Shining Blade (3.5e Class)

Shining Blade

A shining blade is a warrior who has learned to use the power of their spiritual energy to help them in combat. The nature of their abilities causes them to tend away from evil. While their abilities are much easier to master than true spellcasting, they are still potent when used properly.

Making a Shining Blade

A shining blade functions as a front line combatant and has some healing abilities to help others.

Abilities: Strength and Constitution are important to a shining blade as with any primary melee combatant. Charisma allows a shining blade to heal the injuries of others.

Races: Any race with a tendency for martial prowess and nonevil alignment is capable of producing shining blades.

Alignment: Any nonevil.

Starting Gold: 4d4×10 gp (100 gp).

Starting Age: Simple.

Table: The Shining Blade

Hit Die: d10

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+0	+2	Shining Strike x2
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+3	Lay on Hands +1
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+3
4th	+4	+4	+1	+4
5th	+5	+4	+1	+4	Lay on Hands +2
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5	Shining Strike x2
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Lay on Hands +3
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+6
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+7
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+7	Lay on Hands +4, Shining Strike x3
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+8
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+8
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+9	Lay on Hands +5
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+9
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+10	Shining Strike x3
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+10	Lay on Hands +6
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+11
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+11
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+12	Lay on Hands +7
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) The shining blade’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Use Magic Device (Cha).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the shining blade.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A shining blade is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Shining Strike (Su): A shining blade is able to channel his spiritual energy into a single strike to devastating effect. At 1st level, in place of a full attack action, a shining blade may make a single melee attack at a -2 penalty with a weapon, natural weapon, or unarmed strike that deals double damage. Critical hits never occur with shining strikes and weapon damage dice are not multiplied with shining strikes. This attack is affected normally by all forms of damage reduction even though it is supernatural.

At 6th level, a shining blade may make a double damage shining strike melee attack as a standard action. The -2 penalty no longer applies.

At 11th level, a shining blade may either make a double damage shining strike melee attack as a standard action with no penalty or a triple damage shining strike melee attack in place of a full attack action.

At 16th level, a shining blade may make a triple damage shining strike melee attack as a standard action.

Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a shining blade can heal wounds (his own or those of others) by touch. Each day he can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to his shining blade level × (his Charisma bonus if any + 1). If a shining blade has a charisma penalty, treat his charisma as 10 for this ability. A shining blade may choose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action.

At 5th level, he can heal equal to shining blade level × (his Charisma bonus if any + 2). At 8th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the amount added to charisma bonus before multiplying it increases by 1.

Alternatively, a shining blade can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The shining blade decides how many of his daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.

An evil shining blade cannot use lay on hands.

Feat: Shining Blade Feat

Ex-Shining Blades

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Epic Shining Blade

Table: The Epic Shining Blade

Hit Die: d10

Level	Special
21st
22nd
23rd	Bonus Feat, Lay on Hands +8
24th
25th
26th	Bonus Feat, Lay on Hands +9
27th
28th
29th	Bonus Feat, Lay on Hands +10
30th
4 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Shining Strike: Shining strike does not increase past triple damage as a standard action.

Lay on Hands: Each day a shining blade can cure a total number of hit points equal to his Charisma bonus (if any) + the bonus every 3 levels at 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter times his class level, as normal.

Bonus Feats: The epic shining blade gains a bonus feat every 3 levels after 20th.

Shining Blade Starting Package

Weapons: .

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.

Skill	Ranks	Ability	Armor Check Penalty

Feat: .

Bonus Feats: .

Gear: .

Gold: .

Playing a Shining Blade

Religion: A shining blade can revere a deity or simply be devoted to a cause. Shining blades who do revere deities tend towards ones who promote martial prowess or good.

Other Classes: Monks most directly understand the energies that a shining blade uses and feel that they fall short of their potential by not being as rigidly disciplined. As is generally true with healers, most classes appreciate having healing support.

Combat: A shining blade serves as a direct assailant against enemies and can heal on the front lines in emergencies.

Advancement: A shining blade can either continue their career without deviation or seek to amplify their combat abilities through other classes such as fighter (for versatility) or paladin (for further magical support).

Shining Blades in the World

“		”
—,

Daily Life: .

Notables: .

Organizations: .

NPC Reactions: .

Shining Blade Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) can research shining blades to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (arcana)

DC	Result
5	Shining blades are capable of some magical healing.
10	Shining blades channel the power of their spirit to use their abilities.
15	Shining blades cannot heal others if they are of evil alignment, but they can still empower their strikes.
20	A shining blade's spirit grows in power as they become more experienced and acts in some ways like a pseudo demiplane.

Shining Blades in the Game

Adaptation: .

Sample Encounter: .

EL : .

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