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Zen Master
2009-07-22, 05:41 AM
Ok - one of my players has stated a specific request. He wants an orc character that can get the paladins special mount. The essential thing here is the ability to summon a mount - in this particular case, an advanced wolf of 4 hd before modifications (for being a 'special mount' and what not).

So orcs are horrible for paladin'ing. Further, the campaign has no room for creatures who are tied too strongly to a good alignment. Still, it's Eberron, and the good guys can be right bastards and have wildly off-kilt alignments and still not fall. So there's that.

Now what can I do? I'm looking for ways to make paladin abilities like lay on hands and divine grace work ... even with abysmal cha. Is that possible except by houserule?

Salt_Crow
2009-07-22, 06:07 AM
You could probably use Warforged paladin racial sub levels to somehow apply to the orc paladin.

Btw, I believe there are orc/savage paladins up in the Demon Waste.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-07-22, 06:09 AM
There's the Magic-Blooded template (at Crystalkeep (http://crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.0Index-Templates.pdf) on page 15), a +0 LA template that gives Wis -2, Cha +2, and you can just houserule his spellcasting to be Cha-based instead of Wis-based for less MAD. A Dragonborn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20060105b&page=1) Water Orc (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#racesOfWater) wouldn't be a bad idea, get the Heart aspect with Entangling Exhalation and Recover Breath to keep opponents debuffed and more likely to attack him for tanking, or either of the other two aspects would definitely be useful.

He could just drop the Paladin idea and take Wild Cohort (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) for a dire wolf, since companion-granted HD officially don't increase a creature's size category the way advancement does. Maybe even allow Natural Bond (CV) to help offset the 'level -6' penalty for the Dire Wolf.

Another option entirely would be to give him a magic item that mimics the spell Hound of Doom (CW, Hexblade spell). It would probably be similar to a Figurine of Wondrous Power, the cost would be 12,000 gp usable 5 minutes per day, or 60,000 gp usable at will. If slain it wouldn't be available again for 24 hours.

RagnaroksChosen
2009-07-22, 06:30 AM
Let him take the half orc paladin racial sub for paladins out of RoD. and let that divine fury count as rage so he can get things like extra rage and so one that should bring him on par... could even get that ability where you animal companion/special mojunt rages when you do,

T.G. Oskar
2009-07-22, 06:37 AM
Well, the loss to Wis and Cha, while not entirely offset by the boost to Strength, isn't something worrisome. It'll take a bit more for the Orc Paladin to get a relatively good set of scores.

Usually, Paladins only need a 14 Wis so that their spellcasting doesn't get affected. This would mean a minimum of 16 Wis to access the best spells. Or two points from the 5 you get.

Charisma is a bit less problematic, since only Lay on Hands bases off a fixed score instead of a mutable score. Charisma still should be the highest score, attempting for an 18 at least.

Since Strength has a +4 already, you can leave it rather low: even a 10-12 Str can make for a strong-hitting Paladin.

So, it mostly depends: if it's point buy, you can tell your player to focus a bit more in Wis and Charisma, and keep Strength no higher than 14.

Then again, that depends on what your player wants to become. We may be working with the presumption the Paladin will want the spells, but there's the slight chance he only wants the mount and go as a charger (even though there are pretty strong spells for mounts in the Paladin spell list).

As for the Wolf, remember that you as DM can approve it or not. Just the first level of the Paladin's special mount causes it to grow (it has 2 HD, it gains an extra 2 HD, for a grand total of 4 HD which automatically sets it as large). You as a DM can simply make the wolf large just by allowing it as a mount, except that the wolf mount needs a different saddle and perhaps needs to be trained for mounting (and holding the Paladin). In case he still wants his mount to grow but changes to a PrC, and if the PrC allows an increase in spellcasting, you can just tell him to get Holy Mount, even though the mount won't be as powerful as a pure Paladin.

Just in case, emphasis on allowing that exception to the rule (the one of allowing the wolf to be large because of the mount HD, which as Biff explains it's not normally possible).

As for Orc Paladins, aren't they followers of the Kalok Shash (their version of the flame) anyways? You can rule the character to be part of the Kalok Shash following tribes, and grant him the mount because of it.

TSED
2009-07-22, 06:40 AM
My one and only thought after reading that was:


"... Druid?"

Zen Master
2009-07-22, 06:45 AM
Good suggestions, thanks - please, keep them coming if you have more.

