Paladin as a Prestige Class?

[ced1106]

Back in the days of AD&D, paladins were pretty much been a pain in my campaigns b/c of the roleplaying conflicts. The lack of tithing, convenient ignoring of the thief's pilfering, using the Paladin as a geiger counter to detect evil, that sort of thing. So, as a GM, I was sorely tempted to require a player start off as a fighter, do all the Paladin-ly acts, then determine if he could start as a Paladin after a quest or two. AFAIK, This pretty much puts Paladinhood as a prestige class. Any successful ideas to make sure a player plays a Paladin, not a set of kewl powerz?


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[Sniktch]

I think you just need to enforce the alignment/code of honor restrictions. People tend not to just play a cool set of powers if they lose them for straying from the path.

Mind you, I think there are several good ways to play a paladin and stay within 'acceptable' behavior. My paladin is a fanatic, and would inflict the same punishment on a murderer as he would a bread thief. He also has no problems torturing a helpless evil captive to bring about confession and repentance. If the thief in his party were to steal something and he were aware of that fact, he would treat the thief exactly the same as an NPC that did the same thing.

Is this what I personally consider LG? Well, yes and no. Its not generally good behavior, but as he is serving the cause any action is justified if it brings about a greater good. I've also played a paladin who tried to lead the group into the light by example, and not by preaching and arguing with them. He just belonged to a more tolerant and forgiving church.

 

[Lalato]

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that you can deduct XP for not playing according to character. Most players don't want to stunt their character's "growth" this way.

Another thing you could do is to have the character's god lose "faith" in the character. If the character tries using his paladin abilities, he does so at a penalty until he regains his god's "faith" in him.

--sam

 

[cthuluftaghn]

This isn't a well thought-out post... just a quick read through at work... but I think your idea is excellent. I had a travelling duo in one of my campaigns that was actually a halfling rogue, and a paladin. Made me cringe... but they were both newbie players, so I allowed it to let them get their enjoyment out of the game without becoming disgruntled early on.

I'll give this some thought and follow this thread.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

Just a note... though I haven't looked into it personally... but a "prestige class paladin" isn't necessarily a bad idea, either. I noted that the Call of Duty sourcebook mentions rules on such a variant... but again, I haven't actually checked it out myself. Just a thought... I've been thinking about buying a copy, so the name of the thread just kinda jumped out at me.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Just a note... though I haven't looked into it personally... but a "prestige class paladin" isn't necessarily a bad idea, either. I noted that the Call of Duty sourcebook mentions rules on such a variant... but again, I haven't actually checked it out myself. Just a thought... I've been thinking about buying a copy, so the name of the thread just kinda jumped out at me.

Yes, it does. In fact, you can get their Paladin prestige class free in the preview for Call of Duty:
http://www.chainmailbikini.com/freestuff.html

As for the PDF, I definitely recommend it for players interested in Paladins. It does a nice job of expanding a Paladin's options, has some really interesting character ideas (including some good PrCs for Paladins, and there are so few of those), and it's really inexpensive.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

Yes, it does. In fact, you can get their Paladin prestige class free in the preview for Call of Duty:
http://www.chainmailbikini.com/freestuff.html

As for the PDF, I definitely recommend it for players interested in Paladins. It does a nice job of expanding a Paladin's options, has some really interesting character ideas (including some good PrCs for Paladins, and there are so few of those), and it's really inexpensive.

Thanx greatly, Chun-tzu! I buy so many of the PDF's that I've begun agonizing over a $7 purchase... and that's not good! I appreciate the info... the preview is great, and I'll definitely be purchasing a copy of the book.

Thanx again!

 

[Chun-tzu]

Thanx greatly, Chun-tzu! I buy so many of the PDF's that I've begun agonizing over a $7 purchase... and that's not good! I appreciate the info... the preview is great, and I'll definitely be purchasing a copy of the book.

Thanx again!

You're very welcome. And I know how that is, when you buy all the PDFs you really want, but there are still a bunch more that sound pretty good, but it's hard to tell. They may be cheap, but you definitely don't want sub-par. But no worries on this one!

 

[National Acrobat]

The D20 Conversion Document for Harn lists both the Ranger and the Paladin as Prestige Classes for the Harn setting. I cannot remember the link but the document is a PDF download and it may be worth you checking out. Once I get home and have time to browse I'll see if I can find the link.

 

[Lalato]

Thanks for the link Chun-tzu. That's really cool. I also liked the Penitent Sniper.

It definitely makes it difficult to become a paladin... as it should be.

--sam