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I've had this sitting in my folder for WIP custom content for Pathfinder for a while, not really sure what to do with it, but not quite fully satisfied with it being the final version, so I decided to toss this out here to see if there's anything the Pathfinder Community could find that maybe I missed.
“As I bear this darkness into battle, my suffering becomes my strength.”
- Leon Z. Gaffgarion
“If Light is the absence of Darkness, and in turn, Darkness is the absence of Light, what is the Light without the Darkness and the Darkness without the Light? This is a fundamental nature of the world as much as Life and Death. Mortal creatures, and even some beyond mortality gravitate towards the Light; why wouldn’t they? The Light breaths warmth, safety, and security, and from these things the Light has been come to be called “good”. The Darkness, on the other hand, is a place of peace and solitude and even its own breed of security, offering secrecy among its void. However, just as the Light has been called “good”, the darkness has come to be considered its opposite, as the forces of evil have exploited and tainted what the Darkness exists to be. The Darkness is part of the natural world and not something to be feared. It’s those that lurk in the Darkness that are to be feared, and as the chosen champions of the darkness, we strive to purify it of evil’s presence.”
- Arthur C. Harvey, instructing new Dark Knights
Dark Knights are firm believers in the concept that the “darkness” of the universe isn’t something to be feared or shunned, but something to be embraced as much as the “light” of the universe. However, while most see this argument as something wholly philosophical, Dark Knights have given a more tangible side to the argument, possessing the unique ability to wield darkness in its most basic form in a means similar to how Wizards and Sorcerers turn the Arcane into magic. However, the physical strain of wielding such a pure cosmic force is not to be taken lightly, and Dark Knights are chosen from the ranks of mortals not just by their similar beliefs, but by their ability to withstand the strain of wielding the Darkness.
Abilities: Constitution is the Dark Knight’s most important stat, increasing the amount of HP they have, which increases how much HP they can spend empowering their abilities without endangering their own existences. Strength is beneficial to improving their melee damage, which Dark Knights primarily rely on, especially when spending HP becomes too risky. Dexterity is marginally supportive for improving initiative and DEX-based skills, while Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma only provide bonuses to their appropriate skills.
Races: Any race is able to become a Dark Knight, provided they endure the trial necessary to become one.
Alignment: Any
Hit Dice: d12
Requirements
To qualify to become a Dark Knight, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Feats: Endurance, Diehard, Fast Healer
Special: To become a Dark Knight, a senior Dark Knight must perform a 24 hour long ritual wherein the recipient is saturated in the darkness that empowers all Dark Knights. After the full 24 hours have passed, the recipient must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or be stricken with one negative level that lasts for 24 hours, after which the recipient can attempt the ritual again.
Level Progression: 10 levels
Base Attack Bonus: Full
Good Saving Throws: Fortitude
Poor Saving Throws: Reflex and Will
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Dark Knight gains no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Darkness Powers: The pure darkness residing inside each Dark Knight can be molded and shaped in a variety of ways to suit their needs. Many Darkness Powers require the Dark Knight to pay an amount of Hit Points to use and generally get stronger or harder to resist as more Hit Points are paid while others allow them to recover spent Hit Points by stealing the life from their enemies. Dark Knights gain one Darkness Power at 1st level and one additional Darkness Power every level until 9th level. No Darkness Power can be obtained more than once.
Outflow of the Darkness (Su): The vast well of darkness inside the Dark Knight swells to the brink with energy, greatly empowering the Dark Knight beyond what others are capable of. With enough focus, the Dark Knight can condense this darkness into a single all-consuming blast. At 10th level as a full-round action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice 100 to 200 hit points (in increments of 10) to fire a blast of darkness at a single creature up to 60ft away. The designated target must make a successful Fortitude Save (DC10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) or suffer instant death. If the target succeeds, the target suffers 1d10 points of damage for every 10 hit points spent over 100. Outflow of the Darkness cannot be used again on that target for 24 hours.
Blood Weapon (Su) – When a Dark Knight confirms a critical hit, they recover an amount of hit points equal to their damage roll before applying the critical hit multiplier. Any recovered hit points that exceeds the Dark Knight’s max hit points is granted as temporary hit points that last for 10 minutes. This ability still activates to recover HP even if the target is immune to the bonus damage from critical hits.
Bolt Darkness (Su) – As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Dark Knight may fire a barrage of dark energy bolts at an opponent within 60ft for 1d6 + the constitution modifier as damage. The Dark Knight must pay 10 hit points to use this ability and can fire an additional Dark Missile for 10 more hit points, up to a maximum of 5 Dark Missiles. The target of this ability can attempt a Reflex Save (DC10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) to negate the damage for each individual missile.
Dark Seal (Su) – Once per day as a swift action, the Dark Knight can mark a single opponent with a black, smoking sigil that persists for 24 hours and cannot be removed by an outside source. The Dark Knight gains a circumstance bonus to all attack and damage roles against the target of Dark Seal equal to half the user’s Dark Knight level (minimum +1). In addition, the DC to make any saves from Dark Powers increases from ½ the user’s character level to the user’s full character level. This ability can be used twice per day at 5th Dark Knight level and three times per day at 10th Dark Knight level.
Diabolic Eye (Su) – As a full-round action, the Dark Knight may make an Intimidate check against a single opponent within 30ft and add his full character level as an enhancement bonus to that check. If the check is successful, the target of this ability is paralyzed. At the beginning of his next turn, the Dark Knight may make an additional Intimidate check as a full-round-action to prolong the effect, but the Dark Knight suffers a -2 penalty to these checks for each round after the first. If the target of this effect has more hit dice than the Dark Knight, the penalty increases to -5 for each successive attempt. If the target or the Dark Knight is the target of any successful attack or harmful spell cast, the effect ends immediately. Once the effect ends, the Dark Knight cannot designate the same target for Diabolic Eye for 24 hours. This does not affect targets immune to fear.
Drain (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight may deal damage equal to their character level plus constitution modifier to a single opponent within 30ft to recover HP equal to twice the damage dealt. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). Any recovered HP that exceeds the Dark Knight’s maximum hit points is granted as temporary hit points. Drain cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 HP, but the amount of HP recovered remains the same. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made to reduce the amount of hit points recovered to equal the amount of damage dealt.
