Blackguard
The blackguard epitomizes evil. He is nothing short of a mortal fiend. The quintessential black knight, this villain carries a reputation of the foulest sort that is very well deserved. Consorting with demons and devils and serving dark deities, the blackguard is hated and feared by all. A blackguard is an evil villain of the first order, equivalent in power to the righteous paladin, but devoted to the powers of darkness.
The blackguard has many options available to him - sending forth dark minions and servants to do his bidding, attacking with stealth and honorless guile, or straightforward smiting of the forces of good that stand in his way.
Requirements
Alignment: Any Evil
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: Knowledge: Religion 2 ranks
Feats: Cleave
Special: The character must have made peaceful contact with an evil outsider who was summoned by him or someone else.
Hit Die: d10
Proficiencies: Armor (Light, Medium, Heavy), Shields, Weapons (Simple, Martial)
Skill Points: 2 + INT
Class Skills: Concentration, Craft (all), Discipline, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (all), Lore, Parry, Persuade, Profession (all), Sense Motive, Taunt
Level progression
| Lvl | BAB | Saves | Feats | HP range | Sneak attack |
Summoned creature | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | ||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | use poison, Protection from Good 1/day | 5-10 | - | |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | bull's strength, dark blessing, smite good | 10-20 | - | |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | create undead, turn undead, Eagle's Splendor 1/day | 15-30 | - | ghast |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | 20-40 | 1d6 | ||
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | summon fiend, Fiendish Might 1/day | 25-50 | 1d6 | succubus |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | inflict serious wounds | 30-60 | 1d6 | |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | contagion, Divine Favor 1/day | 35-70 | 2d6 | doom knight |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +2 | +2 | inflict critical wounds, Unholy Sword 1/day | 40-80 | 2d6 | |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +3 | +3 | 45-90 | 2d6 | vrock, Ultravision 1/day | |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Deeper Darkness 1/day | 50-100 | 3d6 | |
Blackguards need sufficient wisdom to cast spells. This calculation is determined by 10 plus the blackguard's wisdom modifier. Thus, they need 14 Wisdom to cast spells of the 4th circle. Their casting level is 3 plus blackguard levels.
Epic blackguard
The epic blackguard is a twisted reflection of the epic paladin, the commander of legions of undead, the unholy lieutenant of evil gods, and a foul source of fear and mortal danger.
Hit die: d10
Skill points: 2 + int modifier
Bonus feats: The epic blackguard gains a bonus feat every three levels. In other words, at levels 13, 16, and 19.
Available Epic bonus feats: armor skin, devastating critical, 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
Epic blackguard level progression
| Level | Feats | HP range | Sneak attack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th | 55-110 | 3d6 | |
| 12th | 60-120 | 3d6 | |
| 13th | bonus feat | 65-130 | 4d6 |
| 14th | 70-140 | 4d6 | |
| 15th | 75-150 | 4d6 | |
| 16th | bonus feat | 80-160 | 5d6 |
| 17th | 85-170 | 5d6 | |
| 18th | 90-180 | 5d6 | |
| 19th | bonus feat | 95-190 | 6d6 |
| 20th | 100-200 | 6d6 |
Special:
Sneak attack: increases by +1d6 every three levels after 10th.
Summon fiend: does not improve without the epic fiendish servant feat, despite in-game documentation to the contrary.
Notes
- The blackguard's sneak attack stacks with the rogue's sneak attack and the assassin's death attack.
- The epic fiendish servant feat is available only as an epic bonus feat.
- Blackguards which gain the Lay on Hands ability from Divine Champion will find that the ability: damages the living and heals the undead. Furthermore, the damage is increased by three plus blackguard levels.