Pyromancer999
2011-04-17, 08:45 PM
Background- Got inspired to finally try my hand at making a Death Knight
The Death Knight
"Oh, yeah? You and what army?"
-Nemps Talebo, halfling decimated by a Death Knight and his Undead army after a betrayal
Not everyone can be a necromancer. Some attempt to learn, and fail. Others look at a way of life that combines necromancy and martial arts. After a while, these people meet a certain end: That of becoming a Death Knight. Searching out the secrets of the ancient necromancer-generals of the same ancient nations that created the art of Corpsecrafting, these individuals make use of such skills to become Death Knights. However, this has usually come at great cost. While common enough in ancient times, the techniques and teachers of Death Knights have been all but dead since the betrayal of the last famous Death Knight, Kas, until recently, with ancient fiends and necromantic entities awakening and teaching these methods to loyal servants. Thus, most Death Knights end up servants to cunning fiends, or unknowable necromantic entities in return for such secrets. Some are able to research the methods, but not without great personal, financial, or most importantly, mental cost. A rare few come across the abilties naturally, being descendants of the nations who created these techniques.
Alignment: It is important to note that while most Death Knights are Evil, it is important to note that some Neutral or a meager few morally gray Good folk become Death Knights in service to Good, although no one knows with what aim in mind.
HD:d10
Skill Points: 2 + Int Skill Points(x4 at 1st)
Skills:Bluff(Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration(Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge(Arcana)(Int), Knowledge(Planes)(Int), Knowledge(Religion)(Int), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft(Int), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device(Cha).
Death Knight
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Necrotic Points|Maximum Spell Level
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+1|Necrotic Body, Death Coil 1d6, Fell Entourage(1 HD/Level)|3|1
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+1|Bonus Feat, Corpsecrafted Legion|6|1
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+2|Death Coil 2d6, Rebuke Undead|9|1
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+2|Dread Secret, Fell Entourage(2 HD/Level)|12|1
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+3|Death Coil 3d6, Undead Mount|16|2
6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+3|Bonus Feat|20|2
7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+3|Death Coil 4d6, Fell Entourage(3 HD/Level)|24|3
8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+4|Dread Secret|28|3
9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+4|Death Coil 5d6|33|3
10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+5|Bonus Feat, Fell Entourage(4 HD/Level)|38|4
11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+5|Death Coil 6d6|43|4
12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+6|Dread Secret|48|5
13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+6|Death Coil 7d6|54|5
14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+6|Bonus Feat|60|5
15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+7|Death Coil 8d6, Fell Mount|66|6
16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+7|Dread Secret|72|6
17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+8|Death Coil 9d6|79|7
18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+8|Bonus feat|86|7
19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+9|Death Coil 10d6|93|7
20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+9|Dread Secret,General of Undeath|100|8[/table]
Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Death Knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor and shields (excluding tower shields).
Necrotic Body:The Death Knight is filled with necrotic energy,with it even permeating his flesh. Thus, he gains Necrotic Points. These can be used in two ways.The first way is to temporarily animate Undead, as per the spell Animate Dead except that it takes 1 round per HD of creature, and lasts for 1 minute/class level. These undead do not count against the Death Knight's limit of undead they may animate. Undead are animated this way at the cost of 1 Necrotic Point per 1 HD of creature to be raised. Secondly, Necrotic Points can be used to cast spells learned through this class feature at the rate of 1 Necrotic Point per level of spell to be cast. Spells learned through this class feature can be any of the Necromancy school. One such spell is learned per level, and must be the same or lower level as the Maximum Spell listed on the table above. You may only cast each one of your highest level spells once per day, regardless of how many Necrotic Points you have available, with the exception of 1st level spells. You may choose any mental ability score as your casting ability score. Caster level for these spells is equal to your Death Knight level.
Death Coil: The Death Knight knows how to unleash dreaded blasts of energy against their foes using a technique known as the Death Coil. This blast deals damage as listed on the table above, and is treated as a ranged touch attack, with a range of 40 ft. This attack deals half negative energy damage, and half of one of the following energy types, chosen at 1st level: Fire, Cold, Acid, Electricity. Lastly, this attack is a standard action.
Fell Entourage:Death Knights are known for their animation of the fallen, and sometimes decide to add some fallen foes to their forces. Death Knights may animate dead foes as per the Animate Dead spell. At 1st level, a Death Knight may only animate 1 HD of undead per class level, but every three levels after, this limit increases by 1 HD per class level, until 10th level, at which the Death Knight may animate 4 HD of undead per class level. Undead are animated this way by expending two Necrotic Points per HD, and spending 5 minutes per HD of creature, forcing necrotic energy from your body into the corpse in order to animate it. Other sources of undead control pools that originate from spells, such as the Animate Dead spell, do not function for the Death Knight.
