Protector (Knight of the Holy Church)

Like the Hospitallers and the Templars, the Protectors are an order of Holy Church knights that must follow a strict Rule. The newest of the Orders, the Knights Protector where founded two centuries ago to crusade against the enemies of the Church both without and within. They specialize in battling the practitioners of black magic and their evil creations. They often work closely with the Black Friars.
Paladins and Holy Church crusaders and clerics are the most likely to become Protectors, and normally serve as novices before becoming full members of the order. Protectors are always human and most are male, though there is a small sister order for women.
The Protectors have “houses”, a combination of fortress and monastery, throughout Western Europa as well as their fortress in the Kingdom of Antioch. Their headquarters is in the Papal land of Avignon. Each Protector belongs to a particular house, and while they are normally free to come and go as they choose, they remain at the service of the order. The symbol of the order is a red cross on black. Knights are required to display this prominently, and incorporate it into their coat of arms.

Requirements
To qualify to become an Protector, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
Region: Britannia, Gallia, Iberia, Western Empire
Alignment: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral
Race: Human
Feats: Iron Will
Skills: Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, Ride 3 ranks, Speak Language (Latin), Speak Language (Literate)
Weapons and Armor: Proficiency in Light Armor and Shields
Other: Member Holy Church, unmarried

Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: The Protector’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Knowledge (Religion) (Int), Knowledge (Warfare) (Int), Profession (Int), Ride (Dex), and Spellcraft (Int)

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2+Int Modifier

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Cleric Spells per Day
1st	+0	+2	+0	+2	Vigilance, Rule
2nd	+1	+3	+0	+3	Detect Unholy, Smite True Evil, Turn Undead	+1 spellcaster level
3rd	+2	+3	+1	+3		+1 spellcaster level
4th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Vigilance (2/day)	+1 spellcaster level
5th	+3	+4	+1	+4	Smite True Evil (2/day)	+1 spellcaster level

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Protectors are proficient in all armor and shields. They are also proficient in simple weapons, the lance and the long sword.

Vigilance (Ex): Once per day as a free action the Protector can enter a state of divinely inspired Vigilance. In this state a Protector temporarily gains a +4 bonus to Wisdom and Constitution. The increase in Constitution increases the Protector’s hit points by 2 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the Vigilance when his Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) A state of Vigilance lasts for one minute plus a number of minutes equal to the character’s (newly improved) Wisdom bonus, if any. At 4th level the Protector can enter this state twice a day.

Rule: The Protector must abide by the Rule of his Order. This is similar to the secular Knight’s Code of Chivalry, but loyalty must be given first and foremost to the Order and the Church. In addition the Protector must normally display the symbol of the order—a red cross on black— and must give 10% of his income to the Order, but can expect commensurate support in return. They cannot marry.

Cleric Spells per Day and Domain Abilities: At 2nd level and each level thereafter, if the knight can cast cleric spells their caster level and spells per day increase as if their cleric level increased by one. Their cleric level is also treated as one higher with respect to any level dependent domain abilities.

Turn Undead: At 2nd level a knight who can turn undead adds their class level-1 to their cleric level (and or their paladin level –3) when making a turning check.

Smite True Evil (Su): Starting at 2nd level, once per day, a chosen Protector can smite evil like a Paladin, and gains the benefits of the Smite True Evil feat. If the Protector can already smite evil, they can smite evil one additional time per day, and gain the benefits of the Smite True Evil feat. If the Protector already has the Smite True Evil feat, then they can choose from the following feats, provided they meet the prerequisites: Extra Turning, Infuse Weapon or Turn/Rebuke Outsider. At 5th level the Protector can Smite True Evil twice a day.

Detect Unholy (Sp): Starting at 2nd level, a chosen Protector can Detect Unholy a number of times per day equal to their Protector level as a spell-like ability. This works the same way as the Detect Undead spell, however it also allows the protector to detect lycanthropes and evil outsiders. On the 3rd round of concentration, the Protector can distinguish between the three types of unholy auras.

Protector Paladins: A Protector paladin adds his Protector level to his paladin level when determining the properties of his special mount. A paladin may take levels in Protector, and then resume taking levels in paladin.