Vindicator (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

Many faiths have within their membership an order of the church militant, be they holy knights or dark warriors, who put their lives and immortal souls on the line for their faith. They are paragons of battle, eschewing sermons for steel. These men and women are living conduits of divine power, down to their very blood, which they happily shed in a moment if it brings greater glory to their deity or judgment upon heretics, infidels, and enemies of the faith.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype. The vindicator is a holy warrior that channels energy

Prestige Class: Vindicator from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player's Guide, turned into a full base class.

Role: The vindicator has substantial combat skills and his channeling powers are prodigious. Those whose religious views align well with the vindicator will find a ready ally.

Alignment: While lawful vindicators are somewhat more common, vindicators may be of any alignment. Vindicators must have an identical alignment to that of their patron, and mostly worship gods of sacrifice, striving, renewal, or conflict.

Hit Die: d12.

Class Skills

The vindicator’s class skills are Climb (Str), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Swim (Str).

Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

These are all the class features of the vindicator.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

A vindicator is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and all armor and shields (except tower shields).

Aura (Ex)

Like a cleric, a vindicator of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful deity has a particularly powerful aura corresponding to the deity's alignment (see detect evil for details).

Channel Energy (Su)

This is the same as the cleric ability of the same name, except that the vindicator can only channel energy to inflict damage; either positive energy to damage undead or negative energy to damage living creatures. The vindicator gains an additional use of channel energy at level 2 and every second level thereafter.

Channel Smite

At 1st level, a vindicator gains Channel Smite as a bonus feat.

Flexible Channel (Su)

At 2nd level, when the vindicator channels energy, he can choose to harm undead or harm the living, regardless of if she channels positive or negative energy.

Spells

Beginning at 4th level, a vindicator gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells drawn from her domains (see below). Through 3rd level, a vindicator has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is equal to her vindicator level – 3.

To learn or cast a spell, a vindicator must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a vindicator’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the vindicator’s Charisma modifier (see FAQ at right).

Like other spellcasters, a vindicator can cast only a certain number of spells per day of each spell level. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: Vindicator. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Charisma score (see Table: Ability Modifiers and Bonus Spells).

Unlike other divine spellcasters, a vindicator’s selection of spells is limited. A vindicator knows only the spells gained from her domains class feature (see below).

Unlike a paladin, a vindicator need not prepare her spells in advance. She can cast any spell she knows at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her spells per day for that spell level.

Domains

A vindicator is the strong right hand of her deity, and this relationship colors what magic she can perform. A vindicator knows five domains belonging to her deity. If the GM allows a vindicator not devoted to a particular deity, she selects five domains to represent her spiritual inclinations and abilities (subject to GM approval). A vindicator can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if her alignment matches that domain.

The vindicator gain spells but not domain powers from their domains. Collect all the domain spells of level one to four the vindicator gains from all his domains; this is her spell list. This is the only benefit a vindicator gains from domains.

In addition, all vindicators know the following spells:

1. Cure light wounds, doom.
2. Cure moderate wounds, death knell
3. Cure severe wounds, curse
4. Cure critical wounds, debilitating portent.

Stigmata (Su)

A vindicator willingly gives his blood in service to his faith, and is marked by scarified wounds appropriate to his deity. At 4th level, he may activate his stigmata as a free action whenever he takes cutting or piercing damage. He can also stop or start the flow of blood by force of will as a standard action; at 8th level this becomes a move action, and at 12th level it becomes a swift action, and at level 16 a free action. Bleeding stigmata causes bleed damage equal to one-quarter the vindicator’s class level, and this bleed damage is not halted by curative magic. While the stigmata are bleeding, the vindicator gains a sacred bonus (if he channels positive energy) or profane bonus (if he channels negative energy) equal to one-quarter his class level. Each time he activates his stigmata, the vindicator decides if the bonus applies to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, Armor Class, caster level checks, or saving throws; to change what the bonus applies to, the vindicator must deactivate and reactivate his stigmata.

While his stigmata are bleeding, the vindicator ignores blood drain and bleed damage from any other source and can use the spell-like abilities bleed or stabilize at will, using the same type of action he uses to control the flow of blood.

Faith Healing (Su)

At 6th level, any cure wounds spells the vindicator casts on himself are automatically empowered as if by the Empower Spell feat, except they do not use higher spell level slots or an increased casting time. If the vindicator targets himself with a cure spell that affects multiple creatures, this ability only applies to himself.

