spells.
Crusader's Training
At 1st level, a knight disciple begins to express her divine power through her initiating
and with effects similar to the spells of other paladins.
She selects one of the following abilities to learn at 1st
level, and gains another ability at 4th level and every
three levels thereafter.
Divine Interception (Su): Once per encounter, the
knight disciple can move up to her speed as an
immediate action, provided she ends her movement
in a square adjacent to another ally.
Fiendbane (Su): The knight disciple can expend one
use of her guardian’s shield ability as a swift action
to enchant her weapon with holy light that banishes
evil outsiders. The next time the knight disciple hits
with that weapon, if the target is an outsider with
the evil and extraplanar subtypes, that creature
must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the knight
disciple’s class level + the knight disciple’s initiation
modifier) or be banished back to its home plane. A
knight disciple can keep a weapon charged with this
ability indefinitely, although she may only have one
such weapon charged at any one time.
Ghost Hunter (Su): The knight disciple’s weapons and armor gain the effects of the ghost touch weapon
special ability in addition to their other properties
for as long as she wields or wears them.
Improved Guardian’s Shield (Su): Allies under the
effects of the knight disciple’s guardian’s shield
ability also gain the benefits of a protection from evil
spell for the duration of the shield.
Know Thine Enemy (Ex): The knight disciple can
make untrained Knowledge checks to identify
creatures with no limit to the DC, and gains a bonus
on Knowledge checks to identify chaotic and/or evil
creatures equal to 1/2 her class level.
Righteous Sanctuary (Su): Once per encounter
as an immediate action, the knight disciple can
allow a willing ally to move up to their speed. This
movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity,
and the ally must end their movement adjacent to
the knight disciple. If the ally would not be able to
reach the knight disciple, they cannot be allowed to
move with this ability.
Truthseeker (Su): The knight disciple can use
discern lies as a spell-like ability with a caster level
equal to her initiator level. She can use this ability
for a number of rounds per day equal to her class
level, although these rounds need not be consecutive.
This ability replaces divine bond.
Guardian's Shield (Su)
At 1st level, a knight disciple learns to surround her allies in a field of holy protective
energy. Whenever she initiates a strike, the knight
disciple can apply a guardian’s shield to one ally (other
than herself) within 60 feet as a free action. This shield
lasts for a number of rounds equal to the knight disciple’s
initiation modifier.
A guardian’s shield grants the affected ally a number of
temporary hit points equal to twice the knight disciple’s
initiator level. These temporary hit points do not stack
with other temporary hit points, and vanish when the
shield’s duration expires. The knight disciple can use
her guardian’s shield ability a number of times per day
equal to 1/2 her class level (minimum 1) + her knight
disciple initiation modifier. This ability counts as the lay
on hands class feature for the purposes of the Extra Lay
on Hands feat.
This ability replaces lay on hands.
Spell Familiarity (Ex)
Starting at 1st level, a knight disciple can use spell completion and spell triggers items
(such as scrolls and wands) as if she possessed the ability
to cast paladin spells, using her initiator level as her
effective caster level.
Mark of Censure (Su)
At 1st level, a knight disciple
gains the ability to censure the actions of evil creatures,
protecting her allies from the harm they cause. Once per
day as a swift action, the knight disciple can apply a mark
of censure to any evil creature she can see. The mark
lasts for 24 hours or until the creature is slain. While the
mark of censure is in effect, the knight disciple’s allies
(other than herself) gain damage reduction/– equal to
her knight disciple initiation modifier against attacks
made by the marked creature. At 11th level, this damage
reduction increases to equal twice her knight disciple
initiation modifier. At 4th level and every three levels thereafter, the knight disciple can use this ability an
additional time per day.
This ability replaces smite evil.
Merciful Shield (Su)
At 3rd level, a knight disciple’s guardian’s shield becomes potent enough to protect
allies from debilitating effects. The knight disciple
selects one condition from the list below that she meets
the prerequisites for. Whenever an ally under the effects
of her guardian’s shield would gain a condition she has
selected, that condition is negated and the duration of
the guardian’s shield affecting them is reduced by one
round. This ability can remove a condition caused by a
curse, disease, or poison without curing the affliction.
At 3rd level, the knight disciple can select from the
following conditions:
At 6th level, the knight disciple adds the following
conditions to the list of those that can be selected:
At 9th level, the knight disciple adds the following
conditions to the list of those that can be selected.
- Cursed: The knight disciple’s guardian’s shield
ability also acts as a remove curse spell, using the
paladin’s level as the caster level.
- Exhausted: The knight disciple must have the fatigue
condition before selecting this condition.
- Frightened: The knight disciple must have the
shaken condition before selecting this condition.
- Nauseated: The knight disciple must have the
sickened condition before selecting this condition.
- Poisoned: The knight disciple’s guardian’s shield
ability also acts as a neutralize poison spell, using
the knight disciple’s level as the caster level.
At 12th level, the knight disciple adds the following
conditions to the list of those that can be selected:
- Blinded
- Deafened
- Paralyzed
At 6th level and every three levels thereafter, the
knight disciple selects an additional condition from the
above lists. The effects of this ability stack; for example,
a 12th level knight disciple’s guardian’s shield could
provide 24 temporary hit points and protect against
fatigue, exhaustion, diseases, and poisons. Once the
knight disciple selects a condition to protect against, that
choice cannot be changed.
This replaces the mercies ability.
Empowered Healing (Su)
At 4th level, a the knight disciple healing maneuvers become more potent. Any
maneuver she initiates that heals hit point damage (to
herself or others) heals an additional 50% points of
damage (rounded down).
This ability replaces channel energy.
Guardian's Aura (Ex)
At 11th level, a knight disciple’s protective nature allows her to use her counters for the
benefit of her allies instead of just herself. Whenever she
initiates a counter, she can choose to have that counter
affect an ally within 10 feet instead of herself. When
determining if the counter can be initiated (for example,
if the counter is initiated in response to an attack), she
treats that ally as if they were herself. The counter
still uses the knight disciple’s modifiers to determine its
success or failure, and she still makes any rolls or checks
for the counter.
This ability replaces aura of justice.
Holy Disciple (Su)
At 20th level, a knight disciple becomes a paragon of divine martial justice. She gains
damage reduction 10/evil, and whenever a creature
under the effect of her mark of censure deals damage
to one of her allies (not including herself), that creature
takes 1/2 the damage it dealt. This damage is the same
type as the damage that was dealt to the knight disciple’s
ally. In addition, the temporary hit points granted by the
knight disciple’s guardian’s shield ability increase by
50% (rounded down).
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