LAWKEEPER

Salorras Paragon: Lawkeeper · Base Path: Armsman (Fighter) · OSE build: custom Fighter-variant class A custom OSE class for the elite defender-soldiers of the Axes of Law — unbreakable shields of order across Salorras. Played from 1st level; the character’s training in the order’s war-school is part of their background.

The lawkeepers are the elite warrior order of the ancient Axes of Law, their fame renowned across all of Salorras. As the faction grew strong through the Demonic Wars, its greatest warriors — fighters gifted with survival and martial hardening, living proof that an enemy’s numbers mean nothing on the field — were gathered, with the consent of the starborn Dareldor “Noblebeard” Stonekings, into a war-school: elite combatants and defenders of the laws of the world.

From a young age the would-be lawkeepers are trained to exhaustion under eminent battle masters, learning everything of combat with particular emphasis on swift parries with the shield and instant counterattacks. Yet the most important virtue of a lawkeeper lies in the stillness of the mind, even in the heart of an explosive battle. Most hold faithful to Thoraldor, for the Axes of Law was staffed from the clans of the dwarves, though plenty stand closer to other creeds so long as their moral standing is strongly framed by law. Marked by calm and good-heartedness, they are deservedly called “defenders of justice” — guardians of temples, bodyguards of powerful figures, and wandering champions who stamp out evil across the three continents. The rare “lawfallen,” swallowed by chaos or violence, are pursued by the order and never accepted again.

Class Overview

Requirements: Lawful alignment, minimum CON 12, minimum WIS 12 Prime requisite: STR Hit Dice: 1d8 Maximum level: 14 Armour: Any, including shields Weapons: Any Languages: Alignment, Colloquial

Lawkeepers are the immovable defenders of order — shield-parry masters whose stillness of mind makes them nearly impossible to break or to kill. A prime requisite of STR 13–15 grants +5% to experience earned; STR 16–18 grants +10%. A lawkeeper who ceases to be Lawful loses the order’s favour (see below).

The Lawkeeper

Level	XP	Hit Dice (1d8)	THAC0	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
2	3,000	2d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
3	6,000	3d8	19 [0]	12	13	14	15	16
4	12,000	4d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
5	24,000	5d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
6	48,000	6d8	17 [+2]	10	11	12	13	14
7	96,000	7d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
8	180,000	8d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
9	360,000	9d8	14 [+5]	8	9	10	10	12
10	540,000	9d8+2*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
11	720,000	9d8+4*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
12	900,000	9d8+6*	12 [+7]	6	7	8	8	10
13	1,080,000	9d8+8*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8
14	1,260,000	9d8+10*	10 [+9]	4	5	6	5	8

* Modifiers from CON no longer apply. — Saving throws: D Death/Poison · W Wands · P Paralysis/Petrify · B Breath Attacks · S Spells/Rods/Staves. Like the other elite martial orders, the lawkeeper’s XP track runs half again above the plain fighter’s.

Class Abilities

Combat. Lawkeepers can use all weapons and all armour, including shields.

Steadfast Defence. A lawkeeper trained in the shield-parry is far harder to strike than their armour alone would suggest. While wielding a shield, the lawkeeper gains a +1 bonus to Armour Class beyond the shield’s own protection, rising to +2 at 6th level and +3 at 11th. This is the swift parry that turns aside blows the eye has barely registered.

Stillness of Mind. The lawkeeper’s defining virtue is a calm that battle cannot shake. From 1st level they gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against fear, panic, and other effects that would break their composure; from 8th level they are wholly immune to magical fear. Their steadiness also grants a +1 bonus to initiative rolls.

Counterstrike. A lawkeeper is taught to answer every opening. From 3rd level, once per round, when an adjacent enemy misses the lawkeeper with a melee attack, the lawkeeper may make an immediate retaliatory attack against that foe. This does not count against the lawkeeper’s own attacks on their turn.

Stubborn to Death. Lawkeepers leave no battle unfinished — not even those that seem already lost. From 7th level, when the lawkeeper is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points, they do not fall: they fight and act normally until the end of the following round, when they finally drop. From 13th level their duty holds even against death itself — a blow that would kill them outright still grants one final action before they fall.

Armour of Law. At 14th level the lawkeeper reaches the summit of the war-tactics of the Axes of Law, and can hearten their comrades with words of courage. Once per day, as an action, every ally within 30 feet of the lawkeeper (and the lawkeeper themselves) gains a +2 bonus to Armour Class and a +2 bonus to all saving throws for a number of rounds equal to 1d4 + the lawkeeper’s WIS modifier.

War-School — After Reaching 9th Level. A lawkeeper who has earned the title of battle master may found a chapter-hall of the order and take on aspirants, passing the arts of defence and the counterstrike to a new generation. The Axes of Law pays the battle master for each day they instruct a prospective lawkeeper — funds usually deposited with the bank of Galiena — and devoted students of proven Lawful character gather to serve and learn.

Leaving the Order

If a lawkeeper violates the codes of order and morality the Axes of Law lives by — above all by turning from Lawful conduct — they enter a process of atonement until they prove they are not at the mercy of chaos, impulse, or pointless violence. One who will not conform is cast from the faction and never readmitted. Even so, the character keeps every ability of the class: these were earned by personal discipline, not granted by any power that could withdraw them.