The Campaign Builder's Guild

Okay, here's a class I posted on the WotC boards many eons ago.  I figured it would be useful to post over here for some criticism, seeing as I'm about to start working on my campaign again and could use the discussion to help get me back in the groove.

The Knight-errant
When a world lies in darkness, very few beacons of light remain to guide the souls of the righteous and the paths of the weary. Occasionally a hero will arise on Ord, only to be thrown down and trampled under by the legions of Bahal, or the shadowfells that cover the land. Some warriors of virtue, however, are able to fight back, whether with followers and friends, or alone, with only his courage at his back. Whether they are free crusaders who take it upon themselves to save the world, or guardians of a princes and dukes on the Southlands, sent on quests to do his bidding, the knight-errant is one warrior who will not fight from the shadows.

Adventures:
   Knights-errant take their quests very seriously. Whether it is a mission to slay a Wraith-king, surrounded by an army of drumen in a stronghold, or a mission to escort a family into hiding, the knight-errant will find a way to do it.

Characteristics:
   A knight-errantâ,¬,,¢s primary and only goal is to defeat evil and protect the innocent. He must stand strong in the face of unprecedented odds, and must never let fear overcome him or those around him. Though he must defeat evil first and foremost, he will always go an extra distance to protect his comrades.

Alignment:
   Knights-errant must be good. Whether they are lawful good guardians of kings, the neutral good guardians of the innocent, or the chaotic good guardians of all that would be suppressed, they are always good.

Religion:
   Knights-errant are often religious in a way that is unremembered on Aune. Though they do not worship Aune directly, they do have a faith. They believe, one and all, that the Light can overcome the Shadow. Knights-errant often do not expect miracles, but still spend a few moments of solitude each day, basking in the radiance of the rising or fleeting sun.

Background:
   Knights-errant come from all walks of life. The aristocrat who sees the future of Aune falling to dusk, the warrior who must defend his liegemen and friends against the Shadow to the west, or the commoner who is tired of the tyrannical dukes who do nothing as monsters overrun the land.

        They usually begin training as adolescents, and study for years under knights or fellow knights-errant, practicing in secret, until they are strong enough to accept their duty. All knights-errant, regardless of background, recognize in each other an eternal bond that transcends culture, race, and religion. Any two knights-errant, no matter their immediate goal, consider themselves comrades.

        When they have proved their worthiness as a knight-errant (usually some sort of ritual unique to the various cultures they live in), they are knighted by their lord in a public ceremony. There is usually celebration and feasting after the knighting.

Races:
   Any race can become a knight-errant.  Humans from all walks of life become knights-errant, dwarves, with their huge senses of honor and loyalty, all often become knights-errant.  Sul, with their roguish nature, and gnomes, with their scholarly past, arenâ,¬,,¢t very common as knights-errant, but they are occasionally seen behind the mantle of the knight-errant.

Role:
   More often than not, the knight-errant is the leader of the party.  He is the chief melee combatant, but also makes excellent support as well.

GAME RULE INFORMATION
The knight-errant (KNE) has the following game statistics.

Alignment:
   Any good

Hit Die:
   d12

Class Skills:
   Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (Int), Knowledge (history) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Con)

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

Skill Points at Each Additional Level:
   4 + Int modifier

Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
Knights-errant are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields.

Quick Recovery:
The knight-errant heals faster than other people. He recovers hit points at a rate of Ã,½ his knight-errant level per hour. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects.

Protect:
At second level, the knight-errant gains the ability to protect his comrades if they are wounded or in trouble during battle. By using the ability protect, a knight-errant may "loan" a portion of his armor class to an ally that is within 10 feet. By declaring what he is doing at the start of the round, the knight-errant can give 1 point of his AC to an ally in combat. At 3rd level, he can give up to 2 points, and the points increase by 1 for every 2 levels thereafter, when at level 20, the knight-errant can give up to 10 points of his AC. Any points loaned to another character are lost by the knight-errant for the duration of the battle. The ability lasts until the knight-errant decides to end the ability. He can use this ability any number times of day as he pleases. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects.

Aura of Courage:
At 3rd level, a knight-errant is immune to fear, and all allies within 10 feet of him gain a +4 morale bonus to saves against fear effects. This ability only functions when the knight-errant is conscious.

Sacrificial Healing:
The knight-errant heals another creatureâ,¬,,¢s wounds, transferring some of its damage to himself. At 4th level, when the knight-errant gains the ability, he can heal as much as 1d10 points of damage. This increases by d10 for every 4 levels, to a maximum of 4d10 at level 16. The target regains a number of hit points equal to the dice result, and the knight-errant loses hit points equal to half of that amount. (This loss can bring the knight-errant to 0 or fewer hit points.) Powers and abilities he may have such as damage reduction and regeneration do not lessen or change this damage, since he is taking the targetâ,¬,,¢s pain into himself in a sacrificial manner. The damage transferred by this power has no type, so even if the knight-errant has immunity to the type of damage the target originally took, the sacrifice occurs normally and deals hit point damage to him. Alternatively, the knight-errant can use this power to absorb one poison or one disease afflicting the target creature into himself. When he absorbs a poison or disease, he does not take any of the damage previously dealt to the target by the affliction, but does assume the burden of making the secondary and/or continuing Fortitude saves to combat the affliction.

Martyrdom:
Starting at level 5, the knight-errant gains the ability to help his allies overcome the trauma of battle. By declaring his action of using martyrdom at the start of the round, the knight-errant can elect to receive half of the damage that his ally is taking during combat. When comrade is attacked, he will only take half of the rolled damage (rounded down), and the rest of the damage will go to the knight-errant. He can do this for an ally up to 25 feet away at 5th level, and the range increases by 25 feet per five levels, to a maximum of 100 feet at level 20. He can use this ability unlimited times a day. This ability is a supernatural ability and cannot be canceled by magic-dispelling effects.

