Knight of the Griffin

The Quintessential Fighter

Author Matthew Sprange

Series The Quintessential Series

Publisher Mongoose Publishing

Publish date 2001

An esoteric and widespread order of knights, those fighters belonging to the Order of the Griffin are rarely found together massing their forces against evil armies. Instead, such knights tend to travel alone, or with attendant hangers-on, searching out evil-doers and vanquishing them in the name of all that is right and proper. Following a rigidly defined code that propels them on in the face of adversity, no matter what the personal cost, knights of the griffin are amongst the foremost defenders of civilisation in the entire world, though they bear no allegiance to any one kingdom or nation.

Knight of the griffin NPCs can be found almost anywhere in the world, wherever a great evil rises its head to threaten the forces of good.

The Knight of the Griffin
Level	Base Attack	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	+1	+2	+0	+0	resolute
2	+2	+3	+0	+0	controlled charge
3	+3	+3	+1	+1	heroic stand
4	+4	+4	+1	+1	countercharge
5	+5	+4	+1	+1	fearless

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a knight of the griffin, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Base Attack Bonus: +7 or higher
Alignment: Lawful Good
Feats: Great Cleave, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialisation

Class Skills

The knight of the griffin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Diplomacy (Charisma), Gather Information (Charisma), Intimidate (Charisma), Ride (Dexterity), and Sense Motive (Wisdom)

Skill points at each level: 2 + Intelligence modifier

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the knight of the griffin prestige class.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: The knight of the griffin is proficient in all simple and martial weapons, and all armour and shields.

Resolute: The knight of the griffin is rarely swayed by the full terror the forces of evil can unleash. He may use his class level as a morale bonus for any checks made against the effects of fear.

Controlled Charge: Often forced to fight alone with no ally to guard his back, the knight of the griffin learns to control wild swings that can easily leave him open to attack. At 2nd level, he may make a charge action as normal, but no longer suffers the -2 penalty to his Armor Class.

Heroic Stand: At 3rd level, the knight of the griffin will be so dedicated to his pursuit of evil that he will never give up in battle. The knight of the griffin may continue to fight normally until he reaches -10 hit points, or until the combat ends, at which point he will automatically fall dead.

Countercharge: So long as the knight of the griffin is no caught flat-footed, he may launch a countercharge against any attacker who charges him, such is his vigilance in his quest. Both the knight of the griffin and his enemy will count as charging in the first round of combat. He may combine countercharge with the controlled charge class feature.

Fearless: On reaching 5th level, the knight of the griffin is now completely fearless in his pursuit of wrong-doing. He is totally immune to the effects of fear, regardless of its sources. Such is his aura of calm and righteousness that he will also confer this class feature to any ally within ten feet of him.