gabrion
2014-06-08, 08:34 AM
First, credit it where it's due. Lix Lorn's Paladin fix (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?188022-3-5-Yet-Another-Paladin-Fix) got me thinking about several things here.
Stole a lot of formatting from qazzquimby
Thanks to WotC for the Factotum class, actually stole some concepts from there.
* * * * *
Ok, maybe I’m a few years late to the party, but here’s my spin on revamping the Paladin class, as it was fairly weak in 3.5 core. Up front, here were some of my guiding principles while writing this fix:
Aiming for (maybe high?) tier 3. For those unfamiliar, check on out the Tier system here. (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5293) Specifically, “capable of doing [nearly] all things, but not as well as classes that specialize in that area.”
Making progression appealing enough that players want to stick with the class (this is another reason I think they should have had better spellcasting...when your casting is bad enough that no one even considers it when deciding to multi-class, you have a problem).
Reducing MAD. If we assume pretty much everyone wants some CON and INT is always useful for skills, I don’t think any class should really need to focus on more than two other abilities. This Paladin will want CHA (primary) and then either STR or DEX depending on how they are built to fight.
Maintain Iconic Paladin features (as I see them). I know this is controversial as “Paladin” brings different iconic features to different people, but these are the ones that stand out to me:
Martial prowess: One way or another, I see Paladins being solid at normal martial combat.
Defenses: Paladins should be able to stand up to their enemies’ attacks better than most.
Vessels of Divinity: When a Paladin does something special, it’s usually from calling on the power of their God. This often makes them capable of pulling off spectacular stunts just when they are most needed.
Spellcasting: Paladins cast divine spells, but I think they should have been better at it than they were in 3.5 core. I also think the mechanic should be different, more representative of the “I trust my God to help me” schtick mentioned above.
Healing: Paladins should be able to do it, and it should be bursty in nature. Lay on hands was sort of correct in this regard, but too limited in my opinion.
Smiting: The mechanic in 3.5 was bad, which is why it was often fixed in rewrites (even Pathfinder took it a step forward). Still, it should exist in some form, as a limited number of potent attacks vs. enemies who oppose them is sort of a Paladin trademark.
Aura: Paladins have some sort of mojo going on that affects those around them.
OK with all that out of the way, I will appreciate any feedback you all may have. Thanks for reading and hopefully you enjoy!
* * * * *
Paladin
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moi_gallery/91026.jpg
"God was busy...he sent me instead"
Common tales of heroism often mention the Paladin - shining knights, divine crusaders, hands of the gods, but rarely do they capture the true nature of these champions. It's true that a Paladin is a servant of his god, but these champions are as varied as the gods themselves.
Making a Paladin
A Paladin is expected to fill the role of a traditional combatant, often heavily armored and using melee weapons, but he can also help the party succeed by calling on his deity to help him in various ways. Durable, dangerous, and seemingly always capable of some new, divinely inspired trick, a Paladin is a useful ally to have.
Abilities: Charisma is perhaps the Paladin's most important ability as it determines his pool of inspiration points, his spellcasting, and many of his special abilities. Strength is important to melee Paladins who wish to strike heavy blows. Constitution is valuable as the extra hit points are a boon to a class that often finds itself in the thick of battle.
Races: Any race can be a Paladin, though humans are most common. Because Paladins have a special connection to a god, worship of that god is a larger determinant in whether an individual may be a Paladin than what race they are.
Alignment: While stories are most often told of the Paladins who were champions of Justice or Goodness, they can actually be of any alignment, so long as it is not more than one step away from their deity. Paladins are simply divine champions of the gods and chaotic or evil gods are as likely to use mortal agents as lawful or good gods, though in stories, these Paladins are often described by different names (Blackguards, Death Knights, and Anarchs being common).
Starting Gold: 6d4x10 (150 gold).
