On the side, I've been reformatting pages associated with Player Characters, perhaps because of my readings of 5th Edition. I suppose I'm guilty of making boxes for character fluff in the way I've accused others of doing; I've tried to keep the prescriptiveness of what the classes mean to a minimum. The bigger goal has been to make the content friendly, easy to use and more attractive.
I've worked up a front-page for the paladin at last, which has been a placeholder for several years, since I was still on the old wikispaces format. I'm afraid some of the links are bound to disappoint; and there are back pages that need to be created: paladin's warhorse, holy weapons, that sort of thing. But this is the endless battle where it comes to keeping up with all the content D&D demands.
PALADIN (class)
Such peers are prepared with more difficult training to become paladins, pious warriors who bear a moral obligation as holy warriors for their religion. Whether acting on their own volition or as duly authorized combatants for the kingdom’s welfare, paladins are often idolized by honest citizens and deeply despised by chaotic elements.
Contrary to myth, paladins need not be honourable to generally held principles of goodness or law. Many defend the religious ideals of evil cults or religious beliefs whose indifference to concepts of justice and truth makes a paladin in their cause a truly feared villain. Characters must make up their own minds what sort of paladin they are; there are no set guidelines in the rules that insist what a paladin believes.
To Become a Paladin
The primary attribute of the paladin is strength.
To become a paladin, a character must have these minimums:
- 12 strength
- 9 intelligence
- 13 wisdom
- 9 constitution
- 7 dexterity
- 17 charisma
Paladins receive several benefits that no other class enjoys: ability to detect malevolence on a continuous basis; benefit of +2 adjustment when making saving throws; immunity from disease, and to cure disease in others, once a week to start (1st to 5th level), then twice a week (6th to 10th level), progressing at that rate until their maximum level.
Paladins also have the power to lay on hands, on others or upon their own person, granting 2 h.p. per level of experience, but one time per day. A continuous eminence of protection from malevolence surrounds the paladin, extending outwards for two combat hexes, that any ally of the paladin can enjoy if within that radius.
At 3rd level, paladins gain the ability to turn undead, though they lack knowledge in dweomercraft. At 4th level, the paladin may call for a paladin’s warhorse, which will behave like a loyal henchman towards the paladin.
Paladins begin to receive clerical spells at 9th level. They also possess unique combat abilities and sage abilities. Players wishing to become a paladin should familiarize themselves with these characteristics.
See Also,
Holy Weapons
Player Characters
This content is pretty standard, but I like these posts anyways. The wiki filling out is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThe Paladin is a neat class. The constant Protection aura is such an absurdly powerful ability, granting what amounts to a constant -2 AC! -4 against pretty much anything non-human!
What would you say differentiates the Paladin from the Cleric, in terms of function in the game world and training? Would you say a Paladin can Read/Write or would they be more rooted in the physical aspects of piety?
The content itself is more or less standard AD&D rules, cleaned up and linked to rules that more carefully control the absurd imprecision of the original text. I posted it just to show that the work is being done and that I'm dressing it to look pretty.
ReplyDeleteThe distinction between paladin and cleric is, in my game, spectacularly clear from the sage abilities for each. The paladin has no access to knowledge of the gods and outer planes, no knowledge of ritual or the social structure the cleric can access, no specific understanding of artifacts or medicine. The paladin is a holy fighter ~ but would be as out of place at court as a latrine in Carnegie Hall. He stands near the king and protects him, but that's about it ... while the king listens to what the cleric advises.