Dread Armor (Su) – As an immediate action, the Dark Knight may coat their body in darkness for a number of rounds equal to ½ their Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1) per day; these rounds do not need to be consecutive. The Dark Knight gains a +1 shield bonus to armor class that increases by +1 for every 2 Dark Knight class levels the player possesses. Enemies that make successful melee attacks against the Dark Knight during this time suffer twice the Dark Knight’s Constitution Modifier in damage, and the Dark Knight is healed for the same amount. Any recovered hit points that exceed the Dark Knight’s max hit points are granted as temporary hit points. Dread Armor cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 hit point, but the amount of hit points recovered remains the same.
Guarding Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay an amount of hit points equal to 10 times the highest penalty to armor class the Dark Knight may have to negate all armor class penalties until the start of the Dark Knight’s next turn.
Keen Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay an amount of hit points equal to 10 times the highest penalty to attack rolls the Dark Knight may have to negate all attack roll penalties until the start of the Dark Knight’s next turn.
Lashing Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay 10 or 20 hit points to increase the effectiveness of any Trip, Disarm, or Grapple attempts. If the Dark Knight pays 10 hit points, the Dark Knight may make a Trip, Disarm, or Grapple combat maneuver against a target as if they had the Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, or Improved Grapple feats. If the Dark Knight pays 20 hit points, the Dark Knight may act as if they had both the Improved and Greater Trip, Improved and Greater Disarm, or Improved and Greater Grapple feats.
Mending Shadows (Su) – As a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Dark Knight can put his darkness to work mending any injuries the Dark Knight has sustained, granting the Dark Knight Fast Healing equal to his constitution modifier, removing any bleed effects on the user, and ends as soon as any other any other action is taken or the user is the target of a successful attack or harmful spell. This ability does not recover any hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. If this ability is used for at least 10 minutes, the Dark Knight can use this ability to reattach lost body parts.
Pulsing Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their character level to deal damage to every enemy within a 10ft radius around the Dark Knight for an amount equal to the hit points spent and render enemies in a 5ft radius prone. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + ½ HP spent) can be made to resist being knocked prone.
Rushing Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay 10 or 20 hit points to increase the effectiveness of any Bullrush or Overrun attempts. If the Dark Knight pays 10 hit points, the Dark Knight may make a Bullrush or Overrun combat maneuver against a target as if they had the Improved Bullrush or Improved Overrun feats. If the Dark Knight pays 20 hit points, the Dark Knight may act as if they had both the Improved and Greater Bullrush or Improved and Greater Overrun feats.
True Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their full level to deal damage to a single opponent within 60ft for twice the amount of hit points spent, plus their Constitution Modifier. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ hit points spent) can be made for half damage.
not sure but i like it so bumping it up
I like it! I for one think they're aren't any really strong fighter prestige classes and this is the one that could be really fun to play.
Looks good. Critiques:
I would remove the limitation on taking Darkness Powers more than once - IMO if a player wants to burn their options to get more uses of a power that's fine by me. That's how most current classes with similar-functioning abilities work. I would just note on abilities that don't already have use limits (Such as Mending Darkness, see below) that that specific Power can't be taken multiple times.
I'd also recommend tossing in a feat to pick up more Darkness Powers.
Mending Darkness reads like it's not supposed to have a duration limitation, and also lacks the uses per day limit that some of the other powers have, so theoretically could mean full unlimited healing as long as the DK is out of combat and unmoving. Is this intentional?
I'd recommend adding a power that does something for their saves. The lack of Will on a class made for Fighters hurts enough, but a class ability that can help pick up some of the slack would do wonders.
Kinda like an SK from EQ. I like it.
Dotting. Looks really interesting
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Hm... let's see here:
First off, it's an interesting idea. Spending hit points as a resource is a unique concept in PF, but there are some inherent problems with it (which I'll go into later).
1) HD looks good, skills are good, saves are good. Everything checks out in this department.
2) Darkness Power are a little too common, I think. I could see one at every odd level, but at the current rate of progression you'll end up gaining almost all of them anyways, which makes the ability to choose a moot point.
3) Blood Weapon: I don't like this power. It's a little too good, and really encourages dipping. It also increases the disparity between high crit range weapons and, well, everything else. I'd tone it down to only grant temporary hit points, with a cap equal to 10 + the DK's constitution mod, but that's just an "off-the-top-of-my-head" suggestion.
4) Drain: It looks fine, but a fort save should halve the damage taken by the target, which would halve the DK's healing. It's just odd to make a saving throw that does nothing but affect someone else's abilities.
5) I can see the need for mending shadows. I mean, the DK is taking HP loses ALL the time. However, it seems like a bit much. Perhaps Mending Shadows could be a pool of hit points? Usable once/twice per day, perhaps scaling as the DK gains DK levels? Unlimited, out of combat healing seems like a bit much, but again, I can see why it's there.
6) Bolt Darkness: It costs too many hit points to pump up to be negated by a save. With the damage as listed, and the cost as listed, I'd make it an auto-hit like magic missile, subject to effects that block magic missile. It's just too much to sacrifice for the possibility of doing average to no damage.
7) Pulsing Darkness: The opposite problem to Bolt Darkness. Too much auto damage, and that prone effect won't be resisted. Successful fort save should halve damage and negate prone, DC should be 10 + 1/2 level + Con mod, as listed for Bolt Darkness. While I'm at it, same goes for True Darkness.
8) Dread Armor: If it's gonna have a drain effect, it should just equal Con mod. That's enough to make it a real threat without going overboard with the healing. Remember, this ability essentially gives the DK DR against melee attacks equal to his con mod, except that it's retributive, too. Yeah, it's limited to rounds per day, but it's still just a TAD too strong for my taste.
Overall, I'd say you did a great job. The problem with hit point spending is that there's very little precedent, so it's hard to tell whether or not the values listed are balanced too much in either direction (over- or underpowered). Time will tell.
A lot of the powers remember me to much of things Dark Knights get in FFXI.
