Discordant Crusader

Discordant crusaders are warrior zealots who choose to blend both good and evil into one style, using the strength of one to supplement the fury of the other.

Maneuvers

The dueling focus within the discordant crusader allows for a split focus of his talents as well as his ambiguously moral state. By embracing the tools and techniques of both good and evil, he may fulfil his mission without regard to conventional morality. A discordant crusader loses access to the Piercing Thunder discipline and adds Black Seraph and Silver Crane to his list of available disciplines. He otherwise learns, readies, and initiates maneuvers as a standard zealot.

This ability alters maneuvers.

Moral Ambiguity (Ex)

A discordant crusader decides the nature of his own path, for good or ill. Starting at 1st level, the discordant crusader can initiate maneuvers with the Good and Evil descriptors regardless of his alignment, and regular use of these maneuver does not threaten to change his alignment.

Grey Aura (Su)

Starting at 4th level, as long as the discordant crusader is psionically focused, his alignment cannot be discerned by spells and effects as long as his class level is higher than the effect’s caster level. In addition, whenever he deals profane damage, he can expend his psionic focus as a free action to instead deal an equal amount of sacred damage. Alternatively, he can use this ability when he deals sacred damage to instead deal an equal amount of profane damage.

This ability replaces the mission ability gained at 4th level. A discordant crusader never gains a mission.

Paired Weapons (Su)

Starting at 5th level, a discordant crusader treats all Black Seraph discipline weapons as Silver Crane discipline weapons, and vice versa.

This ability replaces defiance.

Divided Focus (Ex)

At 6th level, a discordant crusader gains Discipline Focus (Black Seraph) and Discipline Focus (Silver Crane) as bonus feats, even if he does not meet their prerequisites.

This ability replaces the conviction gained at 6th level.

Twofold Fire (Su)

Starting at 8th level, a discordant crusader gains the ability to augment his strikes from the Black Seraph and Silver Crane disciplines by spending power points. A discordant crusader can spend a maximum number of power points augmenting a maneuver equal to one plus one additional power point for every four initiator levels he possesses (up to a maximum of 6 at 20th level). If the zealot has the ability to augment his maneuvers in other ways, such as from another class feature or the maneuver itself, this cannot be combined with the augments granted by this ability; he must choose which augmentation type to use when initiating the maneuver. The discordant crusader can augment his Black Seraph and Silver Crane strikes in one or more of the following ways:

  • For every power point the discordant crusader spends, this strike deals an additional 1d6 points of profane damage (if a Black Seraph strike) or sacred damage (if a Silver Crane strike).
  • For every 3 power points the discordant crusader spends, his target takes a –4 penalty to their AC (if a Black Seraph strike) or on their attack rolls (if a Silver Crane strike) for one minute. A successful Will save (DC 10 + the strike’s level + the discordant crusader’s initiation modifier) negates this penalty. These penalties do not stack with themselves if the discordant crusader hits an opponent with multiple augmented strikes, although a creature can suffer from both penalties simultaneously.

This ability replaces the mission augments gained at 8th level.

Twinned Avatar (Su)

At 16th level, the discordant crusader can enter a two stances, one each from the Black Seraph and Silver Crane Disciplines, with a single swift action. Doing so is taxing for the discordant crusader, and he can only maintain the stances together for a number of rounds equal to 3 + his discordant crusader initiation modifier. These rounds do not need to be consecutive, but after he reaches this maximum he must wait an equal number of rounds before he can use this ability again. At 20th level, the discordant crusader can maintain a Black Seraph and a Silver Crane stance together indefinitely.

This ability replaces metaphysical transcendence.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Path of War – Expanded, © 2016, Dreamscarred Press.

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