clockworkjoe
First Post
I'm working on some LN paladin variants, each based on an element. I've got a good background thought for them, but I haven't typed it out. I would like some feedback on the rules I've worked for them so far.
Elemental Paladin: Core Class Variant
The Elemental Paladin is a holy warrior that upholds the laws and customs of his native civilization or all lawful civilizations in general. They have absolute faith in their nobility of their society, and seek to preserve it at all costs. Each elemental paladin draws strength from a particular aspect of civilization derived from one of the four basic elements. They defend civilization in their particular aspect. For example, earth elemental paladins would concentrate on building and defending fortresses for a lawful society under attack by chaotic barbarians.
Earth – The creation of strongholds, cities, and other fortifications to defend society from harm.
Air – Absolute belief in freedom and free will and freedom from external tyranny.
Fire – The light of intellectual enlightenment. Promethean cult.
Water – Belief in trade, merchants, and exploration.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The paladin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) (Int), Knowledge (the Planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis),and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Advances as standard paladin
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the paladin.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Aura of Law (Ex): The power of a paladin’s aura of law (see the detect law spell) is equal to her paladin level.
Detect Chaos (Sp): At will, a paladin can use detect chaos, as the spell.
Smite Chaos (Su): Once per day, a paladin may attempt to smite chaos with one normal melee attack. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per paladin level. If the paladin accidentally smites a creature that is not chaos, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the paladin may smite chaos one additional time per day, as indicated on Table: The Paladin, to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.
Elemental Resistance (Su): At 2nd level, a paladin gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a paladin with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to her paladin level x her Charisma bonus. A paladin may choose to divide her healing among multiple recipients, and she doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. Alternatively, a paladin can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The paladin decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Elemental Channeling (Su): An elemental paladin may transfer turning attempts into an ability related to his elemental background.
Earth – The paladin may lay hands on objects and structures to repair them.
Each laying of hands on a structure takes a turning attempt for the day.
Air – The Paladin may break enchantment as per the spell on any compulsion enchantment spell
Fire – The paladin may ?
Water - ?
Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a paladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the paladin is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.
Elemental Health (Su): Elemental Paladins are completely immune to certain forms of attack, depending on their elemental background.
Earth – The paladin is immune to petrifaction effects.
Air – The paladin is under a continual feather fall effect.
Fire – The paladin is immune to ability damage that affects intelligence, charisma, or wisdom.
Water – The paladin is immune to polymorph spells and other harmful shape changing effects.
Turn Elemental (Su): When a paladin reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn elemental creatures. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns elementals as a cleric of three levels lower would. All elemental paladins command/rebuke creatures of their own background and turn creatures opposite their own.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a paladin gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the paladin spell list. A paladin must choose and prepare her spells in advance. To prepare or cast a spell, a paladin must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a paladin’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the paladin’s Wisdom modifier. Like other spellcasters, a paladin can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Paladin. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Paladin indicates that the paladin gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level The paladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does. A paladin prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A paladin may prepare and cast any spell on the paladin spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her paladin level.
• Paladin Spell List
Elemental Squire (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a paladin gains the service of a loyal elemental Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call her squire from the elemental realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the paladin's level. The squire immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The squire is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular squire from service.
Each time the squire is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The squire also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a squire is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the paladin’s squire die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The paladin may not summon another squire for thirty days or until she gains a paladin level, whichever comes first, even if the squire is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the paladin takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Code of Conduct: A paladin must be of lawful neutral alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits a chaotic act.
Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.
Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with chaotic characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful neutral.
Ex-Paladins
A paladin who ceases to be lawful neutral, who willfully commits a chaotic act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all paladin spells and abilities (including the service of the paladin’s squire, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a paladin. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a paladin may be a multiclass character, but multiclass paladins face a special restriction. A paladin who gains a level in any class other than paladin may never again raise her paladin level, though she retains all her paladin abilities.
• Paladin Spell List
THE PALADIN’S SQUIRE
The standard squire for an elemental paladin is a mephit of the appropriate type, although other intelligent elemental creatures are allowed.
