Order of the Moon
It’s Moon Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, a week devoted to small natural satellites that orbit planets and inspire awe in those on the surface of those worlds. Moons are quite fascinating, beautiful, and mysterious, and have long associated with magic and fortune. In addition to controlling the tides, the moon of Earth is, I think, most remarkable for its qualities of change, going from a nearly invisible new moon to the brilliant full moons that we love to gaze on. It is this idea of inexhaustible and uncontrollable change that inspired this article. While it might have been easy to make a sort of werewolf class option, I thought it would be far more fascinating to feature a moon-based class that has nothing to do with transforming into a wolf. Enter the order of the moon, a new cavalier order devoted to the idea of constant and ever-shifting change.
Order of the Moon
Cavaliers who dedicate themselves to the order of the moon serve change in all things. Whether they are leading sweeping social revolution or inspiring personal transformations that lead to a more actualized self, order of the moon cavaliers can be found as agents of revolutionary action throughout the world. They often challenge those who would prefer to keep the status quo, as they believe such stagnation limits growth and undermines everything that might be accomplished.
Edicts: An order of the moon cavalier must strive to make change a reality both in his personal life and in the lives of those around him. Whether these changes are for the better or worse is irrelevant, but the cavalier must strive to ensure that things do not stagnate. Order of the moon cavaliers must respect changes others wish to make in their own lives, and cannot interfere with changes another is making.
Challenge: When the order of the moon cavalier issues a challenge, the benefit he gains changes each round. The first round, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls against the target of his challenge for 1 round. The second round, he gains a +1 bonus to saving throws for 1 round. The third round, he gains a +1 bonus to AC for 1 round. The fourth round, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls for 1 round. This cycle then repeats until the challenge is concluded. These bonuses increase by +1 for every 4 levels after 1st.
Skills: An order of the moon cavalier adds Bluff and Knowledge (geography) to his list of class skills, and may make Knowledge (geography) skill checks untrained.
Order Abilities: A cavalier that belongs to the order of the moon gains the following abilities as he increases in level.
Lunar Prowess: The order of the moon cavalier receives additional power, depending on the phase of the moon. For the purposes of this ability, the moon can be considered to have the following phases: new (a three day period), crescent (a six day period before and after the moon is new), gibbous (a five day period before and after the moon is full), and full (a three day period). While the moon is new, he suffers a –1 penalty to attack rolls and damage rolls, and on saving throws. While the moon is crescent, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls. While the moon is gibbous, he receives a +1 bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws. Finally, while the moon is full, he gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws.
Lunar Legacy: At 8th level, the order of the moon cavalier can undergo a special ritual, allowing him to gain access to the moon’s powers for a short time. By spending 1 hour in prayer and meditation, the order of the moon cavalier may choose a single combat feat for which he qualifies. He gains the benefits of that feat until the moon changes phase, at which time he may perform this ritual against to choose a different combat feat. He must wait a complete cycle of the moon before he can choose the same feat again.
Lunar Guardian: At 15th level, the order of the moon cavalier becomes so in tune with the moon’s phases that he can bestow some of their effects to his allies. As a move action, the order of the moon cavalier can choose to grant each of his allies within 30 feet the benefits of his lunar prowess class feature, and allow them to benefit from the combat feat currently selected for lunar legacy. These effects last for 1 minute. The order of the moon cavalier can use this ability once per day per point of Charisma modifier he possesses (minimum 1).