High level abilities for Fighters and Paladins

[Grayhawk]

In rewriting the Paladin and Ranger for my campaign I had at first decided on not using the 3.5e Ranger's high level abilities Camouflage and Hide in Plain Sight as I found them inappropriate when I first heard of them.

But in giving it some more thought, I think that at least Camouflage is OK, considering the level at which it's obtained (still not sure about HiPS).

As having these higher level abilities gives a character reason for staying with the same class, I want to have something for the Fighter and Paladin as well, at higher levels.

(This is not because I have something against multiclassing, but as I believe the Fighter and Paladin both benefit more from multi'ing than not, I just want to make the choise harder.)

This idea is nowhere finished, so I'm just throwing out there what I have, to see what kind of input I'll get.

For the Paladin I thought about giving him Spell Resistance and maybe a Dispel Evil ability.

Maybe like so:

At 13th level a Paladin gets SR equal to [something appropriate]
At 17th level a Paladin' Smite Evil attacks also Dispels Evil (or maybe he gets a number of Dispel Evil's a day equal to his Cha modifier...)

Or (in keeping with the Ranger's evolution of Camouflage to HiPS) maybe the 17th level ability makes the Paladin immune to spells with the [Evil] descriptor, as an improvement of the Spell Resistance he gets at 13th level.

I'm aware of the argument that letting the Fighter get access to better feats doesn't improve him much, as it just forces him to choose those feats to get the improvement, going against the inherent customizability of the class.

Yet I'm loathe to give the Fighter special abilities, as feats are what he gets when others get SA's. Plus, I belive that the Weapon Specialization feats are some of the Fighter's 'Special Abilities'.

Thus I'm looking for an improvement of the Greater Weapon Specialization, available to Fighters at 16th level. Any ideas?

Edit: Just thought of something: How about a 16th level Fighter feat that grants an extra attack each round with the Greater Specialized weapon at full BAB? (Maybe even usable on a Standard Action?)

 

[Halivar]

Take look at Monte Cook's paladin in the Book of Hallowed Might. Smite Evil progresses, they receive a special weapon that progresses (by 17th it's a +2 blessed holy bane [evil outsiders] weapon), and at 20th they get Blessed Aura (SR 25 vs evil, +4 deflection AC bonus).

Pretty nice.

 

[Gez]

I'm aware of the argument that letting the Fighter get access to better feats doesn't improve him much, as it just forces him to choose those feats to get the improvement, going against the inherent customizability of the class.

Yet I'm loathe to give the Fighter special abilities, as feats are what he gets when others get SA's. Plus, I believe that the Weapon Specialization feats are some of the Fighter's 'Special Abilities'.

What about, rather than merely allowing him to take those feats, giving the fighter WeapSpec and then Greater WeapSpec for free with a weapon of choice (while still allowing to take them for other weapons with normal or bonus feats) ?


For high-level paladin abilities... Monte Cook gave them more smite evil/day (something that WotC imitated in the revision) as well as a called weapon which gradually improve.

 

[Ferret]

Good call on the ranger, however I believe that gaining SR is too popular, and should be rare-ish. I wouldn't say no to Evil SR, though. And I could concieve Dispell evil as a per day ability(But I don't like the idea of it being always when attacking: So you want to be able to banish evil outsiders by touch?), and maybe a Protection from evil at twentieth (Like a reverse monks ability).

 

[Endur]

Paladin's already have a high level ability that kicks in somewhere between level 12 and level 18.

"The Quest for the Holy Avenger"

In every high level campaign, sooner or later the Paladin Quests for and (hopefully) recovers a Holy Avenger (or comparable weapon).

Upon recovery of the Holy Avenger, the Paladin has SR and the ability to dispel evil spells.

 

[the Jester]

Here are a couple of feats I have that are fighter-only in my game...

LETHALITY (Fighter)
You are extraordinarily lethal with your chosen weapon and are adept at slaying your foes in a single blow.
Prerequisites: 12th-level fighter, Improved Critical, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization
Benefit: Whey you roll a natural 20 on a roll to confirm a threat your opponent must make a Fort save against the damage you deal or die instantly. (You cannot kill a creature unless you are inflicting real damage.)

