Identity
Most Halcyion war-faith is channeled through Paladins, who carry the oath like a discipline. The Crusader does not carry it like a discipline. The Crusader carries it like a fever. These are Federation zealots whose certainty has tipped over the line into mania — soldiers who watched a colony fall to the Covenant and never came back the same, frontier preachers who picked up a maul when the homily ran out, ecclesiastical enforcers whose chaplain-handlers eventually had to let them loose because there was no other use for them. Where the Paladin Crusader is steady, the Berserker Crusader is burning. The faith is real. The discipline is not.
Features
- L3 Crusader's Vow
When you enter Rage, you can declare a brief creed naming a hostile presence — 'For the colonies of Tessari,' 'Against the Ebon Creed,' 'In the name of First Light.' Until the Rage ends, you add your Charisma modifier (minimum +1) to the damage roll of each melee weapon attack you make against a creature that the creed names or implicates (GM discretion in fuzzy cases; the Federation's enemies are broadly understood). Additionally, your channels of holy intent are visible: while raging under a declared creed, you shed dim light in a 10-ft radius.
- L7 Faith of Steel
While raging, you are immune to the frightened condition, and each ally within 10 ft of you who can see or hear you has advantage on saving throws against being frightened. If an ally within 10 ft of you would become frightened while you are raging, the condition does not take effect.
- L11 Burning Conviction
Your raging strikes become a vector for the Light. Once per turn while raging, when you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you may convert the Rage Damage bonus on that hit to **radiant damage** instead of the weapon's damage type, and the target ignites with holy fire — at the start of its next turn it takes additional radiant damage equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). The ignition does not stack with itself.
- L15 Holy Berserk
While raging, at the start of each of your turns you gain temporary HP equal to your Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus (minimum 1). These temporary HP do not stack with themselves between turns; each turn replaces the prior pool. Additionally, your resistance from Rage extends to radiant and necrotic damage while raging — the Light moves through you, and the Dark cannot find purchase.
- L18 Avatar of the Federation
Once per long rest, as a bonus action on your turn, you can enter a 1-minute **Avatar Form**. For the duration: • Your melee weapon attacks deal an additional 2d8 radiant damage on a hit. • You shed bright light in a 30-ft radius and dim light for an additional 30 ft. • Each ally within 30 ft of you regains HP equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) at the start of each of their turns; this healing functions even on allies at 0 HP, automatically stabilizing them. • You are immune to the charmed, frightened, and stunned conditions. • Your Rage does not end during the Avatar Form even if its normal duration would have expired. The form ends early if you fall unconscious, if your Rage ends, or if you dismiss it as a free action.