Church Knight [Campeign Specific Base Class]

[Beren One-Hand]

One of my campaigns is being run in a homebrew world that I'm fleshing out as we game. One of the major factors of the region is their religion, included in the spoiler below.

Religion in Feldan
There have been many religions throughout the course of Feldan's history. While the demi-humans and the savage races all have their own pantheons, most humans worship only one god. The first humans to live in Feldan, the Elostians, worshiped a small but powerful group of gods. Resenting their disenfranchisement the offspring of these Elder Gods started a destructive planar uprising, ending in the usurpation of their influence and worship. The Elder Gods still exist, and are very powerful, but very few worship them - those that do are expected to follow every whim of their god zealously. The Younger Gods are much more lenient with their followers, and not nearly as powerful - they won the struggle for dominance through sheer numbers.

200 years ago, another large group of humans arrived on the shores of Feldan from the land of Rendor across the seas. Seeking glory and a new homeland these fierce warriors quickly concurred the Elostians, so that now the majority of the humans are Rendorian.

The Rendorians worship one deity, that they simply call the Oversoul. They tolerate the belief in other gods, generally with a sneer at the superstition of the uncivilized Elostians. Their worship is strictly divided between the sexes, with neither side allowing the opposite sex into their temples or holy grounds. Not only are the services divided, but there is little in common between their belief structure as well.

To the women, the Oversoul is a being of great wisdom and love. She is someone who guides the world through it's dangers, often aiding those who surrender to her gentle directions. The women often speak of Her with great love, even though the men scoff at both the idea that the Oversoul is female and that He is something to feel love for.

To the men, the Oversoul is a being of great strength and power. He is a figure to placate and struggle for His attention. They often punctuate their prayers with physical pain to prove their courage and strength to Him, the more dire the need the more they must prove themselves. Even the priests compete with each other to prove their favored status. Even with this competition, most men have not seen any direct involvement from the Oversoul; it is a rare man who can truthfully claim to have manifested the Oversoul's power. Due to this, it is a strict tradition that true believers of the Oversoul would endanger their souls by learning or using magic.

About 100 years ago, when the Rendorians where in danger from the divine magics wielded by the savage races, the church formed several militant orders and allowed them to train in the use of magic as well as blade. Each order is now trained by an Elostian Priest or Priestess to call upon the other divine powers, but this practice is still only allowed within the Church Knights - and there is considerable discussion upon ending it, but so far the current Arch Praetor has not been swayed.

The Paladin class was removed, in favor of the various Church Knight orders, but since none of the players wanted to play one I put off fleshing out the details of each class until now. I'm basically finished with them, but I'd like some input on them. I'd like them to be about equal in power, but that is not my main concern. The class structure is based off the Paladin, with the abilities changing from order to order to represent each order's outlook and preferred sphere of influence. Suggestions on replacement abilities, that would fit the theme better, would be appreciated - as would better names for those I made up.

So without further ado, I give you...

Church Knight - Havenguard Order
Alignment: Lawful Good
Hit Die: d10

Class Skills
The Church Knight of the Havenguard Order’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level:[b] (2 + Int modifier) x4
[b]Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|Base Attack[br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Aura of Alignment, Deathwatch, Stunning Blow 1/day

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Divine Grace, Lay on Hands

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Aura of Vigor, Divine Health|0

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Turn Undead|0

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Stunning Blow 2/day, Mount|1

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Remove Disease 1/week|1|0

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|-|1|0

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|-|1|1

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Remove Disease 2/week|1|1|0

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Stunning Blow 3/day|1|1|0

11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+3|-|2|1|1

12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+4|Remove Disease 3/week|2|1|1|0

13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|0

14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|1

15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+5|Remove Disease 4/week, Stunning Blow 4/day|2|2|2|1

16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|2|2|1

17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|3|2|2

18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+6|Remove Disease 5/week|4|3|3|2

19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+6|-|4|4|3|3

20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+6|Stunning Blow 5/day|4|4|4|3[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Church Knight of the Havenguard Order.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Church Knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Aura of Alignment (Ex): The power of a Church Knight’s aura of alignment (see the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells) is equal to her Church Knight level.

Deathwatch (Sp): At will, a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order can use deathwatch, as the spell.

