Blackguards: The Paladins of Hell

[KaiserKris]

Blackguard
Prime Attribute: Charisma
Hit Dice: d10
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Weapons: Any
Armour: Any
Abilities: Detect Alignment, Profane Aura, Unholy Vitality, Smite Good, Vile Touch, Rebuke/Control Evil, Aura of Fear, Blackguard Spells, Ascension Power

Detect Alignment: By concentrating on an individual for one round, a Blackguard can determine their alignment. This can be done freely, without limitation.

Unholy Grace: A Blackguard receives a +2 bonus to all saving throws. Any weapons that a Blackguard wields are considered lawful and evil-aligned for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.

Unholy Vitality: Blackguards are immune to disease, both natural and supernatural.

Vile Touch: Blackguards can inflict 2 hit points of damage automatically per Blackguard level with a simple touch, or heal themselves, undead or evil extraplanar allies. They can do this once per day at 1st level, twice per day at 11th level, and three times per day at 21st level They can also use their touch to either heal 1d4+1 ability score damage to themselves, or inflict it upon another individual. At 5th level, a Blackguard can use this ability to give a disease to another person.

Smite Good: Once per day, a Blackguard can add their Charisma bonus to their attack roll and their level to damage against a good-aligned creature. At level 5, they can use this ability twice per day. At levels 10, 15, 20 and 25, they gain an additional use of this power per day.

Turning: At 3rd level, Blackguards can attempt to turn or control good-aligned extraplanar beings, clerics and paladins as a 1st level evil cleric. They can also attempt to rebuke or control undead or evil-aligned extraplanar beings. Evil extraplanar beings are counted as unique undead for purposes of turning.

Aura of Fear: At 6th level, the Blackguard is immune to fear and forces all beings within 30 feet of it to make a Charisma check against fear or suffer a -2 penalty to all rolls.

Blackguard Spells: At 9th level, the Blackguard gains access to spells from the clerical list. Blackguards gain extra spells for a particularly high Charisma score. Their caster level starts at the level they begin casting spells, plus their Charisma score. This means that a Blackguard with a Charisma of 18 can cast at 4th level, rather than 1st level.

9th level: 1 1st level spell
10th level: 2 1st level spells
11th level: 2 1st level spells
12th level: 2 1st level spells, 1 2nd level spell
13th level: 3 1st level spells, 2 2nd level spells
14th level: 3 1st level spells, 2 2nd level spells
15th level: 3 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spells, 1 3rd level spell
16th level: 4 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spells, 2 3rd level spells
17th level: 4 1st level spells, 3 2nd level spells, 2 3rd level spells
18th level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 3 3rd level spells, 1 4th level spell
19th level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 3 3rd level spells, 2 4th level spells
20th level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 3 3rd level spells, 2 4th level spells
21st level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 4 3rd level spells, 3 4th level spells
22nd level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 4 3rd level spells, 3 4th level spells
23rd level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 4 3rd level spells, 3 4th level spells
24th level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 4 3rd level spells, 4 4th level spells
25th level: 4 1st level spells, 4 2nd level spells, 4 3rd level spells, 4 4th level spells.

Ascension Power: At 20th level, Blackguards receive a permanent +1 bonus to their Strength or Charisma score, and the ability to call a lawful evil creature equal to half of their hit dice to aid them in combat, or call upon the astral image of a creature equal to their hit dice to advise them or help them indirectly. They can use this ability once per day.

The interests of Hell are served by many beings, but perhaps none of the agents of Hell are so widely feared as the Blackguards, Hell’s elite knights. It is said that the first blackguard was created from the fallen soul of the first paladin, corrupted by Asmodeus personally, as a cruel insult to the goodly gods that first instituted the holy warriors. Almost all Blackguards were at one point Paladins, who fell from grace and then received an offer from a powerful diabolic patron to turn their divine spark towards darker purposes.

Blackguards are thoroughly evil, but are also lawful, and disdain destruction and death for no greater purpose. Thus, it is rare, but certainly possible for noble heroes to find themselves fighting alongside a blackguard against demonic or other chaotic foes. Most typically, however, the blackguard is encountered as an implacable enemy of the heroic group, often serving a powerful diabolist or devilish overseer. Powerful blackguards are often found riding upon nightmares, wielding evil weapons of hideous power and commanding lesser devils.

Blackguards are expected to follow a rigorous code, much as their goodly brethren are. They are expected to follow the laws of the kingdoms they are in, unless they directly contradict the needs of their Infernal overlords. They are expected to keep the contracts they make to the letter, though they are permitted to violate its spirit to meet evil ends. They are, naturally, free to use stealth and poison in combat, though they are expected to honour the conventions of formal challenges and duels if they enter into them. Blackguards are expected to lure others down the road of evil, while teaching them how to conform outwardly to law.

Most of all, though, Blackguards are expected to root out and destroy goodness and its servants, using their dark powers to mercilessly destroy those that are holy and just. By pleasing their Masters in Hell, Blackguards hope to prove themselves worthy of the honour of being reborn directly as a fiend, rather than have their souls simply dragged to Hell. Though torture and annhiliation of the self await most Blackguards, there are many Blackguards in the service of the Archdevils ...

[serleran]

Smite Good seems unusual in the wording, or maybe I'm misreading it. It seems they can add their Charisma and Level to an attack. This, basically, doubles their BtH (slightly more, actually) practically ensuring they score a hit. That's fine, but I wanted to be sure that was the intent... perhaps it should be Level is added as damage? I also assume a miss consumes the use of the ability.

Spellcasting, too, seems to have a slight oddity: at 9th level, when they can cast even 1st level spells, they may function as 12th level (with a Charisma of 18, for example) for purposes of effects and saves? That, I do not agree with. Spellcasting is potent enough without an automatic means to make it even more powerful than your level actually allows.

Otherwise, not bad. My preference is more along the lines of "a paladin of every alignment" rather than "one of good, one of evil" but in practice I never use either.

[KaiserKris]

Smite Good seems unusual in the wording, or maybe I'm misreading it. It seems they can add their Charisma and Level to an attack. This, basically, doubles their BtH (slightly more, actually) practically ensuring they score a hit. That's fine, but I wanted to be sure that was the intent... perhaps it should be Level is added as damage? I also assume a miss consumes the use of the ability.

Spellcasting, too, seems to have a slight oddity: at 9th level, when they can cast even 1st level spells, they may function as 12th level (with a Charisma of 18, for example) for purposes of effects and saves? That, I do not agree with. Spellcasting is potent enough without an automatic means to make it even more powerful than your level actually allows.

Otherwise, not bad. My preference is more along the lines of "a paladin of every alignment" rather than "one of good, one of evil" but in practice I never use either.

It was intended to be Charisma for hit, and level for damage, just like standard Smite Evil. And yes, a miss would consume a use of the ability.

What I intended for the spellcasting was for their caster level to start at Level 9, so they'd cast as a 4th level caster at that level, rather than a 12th level caster. I could, alternately, just allow them to cast at their class level with the limited arsenal.

I use Paladins all the time.