In so far as Eberron is concerned, the orcs are an elder race who once fought a mighty war to save the world from Xoriat (if memory serves), the realm of madness, and the daelkyr who dwell there.

Since then they have remained caretakers - druids and paladins and similar things that they do really, really poorly. Fluff wise, this part of Eberron annoys me - they should have rewritten the orcs to suit they role in the campaign world.

Anyways - a slight rewrite of Magic-Blooded to give it a religious flavor would work wonderfully.

As far as the paladin class goes, he will actually be a Champion of the Old Faith (which is a paladin by another name), and serve the Goblin Gods of Old.

This has to do with two things: The lack of racial religions in Eberron (another thing I dislike enormously in Eberron), and the fact that his alignment wont be Lawful Good. Or any other type of Good.

The mount is mainly flavour, but it's important that he can summon it, and such things as it appearing in a sudden gust of wind and mist, howling with fury - the importance of that stuff cannot be overstated :)

AslanCross
2009-07-22, 07:02 AM
The Serenity feat allows Paladin abilities to run off Wis instead of Cha. It's from a Dragon magazine issue; can't remember exactly, but that's simply what it does: all Cha references are Wis instead.

Also, why does the mount have to be an advanced wolf? Why not a Dire Wolf instead?

EDIT: I keep forgetting orcs have a penalty to Wis. -_-

Btw, what Goblin gods? The Dhakaani empire was agnostic. They believed in their own glory more than anything else.

I'm actually really happy that there are no racial religions in Eberron. I find it far less limiting.

T.G. Oskar
2009-07-22, 07:09 AM
Well...that's important to know. About not being Lawful Good. That would open you access to the Paladin variants, but you'd be forced to take the evil ones.

That, or if you're extremely lucky, get the Dragon magazine Paladin variants which allow you to be a "Paladin" of virtually every alignment. Crystalkeep has a rough explanation of each in the Classes section. Try looking for "Enforcer", "Anarch" or "Incarnate" for the Neutral variants, except place Special Mount instead of the gained variants (and for the love of all that's Orderly and Good, don't allow them to get Leadership, unless they take their mount as cohort and renounce to all familiars). Rename to "Champion of the Old Faith", stir, serve to your player.

Also, there are some racial faiths, but those are treated either as non-deific religions or renames of established ones. For example, Drow worship Vulkoor, the orcs follow the Kalok Shash, the Kalashtar follow the Path of Light which is mostly a regional religion, the Seren barbarians worship the dragons as deities, and some monsters hold their own faiths. It's actually more like there's no real gods in Eberron, which makes the concept of religion a bit off.

#Raptor
2009-07-22, 07:12 AM
Theres the half-orc substition level in Races of Destiny, wich is pretty good... but half-orcs only. Would make sense to let a regular orc take them though.

Also, theres the serenity feat from DragMag306/DragComp pg 106 wich allows you to use Wisdom for Divine grace, lay on hands, smite evil and turn undead. Again, this is better for half-orcs than orcs.

Unfortunately this synergyzes poorly with the substition level's righteous fury (wich has a duration of 1 round + cha modifier).
And thats the whole problem with half-orc (and even more so, orc) paladins.

Zen Master
2009-07-22, 07:22 AM
The Serenity feat allows Paladin abilities to run off Wis instead of Cha. It's from a Dragon magazine issue; can't remember exactly, but that's simply what it does: all Cha references are Wis instead.

Also, why does the mount have to be an advanced wolf? Why not a Dire Wolf instead?

EDIT: I keep forgetting orcs have a penalty to Wis. -_-

Btw, what Goblin gods? The Dhakaani empire was agnostic. They believed in their own glory more than anything else.

I'm actually really happy that there are no racial religions in Eberron. I find it far less limiting.

Serenity sounds interesting. Very much so - one less stats to advance to useful levels.

Why a wolf? Because an advanced wolf will have 4hd if I want it to, while a direwolf has 6hd. Also, a direwolf is spectacularly powerful (this of course is relative).

What goblin Gods? The ones of Old, naturally. Agnostic Dhakaani? No way! Or - as long as I GM, they certainly weren't agnostic. Only fools are unbelievers in a place where the Gods are real and tangible.

But ... if I'd liked the overall religious system of Eberron, I'd have used it. As it is, only the Silver Flame will play any role in the game - except for the Goblin Gods of Old, naturally.

Kaiyanwang
2009-07-22, 07:24 AM
e mount have to be an advanced wolf? Why not a Dire Wolf instead?

