Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous

Started by Saint Traldor...

Requirements

Requirements: Strength 14, Constitution 13, Wisdom 13, Intelligence 8, Charisma 15

Prime Requisites: Strength, Wisdom

Alignment: LG, NG, LN

Weapons: all bludgeoning weapons

Armor: any

Major Spheres: all, astral, combat, earth, guardian, healing, law, white necromancy, protection, sun, war, wards

Minor Spheres: creation, divination, travelers, water*, magma*

Magical Items: same as clerics

Required Proficiencies: none

Bonus Proficiencies: Dwarden-Rite Mandadorian religion

-As singularly minded fanatics, Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous may not be multi-classed.

Constant Powers

+1 bonus to hit

Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous train fiercely in combat, and are very well-trained. They gain a +1 bonus to hit in all circumstances.

+1 bonus to hit and damage vs. undead

Like normal monks-militant of St. Karant, they receive a +1 bonus to hit all undead. However, their fanatic hatred of the undead is so great that they also receive a +1 bonus to all damage against them as well.

Protection vs. Undead

Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous are protected by the blessings of the Diaconate Shield itself, and as such gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws involving undead powers and affects, such as supernatural fear, horror or even madness. They also gain saving throws, with the +2 bonus, against undead powers such as life-draining and aging that normally receive no saving throws.

Improved Turn Undead

Mandador blesses these fanatical warriors with increased powers in turning undead. They gain a +2 bonus to their chart rolls when attempting to turn, and turn +2 more undead during a successful turning.

Enhanced Power to Destroy the Undead

Undead receive a cumulative -2 penalty against any spell or power used against them by these war clerics (taking into the account the -1 as members of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield).

Astral Awareness (permanent)

The deep and fanatical faith of the Brothers-Militant-at-Shield is blessed by the Power of Mandador, granting them extraordinary spiritual awareness. Therefore, they may see glimpses into the spiritual plane, and as they rise in power and faith, their spiritual sight may grow until at the height of their powers they saw all the spiritual world around them, always. Blessed with this ability, these monks-militant may see the spirits of the undead if they lurk near them in the spiritual planes of the Ethereal and Astral.

Granted Abilities

1st Level: St. Traldor's Blow (once/day) - The monastic warrior may call upon the rage of St. Traldor once per day with the simplest of prayers, empowering his hand for a single attack. The attack receives a +3 bonus both to hit and to damage, and raises the dice rolled for damage by a factor of two (e.g. a war hammer is rolled as 2d4+1 instead of 1d4+1). Natural 17s, 18s and 19s are considered natural 20s for purposes of the attack. Regardless of whether the blow lands or misses, the war-monk may only use this power on a single attack per day, adding a 1 to the initiative of the weapon to pray for the added power of his Order's founding saint. If a natural 2 is rolled, even if the weapon hits successfully, roll vs. crushing blow to see if the weapon is destroyed in the attack.

3rd Level: Turning Shield (once/day) - Brothers-Militant-at-Shield may lay hands on their personal shields or on the shields of their allies who are good Mandadorians in good standing. The shield so blessed receives a +3 bonus to AC, and the bearer receives a +3 bonus to physical saving throws that might be interceded upon by the shield. The shield cannot be blessed this way if it is already permanently blessed by divine power at a +3 bonus or above; it can however raise a +1 or +2 Mandadorian-blessed shield to +3. If a shield is enchanted by arcane magic, the blessing may be added upon. This bonus may combine with other different blessings (bless" spell, high bless, prayer, etc.). This shield so blessed, if it contains the Trefoil, may be shown before undead and turn them as might the blessing brother-militant-at-shield, but at two levels lower than his actual level. However, to present the shield to turn undead exhausts the blessing of the shield. This blessing otherwise lasts 3d3 rounds.

4th Level: Night Hammer (once/starry night) - At 4th level, Brothers-Militant-at-Shield may cast the 3rd level spell Night Hammer of St. Nelben once/night, if the stars and moon are visible. The casting time is one round, requiring star and/or moon light, and verbal and somatic components. A weightless mace of pure black light is made, which can only be wielded by the caster and which cannot harm the good. The hammer, wielded at a speed of 5, causes 1d10+2 points of damage to evil beings in general, but 3d6+3 points of damage vs. undead. To the undead, the magical shadow of the hammer boils away their very essence. Although it offers no to hit bonuses, the hammer is treated as a +2 magical weapon for purposes of hitting creatures, or +3 for purposes of striking undead.

5th Level: Second Turning - The war cleric may attempt a second turning of undead in a single encounter. Furthermore, he need not have a physical Mandadorian trefoil to present to the undead--the power of his faith alone will achieve the effect.

6th Level: Hallowed Aura - The powerful faith of the war cleric extends his aura of protection against undead in a 10 foot radius; the aura of a war-monk of the Shield Perilous cannot improve upon the aura of a paladin of the Order, but it may be modified by certain spells.

7th Level: Holy Fire/Deacon Fire (once/day) - With the application of holy water to one of their weapons, or the weapon of any good Mandadorian in good standing, the internal prayer of the cleric may cause the holy water to erupt into cool blue flames, that provide light like the faerie fire spell, but are otherwise harmless. Against evil beings however, upon a successful blow, the flames will cause an extra 1d3 points of damage, save vs. breath weapon for 1 point of damage. Furthermore, if the saving throw is failed, the blue flames envelope the evil creature, causing 1d3+3 points of damage per round. The target may attempt to resist and douse the flames by abandoning all other actions that round, which will require a further saving throw, with failure indicating half damage and success meaning the flames have been stopped. Against undead or fiends, the damage afflicted is 1d3+3 if they fail their initial saving throw, and 1d3 if they succeed. If the fire catches upon undead or fiends, the flames cause 1d6+3 point of damage a round. Neutral characters are also burned by the flames, but only if they deliberately hold the flames or touch them in a sustained manner, for which they suffer 1 hit point of damage a round. The blue flames on the weapon last for 3d3 rounds + 1 round for every three levels of the war cleric. Among the undead, this is perhaps the most feared power belonging to the Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous, and is the badge of their power. Magic resistance is halved, with an additional 1% penalty for each level of the cleric, for the purposes of this power.

