The Arkuthic Knight

Ability Requirements: Strength 12, Charisma 16
Prime Requisite: Strength and Charisma (see below)
Hit Die: d10
Races Allowed: Humans Only

Class Restrictions:

• Armor; any non magical
• Weapons: any non magical
• Alignment: any non-chaotic
• Race: human only
• XP: an Ark Knight whose Strength and Charisma scores are both 16 or more receives a 10% bonus to all earned experienced points.
• Split Classes: can never be dual class or multi class.
• Level Advancement: In order for an Ark Knight to advance in level they must be trained by another Ark Knight of at least 4 levels higher in skill. However after attaining 6th level, normal training will suffice for further advancement.

Class Abilities: Fearless, Holy Smite, Art of War, Skilled Rider, Attribute Bonuses, Attract Followers.

Description:

The Arkuthic Knight is a unique character class found only within the realm of Arkuth. They are devout, holy warriors of the Arkuthic faith and show an unending devotion towards their god and his people. Arkuthic Knights are bold, courageous and unyielding in combat and make for a most formidable foe on the battlefield. They are courteous, kind and respectful to all those who share the same faith. Those of different faith are generally treated with dignity, yet are still often viewed as heretics or simply enemies. Those who dabble in the arcane arts or cast divine spells are viewed as demon worshipers. Those of the Arkuthic faith do not desire or believe in magical assistance. Those who choose to use magical potions, magic ointments, magic oils or the like are also considered sinners.

They are fiercely loyal to their companions, only a difference in ideals could ever break this bond. They are passionate about honing their skills and spend their free time practicing sword play and reading scripture. Ark Knights make exceptional leaders as their way with words and their stalwart manner can make any opposition think twice about their intended actions.

Ark Knights are servants of the god Ark and are generally trusted without question by those of the faith beneath their station. The poor are treated kindly, woman are treated with respect, elderly are shown a helping hand when seen in need. Ark Knights are not proud, jealous or greedy and see qualities like these as sins. They hold justice and fair judgment second only to the desires of their god. They regularly seek out local churches for prayer, but will pray alone, wherever they are, if no church is available.

Treasure and other possessions beyond what are absolutely required to maintain their equipment is considered petty and is given to their church. This holds them in their lord's good grace and provides a way for his teachings to be passed on to others.

The holy doctrine (seen on the left) is the traditional book of scripture that all Ark Knights and those of this faith read and follow to the best of their abilities. These books are not common, but usually do not circulate amongst the poor or middle class as they are of exceptional quality and require months to duplicate by hand. Each tome created is copied directly from the oldest possible source available or the original manual itself which remains locked away and heavily guarded the Arkuthic monks of the tenth order. This ancient order was established during the Arkuthic religions beginning and since then have been charged with watching over its well being.

Young men of high social status who show promise are hand picked by the order and begin their rigorous schooling within the monastery. At the age of twelve, some of these young men are chosen as squires and are given the opportunity to become Arkuthic Knights. After years of training, attending church and loyal servitude to their knight master, they are then tested at the age of 17. If the squire in question is found worthy, they are knighted by the head of the order and are given the title of Knight Armiger (the 1st rank attained by an Arkuthic Knight).

As an Arkuthic Knight, there are times where great quests will fall upon you, and the opportunity to find or confiscate treasure will inevitably come to bear. In these such instances where the knight in question uses a magical sword or armor without knowing the item's provenance is considered a sin. The Arkuthic Knight is then responsible to repent these actions and must either destroy these items or leave them behind. Under normal circumstances the XP usually awarded for creating such items should now be given to the Ark Knight for ridding the world of them instead.

The Arkuthic Knight is truly a class for those who enjoy role-playing and should not be taken lightly or with a fool's mind.

Class Requirements:

The Ark Knight has two principle attributes strength and charisma. To become an Ark Knight one must have a minimum strength of 12 and must also possess a charisma of not less than 16. The Ark Knight must be of good alignment but is generally lawful good as they are bound to a strict set of holy virtues.

The lance and sword are the preferred weapons of an Ark Knight and proficiency is a must for both at first level. All additional weapon proficiencies can be assigned as desired.

General Info:

Ark Knights use a ten sided die (1D10) for hit point determination.

Knights start with 10d6 x 10 gp (due to social class bonus), 3 weapon proficiency slots and 3 non-weapon proficiency slots. They then receive 1 WP and 1 NWP slot every 3 levels. Bonus proficiencies include; etiquette, artistic ability and heraldry. Ark Knights make all saving throws and attack rolls as that of a fighter.

Ark Knights can use any non-magical weapon or armor, including anything finely crafted or blessed. They prefer the use of broad swords, bastard swords, two-handed swords, short swords, morning stars, maces, flails, daggers, dirks, lances or javelins.

They cannot use any potions or poisons as they are considered the work of the devil and are strictly forbidden. All use of magic, both arcane and clerical are also viewed as unholy and is not taken lightly. Users of these dark arts are generally asked to repent their sins, or are slain when the Ark Knight is provoked into physical violence.

An Ark Knight is always of high social standing and is inherently no lower status than that of Lower Upper Class (LUC). Not being of at least upper class rank would greatly hinder their social presence and restrict their main conquest of religious promotion. All Ark Knights follow a strict set of codes and seek to promote the Arkuthic faith to all (see holy dictations below).