Hit Die: d10
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Max Spell Level
Spells Selected
Minor Auras Known
1st
+1
+2
+0
+2
Aligned Aura, Detect Alignment, Smite Opposition 1x/encounter, Minor Aura
-
-
1
2nd
+2
+3
+0
+3
Divine Inspiration, Healing Touch, Divine Grace
-
-
1
3rd
+3
+3
+1
+3
Moment of Need 1x/day, Rejuvenating Smite
1
3
2
4th
+4
+4
+1
+4
Divine Cleansing
1
3
2
5th
+5
+4
+1
+4
Smite Opposition 2x/encounter
1
4
3
6th
+6
+5
+2
+5
Divine Impetus
2
4
3
7th
+7
+5
+2
+5
Blinding Smite
2
5
4
8th
+8
+6
+2
+6
Divine Reach
2
5
4
9th
+9
+6
+3
+6
Smite Opposition 3x/encounter
3
6
5
10th
+10
+7
+3
+7
Divine Guidance
3
6
5
11th
+11
+7
+3
+7
Intervening Smite
3
7
6
12th
+12
+8
+4
+8
Moment of Need 2x/day
4
7
6
13th
+13
+8
+4
+8
Smite Opposition 4x/encounter
4
8
7
14th
+14
+9
+4
+9
Divine Impetus (full)
4
8
7
15th
+15
+9
+5
+9
Blinding Smite, Greater
5
9
8
16th
+16
+10
+5
+10
Divine Burst
5
9
8
17th
+17
+10
+5
+10
Smite Opposition 5x/encounter
5
10
9
18th
+18
+11
+6
+11
Divine Form
6
10
9
19th
+19
+11
+6
+11
Deadly Smite
6
11
10
20th
+20
+12
+6
+12
Final Plea
6
11
10
Class skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Ride, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Swim
Pretty standard stuff on the chasis, though notable improvements from base Paladin. Full BAB, two good saves, d10 HD, more skills per level.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Paladin is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (including tower shields).
Nothing big here.
Aligned Aura (ex): A Paladin gives off an Aura matching his alignment (see Cleric Aura).
Again, standard stuff for a divine, deity based spellcaster.
Detect Alignment (sp): At will, a Paladin can use Detect Alignment, which functions similarly to Detect Evil, but instead detects only those with an alignment opposed to the Paladin. For example, this would reveal both the Chaotic and Evil aspects of a chaotic evil creature if the Paladin were Lawful Good.
A common modification for fixes that remove the LG requirement, as this one does.
Minor Auras (Su): Paladins naturally exert influence over those around them. Some bark orders that improve martial prowess, while others speak encouraging words that increase confidence.
At 1st level, A Paladin learn to project a minor aura. These auras are detailed in the Marshal class in the Miniatures Handbook, and work in the same fashion. At each odd level, the Paladin can learn to project a different minor aura, though he can only ever project one minor aura at a time.
I won’t call this bit particularly inspired, but I wanted the Paladin to maintain the reputation as a natural leader of sort, positively influencing his allies. Minor auras are easy to add and work mechanically given the Paladin’s focus on CHA.
Smite Opposition: Once per encounter, a Paladin may channel a powerful attack against an enemy. When making an attack he can add his Charisma modifier to the attack roll and his Charisma modifier + Paladin level to the damage roll. Smite Opposition only works against enemies with at least one alignment component opposed to the Paladin (or for True Neutral Paladins, against Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, or Chaotic Evil enemies). If a Paladin attempts to smite an enemy with no opposed alignment component, he does not gain the listed bonuses, but the smite attempt is not wasted.
As a Paladin increases in level, he can use Smite Opposition additional times per encounter, as detailed in the table above. He also gains special abilities that can modify his smite. A Paladin can only apply one special ability to any smite and he must declare it before attempting the smite. Some special abilities consume extra uses of Smite Opposition.
Rejuvenating Smite: At 3rd level, Smite Opposition can infuse the Paladin with vigor. If Smite Opposition damages an enemy, the Paladin is healed for an amount equal to his Charisma modifier.
Blinding Smite: At 7th level, a Paladin’s weapon may shine with the light of his god when using Smite Opposition. If his smite damages an enemy, they are blinded for one round.
Intervening Smite: At 11th level, a Paladin may smite an enemy attempting to attack his ally. This Smite Opposition attempt may be made as an immediate action whenever an enemy attempts a melee attack against one of the Paladin’s allies within 30 feet of him. The Paladin rushes to any unoccupied space adjacent to both his ally and the enemy and smites the foe. If his smite damages the enemy, their attack against his ally fails. A Paladin cannot use Intervening Smite if there is no unoccupied space adjacent to both his ally and the foe. If the target of this smite is not an eligible target for Smite Opposition (because he does not have an alignment component opposed to the Paladin), Intervening Smite cannot be used.
Blinding Smite, Greater: At 15th level, a Paladin’s weapon may release a nova of light when using Smite Opposition. This ability works as Blinding Smite, but all enemies within 30 feet of the target are blinded for one round. This consumes two uses of Smite Opposition.
Deadly Smite: At 19th level, a Paladin’s Smite Opposition has the power to slay his foe in one strike. If the Paladin’s smite damages an enemy, they must make a fortitude saving throw with a difficulty class equal to Paladin level + Charisma modifier, or die. This consumes three uses of Smite Opposition.
