Petal Knight

Emblem worn proudly upon their armor, a duelist wearing the colors of a rose investigates the events of a plague sweeping the land. They typically travel alongside clerics and paladins who may aid their attempts to heal the land.

Feeling a connection to nature, an enthusiastic young gensai pulls flames from his heart and materializes them upon his axe, channeling the vibrant power of nature to seek out a life of adventure and acclaim.

A flash of emerald green radiates from the gauntlet of an elven spellsword, calling the wind and roots around them into action to defend the weak and push back the horrors of the night.

Petal Knights are proud warriors who tow the line between sorcerers and duelists. Wearing light weaponry and holding themselves to a code of ethics they swear by, these combatants forge a connection with the world that allows them to draw out their own nature in the form of an epithet: a flower that represents their heart and soul. Commonly, they use their natural magical powers to protect nature and those who abide by it, championing justice, order, and coexistence with the land.

Champions of Order

The Petal Knight commonly finds itself pursuing a balance between the whims of mortals and what benefits nature. Putting an end to pollution, an undead scourge, dangerous experimentation, or over-forestation may be their goals. Perhaps they seek to expunge chaotic demons from a town or bring order back among those subjugated by a tyrannical dictator. Their goals will almost always be to reinforce order and resist those who abuse their influence.

Some groups of Petal Knights may gather to form leagues, which act as virtuous councils that try to influence greater areas. Though they are highly individual, these leagues have common goals in mind and can form in the face of a unified threat. Appearing like gentlemanly duelists that see themselves as knights, these well-mannered collaborations attempt to resolve matters in the least destructive way possible.

A Petal Knight is most often seen as a noble individual, and so may be found in the courts of kings, nobles, and politicians. They can easily be found as advisers for those who wish to stay morally grounded. Temples and political bodies respect the perspective of well-known Petal Knights.

True Nature Manifested

The Petal Knight’s power is partially taken from the natural magic they receive from the world around them. The world sees a spark of greatness within them, and lends them a fraction of its power which is expressed in the magic they manifest. The truest expression of this power is in the form of their epithet. When they learn to harness enough power, their true nature and temperament is exposed and manifested by an appraisal of their soul. This exposed element becomes their epithet, represented by the emblem of a flower.

The epithet grants supernatural powers that the Petal Knight may wield. Some learn truths about themselves they had never considered, while others find comfort and reassurance about their nature. As they grow, so too does the flower of their heart, granting them more talents and power to make use of.

Though there is no explicit contract formed, all Petal Knights know that this appraisal of their soul is not arbitrary and sometimes implies duties in exchange. Some acquire this power because a greater being forces the appraisal upon them, such as those who might have earned the attention of a fey lord or powerful deity. Others align with the world naturally as a druid might. However, once the appraisal has been made, it is out of the hands of any except the Petal Knight themself as the epithet is theirs to wield.

Creating a Petal Knight

When you are creating your Petal Knight you must consider their core values and goals. Their epithet must represent something of their true nature, so knowing who they are at heart is important to representing them properly.

If you wish to put in the time, it could be suggested that you allow your GM to be involved, even going as far as to hear out the Petal Knight’s backstory or goals and offering which epithet seems to suit them. At its most extreme, if you’re playing a 1st level adventurer, then perhaps you might allow your GM to decide your epithet and tell you which you receive when the time comes.

Once you know your epithet choice and have committed to it, you should decide what their views on order are. In the battle of man vs nature, where do they sit? They are rarely extreme, but where is the line where they feel chaos has taken root too deeply and they feel the need to set in? You don’t need to know their fleshed-out political views, but it is wise to know how they would respond if asked to advise on the affairs of a noble. If they had power, how would they use their influence? How do they feel about imprisonment or death sentences? To this end, what is their long-term goal?

Don’t get too caught up in the above, however. Trying to vanquish a particular demon, cure a disease, or fighting as a rebel against a tyrant are all worthwhile ventures for a Petal Knight, and they may have acquired their powers as a result of their nature while pursuing those goals.

Quick Build

If you wish to create a Petal Knight quickly, take the following to heart: you should be creating a character who uses light weapons and armor, so if you intend on using close combat then focus on Dexterity more than Strength. Your primary spellcasting stat is Wisdom, so be sure that is your first or second highest ability score.

Finally, take the folk hero or outlander background.

Only take Strength as a higher stat if you prefer one-handed weapons like longswords. Intend for your character to be a midline combatant, who is as much a support caster as they are a fighter.

Multiclassing

To multiclass into the Petal Knight class, you must have at least a 13 in Strength or Dexterity and at least a 15 in Wisdom. When you do so, you gain proficiency in light and medium armor, simple weapons, and a skill of your choice from History, Nature, or Persuasion.

