| The following is a homebrew prestige class that a character in this campaign has been using. It is based on much of the material in a Dragon Magazine article (Dragon Magazine 317: Holy Strategists of the Red Knight, by Travis Stout). On the off chance that you are currently reading this page and are not a player in my D&D group, feel free to use this class in any way you wish. The Holy Strategist prestige class is designated Open Game Content under the OGL. HOLY STRATEGIST Holy strategists are the elite commanders of the Red Fellowship, masters of combat strategy and the art of leadership. The holy strategist commands a view of the entire battlefield, exploiting weaknesses in the enemy�s position, improvising tactics according to the flow of the battle, and directing his troops to victory. So impressive is their reputation that armies outnumbering their foes three to one have been known to surrender upon learning that a holy strategist leads the opposing force. Holy strategists may freely multiclass as paladins. Hit Die: d8. To qualify to become a holy strategist (HoS), a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Any lawful. Base Attack Bonus: +5 Skills: Diplomacy or Intimidate 5 ranks, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 8 ranks, Knowledge (history) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks. Feats: Leadership, Widen Spell. Spells: Ability to cast 2nd level divine spells. Clerics seeking to become Holy Strategists must have access to the War domain. Patron: Red Knight. Special: Must have commanded a victorious unit in a large-scale battle. The holy strategist�s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int). Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier. All the following are class features of the holy strategist prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Holy strategists are proficient in all simple and martial weapons, heavy armor, shields, and tower shields. Spells per Day: To a holy strategist, planning is the essence of victory, and the tools of a successful strategy begin with accurate intelligence. Holy Strategists may cast certain arcane spells from the divination school as cleric spells of the same level. The spells available to a holy strategist are detect magic, detect secret doors, detect thoughts, arcane sight, arcane eye, prying eyes, legend lore, arcane sight, moment of prescience, foresight. In addition, holy strategists may read arcane scrolls from the divination school as a wizard of their class level.. Improved Leadership*: Beginning at 1st level, the holy strategist gains the Improved Leadership feat as a bonus feat. This bonus increases to +4 at 4th level and +6 at 7th level. (He still cannot attract a cohort greater than his character level -2.) Hard to Fool*: Holy strategists are adept at sizing up a situation in an instant and exploiting weaknesses. This makes him especially resistant to illusions cast by enemy spellcasters. At 2nd level Holy Strategists gain the Hard to Fool feat as a bonus feat. The bonus granted by this feat increases to +4 at 5th level and +6 at 8th level. Aura of Courage (Su): This ability works exactly like the paladin ability of the same name. The radius of this aura increases at 6th and 9th level. Call Mount (Sp): This ability functions exactly like the paladin ability of the same name. Mounts called in this manner are always reddish in hue. This mount uses the following table for progression of its abilities: Holy strategists who are multiclassed as paladins use the paladin�s table to determine the mount�s abilities, but the levels from both classes stack. Spontaneous Divine: At 10th level the holy strategist becomes so attuned to the power of divination magics that he gains the ability to spontaneously cast certain spells from the divination school by �losing� a prepared spell. He may still spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells in the same manner. The holy strategist gains the ability to spontaneously cast the following spells: detect magic, detect chaos, detect thoughts, clairaudience/clairvoyance, divination, scrying, true seeing, scrying (greater), discern location, time stop. *These feats both appear in Dragon 317. To summarize, Improved Leadership grants you +2 to your leadership score, and Hard to Fool grants +2 to Sense Motive and +2 to Will saves vs. illusions. RED GUARD The Order of the Red Guard is a knightly order based in New Tilverton, Cormyr, dedicated to defending the realm against the Shades. Red Guards (often mistakenly referred to as Red Guardians) are an elite cadre of Purple Dragon Knights and clergy of the Red Knight. They train assiduously in military history and tactics (particularly Shadovar tactics and methods to combat them), arcana, and siege warfare. No mere scholars, however, Red Guards are disciplined warriors who adhere to a strict regimen of physical and mental training in an attempt to become the perfect