EDIT: I keep forgetting orcs have a penalty to Wis. -_-



The've penalty to char, too, so your feat is still valid, reducing damages.

T.G. Oskar
2009-07-22, 07:30 AM
What goblin Gods? The ones of Old, naturally. Agnostic Dhakaani? No way! Or - as long as I GM, they certainly weren't agnostic. Only fools are unbelievers in a place where the Gods are real and tangible.

Well, consider that the general rules of Eberron is that "gods don't exist". No one has ever seen in their entire lifetime any of the Gods, no one has traveled through Plane Shift to any of the gods' realms, and the Silver Flame is just a shiny flame: it's unknown whether you can really see down deep a demon with a couatl wrapped around it and a female paladin thrusting her sword upon the two in perfect stasis. And...erm, what kind of a god would that be? They're just a voice (two voices if you listen to the secret cultists).

Also, remember that in Eberron, so as long as you follow a faith, your alignment couldn't possibly matter. Take High Cardinal Krozen, who is Lawful Evil and thus twice-removed from the Silver Flame, which not only does it has the second-in-command position just below Jaela, but still holds a strong amount of power.

Unless, of course, you plan to make the gods real and tangible, so as much as seeing the Host fall down from the sky. At which moment, everybody will ask "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN THE DAY OF MOURNING, YOU SADISTIC BASTARDS!!!"

Mongoose87
2009-07-22, 07:32 AM
Simple solution: make him a Crusader.

Complicated solution - no idea.

Zen Master
2009-07-22, 07:49 AM
Just because someone might be curious, and because it might serve as inspiration, I'll post a bit on how I perceive the Dhakaani (which is totally uninfluenced by what's in the actual book). Also, I enjoy posting ideas here, because often someone has something valuable to add :)

The dhakaani were a very strict, feudal society. They had a caste based society with a ruling warrior caste on top. For RL references think feudal Japan, Sparta, maybe ancient Egypt. The economy was based largely on slavery, and among the slaves were members of pretty much all races - goblins and hobgoblins too.

Anyone could be a member of the warrior caste if proven worthy - but hobgoblins would be born to such station. However, anyone else elevated to this caste would full privileges and mostly full recognition. Sort of. The laws would be very strict about enforcing the rights and obligations of each caste, and adherence to the law is tantamount. However, what is in a hobgoblinns heart is his own.

The continent was divided into innumerable feifdoms, ruled over by a regional warlord or 'Lesh'. Equivalent of Daimyo, if I'm not mistaken. Each Lesh would have a number of honorbound warriors under his command, and so all are bound upwards and downwards by the feudal chain.

Naturally, was would be common to the point of being constant - but never (or hardly ever) total war, just a steady background murmur of conflict, shuffling for position and power.

So yea - largely inspired by feudal Japan. To the point where katanas and topknots and laquered armor plating is part of the cultural heritage.

As far as religion goes, the Dhakaani have none of the named deities of later races - they consider such the practices of upstarts. Instead, the hobgoblins put their faith in certain concepts, like Strength, Courage or Wisdom. Hence, the Goblin Gods are nothing like Gruumsh or Maglubiyet, but are rather individually perceived forces - you could swear 'Gods grant me strength' if strength was an important part of your life, but for a merciless warlord to plead 'Gods have mercy on me' when faced with certain death would be a massive loss of honor and face.

Basically, the faith of the Dhakaani empire was to put your actions where your words were.

I'm working on succession - and not really making progress. I want their bards to be important, but I want succession to be (at least partially) ritualised - by individual combat, warfare, shows of weapon prowess or the like. Possibly a senate of some sort would decide who had the right to challenge for overlordship (the 'Shogunate'), based on land controlled, battles won and overall reputation. A bard could help a lot with the last part. Hmm.

Zen Master
2009-07-22, 07:55 AM
Well, consider that the general rules of Eberron is that "gods don't exist". No one has ever seen in their entire lifetime any of the Gods, no one has traveled through Plane Shift to any of the gods' realms, and the Silver Flame is just a shiny flame: it's unknown whether you can really see down deep a demon with a couatl wrapped around it and a female paladin thrusting her sword upon the two in perfect stasis. And...erm, what kind of a god would that be? They're just a voice (two voices if you listen to the secret cultists).

