Steel Crusader (3.5e Class)
Steel Crusader
First and foremost, a steel crusader is acompetente combatant. She fight as a skillfully as a fighter, paladin, or ranger des, relying on heavy armor and a good selection of weapons to gain the edge over her oppnents. Even if the name remainds to some sort of divine class the steel crusader is too proud to even think about hiding behind a God. She knew that the only thing she can trust is her armor. A steel crusader is still capable to use some sort of divine magic in combat, especially when if she has to defend her allies. In general a steel crusader has faith in some god or divine power, but she usally prefer to use the good old heavy steel instead of hiding behind some sort of magic tirck.
Making a Steel Crusader
A steel crusader is primarily a front-line melee battler, much like the fighter or paladin. Most steel crusaders als make good leaders, since they are both charismatic and dedicated.
Abilities: Strength and Constitution are vital to a steel crusader, since she is so often in harm's way. Intelligence is useful for gaining plenty of skill points, which a steel crusader needs to purchase the rankes in Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Balance. Charisma is also usefull for a steel crusader for a better control of her allies on the battlefield.
Races: Most steel crusaders are humans, half-elves or dwarves because the ideals of dedication, service, zeal and courage are important in both dwarf and human cultures. Elevs, gnomes and halflings generally lack the seriousness, single-minded devotion, and moderate fanaticism required to succeed as a steel crusaders. Half-orcs rarely become crusaders, but those wo do follow this path often excel at it. Many half-orcs spend their lives searching for an ideal to believe in or a community which they can belong and the way of the steel crusader appeals to such souls.
Alignment: A steel crusader can choose any alignment except neutral- she must stand for some ideal, whether chaos, good, evil, law, or a combination of principles.
Starting Gold: 6d4×10gp (150 gp).
Starting Age: As a paladin(PH 109).
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Steel Fortress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Heavy Metal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Indestructible | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +4 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +5 | Insurmountable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +5 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +6 | Cursed Steel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +6 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +7 | As One | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +7 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +8 | Press The Attack | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +8 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +9 | Devotion To The Cause | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +9 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +10 | Triumph Of Steel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +10 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +11 | Hold The Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +11 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +12 | FOR THE CRUSADE! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As a steel crusader you are proficient with simmple weapons, martial weapons, light, medium and heavy armor and all shields.
Steely Resolve (EX): Your supreme dedication and intense focus allow you to temporarily set aside the pain and hindering effects of injuries. When an opponent strikes you, the injury does not immediately affect you. You have a delayed damage pool that allows you to forestall the effects of many injuries. This pool begins at 0 with each encounter. When you are attacked, any hit point damage the blow deals is added to your delayed damage pool. At the end of your next turn, you take damage equal to the total stored in your delayed damage pool, which then resets to 0. Any healing you receive can either increase your current hit point total as normal or reduce the total damage in your delayed damage pool. When you receive healing, you choos whether it affects your damage pool, your hit points, or both (you can split the amount of healing as you wish). Most steel crusaders opt to keep as much damage in their delayed damage pool as possible to maximize the benefit of their furious counterstrike ability (see below). Special effects tied to an attack, such as energy drain, stun, and so forth, still affect you as normal, and their effects are not delayed by this ability. For example, if you are bitten by a venomous spider, you must still attempt a Fortitude save against the poison immediately, even though the bite damage shifts into your delayed damage pool. By the same token, any other special attack that imposes a condition, such as a medusa's petrifying gaze, takes immediate effects on you.
Furious Counterstrike (Ex): You can channel the pain of your injuries into a boiling rage that lets you lash out at your enemies with renewwed vigor and power. Each attack that strikes you only pushes you onward to greater glory. During your turn, you gain a bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls equal to the current value of yor delayed damage pool (see steely resolve above). You can only gain a maximum bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls of +5 from furious counterstrike. Use the table below to quickly determinate the attack bonus and damage bonus from furious counterstrike, based on the amount of damage in your dekayed damage pool. This ability's benefits last until the end of your turn.
| Delayed Damage Pool Points | Furious Counterstrike Bonus |
|---|---|
| 0-4 | +1 |
| 5-9 | +2 |
| 10-14 | +3 |
| 15-19 | +4 |
| 20-24 | +5 |
Steel Fortress (Ex): You know the limits and the weakspot of you armor and you are more capable to defend yourself using your armor instead of dodging. From the second level the steel crusader use their constitution modifier instead of dexterity (max +5) for their armor class they also have a bonus of +2 AC while using a metal armor and a shield. This bonus is applied to the AC of your armor. Also you are no more slowed down by your armor (dwarf still have the penality to land speed).
