New Option for Paladins

[smootrk]

Add some more features that are somewhat Paladin-ish, but geared towards other class types, such as Wizards, Bards, Monks, etc. Or possibly tweak some of the abilities so that they are less fighter oriented (classic paladin archetype), so that the options can appeal to a wider variety of classes.

I like the Devotion Skill portion of your concept. Include options for gaining or losing portions of this through roleplay (acting according to deity edicts in difficult situations, or exceptional heroics, etc.) It may need further thought.

 

[babomb]

Interesting. I think I'd make the Devotion skill more like the Cthulhu Mythos skill in Cthulhu d20. (I.e. you can't buy ranks in it; the DM gives you ranks for reading books about That Which Man Was Not Meant To Know.)
Some of the other things could be tweaked and more options added, but it's a reasonable start.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

I went with buying the skill to show the characters investment into the path of the Chosen. Having the 'falling from grace' mechanic remove spent skill points not only allows a gradual fall but it also has a cost to recover from.

I was thinking about increasing the Feat options to more non-combat options and thought of these two:

Divine Skills
Prereq: 3 ranks in Devotion
Benefit: Select a class skill, you gain a divine bonus to skill checks equal to your ranks in Devotion. Alternatively, you can select two class skills and gain a bonus equal to half your Devotion to each.
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times, each time selecting a different skill or skills.

Divine Skill Speed
Prereq: 3 ranks in Devotion
Benefit: You may perform a skill check as a free action instead of a standard action by accepting a –10 penalty to a skill check. This ability only applies to a skill that you have as a class skill and is not related to movement.


Still have to figure something out for the 'wilderness warrior' type.. thinking along the lines of replicating some druidic abilities or the horizen walker abilities..but not sure yet

I hope to get a game started next month and will be using these rules in play. If someone has already started using them, please post! I would like to know what to tweak

 

[Teydyn]

For 4 feats? No thank you

You havent read the OPs post, right?

Add a bonus feat that is granted at 1st, 6th, 9th and 12th level. Paladins may opt not to become spellcasters, doing so means they free up these bonus feats for other feats. Allow a paladin to take any Divine feat or Fighter feat for which they qualify with these bonus feats.

1) You can take the spellcasting -> more or less the old paladin
2) You can take other feats...

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

I've been using a basic skills & feats systems for Wizards and I learned it is paramount to up the skill requirements. For example, a class feature of a 4th level paladin should require 7 ranks of the pertinent skill (which is nothing more than max skill ranks). Furthermore if you're granting more feats to all characters or to that class then require skill focus (pertinent skill) as an additional requirement.

I also heartily agree about the alignment/allegiance and religion requirements where appropriate.

This forces the character to spend their skills and feats in a focused manner while still giving the player the choice to opt out of higher level feats.

Personally, I really, really like a skils & feat system with feat chains and synergies. I think that this subsystem is the most innovative of d20 and would be an excellent basis for future editions. This also ties in nicely with generic characters.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Griffith, I would be interested to see your Skills-n-Feats wizards... perhaps in a new thread?