WARRIOR-PALADIN KIT

Chevalier

Description:  The Chevalier is the ultimate mounted holy warrior, a shining 
knight who leads his or her fellows on an eternal quest for truth, justice, and 
the elimination of evil.  To the world at large, he or she is a mighty hero.  To 
friends and allies, a Chevalier is a staunch friend, a tireless cheerleader, and 
often an overenthusiastic pain in the neck.  In many ways a Chevalier Paladin is 
similar to the Cavalier class, in that both are noble warriors who prefer to 
fight while mounted in heavy armor, but many Cavaliers are primarily interested 
in defending the rights of the nobility to rule and maintaining the status quo, 
while a Chevalier pursues loftier goals.  In their own and similar cultures, a 
Chevalier is a mighty hero who has the respect of the majority of the population 
(criminals and evil characters are obvious exceptions to this) and holds the 
goodwill of the people, in part due to his or her willingness to go forth and 
champion the causes of those in need.  When there is danger or when someone is 
in trouble, the people often turn to a Chevalier for help, and he or she will 
have little time for rest and relaxation.

Requirements:  Chevaliers must be lawful good and must be aasimar, humans, or 
(rarely) half-elves (of moon, gold, or dark elven stock).  Chevaliers must have 
scores of at least 17 in Charisma, 15 in Strength and Constitution, and 10 in 
Dexterity and Wisdom.

Weapons & Armor:  Chevaliers can wear any type of armor, though they prefer it 
to be of the heaviest type available.  At 1st level, a Chevalier must become 
proficient in one type of sword and a one-handed flail or mace of any type, plus 
proficiency and Skilled Specialization (see Enhanced Specialization) in one type 
of lance at 1st level.  At later levels, Chevaliers can become proficient in the 
following weapon types:  flail (any), javelin, knife/dagger (any), lance (any), 
mace (any), spear, sword (any).

Special Benefits:  Chevaliers are often drawn from great noble houses across the 
land or are individuals from lower classes who have been sponsored into their 
special training by a noble house in recognition of their exceptional talents 
and potential.  Chevaliers have a number of special abilities similar to those 
of a Cavalier, in addition to the usual Paladin powers.

Aura of Holiness:  As a standard Paladin.  In addition, a Chevalier's Aura of 
Holiness confers courage upon all those within it, rendering the Chevalier and 
all allied creatures completely immune to fear.

Call Mount:  As a standard Paladin, save that a Chevalier can Call Mount at 1st 
level and in fact is assumed to begin play with a free warhorse (player's choice 
as to type) that he or she has gained with this ability in the course of 
training.  If a Chevalier's mount is slain, a new one can be called the next 
time the Chevalier advances a level, regardless of how much time has passed 
since the previous mount was slain.

Charismatic Appeal:  As a standard Paladin.  In addition, a Chevalier 
automatically achieves a 'Friendly' reaction in non-hostile encounters with any 
upper-class characters regardless of alignment.  When he or she travels, a 
Chevalier can always demand shelter from anyone of his or her own culture who is 
of middle or lower class, and most people of their own status will be inclined 
to be very friendly to him or her and will be happy to offer shelter and 
hospitality.

Chosen Foe:  As a standard Paladin.

Enhanced Specialization:  Unlike other Paladins, a Chevalier can begin play with 
Skilled Specialization in a single weapon (which must be one type of lance), and 
he or she also has the ability to become specialized in up to three weapons--a 
lance (at 1st level), a sword (at 3rd level or later), and a one-handed mace or 
flail (at 6th level or later).  Specialization in these weapons costs only one 
slot per level of specialization.  A Chevalier cannot specialize in any other 
type of weapon.

Essence of Virtue:  As a standard Paladin.

Horsemanship:  Chevaliers are expert horsemen and are trained in mounted combat.  
A Chevalier's mount can be coaxed to greater than normal speed without loss of 
endurance, gaining a +1 bonus to its movement rate for every three levels of the 
Chevalier (rounding up, maximum of +6), assuming that the animal is not 
encumbered.  In addition, a Chevalier of 6th level or higher gains a +1 Armor 
Class bonus when mounted, which applies to both the Chevalier and his or her 
mount.  This bonus increases to +2 at 12th level.  A Chevalier who is mounted 
fights as if one level higher than his or her actual level in all respects, 
including gaining multiple attacks.

Chevaliers are also expert judges of horses and will never be satisfied with 
anything less than the finest quality horse to serve as his or her mount.  Any 
horse that he or she personally selects will have a +2 bonus hit points per hit 
die (maximum of 8 points per die).

Sense Evil:  As a standard Paladin.

Strength of Mind:  A Chevalier is 90% immune to any form of mind-affecting 
magical or psionic power.  A Chevalier is still susceptible to persuasion, 
seduction, swindling, fast-talking, and similar mundane types of trickery, but 
any form of supernatural power that affects the mind is 90% unlikely to have any 
effect on him or her.  Note that Strength of Mind does not prevent mental 
contact or communication, nor does it guard against mind-reading or divination.