Also, remember that in Eberron, so as long as you follow a faith, your alignment couldn't possibly matter. Take High Cardinal Krozen, who is Lawful Evil and thus twice-removed from the Silver Flame, which not only does it has the second-in-command position just below Jaela, but still holds a strong amount of power.

Unless, of course, you plan to make the gods real and tangible, so as much as seeing the Host fall down from the sky. At which moment, everybody will ask "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN THE DAY OF MOURNING, YOU SADISTIC BASTARDS!!!"

The 'Gods' being what they are allows me to portray the Goblin Gods of Old exactly as I like. But on the other hand, the Silver Flame is very real - even if it's divinity may be questioned by members of other faiths, and vice versa.

It's true that anyone with a certain amount of religions conviction can be a cleric - of pretty much anything. Never the less, miracles are everyday occurences, and while clerics tend to their flocks, the other miraculously endowed (the mages) care only for their own.

Hence, if you want miracles, you worship the gods.

In addition to all the reasons people believe in the real world, there are some simply, practical reasons to believe in Eberron. Only fools are agnostic.

At least, that's my view. Naturally, the book is very much open to a wide variety of other views :)

mcl01
2009-07-22, 07:57 AM
I would second Serenity. Reducing MAD is always good.

Another possibility is simply houseruling his spellcasting to be CHA based and allow him to take one of the previously mentioned templates (Magicblood, etc. I do indeed like the Draconic Template from RDr +2 str/con/cha with other minor dragon goodies from LA+1).

Another option to reduce MAD is use the Holy Warrior ACF from CC (I believe that's the right name and source). Basically it gives up Paladin spellcasting for extra Fighter/Divine bonus feats.

Myrmex
2009-07-22, 01:15 PM
Have him play a different full BAB class (Ranger, Fighter, Knight, Crusader), and just have being a paladin as part of the fluff. Let him use Leadership or Wild Cohort to get a mount at level 6. Give the mount levels in swordsage.

Alternatively, you could refluff paladin to have a set of codes that he must abide by, as opposed to an alignment. Have the player write down what rules he must follow as a paladin of Magl-something, then go over them with him to make sure you're both on the same page as to what his conduct should be.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-07-22, 01:21 PM
Second the above idea. Fluff a mechanically better class (for the half orc) to fit the player's character and have fun.

Ravens_cry
2009-07-22, 01:27 PM
Does absolutely have to be orc? how about a half orc cleric/fighter (or some other martial class) ? Half orcs don't get a penalty on wisdom. And if you use the Pathfinder Half-Orc, even get a boost to it. Certainly would still fit the paladin archetype.

Kylarra
2009-07-22, 01:35 PM
Why not give him a ranger, and then trade out spellcasting (or some other class feature) and his animal companion to give him a paladin mount instead?

Myrmex
2009-07-22, 01:53 PM
Why not give him a ranger, and then trade out spellcasting (or some other class feature) and his animal companion to give him a paladin mount instead?

That's a good idea.

hamishspence
2009-07-22, 01:57 PM
Not all orc subraces have horrible CHA and WIS.

Gray orcs (LA +1) get +2 Wis, -2 Cha.
Orogs (LA +2) get +2 Cha, -2 Wis.

Both are in Races of Faerun.

Darcand
2009-07-22, 02:09 PM
Why not spare him the hit to Charisma and take it out of Intellect instead?

It has never made much sense that certain races receive a penalty to CHA for living in cultures wildly different from the standard human community. Loud and Rude is good manners among orc society, where friendly smiles and using a spoon are signs of weakness.

I house ruled that no one takes a hit to CHA for race, but everyone get's a -1 penalty when dealing with unfimiliar cultures.......except for half elves whom I gave a +2 CHA by virtue of having terrible racial abilities.

ericgrau
2009-07-22, 02:47 PM
-2 wis is bearable. It's not like he wants to cast spells with saves anyway. Just start with a so-so wis and boost it with magic items from there. OTOH trying to pull off a 12 wis on a moderate point buy would hurt his other stats a little; depends on your group. Though I suspect if he's playing a paladin at all then he has good stats. -2 cha hurts, but it's not the end of the world. That's -1 to saves and -1 to hit on smites. +4 str helps a great deal. +2 to every hit, not just smites, and +2 or +3 damage. So compared to a human he's trading a -1 to saves, -1 lay on hands HP/level and losing a feat for a +2 to hit normally and a +1 to hit on smites. The lack of healing hurts the most, but not much and it's not like pally healing was much to begin with. And a -1 to some skill checks? Not even worth considering. Overall it's not the worst trade in the world, maybe even a decent character concept (even build-wise). So why not let him play a vanilla orc paladin and be done with it?

