Knight (D&D class)

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Unofficial rules compendium

Player's Handbook II, page 24. The knight is a tank; a heavy fighter dedicated more to defending his friends than to maximizing his own damage.

Rules

Knights must be non-chaotic in alignment, rather than lawful.

Dwarven knights get extra bonus feat at level 4 and 9, because they already have armor mastery. Pick these from the regular list of bonus feats.

Options

Except for the list of bonus feats, the knight is very culture-neutral. Any culture using shields and heavy armor is capable of producing knights. To facilitate cross-cultural knights, the following alternate bonus feat lists are suggested. Some of these level 2 bonus feats have prerequisites, which must be fulfilled in order to use that option.

Anvil

All dwarves are heavily armored, but anvils are even more so. They form the rock against which dwarves prefer to let the waves of opposing armies smash themselves. They specialize in resisting damage and magic. Non-dwarves are not forbidden from becoming anvils, but few are tempted to.

Bonus feat at second level: Iron Will.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Armor Specialization, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Toughness, Indomitable Soul, Intimidating Strike, Quick Draw, Steadfast Determination, Weapon Focus (Dwarven waraxe).

Grenadier

An oddball among the knight variants. Specialized in the use of grenades and grenade-like weapons, grenadiers put themselves at risk using these dangerous weapons and learn to survive their effects.

Bonus feat at second level: Grenadier.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Diehard, Dive for Cover, Endurance, Far Shot, Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Mad Alchemist, Point-Blank Shot, Quick Draw.

Guard

Specialized in supporting one another, guards are unusually close-knit, even for knightly units. Their code of honor is slightly different: they may use flanking, but may not use missile weapons.

Bonus feat at second level: Combat Reflexes.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Adaptable Flanker, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Hindering Opportunist, Iron Will, Phalanx Fighting, Quick Draw, Stalwart Defense, Vexing Flanker.

Huscarl

The personal guards of barbarian nobles, huscarls (literally "house men") live in their lord’s hall full time and act as a bodyguard. The same type of men served the emperors of Byzantium as a personal guard and elite corps, the Varangians. Here it denotes unusually disciplined warriors in a barbarian society.

Bonus feat at second level: Power Attack.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Cleave, Cometary Collision , Diehard, Endurance, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Iron Will, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (Battleaxe).

Praetorian

Historically the elite guard of the Roman Empire; mainly a foot unit. As used here, it denotes a foot knight who knows all the tricks of the trade.

Bonus feat at second level: Combat Expertise.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Close-Quarters Fighting, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Improved Trip, Iron Will, Quick Draw, Tower Shield Proficiency.

Silver Shield

Historically the foot guard of Alexander the Great, it is used here to denote knights specializing in shield use.

Bonus feat at second level: Shield Specialization.

List of bonus feats for level 5, 10, and 15: Agile Shield Fighter, Diehard, Endurance, Great Fortitude, Improved Shield Bash, Iron Will, Phalanx Fighting, Shield Charge, Shield Slam, Shield Ward.