WEAPON MASTERY (Fighter)
You are a master of a specific weapon.
Prerequisites: 10th-level fighter, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization
Benefit: Choose one weapon you already have specialization in. Before each attack roll with you mastered weapon you may allocate a total of +2 to attack and damage rolls. For example, you could declare a +2 to attack, a +2 damage bonus, or a +1 on each. You may change your mastery bonus around with each attack roll. Unlike specialization, a damage bonus from mastery applies even past 30’ with a ranged weapon.


Weapon Master prolly needs a higher level req in 3.5...

 

[Arkhandus]

These are a few fighter-only feats I made for my game...

Armor Familiarity: On Achieving 6th-level or higher, as a feat the fighter may take Armor Familiarity. Armor Familiarity increases the maximum dexterity bonus of a chosen armor by 1 point when the fighter wears such armor. The armor check penalty of the chosen armor is also reduced by 1 point when the fighter wears it. The fighter must have Dodge and Endurance in order to gain Armor Familiarity. Armor Familiarity cannot be gained for shields. The fighter may take this feat as a bonus feat or as a regular one.

Combat Versatility: After achieving at least 6th-level, as a feat the fighter may take Combat Versatility. Combat Versatility reduces the fighter's nonproficiency penalty with all weapons by 1 point. The fighter must have Weapon Focus with at least three different weapons in order to gain Combat Versatility, and those three weapons must differ in more than just size. One must be a ranged weapon, and one other must be a melee weapon. For instance, to qualify for this feat the fighter may have Weapon Focus in the longsword, composite longbow, and battleaxe, but could not qualify with simply Weapon Focus in the shortsword, greatsword, and scimitar. Generally, use a weapon's damage type and general shape as guidelines; for example, there are many kinds of swords, but rapiers and shortswords are used differently, while all maces are similar to morningstars and flails, but a flail is also used differently. The fighter may take this feat as a bonus feat or as a regular one. Combat Versatility may be gained up to three times, in total reducing nonproficiency penalties for weapons by 3, but each of those additional times, the fighter must possess another Weapon Focus feat, with another different weapon.

Weapon Expertise: On achieving 10th-level or higher, as a feat the fighter may take Weapon Expertise. Weapon Expertise grants the fighter a +2 dodge bonus to Armor Class when wielding a chosen weapon. The fighter must have Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization with that weapon to take Weapon Expertise. The fighter may not gain Weapon Expertise with a projectile weapon, only with melee weapons and throwing weapons, as projectile weapons are not built durable enough for deflecting or blocking attacks. The fighter may take this feat as a bonus feat or as a regular one.

Lethal Blow: On achieving 12th-level or higher, as a feat the fighter may take Lethal Blow. Lethal Blow increases the critical multiplier of a chosen weapon by 1. The fighter must have both Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization with that weapon to take Lethal Blow. If the weapon is a ranged weapon, the critical multiplier increase only applies if the target is within 90 feet, because only at that range can the fighter strike precisely enough to hit more effectively. The fighter may take this feat as a bonus feat or as a regular one.

Grandmaster: On achieving 16th-level or higher, as a feat the fighter may take Grandmaster. Grandmaster adds a +1 attack and damage bonus with a chosen weapon. The fighter must have Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, and Weapon Expertise with that weapon to take Grandmaster. If the weapon is a ranged weapon, the damage bonus only applies if the target is within 60 feet, because only at that range can the fighter strike precisely enough to hit more effectively. In addition, the fighter's Weapon Specialization damage bonus with that weapon becomes effective up to 60 feet as well. The fighter no longer automatically misses with the chosen weapon on a natural attack roll of 1. The fighter gets an additional +3 attack bonus on any threat roll they make with the chosen weapon. The fighter may take this feat as a bonus feat or as a regular one.


And this is a mid- to high-level paladin ability I made up for that game...

Righteous Fury: Once per day, a paladin of 10th-level or higher may go into a righteous fury, supernaturally bolstering his strength and combat abilities with righteousness. When doing so, the paladin gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and a +2 sacred bonus to armor class. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the paladin’s Charisma modifier (if positive), to a minimum of 1 round. Activating this ability is a free action.