Order of the Endless Darkness

A cavalier who belongs to the order of the endless darkness has dedicated himself to the faith of one of the deities of evil. Cavaliers of this order seek to live a life of dishonor, feed upon the fears of those they encounter, and visit oppression upon all who live within their purview. This order complements the Malevolent Knight multiclass archetype.

Edicts: The cavalier must be of evil alignment, adhere to the strictures of his faith, punish the righteous, perform acts of cruelty and brutality at every opportunity, restrict the liberties of those seeking freedom, oppress the poor and innocent, and crush the weak underfoot.

Challenge: Whenever a cavalier issues a challenge, he receives a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls made against the target of his challenge if the target makes an attack against a target other than the cavalier. This bonus lasts for 1 minute. The bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses. Furthermore, should the endless darkness cavalier confirm a critical hit against the target of his challenge, the target must make a Will save against a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the cavalier’s level or is blinded for 1 round.

Skills: An order of the endless darkness cavalier adds Knowledge (nobility) (Int) and Knowledge (religion) (Int) to his list of class skills. A cavalier can make Knowledge (religion) skill checks untrained. If he has ranks in the skill, he receives a bonus on the check equal to 1/2 his malevolent knight level (minimum +1) when making attempts to identify a deity’s symbol, or religious sects, clergy, apparel, tenets, and mythologies.

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

Impenetrable Darkness (Su)

At 2nd level, as a standard action, the cavalier can emit a burst of darkness from his hand or weapon that emanates out to 20 feet from the cavalier. Any creatures within this area with fewer Hit Dice than the cavalier’s level are blinded for 1d4 rounds unless they succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 10 + the cavalier’s level + the cavalier’s Charisma modifier). The cavalier can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + the cavalier’s Charisma modifier.

Ray of Darkened Flames (Sp)

At 8th level, the cavalier can focus his divine power into a ray that projects a blast of burning darkness from his open palm, once per day. This ray functions like the searing light spell, except that the cavalier has a caster level equal to 1/2 his level, and that the light is bluish-black in hue.

Aura of Oppression (Su)

At 15th level, the cavalier can emit a 10-foot nimbus of strange, gloomy light for a number of rounds per day equal to his cavalier level. These rounds do not need to be consecutive. An ally within this aura gains a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus on saves. This benefit applies against all attacks, not just against attacks by good creatures. Also, allies within the aura are protected from possession and mental influence, just as protection from good does. In addition, if a good creature succeeds on a melee attack against a creature within this aura, the offending attacker must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + the cavalier’s level + the cavalier’s Charisma modifier) or is panicked, as the fear spell.