Holy Avenger (3.5e Prestige Class)

Holy Avenger

Rating:	Not rated
	(Rate this class)
Status:	Under Construction, come back next week.
Editing:	Constructive edits welcome

Contents 1 Holy Avenger 1.1 Becoming a Holy Avenger 1.1.1 Class Features 1.2 Campaign Information 1.2.1 Playing a Holy Avenger 1.2.2 Holy Avengers in the World 1.2.3 Holy Avenger Lore 1.2.4 Holy Avengers in the Game

[edit] Holy Avenger

“	He disturbs the natural balance... there is no warning when vengance comes.	”
—Lasith the Hunter, Half-elf Holy Avenger

(This class uses a homebrewed modification to the alignment system removing good and evil.) Holy Avengers are the devout. Their faith in their god is so great that they have become avatars for their god's will. Woe be to him who incurs the wrath of the Holy Avenger, they never give up.

[edit] Becoming a Holy Avenger

Holy Avengers are always either rangers or paladins, with the elite among them being both. Holy Avengers serve the order of their god. This does not mean they are restricted to lawful gods, as they see the chaos of their god as the proper order. A very few Holy Avengers serve the cosmos as a whole to prevent any side from disrupting the order of the universe by getting to powerful and changing the dynamic.

Entry Requirements

Alignment:	Must be Lawful. Must become Lawful Neutral upon taking the class if not already.
Base Attack Bonus:	15.
Skills:	Knowledge (Religion or Nature) 10 ranks.
Patron:	<Must be devoted to a deity or the universe as a whole.
Special:	Must be a ranger or a paladin.

Table: The Holy Avenger

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Detect Enemy, Divine Smite, Ancient Knowledge +1
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Ancient Knowledge +2
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Ancient Knowledge +3, Greater Divine Smite
4th	+4	+ 4	+1	+1	Ancient Knowledge +4
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Faith, Ancient Knowledge +5
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level) Climb, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Hide, Knowledge (Religion), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope.

Class Skills may be slightly customized to the Avenger's deity.

[edit] Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Holy Avenger.

Ancient Knowledge: At first level and every level thereafter, the Holy Avenger is blessed with knowledge of struggles past against their god's enemies. They are granted visions of ancient Holy Avengers who fought for the same cause. This gives them a +1 moral bonus to all attack, damage, and saving rolls, and a +1 insight bonus to all attack, damage, and saving throws against enemies of their god. These bonuses increase each level.

Detect Enemy: Only Holy Avengers with paladin levels gain this power. They lose their detect evil ability and gain the ability to detect whether or not one's goals are contrary to their god's. He can determine if they are "misguided," or are unaware of their opposition to the Holy Avenger's god, "malicious," or conscious opponents of the god, or "doomed," or pure enemies of the god. the Holy Avenger gains half his insight bonus against malicious enemies, and his whole insight bonus against doomed enemies.

Divine Smite: Holy Avengers have the ability to use their faith as a source of power, empowering their attacks against enemies. When a Holy Avenger uses Divine Smite, he adds a modifier to his attack equal to his Holy Avenger level + one half his ranger or paladin level. The Holy Avenger also adds a modifier to his damage roll equal to his Holy Avenger level + one half his ranger or paladin level. Holy Avengers with ranger levels add their Int modifier to their attack modifier, as well as an additional 4 to both attack and damage modifiers for every favored enemy he has. Paladins add their Cha modifier to the damage roll. Avengers with both paladin and ranger levels get both bonuses, but choose only one to determine the bonuses. Holy Avengers can use this ability a number of times equal to the number of favored enemies they have + the number of Smite Evil uses they have + 1. They lose all Smite Evil uses and all favored enemy bonuses. He also gains another use of the ability pre day. When used against anyone not considered an enemy, the smite use is wasted. When used against someone who isn't an enemy, but is getting in the way of the Holy Avenger, say someone who is protecting a family member who is an enemy, the smite modifiers are cut in half; this inlcudes misguided enemies. For all other enemies, the smite modifiers are full.

Greater Divine Smite: At third level, a Holy Avenger's Divine Smite ability improves to change the modifiers to Holy Avenger level + ranger or peledin level. A Holy Avenger with levels in both ranger and paladin must still choose one.

Faith: At fifth level, the Holy Avenger adds his ranger levels, paladin levels, and Avenger levels together for any ability dependant on the level of any one of them. His Divine Smite ability gains another use, and changes the modifier to combined levels of Holy Avenger + Ranger + Paladin. Additionally, if a Holy Avenger has an animal companion that may serve as a mount, he may make it his special mount as per the paladin ability, applying modifiers from both animal companion and special mount lists. However, such a Companion Mount does not consider it's paladin levels as ranger levels for the animal companion list modifiers, not vice-versa. Holy Avenger levels still apply to both lists. Also, Knowledge (Nature) and Knowledge (Religion) become the same skill for Avengers.

[edit] Campaign Information

[edit] Playing a Holy Avenger

Combat: Holy Avengers serve mostly as frontliners.

Advancement: The most powerful Holy Avengers are Ranger-Paladins, but a most are just one of the two. Some Ranger-Holy Avengers multiclass to Cleric, while a few Paladins multiclass to Druid.

Resources: As both the best hunters and among the strongest combatants in any religion, Holy Avengers are supported as needed by their church, though most tend to rely on themselves and their god.

[edit] Holy Avengers in the World

“

This world is falling apart, themost I can do is hold it together a few more years.

”

Holy Avengers spend their time hunting down enemies of their god in an attempt to allow other servants to advance their god's purposes, or just to protect their god's servants. Holy Avengers of fiercer gods can be cruel, brooking no interferance, while the Avengers of kinder gods are incredibly altruistic.

NPC Reactions: Most people connect Holy Avengers to inquisitors, when they now what they are, but they discount the fact that they also have similarities to religious champions, prophets, and even avatars.

[edit] Holy Avenger Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Religion) can research Holy Avengers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Religion)

DC	Result
11	Holy Avengers are among the most faithful of any god's worshipers.
16	Holy Avengers instictivly know who their god's enemies are.
21	After witnessing an act of disruption to the balance by his god, Holy Avenger Tarvin arose in great wrath, and vanquished more than half of the best warriors of his religion, striking an incredible blow to his god.
26	The power a Holy Avenger weilds comes mostly from his own faith, very little is actually a blessing from their god.

[edit] Holy Avengers in the Game

Holy Avengers range from imposing their god's will on the world to detesting the slightest change in patterns. Because of their god's blessing, the greatest among them see things over a vaster period of time than most mortals, even elves, due to the centuries of experiences.

Adaptation: This is a very generic class that can be fitted into any campaign with little effort. In order to have paladins of a non-good god however, you'll need to allow some variant or simply rule that Holy Avengers of non-good and/or non-lawful gods cannot have paladin levels until after becoming a Holy Avenger.

Sample Encounter: Holy Avengers work best as antagonists for non-traditional PCs, or allies for religious PCs.

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->

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Classes → Prestige Classes