| Imperial Knight of Ragyrinthis |
| The large redwood door suddenly splintered, and fell flat on the floor. Melzjuran stepped over it, curved longsword in hand and red sash hung over his shoulder. The hall was long and wide, the queen lying on a slightly upraised platform on the other end, her throne turned over. The entire room glowed scarlet, for the walls were made of ruby, as was the entire Ruby Citadel, capital building of Ragyrinthis. Between the overturned throne and him was another elf, a raven elf in flowing midnight blue robes. �Surrender, mage, and thou wilt be let free,� Melzjuran called to the raven elf. The raven elf turned, eyes ablaze, �I shall not! Your queen is dead!� Across the room, the queen mouthed, �be careful,� but Melzjuran paid no mind. The mage glared violently, and raised his staff, �You�ll not save the queen!� Suddenly, a large circle appeared on the hall floor, swirling with dark energy. A creature, rank with a terrorifying smell, rose out of it. Filling the room, the black skinned creature had a wolf�s face, hooved feet, and four huge hands each with an axe the size of a man. Melzjuran stepped forward, �I have not the time for this.� The knight raised his sword high above his head, and slashed down hard. The fabric of reality seemed to have torn open with that slash, and a rift tore through the air and hit the demonic creature. In one blink of the eye, it was gone from sight. The mage snarled, �Fine. If you attempt to pass me, you will die.� The mage thudded the butt end of his staff on the ground thrice, and a sword materialized in front of him, made of a green energy. �It�ll kill you if you near.� Melzjurak gritted his teeth, readied his sword, and charged. Then, he disappeared. Bewildered, the mage looked around and found the elven knight kneeling next to the Queen on the other side of him. �Damn you!� the mage raged. �You will not evade my wrath!� The mage ran forward, but Melzjurak raised first and an aura appeared around him. This white aura spread out, and created a sphere of heavenly light around him and the queen. The mage smashed into it, and lightning seared his robes and skin; he could not enter the sphere. �Fine then,� the dark wizard began weaving his hands in complex patters and speaking odd words, and the sphere of light faded. �I tired of this.� The mage stepped forward as Melzjurak rose to protect himself and the queen, and the mage�s magical blade stabbed into the knight�s chest. The green blade pulled itself out, then struck the elf again. Melzjurak sank to his knees, eyes wide, and then fell to the floor, dead. �Now, it is over,� the mage grinned, slyly. �I�ll do this myself.� The green blade winked out of existence, and the mage drew a saber from the sheath on his side. �Now, die.� The raven elf lifted the blade above his head, and with great emotion stabbed down upon the elven queen. The saber never spilt royal blood, as another blade parried it out of the way. Surprised, the mage looked up to see Melzjurak, standing there, eyes burning with blue energy, his body giving off dark steam. �You will not kill the queen.� They were both dead just a few short moments later. Protectors of the great elven realm of Ragyrinthis, the Imperial Knights are good warriors with a large slew of exotic and unique abilities all used to help in the aid of the royal family. Decent in the use of magic and steel, the Imperial Knights always seem to have some trick up their sleeves to defeat an opponent. A hard prestige class to enter, almost all of the Imperial Knights are multiclass wizards or sorcerers, though some are bards. However, all classes could find use in this class, and many do. Hit Dice: D8 Prerequisites Base Attack Bonus: +5 Feats: Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Eschew Materials Race: Elf (Exceptions can by made by extraordinary circumstances) Spellcasting: The ability to cast second level arcane spells Skills: Concentration 4 ranks, Diplomacy 5 ranks, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 2 ranks, Spellcraft 8 ranks, Survival 2 ranks Alignment: Any nonevil Restriction: Cannot channel negative energy Special: Must be invited into the Imperial Knighthood by a 10th level Imperial Knight or somebody within the royal family of Ragyrinthis. Class Skills The class skills for the Imperial Knight of Ragyrinthis (and their key ability for each) are Balace (dex), Climb (str), Concentration (con), Diplomacy (cha), Jump (str), Knowledge (Arcane) (int), Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), Listen (wis), Search (int), Sense Motive (wis), Spot (wis), Spellcraft (int), Survival (wis), and Tumble (dex) Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier Progression LVL BAB Fort Ref Will Special 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 Die for Cause 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 Quick Draw 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 Surefall 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 Heavenly Barrier 