Crusader
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[edit] Crusader
| “ | Evil never sleeps, so good has a lot of catching up to do! | ” |
| —Gepetto Glimmerlance, Gnome Crusader, --1001 Sleepless Nights: Fantastical Tales of an Insomniac's Encounters-- | ||
The crusader is a religious zealot, skilled in the art of getting others to rally around his cause. He is the physical manifestation of his god's will. The crusader's life is spent almost constantly on the road, seeking to acheive his deities goals through force of arms.Only current paladins can become crusaders, exhibiting a devotion to their god that few can rival.
[edit] Becoming a Crusader
Paladins who believe that they have a greater calling in life will often become crusaders, leaving their respective orders to answer their god's call to action. Strength, charisma, and constitution are all important to a crusader.
| Alignment: | Any lawful. |
|---|---|
| Skills: | Knowledge(religion) 5 ranks. |
| Feats: | Leadership, iron will(or endurance). |
| Patron: | Lawful Deity. |
| Special: | Must have a positive charisma modifier. |
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +1 | +0 | +2 | Blessed Sight, Faithful, Justice be done, Pursuit of justice(1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +2 | +0 | +4 | Fire of Faith 1/day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +5 | Pursuit of Justice(2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +6 | Fire of Faith 2/day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +5 | +2 | +7 | Pursuit of Justice(3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6 | +6 | +2 | +8 | Glory of God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7 | +7 | +3 | +9 | Guilty By Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8 | +8 | +3 | +10 | Fire of Faith 3/day | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9 | +9 | +4 | +10 | Wrath of God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10 | +10 | +4 | +10 | Undying Devotion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (2 + Int modifier per level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] Class Features
All of the following are class features of the crusader.
Blessed Sight: A crusader cannot turn a blind eye to his enemies, and so is always keenly aware of enemies nearby.
Pursuit of justice: a crusader is filled with holy fervor and as such cannot sit idle for long. A crusader can sleep in heavy armor without fatigue and may also travel a greater distance in a day than his secular counterparts. A crusader's armor is a second skin to him, so he does not feel the weight of it.
Fire of faith: The crusader's faith shines like a beacon in the darkness, allowing him to wreath his sword in a holy flame, dealing bonus fire damage to enemies of his opposed alignment. (ex.a good crusader may use this against any evil alignment)
The glory of god: Tales of the crusader's strength and the power of his faith inspire more people to follow him, allowing him to build an army if need be.
Guilty by association: The crusader can sense the taint of his foes upon even those who are not of an opposed alignment. They have aided his foe, and so must be judged as his foe as well.
Wrath of God: The crusader embodies the fury of his deity, immolating himself with holy fire and dealing damage to those who attack him. Additionally the crusader enters a frenzied state and must kill anything that opposes his alignmentor seeks to impede him from slaying his opponent. In this state, fire of faith gains bonus damage. All creatures(even those of the same alignment and allies) within a small radius must make a fortitude save or suffer nonlethal fire damage from the heat of the crusader's fire.
Undying Devotion: The crusader's devotion denies death itself. In combat, the Crusader will fight until literally hacked limb from limb-if restrained, the crusader will try to escape for 48 hours before finally succumbing to exhaustion and sleeping(after this 48 hour period the effect wears off). After combat, the crusader will give in to his wounds and die(assuming he was at -10 hp or less). If the crusader died while on a mission, his body will remain animated but decompose until the point at which he becomes a ghost. The ghost will continue to pursue it's goal and will only rest once this is accomplished. A dead crusader becomes a zombie, then skeleton, then ghost. The equipment worn by the crusader at death will still be animated by the ghost form. A dead crusader will try to overcome obstacles as best as it can, but will not come up with creative solutions, he is reduced to basic instinct. The spirits of dead crusaders(especially strong ones or fairly fresh ones) will passively call out for aid in their journey, and many young adventurers will heed the call-not knowing entirely why they must do it, but sensing nonetheless that it must be done. This effect weakens over time. If a crusader fails to achieve his goal before his spirit becomes too weak, he will be trapped on the material plane until someone else completes it.->.
Blessed Sight (Su): At first level the detect (crusader's opposed alignment) ability is always in effect, and the crusader gains a +2 to the detection of any misdirection spells used to hide the true alignment of an opposed alignment creature.
