Order of the Holy Flame

This post was inspired by a blog post by False Machine.  Link here: http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/2017/02/orders-of-chivalry-in-eclipsed-kingdom.html



One problem I have found with Dungeon Crawl Classics is that every class but Elves, Wizards, and Clerics are helpless against magic.  Thieves, Warriors, and Dwarves have ultimately no way to deal with some of the most powerful spells that can be leveled against them.  Magic Missile, in particular, offers no way for dealing with it.  There are no saving throws.  The only way is to get an equally skilled magic user to do battle with the caster.  This is good, in many ways, because this gives Wizards, Elves, and Clerics a specific role to play.  It can also be bad if the wizard is ever busy or absent.  It also creates a power disparity in the fabric of the game world.  Wizards seem evidently more powerful than other classes and that kind of helplessness is both bad for the spirit of the group and makes some things difficult mechanically.

For instance, as it currently stands, my party's wizard is so powerful that he would be able to conquer a  city with all the most well-skilled warriors on the planet if they didn't have any kind of magic. That could be an exaggeration but it still isn't far off from the truth.  The amount of hit points warriors can get seem a little absurd as well.  What would end up fixing both of these problems is if there was a reason for warriors to be supernaturally hardy and let them defend themselves against magic.

There are no paladins in base DCC and, though I have looked at quite a bit of content from the community, I have never seen a fully fleshed out paladin class.  I'd like to take this as an opportunity.  Just like magic-users can get patrons, warriors and dwarves should be able to join knightly orders that give them supernatural abilities.

Order of the Holy Flame

Crusaders, inquisitors, and defenders of Law, the templars of the Order of the Holy Flame are bout as "Deus Vult" as it gets.  The Chaotic heathen must be purged and the Holy City must be retaken!  It is the goal of the Order to annihilate heresy, defend the civilized world, and cut a bloody swath through the pagan dogs to the ancient city of Ma'at, the First City, where it is said that the gods ruled alongside humans as they shaped the world from the Seas of Chaos.

The templars of this order wear the scarlet arrow of Law on a field of white.  They may bear the symbol of Klazath, a flame on an anvil, as a holy symbol or engraved on their armor or weapons, but the templars wear the single arrow as a symbol of their authority to defend all of the lands of Law.

They are called the Holy Flame because that is what the followers of Klazath are called to be: purifying flames to devour corruption.  To all that live in darkness, they are the ones that bring the light.

Any Lawful cleric, dwarf, or warrior may join this Order if they are inducted by a priest of the Order, often found in one of the Crusader Kingdoms.  Clerics do not receive the full benefits of the Order because of their already superior ability to channel divine energy so clerics may only learn the Order's spell.  Here are some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U9lVjZg-Kg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdhF4O54YjU

Bring the Flame:

In pursuit of a noble purpose, a templar of the Order of the Holy Flame may let their inner flame shine, gaining a shield of 1d6 HP per level that gives you +1 AC while it is up.  In this state, you gain a +1 to attack and +1d6 damage against Chaotic creatures and are immune to Magic Missile and Mind Control effects.  You may regain use of this ability by returning to a bastion of the Order and receiving a blessing from a priest.

Sense Darkness:

The templar always knows when Chaotic magic is being worked in his vicinity, giving him a + Spell Casting bonus to all Saving throws against Chaotic magic.  They may use their Spell Bonus to attempt to Counter Spell any ongoing effects.

Spell Casting:

Warriors and dwarves gain a Spell Casting Bonus equal to their level and their Personality bonus if it is positive.  Clerics cast these spells as normal.  All casters take Disapproval as if they were Clerics of their same level.

Rally the Light:

Level: 1  Range: All characters within 60ft of the Caster  Casting Time: 1 Action  Save: N/A

General: The Caster lifts their weapon or holy symbol above their head, calling out a battle cry.  If the Caster is bearing a holy standard or relic, the check gets a +2.

Manifestation: Roll 1d4: (1) targets glow; (2) targets are outlined in golden fire; (3) targets' battle cries are made twice as loud; (4) the heavenly host begin playing a battle song

1-11: Failure.
12-13: Caster and all Lawful Allies within range gain +1 to their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 1 round.
14-17: Caster and all Lawful Allies within range gain + 1 to all their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 1 turn.
18-19: Caster and all Lawful Allies within range gain +2 to all their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 1 turn.
20-23: Caster and all Lawful Allies within range gain +3 to all their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 1 turn and are immune to Magic Missile and Mind Control Effects.
24-27: Caster and all Lawful Allies within 100ft gain +3 to all their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for 1d4+CL turns and are immune to Magic Missile and Mind Control Effects.  They also gain 1d6+CL HP.
28+: Caster and all Lawful Allies that are engaged in the same enterprise as you (a quest, army campaign, or other venture) gain +4 to all their attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws for a day and are immune to Magic Missile and Mind Control Effects.  They also gain 1d6+CL HP.  The caster is unable to cast this spell again for a day and if the caster falls out of favor with their god this effect can be revoked.