A lot of the powers remember me to much of things Dark Knights get in FFXI.
Pretty sure the DKs from all over the FF series are the inspiration for it. =)
Yeah instead of the hit points, i'd make a pool not unlike ki or arcane pools from monk or magus. That way it's a clearly defined resource that has precedence elsewhere. No need to re-invent the wheel...
Do you plan to do a "holy" knight archtype in contrast to the dark you have here (not to be confused with the paladin)?
A lot of the powers remember me to much of things Dark Knights get in FFXI.Pretty sure the DKs from all over the FF series are the inspiration for it. =)
Both correct. Actual Dark Knights from the series as a whole (rather than characters who just have stats or something similar to the job class) don't have that many abilities that could possibly translate into Pathfinder, so the Dark Knight of Final Fantasy XI was a big part of the inspiration. A number of darkness-themed powers from the Kingdom Hearts series also contributed.
Looks good. Critiques:
I would remove the limitation on taking Darkness Powers more than once - IMO if a player wants to burn their options to get more uses of a power that's fine by me. That's how most current classes with similar-functioning abilities work. I would just note on abilities that don't already have use limits (Such as Mending Darkness, see below) that that specific Power can't be taken multiple times.
I'd also recommend tossing in a feat to pick up more Darkness Powers.
Mending Darkness reads like it's not supposed to have a duration limitation, and also lacks the uses per day limit that some of the other powers have, so theoretically could mean full unlimited healing as long as the DK is out of combat and unmoving. Is this intentional?
I'd recommend adding a power that does something for their saves. The lack of Will on a class made for Fighters hurts enough, but a class ability that can help pick up some of the slack would do wonders.
I originally thought that Darkness Powers couldn't be taken more than once, since the ones that have a limited uses per day gradually increase in strength as you level up in the class, however, the option to give a few more uses of it per day by taking it another time is a good suggestion and I'd be interested to hear what you or anyone else thought would be a good amount of extra uses for picking it up again.
A fear for more Darkness Powers and a Darkness Power that helps Will and Reflex saves sounds like an excellent idea and I will definitely work on them.
Mending Darkness technically does not have a duration limitation, but using it for any amount of time longer than 10 minutes offers no benefit to the player, as 10 minutes is the amount of time it takes for the Dark Knight to reattach any severed body parts (the original design was to regrow lost body parts, but the Regeneration spell already did that and my beta testers didn't like Mending Darkness doing that).
2) Darkness Power are a little too common, I think. I could see one at every odd level, but at the current rate of progression you'll end up gaining almost all of them anyways, which makes the ability to choose a moot point.
I will definitely look into seeing if I can adjust how many you get so there's less. At the moment, there are 13 total powers (14 if I can come up with a power to support the player's weaker saves), and you can only pick up 9, so you can get many of them, but definitely not all of them.
3) Blood Weapon: I don't like this power. It's a little too good, and really encourages dipping. It also increases the disparity between high crit range weapons and, well, everything else. I'd tone it down to only grant temporary hit points, with a cap equal to 10 + the DK's constitution mod, but that's just an "off-the-top-of-my-head" suggestion.
Thinking on it now, I agree. Crit-prone weapons would really overpower this ability. I will definitely consider dropping the amount of HP healed by this ability.
4) Drain: It looks fine, but a fort save should halve the damage taken by the target, which would halve the DK's healing. It's just odd to make a saving throw that does nothing but affect someone else's abilities.
I agree with this as well, and I had thought that's how I originally wrote Drain, but it seems I'd changed it at some point since then. I will change it back.
5) I can see the need for mending shadows. I mean, the DK is taking HP loses ALL the time. However, it seems like a bit much. Perhaps Mending Shadows could be a pool of hit points? Usable once/twice per day, perhaps scaling as the DK gains DK levels? Unlimited, out of combat healing seems like a bit much, but again, I can see why it's there.
I wouldn't mind changing it to a limited use, "pool of hit points" kind of ability, but changing it to that would make it difficult for it to keep the "reattach severed limbs" ability it also does if you spend 10 minutes channeling it. Feedback on this dilemma would be much appreciated.
6) Bolt Darkness: It costs too many hit points to pump up to be negated by a save. With the damage as listed, and the cost as listed, I'd make it an auto-hit like magic missile, subject to effects that block magic missile. It's just too much to sacrifice for the possibility of doing average to no damage.
My original design was for it to be analogous to Magic Missile, but I was dissuaded from that by my beta testers. I would be happy to change it back.
7) Pulsing Darkness: The opposite problem to Bolt Darkness. Too much auto damage, and that prone effect won't be resisted. Successful fort save should halve damage and negate prone, DC should be 10 + 1/2 level + Con mod, as listed for Bolt Darkness. While I'm at it, same goes for True Darkness....
A successful save already does negate the prone effect, but I will also allow for half damage on that save as well.
I thought the save for True Darkness was fine as is since, if I'm wording it correctly, the maximum possible DC it would impose is a DC20 Fort save. The player can sacrifice a number of hit points equal to their character level (ex. a 20th level character can sacrifice a total of 20 hit points) and deal twice the paid hit points in damage. The save is 10 + 1/2 the hit points spent to use the ability (1/2 of 20 is 10, so 10+10=20). Should it be lower?
8) Dread Armor: If it's gonna have a drain effect, it should just equal Con mod. That's enough to make it a real threat without going overboard with the healing. Remember, this ability essentially gives the DK DR against melee attacks equal to his con mod, except that it's retributive, too. Yeah, it's limited to rounds per day, but it's still just a TAD too strong for my taste.
Again, I agree. Good catch there.
Do you plan to do a "holy" knight archtype in contrast to the dark you have here (not to be confused with the paladin)?
I hadn't thought about it, but I suppose I could.
Dark Knight - Class Features
Dark Knight - Darkness Powers
Bolt Darkness (Su) – As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Dark Knight may fire a barrage of dark energy bolts at an opponent within 60ft for 1d6 + the constitution modifier as damage. The Dark Knight must pay 10 hit points to use this ability and can fire an additional Dark Missile for 10 more hit points, up to a maximum of 5 Dark Missiles. This damage can only be blocked by an effect that also blocks Magic Missile.