Like many smite fixes, one big change is to encounters/day. Unlike some others, instead of just increasing the number of uses as a Paladin gains levels, I decided to add what I think are flavorful riders on the smite ability. Blind is a pretty strong status to apply, especially with no save, but it’s only for one round. Applying it to all enemies in 30 feet is likewise good, but comes at a pretty high level. Limited self-healing with a smite lets the Paladin save his healing for allies. Intervening Smite lends itself to the Paladin being a protector. Deadly Smite can be extremely potent, but comes at such high levels that this will not be breaking the game compared to what other classes are capable of.
Divine Inspiration: A Paladin is blessed by the favor of his God, receiving special favor that can manifest in many ways. At 2nd level, a Paladin gains a pool of Divine Inspiration points equal to Paladin level x Charisma modifier. These Divine Inspiration Points fuel many of the Paladin’s special abilities.
A Paladin’s pool of Divine Inspiration points is replenished after eight hours of rest and any change in Charisma after that point does not grant additional Divine Inspiration points. A Paladin can also recover a number of Divine Inspiration points equal to his Charisma modifier after each encounter by resting for five minutes (this time is commonly spent in prayer or contemplation).
Ok this is pretty much the core mechanic of the class, so any feedback is appreciated. The pool grows rapidly as a Paladin gains levels and increases Charisma, but then he also has more applications for the points.
I added the bit about recovering some points after each encounter due to the fact that at lower levels the Paladin didn’t seem capable of sustaining their use for very many encounters, while at higher levels, he can go on much longer. Recovering CHA mod points after each encounter is a huge boon to lower level Paladins, while not adding much power to higher level ones.
Healing Touch: A Paladin’s touch alone can heal many wounds. At 2nd level, a Paladin can channel Divine Inspiration as a standard action to heal hit point damage. Each point point of Divine Inspiration spent heals an amount equal to the Paladin’s Charisma modifier. A Paladin can spend a number of points in this fashion equal to his Paladin level each encounter.
I did say I wanted the Paladin to be a good healer, yes? This ability is far stronger than Lay on Hands, but I don’t think that’s a huge problem. I think it makes sense for core type abilities to theoretically have some use each encounter, rather than be daily uses.
Divine Grace: A Paladin is protected against many effects that would harm him. At level, a Paladin gains a bonus equal to his Charisma modifier (if any) on all saving throws. This modifier cannot be higher than his Paladin level.
Moved this from level 10 back to level 2, where most Paladin players expect it to be. I just was never a big fan of getting full Cha mod to saves with a two level dip, so instead I capped it by level.
Ya, were you wondering where this was? I still think it’s iconic (Paladins shrug of spells pretty often), but I think giving it at level two was OP. Plus it made people who sometimes dip Paladin two levels just for Divine Grace. I don’t like those people. I do think it can fit in as a class ability at lower levels, but only if the bonus is capped by levels in that class.
Oh and I am aware that this is still available many other places, so I haven’t really solved the “problem” of dipping for Divine Grace, but I can’t control those things. I can only make sure someone who plays this class does it because they want to play this class. :)
Spellcasting: Starting at 3rd level, Paladins learn to channel their Divine Inspiration to cast divine spells, which are drawn from the Paladin or Cleric spell lists, though a Paladin cannot cast any spell with an alignment descriptor opposed to his alignment. A Paladin knows all spells on his spell list, but he can only select a certain number of them to be available each day, as show in the table above, and the selected spells become his spell list for that day. Selecting these spells must be done after eight hours of rest.
To cast a spell, a Paladin must have a Charisma score equal to 10 + the spell level. The difficulty class for a saving throw against a Paladin’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Paladin’s Charisma modifier.
A Paladin casts spells by using his Divine Inspiration. Each spell costs a number of Divine Inspiration points equal to 1 + (3 x the spell level). A Paladin can spend up to 2 x Paladin level Divine Inspiration points in this manner each encounter. A Paladin casts his spell spontaneously, similar to a Sorcerer. He can add metamagic feats he knows to any spell he can cast, adjusting the spell level and Divine Inspiration point costs appropriately. He must still pay any XP cost associated with a given spell and provide any valuable material component.
Ok now this is where things get interesting. I freely admit part of this was motivated by the way Factotums cast spells, though the flavor also fits with calling on a deity to get what’s needed. Some things to think about: Max spell level (from this ability) is 6th level and comes at 18th level. So, far better than the base Paladin, but not crazy enough to outshine full casters.
