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Upon completing his squire duties in the
Order of the Crown (reaching 2d level), each
Knight candidate has the option of either
entering that Order and continuing his allegiance
to that group and its ideals or entering
into the Order of the Sword. The
ambitious Knight who wishes some day to
enter the Order of the Rose must first rise
through the Order of the Sword before applying
to the Order of the Rose.
In addition, every candidate who wishes to
join the Order of the Sword must first complete
a quest. According to the Measure, this
test must be a witnessed level of heroism and
valor that upholds the virtues of Knightly
honor and good.
When such a deed is done, the Knight must
then be presented before a Knightly Council
and there the tale of his deed is told. The candidate
is accepted as a Knight of the Order if
the tale and deed are acceptable to the presiding
Lord Knight from the Order of the Sword.
If no Lord Knight is present, then the highest-ranking
Knight of the Sword can adjudicate so
long as it is a lawful council of Knights. If no
lawful council can be convened, then the matter
is to be set aside until such council can be
convened. Any Knight candidate who feels
that he has been unjustly found wanting in his
deed and tale may take the matter up before
the presiding council of the Knights.
While Knights of this order have previously
learned their skills during their training with
the Order of the Crown, they now begin their
studies in the basics of heroic honor and worship
of the True Gods. The first duties and
tasks of the accepted Knight candidate are
learning the basic disciplines of the clerics and
the requirements of the gods of good. No
Knight who espouses anything but the virtues
of good over evil or chaos is ever accepted into
these ranks.
Although Knights of the Sword do not
attain power, wealth, or position in the world
as quickly as those of the Order of the Crown,
they achieve these things faster than the
Knights of the Rose.
After taking their initial training and demonstrating
abilities and commitments to the
gods of good and their ideals, a Knight of the Sword
who is of royal blood may elect to enter
into the Order of the Rose. In later times, the
stricture about royal blood has been generally
ignored (see Knights of the Rose).
Knights of the Sword, in addition to their
normal duties as warriors in the defense of
truth and justice, often represent the power of
the gods in certain limited ways. The Knights
of the Sword acquire some healing powers and
the abilities of foresight and prophesy. This
was not always tree. During the Cataclysm,
the Order of the Sword lost its High Clerist
and with him went the miracles which this
Order once performed. While the Knights
still functioned as limited clerics, their miracles
where ascribed to witchcraft and sorcery--
an offense against the people which was
usually punished by death if the Knight was
caught.
Unlike clerics, who gain their miraculous
powers on a daily basis, the Knights of the
Sword can only acquire their spells on a weekto-
week basis as a result of a day of fasting and
prayer. When a Knight joins this order, he
designates a day of worship and meditation
during which he supplicates the gods of good
for his powers for the following week. These
powers, once gained, remain with the Knight
until they are expended, regardless of the
amount of time that passes between the day of
prayer and their use. However, as with clerics,
the power goes away once used and can only
be regained through another day of prayer
and supplication on the appointed day of the
week.
During that day, the Measure decrees that
the Knight cannot take part in combat, reap
financial gain, or utter harsh words to another
person. The Knight cannot travel unless it is
done in silence and at least three hours of the
day are spent in solitude for meditation. It is
said that no beast will attack the Knight on his
day of meditation so long as he remains true to
his vow. Those who break their vows on a day
of fasting, however, have twice the normal
chance for evil encounters on that day.
As a general rule, the more powerful the
miracle desired, the greater the time that
must be spent in meditation to receive the
blessing from the gods.
The Sword Knight does not have to observe
each appointed day with a full fast; this is necessary
only when his need for power is great.
On those occasions when the Sword Knight is
not in need of any great powers, then he is
only required to offer up one hour of meditation
on the appointed day. He can then perform
all his other duties as on any other day, so
long as he performs this ceremony. The knight
who does not meditate for an hour some time
between dawn and dusk incurs the same wrath
as those who break their fast when praying for
great powers.
The Order of the Sword takes its Measure
from affairs of courage and heroics. Examples
of acts befitting the Measure of the Sword:
facing evil without regard to personal suffering,
accepting the challenge of combat for the
honor of the Knighthood. defending the honor
of the Knighthood, defending the honor of
a fellow Knight, protecting the defenseless
and weak.
Knights of the Sword
Game Data
Minimum Requirements: No character
starts out as a Knight of the Sword. Characters
can only attempt to enter this class after first
rising to 2d level as a Knight of the Crown and
having sufficient experience points to gain 3d
level there. At that point, the character must
speak of his intent to become a Knight of the
Sword to a Knight of that order who is no less
than 7th level. The candidate must also have
the listed minimums in all the following statistics
in order to qualify for the Order of the
Sword.
Sword Knight Minimum Scores
| Strength | 12 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Wisdom | 13 |
| Dexterity | 9 |
| Constitution | 10 |
| Charisma | None |
The petitioning knight must then be
brought before a Knightly Council at which a
Sword Knight of no less than 7th level is one
of the three presiding Knights. The Knight's
name is then brought up before the Knighthood.
