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== Requirements ==
{{SystemsNav|title=Classes}}


* Alignment: Any evil
'''Blackguard''' is a default prestige class with Arelith specific changes.
* Base Attack Bonus: +6
 
* Hide Ranks and Cleave are '''not''' necessary to take blackguard levels anymore.
 
__TOC__
 
== Introduction ==
 
Arelith Blackguards enjoy many changes that benefit their spell-like abilities and summons. Mechanical changes are included in the [[#Class Mechanics]] on this page and explained in the [[#Arelith Changes]] section. Base mechanics can be found [https://nwn.fandom.com/wiki/Blackguard on NWNWiki]. The [[#Roleplay Tips]] section provides suggestions for character development.
 
== Class Mechanics ==
 
=== Requirements ===
 
'''Alignment restrictions:''' Any evil
 
'''Base attack bonus:''' +6  
 
=== Class Features ===
 
'''Hit die:''' d10
 
'''Proficiencies:''' armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, weapons (martial, simple)
 
'''Skill points:''' '''''4''''' + int modifier (('''''4''''' + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)
 
'''Class Skills:''' '''''bluff''''', concentration, craft mastery, discipline, heal, intimidate, leadership, '''''listen''''', lore, parry, ride, '''''sail''''', '''''spot''''', taunt
 
'''Additional feats:''' '''improved turning'''
 
'''Unavailable feats:''' craft wand, scribe scroll, weapon specialization
 
'''Primary saving throw(s):''' fortitude
 
'''Base attack bonus:''' +1/level
 
=== Level Progression ===
 
Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.
 
{| class="wikitable"
!Level
!BAB
!Fort
!Reflex
!Will
!Feats
!HP
!Sneak
!Summon
|-
| 1st||+1||+2||+0||+0||use poison||10||-||[[UCL]] scaling
|-
| 2nd||+2||+3||+0||+0||'''''bull's strength''''', dark blessing, [[Divine Smite]], '''''fearless +2'''''||20||-||
|-
| 3rd||+3||+3||+1||+1||'''''create undead''''', '''''[[Turn Undead|turn undead]]''''', [[Summons#Zombies|Stream: Zombies]] ||30||-||UCL 2 (Undead)
|-
| 4th||+4||+4||+1||+1||'''''Arelith custom poison (ACP) +1 DC'''''||40||1d6||
|-
| 5th||+5||+4||+1||+1||'''''summon fiend''''', '''''fearless +4'''''||50||1d6||UCL 3 (Undead & Fiend)
|-
| 6th||+6||+5||+2||+2||'''corrupt weapon''', ||60||1d6||
|-
| 7th||+7||+5||+2||+2||||70||2d6||UCL 4 (Undead & Fiend)
|-
| 8th||+8||+6||+2||+2||'''''fearless +6''''','''''ACP +2 DC'''''||80||2d6||
|-
| 9th||+9||+6||+3||+3|| '''''fearless: fear immunity'''''||90||2d6||UCL 5 (Undead & Fiend)
|-
| 10th||+10||+7||+3||+3||||100||3d6||
|}
 
=== Epic Blackguard ===
 
'''Bonus feats:''' The epic blackguard gains a bonus feat every three levels. In other words, at levels 13, 16, and 19.
 
'''Epic blackguard bonus feats:''' armor skin, epic fiendish servant, epic prowess, epic reputation, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, great smiting, improved combat casting, improved sneak attack, overwhelming critical, perfect health, planar turning
 
'''Unavailable epic feats:''' epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape
 