Spell selection is very open...in theory an 18th level Paladin can have 11 level 6 spells prepared at the same time, any of which can be cast spontaneously. This may seem over the top, but keep in mind the real restriction is on how many points can be spent to cast spells any given encounter. That Paladin can only spend up to 36 points on spellcasting each encounter and each 6th level spell costs 19 points.
Moment of Need: Preparation is key to victory, but faith can provide in times of need. At 3rd level, when a Paladin first learns to cast spells, he can also call on his god once per day to provide him with the ability to cast a spell he has not prepared that day. This can be any Divine Spell and can be of any level up to one level higher than spells he can normally cast. Using this ability costs the normal amount of Divine Inspiration points to cast the spell, plus an additional number of Divine Inspiration points equal to the spell level (though these additional points do not count against the maximum number of points he can use for spellcasting each encounter). At 12th level, a Paladin can use Moment of Need an additional time each day.
Ok now I consider this what makes the Paladin truly competitive and may actually need some balancing. Effectively the chart showing “max spell level” is wrong - any Paladin who can cast spells can cast a spell one level higher than the value shown in that chart, but it’s a special exception to the rules with limited use. This is what pushes the Paladin to the top of Tier 3 and, if versatility alone were enough to make it into Tier 2, would land him in the bottom there.
Why? Because he can cast up to 7th level spells (1x per day at low levels and 2x/day later on), but from any divine spell list. Ya it’s good. It’s expensive though, to the point that most players won’t want to count on using it, lest they diminish their other abilities that rely on the same pool of points. But when they do run into a situation where they simply don’t have the tools they need, this is an extremely powerful ability.
To give an example with numbers again, a 10th level Paladin could normally cast 3rd level spells, but Moment of need allows him to cast a 4th level spell once per day. If he has a CHA mod of +8, he has a total pool of 80. He can normally spend up to 20 points casting spells each encounter. If he decides to cast a 4th level spell, it will cost him 17 points, 13 of which count against his per encounter limit for spellcasting (leaving only enough points to cast one more 2nd level spell), and will cost a total of nearly ¼ his total points for the day, which he may need for healing, turning, etc.
Divine Cleansing: Paladins stand strong against the common hordes of evil. At 4th level, a Paladin gains the ability to turn undead or evil outsiders. This ability works as a Cleric of the Paladin’s level, except it can affect either undead or evil outsiders. Each use consumes 2 Divine Inspiration points and the Paladin can use this ability a number of times each day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. Other than the changes specified here, this ability is treated exactly as the the 3.5 Paladin ability "Turn Undead."
Two differences from turn undead. First, I put undead and evil outsiders (mostly demons and devils) in the same camp as “standard-evil-invades-the-world-we-have-to-stop-it” type enemies. Paladins are usually there to stop demons from coming through a rift to kill us all, or turn back an undead army. This is mostly a thematic thing, but also has potential for them to fill a niche role in certain campaign settings (and sets precedent for the DM to say, “hmm maybe I want my central hero to be a dedicated enemy of (insert key type of bad guy in campaign). Second, it obviously uses points - the same as most of the class abilities. I tried to make it user friendly though, with the ability to convert these turn uses to the many applications 3.5 developed for expending turn attempts.
One more thing...the limitation on uses/encounter not only matches the way other expenditures of points work, but also prevents some abuse in my opinion (looking at you DMM Persist).
Divine Impetus: A whisper from his god can drive a Paladin to actions otherwise impossible. At 6th level, a Paladin can spend 10 Divine Inspiration points, once per encounter as a free action, to gain a second standard action on his turn. At 14th level Divine Impetus instead grants an additional full round action, but costs 20 Divine Inspiration points (still limited to once per encounter).
Did I rip off factotum? Maybe…
Still, it makes sense to me, and I think is a very powerful boost, but at an appropriate level.
Divine Reach: Healing through touch is not always enough. At 8th level, a Paladin who uses Healing Touch can target an ally within 30 feet.
Boosts healing - at this point a Paladin should be pretty good at it.
Divine Guidance: While other souls must rely on their own knowledge, a Paladin trusts his god to guide him. At 10th level, a Paladin can use Divine Guidance once per week to seek guidance from his God. This ability works like the Commune spell, but with the following differences: Answers to the Paladin's inquiries may be up to five words, and he does not pay the associated experience point cost of casting the spell.
Since I moved Divine Grace back to 2nd level, I needed a replacement here. I kept coming back to the idea that I need to fortify the Paladin's ability to "not be useless," which is a common trait of low tier classes when they face challenges that don't match up to their specialty.
