Forgotten Heroes: Paladin

[malladin]

I can think of one WotC PrC that uses ability score increases - the dragon sorcerer class from Tome and Blood. This builds you up into a half dragon - thats +8 STR, +2 CON, INT and CHA (from memory), thats an awful lot more than the 4 you get from the seeker.

If you think about the other classes in nealy all books with prestige classes in them there are no concepts that suit gaining ability scores. Just because a character is particularly stealthy or a good archer doesn't mean they should get more Dex, there are other ways of representing these aspects. The seeker is a character who focuses on self awarness and strives for their own personal divinity. Ab Socre increases seem a valid way of achieving this affect. Personally I think it's better to use simple standardised systems, such as this, than odd supernatural abilities that are likely to be unique to each and every PrC and never seen again anywhere else.

I get the impression that there are some preconceptions about ability score increases stemming back to 1st and 2nd edition D&D, which do not apply to D20 as it is a much better balanced system. Having a broad experience of many different roleplaying systems to draw upon, I don't see how, in a balanced system (which I beleive d20 is), you can't give out ability scores given correct consideration of their relative power and favour of the class.

Thanks for not getting personal

 

[malladin]

Communication is essentially about one person who sends a message which is received by a second person. A channel, or means of communication, is needed. In practice there are factors which distort the message or signal. This is called 'noise' and is a barrier to good communication. Also, we all have knowledge, skills and attitudes and many of us will even admit to some prejudice. These complexeties are involved with both the sending and receiving of messages. As a transmitter you encode your thoughts and motives to a message. The receiver who decodes the message does so not only with their knowledge and skills but with their own attitudes as well. Their feedback allows you to assess the effects your attitudes are having on the message and vice versa. (Reece & Walker, 1997)

At Malladins gate we aim to produce products that explore ideas and concepts in roleplaying to enhance peoples enjoyment of their games. Feedback and discussion are viewed as a positive tool in achieving those aims, as it helps develop our attitudes,avoid preconceptions and how well we communicate our concepts. Our own forum will be open soon where all open, frank, constructive, non-personalised debate will be welcome. Roleplaying, in our opinion, is first and foremost about enjoyment. If your having fun then your doing the right thing and if not then whats the point? The OGC liscence offers gamers the opportunity to expand their hobby and enable it to grow into something that appeals to different people at all levels of interest and attitude. Virtually any rule book states that the rules are a guide not immutable laws. OGC gives everyone the chance to take that principle to its ultimate form. Munchkins, rules-lawyers, casual players and experimental players all have equally valid approaches and these should be respected, if not shared and discussed not stated as inferior. Elitism is a dangerous concept and has limited roleplaying for many years. Malladins gate would like to thank Krug for his review and the constructive criticism it contained and hope he and all our readers enjoy their gaming.

Take it easy
Nigel

 

[Krug]

Boy you guys are TOO sensitive. A 4/5 review and you want to quibble. can't you just rest on your laurels?

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack, and co-host of Mortality Radio

Sizing Up the Target
Forgotten Heroes: Paladin is a 62-page soft cover accessory published by Malladin’s Gate Press. Nigel McClelland and Ben Redmond are the authors of this focused class supplement, which normally retails for $5.00.

First Blood
A book based solely on the Paladin character class is a boon for any player wanting to improve their holy crusader. There are quite a number of crunchy bits for the crusading player to give spice and variety to their characters.

Narrative opens each chapter, setting the tone for the topic of discussion. As per usual, the first chapter deals in sub-classes and their requirements. The Crusader, Defender, Horse Knight, Lord and Warrior Monk are offered. The Crusader is nothing new, but they do offer the twist of given the Crusader a favored enemy like a ranger. The Defender is more along the lines of a paladin that most characters play; he travels from town to town, defending the meek and helpless. The same holds true for the Horse Knight, simply a paladin with his warhorse class. The Lord class is derived from what a paladin should grow into, a respected and capable leader. This class should be a Prestige class in my opinion, not an opening sub-class. And the Warrior Monk class is more than a bit redundant. This sub-class should be better featured in a monk-focused work.

More emphasis is spent on the prestige classes, 14 of them. Ranging from the Batman-like Avenger to the Lancelot reminiscent Chevalier to the divinely-inspired Devout, the prestige classes are the better of the selection. Each one plays to an archetype the player can identify with. Specialist in horsed combat like the Holy Dragoon or the Avenger-like Justicar (I found them to be similar enough to be redundant of each other, their descriptions are nearly identical and repetitive) to the gun-toting Musketeer. The classes do find an area of focus and development.

A short list of old skills with new uses opens the third chapter, skills like riding, healing and diplomacy are given some new quirks with the divine bent. Then the Methods of the Just chapter move into new Feats. Feats such as Battle Cry: Fear and Divine Empower (like a Bless spell) give new power to the warriors of justice. A new feat, Test of Faith gives what I think is probably the most unique and interesting feat of the whole book.

Powers of the Faithful moves the player into a paladin’s divine spells. The authors start with a spell list and draw from the Player’s Handbook and S&S’s Relics and Rituals for their basic list, adding their new prayers into this mix. Divine Warding, a spell to ward against evil forces and Exorcize the Damned are good examples of the quality of spells in the chapter. The Paladins are given a new spell-like ability, the Smite. Holy, Cursed, Redemption, Retribution and Valor Smites are given with various effects. Divine Channeling feats with spell-like effects are also described. Enhancing Weapons and Vow Quests are described in detail.

Paladins then move into the Dm’s section now. It mirrors the player’s portion of the book following the same items and adding insight for playability. The book wraps up with a multi-page Paladin player character sheet.

Critical Hits
I have yet to meet someone who could really play a paladin and stay adhered to the precepts of the character itself, this book offers a number of ideas that could be helpful to improving this character to play. Some of the classes here are well thought out. The Musketeer as a Paladin sub-class surely should have come up before now but the outtake on this was pretty cool. The move to give a divinely, Joan of Arcish set of powers/feats/skills really sets the character up as a divine instrument.

Coup de Grace
Forgotten Heroes: Paladins is a great resource for someone wanting to play the divine crusader. One point nearly everyone overlooks when playing a Paladin is that theses are not clerics with fighter skills, rather they are divinely empowered warriors with less of an ecclesiastical leaning to that of a warrior whose godly-inspired life is to right wrong with the power of their faith driving them rather than just a high strength rating.

To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.

 

[ced1106]

I'm reading Call of Duty, which has quite a bit of emphasis on roleplaying and player paladin design. How much of Forgotten Heroes is about roleplaying?

Thanks,


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^