Hand of God

There is work to do. The gods command it.

The Quintessential Paladin II
Author Gareth Hanrahan
Series Quintessential Series
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2004

Imagine a hermit in a cave deep underground. This cave is connected to the surface only by a narrow vertical shaft. The hermit can, inch by agonising inch, Climb up the shaft, peer out through a narrow crack in the rock and see the rising sun – but his balance is too precarious and slips back down the shaft. Still, each day he perseveres and Climbs up once more.

Now imagine the roof of the cavern being torn away by some great hand and the hermit looking unblinking into the blazing noonday sun.

The hermit is the paladin; the cave is the material world. Climbing is prayer… and the noonday sun is the divine itself.

The hand of god is a paladin who perceives the divine directly. He looks upon the face of God constantly. The divine will moves him. To others, the hand of god may appear to be a fanatic, he may even appear to be a madman – but he knows he is right. All that he does is in accord with the will of the gods.

It is a terrible burden, to be the only sighted man in the kingdom of the blind.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a hand of god, a character must fulfil all the following criteria:

• Alignment: Any lawful.
• Skills: Concentration 15 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 8 ranks, Survival 8 ranks.
• Feats: Great Fortitude, Iron Will.
• Spellcasting: Able to cast divine spells.
• Special: To become a hand of god, a character must surrender his will to the divine three times. The character leaves the player’s control for a time. When the Games Master hands the character back to the player, the character will be embroiled in some complex moral issue or perilous situation. The character must overcome this trial. After these three tests, the character must spend at least one month alone in prayer and meditation.

The Hand of God
Class Level	Base Attack	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spellcasting
1st	+1	+0	+0	+2	Light of God	1/day +1 level of existing class
2nd	+2	+0	+0	+3	Light of God 2/day	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+3	+1	+1	+3	Divine guidance	+1 level of existing class
4th	+4	+1	+1	+4	Light of God 3/day	+1 level of existing class
5th	+5	+1	+1	+4	Revelation	+1 level of existing class

Class Skills

The hand of god’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Constitution), Climb (Strength), Diplomacy (Charisma), Handle Animal (Charisma), Heal (Wisdom), Knowledge (religion) (Intelligence), Listen (Wisdom), Spot (Wisdom).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Intelligence modifier.

Class Features

Armour and Weapon Proficiency: The hand of god gains no additional armour or weapon proficiencies.

Spells per day: When a new hand of god level is gained, the character gains a level of paladin spellcasting. If the character has existing paladin levels, he may choose to add this level to his existing paladin spellcasting levels; otherwise, he learns to cast spells as a paladin of a level equal to his hand of god level.

Light of God (Su): The divine light flows through the hand of god like sunlight through clear glass. By concentrating, he may become a holy lens, focusing the divine onto the material world. Mechanically, the hand of god may make a Concentration check as a full-round action. He may then use the result of this Concentration check as his Charisma or Wisdom ability score for the next six rounds. For example, if the result of the Concentration check was 30, then the hand of god would have an effective Charisma score of 30 (+10) for six rounds.

The light of god may be used once per day at 1st level, twice at 2nd level and three times at 4th level.

Divine Guidance (Sp): Once per day, the hand of god may enter into a divine reverie. This is similar to a vision spell but costs no experience. The information gained from divine guidance is fragmented and often confusing.

Revelation (Su): Once per day, the hand of god may touch another character (touch attack if the target is unwilling). If the target is struck, then the hand of god blazes with divine power and the target is shown the majesty of the divine. This has the following effects:

• If the target is a cleric or paladin of the same god or ethos, then the target may choose to regain a number of expended spells equal to the hand of god’s current Wisdom score. For example, if the target is touched by a hand of god with Wisdom 18, then the target could regain two expended 9th level spells, or three expended 6th level spells, or any combination adding up to 18.
• If the target is a lay follower (non-cleric, non-paladin) of the same god or ethos, then the target gains a morale bonus to attacks and saving throws equal to the hand of god’s Charisma bonus. This bonus lasts for one minute per level of the hand of god.
• If the target is a lay follower of another god or ethos, then the touch acts as an Atonement spell, allowing the target to change his alignment and faith without penalty.
• If the target is a blackguard (fallen paladin) once loyal to the same god or ethos as the hand of god, then the touch acts as an Atonement spell and allows the blackguard to become a penitent (see below).
• If the target is a cleric or paladin of another god or ethos, then the target must make a Will save (DC15 + the hand of god’s current Charisma bonus) or lose a number of prepared spells equal to the hand of god’s Wisdom score. The target chooses which spells are lost.