Antipaladin

More than simply the antithesis of the paladins, antipaladins are zealous and resourceful fighters devoted to the cause of evil. They are cold-hearted and methodical, in stark contrast to their brash, showy, and often impulsive opposite numbers. The antipaladin acts in secrecy and stands alone, as opposed to the paladin, who can usually look forward to at least the tacit approval of the average person. To this end, the powers granted an antipaladin are more geared toward survival and manipulation. This, too, stands in contrast to the typical paladin's methods of identifying a central source of evil and cutting the heart out. Finally, it is worth noting that unlike the powers of good, who bestow all the major hallmarks of paladinhood early on, an antipaladin's path to power is long and arduous, as the powers of evil are notoriously untrusting, as well as unwilling to see their energies go to waste.

However, despite their different focus, antipaladins can be just as sanctimonious as their opposite numbers.  The paladin claims to be better than others because he is devoted to good; the antipaladin privately believes herself to be superior because she is devoted to maintaining order.

All content on this site, Flay, is Copyright 2005 Moritheil. 
DnD 3.5, which most of the material is based on, is Copyright Wizards of the Coast.

Alignment: Lawful evil.

Hit Die: d10.

Class Skills

The Antipaladin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nobility and royalty / religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), and Sense Motive (Wis).

Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x 4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Antipaladin

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Antipaladin.

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

Aura of Evil (Ex): The power of an Antipaladin’s aura of evil (see the detect evil spell) is equal to her Antipaladin level.

Detect Chaos (Sp): At will, an Antipaladin can use detect chaos, as the spell.

Dark Blessing (Su): At 2nd level, an Antipaladin gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if positive) on all saving throws.

Lifedrain (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, an Antipaladin can make a melee touch attack that does not provoke an attack of opportunity to heal her own wounds by draining the life force of others. Each day she can drain a total number of hit points of damage equal to her Antipaladin level x her Charisma bonus. An Antipaladin may choose to divide her lifedrain among multiple attacks. The Antipaladin decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching a creature. Any points spent in excess of a creature's current total hit points are wasted.  Constructs and creatures immune to negative energy are not affected by this attack. Undead are healed by the attack, and the Antipaladin loses rather than gains hit points when using lifedrain on an undead target.

Spells: Beginning at 4th level, an Antipaladin gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the Antipaladin spell list. An Antipaladin must choose and prepare her spells in advance.

To prepare or cast a spell, an Antipaladin must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against an Antipaladin’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Antipaladin’s Wisdom modifier.

Like other spellcasters, an Antipaladin can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Antipaladin. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Antipaladin indicates that the Antipaladin gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level The Antipaladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.

An Antipaladin prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. An Antipaladin may prepare and cast any spell on the Antipaladin spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.

Through 3rd level, an Antipaladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her Antipaladin level.

Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, an Antipaladin gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve her in her crusade against good (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium Antipaladin) or a warpony (for a Small Antipaladin).

Once per day, as a full-round action, an Antipaladin may magically call her mount from the infernal realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the Antipaladin’s class level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the Antipaladin and remains for 2 hours per Antipaladin level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the Antipaladin may release a particular mount from service.

Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.

Should the Antipaladin’s mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The Antipaladin may not summon another mount for thirty days or until she gains an Antipaladin level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the Antipaladin takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Unnatural Health (Ex): At 6th level, an Antipaladin gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Rebuke Undead (Su): When an Antipaladin reaches 7th level, she gains the supernatural ability to rebuke undead. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She rebukes or controls undead as a cleric of three levels lower would.

Malevolent Courage (Su): Beginning at 9th level, an Antipaladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her takes cold comfort in knowing that the evil they are working with is greater than the one they fight against, resulting in a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the Antipaladin is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 11th level, an Antipaladin retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if she is caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. However, she still loses her Dexterity bonus to AC if immobilized. If an Antipaladin already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead.

Tyranny (Su): At 12th level, an Antipaladin need not fear that allies will suddenly shirk their duties or rebel against her leadership.  If an ally within 10 feet would turn against the Antipaladin, the Malevolent Courage bonus is immediately replaced by a -4 morale penalty on all saving throws.

