PDA

View Full Version : Paladin Mounts: Where do they come from?



SonOfKronos
2010-07-04, 06:11 PM
My RP group and I are planning on doing an adventure with a party comprised soley of paladins and paladin variants. In our world, paladins/variants are the knights of the L/N theocratic government, acting as officers, shock troops, and commandos.

Being knights, it is only suitable that our characters be close to or over level 5 so as to be outfitted with the "special mount." I've never played a level 5+ paladin before, and I wonder where these mounts come from and where they get their power.

Are they regular horses that must be purchased, or are they sent directly from the paladin's deity? Do they come from a stable, a field over yonder, or the sky? Furthermore, do its powers come from the paladin, or from the heavens?

I'd like to hear how those of you who have levelled up from 4 to 5 as a paladin went about the acquisition of your mount. Any other perspectives are welcome as well, of course.

Prodan
2010-07-04, 06:12 PM
You capture the mounts in the wild using special color coded spherical containment devices.

Mr.Moron
2010-07-04, 06:13 PM
It's basically just a summoning ability. A wee bit of praying, a flash of light here, a puff smoke there. Presto, a mount.

ericgrau
2010-07-04, 06:16 PM
Since you can summon it every day, it has to come from another plane. Probably Celestia but it's up to you how you want to handle it from there.

SonOfKronos
2010-07-04, 06:20 PM
How embarrassing, it appears I did not look at my PHB closely enough. It is summoned. Thanks for the info.

kamikasei
2010-07-04, 06:23 PM
Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides.

It spends its time on one of the upper planes. The simplest explanation is that it's like a celestial creature (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/celestialCreature.htm) of the sort summon monster can pull down, but not quite identical and unique to each paladin. However, so far as I know there's nothing that'd be contradicted by having paladins tame a wild animal or purchase an ordinary one or anything along those lines, and then make it their mount, granting it the abilities and sending it to the planes.

Hallavast
2010-07-04, 06:32 PM
It spends its time on one of the upper planes. The simplest explanation is that it's like a celestial creature (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/celestialCreature.htm) of the sort summon monster can pull down, but not quite identical and unique to each paladin. However, so far as I know there's nothing that'd be contradicted by having paladins tame a wild animal or purchase an ordinary one or anything along those lines, and then make it their mount, granting it the abilities and sending it to the planes.

The upper Celestial plane of Pokemon Land!

Zovc
2010-07-04, 06:43 PM
I made this for you, OP:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/2ndTrip/mounts.png

DragonBaneDM
2010-07-04, 08:06 PM
^This!^

Oh dear God. That...

SonOfKronos
2010-07-04, 08:58 PM
I can do nothing but tip my hat to you, Zvoc. That is brilliant.

Thanks to the rest of you for your help. Also thanks to the PHB, for, y'know, describing the rules.

sooperspook
2010-07-04, 09:12 PM
Darnit people! Stop making me spit coffee over my keyboard! :amused:

BenTheJester
2010-07-04, 10:33 PM
You capture the mounts in the wild using special color coded spherical containment devices.

Only in tall grasses and caves though.

Skeppio
2010-07-04, 10:43 PM
Only in tall grasses and caves though.

Now I want to homebrew a Parasect steed for my Paladin.

Malificus
2010-07-04, 10:46 PM
Only in tall grasses and caves though.

I found mine in an abandoned building, I hear they show up in water too (found either by fishing or swimming)

Curmudgeon
2010-07-04, 10:58 PM
However, so far as I know there's nothing that'd be contradicted by having paladins tame a wild animal or purchase an ordinary one or anything along those lines, and then make it their mount, granting it the abilities and sending it to the planes.
Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call her mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. How does being tamed by a Paladin make a creature reside in some celestial realm? Seems to me that the Paladin would need to physically go to that plane with the animal and use Handle Animal to make it accustomed to the new location.

