D&D 5E Battling a possessed Paladin!

Shareazu Huss · May 14, 2017

Hello folks, first time posting here, although i've know this forum for years, and it has helped me and my group much, regarding doubts, character building, rolepaying, and others. Anyway, time for the question!

In my campaign (the first one i've ever narrated), i've planned for the players to battle against a possessed Paladin... yes, i am aware paladins of the devotion path cannot be charmed, but i've opted to overrule that characteristic for now, so that it'd fit the narrative better (although i could change it to something more fitting, if i have to). In any case, my doubt is:

if a paladin or any such character that relies on divine powers is possessed, could it still use it's class' abilities, like Improved Divine Smite and/or it's spells?

I mean, if the source of the paladin's or cleric's power is it's deity, could it still be powered by it, even though it's mind is no longer his? would it make sense? I thought maybe changing the damage from radiant to necrotic would perhaps help in making it a bit more acceptable... what do you guys think?

Also, i am aware that this post should perhaps fit better in another category, but i'd also like help in BUILDING the character itself... the character is supposed to fight againt 5 level 5 characters (1 mage, i warlock, 1 paladin, 1 warrior, 1 monk)... i'd like the battle to be 'deadly', and for it to be based on the 'Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower' fight, a boss battle from the game 'Bloodborne', except that the battle may be won by 3 different methods: 1 is to defeat and kill the character itself; the other is to defeat the hidden creature (which is possessing the character) in the room, and the other is to find, in the dungeon leading to that encounter, the materials and methods to make a ritual to exorcise the evil influence on the possessed character. The creature behind the posession wouldn't be defenseless, but it'd be physically weaker than her.

So far, the character is more or less like this (again, feel free to make suggestions):

Human (variant), Devotion Paladin, lvl 11

Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Char 14

Armor class: 18 (10 + 2 (armor) + 4 (dex) + 1 (f. style) + 1 (dual wielder feat)

Feats: dual wielder, defensive duelist (or war caster)

attacks: Rapier, 1d8 + 4 (dex) + 1d8 (imp. divine smite) + xd8 (if using smite) (attack made 2/round)
Rapier, 1d8 + 1d8 (radiant)

So, what should i do? does it make sense to the paladin to still be able to use some of it's abilities, even if it is a 'corrupted' version of them? Is this character ok to fight againt this group in particular? Please, make suggestions, if you wish!

Here's a video containing the battle which inspired this character:

https://youtu.be/0hN66R2yjgs?t=18s

Redthistle · May 14, 2017

Taking a look at possession as described for the ghost (MM147), the ghost does not gain its target's knowledge, class features, or proficiencies. That confirms your idea that it would need to be much more powerful, and a deity fits that requirement.

So, what if the paladin became a pawn between its presumed good deity and an evil, rival deity?

While the evil deity has possession of the paladin, you might want to use a blackguard paladin build. There are two I'm aware of.

One can be found in Unearthed Arcana's Paladin play-test material for a fallen paladin from December 2016, under the heading Oath of Treachery. I can see a paladin failing his or her original vows being weakened enough to become vulnerable to the possessing NPC.

Also, @RhaezDaevan introduced a version of a blackguard on ENWorld; you can take a look at that here:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?367324-Blackguard#ixzz3FT9i5abc

If you haven't already done so, you might want to look at the ghost's possession feature anyway, just for ideas.

Eltab · May 14, 2017

How do the PCs know ...
0) the Paladin is in the tower and will fight them?
0.1) the Paladin has servants who work his will and run his errands? (or doesn't)
0.2) the Paladin has allies who will come to his aid? (or doesn't)
1) the Paladin is possessed?
1.1) by who?
2) the PCs ought to do something about that?
3) a ritual will cure him?
4) the ingredients for the ritual are in the tower?*
5) what those ingredients are?

Not exactly the advice you had in mind I suppose, but the build-up to this story can help make the fight memorable and feel like the group Accomplished Something Important that day.
Hopefully there will be a future option where the Redeemed Paladin can help them out with a quest.

* Doesn't the possessing entity know this too?
Why hasn't it had the Paladin clean out the building / smash things to bits / sell each part on eBay to a different bidder - to prevent exactly what you want the PCs to do?

Shareazu Huss · May 22, 2017

Sorry for the delay in answering, folks! it was a busy week!

I think it's best to explain the quest as a whole, to make it easier to understand (hopefully):

The main quest i gave the players was to investigate the source of a plague-like disease that was affecting small towns in a certain region of the map. As a secundary quest, the NPC also requested them to please find out about a certain paladin who went missing when she was sent to the same quest (the paladin is the one i planned to be posessed).

As it turns out, the source of the disease was an abbey filled with Huecuvas (an old monster from AD&D, that i'm trying to adapt to the 5.0 system... huecuvas are basically clerics that abandoned~their teachings and comitted major sins against their deity... in death, they become horrid undead, capable of resisting divine powers, and spreading disease through their claws). I gave them general instructions through NPCs to the region that held the first outbreaks of the disease... in that region, they'd find a destroyed town, but with the abbe next to it seemingly intact. when they proceeded to investigate it, they'd be attacked!

So, the plan was that they'd find the abbey/tower, and it'd be filled with these huecuvas and other undeads. The rooms in the abbey would still contain some holy texts from days past... including instructions to perform an exorcism ritual, although they'd have to find the missing pieces and required itens to do so through the dungeon. As they made their way through the abbey, they'd eventually find the paladin, now posessed by the entity, with a few more enemies. The entity would be located in the same room: a deformed mass of flesh spread through the ceiling, holding direct control on the paladin.

The room would have simple wooden stairs or other objects that could give the players access to the entity, in case they want to attack it. It would also perhaps have ropes they could push, activating the bell, which could give them some sort of advantage during the combat (perhaps briefly removing the entity's control of the paladin?).

So, the players would have a number of choices: for example, they could kill the paladin, leaving the entity without minions to defend itself, or they could perform the ritual on the paladin, leaving her unconscious, giving them more space to kill the entity, or they could rush through the stairs and attack the creature directly.

D&D 5E Battling a possessed Paladin!

Shareazu Huss

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Redthistle

Explorer

Eltab

Lord of the Hidden Layer

Shareazu Huss

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