Stunning Blow (Su): Once per day, a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order may attempt to stun an opponent with one non-lethal melee attack. She ignores the -4 penalty for non-lethal damage with a weapon. If the attack hits and does damage, the target must succeed at a Will save (DC is 10 + 1/2 her Church Knight Level + her Charisma bonus) or be stunned until the beginning of the Church Knight's next turn. At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the Church Knight may attempt to stun one additional time per day to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a Church Knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to her Church Knight level x her Charisma bonus. A Church Knight may choose to divide her healing among multiple recipients, and she doesn't have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action.
Alternatively, a Church Knight can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and does’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The Church Knight decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.

Aura of Vigor (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order emits an aura that aids his allies healing. The Church Knight gains a bonus to Heal checks equal to her Charisma, if any, and all healing spells cast within 10 feet of her are automatically Empowered, without increasing the casting time or spell level.
This ability functions while the Church Knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.

Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Spells: Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from their Order spell list. A Church Knight must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a Church Knight must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Church Knight’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Church Knight’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Church Knight can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When the Church Knight gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Church Knight does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A Church Knight prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A Church Knight may prepare and cast any spell on the Order spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Even at levels one and two, her caster level is equal to her Church Knight level.

Turn Undead (Su): When a Church Knight of the Havenguard Order reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn undead. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a Church Knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her duties (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Church Knight) or a warpony (for a Small Church Knight).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a Church Knight may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Church Knight’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Church Knight and remains for 2 hours per Church Knight level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Church Knight may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the Church Knight’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Church Knight may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a Church Knight level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Church Knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Code of Conduct: A Church Knight of the Havenguard Order must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class abilities if her alignment ever willingly commits an evil act.
Additionally, The Havenguard Order’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor ((not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a Church Knight will never knowingly associate with evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A Church Knight of the Havenguard Order's henchmen, followers, or cohorts must be lawful good.

Ex-Church Knights
A Church Knight who ceases to be lawful good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Church Knight spells and abilities (including the service of the Church Knight’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Church Knight. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a Church Knight may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Church Knights face a special restriction. A Church Knight who gains a level in any class other than Church Knight may never again raise her Church Knight level, though she retains all her Church Knight abilities.

The Church Knight's Mount
The Church Knight’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Church Knight is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Church Knight is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Church Knight) or a Large shark (for a Church Knight in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A Church Knight’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).

{table=head]Church Knight[br]Level|Bonus HD|Natural[br]Armor Adj.|Str Adj.|Int|Special

5th-7th|
+2|
+4|
+1|
6|Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws

8th-10th|
+4|
+6|
+2|
7|Improved Speed

11th-14th|
+6|
+8|
+3|
8|Command creatures of its kind

15th-20th|
+8|
+10|
+4|
9|Spell Resistance[/table]

Church Knight’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.

Empathic Link (Su): The Church Knight has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Church Knight cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the Church Knight has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: At the Church Knight’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Church Knight before the duration expires. Additionally, the Church Knight may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Church Knight and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).

Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Church Knight’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it does’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.

Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.

Command (Sp): Once per day per two Church Knight levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Church Knight’s level + Church Knight’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Church Knight level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

[Beren One-Hand]

Church Knight - Ravenguard Order
Alignment: Any Good (Usually Neutral Good)
Hit Die: d10

Class Skills
The Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level:[b] (2 + Int modifier) x4
[b]Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|Base Attack[br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Aura of Alignment, Detect Secret Doors, Sneak Attack +1d6

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Divine Grace, Staunch Wounds

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Debilitating Aura, Divine Resistance|0

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Turn Undead|0

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Sneak Attack +2d6, Mount|1

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Zone of Truth 1/week|1|0

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|-|1|0

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|-|1|1

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Zone of Truth 2/week|1|1|0

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Sneak Attack +3d6|1|1|0

11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+3|-|2|1|1

12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+4|Zone of Truth 3/week|2|1|1|0

13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|0

14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|1

15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+5|Sneak Attack +4d6, Zone of Truth 4/week|2|2|2|1

16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|2|2|1

17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|3|2|2

18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+6|Zone of Truth 5/week|4|3|3|2

19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+6|-|4|4|3|3

20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+6|Sneak Attack +5d6|4|4|4|3[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Church Knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Aura of Alignment (Ex): The power of a Church Knight’s aura of alignement (see the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells) is equal to her Church Knight level.

