Knights of Furyondy
Knights of the Hart, Part 2
by Brian Benoit

The Knights of Furyondy along with other nobles form the “Knightly Conclave” in Chendl. This conclave is a semi-parliamentary group that considers more or less any issue it wishes, and then offers its opinions to King Belvor IV. The Knights of the Hart are influential in this conclave. King Belvor doesn’t have to listen to the conclave’s advice, but he needs their support to implement his decisions. This does give them power and influence within the Kingdom. There is one major rift between King Belvor and the knights. The Knights of the Hart generally regard the Knights of Holy Shielding, the Shield Land émigrés, with contempt. They see the pride and incompetence of the Shield Land leaders during the war as culpable, and consider the Knights of Holy Shielding “witless intruders.” Some are incensed that Belvor made Count Artur Jakartai (a very powerful Knight of Holy Shielding) ruler of Crystalreach, and have expressed their discontent to Belvor in person and in the Knightly Conclave. King Belvor offered the assistance of Furyondy to the Shield Land leaders during the war. They refused his help, and many regard this as the main reason why the Shield Lands fell quickly during the Greyhawk Wars.

The knights' primary defenses are along the northern border with “Old Wicked”, although some knights argue the southern shore of Whyestil Lake is a much more defensible boundary. They argue for an offensive to recapture lost land. King Belvor may have taken this to heart. He has proclaimed a perpetual and never ending war with Old Wicked, and just recently has begun to mobilize forces into the lands of Iuz, primarily around Molag.

The Knights of Furyondy are the largest of the three orders, with 169 knights at its command. The primary concern now is the recruitment of new knights, without lowering their standards. This is due to the deaths of around fifty knights in the Greyhawk Wars and the Great Northern Crusade. Their coat of arms is a pair of antlers on azure.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a knight of Furyondy, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Race: Human or half-elf.
Alignment: Lawful good or neutral good.
Base Attack Bonus: +8.
Skills: Diplomacy 2 ranks, Knowledge (local) 2 ranks, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) 2 ranks, Ride 6 ranks.
Feats: Armor Proficiency (heavy), Leadership, Martial Weapon Proficiency (lance), Mounted Combat, Power Attack.
Special: Joining the knights of Furyondy is by invitation only. A prospective knight is invited only after demonstrating exceptional honor, bravery, courage or service. This could be by slaying a powerful enemy of the order, or rescuing comrades from such an enemy. The knight must live the Code of Conduct of the Order or face expulsion.

CLASS SKILLS

The knight of Furyondy’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (local) (Int), Knowledge (nobility and royalty) (Int), Ride (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

CLASS FEATURES

All of the following are features of the knights of Furyondy prestige class.

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

Spells per Day: A knight of Furyondy has the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. To cast a spell, the knight must have a Wisdom score of a least 10 + the spell’s level, so a knight with Wisdom of 10 or lower cannot cast these spells. Knight of Furyondy bonus spells are based on Wisdom, and saving throws against these spells have a DC of 10 + spell level + the knight’s Wisdom modifier. When the knight gets 0 spells of a given level, such as 0 1st-level spells at 1st level, he gets only bonus spells. (A knight without a bonus spell for that level cannot yet cast a spell of that level). The knight of Furyondy’s spell list appears below. A knight has access to any spell on the list and can freely choose which to prepare, just like a cleric. A knight of Furyondy prepares and casts spells just as a cleric does (though he cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells).

Enemies: Several of the abilities listed below mention enemies of the knights of the Hart. For purposes of those abilities, the enemies of the knights of the Hart are individuals with allegiance to the following organizations or nations: the Empire of Iuz, the Scarlet Brotherhood, the Horned Society, Ket, and the Pomarj.

In addition, the knights of the Hart dislike several organizations or nations. These groups are not considered enemies for the purposes of a knight's special ability, a knight using any social skill (such as Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate) when dealing with these groups suffers a -2 circumstance penalty. The exception here is Sense Motive, which is instead at a +2 circumstance bonus in these social situations. The following organizations or nations are considered disliked: Perrenland, Dyvers, Nyrond, the Knights of Holy Shielding, and the Knights of the Watch.

Fated Strike (Ex): At 1st level, you strike harder when up against the current enemies of the knights of the Hart. You deal a +2 sacred bonus to damage rolls against the enemies listed above.

Fight Till the End (Ex): At 1st level, you gain the Diehard feat, even if you do not have the normal prerequisites for that feat.

Inspire Allies (Su): At 2nd level, all allies within a 10 ft. radius of you receive a +2 morale bonus to fear and mind-affecting saving throws. This ability does not bestow the bonus to the knight or other knights of the Hart.

Bonus Feat: At 3rd, 6th, and 9th level, the knight of Furyondy receives a bonus feat.

Fated Blow (Su): At 3rd level, you gain the ability to smite current enemies of the Knights of the Hart once per day. This increases to twice per day at 7th level. This acts just like the paladin’s smite evil ability. Paladin levels as well as knight of Furyondy levels are added to the damage dealt.

Improved Fated Strike (Ex): At 4th level, you strike with more precision and harder when up against the current enemies of the Knights of the Hart. You deal a +2 sacred bonus to hit and damage rolls against the enemies listed above. This ability supersedes fated strike.

I Know You’re There (Su): At 5th level, the knight gains the ability to sense invisible foes. Using senses such as acute hearing and sensitivity to vibrations, the knight detects the location of opponents who are no more than 5 feet away from them. Invisibility is irrelevant, though the knight cannot discern incorporeal beings. Except for the decreased range, this ability is identical with the exceptional ability blindsight defined in the Monster Manual.

Greater Fated Strike (Su): At 8th level, when a critical hit is made against current enemies of the Knights of the Hart you add one to the critical multiplier (i.e., a x2 critical weapon becomes x3, and so on). This ability stacks with improved fated strike.

Wrath of the Hart (Sp): At 10th level, once per day, you may call down the Wrath of the Hart upon your enemies. All current enemies of the Knights of the Hart, in a 20 ft. radius centered on you, take 10d8 points of holy damage, and are blinded for 1d4 rounds. A Reflex save applies (DC 15 + Wisdom bonus), for half damage and to negate the blinding effect. This spell-like ability only affects the current enemies of the Knights of the Hart.

Knight of Furyondy Spell List

Knights of Furyondy choose their spells from the following list:

1st Level–bless, bless water, bless weapon, cure light wounds, detect evil, detect undead, divine favor, endure elements, magic weapon, protection from evil, lesser restoration.

2nd Level–aid, bull’s strength, delay poison, eagle’s splendor, gentle repose, owl’s Wisdom, remove paralysis, shield other, Spiritual weapon, zone of truth.

3rd Level–cure moderate wounds, daylight, discern lies, dispel magic, invisibility purge, magic circle against evil, greater magic weapon, prayer, remove blindness/deafness, remove curse

4th Level–break enchantment, cure serious wounds, death ward, dispel evil, divine power, holy sword, neutralize poison, restoration.