Avenger (3.5e Class)

Summary::A divine assassin trained in hidden temple-monasteries, they tend to focus on one target to the exclusion of all else, and then bring them down with highly damaging attacks, uses manuevers. Length::20 Minimum Level::1 Base Attack Bonus Progression::Good Fortitude Save Progression::Good Reflex Save Progression::Good Will Save Progression::Poor Class Ability::Martial Maneuvers Class Ability Progression::Full

Allowed Alignments::Lawful Good Allowed Alignments::Lawful Neutral Allowed Alignments::Lawful Evil Allowed Alignments::Neutral Good Allowed Alignments::Neutral Allowed Alignments::Neutral Evil Allowed Alignments::Chaotic Good Allowed Alignments::Chaotic Neutral Allowed Alignments::Chaotic Evil

Avenger
As an avenger, you train your mind, body, and soul toward one purpose: destroying the enemies of your faith. In battle, avengers swear to execute divine vengeance, entering a mental state that gives them unerring focus on a single enemy. They have also been taught the techniques of a select few martial disciplines to increase their strength and utility on the battlefield.

Making an Avenger
Abilities: A strong Strength or Dexterity is useful for attacking and defence, and as they are in melee a strong Constitution is needed as well. Most of their abilities are based off of Wisdom so a high score is beneficial. Charisma is important if the avenger wishes to become the party's face, and Intelligence is useful to gain more skill points for skills.

Races: Any race can become an avenger, all that is needed is devotion to your god, and the skills and training to uphold your gods mission.

Alignment: The same as that of your deity.

Starting Gold: 5d4&times;10 gp (125 gp).

Starting Age: As rogue.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the avenger.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Avenger are proficient with simple and martial weapons as well as one exotic melee weapon, Avengers are proficient with light armor.

Maneuvers: At 1st level, you gain three maneuvers known from the Shadow Hand, Diamond Mind, and Devoted Spirit disciplines. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. You add your full avenger levels to your initiator level to determine your total initiator level and your highest-level maneuvers known. At 2nd, 3rd, and every odd level beyond, you gain an additional maneuver readied per day.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered avenger level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap any number of maneuvers at any given level.

Maneuvers Readied: You can ready all three of the maneuvers you know at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you must choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by meditating for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to meditate again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in deep meditation, you can change your readied maneuvers.

You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until you recover them, as described below).

You can recover all expended maneuvers with a single move action as long as you have a divine symbol of your god. You need not hold the focus, but it must be on your body and you must touch the location of the symbol or the symbol itself. If you lack the focus, you may not regain your manuevers.

Stances Known: At 1st, 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level, you learn a new martial stance from one of the Shadow Hand, Diamond Mind, and Devoted Spirit disciplines. You must meet a stance’s prerequisite to learn it.

Oath of Enmity: By personifying the target of his mission and his god's wrath as his enemy, the avenger may strike with a deadly and zealous accuracy. As a free action you can “mark” one creature as the target of your oath of enmity. As long as this target is the only enemy adjacent to you, you re-roll any attack rolls that miss the target, using the better result. You may only ever have one oath of enmity target at any time and cannot switch targets until the current target is below 0 hp, or until the encounter is over, whichever happens first.

Defended by Faith (Su): At 2nd level, an avenger gains a bonus equal to half his Wisdom bonus (if any) on all saving throws as well as a bonus to armor class on all attacks while wearing light armor or no armor.

Blade of Zeal: An avenger's zealous hatred and killing intent for enemies of his god can be felt keenly through his blade and such an attack against a target hurts more than it rightly should. As a move action usable once per day, an avenger can fill his next attack with hatred and killing intent, dealing extra damage to the target of his oath of enmity equal to his avenger level + his Wisdom modifier. At 6th level he may instead use blade of zeal as a swift action and at 12th level he may do so as a free action once per round. He gains extra uses of blade of zeal every three avenger levels thereafter, however he may recharge his uses by spending a full-round action in meditation with his holy symbol in hand to remind himself of his dedication to eradicating the enemies of his god, this may be done only once all the uses of blade of zeal have run out and cannot be done in combat.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Starting at 4th level, an avenger can react to danger before his senses would normally allow his to do so. He retains his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if he is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, he still loses his Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If an avenger already has uncanny dodge from a different class he automatically gains improved uncanny dodge (see below) instead.

Swift Tracker (Ex): Beginning at 5th level, an avenger can move at his normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal –5 penalty. He takes only a –10 penalty (instead of the normal –20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking. An avenger loses this benefit when wearing medium of heavy armor or when carrying a medium of heavy load.

