Order of the Cursed Hand

A cavalier who belongs to the order of the cursed hand has dedicated himself to the faith of one of the deities of evil. Cavaliers of this order seek to crush his fellow beings underfoot, to spread sickness and disease, extend the pain and suffering of others, and exact death upon all who do not bend their knees in obeisance to your power. This order complements the Malevolent Knight multiclass archetype .

Edicts: The cavalier must be of evil alignment, adhere to the strictures of the faith, show the weak no mercy, inflict pain in its many forms, be cruel in all your dealings, and spread tyranny throughout the land.

Challenge: Whenever an order of the cursed hand cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus to his Armor Class against attacks made against him by the target of his challenge. This bonus lasts for 1 minute. The bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses. Furthermore, if the target of the cavalier’s challenge is an undead creature, he gains a +2 morale bonus on saves against attacks that grant negative levels and saves to overcome negative levels.

Skills: An order of the cursed hand cavalier adds Heal (Wis), Knowledge (nobility) (Int), and Knowledge (religion) (Int) to his list of class skills. An order of the blessed hands cavalier can make Heal skill checks untrained. If he has ranks in the skill, he receives a bonus on the check equal to 1/2 his cavalier level (minimum +1) when making attempts to prevent recovery or fast healing, torture, cause deep hurting, or erode willpower.

Order Abilities: A cavalier belonging to the order of the cursed hand gains the following abilities as he increases in level.

Bleed (Sp)

At 2nd level, the cavalier cause a living creature that is below 0 hit points but stabilized to resume dying. This ability functions as the bleed spell with a caster level equal to his cavalier level. The cavalier can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier.

Horrid Wounds (Su)

At 8th level, the cavalier gains the ability to cause terrible wounds by touch. This is exactly like the antipaladin’s touch of corruption ability, except that the cavalier can deal 1d6 hit points of damage at 8th level, and an additional 1d6 hit points of damage for every three cavalier levels thereafter. The cavalier can use this ability a number of times per day equal to his Charisma modifier.

Alternatively, the cavalier can use this power to heal damage to undead creatures, restoring 1d6 hit points of damage at 8th level, and an additional 1d6 hit points of damage for every three cavalier levels thereafter. Using horrid wound in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity.

In addition, the cavalier can add one of the following effects to his horrid wounds, which function like an antipaladin’s cruelty ability.

At 11th level, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that the target is sickened for 1 round per level of the cavalier.

At 14th level, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that the target is diseased, as if he had cast contaigon, using the cavalier’s level as the caster level.

At 17th level, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that target is nauseated for 1 round per three levels of the cavalier. Alternatively, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that the target is poisoned, as if he had cast poison, using the cavalier’s level as the caster level.

At 20th level, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that target is blinded for 1 round per level of the cavalier. Alternatively, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds so that target is deafened for 1 round per level of the cavalier.

Harbinger of Death (Su)

At 15th level, the cavalier can use his horrid wounds ability to bring excruciating pain or even death to others. As a standard action, the cavalier sacrifices all of his horrid wounds daily uses in order to cast slay living (as the spell) with a caster level equal to his cavalier level. This uses all of the cavalier’s horrid wounds uses that he has remaining; the cavalier must have at least 4 uses of his horrid wounds to use this ability. When this ability is used, the cavalier’s horrid wounds is not replenished until 24 hours have passed.