Chapter Two
Prestige Classes The three prestige classes in this chapter—the blessed prelate, the hallowed mage, and the Knight of the Pale— were designed with divine spellcasters in mind.
he blessed prelate is a class that allows a cleric to become even more virtuous and devout in faith, while a hallowed mage is the perfect fusion of arcanist and divine caster, and a Knight of the Pale presents a member of a specific knightly order in a unique way.
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Special: All ability score increases (those gained every four levels) before and after gaining levels in this class must be used to add to Wisdom or all class abilities are lost.
Blessed Prelate
Class Skills
The path toward perfect faith and purity is difficult. Mortals can strive their whole lives to make themselves acceptable in the sight of the gods and never actually achieve it. However, those who come close often attain special positions in a religious hierarchy. Such people, as they strive toward holiness, are called blessed prelates. As they advance, their state of enlightenment grows, as does their devotion to their vows and their faith. Most seeking to become a blessed prelate must undergo the training of a cleric, serving a god with great devotion and fidelity. A few good-aligned monks also seek the road to enlightenment and purity. Either way, theirs is a hard path, one where Wisdom is of greater value than wealth, and faith greater than Strength. PCs rarely encounter blessed prelates as nonplayer characters (NPCs), for such special individuals either consume themselves with study or meditation, or use their Wisdom to help chart the path of their religion. They are spiritual leaders and guides. Sometimes devout worshippers make pilgrimages to ask their advice. Occasionally a blessed prelate takes it upon herself to undertake a quest of some importance. Such quests are always steps on the path to true purity or enlightenment. Hit Die: d8
The blessed prelate’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int). See Chapter Four: Skills in the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions. Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Intelligence modifier
Requirements To qualify to become a blessed prelate, a character must fulfill all the following criteria. Alignment: Any good Knowledge (Religion): 5 ranks Feats: Devout Faith†, Vow of Obedience† Special: Ability to raise the dead or the wholeness of body class ability Special: Ability to turn undead or an innate immunity to disease
Class Features All of the following are class features of the blessed prelate prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The blessed prelate is proficient with no weapons, and no armor or shields. Spells. When a blessed prelate gains her first level, her second level, and on alternating levels after that, she earns new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in whatever spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, receive any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (metamagic or item creation feats, turning undead, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the new level of blessed prelate to the level of her previous spellcasting class, then determines spells per day, spells known, and caster level accordingly. For example, if Thuis, a 10th-level cleric, gains a level in blessed prelate, she gains new spells as if she had risen to 11th level in cleric, but uses the other blessed prelate aspects of level progression, such as base attack bonus and save bonuses. If she next gains a level of cleric, making her an 11th-level cleric /1st-level blessed prelate, she gains spells as if she had risen to 12th-level cleric. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before she became a blessed prelate, she must decide which class receives each level of blessed prelate. If a character becomes a blessed prelate with no spellcasting ability, the bonus spell levels are clerical spell levels.
