Chivalry, justice, and honor. Most knights abide by these pillars of good, and use them to drive their every action. They are tied by oath to follow righteousness to the end, and must seek out evil wherever it may hide. However, it is never quite so simple. Good and evil are not always so clear cut. A knave is one knight who has broken their oath, for reasons of their own. They may have had good reason. But an oath, once broken, cannot so easily be mended.
The knave is an archetype of the knight class.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The knave mainly focuses on STR/DEX for martial combat, CON for their class features, and DEX, INT, and CHA for optional class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Class Skills, Weapon and Armor Proficiency, Defend Ally, Limit Break. 2nd – Defensive Training, Knight Talent, Stand Firm. 4th – Bulwark, Knight Talent. 5th – Deft Shield. 6th – Knight Talent. 7th – Shield Ally. 8th – Knight Talent. 10th – Knight Talent. 12th – Advanced Knight Talent. 13th – Counterattack. 14th – Advanced Knight Talent, Improved Shield Ally. 15th – Steel Defense. 16th – Advanced Knight Talent. 18th – Advanced Knight Talent. 20th – Advanced Knight Talent.
Class Skills
The knave gains Bluff as a class skill.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency
A knave is proficient with all simple and martial weapons (including knight swords) and with all armor (light, medium, and heavy), but are not proficient with shields.
This ability modifies the standard knight weapon and armor proficiencies.
Fallen from Grace
If for any reason a base knight, or a knight of any other archetype, loses her knighthood by becoming unlawful, she may choose to become a knave, rather than stop gaining levels in knight. She keeps all of the options and features that a knave keeps, as well as weapon proficiencies, but loses and must change out features that knaves do not gain access to. She keeps the limit break granted by the base knight, twisting the power of her oath for her own ends, rather than letting it go.
Limit Break (Su)
At 1st level, the knave receives the Limit Break (A Knave’s Rebuke).
A Knave’s Rebuke (Su): This Limit Break allows the knave to turn aside a blow that would strike her down, and uses it to strike against her foe. As an immediate action, taken when she takes damage from a melee attack, she may attempt to knock the blow aside. She must make a single melee attack with a wielded weapon against the creature attacking her, using up her normal attack of opportunity for the round. She gains a +2 circumstance bonus to this attack, and this bonus increases by 2 every four knight levels after 1st. If the attack beats the foe’s attack roll and their AC, she knocks the weapon aside with a devastating strike, avoiding the damage, and inflicting a confirmed critical hit on the creature attacking her. If it beats just the attack roll, she only knocks the weapon aside, and avoids the damage, and if it beats just their AC, she still takes damage, but after she inflicts a confirmed critical hit.
This ability replaces one of the knight’s standard Limit Breaks.
Dagger Training (Ex)
At 1st level, a knave exchanges a knight’s normal affinity for shields for the more offensive option of a dagger. While wielding a light blade with another light or one-handed weapon, the knave gains a +1 shield bonus to her armor class. A light blade is any weapon from the fighter’s Light Blades category that is a light weapon. Any enhancement bonus on the light blade is also applied to this bonus to armor class. A wielded light blade is counted as a shield for any knight features that require a shield.
At 2nd level, the knave gains a +1 bonus on all melee attack rolls while wielding at least one light blade. This bonus increases by 1 at 6th level, and increases again every four knight levels thereafter.
This ability replaces defend ally and defensive training.
Underhanded Maneuvers (Ex)
At 2nd level, a knave gains a +1 bonus to her combat maneuver bonus for dirty trick, overrun, steal, and trip maneuvers. This bonus also applies to the knave’s bluff checks for feints. The bonus increases by +1 for every four knight levels beyond 2nd.
This ability replaces stand firm.
Knave Talents (Ex)
Though a knave may be dishonored, her training still holds weight. However, due to her changes in tactics, she loses access to the dedicated guardian, dedicated protector, defensive training, smash, spear brace and uncanny block talents. In their place are the following options, which can be taken whenever the knave would normally gain a knight talent.
Fang and Claw (Ex): The knave may wield a spear, lance, or other pole-arm in one hand. To do so, she takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls with the weapon. If she is wielding a light blade in her other hand, she does not take this penalty.
Finesse Training (Ex): The knave gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. She may select any one type of weapon that can be used with Weapon Finesse (such as rapiers or daggers). Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. Whenever she makes a successful melee attack with the selected weapon, she adds her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier to the damage roll. If any effect would prevent the knave from adding her Strength modifier to the damage roll, she does not add her Dexterity modifier.
Jack of all Trades (Ex): The knave gains 1 extra skill point per level in knave.
