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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sepulchrave II" data-source="post: 9594873" data-attributes="member: 4303">I haven't communicated very well - I'll try again.I'll use an asterisk (*) to connote what might be considered an ideal or archetypal manifestation of the class - i.e. not a mechanical suite within the rules (i.e. PHB Paladin), and not one which has a particular cultural manifestation within the campaign world (e.g. Paladins of Pelor in Nyrond). *Paladin describes a campaign-neutral idea which is not rooted to any time, place or culture. In this model - your model - *Paladin is a thing-in-itself, without any particular context.A class which embodies a very specific set of skills and abilities (e.g. paladin, wizard) can be purposefully embedded in the campaign world if it is contextualized - e.g. a holy order of knights or a wizardly order. If it is given a particular cultural context in the milieu, it does not require that *Paladin or *Wizard be invoked, because its manifestation is specific - it is limited by a time, place and function within the imagined world. But as soon as the Paladin class becomes universal - if it is deprived of a specific context - its existence creates certain paradoxes or dissonances. E.g:Q: Why do all Paladins in all times and places have the same powers and abilities, regardless of their religious disposition and cultural context?My Answer: Paladin is a convenient mechanical shorthand to bestow a suite of abilities on a character.Your Answer: Because of *Paladin. Paladins partake of the nature of *Paladin - they have paladin-ness.The follow-up question, from me, is obvious: what is the source of *Paladin? Where is *Paladin located? It is not embodied in the rules.The answer to this question is equally obvious to me: it is located in your head.</blockquote>

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