The Dungeon Crawl -- The Holy Avenger

This prestige class was created for a campaign setting that I am currently developing called The Lost World and the
description will reflect that. However it can fit into any standard D&D setting. It is similar to the Hunter of the Dead that
appeared in Dragon Magazine #276. I started working on this class before that was published, but there are similarities between
the two. If you use this prestige class, I'd like to know about it. I'd also like to hear any comments or suggestions on whether
or not the class is over or under balanced, or just right. I tried not to make it too over powering, but wanted to give the
Avenger some cool abilities to strive for at higher levels.

In this most recent version (4/1/01), I got rid of the spell list because I felt like it was just tacked on. I also tweaked the level bonuses a bit.

     The Holy Avenger is a special class that arose to combat the undead. Although that is its main purpose, it also extends to
the evil clerics and necromancers that create and command such creatures. They form the core of a brotherhood of
knights dedicated to purging the world of Undead, both in the New World and the Old World.
    While Paladins and Clerics normally fill this role, the Holy Avenger is more specialized in undead combat. Paladins and clerics most often find their calling as a Holy avenger. Rangers and Fighters also make for good Avengers. Barbarians that live in or around the Barrier Mountains will usually find a few Avengers in their ranks. Wizards, sorcerers, rogues and other classes don't seem to become Avengers as frequently, but an Avenger Monk that can strike incorporeal beings with their bare hands is an impressive sight.
     NPC Holy Avengers are usually found going on quests to rid some area of reported undead infestation. They are sometimes asked to go on digs into ancient ruins to protect the archaeologists from any hungry dead from the time before. [setting specific]

Ex-Avengers: If an Avenger ever loses his prerequisite alignment, he loses all his special abilities from this prestige class.
Also, his Deity will never allow him to be a Holy Avenger ever again. A different Deity might allow him/her the chance
to undertake a quest to prove themselves worthy.

Base Attack: +5
Align: Any good or LN
Feats: Alertness, Great Fortitude, and Iron Will
Skills: 5Ranks of Knowledge (Religion)
Special: Must be dedicated to a patron deity of non-evil alignment.

Note on prerequisites: The Lawful Neutral alignment is allowed because a lawful character can see that the undead are a blasphemy to the order of things. A PC must also be dedicated to a specific deity. The DM should not allow a PC to suddenly decide that they are dedicating themselves to a god. It should be one they've been dedicated to for some time. If, in the DM's Opinion, the PC has not been dedicated enough, they can be given a quest by their deity to prove their worth.

Level	Attack+	Fort+	Ref+	Will+	Special
1	+1	+2	+0	+2	Turning +1/Day, Detect Undead, Divine Soul
2	+2	+3	+0	+3	Holy Weapon +1
3	+3	+3	+1	+3	Turning +2/day
4	+4	+4	+1	+4	Holy Touch
5	+5	+4	+1	+4	Turning +3/Day
6	+6	+5	+2	+5	Holy Weapon +2
7	+7	+5	+2	+5	Turning +4/Day
8	+8	+6	+2	+6	Holy Countenance
9	+9	+6	+3	+6	Turning +5/Day
10	+10	+7	+3	+7	Holy Purity

Skill points at each level: 4+Int modifier

The Holy Avengers class skills and their key abilities are: Concentration (Con), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge
(Religion) (Int), Knowledge (Undead) (Int)

HD: d10

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: Holy Avengers are proficient in the use of all simple and martial weapons as well
    as all armor and shields. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Climb,
    Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pocket, and Tumble. Also, Swim checks suffer a -1 penalty for every
    5 pounds of armor and equipment carried.

Turning (Ex): Starting at 1st level and every odd level thereafter (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.), a Holy Avenger gains an extra turning     attempt/day. If the character cannot normally turn undead, then he turns undead as a Cleric with a level of his Avenger class
    level -2. If the character can turn undead before becoming an Avenger, he adds his Avenger level to his Cleric level for
    determining amount of undead turned.

Detect Undead (Su): At will, the Avenger may Detect Undead as a supernatural ability. This ability duplicates the spell
Detect Undead.

Divine Soul: If an Avenger should die, he may never rise or be raised as undead. Any attempt to create undead from
    the corpse of an Avenger will cause a backlash against the spell caster that will cause 1d10 points of damage/Avenger level
    (max 10d10). Also, an Avenger's corpse never decays. Holy Avengers have a reserved place in their Deity's realm and
    as such it can be difficult to resurrect a fallen Avenger. When attempting to bring an Avenger back from the dead, their
    soul must be contacted first and convinced to return if the Avenger has been dead for more than 30 days.

Holy Weapon +1/+2 (Su): At level 2, any weapon wielded by a Holy Avenger, magical or mundane, gains a +1 bonus to
    attack vs. undead. The bonus also applies to undead that can only be hit by a magical weapon. In addition, this weapon
    adds +1d6 holy damage vs. undead and evil creatures, much like a Holy Avenger sword. At 6th level the bonus increases
    to +2. These bonuses stack on top of any bonuses a magical weapon has up to a maximum of +5. However, this only
    applies to fighting undead. In other words, a +3 short sword in the hands of a 6th level Avenger is treated as a +5 Short
    Sword against undead, but is only a +3 short sword vs. any other opponent. This is a supernatural ability.

Holy Touch (Su): The touch of an Avenger is anathema to the undead. Any touch by the Avenger (or if the undead strikes the     avenger) causes 2d4 damage as if Holy Water were thrown on the undead. Also, the touch of the avenger can be used
    1/day as a laying on of hands to heal 2d4 points of damage. If the Avenger is a Paladin, this laying on of hands does
    not count towards his/her daily total. It is separate. This is a supernatural ability.

Holy Countenance (Su): The Avenger may spend one round praying to activate this ability which only works against undead.
    The Avenger gains +2 to all saving throws involving undead and necromantic spells. Also, any lesser undead (<=5HD) that come     within 10 feet must resist an automatic turning check as if they were 2 HD lower (1 HD min.). If they come into contact with the
    Avenger they must make a fortitude save against a DC of 10 + Avenger level or be destroyed. Undead with 6 or more
    HD are not turned by the Holy Countenance, but are at -2 to all die rolls. If they come into contact with the Avenger, they
    must make the same save or suffer 2d10 points of damage.

Holy Purity (Ex): The dreaded special attacks of the undead do not affect the Holy Avenger. Paralyze, fear, level and attribute
drain, mind control, etc. The Avenger is also immune to all diseases, magical or mundane (including mummy rot,
lycanthropy, etc.).