Editing Prestige Class: Bladebond (section)

==Oath of Service==

A bladebond's oath of service must be upheld for the bladebond to continue advancing in levels. Typical oaths include swearing service to a powerful lord of the bladebond's alignment, to an organization with the same alignment and goals of the bladebond, to the bladebond's deity, or even to an idea or principle the bladebond upholds.

These oaths are not trivial, and prospective bladebond who attempt to enter the prestige class with broad oaths or ones deliberately easy to fulfill find themselves spurned and cannot join the class at all, even if they meet the other requirements.

A bladebond who breaks his oath, for whatever reason, loses access to his bladebond special abilities and must atone to get them back and continue advancing in the bladebond class. A bladebond must also strictly adhere to his alignment. A bladebond who intentionally and seriously violates his alignment also breaks faith and endures the same negative effects.

This dual requirement can pose a serious conundrum at times. If a lawful good bladebond swears service to a lord who then orders the bladebond to commit an evil act, the bladebond is caught between his oath and his alignment. He must violate one to fulfill the other, and either way he needs to atone. If the bladebond chooses his alignment, he can break his oath, gain atonement, and swear a new oath (often one relating to “correcting” his former lord). He can then advance as a bladebond again. If the bladebond chooses his lord, he changes alignment and must gain atonement from, in this case, an evil cleric.

A bladebond who changes his alignment from lawful loses his bladebond abilities and cannot advance further in this class until he gains atonement and switches his alignment back to lawful.

''Fulfullment of the Oath of Service:'' If a bladebond fulfills an oath of service, or if the terms of the oath no longer apply (for example, if a bladebond swears service to a king who then dies of old age, or if a bladebond swears to defeat an enemy power and then in the course of adventuring defeats it), the bladebond must reflect and then swear a new oath. In general, a bladebond can be “between oaths” for no more than one week per class level. A bladebond who does not swear a new oath before the grace period expires is treated as if he broke his oath of service.

''DM Note:'' The idea of the oath of service does not exist to punish a player to chooses to roleplay a bladebond, but to challenge that player. The bladebond is a powerful prestige class, and the oath of service is one of the costs that goes along with it. You should work with the player to come up with an oath that fits into your campaign – one that provides the player with roleplaying opportunities and you with a hook you can use to motivate the entire party.


[[Durgaz: Miscellaneous]]:  Durgaz's Oath of Service.