Vindicator’s Shield (Su)

A 6th level vindicator can channel energy into his shield as a swift action; this consumes one daily use of channel energy. When worn, the shield gives the vindicator a sacred bonus (if positive energy) or profane bonus (if negative energy) to his Armor Class equal to the number of dice of the vindicator’s channel energy. This bonus lasts until the beginning of the vindicator's next round. The shield does not provide this bonus to any other wielder.

Doom The Infidel (Sp)

At 8th level, when a vindicator suffers a critical hit, he may cast doom upon the attacker as an free action, even if the attack incapacitates or kills the vindicator. The save DC is the same as for channel energy. The vindicator can also use this ability when he verifies a critical hit, and the save DC increases by +2 if his weapon has a ×3 damage multiplier, or by +4 if it is ×4.

Bloodfire (Su)

At 10th level, while a vindicator’s stigmata are bleeding, his blood runs down his weapons like sacred or profane liquid energy; when he uses Channel Smite, the damage increases by 1d6, and if the target fails its save, it is sickened and takes 1d6 points of bleed damage each round on its turn. The target can attempt a new save every round to end the sickened and bleed effects.

Versatile Channel (Su)

At 12th level, a vindicator’s channel energy can instead affect a 30-foot cone or a 120-foot line.

Divine Judgment (Sp)

At 11th level, when a vindicator’s melee attack reduces a creature to –1 or fewer hit points, he may cast death knell upon the target as a free action. As vindicators mete out divine judgment, this is not an evil act. The save DC is the same as for channel energy.

Curse The Infidel (Sp)

At 14th level, when a vindicator suffers a critical hit, he may cast bestow curse upon the attacker as an free action, even if the attack incapacitates or kills the vindicator. The save DC is the same as for channel energy. The vindicator can also use this ability when he verifies a critical hit, and the save DC increases by +2 if his weapon has a ×3 damage multiplier, or by +4 if it is ×4.

Divine Vengeance (Sp)

At 17th level, when a vindicator suffers a critical hit, he may vast any one of the following spells he knows as a free action: chaos hammer, debilitating portent, holy smite, order's wrath, or unholy blight upon the attacker as an free action, even if the attack incapacitates or kills the vindicator. If the chosen spell is an area attacks it targets an intersection of squares in the target's space and expands normally. The save DC is the same as for channel energy. The vindicator can also use this ability when he verifies a critical hit, and the save DC increases by +2 if his weapon has a ×3 damage multiplier, or by +4 if it is ×4.

Bloodrain (Su)

At 18th level, while his stigmata are bleeding, the vindicator’s harmful channeled energy is accompanied by a burst of sacred or profane liquid energy, increasing the damage by 1d6. Creatures failing their saves against the channeled energy become sickened and take 1d6 points of bleed damage each round. Affected creatures can attempt a new save every round to end the sickened and bleed effects.

Table: Vindicator

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
						1	2	3	4
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Aura, channel energy 1d6, Channel Smite, orisons	—	—	—	—
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Flexible channel	—	—	—	—
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3	Channel energy 2d6	—	—	—	—
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4	Domains, stigmata 1 (standard)	0	—	—	—
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Channel energy 3d6	1	—	—	—
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5	Faith healing (empower), vindicator’s shield	1	—	—	—
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Channel energy 4d6	1	0	—	—
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Doom of the infidel, stigmata 2 (move)	1	1	—	—
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+6	Channel energy 5d6	2	1	—	—
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+7	Bloodfire	2	1	0	—
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+7	Channel energy 6d6, divine judgment,	2	1	1	—
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+8	Stigmata 3 (swift), versatile channel	2	2	1	—
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+8	Channel energy 7d6	3	2	1	0
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+9	Curse the infidel	3	2	1	1
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+9	Channel energy 8d6	3	2	2	1
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+10	Stigmata 4 (free)	3	3	2	1
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Channel energy 9d6, Divine vengeance	4	3	2	1
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+11	Bloodrain	4	3	2	2
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+11	Channel energy 10d6	4	3	3	2
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Stigmata 5	4	4	3	3

Ex-Vindicators

A vindicator who changes alignment or grossly violates the code of conduct required by her god loses all spells and class features, except for weapon, armor and shield proficiencies. She cannot thereafter gain levels as a vindicator of that god until she atones for her deeds (see the atonement spell description).

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