Prestige Classes

SOULGUARD

"Your claim on this soul is unjust. Free him at once, lest I take him by force."

-Halagrad Doomhammer, soulguard

Hell's devils are crafty fiends, always angling for some way to steal the souls of the unwary. Whether cementing deviously foul bargains with mortals or stealing souls as they travel to their final rest, they use whatever means they can to feed their own power through the misery and corruption of mortals. Soulguards openly oppose these practices by the baatezu and go to great lengths to protect those beset by the power of Baator.

BECOMING A SOULGUARD

Soulguards are almost always clerics or paladins who recognize the balance between the gods and the devils, but also know that the baatezu work to circumvent the agreement binding them. These characters have a profound understanding of Hell's politics and the beings that control the plane. Clerics have the easiest time gaining access to the class, but druids sometimes abandon their duties as stewards of nature to right the greater imbalance in the planes. Favored souls prefer a more warlike approach to the battle against fiends, but they cannot gain entry to this class until higher levels.

PLAYING A SOULGUARD

The merest suggestion that good souls are imprisoned and languishing in the Nine Hells infuriates you. But your anger is a quiet, simmering rage, one that sharpens your senses and firms your resolve to battle devils wherever you find them. Though your life is committed to freeing the wrongly held, you sometimes deal with fiends to get the information you need. Devils are treacherous, readily selling out their peers in the hopes of securing a better place among the baatezu hierarchy.

Soulguards work closely with religious organizations, especially the churches of Heironeous, St. Cuthbert, Moradin, and Wee Jas. At low levels, they tap into the church's resources to gain information about local cults, as well as obtain supplies and reinforcements for forays against Hell's minions on the Material Plane. At higher levels, a soulguard can gather volunteers to accompany him into the Nine Hells itself, taking the fight directly to the fiends' doorstep.

Combat
Though you are a capable combatant, you lack the versatility of purely martial characters. You have obtained a selection of abilities to aid you in destroying evil outsiders. When facing foes of this kind, you should bring your considerable power to bear to help your allies. At higher levels, you can use dispel evil to protect yourself, as well as force a devil to return to its plane. Your dimensional anchor ability allows you to counter the powerful advantage that devils gain through their teleportation abilities.

Advancement

The very existence of Hell is bad enough, but it, like all the planes, fulfills an important function. As a prison, it does its job well, but the devils are not content with simply doing their duty. They insist on ranging out to seduce mortals or even steal their souls outright. Imprisoning an innocent is wrong, but imprisoning an innocent soul for eternity is a grave travesty. Once you learned that this activity occurs frequently, you began to seek justice for these souls.

Now that you have worked as a soulguard, you have uncovered more corruption and despair than you thought possible. The devils aren't just casually working to unravel morality - they're making a concerted effort to seduce mortals. Your work has introduced you to some of the greatest evils, but also to powerful heroes, bold inquisitors, and dedicated exorcists.

The more you learn, the more your resolve hardens. You should never flag in your studies, so be sure to invest in Knowledge (the planes), one of your most potent weapons when fighting fiends. To complement your powerful class features, consider picking up the Ability Focus feat to boost divine rebuke. If you use Book of Exalted Deeds, Consecrate Spell and Sanctify Martial Strike are also excellent feat choices.

Resources

Continued work alongside good organizations endears you to others who are committed to fighting evil. In time, you develop a strong rapport with good churches (other than your own, if you belong to one). These organizations might see you as a rogue element, but they cannot ignore your importance as an ally. Such groups might provide discounts on spells and disposable magic items, depending on how much you have helped them in the past.

Also, your experience with planar agencies makes you something of an expert when dealing with fiends. You gain a reputation for being a sage in matters pertaining to the baatezu, and others might seek you out for advice or help. In most cases, such meetings are fortuitous, since they can put you on the trail of yet another enemy.

