Sanguine Angel (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

The sanguine angels are a an order of agents dedicated to a ruler favored by Hell.

Background

Sanguine angels are members of an an infernal order championing a devil-sponsored ruler, an ally of Hell. The sanguine angels are recruited, indoctrinated, and trained by infernal sponsors, devils that approach likely rulers with the offer to create a perfect honor guard. As impersonal agents of the ruler, the sanguine angel always wears full armor and helmets while on duty, and except for size and subtle marks of rank, all sanguine angels appear identical.

Recruitment to the sanguine angels is very demanding and often coercive. Likely candidates are identified, brought in, and indoctrinated into the precepts of the order. Applicants must match the requirements of the sponsoring ruler. This generally includes being of the same race as the ruler, of a specific gender, slightly above average in height, well built, and often with additional requirements such as ethnicity, religion, personality traits, or even quirks such as beauty, eye color, birthmarks, or astrological sign.

Class Information

This is a prestige archetype built on the saunguine angel prestige class from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Adventurer’s Guide.

Role: Sanguine angels are guardians of infernal order and direct agents of their ruler. They often guard creatures and location vital to the ruler, or act as the ruler's armored fist.

Alignment: Lawful neutral or lawful evil only. A creature must fulfill the alignment restriction to pass the indoctrination. A sanguine angel that changes to a non-allowed alignment loses all supernatural and spell-like class features. She can continue to progress in the class, but is likely to either be killed by the order or fall back into an allowed alignment by following orders.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Features

These are all the class features of the hell knight.

Class Skills

The sanguine angel’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Fly (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

Hell knights are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with all shields (including tower shields).

Fighting Tradition

The sanguine angel gains abilities based on her fighting tradition. The order generally has a favored fighting tradition that it uses to train raw recruits. But whenever possible the order recruits warriors that already have some training and ability, even defeated and indoctrinated enemies. The sanguine angel gains a number of class features based on the fighting tradition they were brought up in. Choose one of the following fighting traditions, this choice cannot be changed.

Barbarian: The sanguine angel gains the following barbarian (or unchained barbarian) abilities at the indicated level: rage (1st level), greater rage (11th level), and mighty rage (20th level), as a barbarian of her sanguine angel level. Unlike the barbarian, she does not gain a bonus on Will saves while in a rage. At 5th level, her rage turns into a cold killing frenzy. She takes no penalty to her AC, can use all her normal skills and effects that require concentration, and is not fatigued when her rage ends. The sanguine angel cannot enter a rage for 1 minute after she ends her rage, and she cannot charge or run while under the effects of her rage.

Cavalier: The sanguine angel gains the cavalier's challenge ability, as a cavalier of her class level.

Fighter: The sanguine angel gains a bonus feat at 1st level, as the tyrant's discipline. The sanguine angel can learn fighter-only feats, count sanguine angel levels as fighter levels for feat prerequisites. The sanguine angel gains the fighter's weapon training class feature, gaining a weapon group at level 5, 9, 13, and 17. She must select heavy blades as her first weapon group.

Hardened Heart (Ex)

Starting at 2nd level, a sanguine angel gains a +1 bonus on Will saves against fear. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 2nd. Add twice this bonus to the DC of any Intimidation check against the sanguine angel.

Tyrant’s Discipline

A sanguine angel draws upon her indoctrination, tactical training, and devotion to the powers of Hell to develop potent talents. A sanguine angel selects a discipline from the following list at 2nd level and every 2 levels thereafter.

Castling (Ex): When the sanguine angel takes a 5-foot step, she can step into the space of a willing, adjacent ally. If she does, that ally immediately takes a 5-foot step into the sanguine angel’s former space without spending an action to do so.

Bonus Feat: The sanguine angel can choose a a bonus feat as a tyrant's discipline. The feat must be from the combat feat category and the sanguine angel must fulfill all prerequisites. She can take this discipline multiple times, each time selecting a different bonus feat.

Driving Assault (Ex): When making a full attack, the sanguine angel can take a –2 penalty on melee attack rolls for 1 round. If she does, the first time in that round that she hits a creature of her size or smaller with a melee attack, she can attempt a bull rush combat maneuver check to push the creature back 5 feet. She gains a +2 bonus on this combat maneuver check and does not provoke attacks of opportunity when performing the bull rush, but regardless of the result, she cannot push the target further than 5 feet. If the sanguine angel pushes a creature in this way, she can immediately move into its space without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Eye of Mahulati (Su): The Illuminati of Illusion grants sanguine angels keen eyes to pierce all deception. The sanguine angel adds her hardened heart bonus on Will saves against illusions. In addition, once per day as a swift action, the sanguine angel can take 1d4 points of Charisma damage to gain the benefits of the true seeing spell for a number of rounds equal to her class level. The sanguine angel must be at least level 10 to pick this discipline.

