Archangel (Hitter)

Archangels are the fiercest of heavenly warriors, making up the most and best of the Blessed Army, born in heaven whenever a good creature falls in battle. Empowered with divine might, they are perfect killing machines guided by righteous wrath and an otherwise good disposition, making them feared by evildoers and respected by less vile creatures. Most usually acting as soldiers, knights, or paladins for a good cause, they revel in the adrenaline of battle, and seek evil wherever it may hide.

Physical Description

Archangels look like powerful, heavily built humanoids, more often defined as statuesque or handsome rather than beautiful. They range from 6 to almost 8 feet of height and usually have broad shoulders and muscular frames, made even more imposing by the large wings on their back, which can be white, or brown like an eagle’s. Furthermore, powerful archangels can grow even larger, becoming angelic giants that inspire even more awe or terror. Archangels have fair skin, eyes and hair that take on fiery colors, such as bright blond, gold, orange, or red, and pointy ears. Archangels usually keep their hair long and unbound but rarely have beards, though some may have to cut their hair short or even shave according to the rules of the division they are fighting in. The great majority of archangels look like male humanoids though, occasionally, a female-looking one is born; these individuals are no less imposing than their male counterparts and are often called valkyries, though they frown to the term. As angels, the archangels are immortal and do not age, though they may appear to be anything between 18 and about 40 (in human terms). As archangels are formed in heaven as a consequence of the death of a good-aligned warrior, they do not actually have reproductive organs and their bodies take on a male – or more rarely female – appearance at the moment of their birth.

Racial Traits

• Hit Die: an archangel uses a d10 as Hit Die at every archangel HD he gains.
• Ability Score Modifiers: archangels have large, powerful bodies and a strong personality to match. They gain +4 Strength, +2 Constitution, and +2 Charisma.
• Size: archangels are Medium creatures and gain no bonuses or penalties because of their size.
• Type: archangels are outsiders with the native subtype.
• Base Speed: archangels have a base speed of 30 feet on land, and a base flight speed of 40 feet with good maneuverability.
• Languages: archangels begin play speaking Common and Celestial. Archangels with high Intelligence scores can choose any language they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.
• Terrain: urban.
• Saving Throws DC: Charisma-based.
• Starting Wealth: 5d6 × 10 gp (average 175gp.) In addition, each character begins play with an outfit worth 10 gp or less.

Defense Racial Traits

• Ancient Foe: archangels gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC against evil outsiders and a +2 racial bonus to combat maneuver checks made to grapple evil outsiders.
• Fearless: archangels gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear effects.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits

• Emissary: once per day, archangels can roll twice when making a Bluff or Diplomacy check and take the better roll.
• Sociable: when archangels attempt to change a creature’s attitude with a Diplomacy check and fail by 5 or more, they can try to influence the creature a second time even if 24 hours have not passed.

Offensive Racial Traits

• Celestial Crusader: archangels gain a +1 insight bonus on attack rolls and to AC against evil outsiders and a +2 racial bonus to identify evil outsider or items or effects evil outsiders create with Knowledge (planes) or Spellcraft; they may use these skills untrained for this purpose.
• Hatred: archangels gain a +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against undead.

Senses Racial Traits

• Darkvision: archangels can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Class Skills

An archangel’s class skills are: Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), and Sense Motive (Wis).

Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int Modifier

Table: Archangel

Level	Hit Dice	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	1	+1	+2	+0	+0	[Feat], Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/day, Weapon Focus
2nd	2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Weapon Guard
3rd	3	+3	+3	+1	+1	[Feat], Divine Initiative
4th	AT 1					Bonus Feat, Weapon Training +1
5th	4	+4	+4	+1	+1	[Ability Score Increase], Smite Evil 2/day
6th	5	+5	+4	+1	+1	[Feat], Reliable Strike, Weapon Training +2
7th	6	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Divine Weapon Bond
8th	AT 2					Bonus Feat, Large Size
9th	7	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	[Feat], Smite Evil 3/day
10th	8	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	[Ability Score Increase], Anchoring Aura
11th	9	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	[Feat], Mirror Move, Weapon Training +3
12th	AT 3					Bonus Feat, Holy Vessel
13th	10	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Smite Evil 4/day
14th	11	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	[Feat], Aura of Justice
15th	12	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4	[Ability Score Increase], Deadly Critical
16th	AT 4					Bonus Feat, Devoted Smite
17th	13	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	[Feat], Smite Evil 5/day
18th	14	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4	Swift Champion, Weapon Training +4
19th	15	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	[Feat], Critical Specialist
20th	AT 5					Bonus Feat, Holy Champion

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the archangel.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

An archangel is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as light and medium armor and with shields, except for tower shields.