Knowledge is power, or something, and with an ability like this, I don't see how a Paladin who hits level 10 could ever be useless to a party. It could be said that this is a fluff type ability, but I actually see it as being key if the DM is any good. Any time the party needs guidance because they've hit a brick wall or something, if they have a Paladin with them, they sort of have a free "phone a friend." Of course that friend is a god, so pretty useful in my opinion. And I also think it just fits - the Divine Crusader in the group praying for guidance, then telling everyone else what they need to do next.
Divine Burst: The healing gift of a Paladin cannot be contained. At 16th level, a Paladin who uses Healing Touch heals the target for the standard amount, and also heals allies within 30 feet of the target for half the amount.
More healing. You can yawn, but let me finally say something more about the line of Healing Touch -> Divine Reach -> Divine Burst. I really think 3.5 screwed up healing, to the point where it was better 95% of the time to spend an action killing enemies faster than to try to heal damage. This is why things like Crusader from Tome of Battle were cool, as they removed the need to calculate the trade off. I digress, but my point is that healing people should have been a reasonable way to spend action in combat. Healing Touch is good because of the burst potential, compared to say a cure spell.
Divine Reach is good because it provides positional advantage. If you need to move before attacking in a round, you’re (normally) only going to get one attack anyway. So if you can heal and then move (without having to move to the ally who needs the healing), the trade off isn’t always a bad one, and you can be set up to smash some face next round.
Divine Burst is great because there is plenty of AoE burst damage a party may suffer, while not as many great options for burst AoE healing. There are certainly cases in combat where it would be worth using this ability over, say, attacking.
By the time a Paladin has his full line of healing abilities, he also has Impetus. So maybe he Does a full attack around (including a smite that Blinds all enemies within 30 feet for one round), then uses Impetus for healing touch, which heals every party member in 30 feet (possibly from very low HP to full, if the Paladin decides to blow his points that way). I certainly wouldn’t mind being on said Paladin’s team.
Divine Form: The power of his god transforms a Paladin into a mighty avatar. At 18th level, a Paladin may spend 10 Divine Inspiration points as a standard action to transform into a Half-Celestial (or Half-Fiend if Evil) for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier. Neutral Paladins can choose either form when they activate this ability. Divine Form can be used once per encounter.
What to say...my inspiration for this was that the Paladin should have some sort of transformation, power up, etc. I picked Half-Celestial because it fits thematically and seems pretty powerful for the level. Of course it opens the doors to certain abuses...without even choosing an outsider race, the paladin can turn into one, then use Moment of Need to cast Polymorph to be something else awesome, or whatever (I forget if there is a way to persist polymorph, but if so, he can of course do that through DMM Persist if he has the feats). I think going back to class tiers though, stuff like this falls into the tier 3 clause “Can be game breaking with specific intent to do so.” In other words, the ability to turn into a Half-Celestial each encounter, at 18th level, isn’t going to break the game or trivialize encounters by itself, but it certainly has potential abuses. Of course it’s easier to just become an outsider some other way, much ealier, and pick a class with better spell progression if that’s really what you want to do.
Final Plea: When all hope seems lost, a Paladin’s faith turns his god’s favor into the greatest gift. At 20th level, by expending the remainder of his Divine Inspiration points for the day as an immediate action, a Paladin can become immune to hit point damage for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier. He can still die from effects that do not rely on hit point damage, but if this happens, a True Resurrection spell targets him when the Final Plea would normally expire. This ability cannot be used more than once per week.
Seems appropriately thematic as a capstone, and especially given the “you-can’t-kill-me-ness” Paladins often show.
Change Log
08/06/2014: First posted.
09/06/2014: Moved Divine Grace from level 10 to level 2, but capped it at Paladin level.
10/06/2014: Added (improved) commune at 10th level. Improved smite damage.
10/06/2014: Added Climb, Jump, Survival and Swim to class skills.
10/06/2014: Changed cleansing uses per day and made it more clear that it "acts like" traditional turn undead. Still uses inspiration points.
14/0602014: Clarified how spell selection/spellcasting works.
Divine Companion: While a Paladin’s god always walks with him in spirit, he also grants a more tangible presence. For many Paladins this is a trustworthy mount, but for others it is some other companion that travels with them. At 6th level, a Paladin gains a companion similar to the Druid’s Animal Companion ability, but with the following differences. The Paladin is treated as his level -2 for determining the companions progression (and which companions are available to him), but his companion has the Celestial template.
Not a crazy departure from the base Paladin, but honestly I just don’t think they all have to be mounted, so they have a “companion” instead.
Stole a lot of formatting from qazzquimby
Thanks to WotC for the Factotum class, actually stole some concepts from there.
