Custom crap

[Anastasia]

I've never cared for special mount as a class feature. It doesn't work too well with how a lot of D&D combat goes. There are two excellent alternate class features that replace it, but more variety is good. Each of these abilities is useful, as charging smite and divine spirit are both potent.

If it isn't obvious by now, I almost always replace special mount with something. This is for my benefit as much as yours, I admit.

Alternate Class Feature: Domain Paladin

While some paladins are shown divine favor by the gift of a celestial mount, your piety is rewarded in another way.

Level: 5th.

Replaces: If you select this alternate class feature, you do not gain special mount.

Benefit: You may select a domain your deity grants access to. You gain the granted ability of this domain. You may use your paladin level in place of cleric level if it calls for your cleric level. In addition, you may add the spells from that domain to your paladin spell list.

Alternate Class Feature: Battlescarred Paladin

Your trials against evil have tested your mettle. Like iron from the forge, you have emerged strengthened.

Level: 5th.

Replaces: If you select this alternate class feature, you do not gain special mount.

Benefit: You gain damage reduction 1/-.  At level 8 it rises to damage reduction 2/- and rises by another point every three levels thereafter. (11, 14, 17, 20, 23, ect.)

Alternate Class Feature: Celestial Wings

Like the celestial servants of your deity, you are liberated from the surly bonds of earth.

Level: 5th.

Replaces: If you select this alternate class feature, you do not gain special mount.

Benefit: You gain a pair of white feathered wings. These wings grant a fly speed of 50ft (good).

Alternate Class Feature: Paladin of Radiance

Light shines from you with an intensity to rival the most pious cleric.

Level: 5th.

Replaces: If you select this alternate class feature, you do not gain special mount.

Benefit: You are treated as a cleric of your paladin level to turn undead, instead of a cleric three levels lower than your paladin level.

[Yuthirin]

I originally talked about this idea with Dune, and here's what I came up with. The idea of a necromancer automatically being evil is kind of weird to me. Sure, undead are dirty and generally used to cause havoc and such, but that doesn't mean that all uses of necromancy are wrong and evil. The Spirit Guide here is a class that is most likely to be found in a tribal or small-village setting where the ancestors of the living are worshiped and, if needed, can rise to defend their descendants with unceasing ferocity

Also note: This isn't done.

Ancestral Spirit Guide

Hit Die
d4

Alignment
Any non-evil

Valued Abilities
Wisdom (Primary)
Charisma
Dexterity

Level  Base        Fort    Ref    Will    Special                               Spells per Day
       Attack
       Bonus                                                                 0  1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th 
1st   +0           +2      +0     +2  Turn Undead                            3   2    —    —    —    —    —    —    —    — 
2nd   +1           +3      +0     +3                                         4   3    —    —    —    —    —    —    —    — 
3rd   +2           +3      +1     +3  Lesser Preserver's Aura                5   4    2    —    —    —    —    —    —    — 
4th   +3           +4      +1     +4  Ancestral Ally                         6   5    3    —    —    —    —    —    —    — 
5th   +3           +4      +1     +4  Empowered Magic                        6   6    4    2    —    —    —    —    —    — 
6th   +4           +5      +2     +5  Lesser Ancestal Form                   6   6    5    3    —    —    —    —    —    — 
7th   +5           +5      +2     +5                                         6   6    6    4    2    —    —    —    —    — 
8th   +6/+1        +6      +2     +6  Greater Bolstering Undead              6   6    6    5    3    —    —    —    —    — 
9th   +6/+1        +6      +3     +6  Preserver's Aura                       6   6    6    6    4    2    —    —    —    — 
10th  +7/+2        +7      +3     +7                                         6   6    6    6    5    3    —    —    —    — 
11th  +8/+3        +7      +3     +7                                         6   6    6    6    6    4    2    —    —    — 
12th  +9/+4        +8      +4     +8  Ancestral Form                         6   6    6    6    6    5    3    —    —    — 
13th  +9/+4        +8      +4     +8                                         6   6    6    6    6    6    4    2    —    — 
14th  +10/+5       +9      +4     +9                                         6   6    6    6    6    6    5    3    —    — 
15th  +11/+6/+1    +9      +5     +9  Greater Preserver's Aura               6   6    6    6    6    6    6    4    2    — 
16th  +12/+7/+2    +10     +5     +10                                        6   6    6    6    6    6    6    5    3    — 
17th  +12/+7/+2    +10     +5     +10                                        6   6    6    6    6    6    6    6    4    2 
18th  +13/+8/+3    +11     +6     +11  Greater Ancestral Form                6   6    6    6    6    6    6    6    5    3 
19th  +14/+9/+4    +11     +6     +11                                        6   6    6    6    6    6    6    6    6    4 
20th  +15/+10/+5   +12     +6     +12  Master of Death, Phylactery           6   6    6    6    6    6    6    6    6    5