Detect Secret Doors (Sp): At will, a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order can use detect secret doors, as the spell.

Sneak Attack (Su): If a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from her attack, she can strike a vital spot for extra damage. The Church Knight is able to sneak attack a creature with concealment reletive to her, if she meets all other requirements of a sneak attack - this one of her divine gifts.
The Church Knight’s attack deals extra damage any time her target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC (whether the target actually has a Dexterity bonus or not), or when the Church Knight flanks her target. This extra damage is 1d6 at 1st level, and it increases by 1d6 every five Church Knight levels thereafter. Should the Church Knight score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.
Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet.
With a sap (blackjack) or an unarmed strike, the Church Knight can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. She cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual –4 penalty.
The Church Knight can sneak attack only living creatures with discernible anatomies—undead, constructs, oozes, plants, and incorporeal creatures lack vital areas to attack. Any creature that is immune to critical hits is not vulnerable to sneak attacks. The Church Knight must be able to reach a vital spot. A Church Knight cannot sneak attack while striking the limbs of a creature whose vitals are beyond reach.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a Church Knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Staunch Wounds (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds by touch. She can revive a dieing or disabled creature, bringing it up to 1 HP with a standard action. Each day she can heal a total number of creatures equal to her Charisma bonus.

Debilitating Aura (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order gives all foes within 10 feet of her a -1 morale penalty to AC.
This ability functions while the Church Knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.

Divine Resistance (Ex): At 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order gains a divine bonus to all saves vs Poison equal to her Charisma bonus.

Spells: Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from their Order spell list. A Church Knight must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a Church Knight must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Church Knight’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Church Knight’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Church Knight can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When the Church Knight gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Church Knight does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A Church Knight prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A Church Knight may prepare and cast any spell on the Order spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Even at levels one and two, her caster level is equal to her Church Knight level.

Turn Undead (Su): When a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn undead. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a Church Knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her duties (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Church Knight) or a warpony (for a Small Church Knight).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a Church Knight may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Church Knight’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Church Knight and remains for 2 hours per Church Knight level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Church Knight may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the Church Knight’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Church Knight may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a Church Knight level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Church Knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Zone of Truth (Sp): At 6th level, a Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order can produce a Zone of Truth effect, as the spell, once per week. She can use this ability one additional time per week for every three levels after 6th (twice per week at 9th, three times at 12th, and so forth).

Code of Conduct: A Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order must be of good alignment and loses all class abilities if her alignment ever changes from good.
Additionally, The Ravenguard Order’s code requires that she respect legitimate church authority, help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a Church Knight will never knowingly befreind evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A Church Knight of the Ravenguard Order has no other restrictions on henchmen, followers, or cohorts.

Ex-Church Knights
A Church Knight who ceases to be good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Church Knight spells and abilities (including the service of the Church Knight’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Church Knight. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a Church Knight may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Church Knights face a special restriction. A Church Knight who gains a level in any class other than Church Knight may never again raise her Church Knight level, though she retains all her Church Knight abilities.

The Church Knight's Mount
The Church Knight’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Church Knight is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Church Knight is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Church Knight) or a Large shark (for a Church Knight in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A Church Knight’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).

{table=head]Church Knight[br]Level|Bonus HD|Natural[br]Armor Adj.|Str Adj.|Int|Special

5th-7th|
+2|
+4|
+1|
6|Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws

8th-10th|
+4|
+6|
+2|
7|Improved Speed

11th-14th|
+6|
+8|
+3|
8|Command creatures of its kind

15th-20th|
+8|
+10|
+4|
9|Spell Resistance[/table]

Church Knight’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.

Empathic Link (Su): The Church Knight has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Church Knight cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the Church Knight has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: At the Church Knight’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Church Knight before the duration expires. Additionally, the Church Knight may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Church Knight and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).

Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Church Knight’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.

Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.