Dark Seal (Su) – Once per day as a swift action, the Dark Knight can mark a single opponent with a black, smoking sigil that persists for 24 hours and cannot be removed by an outside source. The Dark Knight gains a circumstance bonus to all attack and damage roles against the target of Dark Seal equal to half the user’s Dark Knight level (minimum +1). In addition, the DC to make any saves from Dark Powers increases from ½ the user’s character level to the user’s full character level. This ability can be used once per day at 1st Dark Knight level, twice per day at 5th Dark Knight level, and three times per day at 10th Dark Knight level.
Drain (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight may deal damage equal to their character level plus constitution modifier to a single opponent within 30ft to recover HP equal to twice the damage dealt. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). Any recovered HP that exceeds the Dark Knight’s maximum hit points is granted as temporary hit points. Drain cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 HP, but the amount of HP recovered remains the same. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made to half the amount of damage dealt to the target; the affects the amount of hit points healed.
Dread Armor (Su) – As an immediate action, the Dark Knight may coat their body in darkness for a number of rounds equal to ½ their Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1) per day; these rounds do not need to be consecutive. The Dark Knight gains a +1 shield bonus to armor class that increases by +1 for every 2 Dark Knight class levels the player possesses. Enemies that make successful melee attacks against the Dark Knight during this time take the Dark Knight’s Constitution Modifier in damage, and the Dark Knight is healed for the same amount. Any recovered hit points that exceed the Dark Knight’s max hit points are granted as temporary hit points. Dread Armor cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 hit point, but the amount of hit points recovered remains the same, and can be dismissed as a free action.
Pulsing Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their character level to deal damage to every enemy within a 10ft radius around the Dark Knight for an amount equal to the hit points spent and render enemies in a 5ft radius prone. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + ½ HP spent) can be made to resist being knocked prone and half the damage dealt.
New Darkness Powers
New Feats
Dark Knight - Darkness Powers
Resisting Darkness had really weird wording (admittedly it was late and I was tired when I was writing it), so here's a quick rewording of it to have it make more sense.
The Dark Knight still needs skill info. No class skills or skill points per level listed.
The Dark Knight still needs skill info. No class skills or skill points per level listed.
Damn, you're right. Can't believe I missed that. I'll post something up right away.
Dark Knight - Class Features
Skill Ranks at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
the option to give a few more uses of it per day by taking it another time is a good suggestion and I'd be interested to hear what you or anyone else thought would be a good amount of extra uses for picking it up again.
Multiply number of uses granted by the Power normally times the number of times the DK takes it, seems to be the standard of all the current classes.
So if taking it once gives it to you 1/day, taking it twice becomes 2/day, three times becomes 3/day, etc. If taking it once gives you 3/day, taking it twice becomes 6/day, etc. If taking it once gives (1/2 level)/day, taking it twice becomes (level)/day, three times becomes (1.5 x level)/day, etc. though that's a bit excessively complicated ;)
In addition, the DC to make any saves from Dark Powers increases from ½ the user’s character level to the user’s full character level. This ability can be used once per day at 1st Dark Knight level, twice per day at 5th Dark Knight level, and three times per day at 10th Dark Knight level.
DC should be "10+½ character level" and "10 + full character level" I believe. Also they should probably apply a stat bonus to that, I'd recommend CON mod since that's what you used for Drain.
One more thing: There should probably be a disclaimer somewhere that Undead DKs use their Charisma for all Constitution-based effects.
Keep it up! =D
Dark Knight - Introduction
Dark Knight - Introduction
Pulsing Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their character level to deal damage to every enemy within a 10ft radius around the Dark Knight for an amount equal to the hit points spent and render enemies in a 5ft radius prone. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made to resist being knocked prone and half the damage dealt.
True Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their full level to deal damage to a single opponent within 60ft for twice the amount of hit points spent, plus their Constitution Modifier. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made for half damage.
Thanks everyone for some really amazing feedback. I'm going to compile all of the changes made thus far and put it all into a single post if there doesn't seem to be any other changes that need to take place.
Hey everyone!
I wanted to thank everyone's support so far on the Dark Knight prestige class and also wanted to post a possible adjustment to the Mending Shadows darkness power and see what people thought.
Mending Shadows (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight can put his darkness to work mending any injuries the Dark Knight has sustained. Using this ability heals the Dark Knight for 1d6 points of damage for every Dark Knight class level obtained and can be used a number of times equal to the user's Dark Knight class level plus constitution modifier. This ability cannot be used to deal damage and cannot be used on others. If this ability can only be taken twice, in which the amount of times it can be used increases from one use per Dark Knight level plus constitution modifier to twice per Dark Knight level plus constitution modifier.
This change alters Mending Shadows from a "passive" out-of-combat healing ability to, mechanically, Lay on Hands without the ability to heal others or hurt undead.
Okay, I can't believe no one else pointed it out but nothing about this prestige class has anything to do with darkness. It seems like every time you say darkness you could say hit points instead and be closer to the truth. Don't get me wrong, I do love the concept (and Cecil from FFII was a pimp) but Dark Knight strikes me as a misnomer. This class strikes me as more of a Blood Knight.
If you are going to stick with the whole darkness angle throw in a few darkness powers that actually have to do with darkness, shadow, or visibility. Check out the Shadowdancer, the darkness domain, and a few shadow spells. Let the DK shape the darkness and bend it to his will. Right now he's just a sadomasochist who loves black.
I'm a little iffy about this being a prestige class at all; you could probably tweak the Magus, give it a vampiric feel, and make it an archetype; the darkness powers feel a lot like magus arcana already and it would be easy enough to let them sacrifice HP to fill their arcane pool. The antipaladin could work too, maybe let their Touch of Corruption work like vampiric touch (which would obviously need to be reworked for balance issues) and replace a few of their class features with darkness powers.
It's awfully easy to meet the prerequisites for this. Depending on where the power is actually coming from you may want to tack on a Knowledge (the planes) or Knowledge (religion) requirement. And personally, I think the alignment should be any non-good. While making sacrifices for others is generally considered good, blood sacrifice is usually frowned upon by good alignments.
