The Sacred Fist of Paladine

D&D 3e (3.0/3.5) Rules

by Lord Maligoth

Editor's Note: The Sacred Fist of Paladine is one way to make an existing prestige class, the sacred fist in this case, fit into your Dragonlance campaign.

The Sacred Fist of Paladine is an obscure if not completely unknown force for good on Anasalon. There is only one of these righteous heroes at any given time. Before the first Cataclysm Paladine created a very powerful artifact called the Platonis Draconius. Within this platinum medallion of faith Paladine imbued a portion of his divine essence. Knowing the Cataclysm was drawing near he decided to allow one worthy soul to retain his holy connection to the gods. He looked far and wide at the souls of men, elves and dwarves alike. Holy warriors, and priests, sailors and wizards. He looked into the most respected organizations in the world and could not find the soul he was seeking. In each he continually found inherent flaws. Greed, pride, ambition.

It was then when the God of Light felt all hope may be lost he witnessed something truly inspiring. A simple beggar caught his attention. Wandering among the decadent, wealthy and corrupt of the great city of Istar it was apparent this man could not see. As Paladine watched this wretched man collect his meager earnings from the most demeaning of professions his heart ached at the cruelness of the people of Istar. All day he watched this one, and as the night came this nameless beggar took the small pittance he had received and purchased bread and cheese from one of the many vendors near closing. Tearing the smallest of portions for himself he then distributed the meager fair among the destitute and ill, the homeless and insane. He then gave the highest praise to the mighty Paladine for being so gracious. Paladine wept in sorrow for the plight of these souls, and yet he wept in joy for he now knew he had found whom he sought.

After making a deal with Gilean to never record the name of his Sacred Fist, Paladine appeared to the beggar and granted him the Platonis Draconius. He revealed that it allows the wearer to cast spells as a cleric in the event of Paladine's demise or absence. He asked the monk to travel the world and help those he could, as very soon the world would be changing. He was to be his new champion, his new Fist. The beggar asked how he would defend himself in the world, blind and unarmed. The great platinum dragon bathed the man in silver flames and replied, "In times of great danger, think to the mighty flames which surround and protect you now, and they will be yours to wield."

Over the years various Sacred Fists have existed at different times. As stated there is only one and his identity is never known to many. Even those that know him, do not know of the origin of his power. Sacred Fists have been involved in monumental tasks to aid the people of Ansalon over the years. The Sacred Fist is an unsung hero however. No bards sing of his deeds, children don't pretend to be him when they play. He lives the life of a poor monk and never marries. He risks his life for the people of the world, because that is who he is. He is selfless, the epitome of goodness.

As the years pass a Sacred Fist of Paladine will have a vision in his dreams. He will see his death as it pertains to time. Not the exact moment or how, but he will know that within a certain time frame, his life will end. When this happens he begins his quest of succession. He wanders Ansalon looking for a pupil to teach that is worthy of the Platonis Draconius. When he finds a pure soul worthy of the gift, he trains him for the remainder of his days, and the pupil becomes the next Sacred Fist of Paladine.
Hit Die: d8

Requirements
To qualify to become a Sacred Fist of Paladine a character must fulfill the following criteria
Alignment: Lawful Good
Base Attack Bonus:+4
Skill: Knowledge (Religion) 8 Ranks
Feats: Improved Unarmed Strike, Skill Focus (Concentration), Spellcasting Prodigy*, Stunning Fist
Special: Must be trained by the current Sacred Fist of Paladine. Upon completion of training must aquire the Platonis Draconius.

Class Skills:
The Sacred Fist's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex) Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Jump (Str), Profession (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Tumble (Dex)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Sacred Fist of Paladine.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Sacred Fist of Paladine gains no proficiency with any weapons, armor, or shields.