Command (Sp): Once per day per two Church Knight levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Church Knight’s level + Church Knight’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Church Knight level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

[Beren One-Hand]

Church Knight - Fellguard Order
Alignment: Any Lawful (Usually Lawful Neutral)
Hit Die: d10
Class Skills
The Church Knight of the Fellguard Order’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Perform (weapon trick) (Cha), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level:[b] (2 + Int modifier) x4
[b]Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack[br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th
1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Aura of Alignment, Detect Chaos, Smite 1/day
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Divine Grace, Remain Standing
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Aura of Courage, Bonus Feat|0
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Turn Undead|0
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Smite 2/day, Mount|1
6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Bonus Feat|1|0
7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|-|1|0
8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|-|1|1
9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Bonus Feat|1|1|0
10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Smite 3/day|1|1|0
11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+3|-|2|1|1
12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+4|Bonus Feat|2|1|1|0
13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|0
14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|1
15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+5|Bonus Feat, Smite 4/day|2|2|2|1
16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|2|2|1
17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|3|2|2
18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+6|Bonus Feat|4|3|3|2
19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+6|-|4|4|3|3
20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+6|Smite 5/day|4|4|4|3[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Church Knight of the Fellguard Order.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Church Knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Aura of Alignment (Ex): The power of a Church Knight’s aura of alignement (see the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells) is equal to her Church Knight level.
Detect Chaos (Sp): At will, a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order can use detect chaos, as the spell.
Smite (Su): Once per day, a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order may attempt to smite with one normal melee attack. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per Church Knight level. At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the Church Knight may smite one additional time per day to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.
Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a Church Knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Remain Standing (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can act normally if brougt to 0 HP or below. She can act normally a number of rounds per day equal to 1/2 her Church Knight level times her Charisma bonus. Each round at -10 HP or below takes two daily uses. When her time is used up she will immediatly start dieing if at -1 HP or below, and will immediately die if at -10 HP or below.
Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects.
This ability functions while the Church Knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every third level afterwards, a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order gains a Bonus Feat. This Bonus Feat must be a weapon related feat, a mounted combat related feat, or a Divine feat. She must meet any prequisites to take the bonus feats.
Spells: Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from their Order spell list. A Church Knight must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a Church Knight must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Church Knight’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Church Knight’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Church Knight can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When the Church Knight gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Church Knight does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A Church Knight prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A Church Knight may prepare and cast any spell on the Order spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Even at levels one and two, her caster level is equal to her Church Knight level.
Turn Undead (Su): When a Church Knight of the Fellguard Order reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn undead. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.
Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a Church Knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her duties (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Church Knight) or a warpony (for a Small Church Knight).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a Church Knight may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Church Knight’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Church Knight and remains for 2 hours per Church Knight level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Church Knight may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the Church Knight’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Church Knight may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a Church Knight level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Church Knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Code of Conduct: A Church Knight of the Fellguard Order must be of lawful alignment and loses all class abilities if her alignment ever changes from lawful.
Additionally, The Fellguard Order’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor ((not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those deserving aid (provided they do not use the help for chaotic ends), and punish those who wantonly break laws and sow chaos.
Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a Church Knight will never knowingly befreind evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A Church Knight of the Fellguard Order's henchmen, followers, or cohorts must be lawful.
Ex-Church Knights
A Church Knight who ceases to be lawful, who willfully creates anarcy, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Church Knight spells and abilities (including the service of the Church Knight’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Church Knight. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a Church Knight may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Church Knights face a special restriction. A Church Knight who gains a level in any class other than Church Knight may never again raise her Church Knight level, though she retains all her Church Knight abilities.
The Church Knight's Mount
The Church Knight’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Church Knight is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Church Knight is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Church Knight) or a Large shark (for a Church Knight in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A Church Knight’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).
{table=head]Church Knight[br]Level|Bonus HD|Natural[br]Armor Adj.|Str Adj.|Int|Special
5th-7th|
+2|
+4|
+1|
6|Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws
8th-10th|
+4|
+6|
+2|
7|Improved Speed
11th-14th|
+6|
+8|
+3|
8|Command creatures of its kind
15th-20th|
+8|
+10|
+4|
9|Spell Resistance[/table]
Church Knight’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.
Empathic Link (Su): The Church Knight has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Church Knight cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the Church Knight has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).
Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells: At the Church Knight’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Church Knight before the duration expires. Additionally, the Church Knight may cast a spell with a target of "You" on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Church Knight and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).
Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Church Knight’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.
Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Command (Sp): Once per day per two Church Knight levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Church Knight’s level + Church Knight’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Church Knight level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

[Beren One-Hand]

Church Knight - Vineguard Order
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Hit Die: d10