defenders against the insidious Shadovar magic. Though small in number, the Red Guard is Cormyr�s first line of defense against a possible Shadovar incursion. The majority of Red Guards are fighters, clerics, and paladins, but the order welcomes bards for their mastery of ancient lore, as well as rogues and rangers for their invaluable scouting abilities. Sorcerers and wizards, while by no means barred from entering the order, almost always join the War Wizards instead. Barbarians and druids seldom find the tenets of the order palatable, while monks tend to prefer a more individualistic focus. Hit Die: d8. To qualify to become a Red Guard, a character must fulfull all the following criteria. Alignment: Any nonevil and nonchaotic. Region: The candidate must have Cormyr as his home region or have Knowledge (local�Cormyr) 4 ranks. Base Attack Bonus: +4. Skills: Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 2 ranks, Knowledge (tactics) 4 ranks, Ride 2 ranks, Speak Language (Netherese). Feats: Blind Fight, Shadow Shield. Special: Must be a member in good standing in the Order of the Red Guard. The Red Guard�s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (architecture and engineering) (Int), Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (local�Cormyr) (Int), Knowledge (local�Anauroch) (Int), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (tactics) (Int), Profession (Siege Engineer), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Swim (Str). Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier. All the following are class features of the prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Red Guards gain no proficiency with any weapon, armor, or shield. Shadow Shield: Red Guards train continually to counteract Shadow Weave magic employed by the Shadovar. The benefits of the Shadow Shield feat increase to +3 at 1st level, +4 at 3rd level, and +5 at 5th level. Weave Feat: Red Guards receive Weave equivalents of the Shadow feats that Shadow Adepts gain at 1st level. Thus, Red Guards gain +4 to all checks made to penetrate Shadow Weave user�s spell resistance (Benevolent Magic), Shadow Weave users must make a successful caster check (DC 11 + caster level) to detect a Red Guard�s spells via divinations (True Magic), and when a Shadow Weave user makes a dispel check to dispel a Red Guard�s spells, the DC is 15 + caster level (Radiant Magic). The Red Guard gains one such feat at 1st, 3rd, and 5th level. Control Light (Sp): Through long meditation and diligent rituals in honor of the Red Knight, Red Guards gain a measure of control over light sources. At 2nd level, Red Guards gain the ability to increase the levels of light within a 100 ft. radius by a factor of 5% per character level. The percentage rises to 10% per character level at 4th level. |
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| REQUIREMENTS |
| CLASS SKILLS |
| CLASS FEATURES |
| Holy
Bonus Natural Str Int Special Strategist HD Armor Adj. Level Adj. 5th-6th +2 +4 +1 6 Empathic link, improved evasion, share spells, share saving throws 7th-8th +4 +6 +2 7 Improved speed 9th +6 +8 +3 8 Command creatures of its kind 10th +8 +10 +4 9 Spell resistance |
| TABLE 1: HOLY STRATEGIST
Class Base Fort Ref Will Special Spells per Day Level Attack Save Save Save Bonus 1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Improved Leadership +2 +1 level of existing class 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Hard to Fool +1 level of existing class 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Aura of Courage 20 ft. +1 level of existing class 4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Improved Leadership +4 +1 level of existing class 5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Call Mount, Hard to Fool +4 +1 level of existing class 6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Aura of Courage 30 ft. +1 level of existing class 7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Improved Leadership +6 +1 level of existing class 8th +6/+1 +6 +2 +6 Hard to Fool +6 +1 level of existing class 9th +6/+1 +6 +3 +6 Aura of Courage 40 ft. +1 level of existing class 10th +7/+2 +7 +3 +7 Spontaneous Divine +1 level of existing class |
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| TABLE 2:? RED GUARD Class Base Fort Ref Will Special Spells per Day Level Attack Save Save Save Bonus 1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Shadow Shield +3, Weave feat � 2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Control Light 5% +1 level of existing spellcasting class 3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Shadow Shield +4, Weave feat � 4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Control Light 10% +1 level of existing spellcasting class 5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Shadow Shield +5, Weave feat � |
| CLASS FEATURES |
| CLASS SKILLS |
| REQUIREMENTS |
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