Oathsworn Paladin (3.5e Prestige Class)

“	There he stood amidst a sea of vanquished foes. I have never seen one man so unwilling to fall. I don't think we could have won past him had we a thousand men that day. Let me give you a little advice - if you're thinking of messing around in Apollonia - don't!	”
—Krellek the Black, Mercenary Lord speaking of his encounter with Sir Brandyn, Oathsworn Paladin

The Oathsworn Paladin

The duty and loyalty of an Oathsworn Paladin is without peer. Rather than pledging devotion and blade to a specific god, these men and women instead devote themselves to kingdoms and rulers, causes, and even ideals. With no connection to a patron deity, Oathsworn Paladins sacrifice their ability to cast spells or turn the undead, but their force of will and purpose still grant them access to many divine abilities and transform them into powerful battlefield warriors.

Abilities: A high Charisma is important for almost all Oathsworn Paladin class features and almost all of their important skills. A high Constitution means more Hit Points, Intelligence determines Skill Points, higher Strength allows for somewhat greater melee attacks, and Wisdom increases the Paladin's will and aptitude for Sense Motive.

Alignment: Any Good, though most often Lawful Good.

Table: The Oathsworn Paladin

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/day
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Divine Grace, Radiant Strength
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Aura of Resolve, Divine Health
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Knight's Pride
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Spirit of Healing, Smite Evil 2/day
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Holy Blade
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Smite Evil 3/day
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	Spirit of Combat
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Smite Evil 4/day
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5	Spirit of Heroism
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Smite Evil 5/day
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Mind Blank
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Spirit of the Fallen, Smite Evil 6/day

Oathsworn Paladin Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Oathsworn Paladin.

Skill Points Per Level: Paladins gain 4 + Intelligence Modifier skill points per level, x4 at First Level.

Oathsworn Paladin Class Skills: The following skills are Class Skills for Paladins: Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), Knowledge (Religion), Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Use Magic Device.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Oathsworn Paladins 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 Good (Ex): The power of an Oathsworn Paladin’s Aura of Good (see the Detect Good spell) is equal to their Paladin level.

Detect Evil (Sp): At will, an Oathsworn Paladin can use Detect Evil, as the spell.

Radiant Strength (Su): All Oathsworn Paladins draw great strength from their ideals. Oathsworn Paladins may substitute their Charisma Modifier for their Strength Modifier for the purposes of all rolls and checks.

Smite Evil (Su): Once per day as a Swift Action, an Oathsworn Paladin may charge their weapon with radiant power. The Paladin chooses one target within weapon range to Smite. They may add their Charisma modifier as a bonus to their attack rolls against this target. If the attack hits and the target is Evil, it takes additional damage equal to the Oathsworn Paladin's Class Level. The effect of Smite Evil remains active until the target of the Smite is defeated, until the end of combat, or until the Paladin designates a different target for the attack via an additional use of the ability. Regardless of the target, Smite Evil attacks automatically bypass any DR a creature might possess. Levels of other classes that grant the Smite Evil Class Feature stack for the purpose of determining uses per day and for the additional damage dealt.

Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level an Oathsworn Paladin gains a bonus equal to their Charisma modifier (if any) on all Saving Throws.

Aura of Resolve (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, an Oathsworn Paladin is immune to Compulsion effects. Each ally within 10 feet of him gains a +4 morale bonus on Saving Throws against Compulsion effects. This ability functions while the Oathsworn Paladin is conscious, but not if they are unconscious or Dead.

Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level an Oathsworn Paladin gains immunity to all Diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Knight's Pride (Ex): At 4th Level an Oathsworn Paladin adds their Charisma Modifier as a Sacred Natural Armor bonus to their AC and gains DR/-- equal to their Charisma Modifier.

Divine Spirit (Sp): Despite not swearing themselves to a specific deity, Oathsworn Paladins still maintain a connection to the Divine. Rather than receiving a Celestial Mount when powerful enough, an Oathsworn Paladin instead forges a connection with Celestial Spirits that will answer their call and render aid.