Ravens_cry
2009-07-22, 02:56 PM
Not all orc subraces have horrible CHA and WIS.

Gray orcs (LA +1) get +2 Wis, -2 Cha.
Orogs (LA +2) get +2 Cha, -2 Wis.

Both are in Races of Faerun.
That sounds like a good idea. The best option here, in my view, is to let the player just play. These would just make the idea more viable tactically.

Mr.Moron
2009-07-22, 02:59 PM
You could also you know, just give him the mount in exchange for some other feature in his chosen class. Heck, if he's playing one of the lower-end clss you could probably just throw it in as a freebie. You're the DM after all, if you want to see it work... make it work.

Zen Master
2009-07-23, 02:11 AM
-2 wis is bearable. It's not like he wants to cast spells with saves anyway. Just start with a so-so wis and boost it with magic items from there. OTOH trying to pull off a 12 wis on a moderate point buy would hurt his other stats a little; depends on your group. Though I suspect if he's playing a paladin at all then he has good stats. -2 cha hurts, but it's not the end of the world. That's -1 to saves and -1 to hit on smites. +4 str helps a great deal. +2 to every hit, not just smites, and +2 or +3 damage. So compared to a human he's trading a -1 to saves, -1 lay on hands HP/level and losing a feat for a +2 to hit normally and a +1 to hit on smites. The lack of healing hurts the most, but not much and it's not like pally healing was much to begin with. And a -1 to some skill checks? Not even worth considering. Overall it's not the worst trade in the world, maybe even a decent character concept (even build-wise). So why not let him play a vanilla orc paladin and be done with it?

This *is* the overall direction my own thoughts go, but ... I hate the fact that the choice of a certain race makes approximately half a class useless. Especially since in Eberron specifically, orcs tend to be paladins and druids (as well as barbarians naturally).

Also, I like being generous - if and when I can. But I also like not house ruling, because that tends to get out of hand.

Ninetail
2009-07-23, 04:30 PM
Ok - one of my players has stated a specific request. He wants an orc character that can get the paladins special mount. The essential thing here is the ability to summon a mount - in this particular case, an advanced wolf of 4 hd before modifications (for being a 'special mount' and what not).


Um... so he doesn't want to be a paladin, he just wants the mount?

Let him be a fighter, barbarian, or ranger, and trade the mount feature for something else. Say, two fighter bonus feats, or the animal companion, or... I don't know what to take from the barbarian. Fast movement?

If he does want to be a paladin, I'd play with the ability adjustments a bit. Shift the -2 wis to a -2 dex, maybe. Or just take away the penalty altogether; half-orcs are pretty suboptimal, and so are paladins, so it's not like you'd be breaking the game to give him an extra 2 points of cha.

Jergmo
2009-07-23, 08:15 PM
Well, if it's inconvenient for him to be a Mini-Jesus, he could always be a paladin of Tyranny or Slaughter?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#paladinVariantsFreedom SlaughterAndTyranny

Gelondil
2009-07-23, 11:27 PM
If spellcasting isn't a concern for your player, another option to reduce MAD for a paladin is to take the Paladin without Spellcasting variant from Complete Warrior. If you're using a point buy, it makes wisdom a dump stat so those points can go elsewhere, and grants divine/fighter feats every 4 levels.

woodenbandman
2009-07-24, 10:07 AM
Leadership.

Among leadership's uses is the suggestion that you let a character gain a mount with it similar to the paladin's mount. Let him do that.

DragonBaneDM
2009-07-24, 09:05 PM
Well, if it's inconvenient for him to be a Mini-Jesus, he could always be a paladin of Tyranny or Slaughter?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#paladinVariantsFreedom SlaughterAndTyranny

That's exactly what I was thinking. Also, if he was willing to variate from the standard palandin deal, swapping out Cha of Wis would be easy enough. :D

Kol Korran
2009-07-25, 04:28 AM
two things:
- first of all, why not allow him to play another class, and just change some of the class abilities into the "call mount" ability of the paladin? since that is all the player's want, not necesserily all the other stuff of the paladin, why not go the simpler way. would be a tad difficult to gauge at first, but not that tough i believe... and might be simpler.

