Knight of the Order of the Sun Prestige Class

The Order of the Sun is currently extinct; it was a great religious military order devoted to Avani, goddess of sun and reason, centered in the land of Binsada. The knights of the order were both scholars and warriors, and developed the worship of Avani into a lifelong quest for enlightenment.

If someone were to recreate the order, he would naturally have a great deal to say about its modern form. This prestige class has some lassitude for the founder to add his own ideas and strictures, while at the same time maintaining the traditions of the order.

The Holy Order of the Knights of the Sun is a religious order devoted to the sun and to truth. The order as a whole has a power of Arcadia as divine patron and sponsor, a lawful neutral deity with strong good tendencies. Individual knights can have their own patrons as long as there is no conflict of faith.

Knights of the Order of the Sun see it as their main responsibility to uphold the natural laws of the world and oppose the forces of entropy and corruption wherever they appear. As interpreted by the order, this includes keeping tabs on all use of magic, the power of the land and the noble bloodlines, to ensure that these are not misused. Their main enemies are monsters, those that use disruptive magic, those who murder blooded nobles, and those who despoil the land.

The order of the knights of the sun is an adventuring order. Members spend their time listening to old tales and reading dusty tomes in order to find and explore legendary places and seeking other remnants of olden times. They develop skills to deal with traps and other hazards commonly found in such places. Other common quests include finding and punishing evil magic users, undead and monsters. Rarely do they sally forth to war, and the powers that make them formidable adventurers and champions against the forces of entropy help but little on a worldly battlefield.

The order is elitist. Nobles are seen as naturally superior, and most knights in the order are of noble blood. But the order claims that nobility can be hidden, to emerge only when needed. A hero that displays noble qualities reveals himself as the first of a new noble bloodline, and is respected accordingly.

Knights of the sun have access to paradise in a very literal way; during initiation ceremonies, the applicant must ascend to one of the outer planes associated with the order's alignments (usually Arcadia) and live there in bliss for a time. On returning, the new knight is filled with resolve, knowing the rewards to come after a long life of loyal servitude.

Most knights of the sun are former paladins or clerics, but a few were fighters, rangers, rogues, bards or even wizards. Other classes are very rarely accepted.

Knights of the sun have a strict code of honor, which includes the following:

• Bear the light of knowledge upon your shoulders at all times.
• Do not lie, steal, slander or bully those around you.
• Judge only after considering the facts. Never refuse to hear someone out.
• Preserve the world and the lore gathered about it.
• Protect and recover the legacy of the ancients, as preserved in lore and artifacts
• Preserve the divine spark in mankind, as manifest through hope, faith and bloodlines.
• Never worship a deity whose adherents could not join the order.

A knight of the sun who breaks these strictures or changes to an alignment not allowed by the order loses all granted powers until successfully atoned. A fallen knight of the sun which takes up the blackguard prestige class (see core rulebook II) can trade in his knight of the sun levels for blackguard levels, just as a high level former paladin can.

Hit Die: d10

Requirements

Skills:
Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks
Knowledge (any one except religion) 4 ranks
Language: Celestial

Base Attack Bonus: +6

Alignment: A knight of the sun must be of lawful good, lawful neutral or neutral good alignment.

Actions: As a candidate, you must visit a plane aligned with one of the order's alignments and commune with the powers there. If you are accepted, these powers will provide you with guidance and initiate you into the secrets of the order.

Faith: As a prospective knight of the sun, you must have a patron deity compatible with the ideas of law, light, truth and knowledge, preferably a sun god or an ally of a sun god. Acceptable deities in Cerilia include Avani, Erik, Haelyn, Laerme and Nesire. You may not take this class if you have the ability to rebuke undead. A paladin that takes this prestige class can freely return to the paladin class afterwards.

Class Skills: Craft (Int), Decipher Script (Int, restricted skill), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Knowledge (all skills, taken individually) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Wilderness Lore (Wis).

Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

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

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Knights of the sun are proficient with all simple weapons and martial weapons as well as light and medium armor and with shields.

Turn Undead (su): You can turn undead as a cleric of your Knight of the Sun level. If you already have the ability to turn undead, add your level as a Knight of the Sun to your effective level as a cleric for the purpose of turning undead. All knights of the sun turn undead rather than rebuke them, regardless of alignment.

Ultimate Sacrifice: (sp): You can emulate Basaïas death at the final cataclysmic battle at Mount Deismaar. By giving up your own life and any chance of resurrection, you explode like a fireball with a radius of 100 ft. and a damage of 1d6 per character level, with no upper limit. The Reflex Save DC of this ability is 20 + your charisma modifier. This is a supernatural ability.