Faithful: (Ex): The crusader can choose to take additional paladin levels and retains all paladin abilities, ignoring the restriction of the player's handbook.
Justice be done (Ex): The crusader is honor bound to destroy creatures of his opposed alignment upon sight.(The crusader may make a will save DC 10 + HD of creature to resist the urge to instantly destroy it, but must nontheless work towards it's destruction as soon as possible.)
Pursuit of Justice (Ex):
Pursuit of Justice has three levels-
(1)Travel distance on foot per day doubled(2.5x on the paladin's special mount)
(2)Suffers no fatigue from heavy armor(or lighter)
(3)Armor worn does not count against weight limit
Fire of Faith (Su):
adds 2d4 + crusader level fire damage(is not multiplied by crits)
emits a 60 ft light radius
dazzles creatues who would be dazzled in sunlight
lasts 1d6 + crusader level + paladin level rounds
Glory of God (Su):
up to 2 followers/100 people above 300 (ex. in a town of 400, the crusader could recruit 2 people. 4 from a town of 500.)
maximum 20 followers/5 crusader levels
The crusader can only recruit from towns that view his cause favorably
(ex. a crusader loyal to Heronious could not recruit from a town that worships Hextor)
roll to determine number of followers gained each day.
1d100(+10 to the roll for each +1 charisma bonus) 1-60=0 followers, 61-90=1 follower, 91-100=2 followers
Guilty by Association (Su): The crusader's Fire of Faith ability now affects any who willingly aid creatures of the crusader's opposed alignment.
Wrath of God (Su):
Crusader gains immunity to fire for the duration of the ability
Fire of Faith ability gains an additional 1d4 points of fire damage.
Fire aura
deals 1d2 nonlethal fire damage to anyone within 5ft of the crusader. Fortitude save DC 15+Crusader level negates.
deals damage equal to the crusader's fire of faith ability(excluding the bonus given from Wrath of God) to enemies who strikes the crusader with melee attacks
ignites any wood within 5ft after 1d4+2 rounds(excluding weapons or armor)
Frenzy
+6 con/+6 str, -3 AC, +4 to will saves, immunity to mind control, but losing the ability to use skills requiring coherent thought.
Must kill anything that opposes his alignment or seeks to impede him(this includes allies) from slaying his opponent(s)
Afterwards the crusader becomes fatigued
Lasts 1d3+(crusader level/2) rounds
Usable 1/month
Undying Devotion (Su):
During combat
Lethal damage does not kill a crusader until combat ends
Enemies must sever a crusader's limbs to stop him
The crusader gains +4 to any checks required to escape or break his bonds during the first 48 hours
If a crusader escapes his bonds, he will attempt to kill his captors and rejoin the fight
Once the fight is over the paladin will become fatigued
For Death:
A Crusader may be resurrected by a member of his order(if he has one), a cleric of his deity, or someone that the crusader trusted in life He will not, however, actively seek a resurrection and will instead attempt to complete his quest after his body lies inert for more than 1d4 hours
A dead crusader will attempt to escape his bonds and complete his quest until resurrected
A crusader who has been dismembered will change into a ghost after the 1d4 hour waiting period
The specifics for the length of each state(zombie, skeleton, ghost) will vary depending on environment(how rapid decay is) and
how the crusader died.(ex. a crusader who's flesh was melted by a dragon's breath would start as a skeleton) DM's discretion.
Spirit lasts for 100d100 + 10xcrusader level
The dead crusader's abilities fade over time, losing one level of special abilities(Hit dice, base attack, and saves are unaffected)
in increasing 100 year increments(100 for the first, another 200 for the second, another 300 for the third) starting with
Wrath of God(Undying Devotion cannot be lost)
Follow the creature templates except where noted.
Crusader gains the undead subtype and all qualities associated with it.
He has no intelligence score, the crusader is a mindless automaton of duty.
The crusader is immune to mind control, command undead, turning, and similar effects
Zombie:
Retains his charisma modifier
loses leadership, iron will(or endurance), and any noncombat feats and replaces them with toughness.
He retains all weapon proficiency or specialization feats and special abilities.