Okay, I can't believe no one else pointed it out but nothing about this prestige class has anything to do with darkness. It seems like every time you say darkness you could say hit points instead and be closer to the truth. Don't get me wrong, I do love the concept (and Cecil from FFII was a pimp) but Dark Knight strikes me as a misnomer. This class strikes me as more of a Blood Knight.
If you are going to stick with the whole darkness angle throw in a few darkness powers that actually have to do with darkness, shadow, or visibility. Check out the Shadowdancer, the darkness domain, and a few shadow spells. Let the DK shape the darkness and bend it to his will. Right now he's just a sadomasochist who loves black.
Minor nitpick, but Cecil was from Final Fantasy IV, not II.
However, having said that, I'm confused why you would make this suggestion. Cecil Harvey is the most popular named Dark Knight in the Final Fantasy series, so it should be fairly obvious that this prestige class is really just my attempt to bring the Dark Knight job class from the Final Fantasy series into Pathfinder, and the Dark Knight job class has nothing to do with shadows or visibility, and Pathfinder doesn't have a shadow element like it does fire, ice, electricity, etc., so I can't have the powers deal shadow damage.
I'm a little iffy about this being a prestige class at all; you could probably tweak the Magus, give it a vampiric feel, and make it an archetype; the darkness powers feel a lot like magus arcana already and it would be easy enough to let them sacrifice HP to fill their arcane pool. The antipaladin could work too, maybe let their Touch of Corruption work like vampiric touch (which would obviously need to be reworked for balance issues) and replace a few of their class features with darkness powers.
My choice to make the Dark Knight a Prestige class came from the fact that, while I didn't mention it originally, I've been working on this class for quite a long time, and it's original incarnation was as a full 20-level class. After hammering away at that for numerous weeks (months really), I decided to try my hand at making it a prestige class, because it felt like there wasn't enough substantial content to stretch over 20 levels.
Admittedly, I hadn't considered marketing it as an archetype, but thinking on it now, I can't help but feel I would have run into the same problem as I had with trying to make it it's own class, though this time, I'd be depriving a class of a number of useful abilities for ones that may not be equivalent trades.
And yes, someone already brought up Magus and Arcane Points and such as a viable resource instead of Hit Points, but if you want a class with that kind of mechanic, why not just play those other classes? (Although I will admit that sacrificing HP to restore your arcane pool does sound like an interesting mechanic and I may toy with the idea of a Dark Knight archetype to the Magus on my own).
It's awfully easy to meet the prerequisites for this. Depending on where the power is actually coming from you may want to tack on a Knowledge (the planes) or Knowledge (religion) requirement. And personally, I think the alignment should be any non-good. While making sacrifices for others is generally considered good, blood sacrifice is usually frowned upon by good alignments.
Not all prestige class prerequisites are very difficult, and even considering the fact that you already have to spend three feats that most people don't normally take to unlock it, I will consider making it slightly harder to progress into. The current prerequisites are actually much easier to fulfill than my first draft of them, which required being hit by Outflow of the Darkness and surviving.
As for the alignment advice, I did note that the philosophy behind this incarnation of Dark Knights was that the darkness wasn't inherently evil and the connotation that darkness was evil is what the Dark Knights are trying to correct. The flavor of the class also doesn't mention any blood of the Dark Knight's being spilled to activate any of their abilities, and if you really want to pursue that route, Holy Vindicators sacrifice their blood for divine power all the time and don't have issues being good-aligned.
Plus, Cecil was a Dark Knight and he as Good Aligned as you can get.
I didn't mean to turn this into a Final Fantasy forum, but now that I know that is what you're specifically going for I can take back my comments about adding darkness related powers.
As we are taking about the FF Dark Knight, I will add a couple nitpicks of my own. FF II was the North American title for FF IV, that's the one I played on my Super-NES; in that version Cecil didn't even have whatever the darkness power was that let him sacrifice hit-points for damage. As for the alignment issue:
But that doesn't really matter. Like I said, I'm just nit-picking.
I take back my comments about the the prerequisites. Three feats and a +6 BAB is plenty. I was still stuck on the whole "ability to wield darkness in its most basic form" aspect, which I viewed as channeling energy from the Plane of Shadow, thus my suggesting a Knowledge (the planes) requirement and more darkness based abilities.
I'm obviously trying to turn this into something you didn't have in mind, so maybe I'll make my own Shadow Knight or Blood Knight archetype or prestige class and quit arguing over flavor issues.
As far as mechanical issues go, is there any precedent for using Constitution for determining DCs? I know monsters use Constitution to determine poison saves or Strength for trample, but I can't think of any supernatural Pathfinder abilities that are based off of Con. I think if this were a Pathfinder class they would use Charisma to determine the DCs.
I can see creatures like Vampires and Trolls abusing this class, which would probably screw up the DK public image quite a bit. I don't know that an extra 5 HP a round is going to break anything rules-wise but Lashing Darkness and Blood Drain could mess some PCs up. This is really minor though.
As far as mechanical issues go, is there any precedent for using Constitution for determining DCs? I know monsters use Constitution to determine poison saves or Strength for trample, but I can't think of any supernatural Pathfinder abilities that are based off of Con. I think if this were a Pathfinder class they would use Charisma to determine the DCs.
More or less a combination of two issues, the first more so than the second.
Issue 1 would be that the DC to resist the spells for pretty much all caster classes (at least to my knowledge) is tied to their core stat. For Wizards, the DC for their spells uses their INT, and for Sorcerers, it uses CHA, and so on and so forth. The Dark Knight as is relies on spending hit points in order to use their grab-bag of tricks to defeat their enemies and hit points come from Constitution; Constitution, in this case, becomes their core stat and also avoids having the class become multi-attribute dependent.
Issue 2, which is the lesser of the two issues, is just how I interpret how the darkness works in flavor. It being a cosmic force, rather than a physical, it wouldn't really deal any physical damage, but it would damage you "life force" so to speak. Strength of personality (how I interprete CHA) wouldn't really help you much if you where hit by something that suddenly made you feel physically weaker.