Paladin Level Bonus HD Natural Armor Adj. Str Adj. Special
5th–7th +2 +4 +1 Empathic link, improved evasion, share spells, share saving throws
8th–10th +4 +6 +2 Improved speed
11th–14th +6 +8 +3 Command creatures of its kind
15th–20th +8 +10 +4 Spell resistance
Paladin’s Squire Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the squire’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Use standard rules for monster advancement.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the squire’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the squire’s Strength score.
Empathic Link (Su): The paladin has an empathic link with her squire out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The paladin cannot see through the squire’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Note that even intelligent squires see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible. Because of this empathic link, the paladin has the same connection to an item or place that her squire does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).
Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a squire takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells: At the paladin’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her squire. The squire must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the squire if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the squire again even if it returns to the paladin before the duration expires. Additionally, the paladin may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her squire (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A paladin and her squire can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the squire’s type (magical beast).
Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the squire uses its own base save bonus or the paladin’s, whichever is higher. The squire applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.
Improved Speed (Ex): The squire’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Command (Sp): Once per day per two paladin levels of its master, a squire can use this ability to command other creatures of its exact type as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the squire. This ability functions like the command spell, but the squire must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the squire’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 paladin’s level + paladin’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A squire’s spell resistance equals its master’s paladin level + 5. To affect the squire with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the squire’s spell resistance.
Summary of Changes:
Lost
Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a paladin gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Remove Disease (Sp): At 6th level, a paladin can produce a remove disease effect, as the spell, once per week. She can use this ability one additional time per week for every three levels after 6th (twice per week at 9th, three times at 12th, and so forth).
Paladin mount
Gained
Elemental Channeling
Elemental Squire
Elemental Paladin: Core Class Variant
The Elemental Paladin is a holy warrior that upholds the laws and customs of his native civilization or all lawful civilizations in general. They have absolute faith in their nobility of their society, and seek to preserve it at all costs. Each elemental paladin draws strength from a particular aspect of civilization derived from one of the four basic elements. They defend civilization in their particular aspect. For example, earth elemental paladins would concentrate on building and defending fortresses for a lawful society under attack by chaotic barbarians.
Earth – The creation of strongholds, cities, and other fortifications to defend society from harm.
Air – Absolute belief in freedom and free will and freedom from external tyranny.
Fire – The light of intellectual enlightenment. Promethean cult.
Water – Belief in trade, merchants, and exploration.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills
The paladin’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (architecture & engineering) (Int), Knowledge (the Planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis),and Sense Motive (Wis).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (2 + Int modifier) x4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier.
Advances as standard paladin
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the paladin.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Aura of Law (Ex): The power of a paladin’s aura of law (see the detect law spell) is equal to her paladin level.
Detect Chaos (Sp): At will, a paladin can use detect chaos, as the spell.
Smite Chaos (Su): Once per day, a paladin may attempt to smite chaos with one normal melee attack. She adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per paladin level. If the paladin accidentally smites a creature that is not chaos, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.
At 5th level, and at every five levels thereafter, the paladin may smite chaos one additional time per day, as indicated on Table: The Paladin, to a maximum of five times per day at 20th level.
Elemental Resistance (Su): At 2nd level, a paladin gains a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a paladin with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to her paladin level x her Charisma bonus. A paladin may choose to divide her healing among multiple recipients, and she doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. Alternatively, a paladin can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. The paladin decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Elemental Channeling (Su): An elemental paladin may transfer turning attempts into an ability related to his elemental background.
Earth – The paladin may lay hands on objects and structures to repair them.
Each laying of hands on a structure takes a turning attempt for the day.
Air – The Paladin may break enchantment as per the spell on any compulsion enchantment spell
Fire – The paladin may ?
Water - ?
Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a paladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the paladin is conscious, but not if she is unconscious or dead.
Elemental Health (Su): Elemental Paladins are completely immune to certain forms of attack, depending on their elemental background.
Earth – The paladin is immune to petrifaction effects.
Air – The paladin is under a continual feather fall effect.
Fire – The paladin is immune to ability damage that affects intelligence, charisma, or wisdom.