Wrath before Charity: Your hatred for your deities enemies allows you to afflict a target with pain in exchange for healing you would have done through your powers. Whenever you cause healing to you or your allies through use of a Devoted Spirit manuever you may instead forgo all healing to inflict damage on the target of your oath of enmity equal to the amount of healing that would have been done. You make this choice as a free action before you heal any damage to targets.

Evasion (Ex): At 7th level and higher, an avenger can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If he makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, he instead takes no damage. Evasion can be used only if the avenger is wearing light armor or no armor. A helpless avenger does not gain the benefit of evasion. An avenger loses this benefit when wearing medium of heavy armor or when carrying a medium of heavy load.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): An avenger of 8th level or higher can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the character by flanking him, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has avenger levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge (see above) from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum rogue level required to flank the character.

Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): While in any sort of natural terrain, an avenger of 10th level or higher can use the Hide skill even while being observed. An avenger loses this benefit when wearing medium of heavy armor or when carrying a medium of heavy load.

Improved Evasion (Ex): An avenger of 11th level or higher gains use of Improved Evasion. This ability works like evasion, except that while the avenger still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks henceforth he henceforth takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless avenger does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

Oath of Annihilation: Due to your steadfast determination to end the lives of your god's enemies you have been given the ability to ignore the defenses of your sanctioned prey. At 14th level you ignore all damage reduction that the target of your oath of enmity possesses, in addition you always deal lethal damage to those with the regeneration ability that are targeted by your oath.

Blade of Judgement: As a 20th level avenger can strike twice as fast as other martial adepts due to their zealous devotion to the art of killing, allowing them to unleash two different martial strikes. Once per two rounds you gain an extra standard action that can only be used to initiate a martial strike, in addition you gain extra uses of your blade of zeal ability equal to your wisdom modifier.

Human Avenger Starting Package
Weapons: Jovar.

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 6 + Int modifier.

Feat: Weapon Focus (Jovar).

Bonus Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Jovar).

Gear: Studded Leather Armor.

Gold: 85gp.

Playing an Avenger
Religion: Religion plays a large part in an avenger's life, and virtually any god could have a dedicated group of silent and hidden warriors who fight in his name. Gods of retribution and those of the shadows tend to have more than most gods however.

Other Classes: Avengers generally like those in service to their god, such as a cleric or paladin.. Paladins and clerics of other gods are to be respected as long as their god does not conflict with your own, rogues are respected because of their killing ability but are not as respected as those with purpose and devotion. Sorcerers and wizards are grudgingly accepted and respected by avengers, whereas druids and monks are given similar reverence as to that of any cleric due to their devotion. The other classes are treated on a case-by-case basis, and avengers generally don't care much about any class, only showing proper respect where it's needed.

Combat: A avenger is a melee combatant, and as such their place is the front of the party, however they are not the most defended of warriors, and do not have the vitality to hold a concentrated attack on themselves for long. As such they tend to pick off opponents who are isolated and finishing them off quickly with their oath of enmity, blade of zeal and powerful manuevers.

Advancement: Classes which advance your ability to kill silently such as the assassin are generally a good choice, although leveling fully as an avenger isn't the worst choice you could make.

Avengers in the World
"The enemies of my god, are the enemies of mine soul and mine body, and my enemies have naught but my holy and final judgement awaiting them."

Daily Life: Avengers are fully dedicated to their deity and any mission he undertakes, this makes him suspicious of all and awkward in social situations, as such many do not aspire to more than killing the enemies of his deity and living long enough to provide what they see as sufficient service to their god. Some instead venture out to find these enemies, rather than wait for instructions.

Notables: Draevyn Baernnon, Drow Avenger of Kelemvor, slayed the leader of a powerful cult of necromancers dedicated to Velsharoon, and managed to escape unscathed afterward.

Organizations: Avengers are the hidden blade of their respective god and church and as such, clerics and paladins treat them as a member of their church, however relations with paladins are sometimes a bit strained as they usually disapprove of some of the avenger's methods.

NPC Reactions: What, the priest over there? He's a bit strange, mutters too much about his god's mission, he carries a darn big sword, I thought he was one of those paladins at first but those priest robes ain't something you usually see paladins in.

Avenger Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (religion) can research avenger to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Avengers in the Game
Adaptation: Avengers could entirely replace clerics of gods of shadows and death.

Sample Encounter: The avenger sect of St.Cuthbert have sent out a lone warrior to deliver punishment to a group of escaped prisoners, depending on whether the PCs help the avenger, or if the prisoners were wrongly imprisoned and the PCs are helping them, then the avenger may attack the party.

EL 10: