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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tom Strickland" data-source="post: 6280147" data-attributes="member: 6753119">I've been recently listening to the librivox.org audio narrations of  "Men of Iron" (1891, set in 15th century) and "Le Morte d'Arthur"   (1485, set in late 5th century) while programming. There are several  more I will be enjoying.Such literary works from and/or about the far past would seem to be as  illustrative as any of "archetypes" involving knights and knighthood.  There has been much creative license in modern films (e.g. Excalibur,  First Knight, King Arthur, etc.) and as to whether those better capture  or redefine any "archetypes" I will not hazard a guess.Some noteworthy, fictional points in my opinion:Men of Iron<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Training for combat began while young </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It was a special, sometimes granted privilege when not a right </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rituals such as becoming a "Knight of the Bath" and being knighted by  the king rather than a representative carried tremendous importance </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The ritual of the attaching of riding spurs and the bestowal of arms was held in great honor and significance </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Decorum challenged one to be a "good" (or "goodly") knight, but vicious, merciless knights still commanded power and respect </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The bestowal of a fine horse was a tremendous boon, but the slaying of one in combat--purposeful or otherwise--was considered a terrible affront </li> </ul>  Le Morte d'Arthur  <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Knights seemed to joust at every opportunity with anyone else armed--dressing their shields and spears in readiness </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They traveled around with helms and would battle sometimes for hours  before asking each others' names--and then sometimes desist because  of horror at battling a friend or member for/against the Round Table, or  else swear combat to the death because of some personal or other  previous affront; this is to say they seemingly didn't recognize each  other when not already famous and wearing standard identifiers </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sometimes it was considered a "worshipful" feat to defeat a powerful  opponent; moreover, some paragon knights were famous for defeating 10 or  even a score of enemy knights single-handedly; Lancelot defeated 500  knights at one tournament when pledging his castle and possessions to  the victor </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Knights when defeated sometimes begged for mercy and it was granted;  otherwise, when to the death purposefully for some affront or out of  viciousness, the helm was loosed and removed, then the head was cut off  by the victor </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Getting terribly wounded and practically bleeding to death happened frequently for even "great" knights </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Great prowess in combat was associated with being a "good" knight and  was often associated with being honorable ["Might makes right"] </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It was generally known who were the most powerful knights in an area (or "the whole world"): Lancelot, Trystram, Percival, etc. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Knights would disguise themselves for different reasons while questing  and in tournaments, and consequently "friends" were sometimes found to  be fighting with each other </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Supernatural benefits could result from faith, but was rarely mentioned  in huge sections of the work: one notable example being Percival  praying and then a maiden with the Sangreal coming by--only visible to  the virtuous soul--and fully healing him and another knight who had  wounded each other to certain death  (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail</a>) </li> </ul>Regarding D&D I have played different official and 3rd party rules in 1st-3rd editions regarding knights and paladins.To the question at hand using the above context:My current thoughts are that a knight can easily be its own full  20-level class (or whatever). It could also be a kit or build of a  fighter that emphasized horsemanship. Beyond that, I think there is much  leeway regarding whether codes need to be followed, and whether there  need be a lawful alignment component if that is used. Preferences for  arms and armor in the rules may not be necessary--the knights in an era  seemed to just prefer the best offense, defense and tactics available.  "Armor as damage reduction" would fit right in. Additionally, "standard"  rules and feats for damage multipliers with the lance and charging also  capture a flavor.Accordingly, I would then consider a Paladin to be a prestige class for a  fighter or knight class with prerequisites, restrictions and benefits  including: alignment, codes of chivalry/honor, quests, general and also  unique divine blessings and capabilities contingent upon continued  "worthiness". In fiction, a Paladin may well be overpowered--being a good or great fighter plus evidencing supernatural boons and capabilities. In  gaming terms, there would be appropriate offsets to maintain "balance".Additional References (that I could find relatively quickly and which are probably less well known compared to the WotC titles):Legends of Excalibur (RPGObjects) [beautiful thematic formatting and art] A Question of Honor: A Guidebook to Knights (Alea Publishing Group)Noble Knights (Avalanche Press)The Cavalier's Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing) Classes of Legend: The Cavaliers (Lion's Den Press)Charge! (Living Imagination)Forgotten Heroes - Paladin (Malladin's Gate Press)Power Classes: Knight (Mongoose Publishing)The Quintessential Paladin (Mongoose Publishing)Crusades of Valour (Mongoose Publishing)101 Legendary Treasures of Medieval Europe (Ronin Arts)Love and War (Penumbra)</blockquote>

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