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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DM_Blake" data-source="post: 3914540" data-attributes="member: 57267">Who said there's no spellcasting or power words in these Smite abilities.Spells have components that complicate their use. Verbal components can be silenced. Somatic components can be interrupted by grapples, being tied up, etc. Material components can be taken away. This complicates spellcasting.But paladin Smites have never required this stuff. In 3e, a paladin simply states he is smiting the evil monster, and he gets a damage bonus. There are no game mechanic components like with spellcasting, but surely in a roleplaying sense they are there. That paladin appeals to his god for the power to smite his foes.That is just as much a "power word" as anything else.So, now in 4e, his "power words", or his appeal to his god, is to not only smite the enemy in front of him, but to also allow him to protect or heal his companion.I cannot fathom why this is so hard for you to stomach.In 3e, the paladin asks his god for a smite and he gets it. Nobody can interrupt that or take it away. In 4e, the paladin asks his god for a smite and a little extra help, and he gets it. Nobody can interrupt that or take it away.It's exactly the same thing, except that in 4e, the paladins have learned how to milk their gods for more than just damage.</blockquote>