Category: Profession

Description: A knight is a heavily-armored mounted warrior. Knights typically serve a particular noble. They fight in the noble's army and perform heroic tasks to help the noble's people.

Knights are typically at a medieval level of technology and wield lances and swords.

Combat Technique: Single combat is preferred, but knights are often called upon to fight armies.

Knights usually prefer to fight on horseback with lances (if appropriate in the game world). The next best alternative is fighting on foot with swords.

Knights rely upon their heavy armor to protect them and wade right into the middle of combat.

Preferred Skills: Sword and lance skills, etiquette, and horse riding. How educated a knight is will vary, with the higher class knights have skills such as reading and writing.

Benefit: A knight receives a positive reaction from any law-abiding citizen of his own culture. Knights might be immune or resistant to fear magic. In many cases, they gain bonuses when attacking with lances and swords. A knight can demand shelter and/or rations from anyone in his own culture. People who outrank him may turn him away but usually won't.

Disadvantage: Most knights aren't permitted to use ranged weapons or to attack their enemies from a distance. Knights must always purchase the best equipment they afford and can't use any "criminal" weapons, such as garrotes. Knights must follow a strict code of chivalry. Disobeying this code causes the knight to lose all benefits of the knight type. If the violation is great, the knight may be hunted down and killed by other knights of his culture. The knight's code of chivalry is as follows:

• he must accept any noble quest asked of him
• he must always display his coat of arms prominently. Some exceptions made be made to this rule.
• he must defend to the death any defenseless person or any item placed in his care
• he must help anyone in need
• he must obey the social standards of his culture
• (optional)he must respect all ladies
• he must slay any "evil" being he encounters
• he must serve in his noble lord's army when asked
• if a higher ranking knight or noble demands shelter from the knight when passing through his territory (or even just his camp), the knight is required to offer shelter

Knights who are particularly evil in their violations of chivalry may become Rogue Knights.

Fictional Examples: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Real World Examples:

Appropriate For: Allies, npcs, or players.