Benefit: Upon reaching 5th level, an Oathsworn Paladin may summon forth a Celestial Spirit from the Upper Planes. Using this ability is a Standard Action that does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity. See below for detailed Spirit descriptions and rules.

An Oathsworn Paladin's Class Level determines which kind of Celestial Spirit answers the summons. They may summon the Spirit available at their current Paladin Class Level as well as any that became available at lower levels.

5th-10th: Spirit of Healing

11th-15th: Spirit of Combat

16th-19th: Spirit of Heroism

20th+: Spirit of the Fallen

The following entries describe how each of the different Spirits function. Unless otherwise specified, all Spirits share some characteristics, as set out below.

A Spirit occupies a 5-foot square on the battle map. When summoned, a Spirit appears on the battlefield within 30 feet of the Paladin. They may use a Free Action to have it move once per round. The Spirit has a land speed of 30 feet.

All Spirits are insubstantial and transparent. Any creature can move through them normally, and they do not block Line of Sight or Line of Effect.

A Spirit cannot attack or be attacked. It is not Undead and cannot be Turned. It is subject to Dispel Magic, Dismissal, or Banishment as if it were a Summoned Creature, using the Paladin's Class level as the Caster Level. If the Paladin loses Line of Sight on the Spirit it disappears immediately.

Spirits can be summoned a total number of times per day equal to the Paladin's Charisma Modifier.

A Spirit remains for a number of rounds equal to the Paladin's Class Level, until it is dismissed, or until special conditions in the Spirit's description are met.

Spirit of Healing: This Spirit increases the Paladin's ability to heal damage dealt to them or their allies. When summoned, it can heal an amount of damage equal to double the Paladin's Class Level x their Charisma Modifier. To use its healing ability, the Paladin or an Ally must begin or end their Turn in the same square as the Spirit. That character can then use a Standard Action to transfer some or all of the Hit Points from the Spirit to themselves. Once the Spirit has used all its healing ability, it dissipates.

Spirit of Combat: This Spirit enhances combat ability. Whenever an ally (including the Paladin) is adjacent to the Spirit of Combat or occupying its space, that character gains Holy Fervor. Holy Fervor grants a +1 sacred bonus on attacks and damage rolls for every four Paladin levels the Oathsworn Paladin possesses (up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level). In addition, affected characters' weapons are treated as good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Spirit of Heroism: This Spirit automatically occupies the Paladin's space and does not leave until dismissed or dispelled, or the duration of the summoning ends. The Paladin gains DR 10/--. In addition they gain the benefit of the Diehard feat (even if they do not meet the prerequisite).

Spirit of the Fallen: While the Paladin or any of their allies are adjacent to this Spirit, it grants fast healing 10 to those characters. If an affected character's hit points drop to 0 or fewer while within 30 feet of this Spirit, it revives that character at the start of their next turn, allowing them to take action as normal. The character heals an amount of damage equal to twice the Paladin's Class Level, though if their Hit Points are still at -10 or below, they still die. The Spirit can use its revive ability once per round. A Spirit of the Fallen cannot revive creatures whose bodies have been destroyed (such as by a Disintegrate spell), nor can it reverse the effects of bodily changes, such as from Flesh to Stone or Baleful Polymorph, or other effects that slay a character without dealing damage.

Holy Blade (Su): At 9th Level an Oathsworn Paladin may spend a Standard Action to channel Holy Power into their weapon. This weapon is considered to have the Holy weapon property assigned to it as long as it is in the Paladin's hand.

Mind Blank (Su): At 19th Level an Oathsworn Paladin is under a permanent Mind Blank effect, though they may allow any effects that they wish through.

Playing an Oathsworn Paladin

Code of Conduct: An Oathsworn Paladin must be of Good alignment and loses all class abilities if they ever willingly commit an evil act. Additionally, a Paladin’s Code requires that they 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 or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents. It is important to note however, that for an Oathsworn Paladin the cause, people, or land they fight for matter more than anything else. It can be a slippery slope if they find themselves sworn to someone who begins to act evilly or requests them to act evilly on their behalf. In cases like this it is up to the Player and Dungeon Master to decide how best to proceed.

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