Bonus Feat: For all the Death Knight's expertise in necromantic matters, he is still a warrior. At 2nd level, and every four levels after, the Death Knight may gain a bonus feat from the Fighter's bonus feat list. Should the Death Knight select the Martial Study or Martial Stance feats as bonus feats for maneuvers or stances of the Unquiet Twilight discipline, his initiator level for the maneuver is equal to his level.
Corpsecrafted Legion:At 2nd level, the Death Knight has realized some improved methods of crafting undead. He may gain the knowledge of two Corpsecrafter traits. He may apply the first Corpsecrafter trait of any undead he animates for free, so long as it is selected from one of these two.
Rebuke Undead: At 3rd level, the Death Knight gains greater command over undead, allowing him to rebuke undead as a cleric of two levels lower than his class level, except that he subsitutes his casting ability score for Charisma in determining how many rebuke attempts per day he gets.
Dread Secret: At 4th level, and every 4 levels after, the Death Knight learns new, twisted, necromantic secrets that enhance his existing abilities, or grant him new ones, selecting one Dread Secret from the list below:
As You Were: You gain the ability to help the undead creatures you animate retain some of the abilities they had in life. Undead you animate now retain the skill proficiencies and bonuses they had in life. By selecting this Secret an additional time, you may allow them to retain feats they once had. By selecting this Secret one last time, you may allow them to retain class levels, although they cannot retain more class levels than half your Death Knight class level.
Corpsecrafter: You may gain any Corpsecrafter feat as a bonus feat, so long as you meet the prerequisites. Alternatively, you may choose to be able to apply the specialist benefit of one Corpsecrafter trait you know. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time choosing a different trait to specialize or different bunch of traits through the Corpsecrafter feats.
New Creation: Providing that the Death Knight is at least 12th level when this Secret is selected, he may now animate creatures through his Fell Entourage class feature as per the Create Undead spell. This method of creation takes three times as long as the standard Fell Entourage animation process. This Secret may be selected an additional time in order to allow the Death Knight to create undead as per the Create Greater Undead spell. This takes twice as long as the Create Undead animation process granted by this secret.
Terrorizing: You gain Frightful Prescence to a range of 5 ft per two class levels, which can affect creatures of your HD or lower. Also, people suffer -1 to rolls against being affected by your Frightful Prescence.You may select this Secret multiple times, each time increasing the limit of creatures that can be affected by your Frightful Prescence by 1 HD, and may increase the penalty to saves by 1.
Tainted Energy: You may now select Abjuration and Evocation spells with the energy descriptor of the type of energy chosen for Death Coil instead of Necromancy spells at each level.
Tomb-Tainted: You may gain any feat Tomb-Tainted Soul feat chain as a bonus feat, so long as you meet the prerequisites for it. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time selecting a new feat.
Vampiric Blow: You may sap life-energy from enemies. For every two points of damage you deal to an enemy with a melee attack, you may gain 1 temporary hit point, which fades after 1 hour per class level. You may not gain more than 1 temporary hit point per class level this way. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time increasing the limit of temporary hit points you may have by one-quarter.(ex. a 4th level Death Knight with this Secret cannot gain more than 4 temporary hit points(1/level) this way. However, should he select it again at 8th, he is able to gain 10 temporary hit points(1.25 per level) this way).
Undead Mount: At 5th level, the Death Knight gains the ability to summon a great and terrible undead mount. This mount acts as a skeletal warhorse(or skeletal warpony for Small Death Knights). This mount is summonable for up to 2 hours a day per class level, which need not all be used at once, but must be spent in 1-hour increments. This mount gains special abilities as per a Paladin's special mount, except that when it gains the ability to command others of its kind, it includes both those creatures a normal horse could command, and mindless undead.
Fell Mount: At 15th level, the Death Knight's mount reveals its origins: Hell. The special mount now acts as a skeletal Nightmare, except that it retains all special attacks, its Darkvision, and special qualities, except that it may only make use of each of its special qualities other than Darkvision for 1 minute per day per class level.
General of Undeath:At 20th level, the Death Knight becomes what he is meant to be: A leader of armies of undead ripe for combat. He gains Undead traits, but does not change his type. Once the Death Knight dies, should he not be revived for two weeks, he returns as an Undead creature, changing his type to Undead. Also, his undead control pool expands to be 5 HD/class level. Lastly, once per day, he may call the skeletons of those buried deep beneath the earth to attack. This ability summons 3 HD of Skeletons per class level, and lasts for 1 round per 2 class levels.
Please Comment and PEACH. Also, if you could, say what tier you think it this would be in, and why, as I'm not entirely sure myself here. Thanks.
