Requirements

Base Attack Bonus: +5

Alignment: Lawful evil, lawful neutral, or neutral evil

Skills: Intimidate 6 ranks, Ride 4 ranks, Sense Motive 2 ranks

Feats: Iron Will, Weapon Focus (Any sword)

Special: Proficiency with heavy armor and heavy shields.

Summary

Vengeance knights are typically specially trained warriors who have pledged their service to a group of politicians and merchants with influence in governments. They are a special breed of enforcers used by the organization to cow their enemies into compliance. Fighters most often become vengeance knights, but blackguards and former paladins also make good fits because of their heavy armor use, horsemanship, and martial prowess.

Role: Tank DPS

Characteristics: Knight set on righting wrongs done to their employers

Source: Champions of Ruin

Game Rule Information

The Vengeance Knight has the following game statistics.

Abilities: . Strength (for melee combat), Constitution (for staying power), and Charisma (for intimidation) are key abilities for a vengeance knight.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil

Hit Die: d10

Starting Gold: N/A

Class Skills

The Vengeance Knight's class skills are Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (local) (Int), Listen (Wis) Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) × 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Vengeance Knight.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Vengeance Knight is proficient with whatever you were proficient with prior to taking levels in this class

Armor TrainingEx: As a vengeance knight, you always wear the heaviest armor available to you, and thus you learn to wear it more effectively through training. Your armor check penalty imposed by heavy armor and shields for all skills except Swim is reduced by 1, and you can don your armor as if you had help (although you still require a servant to help you don half-plate or full plate).

At 6th level, your armor check penalty for armor is reduced by 3, and you can make a DC 15 Constitution check to avoid being fatigued from sleeping in your armor. In addition, you take only half the normal movement penalty for wearing heavy armor.

At 10th level, you have truly mastered the art of wearing heavy armor. You can now sleep in your armor without penalty, and your armor check penalties for armor are reduced by 5. In addition, you can don half-plate or plate mail without assistance, although it takes twice the indicated time.

Bringer of VengeanceEx: As an agent for your employer, you are often called upon to avenge some slight or to send a message to an enemy of the organization. Whenever you have a specific target, you gain the indicated bonus on Intimidate, Search, Sense Motive, and Spot checks when using these skills against your target. In addition, you gain the indicated bonus on all attack rolls and damage rolls against the target.

CounterstrikeEx: Vengeance knights visit pain upon those who would hurt them. As a result, you gain the indicated bonus on all melee attack rolls and damage rolls against any creature that damaged you in the previous round. This bonus stacks with that from your bringer of vengeance ability.

Improved Shield Bash: At 2nd level, you gain the Improved Shield Bash feat, even if you do not meet the prerequisites.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd and 9th levels, you can choose a bonus feat from the fighter's bonus feat list.

Arcane BacklashSu: At 4th level, any time you successfully save against any arcane spell when you are the spell's only target, the original caster takes 1d6 of nonlethal damage as you lash the energies of his failed spell back at him.

At level 7 this damage increases to 2d6, and at level10 it increases again to 3d6.

Table 1-1: Vengeance Knight Progression

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Armor training, bringer of vengeance +1
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Counterstrike +1, Improved Shield Bash
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Bonus feat
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Arcane backlash 1d6
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Bringer of vengeance +2
6th	+6	+5	+2	+2	Improved armor training
7th	+7	+5	+2	+2	Arcane backlash 2d6
8th	+8	+6	+2	+2	Counterstrike +2
9th	+9	+6	+3	+3	Bonus feat, bringer of vengeance +3
10th	+10	+7	+3	+3	Arcane backlash 3d6, superior armor training