Redeemer [Base Class]

[Dhavaer]

Redeemer

Unlike many champions for good, Redeemers do not lead crusades against all that is evil. Where Paladins are a mighty hammer, Redeemers are scalpel, cutting away the most rotten so the rest can heal.
Adventures: Redeemers adventure to find, foil and, of course, redeem evil. They rarely seek glory, finding it makes their calling a little difficult, and so they are happy to capture bandits or kidnappers rather than engaging vast demon cults or undead hordes.
Characteristics: While they have some skill at fighting, the Redeemers’ greatest skill is their virtual incorruptability. This allows them to engage their foes in other ways than combat, and bring them over to the side of good.
Alignment: Redeemers are always good. They have also found that both zealously following or rejecting traditions and laws can distract them from their calling, and can be neither lawful nor chaotic.
Religion: Redeemers are as often irreligious as not. While they may respect the teachings of some deities, or ally with their churches, they can find dogma just as distracting as other laws and traditions. Those who do follow a deity often choose Pelor, as the sun god’s teachings of mercy align well with the Redeemers’ own beliefs.
Background: Unlike paladins, called to their class, redeemers require almost as much training as a wizard to master their arts. They are still more born than made, however, as the redeemer’s purity is a difficult thing to instill.
Races: Most redeemers are humans and half-elves. Elves and dwarves are too chaotic or lawful to easily fit in. Halflings and gnomes, however, do make up a small but notable group.
Other Classes: Redeemers get along best with, oddly enough, bards. They find their vast reservoirs of knowledge useful and fascinating, and their musical skills a fine way to relax after a difficult mission. Their attitude to clerics depends on the cleric’s deity and the redeemer’s own religious leanings. They often have differences of opinion with paladins, although not nearly so much as with most hexblades, warlocks and dread necromancers.
Role: Redeemers have a good selection of weapons and decent hit dice and base attack bonus, so they make respectable second-tier warriors with their Smite attacks. They also have a good supply of healing spells, enough to keep a party without a cleric or druid properly healthy.

+3/4 BAB
d8 HD
4+Int skills
Good Fort and Will, poor Ref
Spells per Day: As bard

Abilities: Int and all physical.
Class Skills: Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (Any) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Use Rope (Dex)

Weapons and Armour Proficiency: Redeemers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons and light armour. The somatic components for Redeemer spells are simple, and can be performed in light armour without risking arcane spell failure.

Spells: Redeemers cast arcane spells spontaneously, and know all the spells on their class list. Redeemers have the same spells/day as a bard. Redeemers base their bonus spells, save DCs and maximum spell level of Intelligence.

Pure of Heart: Redeemers gain the Pure of Heart feat at 1st level. If Taint is not used, they instead gain the Iron Will feat.

Shield of Purity (su): At 2nd level, the Redeemer gains a +1 bonus to saves against Evil spells and effects. This increases to +2 at 6th level, and an additional +1 every four levels thereafter.

Dauntless Heart (su): At 3rd level, the Redeemer becomes immune to Fear.

Subduing Smite (su): At 4th level, the Redeemer may make a smite attack once per day. She gains a bonus to her attack roll equal to her Int bonus, and bonus damage equal to her class level. This damage is nonlethal damage, unless the target is an outsider with the Evil subtype or an undead, in which case the damage is untyped and lethal. This can only be used on a melee attack. The attempt is made prior to the attack roll, so the use is lost if the attack fails. The Redeemer gains an extra use at every fourth level.

Defiance (su): At 5th level, once per day when the Redeemer is subjected to a Death effect, the Redeemer is stunned instead of dead. The Redeemer gets an additional use per day at every fifth level.

Dauntless Soul (ex): At 7th level, the Redeemer becomes immune to any effect that would alter her alignment.

Improved Redemption (ex): At 9th level, when the Redeemer makes a Diplomacy check to redeem a creature they do not receive the bonus for being ‘always evil’ or losing class abilities.

Improved Shield of Purity (su): At 11th level the Redeemer’s shield of purity bonus also applies to spells and effects used by Evil creatures. The bonus stacks with itself for Evil spells or effects used by Evil creatures.

Dauntless Will (su): At 17th level, the Redeemer becomes immune to Charm and Compulsion effects.

Inexorable Redemption (ex): At 19th level the Redeemer can attempt to redeem even Outsiders with the Evil template. The Redeemer may choose to deal nonlethal damage when smiting Evil Outsiders.