Heavy Metal (Ex): You hit the ground with all your strength and weight generating a powerful shockwave that hits every creature in front of you. You make a powerful blow that hits the ground. The shockwave deals to every creature standing on the ground (1d8 + your armor and shield Armor class (except the enchantment bonus)+ Your constitution modifier) in a 15 feets cone with a fortitude DC equal to (8+ your armor and shield Armor class (except the enchantment bonus)+ Your constitution modifier) to take half the damage. Also every creature hit by the shockwave must succeed a skill check on Balance (DC 10 + your armor and shield AC (except the enchantment bonus) + your constitution modifier) or be knocked prone. You can use this ability once every 5 turns. You can use this ability using your full round action or after the movment action the end of a charge.
Indestructible (Ex): You know how to use you armor at its maximum potential. You gain Damage reduction against any type of damage equal to (your steel crusader's leve l/4 + your constitution modifier).
Insurmuntable (Ex): When you wear you armor you are way more difficult to move and you experience on the battelfied help you to react to any incoming threat. You gain extra Attacks of opportunity equal to your constitution modifier and a bonus morale of +4 against bull rush and any other trip or push effect.
Cursed Steel (Sp): You curse an enemy allowing you and your allies that hit it with a meele attack to heal from it. To curse an enemy you have to use your standard action and you must be able to speak. A creature can avoid the curse with a succesful will saving throw against a dc of (10+ your steel crusader level + your costitution modifier). If it fails it recive a penality of -2 to every attacks rolls damage rolls abilities check and will saving throws. Also, if it get hit with a melee attack, the attacker gains a heal of 2 hit points.
As One (Sp): You know that you are more capable of taking punishment than most of your allies. Using your basic understanding of magic you can redirect to yourself half of the damage taken by your allies that are at most of 30 feet from you. You can activate or deactivate this ability using a free action during your turn. This bond is broken if you and your allies move more then 30 feet away, but every ally that enter the area automatically gains the bonus. Your damage reduction is applied to the incoming damage. You can't not reduce effects that kills without dealing damage. This effect does not stack with other similar effects.
Press The Attack (Ex): Each of your attack expose the weakspot in the enemys' defense. Each consecutive hit on the same enemy gives a +2 bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls made by you and your allies against that enemy. Stack for up to 5 times and it resets if you miss any attack. The bonus is lost if you change target. This effect does not applies if you use heavy metal.
Devotion To The Cause (Ex): Your determination and devotion to the crusade is so great that allows you to carry on through even the hardest fight. You can using this ability a number of time equal to your constitution modifer after a long rest per day. This state last for ( constitution modifer) rounds and gives you half of your steel crusader's level as natural armor. You also heal your constitution modifier each round.
Triumph Of Steel (Ex): Killing an emenemy only makes you and the crusade stronger. If you kill an enemy, you and every ally affected by As One gains immediatly your constitution modifier x2 as healing.
Hold The Line (Ex): Your team is stronger and more confident while you are commanding them. Every ally affected by As One now has a +2 bonus on their CA.
FOR THE CRUSADE (EX):Your pure devotion to the crusade is so powerful that even death could nothig against you and your fellow soldiers. You can channel positive (or negative) energy to keep allies fighting even after suffering mortal wounds. Activating this ability requires only a move action.While active allies within the radius of As One may ignore the effects of being reduced to 0 or less hp. However, any creature reduced to –20 hp dies immediately. When the effect ends, or if a creature moves more than 100 feet from the you, the normal effects of the damage apply immediately.
Ex-Steel Crusaders
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Epic Steel Crusader
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+ Int modifier skill points per level. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bonus Feats: The epic gains a bonus feat (selected from the list of epic bonus feats) every levels after 20th.
Epic Bonus Feat List: .
Steel Crusader Starting Package
Weapons: .
Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 4 + Int modifier.
| Skill | Ranks | Ability | Armor Check Penalty |
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Playing a Steel Crusader
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Steel Crusaders in the World
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Steel Crusader Lore
Characters with ranks in can research to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
| DC | Result |
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| 5 | . |
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Steel Crusaders in the Game
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Sample Encounter: .
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