User:ThunderGod Cid/Templar Vows

Blank Vow

“

Related vow quote goes here...

”

• First:
• Second:
• Third:

Related Avenger Styles: <removed if there are none>

Roleplaying Ideas:

Divine Vows

“

So many vows, they make you swear and swear. Defend the King, obey the King. Obey your father. Protect the innocent. Defend the weak. What if your father despises the King? What if the King massacres the innocent? It's too much. No matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or another.

”

A templar formulates his personal code of conduct around a set of oaths that he makes and bind himself to in the everlasting covenant between himself and whatever power to which he swears allegiance. Of course, since no one is perfect, breaking these vows does not result in the loss of class features. These vows give him tremendous power, and also serve to differentiate one templar from another, while not necessarily limiting him to one form of play. Initially, a templar may only select new vows to make and new ideals to uphold. As he gains levels, the templar is able to renew vows, essentially swearing upon the same vow again. This reaffirmation of his faith and dedication to that vow results in further powers related to that particular oath.

Unless otherwise noted, the default saving throw for any effects related to the paladin's earthly vows is 10 + ½ the templar's class level + his Charisma modifier.

Related Avenger Styles: Some vows work particularly well with a particular avenger style. While the templar is actively using a style to a vow, the action cost for the vow is decreased. A vow that requires a swift action to activate would instead require only a free action to activate, but must be used during the templar's turn. A vow that requires an immediate action would instead require only a free action to activate, but could be used outside of the templar's turn. A vow that normally requires a move action to activate would instead require only a swift action to activate. Despite the action cost reductions, these actions are still limited to once per round.

Vow of Charity

“

A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.

”

• First: You may aid another as a swift action.
• Second: When you are targeted by a spell with an effect beneficial to you, you may spend an immediate action to allow another creature within Close Range to also gain the benefits of that spell. The spell must also be beneficial to the creature you wish to share it with (interpreted at the DM's discretion), or the sharing fails.
• Third: An ally within Close range of you may use your spell slots instead of their own when casting any spell of an equivalent spell level. The creature may also cast spells from your spell list, even if they would not normally be capable of spellcasting. They must, however, be of a sufficient level that they would be able to cast were they a templar of the same level.

Related Avenger Styles: Herald, Protector

Roleplaying Ideas: Perhaps your church decrees that its members must give aid to others, or maybe you give out of the goodness of your heart. You are the quintessential selfless knight, giving to others without necessarily thinking of your own gains. There are times when you may give up more important things than money; the truest sacrifice a templar can make is to offer their own life in the service of their cause.

Vow of Clemency

“

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

”

• First: Whenever you deal lethal damage with a weapon, you may freely opt to deal nonlethal damage instead without suffering a penalty to attack or damage rolls.
• Second: You may automatically stabilize any creature within Close range of yourself. Additionally, you may keep them from being killed outright through hit point or ability damage. If a creature within Close range would reach -10 hit points or 0 in an attribute, you may instead set them to -9 hit point or 1 in the attribute, whichever is more appropriate. Creatures who are saved from reaching 0 in an ability score are rendered unconscious for 24 hours, though you may rouse them as a standard action at any time before that. You must be aware of a creature to use this ability.
• Third: You may administer healing or other status restoration effects to creatures who have been dead for less than 1 hour as if they were still alive.

Roleplaying Ideas: A good templar may see legitimacy in the concept of defeating enemies in a non-fatal fashion, but it's just as possible that you may simply need to capture them so as to transport them to a more grisly fate.

Vow of Confrontation

“

In the name of the church, I declare your life forfeit.