Counter:
At 9th level, a knight-errant can counter an attack made against him. He must declare that he will be countering after the attack is made, but before hit or damage are rolled. If the damage done to him is greater than his remaining hit points, he still makes a counter attack, but falls after the attack is made. He can move up to five feet to counter attack. At 13th level, he can do this twice a day, and thrice a day at 17th level.

Shield of Faith:
Beginning at 10th level, the knight-errant projects an aura of defense around himself. He gains a 2/- damage reduction, and at 20th level, it increases to 5/-.

Bonded:
At level 11, the knight-errant may create a permanent, spiritual bond between himself and a target. That person becomes "bonded" to the knight-errant in a way that very few understand. The bonding ceremony is done with both members present, and they must both have known each other for at least 30 days (1 month). Bonds can be broken by either member, but only with both members present. There are a few special properties of the bond. At level 11, only one person may be bonded to the knight-errant at once; at level 19, a second recipient may be added so that two different people are bonded to the knight-errant at the same time. Below, the abilities "Empathy" and "Energy" are part of "Bonded."

*

Empathy: The knight-errant and the bonded recipient have a deep and personal connection. They each have a sense of the direction, distance (very roughly), and emotional and physical state of the other. Each knows when the other is awake, asleep, unharmed, wounded, disabled, staggered, unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, or the like. Awareness of the other's state dims over greater distances but can be sensed over an unlimited distance with a little bit of concentration. For one to sense the other, the person must first make a Sense Motive check, modified by the distance between the two. The check starts at a DC 5, and increases by 1 for every 100 miles distant. The greater difference between the actual roll and the DC, the more information that is known.

[table=Empathy]
[tr][th]Amount of Success[/th][th]Information Provided[/th][/tr]
[tr][th]Equals or exceeds the DC by 0-5[/th][td]Becomes aware if the bonded one is in an unatural/painful physical or emotional state.[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Exceeds the DC by 6-10[/th][td]Becomes aware of what kind of pain is involved (mainly emotional or physical), and a general sense of direction (north, south, across the ocean, etc).[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Exceeds the DC by 11-15[/th][td]Becomes aware of the reason of the pain and situation (poisoned, frightened, sick, etc), and he knows approximately where the bonded one is (what city).[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Exceeds the DC by 16 or above[/th][td]Gives him a vision of the person, and maybe an unclear flash about what happened, in addition to what he would know with a lower check.[/td][/tr]
[/table]

*Energy:  The knight-errant and bonded recipient share, to a limited extent, their life energy. Either can loan hit points to the other. For example, if the bonded recipient becomes severely wounded but is still faced with several attacking creatures, the knight-errant could lend him some of his hit points to keep him alive. The lender does not become injured as a result of such a loan, but his hit point total falls, since the loss of hit points represents a reduction in life energy. For example, a knight-errant with 42 hit points who loans 10 hit points to his bonded recipient temporarily has his hit point total reduced to 32. The total amount of hit points that can be lent is equal to 1/2 (rounded down) the lender's total hit points + his level. Thus, a level 5 knight errant with 33 hit points can lend up to 21 hit points to the bonded recipient (<33/2 = 16> + 5 = 21). Refer to the table below for DCâ,¬,,¢s for the Bonded ability.
[/list]

[class=Knight-errant]
[fort=good]
[bab=fighter]
[special=Special]
[1]Quick Recovery[/1]
[2]Protect/1 AC[/2]
[3]Aura of Courage[/3]
[4]Sacrificial Healing/1d10,  Protect/2 AC[/4]
[5]Martyrdom/25 ft[/5]
[6]Protect/3 AC[/6]
[8]Sacrificial Healing/2d10, Protect/4 AC[/8]
[9]Counter Attack 1/day[/9]
[10]Protect/5 AC, Martyrdom/50 ft, Shield of Faith 2/-[/10]
[11]Bonded/1[/11]
[12]Sacrificial Healing/3d10, Protect/6 AC[/12]
[13]Counter Attack 2/day[/13]
[14]Protect/7 AC[/14]
[15]Martyrdom/75 ft[/15]
[16]Sacrificial Healing/4d10, Protect/8 AC[/16]
[17]Counter Attack 3/day[/17]
[18]Protect/9 AC[/18]
[19]Bonded/2[/19]
[20]Martyrdom/100 ft, Shield of Faith 5/-, Protect/10 AC[/20]
[/special]
[/class]
[/size]

CRITISICM WELCOME

sacrificial healing needs to be much greater to be worth using, or either do something like the expanded psionics empathic transfer, where it heals twice as much as it takes away. Otherwise, in combat, it has virtually no effect--it heals too little for the target to care, and then the knight errant needs healing himself.

Also, shield of faith needs a different name, cuz of the spell "shield of faith". I suggest calling it "Damage Reduction".

I really don't know about Quick Recovery. In "Daggerfall", all our combats come right after each other, and quick recovery doesn't matter at all. In other games, they might encourage characters to just sit around for several hours so the knight errant can heal up. :/

So, what kinds of "uppage" are you recommending on "Szcrificial Healing?"

I'd steal from empathic transfer http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/empathicTransfer.htm
make it damage the knight for 1/2 the amount of healing it did, and also double the amount of healing.

As is, a 16th level paly can heal about 80 damage, while knight errant can simple transfer 10-40 damage (avg. 22). A knight has other abilities, sure, but still.

Get someone else to weigh in, though. :)