All material here is based on the actual inspiration for the class, and thus uses the descriptions of
actual class abilities, or their approximates.
(Azerothian) Death Knight
Let's get one thing straight, Death Knights are not
pleasant people. In fact, most of them are probably assholes and you'd never want to sit and have a drink with them, let alone want to be friends with them. They are the girl who spilled beer on the nachos at every party and the guy that whispers "copscopscopscopscopscops" for their own amusement at every illegal venue. They may be your asshole when they work with you, but that doesn't mean that they stopped being an asshole all of a sudden.
"
The life I had before was meaningless. The life you have left is gone."
These are more highlight quotes of Death Knights.
"Suffer well."
"Patience is a virtue. One I no longer posses."
"You lost me, at 'hello'."
"Ugh... yes?"
Most importantly.
"Wuhaaattt?!"
Death Knights are those who have felt the cold chill of death, and their souls were twisted, marred and cracked in their ressurection. The rest are unconciable monsters that enjoy causing the deaths of everyone that they can possibly kill. Death Knights wish others to feel their suffering, and they suffer well.
Playing a Death Knight: Say it with me now. You. Like. To. Scare. People.
Scared people are easier to kill, and that's the easiest thing to say about it. DKs eventually get a really awesome mount, (a skelepony that
flies?! Can you say zoom-zoom? Yeah, you probably can) and are encouraged to go around hitting people while on their mount and scaring them.
Each of the Presences are good for different things. Blood is good for in-between fights, so you'll want to
end every fight with Blood Presence to gain the fast healing. Undeath and Chilling Presense are good for tanking or whatever, but each is good for different types of tanking. Undeath is good versus
smart mages that would cast Save or Dies or against Rogues, since you now remove their damage. Chilling Presence is good versus most melee fights for the DR, and the Spell Resistance is good to reduce the effectiveness of an enemy blaster mage.
Prerequisites
Special: Must have died and been resurrected
or killed a defenseless creature for no reason other than you wanted to kill them.
Skills: Intimidate 8 ranks
Proficiencies: Must be proficient in heavy armour, must be proficient with at least one lethal weapon.
HD: 1d12
Skills: Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana, Religion, The Planes) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis) and Survival (Wis)
Skills per level: 4 + Int.
BAB: Good
Saves: Good fortitude, Poor reflex, Good will.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus | Fortitude Save | Reflex Save | Will Save | Special:
|
| 01 | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Deadly Focus, Bloody Strike, Chillling Breath, Unholy Bolts, Forceful Deflection, Runed Weapons
|
| 02 | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Minion, Deathcharger, Improved Intimidate
|
| 03 | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Blood Presence, Freezing Presence, Unholy Presence
|
| 04 | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Death and Decay, Runescriber
|
| 05 | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Army of the Dead, Anti-Magic Shell, Improved Intimidate
|
[b]Deadly Focus (Ex):[/b][i] Death Knights are dead. Well, not really. In any case, they don't give a shit about things that would normally bother other people. Like having your arm blown off, or having to charge a [url=http://thottbot.com/c26170]lich's ziggaraut[/url] with only [url=http://thottbot.com/q12088]11 normal human soldiers[/url]. A Death Knight can keep their mind focused where others would soon falter.[/i]
As a swift action, the Death Knight may gain Deadly Focus. This Deadly Focus allows the Death Knight to re-roll one dice after the roll has been made, but before the result is known. The re-roll must be accepted as the new result. Deadly Focus lasts a number of rounds equal to the Death Knight's character level.
[b]Bloody Strike (Su):[/b] [i]Blood Knights love blood. Especially the sight other other people's blood. Their training in bloodletting teaches them how to find vital parts on an enemy to help satiate their desire to see blood spilled.[/i]
As an immediate action a Death Knight may expend their Deadly Focus to deal Bloody Strikes. This ability enchants the Death Knight's wielded weapon with the [i]Wounding[/i] weapon property, and deals an additional 1 strength damage per Death Knight class level.
This effect lasts for one round per Class level.
[b]Cold Breath(Su):[/b] [i]Death Knights have frozen souls. When their mouths open, cold mist falls from their lips. When they roar in battle, they freeze their foes.[/i]
As an immediate action a Death Knight may expend their Deadly Focus to breath freezing cold air at their enemies. As an Attack Action, the Death Knight can deal 1d6 of Cold damage per Character Levels to a creature within Close Range, the target is also [i]Slowed[/i], as per the [i]Slow[/i] spell. This ability allows no saving throw.
These effects lasts for one round per Class level.