Turn Undead: An Ancestral Spirit Guide has the power to affect undead creatures by channeling the power of his negative energy. You are able to rebuke or command undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. An Ancestral Spirit Guide with 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (religion) gets a +2 bonus on turning checks against undead.

Ancestral Ally: At 4th level, An ancestral spirit guide gains the ability to summon a powerful skeletal warrior to aid you in combat. Once summoned, this skeletal ally lasts until it is destroyed or the next time you rest. In order to summon an ancestral ally, an ancestral spirit guide must spend an amount of turn undead attempts equal to the desired HD of the skeleton divided by 2. (ex.) Hogarth Fathershand, a level 5 ancestral spirit guide, is able to summon an ancestral ally with an HD maximum of 4 (must be divisible by 2). Therefore, he must spend 2 turn undead attempts (2 + 2 = 4). He may not summon a skeleton with an HD of 6 until he has obtained level 6.

Empowered Magic: Your experience in cursing the enemy brings delighted feelings to you. Now, whenever you cast a spell that is meant to debuff your enemies through spells such as bane, prayer and other similar spells, you and your undead minions within the effects of the spell benefit from it with the opposite effects. (ex.) bane will give a -1 penalty to attack for enemies and grant you and your undead +1 to attack.

Ancestral Form: Starting at 6th level, a necromancer gains the ability to cloak himself with powerful negative energy to assume the form of the undead. A necromancer may enter an undead form once per day that lasts for 1 hour/level of necromancer. While in an undead form, you lose any bonuses from constitution. Your health then doubles (d6 ==> d12 = doubles). You are now damaged by healing spells, healed by negative energy, and take double damage from fire, light and good attacks. You gain all immunities of the undead type. Additional notices - Immune to most effects that require a fortitude save, use charisma modifier for concentration checks.

--- Zombie Form: Available to the necromancer at level 6. You gain a +2 natural armor bonus. You also gain an energy drain special attack. You must declare that you are using this special attack before your attack. You may only make 1 attack per round if you choose to use this special attack. In addition to bestowing 1 negative level on a hit, your attack deals 1d4 negative energy damage and 1d2 constitution damage.

---Vampire Form: Available to a level 12 necromancer. You gain a +2 natural armor bonus and damage reduction 5/magic. Your energy drain special attack does an additional 2d4 negative energy damage and 1d4 constitution damage. Vampire form also grants you a +4 turn resistance to a good cleric's turn undead ability. You also gain 10 resistance to cold and electricity energy. Vampire form also grants +2 to charisma and a +2 to the DC's of your enchantment spells such as charm or dominate.

---Lich Form}: Available to a level 18 necromancer. While in lich form, you have a surrounding fear aura. Any creature that is within 30 feet of you (for the first time), if they fail the will save, they are affected by the fear spell. You gain a +2 natural armor bonus and damage reduction 10/magic. Your energy drain special attack now drains 2 negative levels per hit and does an additional 3d4 negative energy damage and 1d6 constitution damage. Lich form grants +4 turn resistance. You are immune to cold and electricity energy. Lich form grants +2 to charisma and +2 to the DC's of your necromancy, enchantment and illusion spells.

Greater Bolstering Undead: at 8th level, a necromancer's undead power in defending his undead against the light is potent enough to cause others to think twice before trying to combat a necromancer and his undead army. Whenever a necromancer chooses to bolster his undead (or himself while in undead form), they gain +2 attack, +2 armor class, +2 saves, +2 damage and +2 turn resistance.

Master of Death: At 20th level, a necromancer has truly learned the arts of death, thus gaining +2 charisma and +2 to the DC's of necromancy spells.

Phylactery: At 20th level a necromancer can trap part of his soul into a Phylactery (see Lich's Phylactery).

[edit] Ex-Ancestral Spirit Guides
An Ancestral Spirit Guide that becomes evil in alignment or misuses the power the ancestors grant her cannot gain levels in Ancestral Spirit Guide and lose all special abilities and all spells learned, as they were granted by the spirits.