”

• First: When you deal damage to a creature with an alignment component opposed to your own, you add your templar level to the damage. A lawful good templar, for example, would add this damage to chaotic or evil creatures. Neutral creatures are considered opposed to creatures with no neutral portion of their alignment. You may suppress this bonus damage at-will.
• Second: As a swift action, you may grant their weapons the benefits of an alignment related weapon ability. Chaotic templars grant the anarchic property, lawful templars grant the axiomatic property, good templars grant then holy property, and evil templars grant the unholy weapon property. If you would qualify for multiple properties, you gain them both. If you qualify for only 1 property, you may gain that one or select one from your neutral alignment axis. If you do not qualify for any property, you may select one.
• Third: Any foe who suffers additional damage from your alignment related weapon properties must also succeed on a Fortitude save or die. You may suppress this effect at will, and may not combine this with any other strike that would inflict a status condition. A creature that makes their save suffers normal damage from the strike and is immune to this effect until the start of your next turn. If the creature would only suffer additional damage from one weapon property, they gain a +4 bonus to this save. If you are a Neutral templar, the target gains an additional +2 on their save. This is a [Death] effect.

Related Avenger Styles: Charger, Protector

Roleplaying Ideas: You don't back down in the face of your enemy, don't stomach the foes of your faith, and do what you can to quickly remove them from the world. It doesn't really matter what the rest of the world thinks about the plan.

Vow of Diligence

“

My path to success is simple. I worked hard and I didn't stop until I was finished.

”

• First: You no longer need to sleep 8 hours in a night, instead being sufficiently rested after a single hour. If you would normally trance instead, you may either sleep for this 1 hour or trance for 4, as they desire. This does not affect the schedule on which you regain spells, and any other classes you possess must still meet any other rest requirement, but it does allow them to craft things twice as quickly (if they have sufficient spells available in the case of magical items) or perform other downtime tasks in half as much time. Further, you gain immunity to any natural or magical effect that would cause you to lose consciousness, aside from the dying condition. You can sleep when he wants to, or when you're dead.
• Second: You do not suffer the fatigued or exhausted conditions directly. An effect that would normally cause you to be fatigued is reduced to having no effect, while an effect that would normally cause you to become exhausted is instead reduced to fatigued. Should you be exhausted again while suffering fatigue from a previous exhaustion, that still stacks to exhausted as normal.
• Third: Once per round, you can elect to not be affected by an attack, ability, or other effect that would cause you to die or be transformed into an inanimate form. You may do so even if you have already failed a save against the ability or been successfully hit by the attack. You ignore all parts of it when you ignore it in this fashion.

Roleplaying Ideas: A good templar may work tirelessly for the advancement of a city or group, while an evil one might work tirelessly for their own.

Vow of Greed

“

I did it for the hoard of dragon gold. Your village needing help was just a coincidence.

”

• First: Your desire for riches gives you a keen ability to sense them. For up to 1 minute every hour (which need not be consecutive rounds), you may detect metals and minerals as a Rod of Metal and Mineral Detection.
• Second: Each successful melee attack you make heals you X hit points, where X is equal to 2 + 1 additional hit point for every two templar levels you possess. This healing cannot restore you beyond your normal hit point total.
• Third: If a spell is cast within Close Range of you and you are not an intended target of it, you may use an immediate action to also gain the effects of that spell. A spell leeched in this fashion has the same duration (if applicable) for you as it does for the other recipient, but if it ends prematurely for the recipient it does not end for you. This ability is only useable at the moment the spell is cast, but does not grant you any particular knowledge of what spell is being cast. You can even use this ability to teleport along with a caster; if you do so you appear in the space next to them instead of in the same space.

Related Avenger Styles: Charger, Hoplite

Roleplaying Ideas: While many religions place Greed among their sins, being selfish and simply taking your due is seen as a virtue in many eyes. The church also loves money and various assorted shiny things, and has its knights seek to recover either wherever possible (by scrupulous methods as often as not). Or perhaps covetousness and greed is more specific to you, and the church merely puts up with it because they like having badasses who do good things for them.

Vow of Loyalty

“

If by my life or death I can protect you, I will.

