Frosty
2007-11-28, 01:54 AM
Purpose: The Knight has always been a very cool class in my opinion, but I always get the feling that it is often neglected...passed over for other classes more flashy or simply more efficient. This is a quote from another recent thread (in another forum) about Knights:
It's playable, but as people have noted it's on the weak side. Even its defenses tend to give out as enemies grow in power. It has a few abilities you can't find anywhere else, but really, there's no reason to play one.
So, I have tried to give the Knight class a bit of polish, so to speak, and make it SHINE a bit more. I kept the class as close to the original as possible in both flavor and mechanics, so the changes are not extreme. The Core Chassis needed a bit of work in the Skills department, and I got rid of some of the useless things like Mounted Combat and gave it more useful alternatives.
So, read and give me some constructive feedback on whether or not you'd bother with this class after my fix.
HD: d12
Table 1-1: The Knight
Fort Ref Will
Level BAB Save Save Save Special
1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Fighting challenge +1, knight’s challenge, knight’s code
2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 Bonus Feat, Armor Block +1
3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 Bulwark of Defense
4th +4 +4 +1 +4 Armor mastery (medium), test of mettle, Bonus Feat
5th +5 +4 +1 +4 Bonus feat, vigilant defender, Force of Will
6th +6/+1 +5 +2 +5 Shield ally, Specialization
7th +7/+2 +5 +2 +5 Fighting challenge +2
8th +8/+3 +6 +2 +6 Call to battle, Bonus Feat
9th +9/+4 +6 +3 +6 Armor mastery (heavy)
10th +10/+5 +7 +3 +7 Bonus feat, Bond of Loyalty
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +7 Armor block +2, Greater Specialization
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +8 Daunting challenge, Bonus Feat
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +8 Fighting challenge +3
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +9 Improved shield ally
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +9 Bonus feat
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +10 Armor block +3
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Impetuous Endurance
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Bonus feat
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Fighting challenge +4
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Loyal beyond death, Armor block +4
Class Skills:
The Knight's class skills are as follows: Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (history), Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, and Swim.
Skill points at 1st level: (4+int modifier) x4
Skill points at each additional level: 4+int modifier
Class Features:
All class features are identical to the ones in the Players' Handbook 2 except as noted in this section.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
The Knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and armor (light, medium and heavy) and shields (including tower shields).
Knight levels count as Fighter levels with regards to qualifying for feats, entries into prestige classes, etc. A Knight may also use her Charisma instead of Strength when considering whether she qualifies for a feat or prestige class.
Test of Mettle (Ex): This ability may affect a foe more than once per battle instead of just once per day.
Bond of Loyalty (Ex): This ability has been moved up so the Knight receives it at 10th level. Everything else remains the same.
The Knight’s Code: Everything remains the same, except that one part of the code is removed. The Knight may gain flanking bonuses as normal without violating the code of honor.
Armor Block (Ex): Armor Block replaces Shield Block, It gives extra armor or shield AC against ALL foes instead of one designated foe. The bonus is +1 at level 2. It increases to +2 at 11th level, +3 at 16th level, and +4 at 20th level. This ability only functions if the Knight has an actual armor or shield AC. Natural armor alone does not count.
Armor Mastery (Ex): Starting at 4th level, the Knight ignores the standard speed reduction for wearing medium armor. The maximum dex bonus for any medium or light armor the Knight wears increases by 2. Starting 9th level, those benefits extend to Heavy armor as well. The Knight may choose to forego one or both of these abilities in return for one or two bonus feats chosen from the Fighter bonus feats. A Knight must give up Armor Mastery (Medium) if she wishes to give up Armor Mastery (Heavy).
Force of Will: At 5th level, a Knight may choose to use her Charisma modifier in place of her strength modifier in calculating damage. She may also choose to use her Charisma modifier in place of her Strength or Dexterity modifier on attack rolls. She may also also choose to use her Charisma instead of Strength in Grapple, Trip, Bullrush, and Overrun checks.
Bonus feats: The Knight does not gain Mounted Combat at level 2. Instead, the Knight gains a bonus feat just as he does at levels 5, 10, and 15. In addition, the Knight also gets Bonus feats at levels 4, 8, 12, and 18 as well. The feats may be chosen from one of the following: Any Fighter bonus feat, Iron Will, Force of Personality, Great Fortitude, Leap Attack, Endurance, Diehard. The Knight must still meet all prerequisites for the feat.
Vigilante Defender (Ex): In addition to the normal benefits mentioned, the Knight also gains this benefit: If the Knight and an ally is flanking an enemy, and that enemy makes an attack on anyone but the Knight, he provokes an Attack of Opportunity from the Knight.
Specialization: At 6th level, a Knight may choose one of the following: 1) Gain Shield Specialization as a bonus feat, except that the Knight may also choose Tower Shield as one of the choices. 2) Gain weapon focus for one weapon.
Greater Specialization: At 11th level, a Knights may choose one of the following: 1) Gains Shield Ward as a bonus feat. 2) Gain weapon specialization for one weapon with which she has weapon focus in.
