Note: This archetype makes use of rules from Path of War by Dreamscarred Press.
Some warders find their training amongst the clergy, raised and trained to be the defenders of their faiths and
martial arm of their gods. Ordained defenders are found
in almost any faith, as men and women of conviction
and valor are universal in their moralities. Shining
champions or wicked blackguards, these warders are
the shields of their religions and the smiting hammers to
those they view as heretics.
Class Skills
Instead of the rigorous tactical training
that most warders undergo, ordained defenders
undergo a process of dogmatic indoctrination that lends
them to more introspective pursuits, meditating on the
nature of their faith and their role in their deity’s plan.
An ordained defender gains Knowledge (religion) as a
class skill and loses Knowledge (nobility) as a class skill.
Maneuvers
A good-aligned ordained defender adds
Silver Crane to her list of available disciplines, an
ordained defender who is neither good nor evil adds
Eternal Guardian to her list of available disciplines, and
an evil-aligned ordained defender adds Black Seraph to
her list of available disciplines. If the ordained defender
does not have this discipline’s associated skill as a class
skill, she gains it as a class skill. Her initiation modifier is
Wisdom, and any warder class features that previously
used her Intelligence modifier now use her Wisdom modifier. She otherwise learns, readies, initiates
maneuvers as a standard warder.
This ability alters maneuvers.
Aura (Ex)
An ordained defender who worships a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly
powerful aura (as a cleric) corresponding to the deity’s
alignment (see the detect evil spell for details).
Divine Gift (Su)
At 3rd level, an ordained defender
receives supernatural empowerment from her deity in
the form of a divine gift. She receives her choice of one
inquisitor inquisition or warpriest blessing. She must be
of the correct alignment to choose an alignment-based
blessing. For determining the abilities gained from an
inquisition, the ordained defender’s effective inqusitor
level is equal to her ordained defender level –2.
If the ordained defender chooses a blessing, the
blessing grants a minor power at 3rd level and a major
power at 13th level. An ordained defender can call upon
the power of her blessings a number of times per day, in
any combination, equal to 3 + 1/2 her ordained defender
level (rounded down). Each time she uses a blessing, it
counts against her daily limit. The save DC (if any) for
these blessings is 10 + 1/2 the ordained defender’s class
level + the ordained defender’s initiation modifier.
If an ordained defender also has levels in a class
that grants cleric domains, the blessings chosen must
match the domains selected by that class. With the
GM’s permission, an ordained defender can change her
former blessings or domains to make them conform.
This replaces the bonus feats gained at 3rd and 13th
levels.