Court Champion
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| Status: | All but the fluff |
| Editing: | Constructive edits welcome |
Contents |
[edit] Court Champion
| “ | Not every knight just kills orcs on a battlefield. | ” |
| —<-NPC name->, <-race-> <-class-> | ||
| This section needs a more complete description. For more information please look here |
Every Kingdom has its foes, interior and exterior. Anyone with a sword can fight those who seek to conquer it from outside, but it takes a special type to be able to fight foes within ones own kingdom. Enter the Court Champion. Willing to fight his kings foes against any enemy, even his 'friends' and however popular, the Court Champion lets no man harm those he protects. Many nobles and other politicians may have a favorable public persona, but behind locked doors plot to seize power for themselves. The Court Champion knows that their are few he can trust, so has developed his own contacts and investigative skill, including the ability to detect and reveal magical effects attempting to conceal the truth. Many kingdoms give these same nobles the right to trial by combat, so the Court Champion is an expert duelist, able to bring almost any foe to his knees in one on one combat. Due to the rules of trial by combat, often banning the use of heavy armor, the Court Champion often eschews armor in favor of dodging attacks entirely.
[edit] Becoming a Court Champion
Most Court Champions become such because they feel a calling to ferret out those who would do harm to his kingdom from within. As such, many of them are multiclassed Paladins, often with a few Rogue or Swashbuckler levels to make the skill requirements easier. Dexterity and Intelligence are needed to qualify for required feats, and Wisdom or Charisma is needed for some of the Court Champions abilities. Since this is a front line class, some Constitution is good. Strength is useful for damage, but since many Court Champions already have great Dexterity scores, many use weapon finesse and have a less than phenomenal strength score.
| Alignment: | Neutral Good, Lawful Good or Lawful Nuetral. Most Court Champions are Lawful Good. |
|---|---|
| Base Attack Bonus: | +5 |
| Skills: | Gather Information 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks, Search 2 ranks |
| Feats: | Dodge, Combat Expertise, Investigator |
| Special: | A swashbucklers Dodge class feature counts as the Dodge feat for meeting the requirements of this class. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +0 | +2 | +2 | Expert Defense (+1), Poison Immunity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +0 | +3 | +3 | Detect Subterfuge +2, Unnerving Focus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +1 | +3 | +3 | Expert Defense (+2), Parry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Zone of Truth 2/day, Detect Presence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +1 | +4 | +4 | Expert Defense (+3)Focused Attacks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Resist Falsehood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7 | +2 | +5 | +5 | Expert Defense (+4), Zone of Truth 3/Day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8 | +2 | +6 | +6 | Riposte | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9 | +3 | +6 | +6 | Expert Defense (+5), Detect Subterfuge +4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10 | +3 | +7 | +7 | Reveal Falsehood, Zone of Truth 4/day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Special |
|---|---|
| 11th | Expert Defense (+6) |
| 12th | |
| 13th | Expert Defense (+7), Bonus Feat |
| 14th | |
| 15th | Expert Defense (+8) |
| 16th | Detect Subterfuge, Bonus Feat |
| 17th | Expert Defense (+9) |
| 18th | |
| 19th | Expert Defense (+10), Bonus Feat |
| 20th |
[edit] Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Court Champion.
Expert Defense (Ex): At first level a Court Champion gets a bonus to AC against his dodge target. This bonus starts off at +1 and increases by one every 2 levels. the maximum bonus that a Court Champion can gain from this is equal to the bonus from dodge and combat expertise. For example, a Court Champion who is taking a -2 penalty with combat expertise could only get a +3 to AC from Expert Defense (+2 AC from Combat Expertise, +1 AC from Dodge), even if he was level 7 or higher. At epic levels there is no cap, as long as the Court Champion is taking a -5 from combat expertise.
Poison Immunity (Ex): Court Champions know very well what underhanded tactics those who wish to act from the shadows will use, and has trained to be able to resist the effects of poisons to the point where he is immune to their effects.
Detect Subterfuge (Ex): At second level a Court Champion gets a +2 bonus to gather information and sense motive checks dealing with nobles, aristocrats and politicians. this bonus increases by an additional +2 at 9th level and every 7 levels thereafter.
Unnerving Focus (Ex): Beginning at second level, a Court Champion gains an ability to unnerve those he focuses his glare on. His dodge target takes a -2 penalty to attacks against targets other than the Court Champion, moves at half speed away from the Court Champion (the target is afraid to turn his back on him), and takes a -5 on concentration checks. This is a fear ability, and does not effect the target if he is immune to fear.
Parry (Ex): Once per round, after his dodge target has attacked him in melee, a Court Champion can make an opposed attack roll to negate the attack. He makes a normal attack roll, and compares this to the opponents attack roll. If it is higher, the attack is negated. If not, it hits, whether it would have beat the Court Champions AC or not. the Court Champion may choose wether or not to use this after the opponents attack has been rolled, but before damage. The Court Champion must threaten his dodge target in melee to use this ability. The penalty he is taking from Combat Expertise does not apply to this roll.
Zone of Truth (Sp): Starting at 4th level, a Court Champion can use Zone of Truth, as the spell, 2 times a day. at 7th level and every 3 levels thereafter, a Court Champion can use this ability one more time per day. Nobles, aristocrats and politicians take a -1 penalty on saves against this ability. this penalty increases to -2 at 9th level.
