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I tried to address this question in the Redemption Paladin thread, but that thread is totally dominated by an alignment/paladin philosophy discussion and nobody seemed interested. So I'll try here.
I was initially really excited by this sub-class, both because I love the concept and the idea of no armor, but upon more sober reflection I think you give up a lot for...fluff. Overall it feels like you are sacrificing the general utility of other sub-classes in return for strength in a very specific roleplaying situation (namely, walking unarmored to a potentially dangerous parley).
I don't always see all the pros/cons/loopholes of various abilities (mellored, where are you?) but here's my take:
Bonus Spells: these are solid, and approximately as good as other sub-classes. No complaints here.
Armor of Peace: I love this conceptually, but it's most just a roleplaying benefit, not a mechanical one. I suppose there are some edge cases, such as situations where you can't wear armor or don't have it on, or if you want to be a stealthy paladin, but in general using it will result in a lower AC.
Warrior of Reconciliation: Again, fun/entertaining conceptually, but since you can't order them to attack it's not strictly better mechanically than just killing them. It's only real utility would seem to be for interrogation after a combat, rather than knocking them out and then using social skills or charm spells. And unless you want to cheese it by switching weapons for the killing blow, it forces you into doing less damage than a normal paladin as well.
I suppose you could use this ability as a free charm spell, if you don't mind doing the exact opposite of what the class fluff describes: the guard won't release your friend? Beat him into submission then command him to open the cell!
Emissary of Peace: This could have the occasional benefit to match the resource cost, but not a common occurrence. Maybe if you know you're not likely to be in combat that day you might burn it more willingly.
Rebuke the Violent: On the positive side, it's used reactively so you are unlikely to waste it. Like Divine Smite, you can wait for a crit. Ideally from somebody who does lots of damage. On the negative side, it's of minor value when fighting lots of enemies who do little damage, and it's utility is unpredictable.
Aura of Guardian: This can useful to save your friends but at a heavy price. It starts to have some nice synergy with level 15 and 20 abilities, but that's a lot of levels to wait.
Protective Spirit: This is the one clear, across-the-board, awesome ability.
Emissary of Redemption: Needs to be clarified whether the damage counts as you dealing damage (which would mean this only works once against each opponent) and also whether "half the damage it dealt to you" means half of what it rolled or half of what you received, because if the latter then you're only reflecting 1/4 damage, at the cost of not being able to actually attack. This is another one that is really flavorful and distinct, but seems to have limited actual utility.
I do really like the trade-off between Strength and Dexterity. There's no good way to min-max that one, which is as it should be, imo. I think the two possible ways I would play this would be to multiclass Monk, or to carry both a staff and a greatsword. Great Weapon Fighting either way.
Thoughts?
I was initially really excited by this sub-class, both because I love the concept and the idea of no armor, but upon more sober reflection I think you give up a lot for...fluff. Overall it feels like you are sacrificing the general utility of other sub-classes in return for strength in a very specific roleplaying situation (namely, walking unarmored to a potentially dangerous parley).
I don't always see all the pros/cons/loopholes of various abilities (mellored, where are you?) but here's my take:
Bonus Spells: these are solid, and approximately as good as other sub-classes. No complaints here.
Armor of Peace: I love this conceptually, but it's most just a roleplaying benefit, not a mechanical one. I suppose there are some edge cases, such as situations where you can't wear armor or don't have it on, or if you want to be a stealthy paladin, but in general using it will result in a lower AC.
Warrior of Reconciliation: Again, fun/entertaining conceptually, but since you can't order them to attack it's not strictly better mechanically than just killing them. It's only real utility would seem to be for interrogation after a combat, rather than knocking them out and then using social skills or charm spells. And unless you want to cheese it by switching weapons for the killing blow, it forces you into doing less damage than a normal paladin as well.
I suppose you could use this ability as a free charm spell, if you don't mind doing the exact opposite of what the class fluff describes: the guard won't release your friend? Beat him into submission then command him to open the cell!
Emissary of Peace: This could have the occasional benefit to match the resource cost, but not a common occurrence. Maybe if you know you're not likely to be in combat that day you might burn it more willingly.
Rebuke the Violent: On the positive side, it's used reactively so you are unlikely to waste it. Like Divine Smite, you can wait for a crit. Ideally from somebody who does lots of damage. On the negative side, it's of minor value when fighting lots of enemies who do little damage, and it's utility is unpredictable.
Aura of Guardian: This can useful to save your friends but at a heavy price. It starts to have some nice synergy with level 15 and 20 abilities, but that's a lot of levels to wait.
Protective Spirit: This is the one clear, across-the-board, awesome ability.
Emissary of Redemption: Needs to be clarified whether the damage counts as you dealing damage (which would mean this only works once against each opponent) and also whether "half the damage it dealt to you" means half of what it rolled or half of what you received, because if the latter then you're only reflecting 1/4 damage, at the cost of not being able to actually attack. This is another one that is really flavorful and distinct, but seems to have limited actual utility.
I do really like the trade-off between Strength and Dexterity. There's no good way to min-max that one, which is as it should be, imo. I think the two possible ways I would play this would be to multiclass Monk, or to carry both a staff and a greatsword. Great Weapon Fighting either way.
Thoughts?
