My thoughts on D&D NEXT & the Paladin

[Anderlith]

So the paladin has always been a weird class, it has it's roots in the myths & fables of King Arthur & other tales of shining knights bootkicking evil in the face, but the classes have always felt lackluster. So here's my thoughts on how they could change it & make it interesting


Take away the traditional spellcasting, they don't need to be casting spells like a cleric
Take away their service to a god, paladins are pillars of good who may serve a god but it isn't required
Don't focus them on horseback, it's hard to lead a destrier into a dungeon or to make climb checks
The fighter gets styles, the rogue gets schemes, the sorcerer gets heritages. A paladin should be able to pick a "Virtue"

Valor = A holy warrior that fights on the front line
Purity = A paladin who's devotion to remain pure strengthen's his mind & body
Justice = A holy bounty hunter, bonuses to find evil & punish them
Faith = More like the traditional Paladin, light spellcasting
Truth = bonuses on Insight and abilities to see invisable & hidden things


These virtues would give them bonus & come with a code of conduct, such as Paladins of Purity cannot drink intoxicants, & have to remain "pure" but in return they recieve bonuses to all their Saving Throws & AC

Here's an example of Valor following the DDN format

You must fight fair you can't benefit from bonuses from flanking & such, you cannot kill an intelligent unarmed foe etc.

In return you gain divine focus in the eternal fight against evil.
+1 to melee attack, +1 to Str or Con

First Level- Smite- If you hit a (evil?) target you can choose to deal 2d8 additional Holy damage

Third Level- Discretion- Enemies (who are evil?) gain disadvantage to strike you until the end of your next turn

Yeah these probably arent balanced but with this you can kind of see what I'm going for. As well as Virtures I can see other options for maybe a mage hunter theme & "Sins" that are the opposites of the "Virtues"


So tell me what you think, am I totally off the mark or would this maybe make a cool paladin?

[Totally Guy]

I'm pretty sure that's how it's handled with the paladin class from the game Dungeon World.

I don't know if it's fully available yet so I'll check on my Kickstarter PDF this evening.

[Anderlith]

I'm pretty sure that's how it's handled with the paladin class from the game Dungeon World.

I don't know if it's fully available yet so I'll check on my Kickstarter PDF this evening.

link please?

[Totally Guy]

Unfortunately it' a backer only update on the kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sage-kobold/dungeon-world-a-game-with-modern-rules-and-old-sch-0) that details it.

Here's the relevant extract.


Quest
When you dedicate yourself to a mission through prayer and ritual cleansing, state what you set out to do:
•  Slay _______, a great blight on the land
•  Defend _______ from the inequities that beset them
•  Discover the truth of _______
Then choose up to two boons:
•  An unwavering sense of direction to _______.
•  Invulnerability to _______ (ex: edged weapons, fire, enchantment, etc.)
•  A mark of divine authority
•  Senses that pierce lies
•  A voice that transcends language
•  A freedom from hunger, thirst, and sleep
The GM will then tell you what vow or vows are required of you to maintain your blessing:
•  Honor (forbidden: cowardly tactics and tricks)
•  Temperance (forbidden: gluttony in food, drink, and pleasure of the flesh)
•  Piety (required: observance of daily holy services)
•  Valor (forbidden: suffering an evil creature to live)
•  Truth (forbidden: lies)
•  Hospitality (required: comfort to those in need, no matter who they are)

[riccaru]

So the paladin has always been a weird class, it has it's roots in the myths & fables of King Arthur & other tales of shining knights bootkicking evil in the face, but the classes have always felt lackluster. So here's my thoughts on how they could change it & make it interesting


Take away the traditional spellcasting, they don't need to be casting spells like a cleric
Take away their service to a god, paladins are pillars of good who may serve a god but it isn't required
Don't focus them on horseback, it's hard to lead a destrier into a dungeon or to make climb checks
The fighter gets styles, the rogue gets schemes, the sorcerer gets heritages. A paladin should be able to pick a "Virtue"

Valor = A holy warrior that fights on the front line
Purity = A paladin who's devotion to remain pure strengthen's his mind & body
Justice = A holy bounty hunter, bonuses to find evil & punish them
Faith = More like the traditional Paladin, light spellcasting
Truth = bonuses on Insight and abilities to see invisable & hidden things


These virtues would give them bonus & come with a code of conduct, such as Paladins of Purity cannot drink intoxicants, & have to remain "pure" but in return they recieve bonuses to all their Saving Throws & AC

Here's an example of Valor following the DDN format

You must fight fair you can't benefit from bonuses from flanking & such, you cannot kill an intelligent unarmed foe etc.

In return you gain divine focus in the eternal fight against evil.
+1 to melee attack, +1 to Str or Con

First Level- Smite- If you hit a (evil?) target you can choose to deal 2d8 additional Holy damage

Third Level- Discretion- Enemies (who are evil?) gain disadvantage to strike you until the end of your next turn

Yeah these probably arent balanced but with this you can kind of see what I'm going for. As well as Virtures I can see other options for maybe a mage hunter theme & "Sins" that are the opposites of the "Virtues"


So tell me what you think, am I totally off the mark or would this maybe make a cool paladin?

So you want to nerf a Paladin and make him useless against demons, devils, dragons, and most of the MM? Unarmed + intelligent = a lot of things. Unless you count natural weapons, in which case how do monks work?

[Anderlith]

So you want to nerf a Paladin and make him useless against demons, devils, dragons, and most of the MM? Unarmed + intelligent = a lot of things. Unless you count natural weapons, in which case how do monks work?

No, creatures with natural attacks can be attacked, demons & such as well. Please don't go RAW on something that isn't even fully written, this was just an idea of the direction I'd like to see the paladin take.

It means that you can't strike down people that aren't exactly hostile but might still be an enemy. The Paladin of Valor respects the rules of honorable combat, he doesn't attack an evil creature during a parley, if he does then he will lose his paladin abilities for a while.