Pure of Sight (su): At 20th level, the Redeem gains a permanent True Seeing effect.

Ex-Redeemers: If a Redeemer becomes lawful or chaotic, she may not gain levels in Redeemer until she becomes neutral. If a Redeemer becomes neutral she loses her class abilities until she becomes good. If a Redeemer becomes evil she loses her class abilities until she becomes good and receives an atonement spell.

1: Pure of Heart
2: Shield of Purity +1
3: Dauntless Heart
4: Subduing Smite 1/day
5: Defiance 1/day
6: Shield of Purity +2
7: Dauntless Soul
8: Subduing Smite 2/day
9: Improved Redemption
10: Shield of Purity +3, Defiance 2/day
11: Improved Shield of Purity
12: Subduing Smite 3/day
13:
14: Shield of Purity +4
15: Defiance 3/day
16: Subduing Smite 4/day
17: Dauntless Will
18: Shield of Purity +5
19: Inexorable Redemption
20: Pure of Sight, Defiance 4/day, Subduing Smite 5/day

Spell List

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0
Create Water
Cure Minor Wounds
Daze
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Know Direction
Light
Prestidigitation
Read Magic
Resistance
1
Alarm
Charm Person
Command
Cure Light Wounds
Detect Evil
Detect Good
Detect Undead
Eyes of the Avoral
Obscure Object
Omen of Peril
Protection from Evil
Ray of Hope
Sanctuary
Undetectable Alignment
Vigour, Lesser
2
Calm Emotions
Cure Moderate Wounds
Daze Monster
Detect Thoughts
Ease Pain
Enthrall
Hold Person
Lastai’s Caress
Lesser Restoration
Locate Object
Moment of Clarity
Remove Paralysis
See Invisibility
Scent
Suggestion
Tongues
Wave of Grief
Yoke of Mercy
3
Arcane Sight
Blessed Sight
Chain of Eyes
Charm Monster
Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
Cure Serious Wounds
Dolorous Motes
Dispel Magic
Distilled Joy
Geas, Lesser
Heart’s Ease
Magic Circle against Evil
Refreshment
Remove Curse
Remove Disease
Remove Nausea
Scrying
Vigour
Vigour, Mass Lesser
4
Arcane Eye
Break Enchantment
Cure Critical Wounds
Detect Scrying
Discern Lies
Dominate Person
Hold Monster
Locate Creature
Neutralise Poison
Remove Fatigue
Revenance
Suggestion, Mass
Sustain
Sword of Conscience
5
Command, Greater
Cure Light Wounds, Mass
Dispel Evil
Dispel Magic, Greater
Dance of the Unicorn
Mage’s Private Sanctum
Mark of Justice
Vanishing Weapon
Vigour, Greater
6
Empyreal Ecstasy
Find the Path
Geas/Quest
Heroes’ Feast
Scrying, Greater
Vigorous Circle
Wages of Sin

[Deus Mortus]

Perhaps you can create a mirrorclass of this class, calles corruptor or something along that lines to which a redeemer can convert to (trade redeemer levels for corrupter levels) when they become evil or vica versa?

[Icewalker]

Wow! I love it. This is quite a cool class, and it looks pretty balanced to me. I would mess with a few abilities however, so they are a little more focused on the attempts to change the alignment of their opponents, instead of stopping them.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Doesn't seem right as a base class but could be made to work as one with campaign reasons. It might be better as a subdueing class that can be a redeemer if you're good. Possibly substitution levels for Paladin.

As for an anti-Redeemer, there's already the Fiend of Corruption in Fiend Folio and one of the Thrall/Diciple classes in Book of Vile Darkness for that.

I've seen abilities like your 'Dauntless Soul' before and I'm not sure how this one works. Does it limit free will or let you get away with anything? If it only stops mechanics rather than roleplay it's basically a penalty rather than a benifit since it stops you getting an atonement spell.

I like how you made redemption diplomacy based. Any other form of Redemption mechanic basically ends up as mind control.

[ampcptlogic]

CS, I would guess that Dauntless Soul would counteract things like a Helm of Opposite Alignment or being cursed with Lycanthropy.

[Dhavaer]

Yes, Dauntless Soul prevents mechanics that alter alignment, so no Morality Undone on the Redeemer. They can get Atonement if they're evil, which is the only time they need it, because they've lost their class abilities.