[3.5] Mystic Paladin?

[Rossebay]

So, there's the Mystic Ranger variant of Ranger. Beautiful little variant, I honestly love it.

But... One of my favorite hero archetypes is the Paladin. Their spellcasting is poor, and they need a bit of love.

In the spirit of how many Paladin threads I've seen crop up recently, I'd like to challenge the playground with this:

Come up with a good Paladin ACF, much in the way of the Mystic Ranger.

[Manateee]

Is "Tack on Bard or Mystic Ranger Spell Advancement" too easy?

[Rossebay]

Is "Tack on Bard or Mystic Ranger Spell Advancement" too easy?

To convince a DM who hates altering the base classes... At all?

Yes. Muuuch too easy.

[Psyren]

What about SotAO?

[Coidzor]

To convince a DM who hates altering the base classes... At all?

Yes. Muuuch too easy.

Yeah, the only way you're doing that is if you can get a sack and learn how to induce stockholm syndrome.

Ain't nobody able to get the stick out of someone else's rear end but themselves what put it there.

Even if you delayed everything a level and took away the special mount as well as heavy armor proficiency in order to mirror Mystic Rangers.

Alternatively, DM a game with Paladin and Ranger fixes that give them bard style casting progression and have him play in the group with at least one person playing a paladin.

[Prime32]

Cleric/Ordained Champion. There's your Mystic Paladin.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Cleric/Ordained Champion. There's your Mystic Paladin.

Or cleric/prestige paladin.

[Psyren]

Cleric/Ordained Champion. There's your Mystic Paladin.

Favored Soul/Fist of Raziel imo :smallwink:
(throw in Sacred Exorcist/Prestige Paladin to get access to the paladin list too.)

[Manateee]

To convince a DM who hates altering the base classes... At all?

Yes. Muuuch too easy.
What if you stripped off a bunch of the Sweet Paladin Class Features like Remove Disease, Detect Evil, Lay on Hands, Aura of Courage and maybe Smite, then rubbed a highlighter all over that page in the PHB that tells you to change class mechanics?

[Rossebay]

What if you stripped off a bunch of the Sweet Paladin Class Features like Remove Disease, Detect Evil, Lay on Hands, Aura of Courage and maybe Smite, then rubbed a highlighter all over that page in the PHB that tells you to change class mechanics?

Yeah... I've always wanted to play a mystic Warrior. Throw in a few levels of commoner while I'm at it! Haha.

I guess I can try and throw on Bard casting, pick and choose some spells, etc.

Any suggestions for 5th level Paladin spells?

[darksolitaire]

Any suggestions for 5th level Paladin spells?

Sure, but we'll need Orisons too.

0: Create Water, Cure Minor Wounds, Guidance, Light, Mending, Purify Food and Drink, Resistance, Virtue.

5: Cure Critical Wounds, Hallow, Raise Dead, Revivify, True Seeing, Banishment, Geas/Quest.

Some most obvious choices.

[Manateee]

Yeah... I've always wanted to play a mystic Warrior. Throw in a few levels of commoner while I'm at it! Haha.
Eh. Divine Grace, Turning, the Mount and the spells are the only class abilities that really affect your character's power/capability anyway. The other things might look flashy and might give a good show of sacrifice, but Lay on Hands is nothing you won't miss with even a couple cure spells, and the Paladin has plenty of counter-fear spells.

Any suggestions for 5th level Paladin spells?
I'd shamelessly pillage the Cleric list for something a divine warrior should do.

Like Raise Dead, Heal, True Seeing, Commune, Plane Shift, Righteous Might. And provided Bard advancement (rather than Mystic Ranger's*) probably a few selections from higher-level lists that fit what the giant should be doing around level 13, like Heal, Banishment and Heroes Feast. Then dipping into the SpC/BoED for more fitting spells like Visage and Greater Visage of the Deity.

EDIT:
*I'd avoid the MR's advancement because it's terribly designed. By level 10, they have the same abilities that they end up with at level 20. So if you want the character to be able to exist in a world with 9th level spell effects, you have to give them the abilities to contribute to the 20th level game at level 10. The Bard/Psychic Warrior-modeled advancement better allows you to drop some spell levels onto the list at reduced levels, but not have them crop up inappropriately early in the game.

[Metahuman1]

Would this DM be amiable to Pathfinder Paladin?

If not, the suggestion of DMing a game with Mystic Ranger/Paladin variants as the standard and a Minimum of one player playing a successful Pally is good.

And if all else fails, Cleric with maybe a dip into Barbarian for pounce (Either his level one for his back story or just a dip on a CG character.) and/or Crusader or Warblade for Maneuvers. Then take and max progression on Prestige Paladin.


Not the most powerful build out there given the lack of 9th lvl spells from giving up caster levels, but serviceable.

[Ernir]

Any suggestions for 5th level Paladin spells?

Atonement (seriously, of all the spells Paladins need), Commune, Disrupting Weapon, Righteous Might, Plane Shift, True Seeing?

[Cog]

The Battle Blessing feat seems to be Paladin's version. You don't get more spells, but more of your spells become swift actions so that they don't get in the way of your bashing.

[Coidzor]

Atonement (seriously, of all the spells Paladins need), Commune, Disrupting Weapon, Righteous Might, Plane Shift, True Seeing?

Except Paladins are generally pushed away from redeeming others so much as smiting them into oblivion. And if they fall then they can't cast spells anymore.

Hmm...Raise Dead, perhaps Cure X wounds' mass versions, Heroes' Feast?, Geas?, Shout if anyone's a fan of Skyrim's voice attack, Undeath to Death?, Shield of Law/Holy Aura?, maybe Planar Ally or lesser Planar Ally?, Stoneskin?, Greater Dispel Magic(assuming it gets full CL like it should), Find the Path, Heroism/Greater Heroism?