Knight of the Thorn

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Darthsylver

Knight of the Thorn by Sticko

As with the Knights of Solamnia, any who wish entry into the Knighthood must begin as a Petitioner in the Order of the Lily. All Knights remain in the ranks of the Lily until they attain the rank of Warrior and are ready to advance to Novice. At this level, Knights may choose entry into either the Skull or Thorn Knights, or may remain with the Lilies.

The Knights of the Thorn are an order of wizards. On Ansalon, they operate completely outside the Towers of High Sorcery, refuse to swear allegiance to any of the three robes, including black, and are therefore considered renegades by all wizards of the conclave. On Taladas, there is no such order and therefore display their allegiance openly. As such this tends to make Thorn Knights from Taladas more arrogant and visual. Many a Taladasian Thorn Knight has been removed from Ansalon for forgetting about the order's hunters.

Hit Die: d4

Requirements

Race: Human, Half-Elf, Elf, Minotaur, Dwarf
Alignment: Any Evil
Base Attack Bonus: +7

Class Skills

Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Knowledge (History of the Order) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (The Code) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Swim (Str)

Skill points per level: 4 + Int Modifier

Class Features

All of the Following are class features of the Knight of the Thorn.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Knights of the Thorn gain no additional weapon or armor proficiencies.

Lunar Attunement: All Thorn Knights are attuned to the three moons of Krynn. As such a Thorn Knights's abilities increase and decrease with the phases of the moons. See the Moon Phase Effects and Moon Alignment Effects tables below.

Bonus Feats: Every four levels a Knight of the Thorn receives a bonus feat. This feat must be a Metamagic, Item Creation feat or Spell Mastery. Metamagic feats are common among combative Thorn Knights, where as item creation feats are common among the order's weapon crafters.

Dark Blessing: A Knight of the Thorn applies his Wisdom Modifier (if positive) as a bonus to all saving throws. During the Loss of Vision-1SC until 15SC, the Knight does not receive this bonus. Before this time Mistrtess Takhisis bestowed it upon her followers, and after this time the faith of the knights generates the bonus from the mystic power within, unbeknowest to them.

Spells: A Knight of the Thorn casts arcane spells and uses the wizard\sorceror spell list. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a Thorn Knight's spell is 10 + the spell's level + the Knight's Intelligence modifier. A Knight of the Thorn receives bonus spells based on his Intelligence.

*These additional spells can be of any level the spellcaster can cast.

The Vision, the Blood Oath and the Code: The Vision, to Knights that have not attained the rank of Warrior, is mainly a statement of the ultimate goal of the Knighthood. It is embodied in the phrase: "One World Order." The goal is no less in the total and unquestioned domination of the entire world of Krynn.

When Knights moving beyond the rank of warrior have passed the Test of Takhisis (see tests of Takhisis,) part of the ceremony is the Deep Vision-a magical impression on the Knight's mind of the will of Takhisis and the goals of the Knighthood. Experienced after four days of fasting and prayer to the Dark Queen, the Vision gives the Knight a clear understanding of the goals of the Knighthood and the knight's own place in the grand plan.

The Blood Oath is simple: "Submit or Die" for those Knights on Taladas, and "No one else matters. Only I," for those Knights on Ansalon. When joining the knighthood, each knight dedicates body and soul utterly to the cause. All thoughts of self are submerged, sublimated. Yet, this does not mean that knights may not think for themselves.

The Code is complex in the extreme, yet elegant in its detail. It is pricipally a detailed set of laws that relate to military matters, but also can be extended into the lives of each member of the Knighthood. Strict adherrence to the Code is required, but each case is considered on its own merits, and exceptions can be made.

Responsibilities of a Knight of the Crown: forfeiture of 10% of all wealth accrued by the Knight, service and aid to any fellow Knight who is about the business of his order and requires assistance.

Associates: While the Knight may adventure with characters of any evil or neutral alignment, a Knight will never knowingly associate with good characters. A Knight will not continue association with someone who consistently offends his Code.

Order of Lords / Council of Power: In all classes of the Knighthood, once characters have reached the rank of Master of the: Lily, Skull or Thorn, they have the opportunity to enter into the Order of Lords. There are a limited number of Lord positions, and in order for a character to rise in rank, a vacancy must already exist within the order the candidate wishes to enter (Lily, Skull, or Thorn). Such a vacany may be created, advancement through formal challenge and knightly combat is not only permissable, but encouraged.

While each of the Orders of Lords are equivalent in rank, there is considerable variation in the power and nature of the ranks depending upon the order to which the Knight belongs.

The assignment and mission of a lord Knight need not be constrained to those of his own Order. Indeed, it is common for a Lord Knight Sorceror to be placed in command of a legion of Knights of the Lily, or to find a clerical Lord Knight in command of a unit comprised of Knights of the Thorn.

Lord Ariakan realized that, since most large military units of the Knights of Neraka comprise elements of all three Orders of the Knighthood, it was conceivable that Lord Knights might favor their own order over the others. To see that this does not occur, all Lord Knights have been indoctrinated in the concept of "Power through Diversity," that a wise leader uses all of the assets available to ensure victory. Indeed, it is a point of honoramong the Knights of Neraka that no favoritism is shown, and the accusation of such impropriety is a challenge to one's honor that never goes unanswered.

When a vacancy in the upper ranks of the Knighthood comes about as the result of attrition (such as dying of natural causes, or being killed in battle outside of single combat), all applicants must present themselves before a Lord Knight tribunal. The tribunal is made up of a majority of Knights in that particular order. It is entirely up to the reviewing tribunal to determine criteria under which the position shall be won. Typically such criteria will consist of elimination tournaments or particularly haardous ventures.

Those who wish to force a vacancy in the Knighthood may challenge a Lord Knight in that position to single combat. In this case, victory assures the assumption of the defeated Knight's rank by the victorious Knight. A tribunal is not called into session in such an instance.

Assassination is not an option, this being viewed as an act of cowardice. (While it is rumored that Lord Targonne had Mistress Mirelle Abrena assassinated, none have had the courage to openly voice it in a tribunal).

Ex-Knights

A Knight who ceases to be Evil, who willfully commits a good act, or who grossly violates the Code loses all special abilities. He may not progress in levels of the Knighthood. The Knight's actions are referred to an abjudicator to determine if an exception to the Code is allowed. If it is deemed that the Code has been violated, and no exception is allowed, then the Knight is punished. The punishment is generally execution, but since Lord Targonne has taken over the is generally given a quest in order to atone for his crime. Lord Targonne considers this a more economic form of corrective action. The Knights on Taladas do not believe in anything less then death.

Multiclassing

A Knight may freely multiclass with any other class that shares the Knight's ideals and his Code. However, he cannot multiclass with the Knight of the Skull or Knight of the Lily classes.

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