Detect Evil (Sp)

At will, an archangel can use detect evil, as the spell. An archangel can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the archangel does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range. [Paladin – Detect Evil]

Smite Evil (Su)

Once per day, an archangel can call out to the powers of good to aid him in his struggle against evil. As a swift action, the archangel chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target is evil, the archangel adds his Charisma bonus (if any) to his attack rolls and adds his archangel Hit Dice to all damage rolls made against the target of his smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per Hit Die the archangel possesses. Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any damage reduction the creature might possess. In addition, while smite evil is in effect, the archangel gains a deflection bonus equal to his Charisma modifier (if any) to his AC against attacks made by the target of the smite. If the archangel targets a creature that is not evil, the smite is wasted with no effect. The smite evil effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or the next time the archangel rests and regains his uses of this ability. At 4th Hit Die, and every three Hit Dice thereafter, the archangel may smite evil one additional time per day, as indicated on the table above, to a maximum of five times per day at 13th Hit Die. [Paladin – Smite Evil]

Weapon Focus

An archangel chooses a weapon he is proficient with and gains Weapon Focus on it as a bonus feat. The weapon chosen this way is his chosen weapon for all future class features that are stated to work only on his chosen weapon. Once chosen, the weapon cannot be changed at a later time. Furthermore, the archangel’s Hit Dice count as an equivalent number of fighter levels for the purpose of qualifying for feats.

Weapon Guard (Ex)

At 2nd Hit Die, an archangel gains a +1 bonus to CMD against disarm and sunder attempts while wielding his chosen weapon.

This bonus also applies on saves against any effect that targets his chosen weapon (for example, grease, heat metal, shatter, or warp wood). The bonus increases by +1 for every three Hit Dice beyond 2nd. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Weapon Guard]

Divine Initiative (Ex)

An archangel gains a bonus to initiative equal to his Charisma modifier. [Inquisitor – Canny Initiative]

Weapon Training (Ex)

At his 1st Advancement Tier, an archangel gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with his chosen weapon. The bonus improves by +1 for every four Hit Dice the archangel has beyond 1st. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Weapon Training]

Bonus Feats

At every Advancement Tier an archangel achieves, he gains a bonus feat in addition to those gained from normal advancement. These bonus feats must be selected from those listed as Combat Feats, sometimes also called “fighter bonus feats”. If the selected feat is specific for a single weapon, it must be applied to the archangel’s chosen weapon. An archangel cannot retrain feats like a Fighter can. [Fighter – Bonus Feats]

Reliable Strike (Ex)

At 5th Hit Die, an archangel may reroll an attack roll, critical hit confirmation roll, miss chance check, or damage roll as an immediate action. He must accept the second roll even if it is worse. He can use this ability once per day at 5th Hit Die, plus one additional time per day for every five Hit Die beyond 5th. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Reliable Strike]

Divine Weapon Bond (Su)

An archangel can enhance his weapon with a standard action by calling upon the aid of a celestial spirit for 1 minute per Hit Die. When called, the spirit causes the weapon to shed light as a torch. At 6th Hit Die, this ability grants the weapon a +2 enhancement bonus. For every 3 Hit Dice the archangel has beyond 6th, the weapon gains an additional +1 enhancement bonus to a total maximum of +5 at 15th Hit Die. These bonuses can be added to the weapon, stacking with existing weapon bonuses to a maximum of +5, or they can be used to add any of the following weapon properties: axiomatic, brilliant energy, defending, disruption, flaming, flaming burst, holy, keen, merciful and speed. Adding these properties consumes and amount of bonus equal to the property’s cost (see Table: Melee Weapon Special Abilities). These bonuses are added to any properties the weapon already has, but duplicate abilities do not stack. If the weapon is not magical, at least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. The bonus and properties granted by the spirit are determined when the spirit is called and cannot be changed until the spirit is called again. The celestial spirit imparts no bonuses if the weapon is held by anyone other than the archangel but resumes giving bonuses if returned to the archangel. These bonuses apply to only one end of a double weapon. An archangel can use this ability once per day at 6th Hit Die, and one additional time per day for every 3 Hit Dice beyond 6th, to a total of 4 times per day at 15th Hit Die.

