Knight Heretic

“By the decree of my master, your life is forfeit.”

The knight heretic is a mighty warrior who has abandoned the path of morality and bartered his soul to an evil god, arch-demon, arch-devil or other powerful outsider in exchange for supernatural boons and knowledge of the dark arts. A knight heretic is frequently charged with the task of hunting down and slaying enemies of his patron, particularly clerics and paladins. It is also common for these fearsome knights to gather evil followers of their own and lead bands of marauders on a bloody path of war and pillaging. Blood-chilling tales are told of infamous and cruel kings and overlords suspected of secretly being knight heretics.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements

To qualify to become a knight heretic, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Class Skills

The class skills for this class (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana, religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier

Table: The Knight Heretic
Class Level BAB Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Special
1st +0 +1 +0 +0 Bartered Soul, Death Knell 2/day
2nd +1 +2 +0 +0 Heretical Power
3rd +2 +2 +1 +1 Heretical Power
4th +3 +3 +1 +1 Unholy Armor (cold/fire/acid/electricity resistance 5)
5th +3 +3 +1 +1 Silence the Holy 1/day
6th +4 +4 +2 +2 Heretical Power
7th +5 +4 +2 +2 Unholy Armor (damage reduction 5/magic, silver, or good)
8th +6 +5 +2 +2 Unholy Blight 1/week
9th +6 +5 +3 +3 Heretical Power
10th +7 +6 +3 +3 Dispel Good 1/week, Unholy Armor (freedom of movement)

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the knight heretic prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A knight heretic is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light).

Bartered Soul

Because the knight heretic has bartered his soul to an evil entity in exchange for mortal power, he can only be raised or resurrected if it would be in the interest of the evil entity that sponsors him. As a result, the knight heretic may only be raised or resurrected by a divine spell caster who worships the same evil entity as he does. Furthermore, while the knight heretic’s affinity with evil makes him strong, it also makes him more susceptible in some ways to the power of good, and he suffers a -2 penalty on saves vs. spells with the Good descriptor. He is also subject to the damage and penalties incurred by spells that affect undead (e.g., searing light, consecrate, etc.), as if he were an undead creature. However, he is still healed by positive energy and damaged by negative energy.

Death Knell (Su)

At 1st level, the knight heretic gains the supernatural ability to use death knell as a free action, twice per day, with a Will DC of 15. His caster level for this ability is considered equal to his knight heretic levels +1.

Heretical Power (Su)

At certain levels, a knight heretic gains supernatural heretical powers from his patron. Whenever a new 49 heretical power is gained, the knight heretic may select one of the spells from the list below. From that point on, he may use that spell as a supernatural ability, once per day. He uses his Intelligence modifier to calculate any spell DCs, and his caster level is equal to his knight heretic levels +3.

Heretical power choices: bear’s endurance, bestow curse, bleeding wounds*, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cause fear, chariot of the warlord*, charm animal, charm person, command, command undead, dancing weapon*, daze monster, desecrate, detect thoughts, devouring cloud*, disguise self, dispel magic, eagle’s splendor, enthrall, feather fall, fox’s cunning, ghoul touch, glibness, ice blade*, jump, lesser numbing wind*, longstrider, magic weapon, minor dagger swarm*, mirror image, murderous command, owl’s wisdom, pass without trace, phantom warhorse*, plague whip*, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, read magic, resist energy, see invisibility, snare, spectral hand, spike growth, trident of the hell dukes*, true strike, undetectable alignment, vampiric touch, wind wall, zombie form*.

Unholy Armor (Su)

At 4th level, the knight heretic’s evil patron magically endows his armor. Whenever the knight heretic dons any suit of plate armor, it becomes magic (if it is not already magic) as long as he wears it and provides him with energy resistance 5 (type selected by the GM) and light fortification (see magic armor special abilities in the core rulebook), in addition to any other special abilities it may have. At 7th level, the armor’s power increases and grants the knight heretic damage reduction 10/magic, silver, or good (selected by the GM). At 10th level, the armor’s power increases again and grants the knight heretic freedom of movement.

Silence the Holy (Su)

At 5th level, the knight heretic gains the ability to silence good-aligned spellcasters by striking them with his melee weapon and intoning the name of his evil patron (Will DC 17 + the knight heretic’s Intelligence bonus negates). The silence spell affects only the creature struck – it does not emanate in a radius. His caster level for this ability is considered equal to his knight heretic levels +2. This ability is usable only once per day and if it is used against a non-good target it has no effect and is wasted.

Unholy Blight (Su)

At 8th level, the knight heretic gains the supernatural ability to cast unholy blight once per week (Will DC 20 + the knight heretic’s Intelligence modifier for partial damage). His caster level for this ability is considered equal to his knight heretic levels +3.

Dispel Good (Su)

At 10th level, the knight heretic gains the supernatural ability to use dispel good once per week. His caster level for this ability is considered equal to his knight heretic levels +3.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Grimoire Viperian: A Tome of Exotic Lore Copyright 2021 Magic Skull Games Author: Steven F. Johnson

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