Mettle (Ex): An Antipaladin of at least 16th level is unaffected by any spell she makes her Will or Fortitude saving throw on, if that spell would normally have reduced effect. Only spells with Will or Fortitude partial or half saving throws are negated by this feature.

Destruction (Su): When an Antipaladin with this ability uses Lifedrain to slay an enemy, the enemy's remains are completely destroyed, shriveling into nothingness. Methods short of True Resurrection cannot restore the enemy to life, although a properly phrased Wish or Miracle can restore the ability to raise the enemy from the dead normally.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At 19th level and higher, an Antipaladin can no longer be flanked. This defense denies a rogue the ability to sneak attack the Antipaladin by flanking her, unless the attacker has at least four more rogue levels than the target has Antipaladin levels. If a character already has uncanny dodge from a second class, the character automatically gains improved uncanny dodge instead, and the levels from the classes that grant uncanny dodge stack to determine the minimum level a rogue must be to flank the character.

Code of Conduct: An Antipaladin must be of lawful evil alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits a selfless act of good. Additionally, an Antipaladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate agreements, act with honor (according to her own standards), and punish those who uphold the cause of good.

Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any evil or neutral alignment, an Antipaladin will never knowingly associate with chaotic characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. An Antipaladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful evil.

Ex-Antipaladins

An Antipaladin who ceases to be lawful evil, who willfully commits an act of selfless good, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all Antipaladin spells and abilities (including the service of the Antipaladin’s mount, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as an Antipaladin. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.

Like a member of any other class, an Antipaladin may be a multiclass character, but multiclass Antipaladins face a special restriction. An Antipaladin who gains a level in any class other than Antipaladin may never again raise her Antipaladin level, though she retains all her Antipaladin abilities.

THE ANTIPALADIN’S MOUNT

The Antipaladin’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium Antipaladin is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small Antipaladin is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling Antipaladin) or a Large shark (for an Antipaladin in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well. An Antipaladin’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).

Antipaladin’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.

Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.

Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.

Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.

Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.

Empathic Link (Su): The Antipaladin has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The Antipaladin cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.

Because of this empathic link, the Antipaladin has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).

Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

Share Spells: At the Antipaladin’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount. The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the Antipaladin before the duration expires. Additionally, the Antipaladin may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. An Antipaladin and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).

Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the Antipaladin’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.

Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.

Command (Sp): Once per day per two Antipaladin levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Antipaladin’s level + Antipaladin’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.

Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s Antipaladin level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.

1st-Level Antipaladin Spells

• Detect Poison: Detects poison in one creature or small object.
• Detect Undead: Reveals undead within 60 ft.
• Divine Favor: You gain +1 per three levels on attack and damage rolls.
• Obscure Object: Masks object against scrying.
• Magic Weapon: Weapon gains +1 bonus.

2nd-Level Antipaladin Spells

• Darkness: 20-ft. radius of supernatural shadow.
• Death Knell: Kills dying creature; you gain 1d8 temporary hp, +2 to Str, and +1 level.
• Desecrate ^M: Fills area with negative energy, making undead stronger.
• Misdirection: Misleads divinations for one creature or object.
• Undetectable Alignment: Conceals alignment for 24 hours.

3rd-Level Antipaladin Spells

• Animate Dead ^M: Creates undead skeletons and zombies.
• Discern Lies: Reveals deliberate falsehoods.
• Heal Mount: As heal on warhorse or other special mount.
• Magic Weapon, Greater: +1 bonus/four levels (max +5).
• Restoration, Lesser: Dispels magical ability penalty or repairs 1d4 ability damage.

4th-Level Antipaladin Spells

• Death Ward: Grants immunity to death spells and negative energy effects.
• Dispel Chaos: +4 bonus against attacks by chaotic creatures.
• Dispel Good: +4 bonus against attacks by good creatures.
• Mark of Justice: Designates action that will trigger curse on subject.
• Modify Memory: Changes 5 minutes of subject’s memories.

All content on this site, Flay, is Copyright 2005 Moritheil. 
DnD 3.5, which most of the material is based on, is Copyright Wizards of the Coast.