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Ranger. FE for undead and outsiders and such, healing spell access, max out Stealth, Survival, and other 'find people, sneak up, and gank them' skills. Urban Ranger might be best.
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Barbarian. Real men stare into the abyss knowing it stares back. A real man strikes fear into the abyss.
Really, any class would work though I'd think. This is more about character than class, imo. Anyone can be dark and dirty and know what needs to be done. Even a bard can walk around in a mithral breastplate, strike fear into his foes, and takes brave actions. Any class can be made knightly.
Or a fighter, no time for courtly duties when you're spending all day fightin' round the world. No tournaments because you're in the Sepulcher putting down the necromancer, no shining armour because you've given up on polishing it when you can't go a day without splashing some abomination's guts all over yourself, and no flying fudges to give about pomp since you realize the prettiest parade in the world means nothing if your town gets overrun with orcish raiders, and bright colours likely won't keep the daemonic hoards away.
I believe that blackbloodtroll is correct. Inquisitor all the way.
I am getting ready to run a Carrion Crown campaign, and was looking over Haunting of Harrowstone. The picture with the pallbearers, specifically the female knight, inspired me to make a knight-like character, but with a darker and/or grittier feel. Not evil, just less "knight-in-shining-armor" and more "knight-that-takes-care-of-the-dirty-work". I like the concept of a knight that is something of a silent bastion in the shadows, rather than a "look at how noble I am" kind of knight. The knight that gets all the real work done (slaying undead, taking care of fallen comrades, etc.) while the "real knights" do their jousting and other pompous fanfare.
Unfortunately I have no idea where to start with such a concept. Would anyone have any suggestions? It's a pretty open concept at this point, so anything that seems close and could give me something to start researching as a starting point would be very helpful.
1. Talk with your DM.
2. Inquisitor: A great option that focuses on rooting the source of trouble and dealing with it. It involves guile as well as confrontation. It would be my first choice for a concept similar to this one, because the class seems themed towards it.Ranger: Rangers have a long tradition as the divine-driven hunter, or just the rough and independent man or woman who "does what needs done." As a bonus, they're traditionally lightly armored and can travel quickly.
Paladin: Paladin could easily work. Your deity gave you some potent tools to work with. You gain immunity to disease so you can traverse some of the worst places on earth. You gained smite because half the time your armor's rusted away, and the only thing you have to fight with is a half-broken stick...
Alignment should not be as much of an issue. If you go with lawful, remember that lawful can also focus on doing things for the greater good/sacrificing for good. It cal also focus on a strong moral code which drives you to achieve these things.
You're not in it for glory but to get things done, and that can be a great alignment for this type of concept, but does not have to be.
... inspired me to make a knight-like character, but with a darker and/or grittier feel. Not evil, just less "knight-in-shining-armor" and more "knight-that-takes-care-of-the-dirty-work". I like the concept of a knight that is something of a silent bastion in the shadows, rather than a "look at how noble I am" kind of knight. The knight that gets all the real work done (slaying undead, taking care of fallen comrades, etc.) while the "real knights" do their jousting and other pompous fanfare.
Unfortunately I have no idea where to start with such a concept.
I AM BAT... errr INQUISITMAN!
Seriously though. Inquisitor seems like a good choice. I like them more as a Van Helsing type character in Carrion Crown... but the Bat Man route as a "Dark Knight" works. :)
I agree Inquisitor is probably the best fit. A pally with a Oath of vengeance might fit the bill too (I played mine like Ghost Rider :)
All good suggestions... but you mention 'knight'... if you want that flavor built in...Cavalier.
Cavalier never fit my idea of a knight personally, nor do I think it fits well with the theme of being knightly. It fits being a member of the army of Charlemagne(mounted combat/order) maybe, but not the dude you expect to tangle with demons and witches and bad guys(dnd), oh my.
Conceptually, the answer is Fighter. But you can get a whole lot of more fun class abilities out of Inquisitor, Ranger, or (when it comes out) Slayer.
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I actually did this. My paladin for carrion crown is a silent, sombre man sporting perpetual stubble.
Garvin Tanner took his younger brother adventuring and when his younger brother was killed by a wight and then rose as one, Garvin dropped his sword and fled. Too ashamed to return home and admit what had happened to his parents, Garvin gave his life to Iomedae and now works, not so much to uphold good, but to die destroying evil.
The party wondered why he was using an axe and when they'd suggest a possible evil action he'd shrug and remind them that they could start their journey down the path of corruption, but if they did he'd be waiting for them at the end of that journey. There have been very few questionable acts since.
