Divine Champion, Unchained

Source: Player’s Guide to Faerun, based on conversion from Giant in the Playground.

Even the most peaceful faiths need warriors to summon to their deity’s cause, be it to defend, destroy, or enslave them. They are warriors of faith that fight or defend in the name of their deity. Most often, they do the bidding of their church by fighting their wars, protecting their faithful, and otherwise acting in the best interests of their faith.

A divine champion is a warrior with a small plethora of divine powers to augment both their attack and defensive abilities. They should find themselves in a good position along with the warriors and front-line combatants of any group of adventurers.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Divine Champion, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:

• Special: Base Attack Bonus +5 or ability to cast 3rd-level divine spells
• Skills: Knowledge (Religion) 5 Ranks
• Feats: Deific Obedience, Weapon Focus in patron deity’s chosen weapon
• Patron: Must have a patron deity, and it must be the deity of which she is a divine champion.
• Alignment: A Divine Champion’s alignment must be within one step of their patron deity’s.

Class Skills: Climb, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Religion), Ride, Sense Motive, Swim.

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Hit Die: d10

Advancement

Class Features

All the following are Class Features of the divine champion prestige class. All of the divine champion’s spell-like abilities function as if cast by a cleric with a caster level of the divine champion’s class level plus her Charisma bonus.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A divine seeker is proficient with all simple and martial weapons in addition to their deity’s favored weapon, all types of armor and all types of shields.

Divine Secret: A divine champion may literally come from any walk of life, from any number of chosen fortés for which she is an arm of her deity; as such, their deity grants them powers that are uniquely suited to them. At 1st, 3rd, and 5th level, the Divine Champion gains a divine secret selected from the list below. Unless otherwise specified, a divine secret can be selected only once.

• Battle Caster: Only a divine champion who qualified for this class by being a 3rd-level divine caster can select this secret. The divine champion’s levels stack with her qualifying class to determine the effective caster level of her divine spells, as well as the effective level for any domain powers, blessings, animal companion, or channel energy ability. This effective level does not grant additional spells per day or spells known, or additional powers; it only determines the level dependent effects of those she already possesses.
• Champion of Champions: The divine champion’s levels stack with the qualifying class for the purpose of determining her effective level of any bardic performance, divine bond, fiendish bond, nature’s bond, lay on hands, touch of corruption or archetype powers that substitute for these abilities granted by the qualifying class. It does not grant new powers for this ability, such as new revelations or additional mercies.
• Divine Resilience (Sp): Once per day as an immediate action, the divine champion can recover a number of hit points equal to 1d8 + her Charisma modifier (minimum +0); this benefit can be granted even when the divine champion is unconscious, disabled or dying. After this healing, the champion further gains a +1 morale bonus on all attacks rolls and will saving throws against fear for a number of rounds equal to her divine champion level.
• Divine Resilience, Greater (Sp): As Divine Resilience, except that the hitpoint gain is 5d8 + 10 + Charisma modifier (minimum +0) and it grants the benefits of Lesser Restoration. Further, the ability is now usable three times per day, but once used, it cannot be used for another 1d4 rounds after. Selecting this secret requires the prior selection of Improved Divine Resilience.
• Divine Resilience, Improved (Sp): As Divine Resilience, except that the hitpoint gain is 3d8 + 5 + Charisma modifier (minimum +0) and it is usable twice per day, but but only once in the same encounter. Selecting this secret requires the prior selection of Divine Resilience.
• Divine Weapon (Su): Whenever the divine champion wields a weapon that is her patron’s weapon of choice, the weapon is imbued with either the Holy or Unholy weapon property — depending on her patron deity’s alignment. If she is a neutral champion of a neutral deity, she may choose which property the weapon gains. This property immediately ceases if the weapon is dropped, sheathed, or in any way changes possession to another person.
• Divine Wrath (Su): The divine champion calls upon the favor of their god to unleash a greater battle prowess. Once per day as a swift action, the divine champion gains a +2 bonus to all attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and damage reduction 5/- for a number of rounds equal to their divine champion level + Charisma modifier (minimum +0). These rounds need not be used consecutively. Divine champions of good deities gain these bonuses as sacred bonuses whereas divine champions of evil deities gain these bonuses as profane bonuses. Champions of neutral deities can select one or the other.
• Divine Wrath, Greater (Su): As Divine Wrath, except that the damage reduction is improved to 10/-. Selecting this secret requires prior selction of the Divine Wrath secret.
• Smite Infidel (Su): Once per day, the divine champion gains the ability to smite an infidel of her faith. This functions as the smite evil or smite good ability, except that this ability is not restricted by alignment and can potentially be any target, so long as the target represents an anathema to the tenets of the champion’s deity, or is engaged in actively opposing them. At 4th level, she gains an aditional use of this ability. If the divine champion already has levels in a class with the smite ability, these levels stack to determine the times per day the divine champion may smite against the target of either ability.
• Strike of Truth (Sp): With a quick prayer to her patron, the divine champion can strike true with her chosen weapon. Once per day as a swift action, she can ignore any range increment penalties for a ranged attack as well as miss chances for any concealment less than full concealment til the end of her next turn, and she resolves the first attack in that same turn as a touch or ranged touch attack.

Symbolic Weapon (Su): At 1st level, when wielding a weapon from her deity’s favored weapon group, the divine champion gains a +1 sacred or profane bonus on attack and damage rolls. These bonuses increase to +2 at 5th level. Her symbolic weapon also functions as a holy (or unholy) symbol when wielded by her.

Bonus Feat: At 2nd level and again at 4th level, the divine champion gains a bonus feat selected from among the following feats for which she qualifies: Adept Champion, Believer’s Boon, Believer’s Hands, Blessed Striker, Channeled Shield Wall, Radiant Charge, Reactive Healing, Warrior Priest, Weapon Focus or Greater Weapon Focus (Deity’s Favored Weapon) Weapon Specialization or Greater Weapon Specialization (Deity’s Favored Weapon), or Weapon of the Chosen (Improved, Greater). Divine Champion levels count as, and stack with, fighter levels for determining feat qualifications.

Sacred Defense (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the divine champion may add her Charisma bonus (minimum +1) up to a maximum of her divine champion level, as a bonus to her saving throws; at 4th level, the minimum bonus increases to +2. This does not stack with the paladin’s Divine Grace or a similar ability that adds Charisma to their saving throws.

Deific Obedience: At 3rd level, the levels at which the divine champion gains her boons from deific obedience are reduced by 2. If she is at, or past a level which she gains a boon, then she receives her boon(s) when she completes her obedience. This ability cannot stack with another class ability that reduces the level gain of deific boons. Consult the On Deific Obedience article for details and house rules on divine boons. When a divine boon grants a spell-like ability, the champion’s caster level for the spell-like ability equals her total character level. The divine champion is still expected to perform the act of obedience every day needed to gain the benefits of the boon.

Aligned Strike (Su): At 5th level, the divine champion gains the ability to bypass a specific type of damage reduction when wielding a weapon from her deity’s favored weapon group. The type of damage reduction her weapon bypasses is based on hers and her chosen deity’s alignment, and it can only be an alignment component that the champion and deity share. The champion chooses this type of damage reduction when she gains this ability and this choice can’t be changed. She can choose only one aligned weapon type regardless of how many alignment components she shares with her deity.