If a weapon bonded with a celestial spirit is destroyed, the archangel loses the use of this ability for 30 days, or until it gains a level, whichever comes first. During this 30-day period, the archangel takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls. [Paladin – Divine Bond]

Large Size (Ex)

At his 2nd Advancement Tier, an archangel grows larger, becoming Large sized. The archangel gains a +6 bonus to Strength, a +4 bonus to Constitution, a –2 penalty to Dexterity and a +2 bonus to his natural armor. The size change also gives the archangel a –1 penalty to AC and attack rolls, a +1 bonus to its CMB and CMD, a –2 penalty on Fly skill checks, and a –4 penalty on Stealth skill checks. The archangel gains a 10-foot reach.

Anchoring Aura (Su)

At 8th Hit Die, an archangel’s aura hampers extradimensional travel by evil outsiders. The aura extends 20 feet from the archangel. Evil outsiders attempting to use abilities such as dimension door, plane shift, or teleport to leave or enter the aura must succeed at a Will save; failure means the ability does not function, as if the outsider were affected by dimensional anchor. The aura functions only while the archangel is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

Alternatively, as an immediate action, the archangel can expend one use of his smite evil ability to target an evil outsider within 30 feet with dimensional anchor. A targeted dimensional anchor persists even if the archangel is unconscious or dead. [Paladin – Oath against Fiends – Anchoring Aura]

Mirror Move (Ex)

At 9th Hit Die, an archangel gains his Weapon Training bonus as an insight bonus to AC when attacked by his chosen weapon. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Mirror Move]

Holy Vessel (Su)

Upon gaining his 3rd Advancement Tier, an archangel can also use his divine bond to augment his armor or shield with enhancement bonuses, or add any of the following armor or shield properties: bashing, fortification, and spell resistance. Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property’s cost (see Table: Armor & Shield special abilities). He can divide his bonuses from the divine bond ability among his weapon, armor, and shield as he sees fit. If the archangel doesn’t have divine weapon bond, he gains divine weapon bond instead of holy vessel, counting all Hit Dice different from archangel or paladin as half as many archangel Hit Dice to determine the power of the feature. [Paladin – Oath against Fiends – Holy Vessel]

Aura of Justice (Su)

At 11th Hit Die, an archangel can expend two uses of his smite evil ability to grant the ability to smite evil to all allies within 10 feet, using his bonuses. Allies must use this smite evil ability by the start of the archangel’s next turn and the bonuses last for 1 minute. Using this ability is a free action. Evil creatures gain no benefit from this ability. [Paladin – Aura of Justice]

Deadly Critical (Ex)

At 13th Hit Die, when an archangel confirms a critical hit with his chosen weapon, he can increase the weapon’s damage multiplier by +1 as an immediate action. He can use this ability once per day at 13th level, plus one additional time per day for every three levels above 13th. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Deadly Critical]

Devoted Smite (Su)

Whenever an archangel of 4th Advancement Tier or higher scores a critical hit with his favored weapon against the target of a Smite Evil, the creature must succeed a Fortitude saving throw or be bestowed 2 permanent negative levels.

Swift Champion (Ex)

At 14th Hit Die, an archangel is able to wield his chosen weapon with blinding speed. Whenever the archangel is not flat-footed, drawing his chosen weapon is a free action. Furthermore, he can make a number of attacks of opportunity per round equal to his Charisma bonus (minimum 1). This number does stack with extra ones granted by the Combat Reflexes feat.

Critical Specialist (Ex)

At 15th Hit Die, the save DC of any effect caused by a critical hit with an archangel’s chosen weapon increases by +4. [Fighter – Weapon Master – Critical Specialist]

Holy Champion (Su)

At 5th Advancement Tier, an archangel becomes a conduit for the power of his god. He gains damage redcution 10/evil. Whenever he uses smite evil and successfully strikes an evil outsider, he can decide to try and banish the outsider, as per banishment, using his level as the caster level (his weapon and holy symbol automatically count as objects that the subject hates). After the banishment effect and the damage from the attack are resolved, the smite immediately ends. [Paladin – Holy Champion]