Whiteguard Blademaster 3.5 prestige class

[Henlein_Kosh]

Again something for the campaignworld I'm working on, it ties in with my elven subraces that can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285742).
This Prestige Class is heavily influenced by the Swordmasters of Hoeth from Warhammer, and my own experiences training with a two-handed sword.

The Fluff:
The Whiteguard is the only formal military of the Ancestor Elves.
They consists of somwhere between 200 and 300 elves of any of the subraces.
They function both as a standing army, and as bodyguards/special operatives.

prereqs:
Profeciency in heavy armor
Weapon Focus Greatsword
Base atk. +7
Race: Elf
Special: Must pledge allegiance to the Ancestor Elves

HD: d8

Skills:
Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Profession, Sense Motive, Survival, Tumble
Skillpoints: 2+int modifier/level

CWhiteguard Blademaster
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Agile Greatsword
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|Armor Training +1
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1|Lightning Parry
4th|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1|Armor Training +2
5th|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|Wise Combatant[/table]

Agile Greatsword:
The Blademaster can apply his dex bonus instead of his str to attack rolls made with greatswords.
Armor Training:
Gives the noted bonus to max dex and armor check penalty, while wearing heavy armor
Lightning Parry:
By reserving some actions, the Blademaster is able to parry some of the melee attacks directed at him.
Swift: 1 parry, Move: 2 Parries, Standard: 3 parries.
To parry an attack the Blademaster must roll an attack roll with his Greatsword that is higher than the attack roll against him.
Wise Combatant:
The Blademaster applies his wisdom bonus as an insight bonus to attack rolls with greatswords and damage with greatswords.

[CinuzIta]

i like the class, but I have two suggestions:

1. being this a melee class I'd raise the HD to a d10

2. I'd also raise the skill points to 4+Int..no class should have only 2 skill points..:)

[Spiryt]

I would say that even by standards of some 3.5 prestige classes, this one doesn't really offer much.

The "Wise combatant" is potent indeed, but the rest not so much...

Armor bonuses are nice, but minor, and parrying is often proposed as standard mechanic, paying with actions for it is pretty meh.

[genericwit]

Seems like a much shorter version of the Champion of Corellon Larethian without the bonus feats, Cha synergy, and Corellon's wrath. This would be a very, very nice prestige class for Swordsage or Dex focused cleric. However, the Dex to damage ability is strictly worse than elegant strike, which lets you add both Str AND Dex.

I feel like the parry makes it a little worthless, though, especially for the above mentioned classes. You either give up a swift action, or it precludes you from using a full attack, and most classes that could benefit from the X to Y bonuses here can probably think of something better to do with a swift action.

Still, I can think of a few enemies it might be useful against, but most enemies at higher levels will have more than one attack.