Mystic Lore: As a knight of the order of the sun you adventure among the people and listen to their stories, and can use Bardic Lore like a bard of your class level. This stacks with any other bardic lore you might have from other classes.

Nimbus (su): You can surround yourself with light at will. This works like a daylight spell, cast at your class level and centered on you. You cannot hide when this aura is active.

Gifts of Light: As you progress as a Knight of the Order of the Sun, you will gain more and more mystic abilities related to light. All of these abilities work only when your Nimbus ability is active. At each level from the second, you may choose one of these special abilities.

• Armor of Light: (su) Your nimbus gives you extra protection from attacks made by incorporeal creatures. Your physical armor counts as force armor. Invoking this protection uses up two of your turning attempts for the day, and lasts ten minutes per class level.
• Extra Turning (ex): The knight of the sun can choose to learn the Extra Turning feat in place of a regular Gift of Light. Like a cleric or paladin, you can also learn this as a regular feat.
• Governance of Magic: (su) You can dispel or counter a magic spell by making a turning check as if turning an undead creature of the spellcaster's level. If successful, the spell ends as if it's duration had run out. Each attempt uses up one of your turn attempts for the day. This power cannot affect spells immune to dispel magic.
• Greater Turning: (su) You can invoke the special power of the sun when turning, and any undead you turn are automatically destroyed. Each use of this ability counts as two of your turning attempts for the day. This is similar to but not the same as the power granted by the sun domain.
• Heavenly Light: (su) You can turn outsiders as if they were undead of twice their HD. Outsiders whose modified hit dice are half your turning level or less are dismissed to their home plane rather than destroyed. On their home plane, you turn outsiders as undead of four times their HD, but there, they really can be destroyed instead of merely dismissed. This can combine with Greater Turning if you have that ability, but then cost two turning attempts.
• Improved Turning Level (ex): Increase your effective level as a cleric by two for turning purposes only, but not past your character level. This ability does not work if you only have levels as a cleric and knight of the sun, because then your turning level is already equal to your character level. This ability functions constantly.
• Inner Light (ex): You are so filled with holy light that your inner tranquility is not easily disturbed. After failing any Will Saving throw, you may immediately take another Will Saving throw. If this second save succeeds, you are merely dazed for one round while contemplating the vanity of mortal temptations.
• Light in Shadow (ex): Not all Knights of the Order of the Sun can go about with a blazing nimbus; some of their actions require a more stealthy approach. With this ability, you can use your Gifts of Light even when your Nimbus is not active. This ability also allows you to worship hostile gods as a part of a disguise without breaking the tenets of your class. But each use of a gift of the light uses up one extra turning attempt in this case. The abilities that normally work on those your nimbus shines on now have a 15 ft. radius burst emenation around you.
• Light of Truth (su): Invoke true seeing, with a duration of ten minutes per level. Each use of this ability counts as two of your turning attempts for the day.
• Piercing Light (su): Any illusion spells or supernatural abilities based on illusion touched by the light of your nimbus are dispelled if you make a successful turning check as if turning an undead creature of the spellcaster's level. Roll turning damage as normal; this is the total number of spell levels of illusions you can dispel. Each affected illusion ends as if it's duration had run out. Each attempt uses up one of your turn attempts for the day.
• Searing Light: (sp): As a spell-like ability, you can shoot a searing ray of sunlight from your eyes. This is ranged touch attack with a range of 400 ft. plus 40 ft per class level. The ray does 1d6 sacred damage per class level with no saving throw (double damage versus undead, triple vs. creatures that are damaged by sunlight). Searing light suffers no miss chance against immaterial creatures. Each use of this ability counts as one of your turning attempts for the day.
• Shielding Light: (su) Your aura of light protects you from attacks. You get a sacred bonus to AC equal to your Charisma bonus. Invoking this protection uses up one of your turning attempts for the day, and lasts ten minutes per class level.
• Sword of Light: (su) Your nimbus gives you the strength to smile incorporeal creatures. Your melee attacks can damage incorporeal creatures with no miss chance. Invoking this protection uses up one of your turning attempts for the day, and lasts ten minutes per class level.
• Touch of the Sun (su): You can cast any touch spell as a ranged touch attack, with a range of 100 ft, plus 10 ft. per class level. Each use of this ability uses up one of your turn undead attempts for the day.