Need help with a character concept.

[Asmo]

I´m going to run Speaker In Dreams in a while, and one of the players wants to play a paladin, with a twist.
She wants to gain levels as a paladin but she wants to be a squire. I have a dwarwen cleric and she could be a squire for him, if he accepts her of course. Is it even possible to be a squire and gain paladin levels? I´m waiting for her background story but it sounds interesting.
Is there any books that cover this? I can´t find anything useful in the phb or the dmg, and the splat books doesn´t mention anything about squires as far as I can see.
Do you think this could work? Glad for any help on this matter!!

Asmo

 

[shilsen]

Definitely sounds doable. It doesn't even sound like there needs to be any mechanical issues. Being a squire to someone is a profession and not necessarily tied to a class, though obviously some would be more appropriate (or not) than others. I would say being a squire to someone else and being a paladin at the same time has more to do with background and roleplayign than anything rules-related. I suggest just checking out the background the player comes up with (if the dwarven cleric is a PC then the two players should work together on the background) and see if it sounds reasonable. No problem.

And if you really want to read something about unusual squires for people, forget the PHB and MM and check out Spenser's The Faerie Queene. If I recall correctly, it has (to put it in D&D terms) fighters, paladins, barbarians, a lion and even a golem squire

 

[Drakmar]

It's simple. Being a Squire is not a game mechanic. Being a Knight is not a game mechanic. What it is, is a aspect of society. A knight has sworn certain things to a lord. A paladin has a code of conduct. These can be the same or different things.

If you do want it related to the mechanics of D&D. the Char being a squire is just a part of the prereqs for one of the Knights of the something PrCs. (ie the Chalice etc.)

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

I agree, no mechanic required. Now IF you WANT it to have an affect...

Allow the Paladin to claim Cleric as a favored class, or multiclass with Cleric freely, without losing his ability to progress as a Paldain.

Allow the Paladin to use his liege's skill list as class skills. A squire is supposed to be learning something, else he would be a full fledged Knight or Paladin.

Allow him to lose one ability, (i.e. Remove Disease), for a power from the Clerics domain, (i.e. the Sun domains Heightened Turning, very useful for a paladin).

Allow the Cleric to gain double bonuses from the Paladin's Aura, or double bonuses on combined Turn checks.

Require that he defere big desicions to the Cleric, only gain 1/2 share of treasure with the rest going to the Cleric etc. (The last one should be safe, as both SHOULD want to charity work ).

If you use any type of honor or reputetion system, both players should see more dramatic, immediate effects, good or bad. Since they must both travel, fight, and deal with each other daily, chances of them being known by commoners would also be greater. Instead of hearing about Sir Whatshisname's devotion to his lord, they would be seeing it first hand.

Just some thoughts. The more you give, if anything, the more the player will have to take seriously that he is a servant to another player. Make sure both are mature enough to handle it.

 

[Asmo]

Thanx for the answers guys, just one more:
should the squire/paladin get his mount as usual, or should she have some toned-down variant? Don´t you think it would feel strange if the squire comes riding on a magnificent warhorse? Or would it be just cool ?
Or do you think this is also a "no game mechanic" matter?

Asmo

 

[Epametheus]

Heh. No reason why the squire's liege couldn't ride on the mount; the squire would just need to tell the mount to accept the liege's orders. When the squire finally gets knighted, then it'll be okay for her to use her horsey.

 

[Piratecat]

Better yet, have the warhorse look like a run-down nag -- until it acts up in combat.