* * * * *
Ok, maybe I’m a few years late to the party, but here’s my spin on revamping the Paladin class, as it was fairly weak in 3.5 core. Up front, here were some of my guiding principles while writing this fix:
Aiming for (maybe high?) tier 3. For those unfamiliar, check on out the Tier system here. (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5293) Specifically, “capable of doing [nearly] all things, but not as well as classes that specialize in that area.”
Making progression appealing enough that players want to stick with the class (this is another reason I think they should have had better spellcasting...when your casting is bad enough that no one even considers it when deciding to multi-class, you have a problem).
Reducing MAD. If we assume pretty much everyone wants some CON and INT is always useful for skills, I don’t think any class should really need to focus on more than two other abilities. This Paladin will want CHA (primary) and then either STR or DEX depending on how they are built to fight.
Maintain Iconic Paladin features (as I see them). I know this is controversial as “Paladin” brings different iconic features to different people, but these are the ones that stand out to me:
Martial prowess: One way or another, I see Paladins being solid at normal martial combat.
Defenses: Paladins should be able to stand up to their enemies’ attacks better than most.
Vessels of Divinity: When a Paladin does something special, it’s usually from calling on the power of their God. This often makes them capable of pulling off spectacular stunts just when they are most needed.
Spellcasting: Paladins cast divine spells, but I think they should have been better at it than they were in 3.5 core. I also think the mechanic should be different, more representative of the “I trust my God to help me” schtick mentioned above.
Healing: Paladins should be able to do it, and it should be bursty in nature. Lay on hands was sort of correct in this regard, but too limited in my opinion.
Smiting: The mechanic in 3.5 was bad, which is why it was often fixed in rewrites (even Pathfinder took it a step forward). Still, it should exist in some form, as a limited number of potent attacks vs. enemies who oppose them is sort of a Paladin trademark.
Aura: Paladins have some sort of mojo going on that affects those around them.
OK with all that out of the way, I will appreciate any feedback you all may have. Thanks for reading and hopefully you enjoy!
* * * * *
Paladin
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moi_gallery/91026.jpg
"God was busy...he sent me instead"
Common tales of heroism often mention the Paladin - shining knights, divine crusaders, hands of the gods, but rarely do they capture the true nature of these champions. It's true that a Paladin is a servant of his god, but these champions are as varied as the gods themselves.
Making a Paladin
A Paladin is expected to fill the role of a traditional combatant, often heavily armored and using melee weapons, but he can also help the party succeed by calling on his deity to help him in various ways. Durable, dangerous, and seemingly always capable of some new, divinely inspired trick, a Paladin is a useful ally to have.
Abilities: Charisma is perhaps the Paladin's most important ability as it determines his pool of inspiration points, his spellcasting, and many of his special abilities. Strength is important to melee Paladins who wish to strike heavy blows. Constitution is valuable as the extra hit points are a boon to a class that often finds itself in the thick of battle.
Races: Any race can be a Paladin, though humans are most common. Because Paladins have a special connection to a god, worship of that god is a larger determinant in whether an individual may be a Paladin than what race they are.
Alignment: While stories are most often told of the Paladins who were champions of Justice or Goodness, they can actually be of any alignment, so long as it is not more than one step away from their deity. Paladins are simply divine champions of the gods and chaotic or evil gods are as likely to use mortal agents as lawful or good gods, though in stories, these Paladins are often described by different names (Blackguards, Death Knights, and Anarchs being common).
Starting Gold: 6d4x10 (150 gold).
Hit Die: d10
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Max Spell Level
Spells Selected
Minor Auras Known
1st
+1
+2
+0
+2
Aligned Aura, Detect Alignment, Smite Opposition 1x/encounter, Minor Aura
-
-
1
2nd
+2
+3
+0
+3
Divine Inspiration, Healing Touch, Divine Grace
-
-
1
3rd
+3
+3
+1
+3
Moment of Need 1x/day, Rejuvenating Smite
1
3
2
4th
+4
+4
+1
+4
Divine Cleansing
1
3
2
5th
+5
+4
+1
+4
Smite Opposition 2x/encounter
1
4
3
6th
+6
+5
+2
+5
Divine Impetus
2
4
3
7th
+7
+5
+2
+5
Blinding Smite
2
5
4
8th
+8
+6
+2
+6
Divine Reach
2
5
4
9th
+9
+6
+3
+6
Smite Opposition 3x/encounter
3
6
5
10th
+10
+7
+3
+7
Divine Guidance
3
6
5
11th
+11
+7
+3
+7
Intervening Smite
3
7
6
12th
+12
+8
+4
+8
Moment of Need 2x/day
4
7
6
13th
+13
+8
+4
+8
Smite Opposition 4x/encounter
4
8
7
14th
+14
+9
+4
+9
Divine Impetus (full)
4
8
7
15th
+15
+9
+5
+9
Blinding Smite, Greater
5
9
8
16th
+16
+10
+5
+10
Divine Burst
5
9
8
17th
+17
+10
+5
+10
Smite Opposition 5x/encounter
5
10
9
18th
+18
+11
+6
+11
Divine Form
6
10
9
19th
+19
+11
+6
+11
Deadly Smite
6
11
10
20th
+20
+12
+6
+12
Final Plea
6
11
10
Class skills (4 + Int modifier per level): Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Ride, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Swim
Pretty standard stuff on the chasis, though notable improvements from base Paladin. Full BAB, two good saves, d10 HD, more skills per level.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Paladin is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (including tower shields).