Class Skills
The Church Knight of the Vineguard Order’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Climb (Str), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level:[b] (4 + Int modifier) x4
[b]Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|Base Attack[br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Aura of Alignment, Detect Animals or Plants, Favored Enemy

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Divine Grace, Divine Woodsman

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Aura of Fortitude, Woodland Stride|0

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Turn Undead|0

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Favored Enemy, Mount|1

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Energy Resistance +5|1|0

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|-|1|0

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|-|1|1

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Energy Resistance +5|1|1|0

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Favored Enemy|1|1|0

11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+3|-|2|1|1

12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+4|Energy Resistance +5|2|1|1|0

13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|0

14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|1

15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+5|Energy Resistance +5, Favored Enemy|2|2|2|1

16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|2|2|1

17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|3|2|2

18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+6|Energy Resistance +5|4|3|3|2

19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+6|-|4|4|3|3

20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+6|Favored Enemy|4|4|4|3[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Church Knight of the Vineguard Order.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Church Knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Aura of Alignment (Ex): The power of a Church Knight’s aura of alignement (see the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells) is equal to her Church Knight level.

Detect Animals or Plants (Sp): At will, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order can use detect animals or plants, as the spell.

Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order may select a type of creature from among those given on Table: Ranger Favored Enemies. The Church Knight gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.
At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the Church Knight may select an additional favored enemy from those given on the table. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by 2.
If the Church Knight chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the Church Knight's bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a Church Knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Divine Woodsman (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can enhance his wilderness skills. Each day she can add up to her Church Knight level times her Charisma bonus to any Climb, Jump, Listen, Spot, Survial, or Swim checks. A Church Knight may choose to divide her bonus among multiple checks, and she doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using Divine Woodsman is a free action, but the maximum amount that can be added to any one check is her ranks in the skill.

Aura of Fortitude(Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order is immune to non-lethal damage from environmental effects, and all allies within 10' gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves to resist environemental effects.
This ability functions while the Church Knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.

Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 3th level, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect her.

Spells: Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from their Order spell list. A Church Knight must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a Church Knight must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Church Knight’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Church Knight’s Wisdom modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a Church Knight can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When the Church Knight gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level. The Church Knight does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A Church Knight prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A Church Knight may prepare and cast any spell on the Order spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Even at levels one and two, her caster level is equal to her Church Knight level.

Turn/Rebuke Elementals (Su): When a Church Knight of the Vineguardguard Order reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn/rebuke elementals. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns/rebukes elementals as a cleric of three levels lower would. She must pick any two subtypes to turn and/or rebuke.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a Church Knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her duties (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Church Knight) or a warpony (for a Small Church Knight).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a Church Knight may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Church Knight’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Church Knight and remains for 2 hours per Church Knight level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Church Knight may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the Church Knight’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Church Knight may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a Church Knight level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Church Knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Energy Resistance (Sp): At 6th level, and every three levels after 6th, a Church Knight of the Vineguard Order gains energy resistance +5 for any one energy type. These bonuses stack with each other.

Code of Conduct:[b] A Church Knight of the Vineguard Order must be of good alignment and loses all class abilities if her alignment ever changes from good.
Additionally, The Vineguard Order’s code requires that she respect legitimate church authority, help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.

Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a Church Knight will never knowingly befreind evil characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A Church Knight of the Vineguard Order has no other restrictions on henchmen, followers, or cohorts.

Ex-Church Knights
A Church Knight who ceases to be good, who willfully commits an evil act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Church Knight spells and abilities (including the service of the Church Knight’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Church Knight. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a Church Knight may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Church Knights face a special restriction. A Church Knight who gains a level in any class other than Church Knight may never again raise her Church Knight level, though she retains all her Church Knight abilities.

[b]The Church Knight's Mount
The Church Knight’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Church Knight is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Church Knight is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Church Knight) or a Large shark (for a Church Knight in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A Church Knight’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).

{table=head]Church Knight[br]Level|Bonus HD|Natural[br]Armor Adj.|Str Adj.|Int|Special

5th-7th|
+2|
+4|
+1|
6|Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws

8th-10th|
+4|
+6|
+2|
7|Improved Speed

11th-14th|
+6|
+8|
+3|
8|Command creatures of its kind

15th-20th|
+8|
+10|
+4|
9|Spell Resistance[/table]

Church Knight’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.