Multiclassing with Warlock

When you multiclass and take Warlock levels, you calculate the total number of pact spell slots you have by adding your Petal Knight and Warlock levels together, and referencing the Spell Level and Spell Slots columns on The Warlock table.

You still only know a number of Petal Knight spells equal to the amount listed in the Petal Knight Spells Known column.

Other Pact Magic Classes

When multiclassing into other classes that use Pact Magic, add all of the relevant class levels together and reference the Warlock Spells Known and Spell Slot columns to determine what you have access to. If any of those classes have special instructions regarding multiclassing, treat Petal Knight levels as Warlock levels and use the other classes’ instructions instead.

If any of the classes added together this way can learn cantrips, then reference the Cantrips Known column when learning Cantrips from the individual classes. You can only learn spells available on the class spell lists of the classes you have pact spell slots for.

The Petal Knight
Level Proficiency Bonus Features Spells Known Spell Slots Slot Level
1st +2 Fighting Style, Pact Magic 2 1 1st
2nd +2 Epithet 3 2 1st
3rd +2 Virtuous Branches 4 2 2nd
4th +2 Ability Score Improvement 5 2 2nd
5th +3 Extra Attack 6 2 3rd
6th +3 Epithet Feature 7 2 3rd
7th +3 Virtuous Flora 8 2 4th
8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 9 2 4th
9th +4 10 2 5th
10th +4 Blossoming Spell 10 3 5th
11th +4 Epithet Feature 11 3 5th
12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 11 3 5th
13th +5 Aura of Dignity 12 3 5th
14th +5 12 3 5th
15th +5 Epithet Feature 13 3 5th
16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 13 3 5th
17th +6 Resplendence 14 4 5th
18th +6 14 4 5th
19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 15 4 5th
20th +6 Paragon of Protection 15 4 5th

Class Features

As a Petal Knight you have the following features:

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d10 per Petal Knight level
Hit Points At 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points At Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Petal Knight level after 1st.

Proficiencies

Armor: Light and medium armor.
Weapons: Simple and martial weapons, except those with the two-handed or heavy property.
Tools: One musical instrument, cartographer’s tools, and one other artisan’s tool.
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Charisma
Skills: Choose three from Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Persuasion, Religion, and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

  • (a) a rapier, (b) longsword, or (c) any weapon with the light or finesse property.
  • (a) diplomat’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack.
  • (a) an arcane focus or (b) a pouch of 5 gold coins.
  • Leather armor and three daggers.

Pact Magic

Your seeded power from the world has forged a connection to it that allows you to manifest magical abilities. This knowledge is not something you innately possess, but is granted to you like a sixth sense.

The Petal Knight spell list is listed at the end of this page.

Pact Spell Slots

The Petal Knight table shows how many pact spell slots you have, as well as what level those pact spell slots are. To cast one of your Petal Knight spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a pact spell slot. You regain all expended pact spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.

For example, when you are 7th level, you have two spell slots, both of which are 3rd level. To cast the 1st-level spell ice knife, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it at 3rd level. When you reach 9th level your spell slots become 5th level, and so spells cast using them are all cast at 5th level.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the Petal Knight spell list.

The Spells Known column of the Petal Knight table shows when you learn more Petal Knight spells. A spell you choose to learn must be of a level no higher than the level of the Pact Spell Slot you have access to.

Spellcasting Ability

Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your Petal Knight spells and features. You use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for your Petal Knight spells and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5 of the player’s handbook) as a spellcasting focus for your Petal Knight spells.

Alternatively, you may use a flower or replica of a flower that matches the emblem of your epithet in place of the material components of a spell you are casting as if it were an arcane focus, but when you do so the flower or replica is destroyed. When you possess flowers that match your epithet’s emblem, they never die or wither from natural causes.

Fighting Style

You take on one of the following fighting styles as your specialty. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again. Each time you reach a level where you would take an Ability Score Improvement, you may replace your Fighting Style with another available to the Petal Knight.

Arcane Flourisher

When you cast a spell that involves a weapon attack or spell attack, you gain a +2 bonus to those attack rolls.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Blind Fighting

You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover, even if you’re blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Interception

When a creature you can see hits a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to reduce the damage the target takes by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus (to a minimum of 0 damage). You must be wielding a shield or a light or finesse weapon to use this reaction.

Thrown Weapon Fighting

If you wish to make an attack with a weapon that has the thrown property, you can draw it as part of the same weapon attack.

In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

Two-Weapon Fighting

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Unarmed Fighting

Your unarmed strikes can deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier on a hit. If you aren’t wielding any weapons or a shield when you make the attack roll, the d6 becomes a d8.

Epithet

When you reach 2nd level as a Petal Knight, you must select an epithet and take on its corresponding floral emblem.

These epithets represent the Petal Knight’s true nature, appraised by the world and manifested as powers under their control.

