Baker blog paladin and dragonborn

[Dinkeldog]

Sounds to me like plenty of fodder for the House Rules forum--once 4E is actually released, anyway.

 

[Bishmon]

Yes you're right, I should have said meh instead.

Wait...what? You said you were surprised because it hadn't been revealed yet, I mentioned that it was in R&C, and then went on to tell you about the dragonborn wings thing, since that was also in R&C, which you have apparently not seen. I figured if you got a kick out of the breath weapon, you'd get a kick of that, too.

And you respond with this? And that I'm ruining your fun? Really? Whatever, man.

 

[Dark080matter]

Sounds to me like plenty of fodder for the House Rules forum--once 4E is actually released, anyway.

I don't know about House Rules per se... what about the things we've discussed so far has struck you as needing a change to the rules? Do you mean nerfing/taking away Dragonborn Breath, or something I missed?

And you respond with this? And that I'm ruining your fun? Really? Whatever, man.

Stay easy, fellas. Save it for the Kobolds. Apparently they're dangerous this time around....

 

[MaelStorm]

Wait...what? You said you were surprised because it hadn't been revealed yet, I mentioned that it was in R&C, and then went on to tell you about the dragonborn wings thing, since that was also in R&C, which you have apparently not seen. I figured if you got a kick out of the breath weapon, you'd get a kick of that, too.

And you respond with this? And that I'm ruining your fun? Really? Whatever, man.

If you read page 1 of this thread, I even quoted R&C in response to Plane Sailing. People should read the previous posts before replying.

EDIT: Post #21, the exact passage written by R. Baker in the Dragonborn race entry that you think I didn't know.

 

[Bishmon]

If you read page 1 of this thread, I even quoted R&C in response to Plane Sailing. People should read the previous posts before replying.

EDIT: Post #21, the exact passage written by R. Baker in the Dragonborn race entry that you think I didn't know.

Ok, I missed that. I'm not sure how that excuses your snarky response, though.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

As I think as already been established, I think dragonborn and tieflings are the two races that people are most interested in. I suspect you'll see plenty of them when 4e comes out (probably more of these two races than of halflings, AAMOF).

 

[MaelStorm]

Ok, I missed that. I'm not sure how that excuses your snarky response, though.

When you make false assumptions people can become a bit snarky, I apologize to you then.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

f the creature scoffs at the paladin and refuses to face him, he is scoffing at the paladin's gods - and then you get that radiant damage. It's not the paladin blasting the creature, it's the force that empowers him; the gods themselves are backing up the paladin's challenge. "Show courage and face our champion - or face our wrath."

I'd be interested in a discussion of how different gods have different Paladins. I really like how we can have Paladins of any alignment, but some deities just don't seem like they would have this brand of champion.

For example, I can't see Tymora, the goddess of luck and the patron of the halfling Paladin from D&D XP, would have Paladins. She just doesn't sound like she would say "Face my champion, villain!". That just doesn't seem to be her style - it seems like her champion would be something more like a Rogue. The same goes for gods like Corellon, Avandra, Gruumsh, or Vecna - I don't strongly associate Paladins with these gods (nor Clerics in the case of Avandra, Corellon, or Gruumsh). I can readily imagine Paladins for Kord, Bahamut, Bane, Asmodeus, Pelor, Moradin, the Raven Queen, and others. But I guess a lot would depend on know more about the deities and their concerns, and we won't get that until the PHB comes out.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I would like it if the divine challenge did damage equal to the enemy´s Level + charisma bonus. This way the paladin would be encouraged to use it on the toughest foe...

 

[Hellcow]

For example, I can't see Tymora, the goddess of luck and the patron of the halfling Paladin from D&D XP, would have Paladins. She just doesn't sound like she would say "Face my champion, villain!". That just doesn't seem to be her style - it seems like her champion would be something more like a Rogue.

Which is where multiclassing comes in. While I can't say anything about how multiclassing works, and while I'm running Eberron instead of core, I've made a rogue-paladin on essentially this principle. The rogue-paladin darts in to flank a foe, does his sneak attack, and says "Tymora's eye is on you! Catch me if you can!" The marked foe can either attempt to fight the wily rogue-paladin, or suffer the consequences of ignoring him; while it's technically radiant damage, I'd probably describe the cosmetic effects of that damage as bad luck. The marked target ignores the rogue-paladin, strikes at another enemy, stumbles and sprains his ankle in the process.

Paladins do "radiant damage", but in my eyes this is essentially divine power; a paladin of the Blood of Vol inflicts radiant damage, just like a paladin of the Silver Flame. But when the SF paladin makes a divine strike, his blade is wrapped in silvery flame, while when the BoV paladin does the same thing, blood flows from his palm and into the blade, suffusing it with a burning red light. Still "radiant" - but a little more sinister. For Olladra or the Traveler, I have no issue with working bad luck into their radiant effects - purely for cosmetic purposes, of course.

So some gods may not use paladins even though they could; others may use multiclassed paladins instead of pure paladins. Personally, I just wouldn't make a paladin of Ioun - however, if I did, I'd focus on her role as goddess of skill and prophecy, patron of tacticians, perhaps making a warlord-paladin who is guided by prophetic visions to defend those in need.

[EDIT] I just noticed the bit where you said the DDXP paladin was a halfling. Honestly, the idea of the plate-armored paladin of Tymora does seem a little odd to me; again, I think the rogue-paladin is perfect, but the clunky armored paladin is a little odd for her. However, I'd still play the challenge as luck; face the paladin or suffer bad luck that results in the damage.