[b]Unholy Bolts(Su):[/b] [i]Death Knights are fueled by raw entropy as much as they are powered by anything else. While not undead, they can channel the Negative Energy Plane in a terrible manner.[/i]
As an attack action a Death Knight may expend their Deadly Focus to deal Unholy Bolts.
These effects lasts for one round per Class level.
[b]Forceful Deflection (Ex)[/b]: [i]Death Knights are filled with unholy potence and strength. They hardly need a shield , as they can simply swat aside enemy attacks with their own weapons.[/i]
A Death Knight may use their strength modifier, and weapon enchancement bonus, as an enchancement bonus to their shield armour class. This ability is lost if the Death Knight equips a shield.
[b]Runed Weapons (Sp):[/b] [i]Death Knights know about runic magic, and how to inscribe these runes onto their possesions. Really, only their weapons.[/i]
A Death Knight's wielded weapons can be made into a special magical weapon, called a Runed Weapons, with a full round action. This Runed Weapon counts as if [i]Greater Magic Weapon[/i] had been cast on the weapon with a caster level equal to [i]twice[/i] the Death Knight's character level with no maximum on Caster level or total enhancement modifier.
The total Enhancement bonus cannot exceed +5; and the Death Knight may instead have special properties (Such as Icey, or Thundering) instead of having their total enhancement bonus. A total of +10 in Enhancement, and special properties is the maximum that any weapon can have.
A Death Knight may only create as many Runed Weapons as they can wield at any one time and the effect does not end until the Greater Magic Weapon spell duration on the weapon wears off.
If the Death Knight no longer has their Rune Blade in their possesion the effect is lost on an affected item a number of rounds equal to the Death Knight's character levels, unless the Death Knight creates a new Rune Blade, in which case the previous one loses its enhancement.
[b]Minion(Ex):[/b] [i]Not only do Death Knights enjoy killing helpless creatures, but they also enjoy raising up the freshly dead and having them fight their former comrades. It's like a two-for-one combo deal of enemy-scarer, plus fighting-ally.[/i]
A Death Knight is accompanied by an unintelligent undead creature whose CR is 2 less than the Death Knights. If this minion is a skeleton or zombie, the regular restrictions on maximum number of hit dice are removed.
The Death Knight may choose to attack their minion, doing so is an attack action and can be performed as an attack of opportunity if the minion performs an action to provoke one. The Death Knight heals a number of hit points equal to their minion's maximum hit points upon doing so. The minion is reduced to 0 hit points and is killed.
This minion may be replaced so long as the corpse of a once alive creature is present, or if the Death Knight has a spell component pouch. Doing so is a 1 minute ritual.
If a Minion is in melee combat with creatures that knew it when the Minion was alive, the Minion makes an intimidate check using the Death Knight's Intimidate check modifier every time that they make a move or attack action towards a former ally.
[b]Deathcharger[/b]: [i]A Death Knight has gutted and deboned a living horse or pony. They did this not to stave of starvation, or to keep warm in an icey wasteland. They did this because they like to watch creatures suffer and die. Now this horse or pony's tortured soul is eternally damned, and it must serve the Death Knight forever as its Deathcharger.[/i]
A Death Knight may cast [url=http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/phantomSteed.htm]Phantom Steed[/url] at will with a caster level equal to their character level, but only one steed may ever be summoned at a time, and only the Death Knight may use the summoned steed.
[b]Improved Intimidation (Ex):[/b] [i]The right word, gesture, posture or facial expression can bring terror, so long as it is used[/i]
As long as the Death Knight is visible, and can also be heard by the targets of their Intimidate skill checks, they gain their class levels +2 to said Intimidate checks. If the Death Knight's face is also visibile, this changes to class levels +5.
[b]Bloody Presence (Ex):[/b] [i]The blood-splattered Death Knight roars the sound that we all know. The roar of our own heartbeats in our ears. The roar the dying hear in their last moments. The sound that the Death Knight's enemies hear. Now.[/i]
A Death Knight whose last Strike was a Bloody Strike is driven to new heights of bloodlust and rage, their all-consuming blood fury is inimical to the life of others.
The Death Knight gains fast healing equal to their character level. The Death Knight also recieves 1/2 of all melee damage that it deals as temporary hitpoints; they may not have more than twice their base hit points in temporary hitpoints, and these temporary hitpoints last 1 hour.
Any enemies within reach of the Death Knight also take 1d6 Fire damage per two character levels of the Death Knight, as their blood begins to boil. The Death Knight also gains resistance to Fire damage equal to their character level.
These benefits are lost if either Chilling Strike or Unholy Strike are used. The Death Knight can make a single Intimidate check against all creatures that took fire damage this round, as a non-action.