Empathic Link (Su): The Church Knight has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Church Knight cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the Church Knight has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: At the Church Knight’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Church Knight before the duration expires. Additionally, the Church Knight may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Church Knight and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).

Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Church Knight’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.

Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.

Command (Sp): Once per day per two Church Knight levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Church Knight’s level + Church Knight’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Church Knight level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

[Beren One-Hand]

Since this pulls from non-core sources I've just cited the reference rather than typing it out and changing the class names.

Church Knight - Rhymeguard Order
Alignment: Non-Evil (Usually True Neutral)
Hit Die: d10

Class Skills
The Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (all), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level:[b] (2 + Int modifier) x4
[b]Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

{table=head]Level|Base Attack[br]Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|1st|2nd|3rd|4th

1st|
+1|
+2|
+0|
+0|Aura of Alignment,Dark Knowledge (Tacticts), Detect/Read Magic
2nd|
+2|
+3|
+0|
+0|Divine Grace, Lore

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Aura of Resolve, Cooperative Spell|0

4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Chastise Spirits|0

5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Dark Knowledge (Puissance), Mount|1

6th|
+6|
+5|
+2|
+2|Sudden Extend|1|0

7th|
+7|
+5|
+2|
+2|-|1|0

8th|
+8|
+6|
+2|
+2|-|1|1

9th|
+9|
+6|
+3|
+3|Sudden Widen|1|1|0

10th|
+10|
+7|
+3|
+3|Dark Knowledge (Foe)|1|1|0

11th|
+11|
+7|
+3|
+3|-|2|1|1

12th|
+12|
+8|
+4|
+4|Sudden Empower|2|1|1|0

13th|
+13|
+8|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|0

14th|
+14|
+9|
+4|
+4|-|2|2|1|1

15th|
+15|
+9|
+5|
+5|Dark Knowledge (Dread Secret), Sudden Maximize|2|2|2|1

16th|
+16|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|2|2|1

17th|
+17|
+10|
+5|
+5|-|3|3|2|2

18th|
+18|
+11|
+6|
+6|Sudden Quicken|4|3|3|2

19th|
+19|
+11|
+6|
+6|-|4|4|3|3

20th|
+20|
+12|
+6|
+6|Dark Knowledge (Foreknowledge)|4|4|4|3[/table]

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Church Knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Aura of Alignment (Ex): The power of a Church Knight’s aura of alignement (see the detect chaos/evil/good/law spells) is equal to her Church Knight level.

Detect/Read Magic (Sp): At will, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order can use detect magic and read magic, as the spells.

Dark Knowledge: At 1st level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order may use Dark Knowledge 1/day (+1 use per five levels). Otherwise this is identical to the Archivist Class feature.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a Church Knight gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.

Lore (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order may make a special check to know something special.

Aura of Resolve(Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order is immune to mind-affecting effects, and all allies within 10' gain a +4 bonus on charm/compusion effects.
This ability functions while the Church Knight is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.

Cooperative Spell (Ex): Starting at 3th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Cooperative spell feat.

Spells: Beginning at 3rd level, a Church Knight gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. Other than the spells per day her ability to cast spells is the same as an Archivist.
Even at levels one and two, her caster level is equal to her Church Knight level.

Chastise Spirits (Su): When a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to Chastise Spirits. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She Chastise Spirits as a Spirit Shaman of three levels lower would.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a Church Knight gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her duties (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Church Knight) or a warpony (for a Small Church Knight).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a Church Knight may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Church Knight’s level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Church Knight and remains for 2 hours per Church Knight level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Church Knight may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the Church Knight’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Church Knight may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains a Church Knight level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Church Knight takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Sudden Extend: At 6th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Sudden Extend feat.

Sudden Widen: At 9th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Sudden Widen feat.

Sudden Empower: At 12th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Sudden Empower feat.

Sudden Maximize: At 15th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Sudden Maximize feat.

Sudden Quicken: At 18th level, a Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order gains the Sudden Quicken feat.

Code of Conduct: A Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order must be of non-good alignment and loses all class abilities if her alignment ever changes to evil.
Additionally, The Rhymeguard Order’s code requires that she respect knowledge, help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil ends), and punish those who use knowledge for evil ends.

Associates: A Church Knight of the Rhymeguard Order has no restrictions on the aligenment of her associates, henchmen, followers, or cohorts.