{| class="wikitable"
!Level
!Feats
!HP
!Sneak
!Summon
|-
| 11th||||110||3d6||
|-
| 12th||'''''ACP +3 DC'''''||120||3d6||
|-
| 13th||bonus feat||130||4d6||
|-
| 14th||||140||4d6||
|-
| 15th||||150||4d6||
|-
| 16th||'''''ACP +4 DC''''',bonus feat||160||5d6||
|-
| 17th|| '''Divine Synergy''', '''Extra Turning ''' ||170||5d6||
|-
| 18th||'''Extra Smiting'''||180||5d6||
|-
| 19th||bonus feat, '''Great Smiting I'''||190||6d6||
|-
| 20th||'''Aura of Despair''', '''Unholy Accuracy''','''''ACP +5 DC'''''||200||6d6||
|}


== Arelith Changes ==
== Arelith Changes ==
====Mechanical Changes====
Feat Changes:
*Bull's Strength Spell-Like Ability always gives +4 instead of 1d4+1 STR.


*The Blackguard's Bull's Strength spell-like feat is now on a 10 minute cooldown, but is also now self-target only. When a Blackguard uses this spell-like feat on herself, the +4 STR bonus is also automatically applied to the Blackguard's active summon.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background-color:#c0c0c0"
!Change
!Level
!Description
 
|-
|'''Class skills'''
| -
| [[Blackguard]]s on Arelith gain access to Bluff, Listen, Sail and Spot as class skills.
 
|-
|'''Prerequisites'''
| -
| Hide Ranks and Cleave are not necessary to take blackguard levels anymore. Only evil and +6 BAB.
 
|-
|'''Divine Wands'''
| -
| [[Blackguard]]s on Arelith gain access to divine wands.
 
|-
|'''Bonus [[Languages|Language]]'''
| -
| [[Infernal]] if Lawful. [[Abyssal]] if Chaotic or Neutral.
 
|-
|'''[[Summoning Changes]]'''
| -
| For specifics, read [[Summoning Changes]] which details how summons are changed on Arelith and [[Summons]] which details each specific summon [[Summoning_Changes#Summoning_Streams|stream]] and what is summoned at each tier of the stream.
 
|-
|'''Bull's Strength Spell-Like Ability'''
| 2
| Always gives +4 instead of 1d4+1 STR.
* Lasts a number of turns equal to caster level. Once the Blackguard has reached class level 10, the feat's duration is hours per caster level.
* 10 minute cooldown, but is also now self-target only. When a Blackguard uses this spell-like feat on themselves, the +4 STR bonus is also automatically applied to the Blackguard's first active summon (And doesn't apply to familiars, even if they're the only active summon.).
 
|-
|'''Fearless'''
| 2
| A Blackguard is conditioned to charge into battle against even the most fearsome of opponents and gains a +2 bonus to saving throws vs fear. This bonus increases to +4 at level 5, +6 at level 8, and becomes Fear Immunity at level 9.
 
|-
|-
|'''Divine Smite'''
| 2
| Instant use. Adds Charisma Modifier to AB and class levels to damage (Capping at 20). Cooldown is 6 seconds between use, increased by 1 second per Great Smiting feat. You can save up to a single use of this skill, Extra smiting allows you to save up to 3 uses. A single use refreshes every 3 minutes, Extra Smiting halves the refresh time to 1.5 Minutes. Only works with melee weapons. Divine Smite shares the character's weapon threat range and critical multiplier, with the exception of bonuses granted by Weapon Master feats.
* Divine Smite has a customized implementation, see the [[#Divine Smite|Divine Smite]] table below.
* [[Console_command#-usefeat|-usefeat]] divinesmite works for use on current target
 
|-
|'''Arelith custom poisons'''
| 4
| Every 4 levels, a [[Blackguard]] receives +1 DC when using Arelith's custom [[poison|poisons]].
 
|-
|'''[[Turn Undead]]'''
| 3
| This feat has been heavily customized on Arelith, read more about it [[Turn Undead|here]].
 
|-
|'''Create Undead'''
| 3
| Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the undead is slain or dismissed.
* Create Undead will '''conjure''' Arelith custom [[Summoning_Changes#Undead_Summoning |undead]].
 