Nothing big here.
Aligned Aura (ex): A Paladin gives off an Aura matching his alignment (see Cleric Aura).
Again, standard stuff for a divine, deity based spellcaster.
Detect Alignment (sp): At will, a Paladin can use Detect Alignment, which functions similarly to Detect Evil, but instead detects only those with an alignment opposed to the Paladin. For example, this would reveal both the Chaotic and Evil aspects of a chaotic evil creature if the Paladin were Lawful Good.
A common modification for fixes that remove the LG requirement, as this one does.
Minor Auras (Su): Paladins naturally exert influence over those around them. Some bark orders that improve martial prowess, while others speak encouraging words that increase confidence.
At 1st level, A Paladin learn to project a minor aura. These auras are detailed in the Marshal class in the Miniatures Handbook, and work in the same fashion. At each odd level, the Paladin can learn to project a different minor aura, though he can only ever project one minor aura at a time.
I won’t call this bit particularly inspired, but I wanted the Paladin to maintain the reputation as a natural leader of sort, positively influencing his allies. Minor auras are easy to add and work mechanically given the Paladin’s focus on CHA.
Smite Opposition: Once per encounter, a Paladin may channel a powerful attack against an enemy. When making an attack he can add his Charisma modifier to the attack roll and his Charisma modifier + Paladin level to the damage roll. Smite Opposition only works against enemies with at least one alignment component opposed to the Paladin (or for True Neutral Paladins, against Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, or Chaotic Evil enemies). If a Paladin attempts to smite an enemy with no opposed alignment component, he does not gain the listed bonuses, but the smite attempt is not wasted.
As a Paladin increases in level, he can use Smite Opposition additional times per encounter, as detailed in the table above. He also gains special abilities that can modify his smite. A Paladin can only apply one special ability to any smite and he must declare it before attempting the smite. Some special abilities consume extra uses of Smite Opposition.
Rejuvenating Smite: At 3rd level, Smite Opposition can infuse the Paladin with vigor. If Smite Opposition damages an enemy, the Paladin is healed for an amount equal to his Charisma modifier.
Blinding Smite: At 7th level, a Paladin’s weapon may shine with the light of his god when using Smite Opposition. If his smite damages an enemy, they are blinded for one round.
Intervening Smite: At 11th level, a Paladin may smite an enemy attempting to attack his ally. This Smite Opposition attempt may be made as an immediate action whenever an enemy attempts a melee attack against one of the Paladin’s allies within 30 feet of him. The Paladin rushes to any unoccupied space adjacent to both his ally and the enemy and smites the foe. If his smite damages the enemy, their attack against his ally fails. A Paladin cannot use Intervening Smite if there is no unoccupied space adjacent to both his ally and the foe. If the target of this smite is not an eligible target for Smite Opposition (because he does not have an alignment component opposed to the Paladin), Intervening Smite cannot be used.
Blinding Smite, Greater: At 15th level, a Paladin’s weapon may release a nova of light when using Smite Opposition. This ability works as Blinding Smite, but all enemies within 30 feet of the target are blinded for one round. This consumes two uses of Smite Opposition.
Deadly Smite: At 19th level, a Paladin’s Smite Opposition has the power to slay his foe in one strike. If the Paladin’s smite damages an enemy, they must make a fortitude saving throw with a difficulty class equal to Paladin level + Charisma modifier, or die. This consumes three uses of Smite Opposition.
Like many smite fixes, one big change is to encounters/day. Unlike some others, instead of just increasing the number of uses as a Paladin gains levels, I decided to add what I think are flavorful riders on the smite ability. Blind is a pretty strong status to apply, especially with no save, but it’s only for one round. Applying it to all enemies in 30 feet is likewise good, but comes at a pretty high level. Limited self-healing with a smite lets the Paladin save his healing for allies. Intervening Smite lends itself to the Paladin being a protector. Deadly Smite can be extremely potent, but comes at such high levels that this will not be breaking the game compared to what other classes are capable of.
