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jjcrpntr
2014-05-22, 09:07 PM
I've been toying with the idea of a class that specializes in sword and board fighting. I know it's not the most efficient but I, and one of my players, like what I came up with. Wanted the playgrounds opinion. The entire basis of this class is supposed to be built around strong defense while being able to dish out damage at a decent clip. It's 3/4 bab but that's because it gets some bonus that will bump that up and honestly the class is built mostly around it's defense. Sorry I don't know how to do the table.

Knight
Some adventurers take up the sword for glory or revenge, the Knight takes up the sword for honor and duty. Sworn to stand as the protective barrier between his charge and the world at large the Knight is a defensive stalwart on the field of battle. Honorable and highly respected, Knights live to protect the weak and serve where they can. Adventuring to a Knight is a way to seek out the lore of the land and to give back to those need.
Role: Knights excel at defensive combat. Strong melee fighters that stand firmly besides their allies.

Alignment: Any Lawful

Hit Die: d10

Class Skills:
The knights class skills are Bluff (Cha). Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handel Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge Local (int), Knowledge Nobility (int), Perception (wis), Profession (Wis) Ride (dex) Sense motive (Wis), Swim (str)
Skill Ranks per Level: 6 + Int modifier



Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special


1st

+1

+2

+0

+1
Endurance, Martial Aptitude, Sword and Board, Knights Code Endurance, Martial Aptitude, Sword and Board, Knights Code


2nd

+2

+3

+0

+1
Bonus Feat, Shield Mastery


3rd

+3

+3

+1

+2
Armor Training 1, Diehard


4th

+4

+4

+1

+2
Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization


5th

+5

+4

+1

+3
Defensive Specialist


6th

+6

+5

+2

+3
Bonus Feat, Inspiring Presence


7th

+7

+5

+2

+3
Shield Synergy, Armor Training 2


8th

+8

+6

+2

+4
Bonus Feat, Defensive Training 1


9th

+9

+6

+3

+4
Enhanced Shielding, Critical Training 1


10th

+10

+7

+3

+5
Shield Mastery 2, Defensive Specialist 2, Bonus Feat


11th

+11

+7

+3

+5
Armor Training 3


12th

+12

+8

+4

+6
Bonus Feat, Inspiring Presence 2


13th

+13

+8

+4

+6
Defensive Training 2


14th

+14

+9

+4

+6
Bonus Feat


15th

+15

+9

+5

+7
Armor Training 4, Defensive Specialist 3


16th

+16

+10

+5

+7
Bonus Feat


17th

+17

+10

+5

+8
Critical Training 2


18th

+18

+11

+6

+8
Bonus Feat, Defensive Training 3


19th

+19

+11

+6

+9
Armor Training 5


20th

+20

+12

+6

+9
Defensive Specialist 4, Bonus Feat




Bonus Feat: At 2nd, and every even level thereafter with the exception of level 4, a Knight gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as Combat Feats. The knight must meet any prerequisites for a feat to take it.

Knights Code: A Knight is bound by his code.

A knight cannot turn away a request for help as long as it is reasonable.

A Knight cannot participate in stealing, forgery or any other dishonest and dishonorable act. The knight can associate with those who would do this he just looks
down upon it.

A knight cannot ever leave an ally to die, if an ally is unconcious the knight MUST attempt to reach the fallen ally and stand guard over the body unless the only remaining attacker is from ranged, only then can the knight leave his defensive position.

Martial Aptitude: A Knight qualifies for feats that usually require a minimum number of fighter levels as if he had fighter levels equal to his Knight Level -2

Sword and Board - Years of training using sword and shield has honed the knights focus on this combination. Starting at level 1so long as a knight is wielding a 1 handed weapon and a shield his weapon attacks deal the weapon damage + 1 1/2 strength modifier.

Shield Mastery: At level 2 a Knight is so used to fighting with a shield that he may add 1/2 of the shields AC value to his attack and damage rolls (minimum +1). In addition when making a full round attack a Knight may make an attempt to slam an opponent to daze them for 1 round. This attack comes at a -5 of the knights lowest attack roll and does 1d4 dmg. At level 10 this attack is able to be made at the knights lowest attack bonus and stuns rather than dazes. The reflex save against this attack is 10+the knights charisma modifier +1/2 his knight level.

Armor Training: Starting at 3rd level, a knight learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.
In addition, a Knight can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. At 7th level, a fighter can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor.

Weapon Focus/Specialization: At level 4 the knight receives the weapon focus and weapon specialization feats for his preferred weapon. The knight only gains these bonuses if he has a shield equipped as well.