|-
|'''Summon Fiend'''
| 5
| Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the fiend is slain or dismissed.
* Summon Fiend will '''conjure''' a [[Summons#Demons (Chaotic)|Demon (Abyssal)]] for CE, a [[Summons#Yugoloths|Yugoloth]] for NE, or a [[Summons#Devils (Lawful)|Devil (Infernal)]] for LE.
* CE and LE [[Blackguard]]s can learn the [[Summons#Yugoloths|Yugoloth]] stream from from summoning books and [[Art_crafting#Prisms|prisms]].
* NE [[Blackguard]]s can learn the [[Summons#Devils (Lawful)|Infernal]] and [[Summons#Demons (Chaotic)|Abyssal]] stream from summoning books and [[Art_crafting#Prisms|prisms]].
* NE and CE [[Blackguard]]s can learn the [[Summons#Unseelie_Fey|Unseelie Fey]] stream from summoning books and [[Art_crafting#Prisms|prisms]].
* The summon starts at Tier 3. At level 7, increases to 4. At level 9, increases to 5.
* Summon Fiend will gain [[Summoning Changes#Epic Caster Bonus|Epic Caster Bonus]] if cast by an Epic Blackguard (blackguard 11).
 
|-
|'''Corrupt Weapon'''
| 6
| 1/day. When targeting their own equipped weapon (right-hand equipment slot), a Blackguard enchants the weapon for +1 at 1st level with an additional + 1 per 5 [[Blackguard]] levels (1: +1, 5: +2, 10: +3, 15: +4, 20: +5).
:'''Note:''' Level 20 BG's are actually at +6 total, due to the bonus they get from the Unholy Accuracy feat.
* At 7th [[Blackguard]], adds +2d6 Divine Damage vs. Outsiders
* At 12th [[Blackguard]], adds +2d6 Divine Damage vs. Dragons
* At 16th [[Blackguard]], adds +2d6 physical weapon type damage vs. good. (will look for an open damage type meaning a different damage type than the weapon already has)
 
|-
|'''Epic Fiendish Servant'''
| 16
| Taking this epic feat increases summon fiend tier by +1.
Additionally adds a UCL Tier +1 to Create Undead Summons (Capped at T6).
 
|-
|'''[[Divine Synergy]]'''
| 17
| {{:Divine Synergy/feat}}
 
|-
|'''Aura of Despair'''
| 20
| Any non-mind immune enemies that enter the aura suffer a -2 penalty to saving throws for 1 minute (1 turn). The aura can be cast as an action as many times as the [[Blackguard]] likes and it lasts for 15 minutes (15 turns). The effects do not stack with itself.
 
|-
|'''Unholy Accuracy'''
| 20
| Increases the enhancement bonus on Corrupt Weapon by +1


* When targeting their own equipped weapon (right-hand equipment slot), a Blackguard casting Inflict Serious Wounds or Inflict Critical Wounds will instead apply a negative damage effect similar to a Temporary Damage Essence. (As with Temporary Essences, this will over-write other similar effects.) This effect lasts a number of hours equal to class levels. Doing so gives the weapon a red glow.
|}


====[[Summoning Changes]]:====
=== Divine Smite ===
*When using Divine Might, the Blackguard also confers an Attack Bonus and magic damage bonus to their active summon, equivalent to +1 per 4 class levels.
----


*When using Divine Shield, the Blackguard also confers a Dodge AC bonus to their active summon, equivalent to +1 per 4 Blackguard levels.
{{Feats: Divine Smite}}
* Summon Fiend:
** Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the fiend is slain or dismissed.
** Summon Fiend will '''conjure''' a [[Summons#Demons (Chaotic)|Demon]] for CE, a [[Summons#Yugoloths|Yugoloth]] for NE, or a [[Summons#Devils (Lawful)|Devil]] for LE.
** CE and LE Blackguards can learn the Yugoloth stream from from summoning books.
** NE Blackguards can learn the Infernal and Abyssal stream from summoning books.
** The summon starts at Tier 3. At level 7, increases to 4. At level 9, increases to 5. The feat Epic Fiendish Servant (Prerequisite: blackguard 16)  increases the tier to 6.
** Summon Fiend will gain [[Summoning Changes#Epic Caster Bonus|Epic Caster Bonus]] if cast by an Epic Blackguard (blackguard 11).
* Create Undead
** Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the undead is slain or dismissed.
** Create Undead will '''conjure''' an [[Summons#Blackguard Undeads|undead]] exclusive to the blackguard.
** The summon starts at Tier 1. At level 7, increases to 2. At level 11, increases to 3.
*Every 4 levels, a Blackguard receives +1 DC when using Arelith's custom [[poison]]s.


