[3.5] Crusader Fluff

[Thurbane]

Hey all,

I don't often play ToB classes, and I'm currently looking at the Crusader.

Now, from memory, I didn't think their fluff was that closely tied to worshiping a specific god (I thought they could be a Crusader of a cause or ideal), but re-reading the fluff section it seems to entirely focus on deities.

Am I missing something? I mean, I know I'm free to ignore the fluff, and mechanically their powers aren't fueled by a god, but still, the fluff actually surprised me a little.

Am I missing anything?

Cheers - T

[Mike Miller]

I always understood the crusader to be a better paladin, so undertake a deity's cause. Just as the warblade is a better fighter or Swordsage is a better monk(?)

[Goaty14]

More or less, yes. Unlike the paladin, it strongly emphasizes that you don't need a deity (not even a good one -- the sample crusader worships hextor IIRC) for your abilities to work.

[Deophaun]

The very first sentence describing them is "This holy (or unholy) warrior is devoted to the service of a deity or principle." You have a statement about Crusaders who devote themselves to religion being like Paladins, but that also implies that there are Crusaders who don't devote themselves to religion. A choice of diety is only important because religion is an obvious target of devotion, not because it's the only or even the most likely. Mostly, it talks about a cause with no limit on what that cause is. It could be based around a god, or it could not.

I would say your memory serves you well.

[Prime32]

Mechanically their fighting style relies on determination and flashes of insight, as opposed to the swordsage's rote learning + spirituality, or the warblade's ability to analyse/adapt + create their own openings. The default fluff is that this comes from divine inspiration.