Defender of the City State (Apath)
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Strewn across the harsh wilds of the desert like diamonds in the rough lay the few surviving pockets of civilization known as city-states. Here, in a land wasted nearly to ruin, these communities endeavor to eke out what lives they can, despite substantial threats from both the surrounding environment and, more often than not, the surrounding peoples, as well.
A common saying in almost every tribal and/or desert tongue admonishes listeners to “pray to god, but ride for shelter.” In other words, the general consensus is that the gods help those who help themselves. The people of the various city-states are known to take this lesson to heart, but perhaps nowhere more seriously than in the noble path of the defender. Each of the major city-states has its share of these convicted souls; the specific style and dress may vary from one city-state to another (as should be expected, given the broad scope of those who worship the various gods), but the general form and function is surprisingly uniform throughout. A defender of the city-state is a brave warrior for both god and city, sworn to uphold and protect the both equally until his last dying breath. He must swear a blood oath before taking his first step upon the path, and soon grows more and more attuned to both his god and his home, making him a fierce protector. Most defenders are charged with patrolling the area around their city-state, acting as a combination of scout and front line of defense. Others remain within the perimeters of their cities, seeking out any trouble that may have already gotten in, act as emissaries, or go on quests in the interest of their home.
In most desert locales, the glue that holds communities together is their common faith. While all the gods are revered, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the known world, almost every city-state can claim a single patron deity who stands above the rest, and it is this deity to whom the populace turns most often in times of need. The god and the city have a mutually beneficial relationship, the god taking care of the city, the city providing a safe haven for the devotees of the god when there is trouble in other places. Even evil gods can become the patron of civilized city-state, even if such cities often have an underbelly of vice and corruption. Still, even these cities have defenders of the city-state who keep the city safe and who upholds the honor of the god and city. No matter who is their city's patron, good or evil, defenders live by the credo "my city is always right" and side with their city and its cult.
Class Information
This is a paladin archetype.
Publisher: Purple Duck Games based on the published works by Lion's Den Games.
Hit Die: d10.
Alignment Lawful Good, but see patriot, below.
Class Skills The defender's class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).
Skill Ranks per Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Class Features
This archetype has all normal class features, except as noted.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
Defenders are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields (except tower shields).
Home Ground (Ex)
When dressed in the uniform of his honor guard, the defender gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Diplomacy, Knowledge (geography, local, nobility), Perception, Sense Motive, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when in the territory of his city state and when interacting with citizens of his city state. This bonus increases to +4 at level 9 and +6 at level 18. This is a variant of the ranger's favored terrain ability and counts as that ability for fulfilling prerequisites.
He can use his Knowledge (local or nobility) skill as if it was Knowledge (religion) when dealing with the city cult of his own city, but not when dealing with other religions or different cults of the same religion.
Patriot (Ex)
The defender must be lawful good in alignment and must worship the patron god of his city state. Regardless of the actual alignment of this god, the defender perceives his god as good and lawful.
The defender of the city-state is lawful and good in his actions with regards to strangers in strange lands and with regards to citizens of his own city. But when the interests of his city is at stake, or when he is acting as the representative of his city against foreigners, his values change. Any act conductive to the interests of his city and its cult is a good act to the defender. Any potential troublemaker or threat to the city is evil. If the defender himself performs evil acts in the service of his city, those affect his alignment normally, but protecting other city or cult officials as they perform evil acts is a good and lawful act to a defender. This affects how the defender's alignment-dependent class features and spells work against enemies of his city state.
- Detect evil detects declared enemies of the state and cult and creatures with hostile intent towards the state and cult as if they were evil. The strength of their evil aura is the same as that of their actual alignment aura (see detect evil). It will not detect evil in citizens of the defender's city, spells they cast, or items they use, regardless of actual alignment.
- The defender can use smite evil to smite all enemies of his city state.
- The defender can cast spells that have an additional effect on evil enemies, such as bless weapon, and gain the benefit that normally applies against evil enemies against all enemies of his city.
- The defender's good damage can penetrate any alignment-based damage reduction of enemies of his city.
Effects used by others that work differently based on alignment affect the defender based on his actual, lawful good, alignment. For example, the defender is affected by protection from good but not protection from evil.
Most of the time a city cult of any alignment operates as if it was lawful good, as this is an efficient way of running an isolated city. Still, such a cult can have practices that are far from lawful good, such as condoning slavery or human sacrifice. The defender always sees the practices of his own city cult as good, lawful, and conductive to the survival and prosperity of the city and faith.
Only the defender's city cult has the true faith. Other, similar practices in other places or even by dissenting sects in the same city should be vigorously persecuted. Cults outside of his city dedicated to the patron god of the defender's city earns no special regard from the defender, he is free to treat such cults as he likes without suffering any moral repercussions. If such a cult is evil, it is likely to be seen as an enemy.
In a factional conflict within his city state, the city's governing elite are seen as good and all other factions seen as evil. However, the defender can decide to transfer his allegiance to another faction, whereupon all other factions in the city become enemies. A defender can only transfer his allegiance on his own initiative once in his lifetime, this is always a formative event in the defenders life, and often in the history of the city too.
An atonement spell can be used to transfer the defender's allegiance to another faction, or even to another city and god. This is very unusual; both the defender and the caster of atonement need a very good reason.