And your assessment on Vampires and Trolls abusing the class is, as stated in the flavor text at the top, really the whole point of the Dark Knight's mission. The darkness isn't inherently bad, but it's the misuse of it that makes people think it's bad. Those would be a perfect example of the kind of people Dark Knights are trained to hunt down and destroy.
I suppose the problem I have with making Con the primary attribute is that it is SUCH a good stat, especially with this class. Everyone wants a high Con; every caster would be better if their casting and class features were based off of it. I think that is a major reason why they have casting based on mental traits, because in a hack-and-slash environment those traits would be largely ignored otherwise.
The other problem is that supernatural abilities are almost always based off of Cha because they are derived from force of personality, or some deeper sense of self (Wizards SU abilities are derived from arcane study and clerics from divine forces so theirs are tied to Int and Wis). From what I've seen, Con only has to do with physical, i.e. non-supernatural, abilities.
Yes, Con is important to this class, but it is important to all classes.
Strength of personality (how I interprete CHA) wouldn't really help you much if you where hit by something that suddenly made you feel physically weaker.
I agree. That's why Cha isn't used for saving throws. But the determination of a high Cha sorcerer does make his spells burn a little brighter, and the heat is still plenty physical.
I agree with the whole "darkness isn't inherently bad" thing, but if the purpose of this class is really to hunt down whoever is giving darkness a bad rep, then why allow evil alignments? Do they (Dark Knights) serve this "darkness" and if so, what is its agenda? If it is a cosmic force, is it divine in nature? What about the light? The concept sets you up to have a Light Knight as well to juxtapose this class, but that inevitably leads to the paladin (which is appropriate considering FF). There is already the whole paladin/antipaladin, good/evil thing and from your flavor text I know that's not what your going for, but you don't really explore the darkness/light angle either. I guess if these guys were dedicated to proving that darkness isn't evil, then they could be more dedicated to eradicating evil or whatever is giving them a bad name, but then it still has something of an alignment bent, and paladins more or less have that angle covered, albeit with a LG stick up their butts. If Dark Knights have more of a gray hat vigilante type thing going on then I'm getting a little too close to a batman alignment discussion for comfort. Down that path lies madness.
I am definitely over-thinking this.
I am definitely over-thinking this.
Possibly, but these are all really good points your bringing up and things I would definitely look into (and probably will look into, if just for my own sense of completion), though at the moment, the base mechanics of the class are all I'm really worried about for this thread.
That said, you did bring up an excellent point about Dark Knights and evil alignments, one that I'm honestly stunned never occurred to me before. My own flavor text for the class basically outlines that Dark Knights and the power they wield are not evil, so why would the organization allow an evil aligned person to become a Dark Knight?
While part of me would like to keep the alignment open, I will end up adjusting the alignment requirement for the class to "Any Non-Evil". Thank you for pointing this out to me.
Dark Knight - Introduction
Ex Dark Knights
A Dark Knight who willfully commits an evil act loses all Dark Knight class features and may not progress any further in levels as a Dark Knight. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations (see atonement), as appropriate.
You might be able to keep the alignment open if you add a code of conduct instead. If they break their code they lose their class abilities. That way they can still do/be evil so long as their actions coincide with the Dark Knights' agenda. That way you can have really gritty characters doing horrible things to monsters and evil NPCs and they can keep their powers so long as they're not burning down orphanages or anything. It would also keep the class in that gray area of neutral as a whole and have a "lesser evil" feel to it. Paladins and other good characters would be hesitant to ally themselves with a Dark Knight but not down-right hostile.
Also keep in mind paladins have a number of abilities that help them avoid situations where they break their code of conduct: detect evil at will, sense motive, high will saves, divine grace, and aura of righteousness. The Dark Knight could be more easily manipulated into breaking their code or working against "the darkness".
I'm glad you're finding some of this helpful, I certainly didn't mean to be ragging on your Dark Knight or anything.
You might be able to keep the alignment open if you add a code of conduct instead. If they break their code they lose their class abilities. That way they can still do/be evil so long as their actions coincide with the Dark Knights' agenda. That way you can have really gritty characters doing horrible things to monsters and evil NPCs and they can keep their powers so long as they're not burning down orphanages or anything. It would also keep the class in that gray area of neutral as a whole and have a "lesser evil" feel to it. Paladins and other good characters would be hesitant to ally themselves with a Dark Knight but not down-right hostile.
Also keep in mind paladins have a number of abilities that help them avoid situations where they break their code of conduct: detect evil at will, sense motive, high will saves, divine grace, and aura of righteousness. The Dark Knight could be more easily manipulated into breaking their code or working against "the darkness".
I'm glad you're finding some of this helpful, I certainly didn't mean to be ragging on your Dark Knight or anything.
Think nothing of it; the feedback is very helpful and I deeply appreciate someone taking the time to look over the class so thoroughly.
I will definitely look and see if I can come up with a Code of Conduct for Dark Knights, but at the moment, "Any Non-Evil" should be just fine. I think Neutral alignments may have more stretch than some people think, so you could possibly play the gritty, "did what I had to do" anti-hero you're talking about. The Renegade to the typical heroic Paragon, to use some Mass Effect terms.
Well, since there doesn't seem to be any other recommendations, I'd like to fully post the most up-to-date version of the Dark Knight Prestige Class, updated with all the wonderful recommendations made by the people in this thread.
“As I bear this darkness into battle, my suffering becomes my strength.”
- Leon Z. Gaffgarion
“If Light is the absence of Darkness, and in turn, Darkness is the absence of Light, what is the Light without the Darkness and the Darkness without the Light? This is a fundamental nature of the world as much as Life and Death. Mortal creatures, and even some beyond mortality gravitate towards the Light; why wouldn’t they? The Light breaths warmth, safety, and security, and from these things the Light has been come to be called “good”. The Darkness, on the other hand, is a place of peace and solitude and even its own breed of security, offering secrecy among its void. However, just as the Light has been called “good”, the darkness has come to be considered its opposite, as the forces of evil have exploited and tainted what the Darkness exists to be. The Darkness is part of the natural world and not something to be feared. It’s those that lurk in the Darkness that are to be feared, and as the chosen champions of the darkness, we strive to purify it of evil’s presence.”