Defensive Specialist: Starting at level 5, once per day + charisma modifier a knight may attempt to intercept an attack aimed at an ally within 10 feet of him. As an immediate action when a melee attack is declared at a nearby ally the knight may make a DC10 jump check to launch himself in front of an ally. If he succeeds on the jump check the Knight must make an opposed attack roll. If this roll is >/= than the enemies attack roll the knight takes the blow and receives half damage. If the knight beats the attack roll by more than 10 the damage is 1/4, if the knight rolls a natural 20 he takes no damage. A Knight using this ability is thought to be throwing himself in harm’s way and therefor always takes the hit unless he gets a natural 20 during his opposed check. When rolling his jump check the knight lands in front of the ally (if the enemy was using a weapon with reach) or besides the ally if the enemy is not. This ability can only be used versus melee attacks and only intercepts 1 attack, if an enemy launches multiple attacks the knight only intercepts one. At level 10 and every 5 levels after the knight is able to use this ability 1 extra time per day and can intercept 1 additional attack per use.

Inspiring presence: Starting at level 6 a Knight emanates an aura of confidence that gives himself and all allies within 30 feet +2 on saves fear and mind control, this bonus increases to +3 at level 12

Shield Synergy: At level 7 a knight’s mastery of the shield allows him to quickly react to oncoming threats. A knight adds his shield AC bonus to his touch AC, the knight loses this if he is within the threaten space of more than 3 enemies (note, he does not lose this if flanked unless there are 3 or more enemies)

Defensive Training: Starting at level 8 a Knight adds1/2 his shield AC bonus to his CMD vs Trip, Bull rush, and Disarm attempts, at level 13 he adds the full shield bonus, at level 18 this bonus is applied to grapple checks as well.

Enhanced Shielding: - Starting at level 9 a Knights training with the shield has made him better at timing his defenses against attacks. Starting at level 9 a knight gains damage reduction equal to ½ of his shields AC bonus.

Critical Training: Years of training has honed the Knights skills. As long as he is wielding a one handed weapon and a shield the knights weapon has its critical threat range increased by 1. This bonus is increase to 2 at level 17. This bonus is applied after any other form of critical threat range modifiers are applied (such as keen edge, or improved critical)

Dienekes
2014-05-22, 09:35 PM
Well, first things first. You might get more reviews if you used the Table format. People tend to respond better when things look tiddy.

Other than that. You seem to have created a medium save for the Knight's Will. That's fine, but usually that goes from +1 to +9 so it ends midway between 6 and 12, with 3 and 6 repeating 3 times in the progression.

Considering that one of the largest problems with shields is the lack of offense to make monsters want to hit you, I question the wisdom of not giving this guy full base attack bonus.

Other than that, I would like to know a bit more about your gaming group and your level of optimization? For instance, you seem to be aware that shields are considered weak. But other than the ability to intercept attacks the only real addition the class gives are some static bonuses. This class would fit right in with a low optimization party fine. It's skill list is certainly an improvement over fighters. But it doesn't really fix the problems that a shield fighter has when compared to high level monsters and spellcasters.

jjcrpntr
2014-05-22, 09:48 PM
I'm not sure how to do the table format sorry.

I've debated making him full bab so that's one thing I'm certainly open to changing. The will save was a goof, it was supposed to be 9 at the end sorry. Thanks for catching that.

The group I'm dming is pretty low OP. We have a gish sorcerer, a barbarian, archer rogue, bard that likes to trip people, and an inquisitor. As it's a pretty low OP game people are basically playing whatever they think would be fun. I thought the idea of a guy that got bonuses both offensively and defensively from sword and board could be fun flavor and RP fodder.

gr8artist
2014-05-23, 03:01 AM
Click the "table" button, under the B for "Bold"
Or, copy this and fill it in, which is prettier. If you go this route, click the "Switch Editor to WYSIWYG Mode" button located just above the B. This will REALLY help when editing tables.



Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special


1st

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


2nd

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


3rd

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


4th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


5th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


6th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


7th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


8th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


9th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


10th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


11th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


12th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


13th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


14th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


15th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


16th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


17th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


18th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


19th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability


20th

+x

+x

+x

+x
Class Ability

jjcrpntr
2014-05-23, 12:35 PM
gr8artist,

Thank you that was a huge help. It's been edited.

This class is designed for a low OP game. I don't expect it to be a massive class just something fun. It's more like a fighter with extra defensive tools and a few goodies.