For specifics, read the [[Summoning Changes]] and the [[Summons#Blackguard_Undeads|Summons]] articles.
==Roleplay Tips==


* Bonus [[Languages|Language]]:  
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130723052545/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20030413e Excerpt: Blackguard.]
** [[Infernal]] if Lawful.
** [[Abyssal]] if Chaotic or Neutral.


== External Links ==
== External Links ==

Latest revision as of 18:37, 19 February 2025

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[The Astrolabe]

Blackguard is a default prestige class with Arelith specific changes.


Introduction

Arelith Blackguards enjoy many changes that benefit their spell-like abilities and summons. Mechanical changes are included in the #Class Mechanics on this page and explained in the #Arelith Changes section. Base mechanics can be found on NWNWiki. The #Roleplay Tips section provides suggestions for character development.

Class Mechanics

Requirements

Alignment restrictions: Any evil

Base attack bonus: +6

Class Features

Hit die: d10

Proficiencies: armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, weapons (martial, simple)

Skill points: 4 + int modifier ((4 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)

Class Skills: bluff, concentration, craft mastery, discipline, heal, intimidate, leadership, listen, lore, parry, ride, sail, spot, taunt

Additional feats: improved turning

Unavailable feats: craft wand, scribe scroll, weapon specialization

Primary saving throw(s): fortitude

Base attack bonus: +1/level

Level Progression

Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.

Level BAB Fort Reflex Will Feats HP Sneak Summon
1st +1 +2 +0 +0 use poison 10 - UCL scaling
2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 bull's strength, dark blessing, Divine Smite, fearless +2 20 -
3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 create undead, turn undead, Stream: Zombies 30 - UCL 2 (Undead)
4th +4 +4 +1 +1 Arelith custom poison (ACP) +1 DC 40 1d6
5th +5 +4 +1 +1 summon fiend, fearless +4 50 1d6 UCL 3 (Undead & Fiend)
6th +6 +5 +2 +2 corrupt weapon, 60 1d6
7th +7 +5 +2 +2 70 2d6 UCL 4 (Undead & Fiend)
8th +8 +6 +2 +2 fearless +6,ACP +2 DC 80 2d6
9th +9 +6 +3 +3 fearless: fear immunity 90 2d6 UCL 5 (Undead & Fiend)
10th +10 +7 +3 +3 100 3d6

Epic Blackguard

Bonus feats: The epic blackguard gains a bonus feat every three levels. In other words, at levels 13, 16, and 19.

Epic blackguard bonus feats: armor skin, epic fiendish servant, epic prowess, epic reputation, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, great smiting, improved combat casting, improved sneak attack, overwhelming critical, perfect health, planar turning

Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape

Level Feats HP Sneak Summon
11th 110 3d6
12th ACP +3 DC 120 3d6
13th bonus feat 130 4d6
14th 140 4d6
15th 150 4d6
16th ACP +4 DC,bonus feat 160 5d6
17th Divine Synergy, Extra Turning 170 5d6
18th Extra Smiting 180 5d6
19th bonus feat, Great Smiting I 190 6d6
20th Aura of Despair, Unholy Accuracy,ACP +5 DC 200 6d6

