Nightguard

You radiate you your lawful alignment as an almost tangible aura. The power of your aura of law is equal to your paladin level (see the detect law spell).

In addition to its normal effects, your use of smite evil (or smite good) gains the ghost touch weapon property.

At 3rd level and again every 3 levels thereafter, you select a nemesis from the list below. Once made, this choice may not be changed. Nemesis effects may cost points of zeal or rely on having zeal available to function. Some nemeses add additional effects to your smite evil ability. You may only apply one such nemesis per smite, chosen at the time you declare the smite attack.

Nemeses (3rd-Level Nightguard)

• Specter’s Bane: As long as you possess at least one point of zeal, armor and shields you wear or wield gain the ghost touch property in addition to any other properties, even if they are not otherwise magical.
• Wolfsbane: As long as you possess at least one point of zeal, weapons and natural attacks you wield are treated as silver in addition to their actual materials for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
• Combat Training: You gain a Combat Feat as a bonus feat. You must meet the prerequisites for the chosen feat.

Nemeses (6th-Level Nightguard)

• Judge [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal to smite a creature of any alignment with your smite ability. All other restrictions of your smite still apply.
• Exacerbate [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal to reduce the effects of magical healing used upon the target of your smite by 50%, to a minimum of 1 point of damage healed.
• Zealous: Your maximum zeal increases by 2.

Nemeses (9th-Level Nightguard)

• Incarcerate [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal when you smite a creature to reduce all movement speeds of your target by 15 ft. until the end of the encounter or the target dies or otherwise leaves the encounter.
• Demonbane: As long as you possess at least one point of zeal, weapons and natural attacks you wieldcount as cold iron in addition to their other materials for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction, and you deal additional damage equal to your Charisma modifier when making melee attacks against evil-aligned outsiders.
• Undying Fury: You are not staggered at 0 or fewer hit points (unless another effect would cause you to become staggered) and do not become unconscious when dying. When you die, it immediately becomes your turn, interrupting whatever turn is currently ongoing. For this turn, you may act as if you were not dead. No action you take during this turn can undo or prevent your death. When you complete this turn, you are dead, and the interrupted turn resumes. This does not affect your initiative, should you be raised from the dead during the same encounter. Additionally, undead nightguards who select this ability are no longer destroyed when they reach 0 hit points and must be reduced a number of hit points equal to their Charisma below 0 before they are destroyed.
• Gravekeeper’s Vigil: As long as you possess at least one point of zeal, you gain a morale bonus to AC equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1).
• Lichbane [Smite]: You may spend two points of zeal when you smite a creature to inflict them with supernatural distractions. Whenever they use a spell, power, or other esoteric effect of the highest level they know, they must make a concentration check (DC 10 + the level of the effect + 1/2 your class level + your Charisma modifier) or have the effect fail. This ability also applies to martial arts techniques.

Nemeses (12th-Level Nightguard)

• Weaken Vital Essence [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal when you smite a creature to inflict a -3 penalty to the save DC of all special abilities, esoteric effects, and martial arts techniques used by the target of your smite attack (a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Charisma modifier) reduces this penalty to -1).
• Condemn: As long as you possess at least one point of zeal, creatures that damage you with melee attacks or melee touch attacks cannot benefit from healing of any kind for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier.
• Guilt Wrack [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal when you smite a creature to inflict the confused condition for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your Charisma modifier, minimum 1.
• Imprison [Smite]: You may spend a point of zeal when you smite a creature to target them with a dimensional anchor effect (no save).

At 4th level, you gain the you gain the channel divinity ability to Channel Light. You create a flare of light as the daylight spell with a duration equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1 round). The effective spell level for this ability increases by 1 at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level to a maximum 7th level. You may spend a point of zeal when activating this ability to create true daylight within the area of your channel light ability for the purposes of affecting creatures that are damaged or destroyed by bright light.

At 8th level, you and allies within 10 feet of you gain a energy resistance to sacred damage and profane damage equal to your class level. This ability functions only while you are conscious, not if you are unconscious or dead.

You become immune to the effects of channel divinity, unless you choose to be affected.

At 20th level, your vigilant hunt transforms you on a fundamental level. Your damage reduction from Aura of the Zealous increases to 20.

Targets of your smite attack are silenced as the spell, though the silence effect only affects the target. This silence effect does not cost additional zeal. You may also add multiple nemeses to your smite attack, but you must pay for each one separately.

In addition, you gain zeal points each day based on your total paladin level rather than only half.