GM Rednal's Wrath of the Righteous (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

A Justicar is the living embodiment of one of the ideals of the heavens — Truth. As an embodiment of truth, and in keeping with the teachings of heaven, a Justicar must follow a strict moral code beyond that required of a common paladin. The benefit of this purity and stricture is awe-inspiring — eventually allowing the Justicar to become an avatar of their deity.

Role: Justicars are the elite paladins in the worship of a deity. While there are many paladins of most lawful good deities, there can never be more than 13 Justicars of a deity alive at any one time (across the entire multiverse). The leader of the Justicars in each faith is known as the Grandmaster. The grandmaster must be a Justicar of at least 8th level. However, those with both the temperament and talent to become Justicars are rare - many faiths have none at all. As such, their ordination is a major event.

Level | BAB | Fort Save | Reflex Save | Will Save | Special | Spells per Day
01 | +1 | +1 | +0 | +2 | Resist illusions, zone of truth, enemy of evil, celestial companion | +1 lvl of existing class
02 | +2 | +2 | +0 | +3 | Discern lies | +1 lvl of existing class
03 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +3 | Shield of truth | +1 lvl of existing class
04 | +4 | +3 | +1 | +4 | Mark of justice | +1 lvl of existing class
05 | +5 | +3 | +1 | +4 | Immunity to illusions | +1 lvl of existing class
06 | +6 | +4 | +2 | +5 | Sword of courage, scourge of evil | +1 lvl of existing class
07 | +7 | +4 | +2 | +5 | True seeing | +1 lvl of existing class
08 | +8 | +5 | +2 | +6 | Armor of honor | +1 lvl of existing class
09 | +9 | +5 | +3 | +6 | Holy word | +1 lvl of existing class
10 | +10 | +6 | +3 | +7 | Avatar, demon-bane | +1 lvl of existing class

Alignment: Lawful Good

Hit Dice: d10

To qualify to become a Justicar, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Class: A Justicar must have at least 3 paladin levels and may not be a ex-paladin. As a powerful Prestige Class offering high martial and magical power, the Justicar takes up both sides of a Gestalt character's levels.

Deity: Any Lawful Good. In addition, they must be an actual deity (not an Empyreal Lord, demigod, or similar near-divine figure).

Skills: Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Sense Motive 2 ranks, Diplomacy 2 ranks.

Quest: A Justicar-to-be must complete an arduous quest of some significance to their deity to demonstrate their worth before they may be ordained (see below). The rescue of Drezen from the forces of evil qualifies for this.

Ordination: A Justicar must be ordained by a person with to power to ordain Justicars. This power is only held by clerics of 13th level or higher and by certain celestial servants. Once the Justicar-to-be proves themselves worthy by a quest (see above), the ordaining priest must cast bless, zone of truth, prayer, discern lies, mark of justice, righteous might, and holy word upon the Justicar-to-be. This ordination ritual also requires the presence of a holy relic of the deity involved. (The Sword of Valor qualifies.)

Class Limitations
Justicars must follow a strict moral code. Failure to follow these rules may result in the PC becoming a ex-Justicar.

Alignment: A Justicar must be lawful good. In addition to the strictures placed on a paladin, a Justicar must live by the following additional limitations:

Reject Property: A Justicar may not own real property — land, buildings or other holdings, nor may they circumvent this by having agents or friends hold such property in their name. Willful disobedience of this principle results in the character becoming an ex-Justicar. Unintentional disobedience (inherited land, for example) requires atonement. A gift of land, if rejected, does not constitute disobedience.

Reject Disguise: As an embodiment of Truth, a Justicar may not thwart truth, regardless how noble the goal. Though they may tolerate it in others, a Justicar will not willingly disguise themselves, accept magic intended to conceal or disguise their person or qualities, nor may they use protective magic based on disguise or hidden appearance. They will counsel against their companions using such tactics, though they will not split with persons who are otherwise good-aligned as a result of their use of such tactics. The Justicar simply will not take part in them. Willful disobedience of this principle results in the character becoming an ex-Justicar. Unintentional disobedience (having a disguising spell cast upon you by a friend against your will) requires atonement. Having a disguise or concealment spell cast upon you by an enemy, if unwanted, does not constitute disobedience if the Justicar immediately seeks to undo the disguise.

Reject Falsehood: A Justicar may not lie, regardless of how noble the goal. Lying means active deception. Standing silent or failing to answer a question is not lying. However, if a Justicar fails to answer a question because of an intent to deceive, he must do atonement. Willful disobedience of this principle results in the character becoming an ex- Justicar. Unintentional disobedience (being magically compelled or otherwise forced to lie against your will, for example) requires atonement. Because a Justicar embodies Truth, the GM is encouraged to demand the strictest compliance to this principle.

Ex-Justicars: If a Justicar violates any of the strictures above, they become an ex-Justicar. They lose all Justicar spells and class features (including the service of the Justicar’s falcon familiar). They may not progress any further in levels as a Justicar until they have atoned.

Torment: The above rules allow evil NPCs (or characters) to torment Justicars — magically disguising them against their will, etc. An evil creature can never cause a Justicar to become an ex-Justicar by such torment unless the Justicar willingly joins or fails to reject the evil character. At worst, such actions may require the Justicar to do atonement. Note that in the case of such torment, a Justicar is free to attempt to slay, capture, or otherwise defeat the tormenting evil NPC prior to attempting to undo the source of the torment. The only exception is lying. If a Justicar willfully lies, even to an evil opponent, they become an ex-Justicar.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Justicar prestige class.

