Order of the Cauldron

A cavalier who belongs to this order dedicates his life to the service of a witch’s coven, protecting their interests above all else, defending them from the salacious attacks of the superstitious, and fulfilling whatever duties they are commanded to perform. Cavaliers of this order tend to be overprotective, strong willed, and unswerving in their duties to their coven. This order complements the Fell Knight multiclass archetype.

Edicts: The cavalier must be ever watchful for the foes of his coven, perform his duty without unflinching loyalty, and strive to further the cause of those he serves. He must always place the good of the coven before his own safety or the safety of his allies. The cavalier must take every opportunity to obtain new resources, whether magical or mundane for the benefit of his coven, seek out his foes and destroy them, and provide protection for those with whom he is allied.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the cauldron cavalier issues a challenge, he can select one ally as his ward (typically a witch or member of his coven) for the duration of the challenge. Whenever the cavalier is adjacent to his ward, he takes a –1 penalty to Armor Class, while the ward receives a +1 dodge bonus to AC. This dodge bonus increases by an additional +1 every six levels after 1st, to a maximum of +4 at 19th level.

Skills: An order of the cauldron cavalier adds Knowledge (nature) (Int) and Knowledge (planes) (Int) to his list of class skills. In addition, an order of the cauldron cavalier adds his Charisma modifier to any saves against charm and compulsion spells and effects.

Order Abilities: A cavalier that belongs to the order of the cauldron gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Hex

At 2nd level, an order of the cauldron cavalier can select one of the following witch hexes: Beast of Ill Omen**, Evil Eye*, Feral Speech**, Fortune*, Misfortune*, and Ward*. Any hex requiring a witch’s familiar uses the cavalier’s mount instead. The cavalier’s effective witch level when using this hex is equal to his cavalier level. (*Advanced Player’s Guide, **Ultimate Magic)

Protector (Ex)

At 8th level, an order of the cauldron cavalier learns to better disrupt the attacks made against his ward. He gains Bodyguard as a bonus feat, even if he does not meet the prerequisite. In addition, whenever the cavalier uses the aid another action to increase an ally’s Armor Class, the bonus to Armor Class granted by the aid another action increases by +1.

Warded Charge (Ex)

At 15th level, an order of the cauldron cavalier can flash across the battlefield to protect his ward against the target of his challenge. Whenever the target of the cavalier’s challenge makes an attack against his ward, the cavalier can move up to his speed and make a single melee attack against the target of his challenge as an immediate action. If the attack hits, the cavalier deals extra damage equal to his level. This movement and attack can be made as a charge if the movement qualifies.