Companion of the Ivy Cloak

The Concord of the Ivy Cloak is an order of knights who have excelled in both military and fine arts. They are based in southern Faiton but are also commonly found in the borderlands of the United Protectorates defending the local population against monstrous and humanoid attack where the Royal Army has little presence. The Companions of the Concord are always conspicuous in their richly embroidered green cloaks and gold surcoats. They follow a loose chivalric code yet do not exclude magical or other arts from their repertoire, but much prefer to show their worth in public, open and fair conflicts rather than sneaking around. Although, when dealing with the most absolute evil of scoundrels some members of the Concorde consider almost any course to be just. There are few instances when the Companions condone this, however.

Originally founded by the House of Lilie as palace guards, the noble family=s taste for art and performance soon demanded that those who were privy to the inner chambers be able to contribute to the contests of wit and grace. The Ivy Cloak was a high honour bestowed upon those who had demonstrated both martial prowess and aesthetic skill. Contests were held yearly throughout the province, whereby any and all soldiers who had come to the attention of the palace were invited to show off their artistic abilities. The winners of the contest are sworn in as Officers of the Concorde. For those who fail, there is always next year to strive for.

Those who are found to be talented, noble and expert soldiers are invited to become Officers of the Concorde, called Companions of the Ivy Cloak. Those who are found wanting in the judges esteem may be asked (if considered suitably noble in bearing and competent in either performance or warcraft) to be Soldiers of the Ivy Cloak and are given embroidered brown cloaks and green surcoats. They are called upon to fight in times of outright war. The last time this occurred was during the Wars of Ascension.

The combination of performing arts with the martial arts has taught the Companion of the Ivy Cloak how to feint, intimidate, anticipate, misdirect and simply cow opponents with the most elegant and graceful methods even in the bloodiest of combats. And much as the initial confusion of battle causes most warriors to be less able to defend themselves for a moment even when battle is expected, the force of personality exerted by the Companions causes most warriors to be less able to assert themselves against even a well known Companion of the Ivy Cloak. The Companions of the Ivy Cloak are respected by their allies and feared by their enemies.

Alignment: Any Good
HD: d10
Prerequisites:
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Skills: Perform 6 ranks
Concentration 4 ranks
Tumble 6 ranks
Diplomacy 4 ranks
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Expertise
Special: Once the prospective Companion has achieved the above prerequisites. He must enter the contest of the Ivy Cloak. If the character has not gained any renown in a region where the Concorde of the Ivy Cloak is active, then he must travel to such a region and take part in a preliminary contest. If he passes the preliminary contest then he may enter himself in the final contest in the Lilie province of Faiton. The preliminary contest consists of three checks against a DC of 10: one Perform check, one Diplomacy check, and one BAB check. The final contest is the same except the checks are against a DC of 15. If the Diplomacy check and one of the other two checks are passed in the final contest, the contestant will be invited to become a Soldier of the Ivy Cloak. If two check are failed, or the Diplomacy check in any event, even this small honour will not be offered. The Concorde is gracious, however, and allows people to stand for the contest in as many years as they wish.

Skill Points: 4 + Int modifier / level
Class Skills: The Companion of the Ivy Cloak=s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Painting), Craft (Sculpture) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Fine Art) (Int), Listen (Wis), Perform (Cha), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (Int), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex).

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies:
A companion of the Ivy Cloak is proficient with dagger, halfspear, shortspear, short sword, longsword, rapier, longspear, shortbow, longbow, composite shortbow, composite longbow, light armour, medium armour, and shields.

	Base Attack	Fort.	Ref.	Will	Special Abilities
L1	+1	+2	+2	+0	Force of Personality
L2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Propitious Bearing
L3	+3	+3	+3	+1	Awesome Display, Sublime Inspiration
L4	+4	+4	+4	+1
L5	+5	+4	+4	+1	Expert Parry
L6	+6/+1	+5	+5	+2	Combat Artistry

Force of Personality - The combination of performing arts with the martial arts has taught the Companion of the Ivy Cloak how to feint, intimidate, anticipate and cow opponents in combat. Much as the initial confusion of battle causes most warriors to be less able to defend themselves for a moment even when battle is expected, the force of personality exerted by the Companions causes most warriors to be less able to assert themselves even when the foe is well known. The Companion can add his Charisma modifier to his armour class. This bonus is not lost even when he loses his dexterity bonus to AC, but does not negate being flatfooted or any other condition that might cause him to lose his dexterity bonus to AC. It does not negate sneak attacks. This bonus is ineffective and considered to be +0 against, Constructs, , Oozes, Plants, and Vermin. It is only partially effective (half charisma bonus, rounded down) against Aberrations, Animals, Beasts, Elementals, Magical Beasts, Undead and Outsiders with a Charisma score of 6 or higher and ineffective against these creature types with a charisma of 5 or lower. This is an extraordinary ability.

Propitious Bearing - At Level 2, a Companion of the Ivy Cloak is well trained and attuned to following the reactions of an audience and other crowds. He can make a number of attacks of opportunity equal to his Charisma modifier. This is an extraordinary ability that stacks with Combat Reflexes.

Awesome Display - At Level 3, once per day the Companion can perform a display of prowess that is half martial and half dance and completely impressive. The effect of the Awesome Display is the same as a Hold Person spell as cast by a Bard (Save DC 12 + Charisma Modifier) with the following exceptions: Range is Short 30ft.+5ft./Companion level; Target one humanoid of Large size or smaller. This is a spell-like ability. Even if the target makes his save he will be impressed by the display and react accordingly (although not always favourably).

Sublime Inspiration - At level 3 the Companion gains the ability to Inspire Courage as a Bard, providing he has at least 9 ranks in perform. If the Companion has levels in Bard and at least 3 ranks in Perform, then the Morale bonus granted by the Inspire Courage ability increases to +4 to saving throws against Charm and Fear effects and a +2 morale bonus to attack and weapon damage rolls. This is a supernatural mind-affecting ability.

Expert Parry - At level 5, when the Companion of the Ivy Cloak uses the attack action or full attack action in melee, the character can take a penalty of as much as -5 on the character's primary attack and add the same number (up to +5) to the character's Armour Class. This number may not exceed the character's base attack bonus. The changes to attack rolls and Armour Class last until the character's next action. The primary attack, for the purposes of this ability, is the single attack with the highest Base Attack Bonus. If a companion fights with two weapons the attack with the highest BAB with each weapon is penalised. The bonus to the character's Armour Class is a dodge bonus.

Combat Artistry - At level 6 the character has perfected the unique fighting style of the Companions of the Ivy Cloak. If he chooses, he can apply his Charisma modifier to his attack rolls instead of his Strength modifier.