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 Phasewalk 6 +4 +2 +5 +5 7 +5 +2 +5 +5 Gravity Flux 8 +6 +2 +6 +6 Heavenly Arcana 9 +6 +3 +6 +6 10 +7 +3 +7 +7 Dimensional Rip Class Features Weapons & Armor Proficiency: The Imperial Knight of Ragyrinthis gains proficiency with all simple and martial weapons, with all light shields and the buckler. Die for Cause (Su): The Imperial Knight is sworn completely to the royal family of Ragyrinthis, willing to die for them at any moment. However, this devout loyalty goes even deeper, causing the Imperial Knight to go all out for the cause, die and die again. When an Imperial Knight is slain while defending the royal family, the Imperial Knight can continue fighting. This only functions when a member of the royal family�s life depends on it, and only until the royal family is out of immediate danger. If the Knight is beheaded or disintegrated or the body is destroyed in such a manner, this ability will not function. While defending the royal family, the Imperial Knight will not die until it takes enough damage to send it to -50 hit points, rather than -10, and the Knight can continue fighting at maximum strength until reaching the -50. The Knight, when below 0 hit points, gains ability bonuses of +6 strength, +10 dexterity, +2 wisdom, and +4 charisma. The Knight gains an insight bonus to AC equal to his wisdom modifier, and makes all attacks with a bonus to attack equal to the Imperial Knight�s level. Furthermore, all spells cast by the Imperial Knight are empowered. This ability is used by the Imperial Knight draining the energy from his own spirit to fuel his body, therefore eating at the spirit. Thus, after the royal family is in safety the Imperial Knight dies and cannot be resurrected. The only way to resurrect an Imperial Knight after they have used Die for Cause is by using a Wish, Miracle, or divine intervention plus a True Resurrection spell. Note that the time when the Imperial Knight can use this ability is strictly up to the DM and the circumstances of the situation. Quick Draw: At second level, the Imperial Knight of Ragyrinthis gains Quick Draw as a bonus feat. Surefall (Sp): The Imperial Knight learns how to alter gravity and air friction as he falls to protect him. Once per day per charisma modifier, the Knight can use Featherfall as a sorcerer of his class level. Heavenly Barrier (Su): At fourth level, the Imperial Knight learns how to use a heavenly barrier to protect himself from enemies. Once per day per charisma modifier, the Imperial Knight may raise a heavenly barrier as a standard action. The barrier is spherical, radiating out from the Imperial Knight. The barrier has a radius of five feet per two Imperial Knight levels, and lasts for one minute per Imperial Knight level. Anybody within the sphere takes 2d4 damage per round (half holy damage, half electric damage), except those who the Imperial Knight specifies. To enter the barrier a person must make a will save equal to a DC of 10 + the Imperial Knight�s level + the Imperial Knight�s charisma modifier. Phasewalk (Su): As a move equivalent action, an Imperial Knight can move without being seen, heard, or smelled, almost becoming incorporeal. However, unlike incorporeality, the Imperial Knight cannot move through objects and a person can sense the Imperial Knight is nearby, much like the sensation a person has when being watched. While phasewalking, the Imperial Knight moves at a speed of five feet per class level. An Imperial Knight does not catch an opponent off-guard by appearing behind him, therefore no sneak attack bonuses or bonuses for catching an opponent flat-footed apply. Gravity Flux (Su): Once per day, the Imperial Knight may radiate enough spirit energy to alter gravity in the area around him. As a full-round action, the Imperial Knight may negate all gravity within five feet per class level. This causes objects to float up around the Knight and be easily affected by the wind. This also stops any falling within the sphere. Furthermore, a creature can �fly� through the air at a speed of 10 feet by pushing himself against air resistance. This ability lasts for one round per Imperial Knight level. Heavenly Arcana (Su): At eighth level, an Imperial Knight may imbue his spells with holy energy. If the Imperial Knight so chooses, half of the damage any of his arcane spell�s deal is holy damage, and the other half is normal for that spell. Dimensional Rip (Su): When using a slashing weapon, the Imperial Knight may slash through the confines of the material plane, opening up a dimension rip. As a standard action usable once per day, the Imperial Knight may open up such a rip and cause it to pull one creature within 100 feet of the rip into it. The creature is allowed a reflex save equal to 10 + half the Imperial Knight�s class level + the Imperial Knight�s charisma modifier. If the creature is sucked into the rip, it is sent to a random location on a random plane, much like the affects of violet in Prismatic Spray. |
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