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Sir_Chivalry
2015-05-23, 10:09 AM
I'm looking for any advice I can get on converting the Devoted Defender class from Sword and Fist into a prestige class in the style of the classes in Tome of Battle.

As it stands it's a fairly decent prestige class, not fantastic or game-breaking, but it does what it claims to do. I'm just looking for what to take away (maybe reduce the bonus on Defensive Strike and Deflect Attack from every two to every three levels?) and then add a bare bones maneuver progression like in ToB (new maneuver each odd level, new readied maneuver every 3 levels, 1 new stance at 5th) unless that's too powerful?

And then the question of schools comes up, and changing pre-requirements. I'd think Iron Guard's Glare would be a good requirement, or should it be the higher level Thicket of Blades? Stonefoot Stance to make it more accessible to non Crusaders? Something White Raven instead to encourage Warblades OR Crusaders?

A crusader has Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon and White Raven, and those all seem decent for a bodyguard, but perhaps Setting Sun would work instead of one of those three, for good tripping and throwing maneuvers? Or is that too showy and not fitting an armoured bodyguard?

Andion Isurand
2015-05-24, 12:25 AM
I know it doesn't use any ToB-style stuff, but I did make a similar PrC a while back that you might find useful to add to your own thoughts.

The Defiant Defender (http://magerune.blogspot.com/2012/11/defiant-defender-prc.html) class I made (admittedly a bit wordy and lacking growth flexibility)... was made to be a crowd control class, good at avoiding getting bogged down or pushed around by enemies in order to stay mobile and capable of threatening/disrupting/halting as many enemies as possible.

It eventually improves how they can use readied actions to move towards enemies just before they act, over the course of a round, creating more situations where those enemies provoke attacks of opportunity that the defender can use to stop them in their tracks or knock their attacks aside.

While some abilities were borrowed from the Knight class and whatnot, the class can work with any alignment and melee gear set up.

The high BAB, all good saves and d12 Hit Die are in and of themselves a feature of the class, given that its both nonmagical and defensive, and needs all the help it can get.