[PF] Opinions on Paladin of Pharasma

[grarrrg]

This will be an odd thread for me in that it is more focused on 'flavor' then on 'crunch'.

I think a Paladin of Pharasma (http://www.pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Pharasma) would be an interesting idea.
The catch is that Pharasma is a True Neutral god, and Paladins would not normally be allowed to worship her.

My point of view is that Pharasma is more "lack of alignment", and is only True Neutral due to the need to give her an alignment.
Some snippets from the linked Wiki page:

Pharasma makes no decision on whether a death is just or not; she views all with a cold and uncaring attitude,

Pharasma remains neutral in almost all aspects towards other deities.

Ok, so even assuming the Alignment thing is allowed, why would a Paladin 'want' to follow her?
They both hate Undead.

As the goddess of death and rebirth, she abhors the undead and considers them a perversion

Her followers view the undead with hatred and consider them a great abomination. They view putting the undead to rest as a holy duty.
Paladins are particularly fond of smashing Undead-face (or Undead-lack-of-face).
I'd think that a particularly Undead-Unfriendly Paladin could successfully court Pharasma's favor.

The main remaining question is Oath Against Undead (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/oathbound-paladin/oath-against-undeath) or Undead Scourge (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/undead-scourge)?
Both trade away Aura of Justice, so they can not stack.
Oath grants Detect Undead, Armor/Shield automatically gain Ghost Touch, an Aura that grants Saves vs. Negative levels, can Channel Energy by spending only _1_ use of Lay on Hands. And gets a "kill all undead" rider on his Code of Conduct.

Undead Scourge gives ALL Smites double-level damage vs. Undead (instead of only on first hit), Aura of Life makes Undead more vulnerable to Positive Channeling, and shuts down Negative Channeling, and they can spend a Smite use for a chance to outright destroy an Undead (so...an "UnDeath attack"?).

The only worthwhile Archetype that would stack (with either of the above) is Warrior of the Holy Light. Which loses Spellcasting, but gains extra uses of Lay on Hands (which leads to more Channel uses), and more aura-like abilities.


Thoughts?

[Ravens_cry]

Yeah, it seems funny they cannot be combined, but them's the breaks. Try Oath of Vengeance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/oathbound-paladin/oath-of-vengeance), turn two lay of lands into a smite. With enough Charisma, and perhaps an Extra Lay on Hands (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/extra-lay-on-hands---final) or two, you can get a lot of smite.

Another idea would be not be a Paladin (aside from Undead Smashing, Paladins don't match the Grey Lady's ethos and dogma much) but the Holy Warrior Cleric variant from the old campaign setting book. You get heavy armour proficiency, full BAB and d10 hit die, proficncty with your gods weapon, but lose domains. Losing domains is a real bite, but given the changes Pathfinder made to the buff spells, which are nerfs for regular cleric, actually work better with this variant.
Pharasma's dagger ain't much, but Heirloom weapon (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/equipment-traits/heirloom-weapon) still helps. Thanks to Masterwork Transformation (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/masterwork-transformation), you can even keep using it when everyone upgrades to magic weapons.
Right now I am doing just this with a scythe while on horseback.
I know that's a different goddesses weapon, but I like to think the character is reclaiming it for an old psychpomp.

[grarrrg]

Yeah, it seems funny they cannot be combined, but them's the breaks. Try Oath of Vengeance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/paladin/archetypes/paizo---paladin-archetypes/oathbound-paladin/oath-of-vengeance)

Nope. Trades away Aura of Justice, same as both Undead archetypes.
I looked, the only other Archetype that's 'flavor' appropriate, and useful is Warrior of Holy Light.
Odd things like "Oath Against the Wyrm" will stack, but killing Dragons doesn't really help.


Another idea would be not be a Paladin (aside from Undead Smashing, Paladins don't match the Grey Lady's ethos and dogma much) but the Holy Warrior Cleric variant from the old campaign setting book. You get heavy armour proficiency, full BAB and d10 hit die, proficncty with your gods weapon, but lose domains. Losing domains is a real bite, but given the changes Pathfinder made to the buff spells, which are nerfs for regular cleric, actually work better with this variant.

Yeah, as far as straight-up PF goes, the closest Cleric acf would be Crusader (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/cleric/archetypes/paizo---cleric-archetypes/crusader). But if I wanted Cleric, I would just go Cleric.

Assume Paladin in non-negotiable.
How would you argue for/against allowing a Paladin to follow Pharasma?
Or, what would it take for Pharasma to notice a particular Paladin?