If there is no question of honor brought
up about the Knight during a Knightly Council
in which his petition is heard, then the
character is assigned a quest to show his worthiness
and his dedication to the Order of the
Sword.
The quest must include the following elements:
a journey of no less than 500 miles
and 30 days, three tests of the Knight's wisdom,
one test of his generosity, one test of his
compassion, the restoration of something that
was lost, and single combat with an evil opponent
of at least the same level as the candidate.
The candidate must be victorious in this
combat while demonstrating the ideals of
honor and courage (note that this does not
necessarily mean killing the foe). The knight
can enlist the aid of anyone he wishes to complete
the quest so long as he maintains the
ideals of Knighthood (i.e., does not further
the cause of evil). The exact form of the
quest is ultimately up to the DM, but it must
include these elements.
Sword Knight Advancement Table
| Level | Experience Points | Hit Dice (d10s) | Title |
| 3 | 12,000 | 4 | Novice of Swords |
| 4 | 24,000 | 5 | Knight of Swords |
| 5 | 45,000 | 6 | Blade Knight |
| 6 | 95,000 | 7 | Knight Clerist |
| 7 | 175,000 | 8 | Abott of Swords |
| 8 | 350,000 | 9 | Elder of Swords |
| 9 | 700,000 | 10 | Master of Swords |
| 10 | 1,050,000 | 10 + 2 | Lord of Swords |
| 11 | 1,400,000 | 10 + 4 | Master Clerist |
| 12 | 1,750,000 | 10 + 6 | Lord Clerist |
| 13 | 2,100,000 | 10 + 8 | High Clerist * |
| 14 | 2,450,000 | 10 + 10 | - |
| 15 | 2,800,000 | 10 + 12 | - |
| 16 | 3,150,000 | 10 + 14 | - |
| 17 | 3,500,000 | 10 + 16 | - |
| 18 | 3,850,000 | 10 + 18 | - |
* The High Clerist is a position that is held
by only one Knight at a time. When the need
arises to choose a new High Clerist, he must be
elected during a proper Knightly Council.
Should any Knight attain enough experience
points to rise to the level of High Clerist, he
may do so but still retains the title of Lord
Clerist until the High Clerist position is
vacant.
| Proficiencies | Weapon/Nonweapon |
| Initial * | 3/2 |
| Added | 2/1 per 2 levels |
* The initial proficiencies listed here are in~
addition to those proficiencies already t
obtained. In other words, during the Knight's
training period in the Order of the Sword, he
acquires three additional weapon proficiencies
and two additional NWPs
on top of any already received as a
Knight of the Crown.
Sword Knight Spells Table*
Clerical Spell Level
| Knight Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | 1 | ||||||
| 7 | 2 | ||||||
| 8 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 9 | 3 | 2 | |||||
| 10 | 4 | 2 | |||||
| 11 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 13 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
* These are the maximum number of spells
that a Knight of the Sword can have at any one
time.
As mentioned earlier, a Sword Knight can
only acquire his spells during his one appointed
day of meditation each week. A Knight
keeps his spells, once learned, until they are
used. A Sword Knight requires one half hour
per spell level to gain a spell. For instance, a
6th-level spell would take three hours of meditation
to gain. A Knight can never meditate
more than six hours during this day.
The Knights of the Sword use the spells of a
cleric of Kiri-Jolith even though the most
revered of the gods for the Knights is Paladine.
This is primarily due to the origins of the
Knighthood. While the Knights of the Sword
are followers of Paladine, they do, nevertheless,
take their powers from Kiri-Jolith and
honor him as well.
The Knights of the Sword and Their Measure
The Order of the Sword combines the purest
ideals of heroism and courage with the
power of the gods of good. Courage is sacrifice
to the ideals of honor; it is the well from which
true honor draws its life. Heroism includes
acts of might in defense of sacrifice and honor.
Those to whom heroism is due include the
following: the weak and the oppressed, the
enslaved, the poor, the falsely imprisoned,
fellow Knights in need, and the defenseless.
Acts befitting a Knight of the Sword: facing
evil without concern for personal suffering,
accepting the challenge of combat for the
honor of the Knighthood, defending the honor
of the Knighthood, defending the honor of
a fellow Knight in good standing, protecting
the defenseless and weak.
Responsibilities of a Knight of the Sword:
forfeiture to the coffers of the Knighthood of
all wealth save that required for upkeep, pay
homage to the gods each day (though in times
of great hardship, once in a quartermonth is
still a seemly practice), never decline combat
with an evil opponent nor flee from such combat
regardless of the strength of the enemy,
protect the weak and the defenseless wherever
the need arises, abstain forever from the use of
Knightly powers for unrighteous reasons.
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