New Design & Development: Paladin Smites!

[D.Shaffer]

One word for the new Paladin smites: Ridiculous.

How does hitting an enemy give your friends better armor? In what legend or myth did this happen? When did Roland (the legendary model for the Paladin class) hit someone in a way that healed his friends? And "Safeguared Smite"? It sounds like a character in a 1950s schoolhouse filmstrip.

I'm curious. Did you have any problems with paladins casting spells in any edition of DND?
Because that's what this is, essentially. He's casting a divine spell, using his sword as a focus, while hitting something really hard.

As for the name...eh. Would you be happier if they called it 'Faith's Shield Smite?' Rename the silly thing to make you happy.

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

It's not giving the allies better ARMOR per se. Look at it this way; it's a Charisma-based ability -- that means it's powered by the Paladin's own force of personality. As a non-fantasy analogy, think of one of the final sequences in Aliens.

Ripley coming out in the power loader and laying into the Queen with her cry of "Get away from her you b****!" -- THAT's the sort of thing a Safeguard Smite does. It draws an enemy's attention away from a particular target just long enough to make it less likely to get ahold of 'em.

Mechanically, it could be done as either a penalty to the enemy's attack roll OR as a bonus to AC; since it only affects attacks against a single individual, the AC bonus is the right way to go.

My first instinct explanation was this, though more in a "Holy hell did you see what he did to Bill!?!?" approach amongst the foes. Which I realize is silly, but made me chuckle.

 

[el-remmen]

I don't like these from either a flavor stand-point or a mechanical stand-point (including another layer of stuff to be forgotten about - "Oh wait! I should have healed someone on that last smite, so then he didn't really die from that attack, because I would have chosen him. . .etc. . . etc. . . )

 

[Simia Saturnalia]

I don't like these from either a flavor stand-point or a mechanical stand-point (including another layer of stuff to be forgotten about - "Oh wait! I should have healed someone on that last smite, so then he didn't really die from that attack, because I would have chosen him. . .etc. . . etc. . . )

"Yes you should have. I recommend reading over your smites when you have a free moment to ensure you're familiar with all their effects."

 

[sidonunspa]

These new healing ideas are really not my cup of tea.

That’s because everyone is stuck on the "hit points = physical damage" I think it would have been better of they would have gone Wounds/Vitality and just divide the hit points by two..

The way 4e works you have not taken any physical damage till the character is bloodied, before that, its all non-physical damage..

Instead of seeing it as "heeling" before the target is bloodied, see it as a 2nd wind, catching your breath, regaining your composure.

In boxing you see someone take a ton of small hits, they don’t take him down, and sometimes they look like that are against the ropes and somehow pull off a comeback… (That’s not being bloodied) Now, sometimes you will see a good boxer gets a wack to the ribs, which takes the fight out of him. (Example of bloodied)

 

[eleran]

One word for the new Paladin smites: Ridiculous.

How does hitting an enemy give your friends better armor? In what legend or myth did this happen? When did Roland (the legendary model for the Paladin class) hit someone in a way that healed his friends? And "Safeguared Smite"? It sounds like a character in a 1950s schoolhouse filmstrip.

Apparently, in 4th ed. the DM doesn't just have to keep track of the rules exceptions created by one or two spellcasters, but has to deal with every party member creating multiple rules exceptions multiple times in combat. This is "easier DMing"? They've cut down on the "Christmas tree" effect with magic items alright - by building the magic items right into the classes! Just what are they smoking in Seattle?

I wish WOTC would stop calling the game they're making a 4th edition of D&D. Maybe they could try something more appropriate, like Golden Hyper Dragon Warrior Defenders: The Game Of Fantasy Races Who Live In A Grid of Squares And Therefore Only Move In Straight Lines.

Perhaps you can point me to a source that has Roland throwing spells?

I wish you and your ilk would stop pontificating and bloviating on what is and isn't D&D. Just shut up and go play whatever you want to play and leave the rest of us alone.

 

[Umbran]

Each smite does not need to be a single thing nor is it necessarily cause / effect...it is an overall prayer or incantation but it is doing two things.

Not sure I like that, though. If it must have multiple effects, I would prefer all the effects to be more strongly thematically linked. Otherwise, we are in "it is a dessert topping, and a floorwax!" territory. If the effects are disparate, it becomes much easier to forget or confuse them.

YMMV.

 

[TerraDave]

The Paladins Role and the Paladin

The whole "role" thing is a pretty clear here. Paladin's are defenders, and as such, they need to be able to make melee attacks. And neither healing nor buffing is going to stay in the way of that. Whats also interesting is that they may be more charismatic then strong, and still, they are defenders and can go toe to toe in melee. So we can be confident that other paladin benefits are in this vien: melee attacking, and defending themselves and others. (I am curious where that horse is going to fit in).

But is this too gamist? I really don't think this feels anymore artificial or a-mythic then spell casting paladins. And there is something ritualistic about cutting into an enemy. I could see a big, holy, hit giving relief to your allies.

 

[Bagpuss]

I have considered the same thing (everything increases by +1 per 2 levels) and think it is mostly brilliant.

Why increase everything at one/two levels when it would keep a similar at one/one level?

In SAGA I think only skills, and additional damage increase at 1/2. All Defenses, a Good BAB increase at one for one.

 

[Hussar]

Something to not forget here as well is that not all paladins are LG anymore. If my NE paladin eviscerates someone, getting a little boost from my dark Lord isn't out of line. Comparisons to Roland are pretty much moot by now.

This ain't your daddy's D&D anymore.