- Arthur C. Harvey, instructing new Dark Knights
Dark Knights are firm believers in the concept that the “darkness” of the universe isn’t something to be feared or shunned, but something to be embraced as much as the “light” of the universe. However, while most see this argument as something wholly philosophical, Dark Knights have given a more tangible side to the argument, possessing the unique ability to wield darkness in its most basic form in a means similar to how Wizards and Sorcerers turn the Arcane into magic. However, the physical strain of wielding such a pure cosmic force is not to be taken lightly, and Dark Knights are chosen from the ranks of mortals not just by their similar beliefs, but by their ability to withstand the strain of wielding the Darkness.
Abilities: Constitution is the Dark Knight’s most important stat, increasing the amount of HP they have, which increases how much HP they can spend empowering their abilities without endangering their own existences. Strength is beneficial to improving their melee damage, which Dark Knights primarily rely on, especially when spending HP becomes too risky. Dexterity is marginally supportive for improving initiative and DEX-based skills, while Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma only provide bonuses to their appropriate skills.
Races: Any race is able to become a Dark Knight, provided they endure the trial necessary to become one. Undead Dark Knights use their Charisma in place of Constitution for the Difficulty Checks of Darkness Powers.
Alignment: Any Non-Evil
Hit Dice: d12
Requirements
To qualify to become a Dark Knight, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Feats: Endurance, Diehard, Fast Healer
Special: To become a Dark Knight, a senior Dark Knight must perform a 24 hour long ritual wherein the recipient is saturated in the darkness that empowers all Dark Knights. After the full 24 hours have passed, the recipient must succeed a DC 20 Fortitude save or be stricken with one negative level that lasts for 24 hours, after which the recipient can attempt the ritual again.
The Dark Knight's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Planes) (Int), Perception (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), and Survival (WIS).
Skill Ranks: 2 + INT modifier
Level Progression: 10 levels
Base Attack Bonus: Full
Good Saving Throws: Fortitude
Poor Saving Throws: Reflex and Will
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Dark Knight gains no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Ex Dark Knights
A Dark Knight who willfully commits an evil act loses all Dark Knight class features and may not progress any further in levels as a Dark Knight. He regains his abilities and advancement potential if he atones for his violations (see atonement), as appropriate.
Darkness Powers: The pure darkness residing inside each Dark Knight can be molded and shaped in a variety of ways to suit their needs. Many Darkness Powers require the Dark Knight to pay an amount of Hit Points to use and generally get stronger as more Hit Points are paid while others allow them to recover spent Hit Points by stealing the life from their enemies. Dark Knights gain one Darkness Power at 1st level, and at every even level thereafter. Darkness Powers that have a limited number of uses per day can be selected a second time to double the amount of available uses.
Outflow of the Darkness (Su): The vast well of darkness inside the Dark Knight swells to the brink with energy, greatly empowering the Dark Knight beyond what others are capable of. With enough focus, the Dark Knight can condense this darkness into a single all-consuming blast. At 10th level as a full-round action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice 100 to 200 hit points (in increments of 10) to fire a blast of darkness at a single creature up to 60ft away. The designated target must make a successful Fortitude Save (DC10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) or suffer instant death. If the target succeeds, the target suffers 1d10 points of damage for every 10 hit points spent over 100. Outflow of the Darkness cannot be used again on that target for 24 hours.
Blood Weapon (Su) – When a Dark Knight confirms a critical hit, they receive an amount of temporary hit points equal to their character level plus the Dark Knight's constitution modifier, or less if the amount of damage dealt is less than that number, before applying the critical hit multiplier. The total amount of temporary hit points the Dark Knight possesses cannot bring their total hit points above their maximum hit points. This ability still activates to recover HP even if the target is immune to the bonus damage from critical hits.
Bolt Darkness (Su) – As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, the Dark Knight may fire a barrage of dark energy bolts at an opponent within 60ft for 1d6 + the constitution modifier as damage. The Dark Knight must pay 10 hit points to use this ability and can fire an additional Dark Missile for 10 more hit points, up to a maximum of 5 Dark Missiles. This damage can only be blocked by an effect that also blocks Magic Missile.
Dark Seal (Su) – Once per day as a swift action, the Dark Knight can mark a single opponent with a black, smoking sigil that persists for 24 hours and cannot be removed by an outside source. The Dark Knight gains a circumstance bonus to all attack and damage rolls against the target of Dark Seal equal to half the user’s Dark Knight level (minimum +1). In addition, the DC to make any saves from Darkness Powers increases from 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier to 10 + full character level + constitution modifier. This ability can be used once per day at 1st Dark Knight level, twice per day at 5th Dark Knight level, and three times per day at 10th Dark Knight level.
Diabolic Eye (Su) – As a full-round action, the Dark Knight may make an Intimidate check against a single opponent within 30ft and add his full character level as an enhancement bonus to that check. If the check is successful, the target of this ability is paralyzed. At the beginning of his next turn, the Dark Knight may make an additional Intimidate check as a full-round action to prolong the effect, but the Dark Knight suffers an accumulating -2 penalty to these checks for each round after the first. If the target of this effect has more Hit Dice than the Dark Knight, the penalty increases from -2 to -5 for each attempt. If the target or the Dark Knight is the target of any successful attack or harmful spell cast, the effect ends immediately. Once the effect ends, the Dark Knight cannot designate the same target for Diabolic Eye for 24 hours. This does not affect targets immune to fear and targets paralyzed by this ability cannot be the target of a Coup de Grace.
Drain (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight may deal damage equal to their character level plus constitution modifier to a single opponent within 30ft to recover HP equal to twice the damage dealt. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). Any recovered HP that exceeds the Dark Knight’s maximum hit points is granted as temporary hit points. Drain cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 HP, but the amount of HP recovered remains the same. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made to half the amount of damage dealt to the target; the affects the amount of hit points healed.
