Mechanized Knight

Mechanized knights are mounted artificers that ride into battle upon a gearworks mount. Trained in battle techniques, the mechanized knight utilizes his artifice to enhance his weapons and armor, allowing him to engage his enemies in direct combat. A mechanized knight has the following class features.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency

The mechanized knight is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with light armor, and with shields (except tower shields).

Gearworks Mount (Su)

This is exactly like the artificer’s ability of the same name, except that the mechanized knight gains a gearworks machine at 1st level, and must choose the quadruped base form. In addition, he uses Table: Engineered Gearworks Machine Base Statistics of the Gearworks Engineer archetype to determine his gearworks mounts abilities and advancement, but reduces the number of upgrade points his mount gains at each level by 2. Thus, a gearworks mount gains only 1 upgrade point at 1st level, 2 upgrade points at 2nd, and so on.

Theory (Su)

The gearworks engineer swaps three theories for the following theory. The new theory description includes information on which theories from the Artificer class feature this new theory replaces.

Artifice of War (Su): At 3rd level, a mechanized knight can expend 1 point from his artifice pool as a swift action to grant any weapon he is holding or armor he is wearing a +1 enhancement bonus for 1 minute. For every four levels beyond 3rd, the weapon or armor gains another +1 enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +5 at 19th level. These bonuses can be added to the weapon or armor, stacking with existing weapon enhancement to a maximum of +5. Multiple uses of this ability do not stack with themselves.

At 7th level, a mechanized knight can use these bonuses to add special properties to his weapon or armor. If he enhances his weapon, he can choose from the following weapon properties: corrosive burst, corrosive, flaming burst, flaming, frost, icy burst, impact, impervious, keen, shock, shocking burst, speed, thundering, or wounding weapon properties to his weapon. If he enhances his armor, he can add the following armor properties: adhesive, balanced, creeping, delving, energy resistance, expeditious, grinding, fortification (heavy, light, or medium), impervious, improved energy resistance, improved shadow, improved slick, invulnerability, radiant, shadow, slick, or staunching.

Adding these properties consumes an amount of bonus equal to the property’s base price modifier (see Ultimate Equipment). These bonuses are added to any properties the weapon or armor already has, but duplicate abilities do not stack. At least a +1 enhancement bonus must be added before any other properties can be added. These bonuses and properties are decided when the artifice pool point is spent and cannot be changed until the next time the mechanized knight uses this theory. These bonuses do not function if the weapon is wielded or armor worn by anyone other than the mechanized knight.

A mechanized knight can only enhance one weapon and one suit of armor in this way at one time. If he uses this theory again on another weapon or armor, the first use immediately ends. This theory replaces the arcane artifice, reciprocal activation, and enduring artifice theories.

Gadgets

Beginning at 4th level, a mechanized knight gains the ability to create a small number of gadgets, which are drawn from the artificer gadget list. A mechanized knight must choose and prepare his gadgets in advance.

To prepare or create a gadget, a mechanized knight must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the gadget level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a mechanized knight's gadget is 10 + the gadget level + the mechanized knight's Intelligence modifier.

Like an artificer, a mechanized knight can create only a certain number of gadgets of each gadget level per day. His base daily gadget allotment is given on Table: Mechanized knight. In addition, he receives bonus gadgets per day if he has a high Intelligence score. When Table: Mechanized knight indicates that the mechanized knight gets 0 gadgets per day of a given gadget level, he gains only the bonus gadgets he would be entitled to based on his Intelligence score for that gadget level.

A mechanized knight must get 8 hours of rest and spend 1 hour per day studying his schematics to regain his daily allotment of gadgets. A mechanized knight may prepare and create any gadget on the artificer gadget list, provided that he can create gadgets of that level, but he must choose which gadgets to prepare during his daily study.

Through 3rd level, a mechanized knight has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, his caster level is equal to his mechanized knight level –3. This ability, medium armor, fighter training, and heavy armor replace the artificer’s standard gadget ability.

Mechanical Charge (Ex)

At 3rd level, a mechanized knight learns to make more accurate charge attacks while mounted. The mechanized knight receives a +4 bonus on melee attack rolls on a charge while mounted on his gearworks mount (instead of the normal +2). In addition, the mechanized knight does not suffer any penalty to his AC after making a charge attack while mounted on his gearworks mount. This ability replaces master artificer.

Medium Armor (Ex)

At 7th level, a mechanized knight gains proficiency with medium armor.

Fighter Training (Ex)

Starting at 10th level, a mechanized knight counts 1/2 his total mechanized knight level as his fighter level for the purpose of qualifying for feats. If he has levels in fighter, these levels stack.

Shield Master (Ex)

At 9th level, whenever a mechanized knight is within his gearworks mount’s reach or mounted upon it, the mechanized knight receives a +2 shield bonus to his Armor Class and a +2 circumstance bonus on his saving throws. This bonus does not apply if the gearworks mount is grappled, helpless, paralyzed, stunned, or unconscious. This ability replaces journeyman’s touch.

Heavy Armor (Ex)

At 13th level, a mechanized knight gains proficiency with heavy armor.

Greater Shield Master (Ex)

At 17th level, the bonuses granted by his shielded master ability increase to +4. This ability replaces master’s touch.

Grand Theorem (Ex)

The mechanized knight may only select the battle armor, disintegration gun, or gearworks brigade device.

Table: Mechanized Knight