In battle, clerics of Ares are generally fond of commending the souls and blood of their opponents to their Lord of Battle. In time, it was noticed that few humans which were killed by the clerics of Ares spontaneously rose from the dead. This discovery led to the founding of the Swords of Salvation.
Often used by the clergy of Ares, as well as the Republic itself, to quell human uprisings and other threats to Nelmachh, the Swords of Salvation have been granted the secret of crafting weapons which, when used to kill a being capable of spontaneously becoming undead, prevent such an occurrence. The Swords of Salvation call such a weapon (invariably a sword) a Sword of Sacrifice. This weapon is also sometimes called a Soulsaver or, rarely, a Sword of Salvation. It is said that Ares gains power from this dedication of souls slain by a Sword of Sacrifice.
The Sword of Salvation is a five level prestige class open to the clergy of Ares. While at least one level of cleric must be taken, technically any character may join, regardless of his other classes. However, clerics and fighters would gain the most out of this prestige class. Other requirements are: Craft Arms and Armor feat; the ability to cast gentle repose; a base attack bonus of +4; must be a cleric of Ares; must possess Martial Weapon (any sword) or Exotic Weapon (any sword) feat; and the special requirement of creating his or her own Sword of Sacrifice.
Joining the Swords of Salvation also imposes its own sacrifice: once on the path, a character may not multi-class freely until the entire five level run of the prestige class is complete; if a character gains a level and does not choose a Sword of Salvation class level (unless he or she is already a 5th level Sword), he can never again advance as a Sword of Salvation. Ares is a jealous god.
A Sword of Sacrifice may be of any plus, but at the very least is a +1 weapon. It also has gentle repose and bless cast upon it during its making to prevent those slain by it from rising from the dead. Note that the Sword of Sacrifice itself must make the killing blow for this power to function.
The base attack bonus of a Sword of Sacrifice advances as a fighter. Weapon Focus (any sword) at first level. (If the cleric already has Weapon Focus for a sword, he instead gains Greater Weapon focus for that weapon.) Improved Initiative feat at level 1. +1 cleric level for spells at levels 2, 3 and 4. Power Attack feat at level 3. Whirlwind Attack with sword of choice at level 5.
Class skills are: all cleric skills, plus diplomacy, sense motive, bluff and intimidate. Despite their reputation as squashers of dissent, the Swords of Sacrifice are trained to evaluate and negotiate with human and demi-human opponents initially. Extreme force is reserved as a last resort, although evil clerics of Ares are known to have a shorter patience with negotiations.
NOTE: Who is the leader of the Swords of Sacrifice? For that matter, who is the leader of the northern branch of the church of Ares?
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