Spells per Day: When a Justicar level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if they had also gained a level in any one spellcasting class they belonged to before they added the prestige class. They do not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if they are a spontaneous caster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a Justicar, they must decide to which class he adds the new spell level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Resist Illusions (Su): A Justicar gains a +4 divine bonus on Will saves against illusion magic. In addition, Justicars are allowed to save to disbelieve illusions without having to interact with the illusion, even if that is normally required to disbelieve the illusion.

Zone of Truth (Sp): Once per day for every three Justicar levels, a Justicar can cast the spell zone of truth as a spell-like ability. The ability functions as if cast by a caster of a level equal to the Justicar’s total character level.

Enemy of Evil (Su): A Justicar gains a +2 divine bonus to attack and damage rolls against evil-aligned undead and outsiders.

Celestial Companion (Su): A Justicar gains a celestial falcon as a companion per the druid animal companion rules (see “Druid” in Chapter 3 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game).
Starting Statistics: Size Small; Speed 10 ft., fly 80 ft. (average); AC +1 natural armor; Attack bite (1d4), 2 talons (1d4); Ability Scores Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 10; Special Attacks smite evil 1/ day as a swift action (adds Cha bonus to attack rolls and damage bonus equal to HD against evil foes; smite persists until the target is dead or the celestial falcon rests); Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, DR and energy resistance per Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary “Celestial Creature”, SR equal to class level +5 4th-Level Advancement: Ability Scores Str +2, Con +2.

Discern Lies (Su): At 2nd level, a Justicar can discern lies as the spell once per day and an additional time per day for every 3 Justicar levels thereafter (2 at 5th, 3 at 8th). The ability functions as if cast by a caster of a level equal to the Justicar’s total character level.

Shield of Truth (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a Justicar can invoke a shield of truth once per day. Invoking this ability either enhances the Justicar’s current shield or temporarily creates a supernatural shield for the Justicar to use. The shield has the following abilities: +2 divine armor bonus (if the shield is created, this is the only armor benefit it provides) and becomes a blinding shield (see the “Magic Items” section in Chapter 15 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game), except the blinding effect only affects evil creatures. In addition, the shield radiates the effects of a prayer spell for its duration. This ability lasts for 30 minutes. Shield of truth cannot be used in combination with either sword of courage or armor of honor until the Justicar gains the avatar ability.

Mark of Justice (Su): Beginning at 4th level, the Justicar gains the ability to pass holy judgment on others once per day and place a mark of justice on persons so judged as the spell (but as a standard action). The ability functions as if cast by a caster of a level equal to the Justicar’s total character level.

Immunity to Illusions (Su): Beginning at 5th level, a Justicar is immune to all illusions. A Justicar notes the presence of illusions but recognizes them for what they are and disbelieves them immediately and automatically.

Sword of Courage (Su): Beginning at 6th level, a Justicar can invoke a sword of courage once per day. Invoking this ability either enhances the Justicar’s current sword or temporarily creates a supernatural magical longsword for the Justicar to use. The sword gains a +2 divine courage bonus to attack and damage rolls. The sword also becomes a holy weapon (see the “Magic Items” section in Chapter 15 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game) for its duration. In addition, the sword radiates remove fear in a 30-foot radius for its duration (caster level equal to the Justicar’s total character level). The ability lasts for 30 minutes. Sword of courage cannot be used in combination with either shield of truth or armor of honor until the Justicar gains the avatar ability.

Scourge of Evil (Su): At 6th level, a Justicar gains an additional +1 divine bonus to attack and damage rolls and double the normal critical threat range against all evil-aligned creatures (of all types). This ability stacks with the enemy of evil ability and the Improved Critical feat or keen weapon quality if the Justicar has these as well.

True Seeing (Su): Beginning at 7th level, a Justicar can use true seeing as the spell once per day. The ability functions as if cast by a caster of a level equal to the Justicar’s total character level.

Armor of Honor (Su): Beginning at 8th level, a Justicar can invoke an armor of honor once per day. Invoking this ability either enhances the Justicar’s current armor or temporarily creates a suit of magical chainmail around the Justicar. The armor gains a +2 divine honor bonus to AC. The armor also has the qualities of moderate fortification, invulnerability, and spell resistance (15) (see the “Magic Items” section in Chapter 15 of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game) for its duration. This ability lasts for 30 minutes. Armor of honor cannot be used in combination with either shield of truth or sword of courage until the Justicar gains the avatar ability.

Holy Word (Su): Beginning at 9th level, a Justicar can speak a holy word as the spell once per day. The ability functions as if cast by a caster of a level equal to the Justicar’s total character level.

Avatar (Su): At 10th level, a Justicar can use shield of truth, sword of courage, and armor of honor at the same time up to once per week. When all three powers are invoked at the same time it seems as if a spectral figure of their deity overlaps the body of the Justicar and mimics their every movement. In combat against evil creatures the figure of their deity becomes even more apparent. In addition to allowing all three powers to operate in unison, when a Justicar becomes an Avatar they are treated as if under the effects of a greater heroism spell (caster level equal to the Justicar’s total character level) for the duration of the ability. The avatar ability lasts only so long as all three abilities — shield of truth, sword of courage, and armor of honor — are in effect at the same time.

Demon-bane (Su): At 10th level, a Justicar becomes an evil-killing machine. Their critical threat range is doubled against evil undead and outsiders. This ability stacks with both the scourge of evil ability (see above) and the Improved Critical feat or keen weapon quality if the Justicar has these as well.