Pathfinder 1e Archetype Paladin

Sword of Valor

Valor, justice, and honor are your lifeblood, and you would sooner cut out your own heart than betray your comrades or your faith.

Class
Paladin
Kind
Archetype
Granted Spells
Replaces
3 features

Valor, justice, and honor are your lifeblood, and you would sooner cut out your own heart than betray your comrades or your faith. A sword of valor has the following class features.

Replaces

Aura of JusticeDivine GraceMercy

Archetype Features

Devout Worshiper Level 1

A sword of valor must follow a good god or goddess who stresses valor, loyalty or bravery.

First Into Battle Level 2

At 2nd level, a sword of valor can spend 1 use of smite evil or lay on hands to act in the surprise round, even if surprised. When making an Initiative check, a sword of valor gains a bonus to the check equal to his Charisma bonus. This ability replaces divine grace.

Prayer of the Fourth Act Level 6

At 6th level, by spending 1 minute praying a sword of valor can spend one use of channel energy to give living creatures in the channel burst temporary hit points equal to the amount that ability normally heals. These temporary hit points last for no more than 1 hour. This replaces the paladin's mercy gained at 6th level.

Worthy Enemy Level 11

At 11th level, when a sword of valor critically hits an enemy with a smite, the target must make a Will saving throw (DC = 10 + 1/2 the paladin's level + the paladin's Charisma bonus) or be compelled to surrender to the paladin, as if affected by a suggestion spell (CL = the paladin's level) to lay down arms and give up the fight. An enemy that succumbs to this ability remains docile until it is injured by the paladin or one of his obvious allies, at which point the compulsion to surrender immediately ends and the enemy is free to make his own choices again. If the enemy makes the save, it is not subject to this ability for 24 hours. Worthy enemy is a mind-affecting effect. This ability replaces aura of justice.
Attribution

Rules content from Paizo Inc., reproduced by TheCrazyGM under the Open Game License v1.0a. Licensing for reproduced SRD content is covered by the site's Section 15 register.

Inner Sea Magic · OGL-1.0a

Added to the library by eco_the_exploiter on Sept. 15, 2026.

Open Game Content reproduced from Inner Sea Magic by TheCrazyGM under the OGL-1.0a. Copyright in the reproduced material is held by its original publisher, named in this site's Section 15 notice. The core designation is TheCrazyGM's assertion that the material faithfully matches its cited source; that attestation was recorded by Inner Sea Magic on 2026-09-15.

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  • Based on class: Paladin (Class) — core content under OGL 1.0a

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