Arelith Changes

Change Level Description
Class skills - Blackguards on Arelith gain access to Bluff, Listen, Sail and Spot as class skills.
Prerequisites - Hide Ranks and Cleave are not necessary to take blackguard levels anymore. Only evil and +6 BAB.
Divine Wands - Blackguards on Arelith gain access to divine wands.
Bonus Language - Infernal if Lawful. Abyssal if Chaotic or Neutral.
Summoning Changes - For specifics, read Summoning Changes which details how summons are changed on Arelith and Summons which details each specific summon stream and what is summoned at each tier of the stream.
Bull's Strength Spell-Like Ability 2 Always gives +4 instead of 1d4+1 STR.
  • Lasts a number of turns equal to caster level. Once the Blackguard has reached class level 10, the feat's duration is hours per caster level.
  • 10 minute cooldown, but is also now self-target only. When a Blackguard uses this spell-like feat on themselves, the +4 STR bonus is also automatically applied to the Blackguard's first active summon (And doesn't apply to familiars, even if they're the only active summon.).
Fearless 2 A Blackguard is conditioned to charge into battle against even the most fearsome of opponents and gains a +2 bonus to saving throws vs fear. This bonus increases to +4 at level 5, +6 at level 8, and becomes Fear Immunity at level 9.
Divine Smite 2 Instant use. Adds Charisma Modifier to AB and class levels to damage (Capping at 20). Cooldown is 6 seconds between use, increased by 1 second per Great Smiting feat. You can save up to a single use of this skill, Extra smiting allows you to save up to 3 uses. A single use refreshes every 3 minutes, Extra Smiting halves the refresh time to 1.5 Minutes. Only works with melee weapons. Divine Smite shares the character's weapon threat range and critical multiplier, with the exception of bonuses granted by Weapon Master feats.
  • Divine Smite has a customized implementation, see the Divine Smite table below.
  • -usefeat divinesmite works for use on current target
Arelith custom poisons 4 Every 4 levels, a Blackguard receives +1 DC when using Arelith's custom poisons.
Turn Undead 3 This feat has been heavily customized on Arelith, read more about it here.
Create Undead 3 Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the undead is slain or dismissed.
  • Create Undead will conjure Arelith custom undead.
Summon Fiend 5 Infinite uses/day, but instead has a cooldown of 6 minutes starting the moment the fiend is slain or dismissed.
Corrupt Weapon 6 1/day. When targeting their own equipped weapon (right-hand equipment slot), a Blackguard enchants the weapon for +1 at 1st level with an additional + 1 per 5 Blackguard levels (1: +1, 5: +2, 10: +3, 15: +4, 20: +5).
Note: Level 20 BG's are actually at +6 total, due to the bonus they get from the Unholy Accuracy feat.
  • At 7th Blackguard, adds +2d6 Divine Damage vs. Outsiders
  • At 12th Blackguard, adds +2d6 Divine Damage vs. Dragons
  • At 16th Blackguard, adds +2d6 physical weapon type damage vs. good. (will look for an open damage type meaning a different damage type than the weapon already has)
Epic Fiendish Servant 16 Taking this epic feat increases summon fiend tier by +1.

Additionally adds a UCL Tier +1 to Create Undead Summons (Capped at T6).

Divine Synergy 17
Type of feat: Blackguard Class, Liberator Class, Paladin Class
Automatically granted by: Blackguard 17, Liberator 16, Paladin 21
Required for: None
Specifics: Using Divine Might or Divine Shield automatically applies the other feat. Both feats are needed for this to apply. The effects will not stack, they are simply activated simultaneously.
Use: Automatic
Aura of Despair 20 Any non-mind immune enemies that enter the aura suffer a -2 penalty to saving throws for 1 minute (1 turn). The aura can be cast as an action as many times as the Blackguard likes and it lasts for 15 minutes (15 turns). The effects do not stack with itself.
Unholy Accuracy 20 Increases the enhancement bonus on Corrupt Weapon by +1

Divine Smite


Divine Smite is an instant use ability. Adds Charisma Modifier to AB and source class levels to damage (Capping at 20). Cooldown is 6 seconds between use, increased by 1 second per Great Smiting feat. You can save up to a single use of this skill, Extra smiting allows you to save up to 3 uses. A single use refreshes every 3 minutes, Extra Smiting halves the refresh time to 1.5 Minutes. Works with melee weapons and unarmed. Divine Smite shares the character's weapon threat range and critical multiplier, with the exception of bonuses granted by Weapon Master feats.