An Ark Knight must worship "Ark", the creator (see deities section for details). An Ark Knight is also sworn to serve his god with unswerving devotion and any deviation of this faith causes the Ark Knight to become that of a simple fighter. All titles, ranks, stature and knightly abilities are revoked immediately. They are then considered to be a Heretic and are shunned in society.

The Holy Orders Of The Arkuthic Knight: Victory to honor the one true god; Upholding one's faith honors the order; Noble service to honor oneself; Defense of any charge until death; Courage and enterprise in obedience to rule; Honor to all above one’s station; Consideration towards all beneath your station; Obedience and respect from all beneath your station; War is a consequence of religion; Military prowess exercised to better one’s belief; Action taken against those who threaten the cause; Death before disgrace; Courtesy to all ladies, respect for the elderly;

Additional Abilities:

Fearless: Ark Knights are immune to the effects of fear, in turn they are also 90% immune to all mind effecting spells, this includes such powers as "Beguiling, charm, domination, hypnosis, magic jar, possession, sleep and suggestion, but never the effects of seduction".

Holy Smite: Ark Knights are experts at using weaponry from horseback and receive a damage bonus of +1 point per character level for each successful hit when using their preferred weapon.

Art of War: Ark Knights gain bonuses "to hit" with certain weapons as they advance in level. They are as follows;

• At 1st level; +1 to hit with a lance while mounted
• At 3rd level; +1 to hit with sword of choice (players choice, but must be one the Ark Knight is proficient in.)
• At 4th level; May strike creatures only hit with +1 weapons
• At 5th level; +1 to hit with either horseman's mace, horseman's flail or morning star (players choice, but must be one the Ark Knight is proficient in.)
• At 7th level; May strike creatures only hit with +2 weapons
• At 9th level; +2 to hit with sword of choice (as decided at 3rd level)
• At 10th level; May strike creatures only hit with +3 weapons
• At 11th level; +2 to hit with either horseman's mace, horseman's flail or morning star (as decided at 5th level)
• At 13th level; May strike creatures only hit with +4 weapons
• At 16th level; May strike creatures only hit with +5 weapons

Skilled Rider: Ark Knights gain the ability to handle greater mounts "superior horsemanship". Their capabilities are as follows;

• At 3rd level; an Ark Knight can vault into a saddle with bulky armor and have his steed underway in but a segment.
• At 5th level; an Ark Knight can urge on his steed to attain greater speeds than normal. This bonus is 2'' and can be maintained for up to 6 turns, but normal rest and feed are then required.
• At 7th level; at this level an Ark knight can handle and ride a Pegasus as his/her steed
• At 11th level; the Arc Knight can handle and ride a Griffon or similar creature (DM's judgment)

Attribute Bonuses: Ark Knights gain attribute bonuses in much the same manner as that of a Cavalier. For each level attained an Ark Knight rolls 2d10 and adds this to a percentile score for either CON, DEX and STR. When the percentile scores exceeds 100% the main score is increased by 1 and the 100 is discarded. Eg. An Ark Knight with an original 15/75 STR rolls a 15 for this ability bonus upon attaining second level, the character's score is now 15/90 etc. All of these abilities can be raised to a maximum of 18/00, even if doing so violates racial restrictions or sex. If an Ark Knight loses a level, the percentile points gained are lost.

Attract Followers: After 5th level an Arkuthic Knight gains the ability to attract followers of the same faith. These followers are always worshippers of the same faith and actively seek out the knight in question. Once found, they pledge their servitude towards the Ark Knight and are his to care for. They do as commanded and help the knight when and where possible. At 5th level the DM should roll a % dice and any score below 5% will attract 1d4 followers. For each level beyond 5th, the percentage chance increases by 2% and the number of followers increases to the next largest dice. IE: at 6th level, roll a d6, at 7th level roll a d8 etc (maximum of a d20).

Experience Table

Level	Experience	Hit Die (d10)	Level Title
1	0 - 2,500	1	Knight Armiger
2	2,501 - 5,000	2	Knight Scutifier
3	5,001 - 10,000	3	Knight Esquire
4	10,001 - 20,000	4	Knight Errant
5	20,001 - 40,000	5	Knight Bachelor
6	40,001 - 80,000	6	Knight Artisan
7	80,001 - 160,000	7	Knight Grand
8	160,001 - 250,000	8	Knight Banneret
9	250,001 - 400,000	9	Lead Knight
10	370,001 - 670,000	10	Ark Knight
11	670,001 - 970,000	10+3	Ark Knight (1st order)
12	1,270,001 - 1,570,000	10+6	Ark Knight (2nd order)
13	1,570,001 - 1,870,000	10+9	Ark Knight (3rd order)
14	1,879,001 - 2,170,000	10+12	Ark Knight (4th order)
15	2,170,001 - 2,400,000	10+15	Ark Knight (5th order)
16	2,400,001 - 2,770,000	10+18	Ark Knight (6th order)
17	2,770,001 - 3,070,000	10+21	Ark Knight (7th order)
18	3,070,001 - 3,370,000	10+24	Ark Knight (8th order)
19	3,370,001 - 3,670,000	10+27	Ark Knight (9th order)
20	3,670,001 - 3,970,000	10+30	Ark Knight (10th order)

Ark Knights gain 3 h.p. per level after the 10th.