Water – The paladin is immune to polymorph spells and other harmful shape changing effects.
Turn Elemental (Su): When a paladin reaches 4th level, she gains the supernatural ability to turn elemental creatures. She may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier. She turns elementals as a cleric of three levels lower would. All elemental paladins command/rebuke creatures of their own background and turn creatures opposite their own.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a paladin gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the paladin spell list. A paladin must choose and prepare her spells in advance. To prepare or cast a spell, a paladin must have a Wisdom score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a paladin’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the paladin’s Wisdom modifier. Like other spellcasters, a paladin can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Paladin. In addition, she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Paladin indicates that the paladin gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level The paladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does. A paladin prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A paladin may prepare and cast any spell on the paladin spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, her caster level is one-half her paladin level.
• Paladin Spell List
Elemental Squire (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a paladin gains the service of a loyal elemental Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call her squire from the elemental realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the paladin's level. The squire immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The squire is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular squire from service.
Each time the squire is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The squire also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a squire is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the paladin’s squire die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The paladin may not summon another squire for thirty days or until she gains a paladin level, whichever comes first, even if the squire is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the paladin takes a –1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Code of Conduct: A paladin must be of lawful neutral alignment and loses all class abilities if she ever willingly commits a chaotic act.
Additionally, a paladin’s code requires that she respect legitimate authority, act with honor (not lying, not cheating, not using poison, and so forth), help those in need (provided they do not use the help for evil or chaotic ends), and punish those who harm or threaten innocents.
Associates: While she may adventure with characters of any good or neutral alignment, a paladin will never knowingly associate with chaotic characters, nor will she continue an association with someone who consistently offends her moral code. A paladin may accept only henchmen, followers, or cohorts who are lawful neutral.
Ex-Paladins
A paladin who ceases to be lawful neutral, who willfully commits a chaotic act, or who grossly violates the code of conduct loses all paladin spells and abilities (including the service of the paladin’s squire, but not weapon, armor, and shield proficiencies). She may not progress any farther in levels as a paladin. She regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violations (see the atonement spell description), as appropriate.
Like a member of any other class, a paladin may be a multiclass character, but multiclass paladins face a special restriction. A paladin who gains a level in any class other than paladin may never again raise her paladin level, though she retains all her paladin abilities.
• Paladin Spell List
THE PALADIN’S SQUIRE
The standard squire for an elemental paladin is a mephit of the appropriate type, although other intelligent elemental creatures are allowed.
Paladin Level Bonus HD Natural Armor Adj. Str Adj. Special
5th–7th +2 +4 +1 Empathic link, improved evasion, share spells, share saving throws
8th–10th +4 +6 +2 Improved speed
11th–14th +6 +8 +3 Command creatures of its kind
15th–20th +8 +10 +4 Spell resistance
Paladin’s Squire Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the squire’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Use standard rules for monster advancement.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the squire’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the squire’s Strength score.
Empathic Link (Su): The paladin has an empathic link with her squire out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The paladin cannot see through the squire’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Note that even intelligent squires see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible. Because of this empathic link, the paladin has the same connection to an item or place that her squire does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).
Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a squire takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.
Share Spells: At the paladin’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her squire. The squire must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the squire if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the squire again even if it returns to the paladin before the duration expires. Additionally, the paladin may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her squire (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A paladin and her squire can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the squire’s type (magical beast).
Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the squire uses its own base save bonus or the paladin’s, whichever is higher. The squire applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.
Improved Speed (Ex): The squire’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Command (Sp): Once per day per two paladin levels of its master, a squire can use this ability to command other creatures of its exact type as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the squire. This ability functions like the command spell, but the squire must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the squire’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 paladin’s level + paladin’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A squire’s spell resistance equals its master’s paladin level + 5. To affect the squire with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the squire’s spell resistance.
Summary of Changes:
Lost
Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a paladin gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Remove Disease (Sp): At 6th level, a paladin can produce a remove disease effect, as the spell, once per week. She can use this ability one additional time per week for every three levels after 6th (twice per week at 9th, three times at 12th, and so forth).
Paladin mount
Gained
Elemental Channeling
Elemental Squire
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