- as to the goblin gods, i don't recall where i read this (but it was an official source), but the old Dhakanni empire did have gods... 16 of them. who were very similar to the soverign host and the dark six, with minor variations and changes. these gods survived to modern times, only to be absorbed by the soverign host clergy as huamns slowly spread across khorvaire. the names were changed too, though is some remote places goblinoids (and other creatures) use the old name.
but wait, the soverign are 9 gods, and the dark six are obviously 6. that is 15 gods, not 16! wwweeelll, no one knows exactly, but there was a lost god. the clergy of the host have gone to a HUGE deal of toruble in order to wipe it's name from any records, and bash it's statues in whatever old temple there was, so that no one, absolutley no one could rememeber him (some say that special forces were also sent to decimate small trivbes who still held to it as a god). all of this is of course a major church secret...
as many things in eberron, who this god is, and why it was so throughly demolished remains open to interpertations...
(there was a whole thread dedicated to theories of who this last/ lost god might be, some time ago... some ofthem were quite imaginative.)

hope this helped, think about the first advice,
Kol.

Salt_Crow
2009-07-25, 04:30 AM
...
but wait, the soverign are 9 gos, and the dark six are obviously 6. that is 15 gods, not 16! wwweeelll, no one knows exactly, but there was a lost god.

Just like the lost moon which conspicuously went missing when the line of Vol was eradicated!

Kol Korran
2009-07-25, 07:09 AM
Just like the lost moon which conspicuously went missing when the line of Vol was eradicated!

actually, if i remember right, no 13th moon was ever seen, and there was no concrete proof it ever existed. some planar researches and astronomers have however claimed that there must be a thirteenth moon, far far away, more than the other moons, that keeps guard fro mthe "outside" (whatever that is).
i think the info on that is in the wizards "moons of eberron article"

but back to the matter- there were onyl 12 moons by the times the line of vol was eradicated. if another moon once existed/ is still out there and is unseen, is as alwys with eberron- left for the DM to decide. I just think the game planners liked to play with the numbers 12 and 13- dargonmarks, planes, and moons (there is even a sage gold dragon in one of the books who builds an obesrvatory based on these 3 axises of 13... forgot which book...)

Kol.

AstralFire
2009-07-25, 09:30 AM
12 is a conspicuous holy number, and 13 is conspicuously magical/unholy, much like 6 and 7. Or 4 and 5. Or really a lot... almost every number below 20 is 'magic', and quite a few of the ones below 100 are. They only start getting rare below 1000....

AslanCross
2009-07-25, 09:32 AM
(there is even a sage gold dragon in one of the books who builds an obesrvatory based on these 3 axises of 13... forgot which book...)

Kol.

That would be in Explorer's Handbook.

Kalirren
2009-07-25, 03:21 PM
- first of all, why not allow him to play another class, and just change some of the class abilities into the "call mount" ability of the paladin?


That was my first idea as well. Just grant the mount class feature at the price of a feat, or something. You don't have to make him take the paladin class.

I agree with you that the orc stat block doesn't match Eberron orc flavor, and you should fix that too, but there's no need to conflate the two problems of stats being mismatched and the class feature being exclusive.

Triaxx
2009-07-26, 05:46 AM
Two further options: Fax' Paladin variant. Fun and games for any alignment, and very customizable.

The Cavalier: Cavalier

Alignment: Any Lawful.

Hit Die: d10

Class Skills: The Cavalier's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (religion) (Int) Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex).

Skill Points at 1st level: (2 + Int Modifier) x4
Skill Points at Each additional Level: 2 + Int Modifier

{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+1|
+1|
+0|
+0|Lay on Hands, Aura of Law 1/day
2nd|
+2|
+2|
+0|
+0|Knightly Grace, Bonus Feat
3rd|
+3|
+3|
+1|
+1|Smite Foe 1/day
4th|
+4|
+4|
+1|
+1|Improved Shield Bash
5th|
+5|
+4|
+1|
+1|Dodge
6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+1|
+1|Bonus Feat, Smite Foe 2/day
7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+2|
+2|Aura of Law 2/day
8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+2|
+2|Noble Mount 1st-Tier
9th|
+9/+4|
+7|
+2|
+2|Smite Foe 3/day
10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+2|
+2|Bonus Feat
11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+8|
+3|
+3|Ride-by Attack
12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+3|
+3|Smite Foe 4/day
13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+9|
+3|
+3|Cleric Domain-1st, Lance Knight
14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+3|
+3|Bonus Feat, Noble Mount 2nd-Tier, Aura of Law 3/day
15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+10|
+4|
+4|Smite Foe 5/day
16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+4|
+4|Combat Reflexes
17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+11|
+4|
+4|Cleric Domain-2nd
18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+4|
+4|Bonus Feat, Smite Foe 6/day
19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+12|
+5|
+5|Cleric Domain-3rd
20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+13|
+5|
+5|Bonus Feat, Noble Mount 3rd-Tier[/table]

Class Features:
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Cavaliers are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).

