Capable of calling upon the power of the gods in the form of blessings and spells, devouts blend divine magic with martial skill. They are unflinching bastions of their faith, shouting gospel as they pummel foes into submission, and never shy away from a challenge to their beliefs. While clerics might be subtle and use diplomacy to accomplish their aims, devouts aren’t above using violence whenever the situation warrants it. In many faiths, devouts form the core of the church’s martial forces—reclaiming lost relics, rescuing captured clergy, and defending the church’s tenets from all challenges.
The devout is an archetype of the cleric class.
Focus Weapon
At 1st level, a devout receives Weapon Focus as a bonus feat.
This ability replaces spell proficiency.
Sacred Weapon (Su)
At 1st level, weapons wielded by a devout are charged with the power of his faith. The devout can designate a weapon as a sacred weapon by selecting that weapon with the Weapon Focus feat; if he has multiple Weapon Focus feats, this ability applies to all of them. Whenever the devout hits with his sacred weapon, the weapon damage is based on his level and not the weapon type. The damage for the different sizes are listed on the table below. The devout can decide to use the weapon’s base damage instead of the sacred weapon damage—this must be declared before the attack roll is made. (If the weapon’s base damage exceeds the sacred weapon damage, its damage is unchanged.) This increase in damage does not affect any other aspect of the weapon, and doesn’t apply to alchemical items, bombs, or other weapons that only deal energy damage.
| Level | Damage (Small) | Damage (Medium) | Damage (Large) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st-4th | 1d4 | 1d6 | 1d8 |
| 5th-9th | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d6 |
| 10th-14th | 1d8 | 1d10 | 2d8 |
| 15th-19th | 1d10 | 2d6 | 3d6 |
| 20th | 2d6 | 2d8 | 3d8 |
At 4th level, the devout gains the ability to enhance one of his sacred weapons with divine power as a swift action. This power grants the weapon a +1 enhancement bonus. For every four levels beyond 4th, this bonus increases by 1 (to a maximum of +5 at 20th level). If the devout has more than one sacred weapon, he can enhance another on the following round by using another swift action. The devout can use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to his devout level, but these rounds need not be consecutive.
These bonuses stack with any existing bonuses the weapon might have, to a maximum of +5. The devout can enhance a weapon with any of the following weapon special abilities: brilliant energy, defending, disruption, earthen, flaming, frost, jetstream, keen, roaring and shock. In addition, if the devout is chaotic, he can add anarchic and vicious. If he is evil, he can add abyssal, mighty cleaving and unholy. If he is good, he can add ghost touch, holy and shining. If he is lawful, he can add axiomatic and merciful. If he is neutral (with no other alignment components), he can add spell storing and thundering. Adding any of these special abilities replaces an amount of bonus equal to the special ability’s base cost. Duplicate abilities do not stack. The weapon must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before any other special abilities can be added.
If multiple weapons are enhanced, each one consumes rounds of use individually. The enhancement bonus and special abilities are determined the first time the ability is used each day, and cannot be changed until the next day. These bonuses do not apply if another creature is wielding the weapon, but they continue to be in effect if the weapon otherwise leaves the devout’s possession (such as if the weapon is thrown). This ability can be ended as a free action at the start of the devout’s turn (that round does not count against the total duration, unless the ability is resumed during the same round). If the devout uses this ability on a double weapon, the effects apply to only one end of the weapon.
This ability replaces faith.
Fervor (Su)
At 1st level, a devout can draw upon the power of his faith to heal wounds or harm foes. He can also use this ability to quickly cast spells that aid in his struggles. This ability can be used a number of times per day equal to half his cleric level + his Charisma modifier. By expending one use of this ability, a good devout (or one who worships a good deity) can touch a creature to heal it of 1d6 points of damage, plus an additional 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels he possesses above 1st (to a maximum of 10d6 at 19th level). Using this ability is a standard action (unless the devout targets himself, in which case it’s a swift action). Alternatively, the devout can use this ability to harm an undead creature, dealing the same amount of damage he would otherwise heal with a melee touch attack. Using fervor in this way is a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity. Undead do not receive a saving throw against this damage. This counts as positive energy.
An evil devout (or one who worships an evil deity) can use this ability to instead deal damage to living creatures with a melee touch attack and heal undead creatures with a touch. This counts as negative energy.
A neutral devout who worships a neutral deity (or one who is not devoted to a particular deity) must choose to use this ability as a good devout or as an evil devout. Once this choice is made, it cannot be reversed.
As a swift action, a devout can expend one use of this ability to cast any one spell with a casting time of 1 round or shorter. When cast in this way, the spell can target only the devout, even if it could normally affect other or multiple targets. Spells cast in this way do not provoke attacks of opportunity. The devout does not need to have a free hand to cast a spell in this way. Fervor can be used by deific order abilities and faith talents that require channel energy.
This ability replaces channel energy.
Sacred Armor (Su)
At 4th level, the devout gains the ability to enhance his armor with divine power as a swift action. This power grants the armor a +1 enhancement bonus. For every 3 levels beyond 4th, this bonus increases by 1 (to a maximum of +5 at 16th level). The devout can use this ability a number of minutes per day equal to his cleric level. This duration must be used in 1-minute increments, but they don’t need to be consecutive.
These bonuses stack with any existing bonuses the armor might have, to a maximum of +5. The devout can enhance armor any of the following armor special abilities: energy resistance (normal, improved, and greater), fortification (heavy, light, or moderate), glamered, and spell resistance (13, 15, 17, and 19). Adding any of these special abilities replaces an amount of bonus equal to the special ability’s base cost. For this purpose, glamered counts as a +1 bonus, energy resistance counts as +2, improved energy resistance counts as +4, and greater energy resistance counts as +5. Duplicate abilities do not stack. The armor must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before any other special abilities can be added.
The enhancement bonus and armor special abilities are determined the first time the ability is used each day and cannot be changed until the next day. These bonuses apply only while the devout is wearing the armor, and end immediately if the armor is removed or leaves the devout’s possession. This ability can be ended as a free action at the start of the devout’s turn. This ability cannot be applied to a shield. When the devout uses this ability, he can also use his sacred weapon ability as a free action by expending one use of his fervor.
This ability replaces blessing of the faithful and prayer.
Bless Army (Su)
At 17th level, a devout can raise his holy symbol high and give a blessing to the army he is leading. The devout’s army gains a +1 bonus to the army’s attack rolls and AC. This is a sacred bonus if the devout is good-aligned, and it is a profane bonus if the devout is evil-aligned. Using this ability requires the devout to expend two uses of his fervor ability. This bonus lasts for 1 battle, and it must be performed during the 1st round of the battle. If this is performed when a mass combat is not imminent, the fervor is spent without granting any bonus.
This ability replaces true channeler.
