PRIEST-CRUSADER KIT Justifier Description: While many Crusaders are deeply involved in the hierarchy and tight structure of their Crusader orders, Justifiers take the opposite position. Within the more loosely organized Crusader branches of some faiths, Justifiers are a subset of Crusaders who have taken it upon themselves to travel the countryside defending those of the faithful who may be downtrodden or oppressed, particularly those who are being put upon because of their religious beliefs. Justifiers embody the virtue of religious freedom and expression and the practice of faith through deeds. With a Justifier, thought and action are one, as they follow their instincts and travel as circumstance and fortune carry them, always with an eye out toward uplifting the faithful and lending a hand where it is needed. They are outspoken in their own faith (both verbally and through their lifestyle) and always ready to take action to back up the dogma of their faith. They enjoy a spirited religious debate and readily listen to the views of others and will even fight for their right to express them, regardless of whether they agree with them, but woe betide the tyrant who suppresses the freedoms of the righteous, for they will feel the wrath of the Justifier. Justifiers share the same ability score requirements of other Crusaders, and in addition they must have scores of at least 9 in Intelligence and Dexterity. Because of their free-roving, knight-errant philosophy of life and their nearly obsessive commitment to tolerance as a value, Justifiers must be of chaotic alignment. Members of all races that become standard Crusaders can also become Justifiers. Weapons & Armor: Any type of armor or shield may be worn, but Justifiers share the same weapon proficiency restrictions as do Clerics of the faith. Special Benefits: Justifiers gain the same spheres of spell access as do typical Crusaders, and they always gain minor access to the spheres of Charm, Thought, and Travelers. In addition, they gain several other special abilities to aid in their questing: Battle Prowess: As a standard Crusader, but a Justifier also gains multiple attacks as a Warrior of equal level. Fortunes of War: Justifiers enjoy great fortune in the midst of a pitched fray, gaining a +2 bonus to all saving throws when actively involved in melee combat. In addition, they can render considerable assistance to themselves and those fighting with them in battle with a set of abilities that they gain that improve with level: Level Ability 1st aid (self only) 1/day 3rd strength (self only) 1/day 5th draw upon holy might 1/day 7th free action 1/day 9th prayer 1/day 11th fly 1/day In addition to these abilities, a Justifier can impart the Fortunes of War once per day upon one creature per level of experience (always including the Justifier). This special benefit gives a bonus of +1d4 to the first attack roll, damage roll, and saving throw made by a creature during a battle. Each bonus applies only once for each creature. Example: An ally makes an attack roll on the first round of combat and gains the bonus but misses; on the second round of combat, he or she attacks again, but the attack roll bonus has already been used so it no longer applies. If the attack hits, the damage bonus can then be added. The save bonus applies to the first save the recipient needs to make during the battle. Note that these bonuses apply to the first roll of each type made by a character during a battle and cannot be saved for a later die roll. Resistance to Control: Justifiers are very strong-willed, gaining a +1 bonus to saves vs. mind-affecting attacks. Against direct mental control (e.g., charm, domination, geas, quest), their boundless freedom of spirit instead grants a +1 bonus to saving throws for every three levels of experience (rounding up). For mind-affecting attacks (of all types) that normally allow no save, a Justifier gains a special saving throw of 20 (cf. scarab of protection), modified only by their Resistance to Control save bonus and any magical save modifiers (e.g., ring of protection). This provides no defense against psionic contact, but it does come into play with respect to Telepathic attack forms launched against a Justifier. Example: A 15th level Justifier with no magical save adjustments would need a 15 to save vs. direct mental control or 19 to save vs. other mind-affecting attacks that normally allowed no save. If he or she possessed a +2 ring of protection, these saves would be improved to 13 and 17. Special Mount: At 4th level, a Justifier can call for a mount in a manner similar to a Paladin's ability to call for a warhorse. Most commonly, this mount will be a warhorse of some type, though it is possible for a Justifier to bond an animal of another type (e.g., pegasi, griffons, hippogriffs, wild tigers, or even buffalo). The Special Mount will always have intelligence one or two categories higher than normal for its species and will possess maximum hit points. In any event, the Special Mount to be called cannot have more hit dice than the Justifier has levels. A Justifier's Special Mount always gains the same Resistance to Control and Fortunes of War benefits of the Justifier as long as the Justifier is mounted at the time; if the mount is alone, it does not gain these benefits. When a Justifier issues a call for his or her Special Mount, it does not simply appear; instead, he or she must find the animal in some memorable way, often a special quest. Once the call has been issued, the Justifier will have a sense of the approximate direction and distance to his or her mount creature and must seek it out within one month; otherwise, the bond is broken and the call cannot be attempted for a full year. Once a Special Mount has been located and bonded to the Justifier, the mount will serve faithfully for the rest of its life. If the mount is ever killed, the Justifier can call for a new mount, but must wait at least a year after his or her previous mount died. Special Hindrances: Justifiers share the usual restrictions of Crusaders, but in addition their individualistic nature and 'lone wolf' attitude precludes their interaction with others in the sort of deep and meaningful relationship required to acquire henchmen. Also, they focus on small-scale goals rather than grand acts of war and therefore do not gain the Campaign Skill of a standard Crusader. Justifiers must tithe at least 20% of their income to either their church or worthwhile causes appropriate to their alignment. This donation can take almost any form, depending on the particular interests and outlook of a Justifier, but it can never take the form of a direct gift to another player character or henchman. Finally, Justifiers are not particularly dedicated students, being somewhat stubborn and resistant to teaching methods. Thus, they gain new weapon and non- weapon proficiency slots only every four levels, and it always takes them twice the normal amount of time to complete training for them. In addition, the non- weapon proficiency slots gained at 4th level must be spent on a Riding proficiency (for the type of creature the Justifier intends to acquire as a Special Mount) and some type of weapon that is designed for use while mounted. Other weapon and non-weapon proficiencies can be spent as the Justifier sees fit. Required Proficiencies: Endurance, Luck Preferred Proficiencies: Alertness, Armorer, Artillerist, Awareness, Ancient History, Artistic Ability, Bowyer/Fletcher, Debate, Display Weapon Prowess, Etiquette, Fortification, Healing, Heraldry, Lightning Reflexes, Local History, Observation, Reading/Writing, Religion, Riding (any), Singing, Survival, Tactics, Weaponsmithing