[b]Freezing Presence (Ex):[/b] [i]Hoary frost creeps across the eyebrows and facial features of the Death Knight, their hair goes white with frost; their armour becomes covered by a sheening layer of ice[/b]
A Death Knight whose last Strike was a Chilling Strike has the ice in their soul affect their flesh and armour, covering them entirely in a protective icy rime.
The Death Knight also gains one additional attack at their highest attack bonus. As well as gaining DR X+10/- where X equals their character level. They also gain Spell Resistance equal to 17 + Character level. The Death Knight also gains Resistance to Elemental damage equal to their character level +5.
These benefits are lost if either Bloody Strike or Unholy Strike are used.
The Death Knight may make Intimiation checks against all creatures whose spells are resisted by the Death Knight's spell resistance or whose damage is reduced by half or more by the Death Knight's damage reduction; these intimidation checks do not take an action.
[b]Unholy Presence (Ex):[/b] [i]The Death Knight's skin goes pale as their blood seems to stop flowing. Their eyes become clouded over and milk-white. Their voice becomes jagged and hoarse. They have become living death.[/i]
A Death Knight whose last Strike was a Unholy Strike becomes an avatar of death incarnate and is full with an Unholy Presence.
The Death Knight gains immunity to: All Mind-Affecting effects, Poison, Sleep Effects, Paralysis, Stunning, Disease, Death effects; critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain.
As well as gaining immunity to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion. They are immune to any effect requireing a Fortitude save, unless it affects objects as well, and are immune to death by massive damage.
The Death Knight also gains an increase to their speed of 5 feet per two character levels. The Death Knight also gains resistance to Divine damage equal to their character level.
The Death Knight may make Intimiation checks against all creatures within 30 feet once per round after being targeted by an effect that they are currently immune to, this intimidate check is a a non-action.
These benefits are lost if either Blood Strike or Chilling Strike are used.
[b]Death and Decay[/b]: [i]A Death Knight hates all living things, and seeks to destroy them whenever they blight the Death Knight's sight with their presence. [/i]
A Death Knight may cast a modified version of [url=http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/unholyBlight.htm]Unholy Blight[/url], with a caster level equal to their character levels. The modififications to the spell make it so that it treats living creatures as if they were good outsiders (1d6 damage per caster level) and treats other creatures as if they neutral, and does not affect Undead or the Death Knight that cast the spell.
[b]Runescriber[/b]: [i]As they grow in power, so does their runecrafting. A Death Knight's Runic practices do not stop growing in power, instead it even begins to spread it's Runic power to other things.[/i]
A Death Knight may count their total character level + 3, and may count as being able to craft any magic item, whose caster level they qualify for. They do not need to meet any other character requirements when making magical items.
[b]Army of the dead (Su)[/b]: [i]A death knight calls upon the negative energy plane to help them spread entropy upon the planes. The Death Knight's minion is destroyed, and replaced with a swarm of dark and shadowy undead creatures of the same type as the Death Knight's minion.[/i]
As a swift action, the Death Knight's minion is destroyed, and an area 5' per two caster levels is filled with shadowy copies of the now destroyed minion. This lasts 1 round per two Character levels.
All Enemies within this radius count as flanked, and it counts as difficult terrain for enemies as well.
When this ability is activated, and every round afterwards, the Death Knight may make an attack roll and damage roll, using their former minion's statistics, that is applied against all enemy creatures that are within this radius.
[b]Anti-Magic Shell (Ex):[/b] [i]Death Knights regularly have to fight and kill enemy spell casters, as such powerful runes are inscribed into their skin to suppress magic coming from an outside source. [/i]
A Death Knight can expend their Deathly focus to create an [i]Anti-Magic Field[/i] that does not affect themselves or their equipment, and only extends in a 5 foot radius from the Death Knight's location.
This ability lasts for one round per Class level.
[b]Utter Intimidation (Ex):[/b] [i]The Death Knight knows that death isn't the worst thing that can happen. Utter destruction with no hope for return in any form [/i]is[i]. The Death Knight knows exactly what to do or say to cause fear in even the normally unfearful.[/i]
The Death Knight may use the Intimidate skill on any creature, and no creature is automatically immune to the effects of the Death Knight's Intimidate checks from such things as Racial Type, Subtypes etc.. Only things such as spells, class abilities, feats, items, and other things not intrinsic to a specific Creature's native abilities allow them to be unaffected by the Death Knight's Intimidate checks.
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Since this player probably wants to just duplicate their character, feats will be needed for the Blood, Frost and Unholy talent trees. Feats with minimum character level requirements, or scaling to ranks in intimidate.
