Valkyrie PrC (PEACH)

[Aleolus]

On another site, someone asked about a PrC to become a Valkyrie. Here's what I came up with.


Prerequisites:
BAB +17
Knowledge: Religion 15 ranks
Smite Evil class feature
Ability to summon a special mount
Ability to Turn Undead
Lawful Good alignment
Must be female
Must be called into the class by your Patron Deity

Class features:
Full BAB
All good saves
2+int skill points

Smite Evil: At every Valkyrie level, you gain one additional use of your Smite Evil class feature. In addition, your Paladin levels and Valkyrie levels stack to determine the amount of extra damage dealt with your Smite Evil ability.
Special Mount: At first level, your Special mount is dismissed, and your deity grants you a Pegasus with the Celestial template as your new steed. Your Valkyrie levels stack with your levels of Paladin to determine your Special Mount's bonuses.
Expanded Smite: Beginning at Third level, your Smite Evil class ability is expanded to include others who do not share the views of your alignment. You gain the ability to Smite a creature of any alignment except Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral and Neutral Good.
Ascended Body: At fifth level, you have achieved your goal of becoming a Valkyrie. You acquire the Einherjar template, gaining a Divine Rank of 0, immunity to transmutation, mind-affecting effects, energy drain, ability drain, and ability damage. You also gain DR 10/epic, Spell Resistance 32, Fire Resistance 5, and immortality. You become an Outsider, native to the plane of your Patron Deity, with the Good subtype.

Multiclass Note: A Paladin may take levels of Valkyrie and continue to advance as a Paladin. If she takes levels of any class other than Valkyrie or Paladin, unless that class specifically states that a Paladin may freely multiclass with it, she may never again advance as a Paladin or a Valkyrie.

[tesral]

Most pretige clases are either 5 of 10 level. I would make it five.

It's epic, but at a +17 BAB by the time you finish 5 more level you are in the epic range.

[Aleolus]

...So, then, bump Expanded Smite to 3rd level, and Ascended Form to 5th, then?

[tesral]

...So, then, bump Expanded Smite to 3rd level, and Ascended Form to 5th, then?

Sound good.

[rabkala]

It does seem a little powerful as written. I don't get into the epic stuff much, so will refrain from much else.

I guess your vision of the Valkyrie depends a bit on perspective. Throughout Norse myth the Valkyries have a strong connection with death. Their name means -choosers of the slain. The most popular versions depict them as bringing the best warriors among the fallen to Odin. Depending on the source, they can be seen a bit differently. Today, they are seen most often as a romanticized version of something more a kin to northern amazon warrior women. The Valkyries of Legend not always warrior women as such.
Those of the Asatru Kindred believe the Valkyrie to be early priestesses of the religion who sacrificed people to Odin.

I do not feel any of their true purpose or connection with death here. My vision of them does not mesh with yours.

[nijineko]

in the d&d setting they can be found in one of the outer planes where they function to escort the souls of great warriors (of appropriate alignment) to this plane.

[Aleolus]

Well, this class developed from the Deities and Demigods book, where it specifically states that all Valkyries are female human Paladins with the Einherjar template and a Celestial Pegasus for their special mount. This class was designed to grant those benefits. I added in the Expanded Smite, because I thought it fit.

[rabkala]

I do understand where you are coming from with the class. The expanded smite does seem to fit this vision. (Personally, I would insert a different flavor for my games.) Do you think that the character would be playable while fulfilling duties to the gods? I would put more restrictions on what they can do, who they could hang around with, where they could go, etc. A good DM could use it to hook players into things.

You could potentially be done with this prestige class by 22nd level. That seems like far more than most characters could hope for by that level. That template is monstrous and Powerful (yes, capital P). I would at least split the template up over the course of a ten level prestige class, at the end of which you had entered the template virtually. Most designers would feel that template is far too much to dump on one level or even five.

[nijineko]

the expanded smite does seem to fit.