The Death Knight
"Oh, yeah? You and what army?"
-Nemps Talebo, halfling decimated by a Death Knight and his Undead army after a betrayal
Not everyone can be a necromancer. Some attempt to learn, and fail. Others look at a way of life that combines necromancy and martial arts. After a while, these people meet a certain end: That of becoming a Death Knight. Searching out the secrets of the ancient necromancer-generals of the same ancient nations that created the art of Corpsecrafting, these individuals make use of such skills to become Death Knights. However, this has usually come at great cost. While common enough in ancient times, the techniques and teachers of Death Knights have been all but dead since the betrayal of the last famous Death Knight, Kas, until recently, with ancient fiends and necromantic entities awakening and teaching these methods to loyal servants. Thus, most Death Knights end up servants to cunning fiends, or unknowable necromantic entities in return for such secrets. Some are able to research the methods, but not without great personal, financial, or most importantly, mental cost. A rare few come across the abilties naturally, being descendants of the nations who created these techniques.
Alignment: It is important to note that while most Death Knights are Evil, it is important to note that some Neutral or a meager few morally gray Good folk become Death Knights in service to Good, although no one knows with what aim in mind.
HD:d10
Skill Points: 2 + Int Skill Points(x4 at 1st)
Skills:Bluff(Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration(Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy(Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge(Arcana)(Int), Knowledge(Planes)(Int), Knowledge(Religion)(Int), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft(Int), Swim (Str), and Use Magic Device(Cha).
Death Knight
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Necrotic Points|Maximum Spell Level
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+1|Necrotic Body, Death Coil 1d6, Fell Entourage(1 HD/Level)|3|1
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+1|Bonus Feat, Corpsecrafted Legion|6|1
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+2|Death Coil 2d6, Rebuke Undead|9|1
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+2|Dread Secret, Fell Entourage(2 HD/Level)|12|1
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+3|Death Coil 3d6, Undead Mount|16|2
6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+3|Bonus Feat|20|2
7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+3|Death Coil 4d6, Fell Entourage(3 HD/Level)|24|3
8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+4|Dread Secret|28|3
9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+4|Death Coil 5d6|33|3
10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+5|Bonus Feat, Fell Entourage(4 HD/Level)|38|4
11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+5|Death Coil 6d6|43|4
12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+6|Dread Secret|48|5
13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+6|Death Coil 7d6|54|5
14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+6|Bonus Feat|60|5
15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+7|Death Coil 8d6, Fell Mount|66|6
16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+7|Dread Secret|72|6
17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+8|Death Coil 9d6|79|7
18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+8|Bonus feat|86|7
19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+9|Death Coil 10d6|93|7
20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+9|Dread Secret,General of Undeath|100|8[/table]
Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A Death Knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor and shields (excluding tower shields).
Necrotic Body:The Death Knight is filled with necrotic energy,with it even permeating his flesh. Thus, he gains Necrotic Points. These can be used in two ways.The first way is to temporarily animate Undead, as per the spell Animate Dead except that it takes 1 round per HD of creature, and lasts for 1 minute/class level. These undead do not count against the Death Knight's limit of undead they may animate. Undead are animated this way at the cost of 1 Necrotic Point per 1 HD of creature to be raised. Secondly, Necrotic Points can be used to cast spells learned through this class feature at the rate of 1 Necrotic Point per level of spell to be cast. Spells learned through this class feature can be any of the Necromancy school. One such spell is learned per level, and must be the same or lower level as the Maximum Spell listed on the table above. You may only cast each one of your highest level spells once per day, regardless of how many Necrotic Points you have available, with the exception of 1st level spells. You may choose any mental ability score as your casting ability score. Caster level for these spells is equal to your Death Knight level.
Death Coil: The Death Knight knows how to unleash dreaded blasts of energy against their foes using a technique known as the Death Coil. This blast deals damage as listed on the table above, and is treated as a ranged touch attack, with a range of 40 ft. This attack deals half negative energy damage, and half of one of the following energy types, chosen at 1st level: Fire, Cold, Acid, Electricity. Lastly, this attack is a standard action.
Fell Entourage:Death Knights are known for their animation of the fallen, and sometimes decide to add some fallen foes to their forces. Death Knights may animate dead foes as per the Animate Dead spell. At 1st level, a Death Knight may only animate 1 HD of undead per class level, but every three levels after, this limit increases by 1 HD per class level, until 10th level, at which the Death Knight may animate 4 HD of undead per class level. Undead are animated this way by expending two Necrotic Points per HD, and spending 5 minutes per HD of creature, forcing necrotic energy from your body into the corpse in order to animate it. Other sources of undead control pools that originate from spells, such as the Animate Dead spell, do not function for the Death Knight.
