SHARK
First Post
Greetings!
Well, I wrote up some thoughts on paladins. I created a paladin class for my own campaign. A brief preview of the paladin is noted below. Further details are in my blog here, under the title of The SHARK Paladin. I always thought the paladin in the book was bland, weak, and flavorless. Then, the thought of needing to multi-class into a prestige class--or several--just seemed so wrong, and counter-to what the original lore and mythological inspiration of the class was, but even considering base class mechanics and themes within the game, it seemed wrong on so many levels. Thus, I have over the years worked on several base class revisions of the paladin, as well as a few prestige classes. At the heart of the matter though, I think that the paladin should not need to multi-class or even to gain prestige classes...after all, in the *Old School*--paladins were prestigious to begin with. Paladins were always supposed to be special--not merely an alignment flavoured knight that simply differed from every other alignment's knight more or less by the color of their flag.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Paladin Class Features Table
Level 1
Knight-Templar: Sergeant (Ex): Hammer of Judgement I (Su): Armor of the Champion I (Ex): Divine Intuition (Su): Mysterious Revelation I (Ex):
Level 2
Divine Grace; Tournament Knight; Shroud of the Mundane; Charming Presence
Level 3
Aura of Heroic Presence I; Divine Health; Hand of Healing I
Level 4
Banner of the Crusader; Shield of Holy Might I; Judgement of Heaven I
Level 5
Knight-Templar: Captain; Hammer of Judgement II; Hand of Divine Wrath I; Hand of Cleansing I; Blessing of Friendship I
Level 6
Inspired Leadership; Road of the Crusader
Level 7
Mysterious Revelation II; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom I
Level 8
Hand of Healing II; Judgement of Heaven II
Level 9
Shield of Holy Might II
Level 10
Knight-Templar: Commander; Border Keep; Hammer of Judgement III; Hand of Divine Wrath II; Armor of the Champion II;
Aura of Heroic Presence II; Hand of Cleansing II; Enchanted Realm I; Heroic Leadership I; Booty From The Crusades I
Level 11
Blessing of Friendship II
Level 12
Judgement of Heaven III
Level 13
Hand of Healing III; Mysterious Revelation III; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom II
Level 14
Shield of Holy Might III
Level 15
Knight-Templar: Lord Commander; Mighty Fortress; Hammer of Judgement IV;
Hand of Divine Wrath III; Hand of Cleansing III;
Enchanted Realm II; Heroic Leadership II; Booty From The Crusades II
Level 16
Judgement of Heaven IV
Level 17
Blessing of Friendship III
Level 18
Hand of Healing IV
Level 19
Mysterious Revelation IV; Shield of Holy Might IV; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom III
Level 20
Knight-Templar: Lord Champion; Glorious Citadel; Hammer of Judgement V; Hand of Divine Wrath IV; Armor of the Champion III;
Judgement of Heaven IV; Hand of Cleansing IV; Enchanted Realm III; Heroic Leadership III; Booty From The Crusades III
PALADIN
Characters and Campaigns: Paladins, as characters, are uniquely human ideals, and the rise of paladins is even more or less intertwined with culture and technology, as well. Generally speaking, paladins will only tend to exist within particular milieu's where the society is predominantly human, and embracing a Dark Ages/Medieval Ages period of cultural and technological development. Tribal barbarians living in the dark forests--do not have paladins. Tribal humans living in the darkest jungles overrun with dinosaurs--do not have paladins. Rich, sophisticated and advanced humans living in resplendent kingdoms that do not use chainmail or plate-mail armor--are very unlikely to have paladins. Certainly, there is some room for variation within the context of the milieu that a paladin exists in--but the DM should give careful and considered thought to the generally limited range of milieu's that paladins fit in, and have the most dramatic and fun impact on the campaign. It is because paladins, both for how the player plays them of course, but also for the dynamics of the paladin as a class, both mechanically but perhaps more importantly--socially--have a particular way of interacting socially and culturally with the campaign society in dramatic and significant ways.
Race: Only Humans are paladins. Other races have their own kinds of devout holy warriors that exemplify and champion their own particular racial, religious and cultural values. Paladins are only Lawful Good Humans. However, Aasimars, half-dragons, half-elves, half-giants, half-ogres, and half-orcs may become paladins. All of the exceptions must have a half-human component; they must be lawful good in alignment; and they must be devout worshippers and followers of a human deity that is their patron.
Alignment: Lawful Good. Paladins can only be of Lawful Good alignment. While other alignments have divine champions and different kinds of holy warriors--they do not have paladins. Paladins are unique champions of Chivalry, Good, Righteousness and Valor.