Offensive Training: A knave may take this talent to gain one of the following feats as a bonus feat: Combat Expertise, Combat Patrol, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Double Slice, Greater Dirty Trick, Greater Feint, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Hammer the Gap, Improved Dirty Trick, Improved Feint, Improved Two-Weapon Feint, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Lunge, Mobility, Quick Dirty Trick, Quick Draw, Sidestep, Step Up, Two-Weapon Feint, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Two-Weapon Rend. This talent may be taken more than once. Each time, a different feat must be selected. The knave must meet all prerequisites for the feat chosen.
Open Up (Ex): When the knave hits a creature with a melee weapon that is not a light blade, she grants herself a +2 circumstance bonus on attack and damage rolls using light blades against that target. This benefit lasts until the end of her turn, and may only be gained once per round.
Sneak Attack (Ex): The knave gains sneak attack as a thief, with a few changes. The knave may only add sneak attack damage to her attacks while in her defensive stance, the damage die is changed to a d4, and an extra die is added every four knight levels, rather than every two.
Shank (Ex): When the knave damages an opponent with a melee attack using a light blade, she deals an extra 1d4 bleed damage. This ability does not stack with other special abilities, attacks, or items that allow her to deal bleed damage.
Thief Training (Ex): The knave may choose a single thief talent, and gain the benefits of it. She may not choose any talent that requires the use of a thief feature, unless she has access to that feature, and she may not choose the Combat Trick or Ninja Trick talents. She may use her knave level in place of her thief level for prerequisites and talents that require it. This knave talent can be chosen more than once, each time selecting a different talent.
Uncanny Dodge (Ex): The knave gains the thief’s uncanny dodge feature.
This ability modifies knight talents.
Thief’s Riposte (Ex)
At 4th level, when a melee weapon attack misses the knave, this provokes an attack of opportunity from her. The attack must be made with a wielded light blade. This can only be done once per round, even if the knave has the ability to perform more than one opportunity attack per round.
At 11th level, the number of opportunity attacks she can make per round from this feature is equal to two.
At 18th level, the knave may make three opportunity attacks with feature.
This ability replaces bulwark and counterattack.
Quick Stance (Ex)
At 5th level, a knave moving more than half her speed does not end her defensive stance. Instead, she loses only the bonus to AC.
This ability replaces deft shield.
Blade Rush (Ex)
At 7th level, the knave is capable of taking foes by surprise even when they think they know she’s coming. The knave gains Charge Through as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites. In addition, whenever a knave charges an opponent, she does not take double damage from weapons prepared to hit her with the brace quality. Also, when the knave chooses to attack on a charge, the knave may make a single extra attack with an off-hand light blade. The knave takes appropriate penalties for two-weapon fighting, and the off-hand attack also gains the benefit of the charge, however, her AC is reduced by 4 instead of 2.
This ability replaces shield ally.
Advanced Knave Talents (Ex)
As a knave gains regular knight talents, so too does she gain advanced ones. However, she loses access to a few of them, namely elemental shield, improved uncanny block, and shield guard. In their place are the following options:
Counterweight (Ex): If the knave is wielding a light blade and another one-handed weapon that is not a light blade, that weapon is treated as one size larger for determining its damage.
Dagger Specialization (Ex): A knave can put the specialized designs of different light blades to even better use. Choose one of the following, and gain those benefits when using the appropriate light blade.
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Dagger: The damage die increases to a d6, and the critical multiplier increases by 1.
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Dagger, Swordbreaker: The bonus to sunder attempts increases by 2, and it applies against all weapons, not just bladed ones.
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Dagger, Duelist’s: The AC bonus is increased by 1.
The knave may choose this talent multiple times, each time selecting a new benefit.
Death Shank (Ex): Whenever the knave uses her shank talent, once per round, she may choose to have the bleed deal 1d4 points of Constitution damage instead of hit point damage. Prerequisite: The knave must have the shank knave talent to select this talent.
Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): The knave gains the thief’s improved uncanny dodge feature. Prerequisite: The knave must have the uncanny dodge knave talent or class feature to select this talent.
This ability modifies advanced knight talents.
Improved Blade Rush (Ex)
At 14th level, the knave has mastered the art of a surprise rushing attack, so much so she can push past her target and continue. When she takes the charge action, she may move and attack as with a standard charge. Whether she hits or not, she may then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). If a straight line would take her through the opponent’s space, she may attempt either an overrun maneuver as a free action or an acrobatics check to move through their space. Her total movement for the round can’t exceed double her speed.
This ability replaces improved shield ally.
Steel Defense (Ex)
This functions as the steel defense class feature. However, the knave may choose either her armor or a light blade wielded in either hand to take the damage of the attack. As normal, she may not use it with a broken light blade or armor.
This ability modifies steel defense.