Patriot replaces aura of good.
Honor Guard (Ex)
A city state has a honor guard where its most trusted and cherished warriors serve. The defender serves in this guard and knows the fighting style of the guard. The benefits are the same for all members of the honor guard of a city state; if one defender of the city of Clatina has a panther animal companion, they all do. These benefits continue to accrue as the defender advances in level. Honor guard replaces lay on hands.
At 2nd level, the defender can choose one of the following benefits:
Animal Companion: The defender gains an animal companion (as the companion version of the druid's nature's bond ability). At 3rd level, when are riding his animal companion, the defender ignores armor check penalties to the Ride skill. At 6th level the companion gains either Master of Your Kind or Valiant Steed as a bonus feat.
Combat Style: The defender gains the ranger's combat style class feature. Every member of a honor guard must select the same fighting style, but each can select bonus feats of their choice.
Fighting Companion: The defender can use shield other (sp) once per day, and the target of any 'shield other spell cast by the defender gains the use any tactical feats the defender knows. He also gains a tactical feat as a bonus feat at level 2, 6, and every 6 levels thereafter, but must fulfill the prerequisites of these feats. Different members of a honor guard can select different tactical feats.
Legionnaire: The defender gains proficiency with heavy armor and tower shields. At level 3 he gains the fighter's armor training class feature, as a fighter of his defender level.
Scout: The defender gains Knowledge (geography) (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str) as class skills, and gains 2 additional skill points per level. He gains these skill points retroactively to share among his new class skills.
Skirmisher: The defender gains a 10 ft. increase in speed when wearing light or no armor and Dodge as a bonus feat. At 6th level, he gains Mobility and Spring Attack as bonus feats. At 12th level, he can use Spring Attack when adjacent to an enemy and take a double move instead of a normal move as part of the full-round action to use Spring Attack.
Blessings
The defender gains the warpriest's blessing class feature. At level 3 a defender gains the minor blessing of one of the domains of his city state's patron god. At level 6, he gains the minor blessing of another of his city state's patron's domains. At 12 level, he gains the major blessing of one of the domains he has the minor blessing of, and at 15th level he gains the major blessing of the other domain whose minor blessing he has. Count defender levels as warpriest levels when using blessings, but any effect based on Wisdom for a warpriest is based on Charisma for a defender. A defender cannot select the chaos or evil domain. This replaces all mercies.
Domain Spells
A defender gains limited access to the domain spells offered by the patron of his city state. Add the level 1-4 cleric domain spells of the domain (or a subdomain of that domain, if in use) whose blessing he has to the defender's spell list. He prepares and casts these spells just like any other spell on his spell list. At 14th level, add the level 1-4 spells of the other domain whose blessings he knows to his spell list. This replaces divine bond and aura of faith.
Divine Ward
At 20th level, the defender has become a pillar of his community in a very real sense—part of the spiritual backbone of his home city. At this level, the god of his city-state has blessed the defender with the ability to stand against almost anything that would taint or destroy his home. He is immune to death effects and to disarm and sunder attempts. While on the territory of his city state, the defender gains the benefits of the Diehard feat and can take an additional number of negative hit points equal to his class level before dying. This replaces holy champion.
Code of Honor
A defender must be of lawful good alignment and loses all class features except proficiencies if he ever willingly commits an act that would harm his city state or its interests. Additionally, a defender's code requires that he respect legitimate authority, uphold the honor of his city state (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), and punish those who harm or threaten his city or its interests.
The defender has a duty to protect allies who perform what foreigners see as evil acts in service to his city, but should not perform such acts himself.
While in his city state, the defender is expected to work for his city for a minimum of 6 hours each day. He must undertake any missions given by a legitimate authority of his city. The city provides him room and board as befits his station. While away from his city, he must represent the city's interest and act as a loyal agent of the city and might have a long-term mission or quest, but is otherwise free to spend his time.
Ex-Defenders
A defender that changes to any alignment except lawful good or who works against the interests of his city or city cult loses all defender spells and class features (not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). He may not progress any further in levels as a defender. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations (see atonement).
Table: Defender of the City State
| Class Level |
Base Attack Bonus |
Fort Save |
Ref Save |
Will Save |
Special | Spells per Day | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Detect evil, home ground +2, patriot, smite evil 1/day | — | — | — | — |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Divine grace, honor guard | — | — | — | — |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Aura of courage, divine health, minor blessing | — | — | — | — |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Smite evil 2/day | 0 | — | — | — |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Domain spells, , | 1 | — | — | — |
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Minor blessing | 1 | — | — | — |
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Smite evil 3/day | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Aura of resolve | 1 | 1 | — | — |
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | Home ground +4 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Smite evil 4/day | 2 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +7 | Aura of justice | 2 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Major blessing | 2 | 2 | 1 | — |
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Smite evil 5/day | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +9 | Domain spells | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +9 | Major blessing | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Smite evil 6/day | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Aura of righteousness | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Home ground +6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Smite evil 7/day | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +12 | Divine ward | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Summary of Lost Class Abilities
These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:
- Class Skills
- Aura of Good
- Lay on Hands
- Mercy (all)
- Divine Bond
- Aura of Faith
- Holy Champion
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