Dread Armor (Su) – As an immediate action, the Dark Knight may coat their body in darkness for a number of rounds equal to ½ their Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1) per day; these rounds do not need to be consecutive. The Dark Knight gains a +1 dodge bonus to armor class that increases by +1 for every 2 Dark Knight class levels the player possesses. Enemies that make successful melee attacks against the Dark Knight during this time take the Dark Knight’s Constitution Modifier in damage, and the Dark Knight is healed for the same amount. Any recovered hit points that exceed the Dark Knight’s max hit points are granted as temporary hit points. Dread Armor cannot reduce an opponent to lower than 1 hit point, but the amount of hit points recovered remains the same. Dread Armor can be dismissed as a free action.
Guarding Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay an amount of hit points equal to 10 times the highest penalty to armor class the Dark Knight may have to negate all armor class penalties until the start of the Dark Knight’s next turn.
Keen Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay an amount of hit points equal to 10 times the highest penalty to attack rolls the Dark Knight may have to negate all attack roll penalties until the start of the Dark Knight’s next turn.
Lashing Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay 10 or 20 hit points to increase the effectiveness of any Trip, Disarm, or Grapple attempts. If the Dark Knight pays 10 hit points, the Dark Knight may make a Trip, Disarm, or Grapple combat maneuver against a target as if they had the Improved Trip, Improved Disarm, or Improved Grapple feats. If the Dark Knight pays 20 hit points, the Dark Knight may act as if they had both the Improved and Greater Trip, Improved and Greater Disarm, or Improved and Greater Grapple feats. If the Dark Knight is grappling an opponent, the effect of Lashing Darkness lasts until the Dark Knight is no longer grappling the opponent.
Mending Shadows (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight can put his darkness to work mending any injuries the Dark Knight has sustained. Using this ability heals the Dark Knight for 1d6 points of damage for every Dark Knight class level obtained and can be used a number of times equal to the user's Dark Knight class level plus constitution modifier. This ability cannot be used to deal damage and cannot be used on others. If this ability can only be taken twice, in which the amount of times it can be used increases from one use per Dark Knight level plus constitution modifier to twice per Dark Knight level plus constitution modifier.
Pulsing Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice a number of hit points equal to their character level to deal an equal amount of damage to every enemy within a 10ft radius around the Dark Knight for an amount equal to the hit points spent and render enemies in a 5ft radius prone. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level). A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made to resist being knocked prone and half the damage dealt.
Resisting Darkness (Su) - As an immediate action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice a number of hit points equal to half their Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1) to gain a circumstance bonus to one of their saving throws for one round equal to the amount of hit points spent. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half the player’s Dark Knight class level (minimum of 1/day and up to 5/day at 10th level).
Rushing Darkness (Su) – As a swift action, the Dark Knight may pay 10 or 20 hit points to increase the effectiveness of any Bullrush or Overrun attempts. If the Dark Knight pays 10 hit points, the Dark Knight may make a Bullrush or Overrun combat maneuver against a target as if they had the Improved Bullrush or Improved Overrun feats. If the Dark Knight pays 20 hit points, the Dark Knight may act as if they had both the Improved and Greater Bullrush or Improved and Greater Overrun feats.
True Darkness (Su) – As a standard action, the Dark Knight can sacrifice their hit points equal to their full level to deal damage to a single opponent within 60ft for twice the amount of hit points spent, plus their constitution modifier. A Fortitude Save (DC 10 + ½ character level + constitution modifier) can be made for half damage.
Extra Darkness Power - You gain one additional Darkness Power. This feat can be taken multiple times.
I've had this sitting in my folder for WIP custom content for Pathfinder for a while, not really sure what to do with it, but not quite fully satisfied with it being the final version, so I decided to toss this out here to see if there's anything the Pathfinder Community could find that maybe I missed.
** spoiler omitted **...
Very cool!
You might also like some of these "black knight" style prestige classes from the Grimoire Viperian, though they are intended for evil characters or NPCs:
Knight Heretic:
Run Down: A prestige class for fighters and other meleers that provides death knell, dark magic powers, and unholy armor.
The knight heretic is a mighty warrior who has abandoned the path of morality and bartered his soul to an evil god, archdemon, arch-devil or other powerful outsider in exchange for supernatural boons and knowledge of the dark arts. A knight heretic is frequently charged with the task of hunting down and slaying enemies of his patron, particularly clerics and paladins. It is also common for these fearsome knights to gather evil followers of their own and lead bands of marauders on a bloody path of war and pillaging. Blood-chilling tales are told of infamous and cruel kings and overlords suspected of secretly
being knight heretics.
Knight of Entropy:
Run Down: A knight enslaved to the powers of entropy who gains corrupting touch, corrupted weapon, minions of entropy and some entropic spells. Not a full BAB prestige class but has the very wicked powers more than make up for it.
A knight of entropy is a powerful warrior who willingly enslaves himself to the will of malignant, destructive, chaotic outsiders, collectively known as the powers of Entropy. Typically, the powers of Entropy are powerful demons, daemons or other strange, evil beings from unfathomable, terrible realms. What drives these individuals to follow such a path remains a mystery, for the slaves of Entropy are doomed to live their lives in eternal conflict, never knowing peace or rest. Some say it is foolish mortal desire for power or revenge at any cost, while others blame it upon hatred or sheer insanity. Whatever the reason, knights of Entropy are fearsome opponents, always found at the forefront of war, violence, unrest, chaos and destruction, and always heeding the call of their malignant masters.
Black Lord:
Run Down: A fighter/wizard or fighter/sorcerer "gish" prestige class whose abilities focus on necromancy and most of all, darkness and unique darkness related powers.
Description: The dark nemesis of light, a black lord is both a knight and an eldritch wielder of dark magic and necromancy, wrapped in shadowy armor and cloaked in black robes, lurking in the darkness. They are deadly combatants, steeped in the knowledge of the black arts, striding forth from the shadows to strike without warning. They can conjure and bend the very darkness to their will, summon forth terrible creatures of the void, and tap into the essence of death. Black lords tend to be cold, ruthless, unfeeling, and villainous, always searching to fulfill their own mad designs and lust for power.