Hit Dice: d10
Class Skills
Appraise (Int); Athletics (Str); Concentration (Con); Craft (Int); Diplomacy (Cha); Handle Animal (Cha); Heal (Wis); Intimidate (Cha or Str); Knowledge (Int; Dungeoneering; Geography; History; Law; Local; Nobility & Royalty; Religion; Warfare); Perception (Wis); Perform (Cha); Profession (Wis); Ride (Dex); Sense Motive (Wis); Survival (Wis);
Skill Points at 1st Level: (8+Int modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8+Intelligence modifier
Well, I wrote up some thoughts on paladins. I created a paladin class for my own campaign. A brief preview of the paladin is noted below. Further details are in my blog here, under the title of The SHARK Paladin. I always thought the paladin in the book was bland, weak, and flavorless. Then, the thought of needing to multi-class into a prestige class--or several--just seemed so wrong, and counter-to what the original lore and mythological inspiration of the class was, but even considering base class mechanics and themes within the game, it seemed wrong on so many levels. Thus, I have over the years worked on several base class revisions of the paladin, as well as a few prestige classes. At the heart of the matter though, I think that the paladin should not need to multi-class or even to gain prestige classes...after all, in the *Old School*--paladins were prestigious to begin with. Paladins were always supposed to be special--not merely an alignment flavoured knight that simply differed from every other alignment's knight more or less by the color of their flag.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Paladin Class Features Table
Level 1
Knight-Templar: Sergeant (Ex): Hammer of Judgement I (Su): Armor of the Champion I (Ex): Divine Intuition (Su): Mysterious Revelation I (Ex):
Level 2
Divine Grace; Tournament Knight; Shroud of the Mundane; Charming Presence
Level 3
Aura of Heroic Presence I; Divine Health; Hand of Healing I
Level 4
Banner of the Crusader; Shield of Holy Might I; Judgement of Heaven I
Level 5
Knight-Templar: Captain; Hammer of Judgement II; Hand of Divine Wrath I; Hand of Cleansing I; Blessing of Friendship I
Level 6
Inspired Leadership; Road of the Crusader
Level 7
Mysterious Revelation II; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom I
Level 8
Hand of Healing II; Judgement of Heaven II
Level 9
Shield of Holy Might II
Level 10
Knight-Templar: Commander; Border Keep; Hammer of Judgement III; Hand of Divine Wrath II; Armor of the Champion II;
Aura of Heroic Presence II; Hand of Cleansing II; Enchanted Realm I; Heroic Leadership I; Booty From The Crusades I
Level 11
Blessing of Friendship II
Level 12
Judgement of Heaven III
Level 13
Hand of Healing III; Mysterious Revelation III; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom II
Level 14
Shield of Holy Might III
Level 15
Knight-Templar: Lord Commander; Mighty Fortress; Hammer of Judgement IV;
Hand of Divine Wrath III; Hand of Cleansing III;
Enchanted Realm II; Heroic Leadership II; Booty From The Crusades II
Level 16
Judgement of Heaven IV
Level 17
Blessing of Friendship III
Level 18
Hand of Healing IV
Level 19
Mysterious Revelation IV; Shield of Holy Might IV; Horn of the Glorious Kingdom III
Level 20
Knight-Templar: Lord Champion; Glorious Citadel; Hammer of Judgement V; Hand of Divine Wrath IV; Armor of the Champion III;
Judgement of Heaven IV; Hand of Cleansing IV; Enchanted Realm III; Heroic Leadership III; Booty From The Crusades III
PALADIN
Characters and Campaigns: Paladins, as characters, are uniquely human ideals, and the rise of paladins is even more or less intertwined with culture and technology, as well. Generally speaking, paladins will only tend to exist within particular milieu's where the society is predominantly human, and embracing a Dark Ages/Medieval Ages period of cultural and technological development. Tribal barbarians living in the dark forests--do not have paladins. Tribal humans living in the darkest jungles overrun with dinosaurs--do not have paladins. Rich, sophisticated and advanced humans living in resplendent kingdoms that do not use chainmail or plate-mail armor--are very unlikely to have paladins. Certainly, there is some room for variation within the context of the milieu that a paladin exists in--but the DM should give careful and considered thought to the generally limited range of milieu's that paladins fit in, and have the most dramatic and fun impact on the campaign. It is because paladins, both for how the player plays them of course, but also for the dynamics of the paladin as a class, both mechanically but perhaps more importantly--socially--have a particular way of interacting socially and culturally with the campaign society in dramatic and significant ways.
Race: Only Humans are paladins. Other races have their own kinds of devout holy warriors that exemplify and champion their own particular racial, religious and cultural values. Paladins are only Lawful Good Humans. However, Aasimars, half-dragons, half-elves, half-giants, half-ogres, and half-orcs may become paladins. All of the exceptions must have a half-human component; they must be lawful good in alignment; and they must be devout worshippers and followers of a human deity that is their patron.
Alignment: Lawful Good. Paladins can only be of Lawful Good alignment. While other alignments have divine champions and different kinds of holy warriors--they do not have paladins. Paladins are unique champions of Chivalry, Good, Righteousness and Valor.
Hit Dice: d10
Class Skills
Appraise (Int); Athletics (Str); Concentration (Con); Craft (Int); Diplomacy (Cha); Handle Animal (Cha); Heal (Wis); Intimidate (Cha or Str); Knowledge (Int; Dungeoneering; Geography; History; Law; Local; Nobility & Royalty; Religion; Warfare); Perception (Wis); Perform (Cha); Profession (Wis); Ride (Dex); Sense Motive (Wis); Survival (Wis);
Skill Points at 1st Level: (8+Int modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8+Intelligence modifier
I dunno, it might help.