Bonus Feat: For all the Death Knight's expertise in necromantic matters, he is still a warrior. At 2nd level, and every four levels after, the Death Knight may gain a bonus feat from the Fighter's bonus feat list. Should the Death Knight select the Martial Study or Martial Stance feats as bonus feats for maneuvers or stances of the Unquiet Twilight discipline, his initiator level for the maneuver is equal to his level.
Corpsecrafted Legion:At 2nd level, the Death Knight has realized some improved methods of crafting undead. He may gain the knowledge of two Corpsecrafter traits. He may apply the first Corpsecrafter trait of any undead he animates for free, so long as it is selected from one of these two.
Rebuke Undead: At 3rd level, the Death Knight gains greater command over undead, allowing him to rebuke undead as a cleric of two levels lower than his class level, except that he subsitutes his casting ability score for Charisma in determining how many rebuke attempts per day he gets.
Dread Secret: At 4th level, and every 4 levels after, the Death Knight learns new, twisted, necromantic secrets that enhance his existing abilities, or grant him new ones, selecting one Dread Secret from the list below:
As You Were: You gain the ability to help the undead creatures you animate retain some of the abilities they had in life. Undead you animate now retain the skill proficiencies and bonuses they had in life. By selecting this Secret an additional time, you may allow them to retain feats they once had. By selecting this Secret one last time, you may allow them to retain class levels, although they cannot retain more class levels than half your Death Knight class level.
Corpsecrafter: You may gain any Corpsecrafter feat as a bonus feat, so long as you meet the prerequisites. Alternatively, you may choose to be able to apply the specialist benefit of one Corpsecrafter trait you know. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time choosing a different trait to specialize or different bunch of traits through the Corpsecrafter feats.
New Creation: Providing that the Death Knight is at least 12th level when this Secret is selected, he may now animate creatures through his Fell Entourage class feature as per the Create Undead spell. This method of creation takes three times as long as the standard Fell Entourage animation process. This Secret may be selected an additional time in order to allow the Death Knight to create undead as per the Create Greater Undead spell. This takes twice as long as the Create Undead animation process granted by this secret.
Terrorizing: You gain Frightful Prescence to a range of 5 ft per two class levels, which can affect creatures of your HD or lower. Also, people suffer -1 to rolls against being affected by your Frightful Prescence.You may select this Secret multiple times, each time increasing the limit of creatures that can be affected by your Frightful Prescence by 1 HD, and may increase the penalty to saves by 1.
Tainted Energy: You may now select Abjuration and Evocation spells with the energy descriptor of the type of energy chosen for Death Coil instead of Necromancy spells at each level.
Tomb-Tainted: You may gain any feat Tomb-Tainted Soul feat chain as a bonus feat, so long as you meet the prerequisites for it. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time selecting a new feat.
Vampiric Blow: You may sap life-energy from enemies. For every two points of damage you deal to an enemy with a melee attack, you may gain 1 temporary hit point, which fades after 1 hour per class level. You may not gain more than 1 temporary hit point per class level this way. You may select this Secret multiple times, each time increasing the limit of temporary hit points you may have by one-quarter.(ex. a 4th level Death Knight with this Secret cannot gain more than 4 temporary hit points(1/level) this way. However, should he select it again at 8th, he is able to gain 10 temporary hit points(1.25 per level) this way).
Undead Mount: At 5th level, the Death Knight gains the ability to summon a great and terrible undead mount. This mount acts as a skeletal warhorse(or skeletal warpony for Small Death Knights). This mount is summonable for up to 2 hours a day per class level, which need not all be used at once, but must be spent in 1-hour increments. This mount gains special abilities as per a Paladin's special mount, except that when it gains the ability to command others of its kind, it includes both those creatures a normal horse could command, and mindless undead.
Fell Mount: At 15th level, the Death Knight's mount reveals its origins: Hell. The special mount now acts as a skeletal Nightmare, except that it retains all special attacks, its Darkvision, and special qualities, except that it may only make use of each of its special qualities other than Darkvision for 1 minute per day per class level.
General of Undeath:At 20th level, the Death Knight becomes what he is meant to be: A leader of armies of undead ripe for combat. He gains Undead traits, but does not change his type. Once the Death Knight dies, should he not be revived for two weeks, he returns as an Undead creature, changing his type to Undead. Also, his undead control pool expands to be 5 HD/class level. Lastly, once per day, he may call the skeletons of those buried deep beneath the earth to attack. This ability summons 3 HD of Skeletons per class level, and lasts for 1 round per 2 class levels.
Please Comment and PEACH. Also, if you could, say what tier you think it this would be in, and why, as I'm not entirely sure myself here. Thanks.