Horned Warden

Paladins are called to serve the ideals of law and good, and the horned warden is no different. Rather than taking up shining steel to guard the values of civilization, however, this paladin finds his calling in the arms of Mother Gaia. Nature needs a sworn guardian just as much as the world of men does, and the horned warden is blessed with druid-like abilities to safeguard the wilderness.

The horned warden is an archetype of the paladin class.

Alignment and Code of Conduct

In addition to the standard paladin code, a horned warden must respect and cherish nature and protect it against all who would do it harm. He must not take more than his share from the natural world, nor may he slay an animal for a purpose other than food or clothing or to protect others from it, and then only after attempts to pacify it have failed.

Class Skills

The horned warden does not gain Knowledge (Nobility) as a class skill; he replaces it with Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Geography), and Survival. Weapon and Armor Proficiency The horned warden is prohibited from wearing metal armor or using metal shields. If he uses such a prohibited item, he cannot cast spells or use any of his supernatural or spell-like class features (including base paladin class features) for as long as he uses it and for 24 hours thereafter.

Smite Evil

Rather than dealing double damage on the first hit against evil dragons, evil outsiders, and undead, the horned warden’s smite deals double damage on the first hit against aberrations, constructs, and undead. He may use smite evil against aberrations and constructs as if they were evil, regardless of their alignment.

This ability alters the existing smite evil class feature.

Wild Empathy

The horned warden gains this ability at 2nd level, as the druid class feature.

This ability replaces divine grace.

Trackless Step

The horned warden gains this ability at 3rd level, as the druid class feature.

This ability replaces aura of courage.

Spells

A horned warden treats all spells on both the paladin and ranger spell lists as paladin spells, and may prepare ranger spells in his daily spell slots.

This ability replaces channel positive energy.

Nature Bond

At 5th level, a horned warden forms a bond with nature. This bond takes the form of a single cleric domain, selected from the following list: Air, Animal, Earth, Fire, Plant, Water, Weather, or an Animal or Terrain domain. When determining the powers granted by this domain, the horned warden’s effective cleric level is equal to his paladin level. A horned warden that selects this option also receives additional domain spell slots of each level he can cast (1 through 4), just like a cleric. He must prepare the spell from his domain in this slot. He does not gain access to higher-level domain spells than 4th level, and they are not considered to be part of his spell list.

This ability replaces divine bond.

Venom Immunity

At 11th level, a horned warden gains immunity to all poisons.

This ability replaces aura of justice.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Advanced Archetypes © 2014, Flaming Crab Games; Authors: Tanner Wahlin, Alex Abel, and C. J. Withers

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