Insinuator Antipaladin and Subjective Morality

[Xuldarinar]

In a campaign being run using the rules for subjective morality, how do you think the Insinuator Antipaladin would work?

[Slithery D]

It's possible, but one could argue it either way.

[Thealtruistorc]

This is actually pretty simple, given that even creatures in a subjectively-aligned universe have agendas to follow. Channeling an outsider would simply mean cooperating with them, having you as the insinuator work with them to accomplish goals that you both want done. You might bind a powerful entity of destruction because you both want to smash some heads, or perhaps an entity of law when you want to make sure that nobody is lying to you. Acting in one's self-interest is also easy to adopt, and that's something that could totally work without changes in a nonaligned setting.

For abilities, simply retailor the alignment-based powers to agenda-based ones. You detect whether or not creatures hold strong loyalties and convictions when you would normally detect balance, and smite impudence works on people who would actively disrupt your agenda (say, a social reactionary when your outsider has revolutionary tones).

In a subjective morality world that I ran, I had a group of antipaladins who were a faction of religious reformists seeking to tear down their corrupt church. To me, an antipaladin in a subjective world is defined by his dedicated opposition to something. He fights to bring down or destroy what he feels is flawed with the world, harnessing power from that overwhelming urge to eliminate his quarry from existence. Whereas subjective paladins fight for a cause, a subjective antipaladin fights against it, doing everything in his power to ensure that his target perishes from this world before he does.

[Xuldarinar]

Given the advice, and the rules regarding the paladin under subjective morality.. I think I'll do a writeup of the archetype modified for subjective morality, given my take.



Insinuator (Subjective Morality)

Loyalty: An insinuator must have himself as one of his loyalties.

Code of Conduct: An insinuator must always work toward his own self-interest, enrichment, or glory, and must also abide by the moral strictures of whatever outsider they have chosen to invoke that day (see invocation below). If the insinuator breaks an invoked outsider's code, he cannot invoke outsiders of that same alignment until he seeks atonement, although outsiders of other alignments may still heed his call.

Invocation (Ex): At the start of each day, an insinuator can meditate for 10 minutes to contact and barter with an outsider to empower him for a day. An insinuator can freely invoke an outsider representative of one of his loyalties. He can instead invoke an outsider not associated with his loyalties by succeeding at a Diplomacy or Knowledge (religion) skill check (DC = 15 + the insinuator's antipaladin level). While invoking the power of an outsider, the insinuator is treated as possessing the outsider's associated loyalties for the purposes of effects. None of an insinuator's supernatural or spell-like class abilities function unless he has invoked the power of an outsider, and the loyalty of the being invoked may affect how some abilities function. This ability replaces aura of evil.

Detect Balance (Sp): At will, an insinuator can detect strong loyalty leanings. This functions as detect evil, but does not actually reveal the target's loyalty, only whether the target possesses only loyalties that are neither shared with them nor opposed to theirs, and the relative strength of that aura. This ability alters detect good.

Smite Impudence (Su): Once per day, an insinuator can beseech the forces empowering him to punish their shared enemies. As a swift action, the insinuator chooses one target within sight to smite.

An insinuator cannot use smite against a target that shares a loyalty with the outsider he has invoked for the day. The insinuator adds his Charisma bonus on his attack rolls and half his insinuator level on all damage rolls made against the target of his smite. If the target is an outsider, dragon, or divine spellcaster with a loyalty directly contrary to the highest loyalty of the outsider he has invoked for the day, the bonus damage on the first successful attack increases to 1 point of damage per antipaladin level the insinuator has.

Regardless of the target, the smite attack automatically bypasses any damage reduction the creature might possess. In addition, each time the insinuator declares a smite, he gains a number of temporary hit points equal to his antipaladin level.

The smite effect remains until the target is defeated or the next time the insinuator rests and regains his uses of this ability.

If the insinuator attempts to use their smite against an invalid target, the insinuator can recover the expended use a number of times per day equal to the maximum uses per day of Smite Impudence.

At 4th level and at every 3 levels thereafter, the insinuator can use smite one additional time per day, to a maximum of seven times per day at 19th level. This ability replaces smite good.

Selfish Healing: As is..

Aura of Ego: As is..

Stubborn Health: As is..

Greeds: As is..

Channel Energy: At 4th level, an insinuator can choose to channel negative or positive energy. This choice is made during the invocation. Using this ability consumes two uses of his selfish healing ability. When channeling negative energy, the insinuator treats his effective cleric level as equal to his antipaladin level. When channeling positive energy, the insinuator treats his effective cleric level as equal to half his antipaladin level. This is a Charisma-based ability. This ability alters channel negative energy.

Bonus Feats: As is..

Ambitious Bond (Sp): At 5th level, an insinuator gains a divine bond with either a bonded weapon or an outsider servant. This functions as the antipaladin's fiendish boon with the following modifications.

Bonded Weapon: This functions as the antipaladin ability, except the first special ability added to a weapon is holy, keyed to the highest loyalty of the insinuator's currently invoked outsider. Additional special abilities may be applied if any equivalent bonus remains.
Outsider Servant: This functions as the antipaladin ability, except the insinuator gains a new outsider servant each day, whose highest loyalty must match the highest loyalty of the outsider invoked for the day. The outsider servant functions as much as an agent for the patron invoked by the insinuator as an ally of the insinuator himself, and may turn against him if he goes against his patron's loyalties or interests.

Aura of Ambition: As is..

Aura of Glory: As is..

Aura of Belief: At 14th level, an insinuator's weapons are treated as aligned to one of the loyalties held by his invoked outsider. When he invokes an outsider, the insinuator must choose during the initial invocation which loyalty his weapon radiates. This ability replaces aura of sin.

Aura of Indomitability (Su): At 17th level, an insinuator gains DR 10 that is bypassed by the loyalty opposite of the highest loyalty held by the outsider he has invoked for the day. This ability replaces aura of depravity.

Personal Champion (Su): At 20th level, an insinuator becomes a living embodiment of his selfish desires. His damage reduction from aura of indomitability increases to 15. Whenever he uses smite impudence, he adds twice his full Charisma bonus to the attack roll and doubles his effective bonus damage gained from the smite. In addition, he can invoke a new outsider patron by meditating for 10 minutes. This ability replaces unholy champion.