HD are changed to d12 and replace the HD from class levels. They gain bonus health from the crusader's(live) constitution modifier
Retains his base attack
May still take two actions per round
Gains Survival as a class skill, may only be used for tracking
Loses all skills and replaces them with the maximum ranks of survival(tracking)
A crusader killed in the zombie state will remain inert for 1d4 days and then reanimate as a skeleton
Skeleton:
Retains his charisma modifier
Maintains all but one of the toughness feats gained as a zombie(if it was ever a zombie)
Gains improved initiative
Loses the dr5/slashing he had as a zombie
Gains Survival as a class skill, may only be used for tracking
Loses all skills and replaces them with the maximum ranks of survival(tracking)
A crusader killed as a skeleton will remain inert for 1d4 days before becoming a ghost
Ghost:
If the crusader's armor and weapons have not been destroyed at this point, a materialized ghost can manipulate these
The crusader's special abilities can still affect physical targets
Retains the feats and skills from the previous two states
loses the cold immunity and dr5/bludgeoning he had as a skeleton
A crusader killed as a ghost will rejuvenate at the place he was killed in life.
[edit] Ex-crusaders
If a crusader ever ceases seeking to further his deity's cause-he will lose all special abilities of the crusader. While most paladin orders will accept back a crusader who has given up the hunt, most crusaders are too ashamed to ever face their brethren again. An atonement spell will restore the crusader to a first level crusader. Only by questing in the name of his deity again can a crusader regain his lost levels.
[edit] Campaign Information
[edit] Playing a Crusader
A crusader has more stringent rules than a paladin. They are not allowed to stop for any amount of time other than to rest for the night and must constantly be questing to further their god's ends. This penalty is offset by increased combat capabilities against enemies of the crusader's opposed alignment.
Combat: The crusader will charge into overwhelming odds without a second thought. They function the same way as paladins, but with increased combat capabilities.
Advancement: The crusader can only advance in paladin, crusader, and cleric levels. If he takes a class other than these, he loses the abilities of both the crusader and paladin classes.
Resources: Crusaders are champions of their alignments, and as such are often welcomed with open arms. Crusaders were all members of a paladin order at some point, and can request aid from them as well. The only ones who are displeased to see a crusader ride into town are the mothers of impressionable young boys who will no doubt be swayed into joining his crusade.
[edit] Crusaders in the World
Crusaders are few and far between, most adventuring at the dark edges of civilization, protecting many from evils that common folk did not know existed.
NPC Reactions: Most people view crusaders positively, though those of a more chaotic or neutral bent find their devotion and insistence on crafting the world in their god's image to be very tedious. Crusaders can oftentimes be construed as overbearing and overconfident.
[edit] Crusader Lore
Crusaders can come from any walk of life, usually becoming a paladin first with the intent of fighting for their deity. Some of these paladins feel that their order is not taking direct enough action and so leave to become crusaders. These crusaders will generally join a crusading sect(there are several under Heronious alone, each with their own unique traditions and beliefs) to better their ability to stop evil. Crusaders are very willing to take on squires and will train them in the ways of their god first, and then teach them the secrets of their particular sect. Crusaders never claim a particular land to be their home. They stop only as long as is necessary before striking out again on another quest.
Characters with ranks in knowledge(religion) can research crusaders 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 | Past crusades, notable crusader sects. |
| 16 | The hierarchy of crusader sects and their mythology. |
| 21 | The identities of crusaders-often they will take pseudonyms to protect those close to them. |
| 26 | The true origins of crusading sects, information regarding some of their holiest relics. |
[edit] Crusaders in the Game
Crusaders can be found almost anywhere and prove to be useful allies to Players who are in accordance with the crusader's alignment. Typically you might find one ahead a small army marching on a lich or other great evil. Crusaders will openly accept and aid the players if the players are injured, lost, or tired.
A crusader is the quintessential knight in shining armor. (If you allow for nongood paladins in your campaign, that shining armor might be black). Only very powerful NPCs are crusaders-though you could include a comical, bumbling crusader if you wish. Ex. A gnome crusader who refuses to sleep because evil never sleeps-so good has a lot of catching up to do!
Adaptation: Crusaders are an improvement upon the combat capabilities of a paladin, they allow for a more martial oriented paladin.
Sample Encounter: The players are marching to take care of a lich that has been ravaging the countryside, they encounter the crusader in a town attempting to recruit more men for his expedition. After detecting their alignments and inquiring about their motives, the crusader will give them any viable information about the lich and his defenses, and then invite them to join him in his quest. If they refuse he will humbly accept it and wish them luck.