Furious Huntress (Ex): The sanguine angel adds her Strength bonus, rather than her Dexterity bonus, to attack rolls made with bows. The bonus from her challenge or rage class feature (from the fighting tradition ability) applies to attacks with bows.

Hollowness of Dargoras (Ex): The gift of Our Lady of Pain is freedom—freedom from horror and pain, from sorrow and fear. The sanguine angel adds her hardened heart bonus on on saving throws against emotion and pain effects, and she is immune to fear effects. The sanguine angel must be at least level 18 to pick this discipline.

Kinslayer (Ex): The sanguine angel gains the ranger's favored enemy ability against her own type (and subtype, if she is a humanoid or outsider). If the sanguine angel already has the same favored enemy bonus from another class, her existing bonus instead increases by 2. She can select this benefit again at level 6 and every 6 levels thereafter, each time after the first increases the favored enemy bonus by 2 but does not grant any additional favored enemies.

Maiden’s Shield (Ex): The sanguine angel is treated as if she had the Two-Weapon Fighting feat as long as she is using a longsword and a shield. This allows her to take feats that require Two-Weapon Fighting as a prerequisite without meeting the Two-Weapon Fighting or Dexterity prerequisites, but she benefits from such feats only when she’s wielding a longsword and shield.

Merciless Massacre (Ex): When the sanguine angel hits a cowering or panicked creature with a melee attack or reduces a creature to negative hit points with a melee attack, as a swift action she can deal additional damage to that creature equal to 1d8 + her class level.

Mystique of Lalu Or (Ex and Sp) Though most sanguine angels care little for seduction, the Mystique of Lalu Or can grant them influence over others regardless. The sanguine angel gains a +4 bonus on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks against targets of the same creature type as the sanguine angel. Once per day, the sanguine angel can use dominate person as a spell-like ability (CL = her character level). The sanguine angel must be at least level 14 to pick this discipline.

Rage Power: The sanguine angel can choose a rage power as a tyrant's discipline, counting sanguine angel levels as barbarian levels. She can take this discipline multiple times, each time selecting a different rage power. She cannot select totem powers or a rage power that affects an ability she does not have. The sanguine angel must have the barbarian fighting tradition to select this discipline.

Tactician (Ex): The sanguine angel receives a teamwork feat as a bonus feat. She must meet the prerequisites for this feat. As a standard action, the sanguine angel can grant this feat to all allies within 30 feet who can see and hear her. Allies retain the use of this bonus feat for 3 rounds plus 1 round for every two levels the sanguine angel possesses. Allies do not need to meet the prerequisites of these bonus feats. The sanguine angel can use this ability once per day. At level 10, she can use this ability as a swift action. She can select this benefit again at level 6 and every 6 levels thereafter, each time after the first gives an additional tactical feat as a bonus feat (as above) and increases the number of daily uses by one.

Unyielding (Ex): While wearing the armor of her order, the sanguine angel gains DR 1/—. The sanguine angel must be at least level 6 to select this discipline. She can select this benefit again at level 10 and every 4 levels thereafter, with stacking benefits.

Armored Angel (Ex)

Starting at 3rd level, a sanguine angel learns to be more maneuverable while wearing the distinctive armor of her order. Whenever she is wearing armor, she reduces the armor check penalty by 1 (to a minimum of 0) and increases the maximum Dexterity bonus allowed by her armor by 1. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, and 15th), 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.

At level 7, a sanguine angel can move at her normal speed while wearing the distinctive full plate of her order.

Longsword Mastery (Ex)

At 19th level, sanguine angel becomes a master of the longsword. Any attacks made with longswords automatically confirm all critical threats and have their damage multiplier increased by to x3. In addition, she cannot be disarmed while wielding a longsword.

Angel of Uleth (Su)

The greatest sanguine angels earn the favor of the Erinyes Queen Uleth, who transforms them into infernal servitors. At 20th level, a sanguine angel’s type changes to outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful), and Hell becomes her native plane. She gains fire resistance 30, telepathy with a range of 50 feet, and the see in darkness universal monster ability. Ebon-feathered wings emerge from the sanguine angel’s back, granting her a fly speed of 50 feet with good maneuverability. She gains Fly as a class skill.