Eventually the party bought him a magical greatsword and when they asked why he was so reluctant to accept it the whole backstory came tumbling out.
We're halfway through the adventure path, and even if he makes it through the whole path and saves the world, he'll still have to return and face his parents.
"Mum? Dad? I... I'm home."
i had a similar character who was a paladin of pelor/sarenrae... he believed the shadows were a tool provided by the sun to use against evil... build was cha+dex, dual-weilded shortswords (until finding a sunblade), with mithril breastplate and his stealth cranked up. it worked really well both flavor-wise and mechanically. inquisitor and cavalier are both totally functional too- if you want to go cavalier but not a jouster take the beast rider archetype for a 'mount' that will be useful even if you're not riding it (like a lion), or go half-orc for the beast rider feat.
You can do this with Paladin just fine, really. Unless your DM has an overly strict interpretation of them, nothing in the Code says a Paladin has to be nice, chipper, upbeat, and pompous.
Inquisitor, as has been said, is great for this.
Ranger and Fighter too, of course.
Cavalier is a maybe, after all the "jousting and other pompous fanfare" is pretty much baked into the class, jousting is the combat style half their class abilities cater towards. And mounted combat isn't terribly good in Carrion Crown.
If you want something a bit more exotic, and Prestigious, there's also the Chevalier, Hellknight (or Hellknight Signifier for a casty Hellknight, goes well with Cleric or Inquisitor), Low Templar or perhaps even the Stalwart Defender.
If Cavalier isn't to your liking because of the fighting style (though they DO do okay on foot), Low Templar and Chevalier are not likely to be to your liking either.
If Gunslinger (or guns in general) is allowed, a Shieldmarshal is a good choice. You're basically an Old West lawman of some sort.
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Is there anything that has to do with properly laying bodies to rest, or performing rituals that prevent a body from being raised as undead? I want the character to have sort of tie to performing funerary ceremonies. If it gave some sort of mechanical benefit, that would be cool too; something like, if you lay enemies bodies to rest you gain some sort of benefit.
Inquisitor has that too.
Is there anything that has to do with properly laying bodies to rest, or performing rituals that prevent a body from being raised as undead? I want the character to have sort of tie to performing funerary ceremonies. If it gave some sort of mechanical benefit, that would be cool too; something like, if you lay enemies bodies to rest you gain some sort of benefit.
Sin Eater can kind of, sort of, stop someone from being raised as an undead, but as written it doesn't do a perfect job.
Concecrate might be what your looking for. Its on the cleric/oracle spell list and the inquisitors.
You can probably homebrew something too if you ask your GM nicely.
GREY GUARD!!!!
I vote for the paladin on this one. Think about it, your job is to fight evil until you die. Regardless of what you face, you are expected to face it with weapon in hand and your oath as your shield. With the inquisitor/cavalier/whatever else you can flee to fight another day (with minimal consequences). With the paladin you better have a darn good reason to flee, having the courage to look death in the eye and spit when it blinks is what is expected of you. Immunity to fear does not exactly mean immunity from other factors such as personal vendettas and other things. You have to fight and fight and fight and fight. Until the day you die you have to fight. Play it up like you know your fate and you get a dark gritty hero.
Paladins are not required to stick around and fight a suicidal battle. Nor are they inherently braver than any other class.
Paladins are not required to stick around and fight a suicidal battle. Nor are they inherently braver than any other class.
i agree with the first part of this (though specific gods/paladins could have a code that requires it...). the second half, however, i have to disagree with- they are clearly inherently braver than other classes, that's why they are immune to fear; in fact, they are so brave that being near them makes others more brave (see Aura of Courage).
Paladins do not have to believe in tourney's and pompery in fact they could recognize it as wasteful excess and not participate.
Now if by grittier you mean has no honor and is willing to do the King or Church's dirty work that would not be lawful or good then cavalier or inquisitor.
Paladins are not required to stick around and fight a suicidal battle. Nor are they inherently braver than any other class.i agree with the first part of this (though specific gods/paladins could have a code that requires it...). the second half, however, i have to disagree with- they are clearly inherently braver than other classes, that's why they are immune to fear; in fact, they are so brave that being near them makes others more brave (see Aura of Courage).
Being immune to fear is the exact opposite being brave, if anime, books, and movies have taught me anything over the years. =)
You can easily make a grim and gritty paladin. You'll need to work with your GM to set up the right paladin code for you to follow. Erastil might be a good choice of deity for such a character: someone who does what it takes to protect the homestead.
Remember... "lawful good" does not necessarily mean "lawful nice." (And it certainly doesn't mean "lawful stupid.")
