Low Templar (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Some men and women attain such skill at serving the letter of the law while keeping to their own private agendas that they become low templars. Under a sanctified veneer, they walk a wavering line between heroism and thuggery.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. A low templar is a ranger with heavy armor and flexible morals.

Prestige Class: Low templar from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide.

Build Classes: Ranger.

Alignment: Any. Low templars usually begin with a neutral alignment, and develop a more extreme alignment as they progress on their personal crusade.

Role: A low templar is an opportunist able to adapt to changing situations. A mix of skirmisher and front-line fighter, he can hold the line or maneuver to ambush or retreat. Outside of combat, he can be a diplomatic face or a slinky scoundrel.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills

The low templar’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Linguistics (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

A low templar has all ranger class features, except as follows.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A low templar is proficient with all simple and all martial weapons. He is proficient with all forms of armor and shields, including tower shields. This replaces wild empathy.

Favored Enemy

Whatever his faults, a low templar is a skilled warrior against the demon hordes.

This is the same as the ranger ability of the same name, except the low templar must select or outsiders (evil) as his first favored enemy at level 1, and that no bonus against another favored enemy category can ever be higher than his bonus against outsiders (evil).

Mounted Combat

The low templar gains mounted combat as a bonus feat at second level. If he does not fulfill the prerequisites of the feat, he gains no benefit until he does. If he already knows this feat, he can choose any combat feat he fulfills the prerequisites for instead.

Mounted combat, flag of convenience, live to fight another day, path of darkness/path of light, ruthless, parting shot, and damnation/redemption together replace all the ranger's spells. A low templar is not a spellcaster, has no spell list, and no spellcaster level.

Sneak Attack (Ex)

At 2nd level the low templar learns how to sneak attack. This ability is like the rogue ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by +1d6 every 4 levels after level 2, to a maximum of 5d6 at level 18. If a low templar gets a sneak attack bonus from another source, the bonuses on damage stack. This replaces all combat style feats.

Armor Training (Ex)

Starting at 3rd level, a low templar learns to be more maneuverable while wearing armor. Whenever he is wearing armor, he reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by his armor by 1. Every five levels thereafter (8th, 13th, and 18th), these bonuses increase by +1 each time, to a maximum –4 reduction of the armor check penalty and a +4 increase of the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed.

In addition, a low templar can also move at his normal speed while wearing medium armor. At 8th level, a low templar can move at his normal speed while wearing heavy armor. This replaces favored terrain.

Flag of Convenience (Ex)

At 4th level a low templar is adept at aligning himself with the winning side and has mastered the art of shifting or switching allegiance when convenient. He can disappear in one place and appear in another with new affiliations and associations, yet without besmirching his reputation. Even when caught in illicit acts, he easily evades blame. The low templar gains a +2 bonus on all Bluff and Disguise checks, and on Linguistics checks made to create forgeries. A low templar never suffers a penalty to his Leadership score for moving around frequently, aloofness, cruelty, or the loss of prior cohorts or followers, and can replace lost followers in half the normal amount of time.

Dirty Fighting (Ex)

A 7th level low templar melds the stately forms of jousting and chivalric standards with the down-and-dirty style of a barroom brawler. No trick is beneath him. A low templar never takes a non-proficiency penalty on attack rolls with improvised weapons and gains a +2 bonus on all combat maneuver checks. In addition, whenever he lands a critical hit or sneak attack, the low templar may opt to deal normal damage and roll on the following table rather than dealing extra damage.

d6 Result

1. Target is staggered for 1 round
2. Target is nauseated for 1 round
3. Target is deafened for 1 round
4. Target is blinded for 1 round
5. Target is sickened for 1 minute
6. Target becomes fatigued

If the critical multiplier is x3, the duration of the effect doubles. If the critical multiplier is x4, the duration triples. If the low templar choose to roll on the table instead of making a sneak attack, the effect lasts one round per two dice of sneak attack damage he would normally have inflicted. This replaces woodland stride.

At 17th level, the dirty combat maneuver bonus increases to +4 an all effects of the table last an additional round or minute in the case of sickened.

Live to Fight Another Day (Ex)

At 7th level, a low templar can use the withdraw action as a standard action, although if he does so, he can only move at his speed (not double his speed).

Evasion (Ex)

At 9th level the low templar gains evasion. This is the same as the ranger ability, except that the low templar can benefit from evasion when in any armor.

Path of Darkness/Path of Light (Su)

As a low templar advances to 10th level, he must eventually decide how closely he wishes to hew to his oaths and her ethos of law and goodness. If he chooses the path of light, he may choose to ignore the lawful or good aspect of his alignment (choose one) for determining alignment-based magical effects (e.g., reducing damage from unholy blight or an unholy weapon, masking his alignment from detect good, or ignoring some effects of a magic circle against good). He also gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Diplomacy checks with creatures with the lawful or good subtypes. If he chooses the path of darkness, he instead disregards either chaos or evil from his alignment and gains a Diplomacy bonus with creatures of the chaotic or evil subtypes.

Ruthless (Ex)

At 13th level, whenever a low templar kills a foe or reduces it to a dying state with a melee attack, he can immediately make another attack with the same weapon at the same attack bonus as a swift action. This additional attack can be made on any legal target. The low templar gains a bonus on damage rolls with this swift action attack equal to half his character level.

Improved Evasion (Ex)

At 16th level the low templar gains improved evasion. This is the same as the ranger ability, except that the low templar can benefit from evasion when in any armor.

Parting Shot (Ex)

At 16th level, a low templar can use the withdraw action as a move action, although if he does so, he can only move at his speed (not double his speed).

Damnation/Redemption (Su)

At 19th level, a low templar must make a final choice of which ethical path to follow. He may mask a second alignment trait versus alignment-based effects, as per the path of darkness/path of light ability. A low templar can choose the path of darkness at 5th level and then choose the path of redemption at 10th level (or vice versa).

When the low templar makes his damnation/redemption choice, he gains a planar cohort appropriate to his actual alignment with a challenge rating one lower than the normal level of a cohort gained as if he had taken the Leadership feat. This planar cohort appears to him and pledges her loyalty to the low templar immediately. If the cohort perishes, the low templar must wait a week before calling upon a replacement. If the low templar has the Leadership feat, he gains a +1 bonus to his Leadership score. If he replaces his cohort gained from the leadership feat with the planar cohort, the maximum level equivalent for his planar cohort equals the templar’s class level –1, rather than –2.

Table: Low Templar

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	1st favored enemy, track
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Mounted Combat, sneak attack +1d6
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Armor training 1 (medium), Endurance
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Hunter's bond, flag of convenience
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	2nd favored enemy
6th	+6/+1	+5	+5	+2	Sneak attack +2d6
7th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+2	Dirty fighting, live to fight another day
8th	+8/+3	+6	+6	+2	Armor training 2 (heavy), swift tracker, 2nd
9th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+3	Evasion,
10th	+10/+5	+7	+7	+3	3rd favored enemy, path of darkness/path of light, sneak attack +3d6
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+7	+3	Quarry
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+4	Camouflage
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+8	+4	Armor training 3, ruthless
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+9	+4	Sneak attack +4d6
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+9	+5	4th favored enemy
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+10	+5	Improved evasion, parting shot
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+10	+5	Hide in plain sight
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+11	+6	Armor training 4, sneak attack +5d6
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+11	+6	Improved quarry, damnation/redemption
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+12	+6	5th favored enemy, master hunter

Summary of Changed Class Features

• Armor proficiency
• Class skills
• Wild Empathy
• Combat style feats (all)
• Favored terrain (all)
• Spells (all)
• Woodland Stride

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