SOULGUARDS IN THE WORLD

"Renegades each and every one - they dabble in matters best left for the gods to sort out."

-Albrien Matterly, seeker of virtue

Soulguards are excellent additions to campaigns involving extensive planar travel, vile enemies and exalted heroes, or any adventures that feature devils as adversaries.

Organization

While not part of an organization, soulguards occasionally meet to exchange important information and assist each other on missions. When a group of soulguards assembles, they usually bring along cohorts and other like-minded companions. Once assembled, the most experienced soulguard takes charge and directs the meetings, allowing each member to report any findings. Should a soulguard need assistance, he can make his case, laying out any evidence of fiendish activity to convince his peers.

The most important meetings are those in which a group plans a raid to recover a wrongfully imprisoned soul. An experienced soulguard starts such a group by making a call to his peers through good-aligned churches and organizations. The group meets in secret, almost always in a temple, where they can plan and gather their forces. Once they have agreed on strategy, each soulguard capable of plane shifting takes a strike team to the Nine Hells to reach the intended captives.

NPC Reactions

Soulguards are scary. Their trappings, the nature of their business, and their righteous authority can be intimidating to common folk. Still, people who know what soulguards are about tend to be friendly, if not helpful.

The favored outlook doesn't always extend to others though. Clerics of gods of death see soulguards as meddlers, people who interfere with the proper order of the multiverse. While they don't oppose the soulguards, at least not openly, they tend to be indifferent.

For obvious reasons, evil creatures detest soulguards. Disciples of archdevils actively work against these individuals. Half-fiends, some tieflings, and other characters with fiendish heritage are typically unfriendly.

SOULGUARD LORE

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (the planes) can research soulguards to learn more about them. When a character succeeds on a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC 10: Soulguards are heroic individuals who fight on behalf of those wronged by evil.

DC 15: These individuals oppose the wrongful acquisition of souls by devils.

DC 20: Devils can't abide the righteous stare of soul guards and f lee before them. Soulguards can see right through the lies of devils, and seek to expose their evil wherever they can.

DC 30: Characters who achieve this level of success can learn important details about a specific notable soulguard, the areas in which he operates, and the kinds of activities he undertakes.

Soulguards make a special effort to be available to those who need them, so tracking one down is rarely a problem. Characters looking for a soulguard have little trouble so long as they are in a large town or larger community. To find one, they must succeed on a DC 15 Gather Information check. If a soulguard lives in the community, they learn his whereabouts. If not, they find someone who knows how to get in touch with one nearby.

SOULGUARDS IN THE GAME

Wherever devils plot to snatch souls, a soulguard is likely to be found working against them. Introducing soul guards into an ongoing campaign is simple, because they are likely to have been there all the time, fighting devils behind the scenes.

PCs who have come up short in an encounter with a devil might find this class appealing. Of all the classes, clerics and paladins are the most likely to branch into soulguard. However, rangers who select evil outsiders as a favored enemy, druids, and even favored souls might find sufficient cause to lay aside their normal class progression to take up a fight against the devils.

Adaptation

Though designed to address the capabilities and techniques employed by baatezu, soulguards can be adapted to oppose other types of outsiders. For example, in campaigns featuring slaadi as principal opponents, you can change the class features so that they specifically affect chaotic outsiders. Dispel evil becomes dispel chaos, and purging radiance would deal damage to chaotic outsiders rather than evil outsiders.

Sample Encounter

Characters are most likely to encounter soulguards as allies or useful contacts. Soulguards monitor the activities of a given area, watchful for infernal agents at work. On occasion, a soulguard might hire the PCs for assistance against a particularly dangerous foe or send them out to deal with a fiend themselves.

EL 10: Halagrad Doomhammer (LG male dwarf cleric 6/soulguard 4) remains a devout follower of Moradin, but he no longer counts himself as part of the clergy. When a fiend seduced and corrupted his brother, he knew it was a sign from the Soulforger to take the battle to the fiends. He severed all ties to his clan and church, and left his home to destroy devils and their cults wherever he found them.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

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

Alignment: Lawful good or lawful neutral.