It was probably 20 years ago, but I played a grim and gritty paladin in 2nd edition for months before the other players figured out what I was playing. (I even made a fake first page of my character sheet.) His main weapon was a crossbow. I based the character on "The Man With No Name" from the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns.
Fighter, cavalier, ranger, and inquisitor are also all good choices, depending on the role you intend to play and the character's backstory.
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It was an old prestige class from 3.5.
It's perfect, though...
This may be the closest equivalent:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/i-m/low-templa r
Being immune to fear is the exact opposite being brave, if anime, books, and movies have taught me anything over the years. =)Paladins are not required to stick around and fight a suicidal battle. Nor are they inherently braver than any other class.i agree with the first part of this (though specific gods/paladins could have a code that requires it...). the second half, however, i have to disagree with- they are clearly inherently braver than other classes, that's why they are immune to fear; in fact, they are so brave that being near them makes others more brave (see Aura of Courage).
Bingo. Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of it. Someone who was truly fearless would simply be insane and die very quickly, because he'd be like 'oh, I'm not afraid of getting run over by a milk truck'.
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Is there a way for a Paladin to get access to a Domain, so that I can instead choose the True Death Inquisition?
Also, how would a Paladin/Gray Warden work? Would it be better as just a regular Paladin? I want the armor and BAB of a Paladin, but I like the True Death Inquisition.
Lastly, the Gray Guard seems pretty cool. How well does it meld with Pathfinder? Will it work ok to use, as-is, or would I need to change part of it?
In terms of 3e/3.5 PrCs conversion is simple. Primarily all one has to do is get its saves, bab, hd, and skills to follow the pathfinder format. Example is there is no concentration skill any more so that is removed and skills like spot and listen are covered now by perception. Id also like to not when converting a d4 class/PrC it becomes d6, i find it amusing when people find the wizards health is so low when back in my day we were capped with d4s and a low amount of those. Also when converting feats that require x amount of skill to use you subtract 2.
if your sticking to pathfinder rules, try a paladin of Damerrich, they are probably the most dark of any paladin, and rather awesome.
I believe there is an archtype in the APG that gives a paladin a domain.
if your sticking to pathfinder rules, try a paladin of Damerrich, they are probably the most dark of any paladin, and rather awesome.
I believe there is an archtype in the APG that gives a paladin a domain.
Sacred Servant does.
Conceptually, the answer is Fighter. But you can get a whole lot of more fun class abilities out of Inquisitor, Ranger, or (when it comes out) Slayer.
It sounds more like flavor than anything else so build anything you want and then just channel Frank Miller, which you do by chanting "whore, whore, whore...."
Bingo. Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of it. Someone who was truly fearless would simply be insane and die very quickly, because he'd be like 'oh, I'm not afraid of getting run over by a milk truck'.
i guess it comes down to how you understand the pally's aura of courage... if its a granted ability that makes you completely fearless, yes- that requires no bravery (but would probably get you dead quick); if its a mastery of your fear so strong and deep that it supernaturally inspires greater courage in others then that is ultimate bravery. i guess i tend to favor the latter... (though i like the idea of building very different pallies using different 'versions' of powers like that...)
Bingo. Courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of it. Someone who was truly fearless would simply be insane and die very quickly, because he'd be like 'oh, I'm not afraid of getting run over by a milk truck'.i guess it comes down to how you understand the pally's aura of courage... if its a granted ability that makes you completely fearless, yes- that requires no bravery (but would probably get you dead quick); if its a mastery of your fear so strong and deep that it supernaturally inspires greater courage in others then that is ultimate bravery. i guess i tend to favor the latter... (though i like the idea of building very different pallies using different 'versions' of powers like that...)
I interpret it as an effect that protects you from magical fear spells, mind-control kind of stuff. It doesn't make you immune to the voice in the back of your head that tells you a full-frontal assault against an ancient red dragon is a bad idea.
Conceptually, the answer is Fighter. But you can get a whole lot of more fun class abilities out of Inquisitor, Ranger, or (when it comes out) Slayer.It sounds more like flavor than anything else so build anything you want and then just channel Frank Miller, which you do by chanting "whore, whore, whore...."
Yeah. now that we know what he's going to do, we need to know more specifically how he's going to do it. Nothing in the OP indicates he intends to have any magical powers, for instance, or is in a religious order (or even a religious person).
Maybe.
Ultimate Mercy is a biggy if you want to play this kind of Paladin.
Flavor-wise, though, it seems right up the alley for a Cleric or Inquisitor of Pharasma.