Sword of righteousness

Among warriors of every stripe there are hold themselves to a higher ideal than their colleagues. Even among paladins there are those viewed as a paragon of righteousness and purity, truly exalted above their peers. These elite are called swords of righteousness, and though they are few, they make mighty opponents of evil that even the strongest blackguards are hard-pressed to defeat.

Background
Less a class than a triad of substitution levels, the sword of righteousness is simply a way for martially inclined men and women to follow the exalted path for a short time at the cost of a slightly slower progression in their base class. They commonly come from the ranks of paladins, fighters, rangers, barbarians, and monks, though rogues have also been known among the swords of righteousness. For classes focused more on spellcasting (wizards, bards, clerics, druids, and sorcerers), the wonderworker is more or less a corollary to the sword of righteousness.

No single organization binds the swords of righteousness, but many of them are members of good-aligned organizations such as the Tormish, Moradite, and Tyrran churches. One thing they do all have in common is that they've all made vows of allegiance to the Companions (the paragons of the guardinals), the Court of Stars (the paragons of the eladrin), or the Tome Archons (who rule the heavens of Celestia).

Sword of Righteousness Abilities

 * Bonus Exalted Feat: At each level, a sword of righteousness gains a bonus exalted feat.  (See Chapter 4 of the Book of Exalted Deeds.)
 * Multiclass Note: If a paladin or monk takes this class, they can freely continue to gain levels in their original class without penalty.