Lay on Hands: As per the Paladin ability.

Aura of Law: Aura of Law is a Cavalier's final defense. Used when foes close in around him the Cavalier summons his knowledge of right and law, and projects a feeling of defenslessness and clumsiness against neutral and chaotic foes. Neutral foes take a -1 penalty to AC and BAB, while Chaotic Foes take a -2 penalty to AC and BAB. This effect lasts for 1 round per Cavalier level. The aura can be resisted by a (DC10 + Cavalier level + Cavalier's CHA mod) Will save. A Cavalier may use Aura of Law once per day at first level, and gains additional uses every seven levels.

Mounted Combat: The Cavalier is treated as always having the mounted combat feat.

Smite Foe: As per the Smite Evil ability, but only against Chaotic or Neutral Foes. A Cavalier gains one use at third level, and an additional use every three levels there after.

Knightly Grace: At 2nd level, a Cavalier has been trained to fight on horseback, and when mounted on a horse or pony gains a +2 competence bonus when attempting to control an untrained animal. When mounted on a warhorse, or warpony, the Cavalier gains a +1 bonus to mounted melee attacks.

Bonus Feat: A Cavalier is granted bonus feat in addition to those she normally receives. Bonus feats may be selected from the fighter bonus feat list.

Improved Shield Bash: At 4th level Cavalier is treated as having the Improved Shield Bash feat while mounted, even if he or she does not meet the requirements.

Dodge: From 5th level on, when mounted a Cavalier is treated as having the dodge feat even if he or she does not meet the requirements for it.

Cleric Domain: A Cavalier, while not necessarily a religious warrior is looked upon with favor by his or her god. At 13th level, a Cavalier may choose one of his or her gods domain's, and use the first level domain power as a Cleric of one quarter the Cavalier's level. At 17th level, the Cavalier gains the second level domain power, as a cleric of one quarter Cavalier level, and at 19th, gains a third level domain power, as a cleric one-quarter of the Cavalier's level. Cavaliers cast based on CHA as Sorcerors, and Bards.

Ride-by Attack: At 11th level, if not taken before the Cavalier gains Ride-by Attack while mounted, even he or she does not otherwise qualify.

Combat Reflexes: If he has not taken it at an earlier level, at 16th level, the Cavalier is treated as having Combat Reflexes.

Lance Knight: At 13th level, the Cavalier has become a master of mounted combat, and as such is able to deal double damage when charging mounted wielding with a Sword, or Axe and Shield. Charging with a lance deals triple damage instead. The Cavalier's BAB, and chance to hit rolls are unaffected. The Cavalier also is able to disregard the -2 AC penalty while charging mounted.

Noble Steed: At 8th Level, a Cavalier may spend 1d4 days familiarizing himself with a particular mount, and bind himself to it. In doing so, it becomes a first tier mount. At level 14, it becomes a second tier mount, and at level 20, it becomes a third tier mount. While mounted on his Noble Mount, the Cavalier gains a +1 to his Reflex and Will saves.

If the Cavalier's Noble Steed is killed, it takes a year and a day to become familiar enough with another mount to replace it. Upon the steeds death, the Cavalier loses 200xp per level, with a fort save for half. In addition, the Cavalier must make a fort save, or be treated as having one half his total ride skill until he gains another Steed. Making the fort save reduces the penalty to three-quarters his ride skill. If the Cavalier's Steed is resurrected, the penalty to his ride skill is negated.


Noble Steed
{table=head]Tier|HD|Natural <br> Armor|Str. Adj.|Special
1st|
+2|
+2|
+1|Improved Mounted Combat, DR5/Silver
2nd|
+4|
+4|
+2|Shield Mount
3rd|
+6|
+6|
+4|Mounted Archery, DR10/Silver[/table]

Shield Mount:While mounted on his Noble Steed, the steed gains the Cavalier's Shield Bonus to it's AC against melee attacks.

All the fun of the paladin, with none of the LG requirements.