”

• First: By spending an immediate action, you may intercept an attack, spell, or supernatural effect that targets a creature adjacent to you. When you do this, you become treated as the intended recipient of the attack or effect.
• Second: As a swift action, you may teleport to a space adjacent to any ally within Close Range (25 feet + 5 ft./2 levels) of you.
• Third: You may designate one creature adjacent to you as protected as a free action on your turn. So long as you remain adjacent to them and don't designate a different creature, you grant them full cover and make them un-targetable by most spells and attacks. You may still intercept attacks for other adjacent allies as normal, however, and if you use your ability to teleport to a nearby ally you bring the protected creature with you as well.

Related Avenger Styles: Herald, Protector

Roleplaying Ideas: Whether it's guarding a cleric of the church or some other less individually capable VIP, you protect them with your body and your life.

Vow of Piety

“

I can hear the lord's voice in my ear; such communion is the mark of the truly faithful.

”

• First: You gain one of the domains of your patron deity. You may use the domain power as if you were a cleric of the same level, and the domain spells are added to your spells known.
• Second: You gain a second domain of your patron deity and the associated granted power.
• Third: You gain a third domain of your patron deity and the associated granted power.

Roleplaying Ideas: You have a talent for spellcasting that has never measured up to the clerics in the faith, but one that you can pursue should you choose.

Vow of Perfidy

“

You didn't take my advice. Didn't I tell you not to trust anyone?

”

• First: You gain Bluff as a class skill, and SR equal to 10 + your class level against any effect that would interfere with your ability to lie. This applies even against spells that do not normally allow SR, such as discern lies.
• Second: You are shielded by a constant nondetection effect with a caster level equal to your class level. If you successfully block a detect spell, you may provide instead provide a false reading for the caster of the divination if you wish.
• Third: You are able to mimic other templars, down to gaining the benefits of vows that they receive. You gain the once vowed and twice vowed ability of another vow of your choice; by meditating without interruption for 8 hours, you may change which vow you possess the abilities of.

Roleplaying Ideas: Deceitful churches employ deceitful templars, able to disguise themselves and assume the mantles of other churches and knightly orders. In order to protect the secrets of your faith, you have sworn to become such a templar.

Vow of Perseverance

“

Yes, our comrades have fallen. But we still stand, and we shall remember them.

”

• First: You become immune to the shaken and frightened conditions, and only suffer the penalties of the shaken condition if you happen to become panicked. Against [Fear] effects that do not result in one of the above conditions, you gain a +4 bonus on your saves.
• Second: You can prevent yourself from losing consciousness or dying as a result of hit point loss for 1 round, no matter how low your hit point total falls. You may gain this protection as a swift or immediate action.
• Third: As a swift action, you may revive a dead ally in order to allow them to keep fighting. This ability lasts until the ally takes damage again or until the beginning of your next turn, at which point you must use another swift action to keep them up.

Related Avenger Styles: Charger, Protector

Roleplaying Ideas: Open to cliches galore. You are the sole survivor of a group of knights slaughtered by some great opponent. Your experience in the horrors of war has seen you lose many comrades, but hardened your body and soul in the face of imminent danger.

Vow of Purity

“

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

”

• First: You gain immunity to all poisons and diseases (even those of magical nature).
• Second: You gain immunity to [Mind-Affecting] effects cast by those whose alignments are opposite yours. Neutral characters gain this benefit against creatures with no neutral part of their alignment.
• Third: As a move action useable at will, you may purge your system of any negative effects affecting you (aside from dead). If you are unable to take a move action but are still conscious, you may shrug off the negative effect as a 1-round interruptable action.

Related Avenger Styles: Herald, Hoplite

Roleplaying Ideas: You keep a clean body, and a clean soul. And maybe you force everyone to try to live that way as well...

Vow of Taint

“

Watch yourself. You might catch something.