Special Hindrances:  Chevaliers face all of the standard restrictions of 
Paladins.  In addition, they spend a great deal of time practicing the arts of 
chivalry and comparatively little time studying the religious arts.  Thus, 
Chevaliers have no Priestly Powers and no ability to perform Faith Healing.

Chevaliers set great stock in performing valorous deeds on the field of battle, 
and they will never attack an opponent at range if it is possible to charge 
ahead and attack in melee or with a mounted charge.  A Chevalier feels the need 
to meet enemies face to face on the front line, and in any combat a Chevalier 
must attack the biggest and most powerful-looking enemy he or she can reach.  If 
lesser opponents interpose themselves, the Chevalier must dispatch them as 
quickly as possible in order to get on to the 'real' opponent.

Chevaliers set great stock in heavy, powerful, and imposing armor, and they will 
always purchase the best type of armor available.  As a Chevalier advances 
through levels, he or she will likely follow a regular pattern of selling off or 
giving away old armor and replacing it with new and better armor, eventually 
seeking to own a suit of full plate armor.  Note that much like a Cavalier, a 
Chevalier will prefer a heavier type of non-magical armor versus magical armor 
of a lesser type; thus, normal plate mail is considered superior to chain mail 
+5.  In like fashion, a Chevalier will not use badly made or inferior quality 
equipment or ride a horse of poor quality save in the direst of emergencies.

Finally, Chevaliers are Paladins who owe a debt of service not only to their 
patron deities but also to higher nobility, including their family (or the 
family which sponsored them) and their liege lord.  They must cheerfully perform 
any noble quest or service asked of them and must defend to the death any person 
or item placed in their charge.  Chevaliers must show courage and enterprise in 
serving their rulers and must show respect for all peers and equals, honoring 
all those above his or her station or social class.  At the same time, a 
Chevalier is to expect a certain degree of deference or respect from those below 
his or her station, though a Chevalier who scorns the lowly simply for their 
coarse and crude manner will likely soon run into trouble with his or her deity.  
A Chevalier can be asked to perform military service for his or her liege lord 
whenever asked, and failure to comply is a very serious matter.  A Chevalier 
will rarely duck an opportunity to take the field of honor, however, as they are 
taught to regard war as the true flowering of chivalry and a generally noble 
enterprise, the true test of manhood (or womanhood) and the chance to achieve 
glory for him- or herself through service to family, king, country, and deity.  
Any war sanctioned by the Chevalier's church represents an opportunity to slay 
those who oppose their righteous and holy cause, and a Chevalier will happily 
choose death in battle over the dishonor that would come from shamefully 
refusing to fight and die in the name of law and goodness.

If a Chevalier chooses not to follow the strictures bound upon him or her by 
family and noblesse oblige, bad things will begin to happen even if he or she 
remains true to a Paladin's code of law and goodness.  The first time a 
Chevalier violates the tenets of chivalry, he or she will feel deep remorse over 
his or her failure (a harbinger of things to come) but will suffer no ill 
effects.  The second time a Chevalier breaks faith with his or her code, he or 
she loses all Chevalier abilities (but retains normal Paladin abilities, save 
that those abilities not gained as a Chevalier--e.g., Faith Healing, Priestly 
Powers--will never be gained) until such time as he or she repents and 
undertakes a dangerous task to redeem him- or herself in the eyes of the family, 
the nobility, and the church.  When performing this task, the Chevalier must 
remain true to the code of chivalry, and only when the task has been 
accomplished will his or her powers return.  If a Chevalier breaks his or her 
code a third time without having repented and undertaken a task to expiate his 
or her guilt, he or she will lose the abilities of a Chevalier forever.  Though 
he or she is no longer bound by this knightly code, he or she will forever 
suffer a -3 reaction penalty when interacting with all members of his or her own 
culture and can no longer win their hearts with his or her Charismatic Appeal.  
Even those of the Chevalier's culture who do not know the details of his or her 
situation will be put off by the air of treachery and faithlessness that now 
haunts the Chevalier.  Even the Chevalier's mount will abandon him or her (even 
if it is simply a normal horse purchased by the Chevalier, rather than summoned 
with the Call Mount ability) if this happens, and the Chevalier can never ride 
that animal again.

Bonus Proficiency:  Riding (Land-based)
Required Proficiencies:  Etiquette, Heraldry
Preferred Proficiencies:  Ancient History, Animal Handling, Animal Training 
(falcons or horses only), Armorer, Blacksmithing, Bureaucracy, Command, Dancing, 
Endurance, Law, Local History, Musical Instrument, Numeracy, Poetry, Public 
Speaking, Reading/Writing, Religion, Riding Specialization, Singing, Strategy, 
Tactics, Weaponsmithing