Unarmed Damage: A sacred Fist of Paladine's levels stack with any monk levels when determining unarmed damage

AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the Sacred Fist of Paladine adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC. In addition, a Sacred Fist of Paladine gains a +1 bonus to AC at 1st level. This bonus increases by 1 at 5th and 10th level. This bonus stacks with any AC bonus granted by the Monk class.
  These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the Sacred Fist is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

Fast Movement (Ex): At 3rd level, a Sacred Fist of Paladine gains an enhancement bonus to his speed, this bonus stacks with any speed increases gained from levels in the monk class. A Sacred Fist in armor or carrying a medium or heavy load loses this extra speed.

Spells Per Day (Ex): When a new Sacred Fist level is gained, the character gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if he had also gained a level in the divine spellcasting class he belonged to before he added the prestige class. If the character has no previous levels in a divine spellcasting class he is to choose one. Once a character makes this choice it cannot be changed. This is of course Age Dependent as some classes may not yet exist (i.e. The Mystic).
  He does not gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. This essentially means that he adds the level of Sacred Fist to the level of some other spellcasting class the character has or has chosen then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly.

Blindsense (Su): Due to the teachings of the original (and still unknown) Sacred Fist, each of his successors are adept at fighting blindly. At 1st level the Sacred Fist of Paladine gains sensitivities to vibrations, scent and noise, granting him blindsense out to 10 feet. This ability increases to 20 feet at 6th level.

Sacred Flames (Su): At 4th Level a Sacred Fist of Paladine may use a standard action to invoke the sacred silver flames of Paladine around his hands. These flames add to the sacred fist's unarmed damage. The additional damage is equal to the sacred fist's class level plus his wisdom modifier (if any). Half the damage is fire damage (round up), and the rest is sacred energy and thus not subject to effects that reduce fire damage. The sacred flames last 1 minute and can be invoked once per day. At 8th level a sacred fist can invoke sacred flames twice per day.

Inner Armor (Ex): At 10th level, a sacred fist's inner tranquility protects him from external threats. He may invoke a +4 sacred bonus to AC, a +4 sacred bonus on all saves, and spell resistance 25 for a number of rounds equal to his wisdom modifier. He may use inner armor once per day.

Code of Conduct: A Sacred Fist of Paladine is the mortal extension of Paladine's will. He is not allowed to marry or "consort" with the opposite sex once he takes these vows. He must refuse to use any weapons or armor. A sacred fist that carries or uses a weapon or breaks his vow of celibacy loses all class spells and features and advances no farther as a sacred fist until he atones before a cleric of Paladine for his actions (Depending on what era of play you use this can be extremely difficult if not impossible. During the later Age of Mortals a sacred fist of Paladine can seek out Valthonis to meet this requirement. Make sure your player understands the ramifications of needing to atone when using this class) A sacred fist who becomes nonlawful cannot gain new levels as a sacred fist but retains all sacred fist abilities.

Like a member of any other class, a sacred fist may be a multiclass character, but multiclass sacred fists face a special restriction. A sacred fist who gains a new class or (if already multiclass) raises another class by a level may never again raise his sacred fist level, though he retains all his sacred fist abilities. The path of The Sacred Fist of Paladine requires a constant focus. If a character adopts this class, he must persue it to the exclusion of all other careers. Once he has turned off the path, he may never return.

Quest of Succession: As a Sacred Fist of Paladine ages there comes a time in his life when the power of the Platonis Draconius will impart a vision to him. While each vision is unique, the end result is always the same. The Sacred Fist will learn the year of his natural demise. It is at this time a sacred fist will begin to look for another worthy soul to succeed him. In the case of the untimely death of a sacred fist the Platonis Draconius will prevent the soul of the individual from finding the river of souls. The Platonis Draconius disappears from the body of the fallen fist. The soul rises from the fallen fist and becomes a Spectral Minion (pg 230 DLCS). It will then wander Ansalon endlessly looking for a soul worthy of it's gift. Once completed, his soul will be free to return to the river and he at last feels peace. It is also possible of course that a friend or companion could bring the soul of the fist back to the land of the living at this time through other divine means.

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