Original Prestige Classes

Merciful Hand of Fiset
The worshipers of Fiset, God of Mercy, seek justice and social welfare through acts of compassion. The Merciful Hands of Fiset are a special order within the faith, who take this philosophy and distill it to its purest form: they believe that Good can only be served through tolerance, forbearance, nonviolence, and self-sacrifice.

Requirements
Alignment: Any good.
Deity: Fiset.
Skills: Diplomacy 8 ranks, Heal 6 ranks.
Feats: Improved Nonlethal Attack.
Spells: Ability to cast 2nd-level divine spells.
Special: Proficient with one or more nonlethal weapons.

Class Skills
Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Class Features
Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Merciful Hands are proficient with the net and sap, all types of armor, and with shields.

Lumièriste Code: The Merciful Hands of Fiset take their ethos from the theologian Dominique Lumière, whose treatise The Final Triumph of Mercy offers nonviolence as the only means of promoting justice and welfare.  Consequently, Merciful Hands are required to seek nonviolent or nonlethal solutions to the problems they encounter.   When in combat, Merciful Hands seek to subdue rather than kill, and to redeem or convert rather than destroy.  These strictures against violence are lifted in cases where Merciful Hands encounter undead, constructs or certain outsiders who are either not technically alive, or whose deeply-rooted evil and violent natures make them impossible to redeem or persuade.  A Merciful Hand loses all special class abilities if she violates this code, but a sincere atonement can restore her to her chosen path.

Evoke Remorse (Su): A Merciful Hand of Fiset can force others to empathize, if only momentarily, with those they have harmed throughout their lives.  The empathy is so immediate, and the remorse it causes so intense, that subjects undergo a temporary, or in some cases permanent, change to a good alignment.

Use of this ability is a standard action.  The Merciful Hand can target a single subject within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels), and must be able to communicate with the subject in order for the power to work.  Good characters, animals, constructs, oozes, plants, vermin, and creatures with an Intelligence of 2 or less are immune to its effects.  Elementals, outsiders, and undead may be affected by higher-level Merciful Hands, as shown in the table below.  The subject can make a Will save to avoid the effects, opposed by the Merciful Hand's Diplomacy check.  A subject in combat with the Merciful Hand or his party gains a +2 bonus to her saving throw.  If the Merciful Hand has spent at least one hour conversing with the subject, he gains a +4 circumstance bonus to his roll.

A character successfully targeted by this power is temporarily overwhelmed by feelings of grief and guilt.  If she is engaged in combat at the time, she is effectively dazed for 2d4 rounds.  Outside of combat, she is unable to act for 2d4 minutes, instead dwelling on her misdeeds and the pain she has caused to others.  After this initial shock has worn off, the subject is resolved, at least temporarily, to follow a better path in life.  The subject adopts a good alignment, while retaining her existing commitments regarding law and chaos.  For example, a neutral evil character successfully targeted by this ability will become neutral good.  Note that the change in alignment does not mean that the subject automatically regards the Merciful Hand as a friend; circumstances will dictate how the subject reacts.

The duration of the alignment change is 2d6 days plus 1d6 days per level of the Merciful Hand.  At the end of this period, the subject makes an additional Will saving throw.  If the subject succeeds, she reverts back to her original alignment and returns to her old patterns of behavior.  A failed saving throw means that the alignment change is effectively permanent (although free-willed actors can ultimately choose different paths).  The determination as to permanent alignment change is made secretly by the Dungeon Master.  The Merciful Hand will not know whether the change in alignment is permanent or not unless and until it becomes apparent that the subject has reverted.

While player characters may be potential targets of evoke remorse, uninvited use of this special ability may be regarded as a hostile act and could invite retaliation or ostracism.  This ability might be used in order to restore a character whose alignment has been magically altered.

Calm Emotions (Sp): Beginning at 2nd level, a Merciful Hand can calm emotions, as the spell, twice per day (caster level 3rd).

Shield Other (Sp): Beginning at 4th level, a Merciful Hand can shield other, as the spell, twice per day (caster level 3rd).  At 8th level, this power can be used at will.  No focus is required.

Stay the Hand (Su): A 6th level Merciful Hand can stay the hands of attackers who attempt to injure or kill a helpless character.  The helpless character must be within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels).  A bright white light springs from the Merciful Hand's palm and envelops the subject.  Attackers must make a Will save (DC 15 + 1/2 the Merciful Hand's class level + the Merciful Hand's Charisma modifier), or be unable to perform any action resulting in damage to the helpless character, including melee attacks, ranged attacks, spells, etc.  The effect lasts for one hour per class level of the Merciful Hand, or as long as the character is helpless and the Merciful Hand is within range.  If the subject ceases to be helpless, the effect ends immediately.  Attackers may attempt an additional Will save every hour.  Use of this ability is a standard action, and may be attempted once per day per point of Wisdom bonus of the Merciful Hand (e.g., a Merciful Hand with a 16 Wisdom can use this ability three times per day).

Zone of Restraint (Su): Upon reaching 10th level, a Merciful Hand can make combat nonlethal, even against the participants' wishes.  Once per day, as a standard action, the Merciful Hand can establish a mobile zone, 100 feet in diameter and centered on the Merciful Hand, in which all hit point damage delivered by one creature to another is automatically converted to nonlethal damage, regardless of the means of attack.  This conversion affects any attacks crossing into or out of the zone of restraint, as well as those made within it.  Attacks which do not inflict hit point damage (e.g., petrification or ability drain), are unaffected by the zone, but death effects (e.g., a bodak's gaze) can only render their victims unconscious.  Creatures which are immune to nonlethal damage, such as undead and constructs, cannot be harmed within a zone of restraint, but they can still subdue their opponents.  The zone persists for up to 10 minutes, but may be dismissed at any time by the Merciful Hand as a move action.

Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Lumièriste code, evoke remorse 1/day	+1 level of existing class
2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Calm emotions	+1 level of existing class
3	+1	+3	+1	+3	Evoke remorse 2/day	+1 level of existing class
4	+2	+4	+1	+4	Shield other 2/day	+1 level of existing class
5	+2	+4	+1	+4	Evoke remorse 3/day (affects elementals)	+1 level of existing class
6	+3	+5	+2	+5	Stay the hand	+1 level of existing class
7	+3	+5	+2	+5	Evoke remorse 3/day (affects undead)	+1 level of existing class
8	+4	+6	+2	+6	Shield other at will	+1 level of existing class
9	+4	+6	+3	+6	Evoke remorse 3/day (affects outsiders)	+1 level of existing class
10	+5	+7	+3	+7	Zone of restraint	+1 level of existing class