Skills: Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 9 ranks, Knowledge (the planes) 4 ranks.

Language: Infernal.

Feats: Iron Will.

Spellcasting: Ability to cast 1st-level divine spells.

Class Skills

The soulguard's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Decipher Script (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Knowledge (the planes) (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.


Table: The Soulguard

Level Base
Attack
Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save
Special Spellcasting
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Pierce deception
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Divine rebuke, immunity to charm +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
3rd +2 +3 +1 +3 Dispel evil 1/day +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
4th +3 +4 +1 +4 Absolution +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
5th +3 +4 +1 +4 Immunity to compulsion +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
6th +4 +5 +2 +5 Dispel evil 2/day +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
7th +5 +5 +2 +5 Purging radiance +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
8th +6 +6 +2 +6 Resistance aura +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
9th +6 +6 +3 +6 Dispel evil 3/day +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
10th +7 +7 +3 +7 Dimensional anchor +1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
Class Features

As you gain levels in this class, you sacrifice some degree of your spellcasting potential to develop the necessary abilities to free souls from Hell.

All of the following are class features of the soulguard prestige class.

Spellcasting: At each level above 1st, you gain new spells per day and an increase in caster level (and spells known, if applicable) as if you had also gained a level in a divine spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one divine spellcasting class before becoming a soulguard, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining spells per day, caster level, and spells known.

Pierce Deception (Sp): You gain the ability to channel your spell power to pierce all deceptions. For a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum one), as a standard action, you can sacrifice a prepared spell or spell slot to use true seeing, as the spell (no material component needed). This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell sacrificed, and you can target only yourself with this spell-like ability. The caster level equals your caster level.

Divine Rebuke (Su): Starting at 2nd level, as a swift action, you can sacrifice a spell slot or a prepared spell to rebuke an evil outsider within 30 feet. The outsider must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + level of the spell sacrificed + your Cha modifier) or cower for a number of rounds equal to the spell slot of the spell sacrificed. The effect ends if the fiend is attacked.

Immunity to Charm (Ex): At 2nd level, you gain immunity to enchantment (charm) spells and effects.

Dispel Evil (Sp): Beginning at 3rd level, you can use a dispel evil effect once per day. Your caster level equals your divine caster level. The save DC is Charisma-based.

At 6th level, you can use this ability twice per day. At 9th level, you can use this ability three times per day.

Absolution (Sp): Starting at 4th level, you gain the ability to use atonement once per day as a spell-like ability.

Alternatively, if you are using the corruption rules, you can purify a creature to redeem it from evil. Only a creature that desires absolution can be affected. Furthermore, any gains (monetary, political, personal, and so on) a creature has attained through evil acts must be abandoned. If the target creature has 3 or fewer corruption points, they are all removed. If the creature has 4 or more corruption points, you can reduce the total by 1. A single creature cannot receive the benefit of absolution more than once unless the DM permits it for exceptional story-driven reasons.

Immunity to Compulsion (Ex): At 5th level, you gain immunity to enchantment (compulsion) spells and effects.

Purging Radiance (Su): At 7th level and higher, you can spend a daily use of your turn undead ability to deal damage to nearby fiends. As a standard action, the area around you fills with a pure, holy energy that deals 1d6 points of damage per class level to evil outsiders within 30 feet. This ability does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

If you do not have the turn undead ability, this ability has no effect.

Resistance Aura (Su): From 8th level on, you and all allies within 20 feet of you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and effects generated by evil outsiders.

Dimensional Anchor (Su): At 10th level, your presence blocks the teleportation abilities of evil outsiders. No evil outsider can use a teleportation spell or effect while within 20 feet of you.

Multiclass Note: A paladin who becomes a soulguard can continue advancing as a paladin.