### Crusader A badly injured Elf in plate armor stands toe to toe with a minotaur, the beast goading it's newest pray after it mauled his allies. With a swoop of its greataxe, the horned creature strikes true, the weapon digging deep through the shoulder and breaking the collarbone. With his last breath the knight utters *"By the glory of Corellon, you shall be judged before I leave this world"* as he plunges his longsword into the creatures gut, rending through his body until the tip of the blade protrudes between the monsters shoulders, both of them collapsing to the ground in a puddle of blood. As a red dragon is laying fiery devastation to her village, a gray haired veteran attempts one last stand. Seeing that her fellow villagers are trembling from fear of the gargantuan beast she raises her spear and shouts *"Pelor be our guide, for we shall not fail, some may find their death in the ashes, but I promise you that your families will see the sun rise once again"*. With a thundering cheer, the whole crowd charges into the blazing inferno. A lonesome dwarf stands watching as his friends slowly begin turning to stone beneath the gaze of a medusa. As he grips his maul, he feels the petrifaction taking ahold of him as well. The serpent maned witch smiles, sure of her victory as, to her amusement, the dwarf makes a slow advance. Taking heavy steps as stone begins to form on his very skin, the dwarf raises his hammer, looking the monstrosity right in her eyes as his blow smashes her skull, the snake on her head managing only one pitiful last hiss. Devoted knight, divine agent, instrument of vengeance, peerless fighting machine - the crusader is a warrior dedicated to good, evil, law, chaos, or some other cause. He seeks out and destroys the enemies of her chosen faith. Strengthened by prayer or absolute devotion to a principle, armored by unshakable faith, and driven by her convictions, a good crusader is a mighty weapon against injustice and malice. An evil crusader, on the other hand, is a cruel and fearsome warrior of darkness. A crusader who embraces a religion or holy faith is similar to a paladin in that she commands a number of holy (or unholy) powers. Trusting in the power of her chosen deity, she allows faith and intuition to guide her through battle. Many crusaders receive the call to their cause early in life, but never study formally at a temple or monastery. These warriors are gifted with a natural ability to channel the divine energies of their cause, but in a raw, untamed manner. #### Divine Surge In moments of greatest need, your zeal and devotion give you strength. Starting at 3rd level you are proficient in the Religion skill. Additionally, whenever you activate your Action Surge class feature, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 1d10 + your Fighter level. While these temporary hit points are active, you have advantage on saves against any spell or effect that would leave you *charmed* or *frightened*. #### Spellcasting When you reach 3rd level, you augment your martial prowess with the ability to cast spells. ***Spellcasting focus.*** You can use a holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your spells. ***Cantrips.*** You learn two cantrips of your choice from the Cleric spell list. You learn an additional Cleric cantrip of your choice at 10th level. ***Spell Slots.*** The Crusader Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. ***Spells Known of 1st-Level and Higher.*** You know three 1st-level Cleric spells of your choice.The Spells Known column of the Crusader Spellcasting table shows when you learn more Cleric spells of 1st level or higher. For instance, when you reach 7th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Whenever you gain a level in this class, you can replace one of the Cleric spells you know with another spell of your choice from the Cleric spell list. The new spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots. ***Spellcasting Ability.*** Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Cleric spells, since you learn your spells through study and devotion. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. **Spell save DC** = 8 + your proficiency bonus + <BR>                                   your Wisdom Modifier             **Spell attack modifier** = your proficiency bonus <BR>                                 + your Wisdom modifier           <div class='classTable'> ##### Crusader Spellcasting Table | Figter Level | || Cantrips Known | Spells Known | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |:---:|:---:|:---|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:--- | 3rd | | | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 4th | | | 2 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 5th | | | 2 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 6th | | | 2 | 4 | 3 | ─ | ─ | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 7th | | | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 8th | | | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 9th | | | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 10th | | | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | ─ | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 11th | | | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | ─ | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 12th | | | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | ─ | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 13th | | | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 14th | | | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 15th | | | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 16th | | | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 17th | | | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 18th | | | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | ─ | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 19th | | | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ─ | — | — | — | — | | 20th | | | 3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ─ | — | — | — | — | </div> \pagebreak #### Furious Counterstrike Divine energy flows through you, giving you the ability to retaliate and smite your foes even when all odds are against you. Starting at 7th level, whenever you are critically hit by an attack or fail a saving throw against a spell, you may immediately use your reaction to move up to half your speed and make one melee weapon attack. This attack has advantage. \pagebreak #### Steely Resolve You are an unstoppable force, refusing to stand down through both your martial might and sheer power of will. Beginning at 10th level, you have advantage on all death saving throws. Additionally, you may add your Wisdom modifier as a bonus on any Constitution saving throw you have to make in order to keep concentrating on a spell. #### Order Forged From Chaos Your steadfast focus and inspiring determination combined with your mere presence, are a beacon to all your allies. Beginning at 15th level, whenever you cast a spell from the cleric spell list, a number of your allies equal to the level of the spell slot expended may immediately use their reaction to either move up to half their speed or reroll a saving throw against a spell or effect that is currently causing them to be *charmed* or *frightened*. The allies must either see or hear you in order to benefit from this feature. #### Devoted Spirit You are a sliver of divinity, a blessed champion for your cause and a hero of legend to your people. At 18th level you are always under the effect of the *Divine favor* spell. This effect can't be dispelled and you don't need to maintain concentration on it. <img src='https://i.pinimg.com/564x/58/b0/30/58b030a87126fd446f154df8c77d44db.jpg' style=':45px;right:30px;width:320px; mix-blend-mode:multiply;' /> Artwork source: <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/313070611577973239/> \columnbreak > ##### A variant to the Eldritch Knight > The purpose of this subclass is to provide an alternative to the arcane "gish" that is the Eldritch knight. Thus, the modeling of the class forms a familiar pattern but takes inspiration from paladin and cleric mechanics as this is a direct martial counterpart to those classes. I decided to not limit access to certain schools of magic in a way that the Eldritch knight faces restrictions as the cleric spell list isn't nearly as vast or utilitarian as the wizard one. Although I do believe this is fairly balanced, it may seem a bit stronger than the Eldritch knight at low levels as Divine Surge provides a nice boost, mainly to survivability. I don't believe it to be overpowered as this subclass is dependent on multiple abilities so the Eldritch Knight does catch on on terms of power rather soon.