Petal Knights gain different powers, both magical and otherwise, from the epithet they choose. They can also use the flower their emblem depicts in place of an arcane focus, as described in their pact magic.

Epithets you can take are described at the end of the Petal Knight class features. When you take an epithet on, you gain its corresponding 2nd-level features.

Virtuous Branches

Starting at 3rd level, whenever you cast a spell using a pact spell slot, you can invoke one of the following effects as part of the action of casting it. You can only use each feature once per turn.

Blossoming Step

When you cast a spell that targets a creature you can see, you can choose to teleport to an unoccupied space adjacent to the target (if the spell affects the space you move into, you are unaffected by the spell on this turn). You can only use this effect if the spell hit the target with an attack roll, or if they failed a saving throw against it.

The maximum distance away from you that the target can be is equal to 50 feet multiplied by the level of the pact spell slot used. If the target is farther than this, you cannot benefit from this effect.

Fortify

Until the end of your next turn, each time you make a weapon or spell attack, roll 1d4 and add it to the result.

Graceful Protection

You and up to three creatures you choose within 30 feet of you gain a bonus on the next saving throw they make within the next 10 minutes. The bonus is equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down).

Sweep

You may take the Dash action as a bonus action. Creatures that you targeted with the spell that triggered this effect have disadvantage on opportunity attacks made against you this turn.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you cannot increase an ability score above 20 using this feature (unless another effect, item, or feature has increased the maximum above 20).

Extra Attack

Starting at 5th level, you can make multiple strikes in rapid succession. When you take the Attack action you can make two attacks instead of one.

Virtuous Flora

Beginning at 7th level, you can briefly tap into your epithet as a bonus action to gain one of the following effects. When you do so, your actions are punctuated by ethereal flower petals appearing around you from the flower that matches your epithet. You can use virtuous flora to gain one of these benefits an amount of times equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down) + 1, regaining expended uses when you complete a short or long rest.

Attack

You may make one attack with a one-handed weapon.

Charming Soul

You gain advantage on Charisma checks and saving throws for 1 minute.

Flourish

Gain advantage on attack rolls you make until the end of this turn. Only attacks made with one-handed weapons benefit from this effect.

Shroud

Gain resistance against a single damage type of your choosing until the start of your next turn.

Smite

Your next weapon attack this turn deals extra damage of your weapon’s damage type equal to 1d10 + half your Petal Knight level (rounded down).

Blossoming Spell

Beginning at 10th level, whenever you take the Attack action, you can use one of your weapon attacks to cast a spell with a pact spell slot that has a casting time of 1 action instead of attacking.

You can only replace an attack with a spell this way if one of your previous attacks from that action hits a creature, and the spell you cast must be centered on you or the creature you hit. If this spell involves ranged spell attacks you may make them as melee spell attacks instead.

If the spell you cast affects a radius around the target point, space, or creature then you can omit yourself or your target from the spell’s effects.

Aura of Dignity

Beginning at 13th level, you project an invisible shroud of protective energy in a 15-foot-radius surrounding you. All creatures that you consider allies within that space (including you) have advantage on death saving throws and saving throws against being frightened or charmed, as long as you aren’t unconscious.

Additionally, when a creature (including you) within the radius of your aura makes a saving throw and fails, you can use your reaction to cause them to succeed instead. You can use this feature a number of times equal to half your proficiency bonus (rounded down), regaining expend uses when you complete a long rest.

Resplendence

Starting at 17th level, you can absorb natural energy to replenish your mystical reserves. You can spend 1 minute concentrating on your connection to your epithet while in contact with its corresponding flower and present in an area abundant in natural flora (a forest, a meadow, near a healthy tree, etc). At the end of the minute, the flower dissolves into magical energy and you regain your expended pact spell slots.

You can use this feature once, then must complete a long rest before using it again.

Paragon of Protection

Starting when you reach 20th level, you can channel your influence over others in your protective aura to grant them absolute protection. As a devout protector holding the line, this action empowers and inspires you.

Your aura of dignity’s radius increases to 30 feet. Whenever you use your reaction as per your aura of dignity feature to cause a creature to succeed a saving throw instead of failing, all other creatures within your aura of dignity that failed a saving throw against the same effect also succeed it instead.

You gain 10 temporary hit points, plus 5 more for each failure you turn into a success this way, which disappear the next time you complete a long rest. As long as you have these temporary hit points, whenever you take the Attack action you can make one extra weapon attack, and you can choose one of your attacks per turn to have advantage.

Petal Knight Spells

The following are spells that are considered to be on the Petal Knight’s spell list:

1st Level Spells

2nd Level Spells

3rd Level Spells

4th Level Spells

5th Level Spells

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Somnus Domina: The Petal Knight (5e Class) Copyright 2021 Logan Laidlaw Author Logan Laidlaw

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