Pernic Knight

Character Class

The Pernic Knights are followers of Pern?, the God of Justice.

Alignment: Lawful Good
HD: 1d8+2
Attack Bonus: As Paladin
Saving Throw: As Paladin
God: Pern (Law, Protection, Strength)

Abilities:
Level 1: Light, Medium & Heavy Armor Proficiency, Aura of Good, Smite 1/Day
Level 2: Divine Grace, Lay on Hands, Burden d8/Day
Level 3: Aura of Courage, Turn Undead
Level 4: Burden 2d8/Day
Level 5: Smite 2/Day, Follower*, Protector's Boon
Level 6: Burden 3d8/Day, Declaration
Level 7: Divine Health
Level 8: Burden 5d8/Day
Level 9: Smite 4/Day
Level 10: Burden 6d8/Day, Protector's Boon
Level 11: Remove Disease 1/Week, Bless 1/Day
Level 12: Smite 5/Day
Level 13: Sacrificial Strike
Level 14: Remove Disease 2/Week
Level 15: Burden 7d8/Day, Protector's Boon
Level 16: Interpose
Level 17: Remove Disease 3/Week
Level 18: Burden 8d8/Day
Level 19: Aid 1/Day, Bless 3/Day
Level 20: Remove Disease 4/Week, Protector's Boon

Class Skills:

Burden
A Pernic Knight may endeavor to bear the pain of his companions and allies. Select an ally, and roll up to your number of Burden dice, and add your Class Level to each die result. The next time the ally is damaged, subtract the amount from the Pernic Knight instead, and also lower the remaining Burden value by this amount. If there are points of Burden remaining, the next attack's damage may be transfered to the Pernic Knight as well. The Burden Dice may all be used at once, or separately.

Damage Reduction, Spell Resistance, and Energy Resistance belonging to the Pernic Knight does not apply to Burden damage received.

Example:
Giliam the 6th-level Pernic Knight has 3d8 of Burden per day. He elects to use two Burden Dice on Wallach, a sorcerer. Giliam rolls 2d8+12 (Two eight-sided dice from his Burden Dice, and +6 to each from his Class Levels) and rolls 14 - a total of 26 Burden. Therefore, the next 26 damage dealt to Wallach is dealt to Giliam instead.


Declaration:
As the 3rd-level Paladin spell of the same name (see Spells.) May be used any time; after the Declaration is complete, another may be taken at any time.

'Protector's Boon'
At 5th level, the Pernic Knight may add +1 to any of his stats. This is not a permanent increase as would come with a level increase - for it may be switched to another stat at any time as a full-round action. This bonus increases to +2 at 10th level, +3 at 15th level, and finally to +4 at 20th level.

Pernic Code

• Kill not the defenseless
• Abandon not thy allies or the innocent to fates most grave
• Use no poisons in thy battle
• Steal not, and take only the spoils from battle rightly won
• If a foe becomes disadvantaged by events beyond his control, take steps to even his odds
• Undertake ye a task of great requirement each year; follow thy superiors' choice, or if alone thy heart
• Cheat not, lest thee be cheated
• Mingle romantically with others with honesty; it matters not your intent so long as it is agreeable to both
• Build thee no traps, nor let others build

History
The Order of Pernic Knights (Utic Pernus, in the old tongue) was founded in Tuvia? in 3522TL, the Tuvian answer to the Terane? Luminaire. The war with Secila was proving much more damaging to all of the Alliance than hoped, and Terane was finding itself less and less able to devote useful quantities of Luminaire troops to Tuvia's defense. A rushed crash course by a handful of the most powerful Luminaire in Tuvia taught 1,000 Tuvian soldiers the beginnings of the Righteous Path, the Luminaire's teaching of Luminar's divine power.

This attempt was, at least initially, somewhat difficult; at the root of the problem were theological differences between Tuvian and Teranian beliefs. Although the Tuvians largely worshipped Luminar, they knew him as Pern - and the Terane worship rites seemed frighteningly foreign and sacreligeous to them.

Eventually the Tuvians began to learn the Righteous Path; but they would not follow it strictly. In fairly short order, they were practicing a hybridized version of the physical and mental training preached by the Teranians, and the Terane forces - their time valuable, and believing they were accomplishing nothing - returned to their home nation's battlefield. Without the Terane teachings, however, the Tuvian apprentices stubbornly forged ahead with their own ways as the Luminaire's forebears had done over five hundred years before.

Although they are separate from the Luminaire, they are saddled by a certain degree of stigma; it would appear to many (although most holding this opinion are not particularly well-educated in the matter) that the Pernic Knights are merely a second-rate imitation of the self-same Luminaire (who themselves regard the Pernic Knights as an excellent, if somewhat inferior, tribute to their own power.)

De-emphasizing speed and nimbleness at the benefit of sturdiness and power, the Pernic Knights found their niche and began to expand. And so it was that, joining forces for the first time five hundred years later, that the Luminaire and Pernic Knights lead an assault against the dreaded Termus Ai? and destroyed it forever, although they were each reduced to one-tenth their numbers in the attempt.

Roleplayer's Notes
A Pernic Knight is a person of utmost discipline, with physical strength and resilience matched only by their inner power and resolve. A player intending to run this character should remember that the Pernic Knights are a millenia-old order of warriors descended from, and always needing to prove their worth. It's not like the world thinks that they are useless - far from it - people just tend to assume that the Luminaire are better. This should never result in open hostility with the Luminaire, but it may cause a certian small degree of tension.

Becoming a Pernic Knight after 1st Level
Multiclassing from Pernic Knight is difficult enough; their strict attention to weapons training, personal honor, and piety make such a deviation from path problematic. But becoming a Pernic Knight after becoming somewhat accomplished in another profession is difficult to another degree altogether.

From your character's perspective, becoming a Pernic Knight means a long road of hardship, but the possibility of eventual acceptance into a strong brotherhood of the similarly-inclined. To you, the player, it means that your character will be (essentially) in training and utterly committed for at least a year, and possibly more - in addition to three years of military service that may or may not be integrated with the rest of the campaign.

In short, it means that you aren't likely to be able to play your character again for quite some time.

But if you don't mind playing another character for awhile, don't let the time commitment stop you from letting your character do as his (or her) heart leads him.

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