Ex-Church Knights
A Church Knight who turns evil, who willfully destroies knowledge, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Church Knight spells and abilities (including the service of the Church Knight’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a Church Knight. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a Church Knight may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Church Knights face a special restriction. A Church Knight who gains a level in any class other than Church Knight may never again raise her Church Knight level, though she retains all her Church Knight abilities.

The Church Knight's Mount
The Church Knight’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Church Knight is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Church Knight is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Church Knight) or a Large shark (for a Church Knight in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A Church Knight’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).

{table=head]Church Knight[br]Level|Bonus HD|Natural[br]Armor Adj.|Str Adj.|Int|Special

5th-7th|
+2|
+4|
+1|
6|Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws

8th-10th|
+4|
+6|
+2|
7|Improved Speed

11th-14th|
+6|
+8|
+3|
8|Command creatures of its kind

15th-20th|
+8|
+10|
+4|
9|Spell Resistance[/table]

Church Knight’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.

Empathic Link (Su): The Church Knight has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Church Knight cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the Church Knight has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: At the Church Knight’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Church Knight before the duration expires. Additionally, the Church Knight may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A Church Knight and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).

Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Church Knight’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.

Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.

Command (Sp): Once per day per two Church Knight levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Church Knight’s level + Church Knight’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Church Knight level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

[Matthew]

Wow. Such a lot of work and no comments. You might have considered posting this up bit by bit. There's so much information that it's really hard to take in on a Forum.

[Peregrine]

Tyrannical Elder Gods, numerous Younger Gods usurping them, a conquering people with a single deity, 'Rendor', 'Elostians', Church Knights of multiple orders trained in magic by priests of the old religion... Elenium fan? :smallsmile:

As Matthew said, there's a lot here to go over, so I'll have to mark this one for a read at my later leisure.

[JoshuaZ]

The Rendorians worship one deity, that they simply call the Oversoul. They tolerate the belief in other gods, generally with a sneer at the superstition of the uncivilized Elostians. Their worship is strictly divided between the sexes, with neither side allowing the opposite sex into their temples or holy grounds. Not only are the services divided, but there is little in common between their belief structure as well.

To the women, the Oversoul is a being of great wisdom and love. She is someone who guides the world through it's dangers, often aiding those who surrender to her gentle directions. The women often speak of Her with great love, even though the men scoff at both the idea that the Oversoul is female and that He is something to feel love for.

To the men, the Oversoul is a being of great strength and power. He is a figure to placate and struggle for His attention. They often punctuate their prayers with physical pain to prove their courage and strength to Him, the more dire the need the more they must prove themselves. Even the priests compete with each other to prove their favored status. Even with this competition, most men have not seen any direct involvement from the Oversoul; it is a rare man who can truthfully claim to have manifested the Oversoul's power. Due to this, it is a strict tradition that true believers of the Oversoul would endanger their souls by learning or using magic.

Hmm, a bit taken from Orson Scott Card?

[EvilElitest]

Tyrannical Elder Gods, numerous Younger Gods usurping them, a conquering people with a single deity, 'Rendor', 'Elostians', Church Knights of multiple orders trained in magic by priests of the old religion... Elenium fan? :smallsmile:

As Matthew said, there's a lot here to go over, so I'll have to mark this one for a read at my later leisure.

Great books i would have to say, havn't read teh class as yet though
from,
EE

[Beren One-Hand]

Yep, When I first started writing out this world I had just finished the Elenium series and I thought that it would be cool to have paladins actually follow one diety but get their spells from another. I might have overdone it by throwing in the Oversoul (taken from Orson Scott Card), but I don't feel up to changing that aspect right now since one of my players is a cleric of the Oversoul.

As for the classes - most of the text is copy/pasted from the Paladin class (especially the bit about the mount). I kept the same ability progression structure and changed the abilities to match each order's outlook.

[Matthew]

Reading these over, I find I would like to see additional fluff for each order here presented. With regard to abilities, I think that it's hard to decide. My impulse is to fill in all the dead levels and up the overall power. In some ways, I think these variants would be better suited to a Bonus Feat scheme, where every level they earn a Feat and take one appropriate to their Order.

Alternatively, I would be inclined to make these Prestige Classes, given the Order type aspect, but that depends on fluff.