Hendel
2010-07-04, 11:03 PM
I once allowed a player to have his mule that he had from 1st level turn into a Celestial Mule and become his special mount. He was a dwarf paladin afterall.

However, I do like the idea of capturing them in the wild in different colored balls.

KillianHawkeye
2010-07-04, 11:30 PM
BLACKGUARD Darkflame wants to battle!

BLACKGUARD Darkflame sent out NIGHTMARE!
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG195.jpg
Go! RAPIDASH!
http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/3/3f/078Rapidash.png

:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

AslanCross
2010-07-05, 12:11 AM
BLACKGUARD Darkflame wants to battle!

BLACKGUARD Darkflame sent out NIGHTMARE!
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG195.jpg
Go! RAPIDASH!
http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/3/3f/078Rapidash.png

:smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

Now I want to see Pokemon Adamantine and Pokemon Mithril, both in a high fantasy setting.

kamikasei
2010-07-05, 02:36 AM
How does being tamed by a Paladin make a creature reside in some celestial realm?
By having the act of making it your paladin mount send it to the celestial realms.

Seems to me that the Paladin would need to physically go to that plane with the animal and use Handle Animal to make it accustomed to the new location.
It's a magical superhorse, I think we can simply take "is okay with chillin' in Heaven" as read.

Escheton
2010-07-05, 02:46 AM
Hey, being the magical supermount of a paladin is hard work. Sure, it's a great careerboost and all the other mounts are superjealous of you. But you earned that downtime in the heavens. No more shabby stables for you.

Grumman
2010-07-05, 03:56 AM
Paladin Mounts: Where do they come from?
Well, son, when a mommy paladin mount and a daddy paladin mount love each other very, very much...

I'd generally favour a paladin obtaining a mundane steed that then becomes uber, but I don't really have a problem with having it find the paladin once he hits level 5, especially for things like unicorns or giant spiders that you're unlikely to get without divine assistance. And since you start off being able to summon it for 10 hours a day, I'd just say you can summon it up to once per day and it stays as long as you want.

Munchkin-Masher
2010-07-05, 04:12 AM
I made this for you, OP:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/2ndTrip/mounts.png

Paladin mounts are F***ing Miracles!!!

Curmudgeon
2010-07-05, 04:18 AM
By having the act of making it your paladin mount send it to the celestial realms.
Well, that's your problem, then. There's no way specified to make a regular horse become a Paladin's mount. The Paladin only gets to call an existing special mount, not make a regular mount special.

Vaynor
2010-07-05, 04:25 AM
Question: Paladin mounts, where do they come from?

Answer: Magic everywhere in this <female dog>.

I.E. a wizard did it.

Fritzelle
2010-07-05, 04:29 AM
Well, that's your problem, then. There's no way specified to make a regular horse become a Paladin's mount. The Paladin only gets to call an existing special mount, not make a regular mount special.
Just says 'gains the service of', never says where it comes from. Up to the DM then to narrate where and fill in the hole. Your deity smiling on your bond with your mundane pony and allowing you to retain it with benefits seems entirely feasible as an explanation.

In short: no rule, no problem.

kamikasei
2010-07-05, 04:49 AM
Well, that's your problem, then. There's no way specified to make a regular horse become a Paladin's mount. The Paladin only gets to call an existing special mount, not make a regular mount special.

That's exactly what my first post in the thread addressed. The rules say that the paladin can summon the special mount he obtains. They don't say where that mount originally comes from or how he obtains it. I'm saying that "there's a preexisting pool of paladin mounts waiting in the heavens to be summoned" or "the paladin's god makes a new mount for him when he hits fifth level" have no more support in the rules than "a paladin chooses an existing animal to designate as his mount and it then gains these abilities, including the ability to be dismissed to and summoned from Celestia".

I'm not saying that this is how it works. I'm saying that how it works isn't specified and so there's plenty of room for the DM and player to come up with whatever they like without it contradicting the rules.