8th Level: Shield Unyielding - By quiet, even internal prayer, the war cleric may fill his shield with great power, in defiance of evil, especially the undead. In the hands of the monk-militant, the shield will act as a +1 shield against most foes, a +2 shield against fiends, and a +3 shield against undead. These bonuses compliment both arcane and divine enchantments that are already upon the shield. These bonuses apply regardless of the plane upon which they are granted. The shield's blessings will last 3d3 rounds +1 round per level.

9th Level: Return to the Earth - The war cleric calls upon the very land of Dwarden, commanding it to pull corporeal undead into the living earth. Swamp, dirt and even hard rock will break open to absorb the undead targeted. The war cleric must lay on hands upon the targeted undead in order to use this granted ability. The undead target will receive a saving throw vs. PPDM, which can be made only if they spend the entire round attempting to avoid being pulled into the earth, to the forfeit of all other actions. If the saving throw fails, the target begins sinking into the earth, at the rate of one third of its height per round. The target may attempt to extract itself from the earth, but only with subsequent saving throw attempts made to the exclusion of all other actions. A saving throw on the second round has a cumulative -4 penalty, and a -6 on the third round. Upon the conclusion of the third round, the target undead is taken beneath the earth of Dwarden. The cleric must concentrate on this inhumation for the entirety of the duration of the power, to the exclusion of all other acts. Once beneath the earth, the undead suffers 1d6 damage per round (no save), with a further d6 of damage for every subsequent round as the undead creature is taken further and further into the earth (ten feet per round), as long as the cleric continues to concentrate. The power lasts a maximum of nine round. Upon the 6th round of inhumation, the undead makes a last PPDM saving throw, and if it fails its corporal body is permanently destroyed and harmlessly dissolved into the earth. If it succeeds, it may survive, but is likely trapped beneath the earth forever, although if it is tremendously strong it may, per the ruling of the DM, attempt to extract itself, although this is usually impossible.

10th Level: Third Turning - As above.

11th Level: Raise River (until exhausted, once/day) - When near the rivers and streams of Dwarden, the war cleric may call upon these bodies of water to rise and fall to enormous effect. Similar to the raise water and lower water spells, this power instead is highly magnified while in Dwarden, effecting 100 yards of water per level of the caster. The time to use this power to its fullest requires a full turn, lowering or raising water (up to its recent historical maximums) as the rate of two feet for every round spent concentrating. Used in Dwarden, the lower water version of this spell will improved slow a water elemental for as long as the cleric concentrates. Using the opposite raise water on a water elemental will supercharge it, healing all its damage and temporarily increasing it for one turn/level of the cleric to its next category of hit dice. The power lasts for a maximum of one turn per level of the specialty cleric, for as long as he concentrates on it. If the specialty priests concentrates on this power for a full turn after a body of water is raised to its maximum level, he may conjure a water elemental as if he cast a clerical conjure water elemental spell, save that unlike the clerical spell he must concentrate on it to keep it under his command. As this is a granted power, such concentration cannot be interrupted by being struck in combat, but if the war-cleric concentrates his mind elsewhere, the water elemental will return to the body of water from which it came.

13th Level: Tremor of Fire - ...

History

Foundation

Saint Traldor of Reldemar, one time Archpriest of the Grand Observatory of St. Costus at High Gate and the future Prior-General of the Brothers-Militant of St. Karant, is the patron saint and founder of the Order of the Shield Perilous. Raised from obscurity from the brothers-militant, Traldor was a gifted student of St. Kalmantane, possessed of much learning and strength, and employed it both on the battlefield and in the quest. Given the mastery of his own abbey at a young age, he was outdone by the Black Crown himself in the initial stages of the Black War, and saw both his abbey and his home Reldemar destroyed. His spirit shattered, he much aged master summoned him to High Gate, and made him archpriest of the observatory of St. Costus on the Tower of the Diviner. There the retired Grand Master caused him to rest and together they walked on spiritual journeys, and saw the lights of the Nine Heavens.

By the end of the Black War and rise of the rage of Kalmantane, Traldor gained enough spirit to once again take the field, and when his master fell in battle to the Black Crown, it was Traldor who took up Kalmantane's blessed hammer, and crushed the skull of the Black Crown, ending the war.

In succession Traldor became a prior of the Erlokt, the chaplain to the Captain-General, the Grand Prior of High Gate, and then the Prior-General himself. In this last role he dedicated a large number of his monastic followers to the Beleaguered Shield, making a pact with St. Yathamian and all the saints that had wielded the shield in the past, dedicating themselves to an extreme and hyper-militant monastic rule, binding themselves to the very essence of Dwarden under Mandadorianism. As a sign of divine favor, the celestial powers caused to appear a black fortress of immense strength near Manifold on the plains of Mastenry north of the river, as if Traldor had brought it forth simply from prayer. Traldor named his stern chaplain as Master-General of this new Order, ordered him to train new war monks dedicated to combat the undead, and commanded new monastic fortresses to be built to bolster the defenses of Dwarden against the eventual return of the Black Crown and his armies.

Adventuring Garb

The Brothers-Militant of the Shield Perilous wear black tabards, bearing the escutcheon of the Order of the Beleaguered Shield in Copper

Heaven Fire -