Divine Smite grants scaling Damage based upon the difference between the smiter's alignment and the alignment of the recipient of the Smite.

The full amount of Smite damage (100%) is delivered at opposite ends of the Alignment Chart, meaning a Lawful Good smiter and a Chaotic Evil recipient (or vice versa). Partial Smite damage is delivered based upon the following:

  • Start at 0% Smite Damage (same alignment)
  • Each difference on the Law <-> Chaos axis is +10%
  • Each difference on the Good <-> Evil axis is +40%
  • A small, unknown RNG amount is then added to help prevent alignment metagaming

Great Smiting

Great Smiting can be taken as repeating additional feats to increase their potential smite damage. The character's potential Divine Smite bonus damage increases to 1 + (smite tier / 2) times their combined Paladin, Divine Champion, Blackguard, Harper Paragon, and Zhentarim Enforcer levels, up to a maximum of 20 * (1 + (smite tier / 2)).


Instant Attack:

Instant Attack Feats (Activated):

  • Instant attacks share a cooldown timer: Dirty Fighting, Divine Smite, Eldritch Blast, Eviscerate, Elemental Maelstrom, Elemental Strike, Misericorde, Whirlwind Attack
  • Using instant attacks lower attacks in the following round by 1. This is meant to offset the free attack gained by activating them.
  • Instant attacks are made to look and feel like regular melee attacks while actually being an entirely independent feature. Cannot trigger cleave and similar abilities for this reason.
  • Instant attacks mirror the animation delay of regular attacks via a short cooldown after casting a spell.
  • Parrying instant attacks works differently the normal parry mechanics because it is scripted and implemented differently. Parry cannot riposte instant attacks, but parrying the instant attack does not count against parries-per-round. Against a character that has 4 APR and additionally uses an instant attack every round (like a hasted Spellsword), parry builds can parry 4 of these 5 attacks per round and riposte three of them.
  • Most instant attacks (except Whirlwind Attack) ignore Weapon Master crit feats. Exception is elemental strike/maelstrom which only allows Ki Critical for Bladesingers (where the feat is built-in to the path) to enable their extra threat range.
  • If an attacker is running, their melee instant special attacks against PCs now roll at a disadvantage.
  • This disadvantage applies to both attack and threat rolls, causing the attacker to roll a d20 twice and proceed with the lower result. Replaces a prior 0.5 second movement speed penalty.
  • Epic Dodge does not cause Instant Attacks to automatically miss due to an engine limitation (Epic Dodge is hard coded to affect normal flurry attacks). It instead forces any Instant Attack to roll at disadvantage until it causes one to miss. Then it goes on cooldown for 6 seconds.
  • This means attacking a target that has Epic Dodge while moving will roll twice at disadvantage. Effectively rolling four times.
  • Instant Attacks can apply Sneak Attacks if the requirements to perform a Sneak Attack are met.

Alignment Chart

Percentage +10%
Axis Lawful
(70-100)
Neutral
(31-69)
Chaotic
(0-30)
+40% Good
(70-100)
Lawful Good (LG) Neutral Good (NG) Chaotic Good (CG)
Neutral
(31-69)
Lawful Neutral (LN) True Neutral (N) Chaotic Neutral (CN)
Evil
(00-30)
Lawful Evil (LE) Neutral Evil (NE) Chaotic Evil (CE)

Roleplay Tips

Excerpt: Blackguard.

External Links

Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.