D&D 5E Thematic Differences Between Paladin (Green Knight/Oath of the Ancients) and Ranger

[steeldragons]

May or may not be relevant...take it as you like it...

But He-Man was, technically [as spelled out by the 2002 reboot], granted his powers from those powerful individuals of Eternia called "the Ancients" who left the world, entombed their power/magic into the Castle Greyskull and, by extension, the Sword of Power [syphoning its and He-Man's own power from the magic of the castle]. He is, quite literally and directly, a Champion of the Ancients...in addition to his more readily known role as Defender of Greyskull.

There might be a case to be made that an "Ancients Paladin/Green Knight" could look like He-Man just as easily as a knightly or sterotypical D&D Paladin guy in plate mail.

Just something to think about. Carry on.

 

[Klaus]

Paladins of the Ancients are defenders of Light, of Good, Love and Beauty. They are the questing knights of Celtic myth, savvy in the ways of the fey. Think Prince Phillip in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, who is aided by three fairies to take down an evil, Unseelie fey queen.

Rangers are defenders that stand between nature and civilization. They are the heroic hunters, like the woodsman of Red Riding Hood's story.

 

[Chocolategravy]

Probably the two most stereotypical rangers are Aragorn and Drizzilmynizzlit. Neither care about nature at all, they're just very experienced with it.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Probably the two most stereotypical rangers are Aragorn and Drizzilmynizzlit. Neither care about nature at all, they're just very experienced with it.

I'm not familiar with Nizz literature. What is it, and what are you drizzling on it?

 

[jayoungr]

The ranger is not the champion of nature.

The ranger is champion of the border between civilization and nature.

The Oath of Ancients paladins protect nature and kills their enemies.
The Ranger kills the monsters in nature so that civilization doesn't FREAK OUT AND BURN DOWN THE WHOLE DANG FOREST!!!

Or sometimes, conversely, the Ranger kills the monsters in nature so that they don't come out of the forests and overrun civilization!

I see the Green Knight as the more martial counterpart to the Druid.

For an iconic Green Knight archetype, how about Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke? Or maybe he starts as a Ranger and multiclasses into Green Knight after meeting San and the Great Forest Spirit. San herself is another possibility, but I see her more as a Druid--though she doesn't have any spells ... hmm ....

 

[Prickly]

I would think Able of the High Heart from Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight duology is a good example of an oath of the ancients. Though he fits the standard model of Knighthood as well.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Constantly 'in the moment', but conscious of the eternity of 'moments' before and to come. Having looked into the vertigo inducing stream of Time, choosing to relish the here and now and everything good about that fleeting butterfly, Life: love, laughter, song, drink.
It's basically The Spirit of Christmas Present. With armour and a freakin' huge sword.

 

[Mercule]

I had considered MCing her with bard too, but I ended up just going with paladin, although I did take a level of fighter for an extra fighting style.

It took a sec for me to parse this. I thought you were saying you wanted to MC for the bard.

In my head, it pretty much came out as "MC Hammer... OF GOD!"

 

[Beleriphon]

Because "use a bow and sneak around" is what hunters do. But, the champion of nature (or a champion imbued with the power of nature) need not be a hunter.

Also, the Oath of the Ancients has more in common with Fey Courts than with Nature. The two are linked sure, but they aren't the same thing. Remember, the Oath of the Ancients protects beauty and the natural world, but they aren't champions of nature per se since they also protect song, good wine, and friends too.

 

[Mercule]

The ranger is not the champion of nature.

The ranger is champion of the border between civilization and nature.

Quite right. Ranger is not the druidic equivalent of the Paladin. In fact, I'd almost say that the 1E Ranger is more the wizardly equivalent of the Paladin -- at least as more so than druid. Really, Ranger is another fighter archetype who, like the Paladin, is sufficiently specialized to warrant its own class.

A Paladin (at least old school) is a Fighter who is so virtuous and faithful that he literally emits holiness. He doesn't have to be specially trained (though that's not uncommon). He's just that righteous. I'd say the Green Knight version is just using a different measure of righteousness (mass vs. volume?). It fits with the pantheonistic settings in D&D.

A Ranger, on the other hand, is a Fighter who has taken resourcefulness and survival to a new level. They aren't Barbarians, who run on instinct and are born to the wild. Rangers are more "intellectual" in their approach, even if that still means using the Wisdom stat. Rangers get spells, not because they worship nature or the old gods, but because they've learned some tricks to survive; in that way, it's a lot more like a wizard, even if the actual list of spells looks like a druid's.