”

• First: If an ally within Close range is afflicted by a harmful condition listed below (death and dying do not count) that could also affect you, you may take a move action to take that condition from them and instead apply it to yourself: ability penalties (such as from ray of enfeeblement, touch of idiocy, etc.), ability burn, ability damage, ability drain, blindness, confusion, dazing, dazzling, deafness, entanglement, exhaustion, fatigue, fascination, fright, level drain, shaken, panicked, cowering, nausea, paralysis, sickness, stunning, uncenteredness and any other condition that this list does not include but the DM deems permissible.
• Second: You may suppress the effects of one of the above negative status effects currently imposed on yourself. While suppressing it in this fashion, you suffer no penalties for it. You may suppress an effect or select a new effect to suppress as a swift action.
  Additionally, you may spread your suppressed condition to an enemy struck with a melee attack, forcing them to make saving throws as needed to avoid contracting the same ailment. If they make their save, they are immune to this effect until the start of your next turn. You may not apply this effect when your attack would deliver another status effect. If the ailment stacks, such as negative levels, you may apply it to a target additional times in later rounds.
• Third: Taint oozes off of you, even when you're otherwise clean. On a successful attack, you may force the target to make a save or become Nauseated for 1 round. If they make their save, you may not attempt to nauseate them again until the start of your next turn. You may not apply this effect when your attack would deliver another status effect, either with the above ability or another spell, feat, or similar feature.

Related Avenger Styles: Herald, Hoplite

Roleplaying Ideas: Evil power can only be contained by the body and will of good's greatest servants, or harnessed by the most ambitious and ruthless of tyrants.

Vow of Valor

“

Cowards die thousands of times before their deaths, whilst the brave man dies but once.

”

• First: You respond quickly to the threat of a charge. If a charge attack is ever declared against you, you may also declare a charge against that opponent who targeted you as an immediate action. You gain all normal charge benefits on this action. You and the opponent charging meet at the midpoint of your charges, regardless of your respective speeds.
• Second: As an immediate action you may become rooted to your position, standing your ground against a foe. You gain a bonus equal to twice your templar level on any check or save if failing it would cause you to change their position or lose your footing. These benefits even apply in midair if you elect to use them. If so you are subject to falling damage based on the distance already fallen, but you do not fall or drift from your position and can not gain elevation. Should you allow yourself to fall later, you suffer falling damage from your new position.
• Third: Your fearlessness is terrifying in its own right. On a successful attack, you may force the target to make a save or become Frightened for 1 round. If they make their save, they are immune to this effect until the start of your next turn. You may not apply this effect when your attack would deliver another status effect.

Related Avenger Styles: Charger, Herald

Roleplaying Ideas: You are one of those hardcore zealots who throw themselves at the enemy, striking fear deep into their hearts. It's hard for enemies to fight someone who doesn't fear death.

Other Vows

Templars are not restricted to taking only the above divine vow, though those are the only ones they draw strength from. There is no reason why templars of different faiths and temperaments wouldn't make additional vows to uphold, in order to show to peoples of the world how things should be. These additional vows carry no mechanical benefits, and are mostly just fluff.

Vow of Progress

“

We are the agents of the modern era. Progress demands sacrifice.

”

Roleplaying Ideas: You are the harbinger for technological and social advancement in the world. Guns, alchemical items, and the like are your weapons of choice, used to combat any primitives who oppose conversion. It doesn't have to sound so sinister or imperialistic, but you get the point.

Vow of Revelry

“

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the women!

”

Roleplaying Ideas:

Vow of Truth

“

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

”

• First: You may radiate a Zone of Truth for 1 round by concentrating as a standard action. This is a supernatural ability useable at will.
• Second: sort of Improved Uncanny Dodge
• Third: You are constantly under the effects of a true seeing spell. This is a supernatural ability.

Roleplaying Ideas: Dishonesty really sticks in your craw, and you like to rattle the saber against those who would use treachery and subterfuge. For without truth, how can anything ever be accomplished in the world?