It's playable, but as people have noted it's on the weak side. Even its defenses tend to give out as enemies grow in power. It has a few abilities you can't find anywhere else, but really, there's no reason to play one.
So, I have tried to give the Knight class a bit of polish, so to speak, and make it SHINE a bit more. I kept the class as close to the original as possible in both flavor and mechanics, so the changes are not extreme. The Core Chassis needed a bit of work in the Skills department, and I got rid of some of the useless things like Mounted Combat and gave it more useful alternatives.
So, read and give me some constructive feedback on whether or not you'd bother with this class after my fix.
HD: d12
Table 1-1: The Knight
Fort Ref Will
Level BAB Save Save Save Special
1st +1 +2 +0 +2 Fighting challenge +1, knight’s challenge, knight’s code
2nd +2 +3 +0 +3 Bonus Feat, Armor Block +1
3rd +3 +3 +1 +3 Bulwark of Defense
4th +4 +4 +1 +4 Armor mastery (medium), test of mettle, Bonus Feat
5th +5 +4 +1 +4 Bonus feat, vigilant defender, Force of Will
6th +6/+1 +5 +2 +5 Shield ally, Specialization
7th +7/+2 +5 +2 +5 Fighting challenge +2
8th +8/+3 +6 +2 +6 Call to battle, Bonus Feat
9th +9/+4 +6 +3 +6 Armor mastery (heavy)
10th +10/+5 +7 +3 +7 Bonus feat, Bond of Loyalty
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +7 Armor block +2, Greater Specialization
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +8 Daunting challenge, Bonus Feat
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +8 Fighting challenge +3
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +9 Improved shield ally
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +9 Bonus feat
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +10 Armor block +3
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +10 Impetuous Endurance
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +11 Bonus feat
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Fighting challenge +4
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Loyal beyond death, Armor block +4
Class Skills:
The Knight's class skills are as follows: Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (history), Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, and Swim.
Skill points at 1st level: (4+int modifier) x4
Skill points at each additional level: 4+int modifier
Class Features:
All class features are identical to the ones in the Players' Handbook 2 except as noted in this section.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
The Knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and armor (light, medium and heavy) and shields (including tower shields).
Knight levels count as Fighter levels with regards to qualifying for feats, entries into prestige classes, etc. A Knight may also use her Charisma instead of Strength when considering whether she qualifies for a feat or prestige class.
Test of Mettle (Ex): This ability may affect a foe more than once per battle instead of just once per day.
Bond of Loyalty (Ex): This ability has been moved up so the Knight receives it at 10th level. Everything else remains the same.
The Knight’s Code: Everything remains the same, except that one part of the code is removed. The Knight may gain flanking bonuses as normal without violating the code of honor.
Armor Block (Ex): Armor Block replaces Shield Block, It gives extra armor or shield AC against ALL foes instead of one designated foe. The bonus is +1 at level 2. It increases to +2 at 11th level, +3 at 16th level, and +4 at 20th level. This ability only functions if the Knight has an actual armor or shield AC. Natural armor alone does not count.
Armor Mastery (Ex): Starting at 4th level, the Knight ignores the standard speed reduction for wearing medium armor. The maximum dex bonus for any medium or light armor the Knight wears increases by 2. Starting 9th level, those benefits extend to Heavy armor as well. The Knight may choose to forego one or both of these abilities in return for one or two bonus feats chosen from the Fighter bonus feats. A Knight must give up Armor Mastery (Medium) if she wishes to give up Armor Mastery (Heavy).
Force of Will: At 5th level, a Knight may choose to use her Charisma modifier in place of her strength modifier in calculating damage. She may also choose to use her Charisma modifier in place of her Strength or Dexterity modifier on attack rolls. She may also also choose to use her Charisma instead of Strength in Grapple, Trip, Bullrush, and Overrun checks.
Bonus feats: The Knight does not gain Mounted Combat at level 2. Instead, the Knight gains a bonus feat just as he does at levels 5, 10, and 15. In addition, the Knight also gets Bonus feats at levels 4, 8, 12, and 18 as well. The feats may be chosen from one of the following: Any Fighter bonus feat, Iron Will, Force of Personality, Great Fortitude, Leap Attack, Endurance, Diehard. The Knight must still meet all prerequisites for the feat.
Vigilante Defender (Ex): In addition to the normal benefits mentioned, the Knight also gains this benefit: If the Knight and an ally is flanking an enemy, and that enemy makes an attack on anyone but the Knight, he provokes an Attack of Opportunity from the Knight.
Specialization: At 6th level, a Knight may choose one of the following: 1) Gain Shield Specialization as a bonus feat, except that the Knight may also choose Tower Shield as one of the choices. 2) Gain weapon focus for one weapon.
Greater Specialization: At 11th level, a Knights may choose one of the following: 1) Gains Shield Ward as a bonus feat. 2) Gain weapon specialization for one weapon with which she has weapon focus in.