Detect Presence (Ex): A fourth level Court Champion has developed a sixth sense when it comes to finding hiding places for would-be assassins in a room. He may make a single search check while inside a room to detect any hidden alcoves such as open areas behind tapestries, and adds his Wisdom bonus to the search check. This bypasses the usual "within ten feet" restriction on search checks. He also gets the ability to detect secret doors he passes within five feet of, similar to the Elf racial ability. A Court Champion adds his class level and Wisdom bonus as a circumstance bonus to detect the presence of people in any hiding places he is aware of, and may use his Search skill instead of his Spot check to do so, if it is higher.
Focused Attacks (Ex): A Court Champions single-minded focus on a single target allows him to improve his ability to fight that single target. When a he makes a full attack, each attack after the first takes only a -4 to hit, instead of the normal -5, so a Court Champion with +12 BAB will make three attack at +12, +8, and +4 instead of +12, +7 and +2. Bonus attacks, such as from a Haste spell, do not add to the bonus, nor do they benefit from it. This ability only works if all the attacks are made against the Court Champions Dodge target, if any attacks are made against another target, the chain is broken, and that attack and all subsequent attacks are at the normal penalty. In addition, the Court Champion gains a cummulative +1 to damage against his Dodge target for each hit he makes against him, up to a maximum of his Expert Defense bonus. This bonus lasts for two rounds, although any bonus above the maximum is stored, so for example, if a Court Champion with a Expert Defense bonus of +3 hits with three attacks in one round, he has reached the maximum damage bonus, but if he hits three more times in the next round, then he has effectively a +6 stored, so when the bonus from the first round wears off, he still has the +3 from the second round, until that wears off one round later. Again, this bonus only applies to attacks against his Dodge target, and any attacks made against a new target reset the damage bonus to zero. Changing Dodge targets also resets both bonuses.
Resist Falsehood (Su): A Court Champion gains a bonus to resist magical trickery at 6th level. A Court Champion adds his Wisdom or Charisma modifier to his saves and AC against illusions and enchantments. This ability only stacks with divine grace if the Court Champions Wisdom modifier is used. Otherwise, use the better bonus.
Riposte (Ex): If a Court Champion eighth level or higher successfully uses his Parry ability, he may make an attack of opportunity against the target who missed him. This ability does not grant an extra attack of opportunity. The Court Champion must threaten his dodge target in melee to use this ability.
Reveal Falsehood (Su): By expending a use of his Zone of Truth ability, a Court Champion can give all people within the range of his Zone of Truth ability a new save against an enchantment or illusion, with his resist falsehood bonus added to their save.
The epic Court Champion gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic Court Champion feats) every three levels after tenth.
Multiclass note: a Paladin with levels in Court Champion can continue to advance as a Paladin. If he has Swashbuckler levels, he may continue to advance as a Paladin, and may even take additional Swashbuckler levels
Epic Court Champion Bonus Feat List: <-list of bonus epic feats->
[edit] Campaign Information
[edit] Playing a Court Champion
| This section needs a more complete description. For more information please look here |
Combat: a Court Champion specializes in one on one combat. His class features give him bonuses, but only against a single opponent. In a large encounter, a Court Champion will generaly target the most dangerous opponent with dodge, and focus on him. Parry and Riposte give a Court Champion more ability to defend and counterattack.
Advancement: Duelist levels can make a Court Champion even more proficient in the art of dueling, and the feats required for Duelist include some required by this class. More Paladin or Swashbuckler levels help as well.
Resources: There is no organization for Court Champions, because each one would serve a different kingdom. However, a Court Champion can generaly expect support from his government.
[edit] Court Champions in the World
| This section needs a more complete description. For more information please look here |
| “ | <-Some quote from a character of this class-> | ” |
Court Champions
NPC Reactions: Same as a fighter, paladin, or other retainer of the organization he serves to those outside the organization. faithful members start one step closer to friendly, any subversive faction within the organization starts one step closer to hostile. Those who know more about Court Champions may be more friendly (if they are both loyal) or more hostile if the NPC has a reason to fear the Court Champions scrutiny.
[edit] Court Champion Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowlege (nobility and royalty) can research Court Champion to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 11 | Court Champions defend their kingdoms from those who wish to rule in the place of the proper rulers. |
| 16 | Court Champions are expert duelists. |
| 21 | Court Champions have investigative skills far exceeding what would be expected of them. |
| 26 | Information on specific Court Champions in the game, and possibly information about their specific abilities (feats and classes). |
[edit] Court Champions in the Game
| This section needs a more complete description. For more information please look here |
Most NPC Court Champions are in service of good kingdoms. One could assist the PCs in an investigation in his home country, or oppose them if he thinks they have something to hide (whether they do or not). A PC Court Champion could be in a state of exile, self imposed or not, due to an earlier event that lead to him uncovering a plot, and creating a scandal by revealing it.
Adaptation: This class should be able to fit in with little or no modification. A paladin serving as a close retainer of the king could instead be a Court Champion. The class has no truly groundbreaking abilities, so modifying a NPC to be a Court Champion should not cause any alarm.
Sample Encounter: <-DM placement for NPC of this class->
EL whatever: <-Encounter scenario and character info on sample NPC including stat block. The CR of the NPC is typically the same as the EL for the encounter->
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