Divine Inspiration: A Paladin is blessed by the favor of his God, receiving special favor that can manifest in many ways. At 2nd level, a Paladin gains a pool of Divine Inspiration points equal to Paladin level x Charisma modifier. These Divine Inspiration Points fuel many of the Paladin’s special abilities.
A Paladin’s pool of Divine Inspiration points is replenished after eight hours of rest and any change in Charisma after that point does not grant additional Divine Inspiration points. A Paladin can also recover a number of Divine Inspiration points equal to his Charisma modifier after each encounter by resting for five minutes (this time is commonly spent in prayer or contemplation).
Ok this is pretty much the core mechanic of the class, so any feedback is appreciated. The pool grows rapidly as a Paladin gains levels and increases Charisma, but then he also has more applications for the points.
I added the bit about recovering some points after each encounter due to the fact that at lower levels the Paladin didn’t seem capable of sustaining their use for very many encounters, while at higher levels, he can go on much longer. Recovering CHA mod points after each encounter is a huge boon to lower level Paladins, while not adding much power to higher level ones.
Healing Touch: A Paladin’s touch alone can heal many wounds. At 2nd level, a Paladin can channel Divine Inspiration as a standard action to heal hit point damage. Each point point of Divine Inspiration spent heals an amount equal to the Paladin’s Charisma modifier. A Paladin can spend a number of points in this fashion equal to his Paladin level each encounter.
I did say I wanted the Paladin to be a good healer, yes? This ability is far stronger than Lay on Hands, but I don’t think that’s a huge problem. I think it makes sense for core type abilities to theoretically have some use each encounter, rather than be daily uses.
Divine Grace: A Paladin is protected against many effects that would harm him. At level, a Paladin gains a bonus equal to his Charisma modifier (if any) on all saving throws. This modifier cannot be higher than his Paladin level.
Moved this from level 10 back to level 2, where most Paladin players expect it to be. I just was never a big fan of getting full Cha mod to saves with a two level dip, so instead I capped it by level.
Ya, were you wondering where this was? I still think it’s iconic (Paladins shrug of spells pretty often), but I think giving it at level two was OP. Plus it made people who sometimes dip Paladin two levels just for Divine Grace. I don’t like those people. I do think it can fit in as a class ability at lower levels, but only if the bonus is capped by levels in that class.
Oh and I am aware that this is still available many other places, so I haven’t really solved the “problem” of dipping for Divine Grace, but I can’t control those things. I can only make sure someone who plays this class does it because they want to play this class. :)
Spellcasting: Starting at 3rd level, Paladins learn to channel their Divine Inspiration to cast divine spells, which are drawn from the Paladin or Cleric spell lists, though a Paladin cannot cast any spell with an alignment descriptor opposed to his alignment. A Paladin knows all spells on his spell list, but he can only select a certain number of them to be available each day, as show in the table above, and the selected spells become his spell list for that day. Selecting these spells must be done after eight hours of rest.
To cast a spell, a Paladin must have a Charisma score equal to 10 + the spell level. The difficulty class for a saving throw against a Paladin’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the Paladin’s Charisma modifier.
A Paladin casts spells by using his Divine Inspiration. Each spell costs a number of Divine Inspiration points equal to 1 + (3 x the spell level). A Paladin can spend up to 2 x Paladin level Divine Inspiration points in this manner each encounter. A Paladin casts his spell spontaneously, similar to a Sorcerer. He can add metamagic feats he knows to any spell he can cast, adjusting the spell level and Divine Inspiration point costs appropriately. He must still pay any XP cost associated with a given spell and provide any valuable material component.
Ok now this is where things get interesting. I freely admit part of this was motivated by the way Factotums cast spells, though the flavor also fits with calling on a deity to get what’s needed. Some things to think about: Max spell level (from this ability) is 6th level and comes at 18th level. So, far better than the base Paladin, but not crazy enough to outshine full casters.
Spell selection is very open...in theory an 18th level Paladin can have 11 level 6 spells prepared at the same time, any of which can be cast spontaneously. This may seem over the top, but keep in mind the real restriction is on how many points can be spent to cast spells any given encounter. That Paladin can only spend up to 36 points on spellcasting each encounter and each 6th level spell costs 19 points.
Moment of Need: Preparation is key to victory, but faith can provide in times of need. At 3rd level, when a Paladin first learns to cast spells, he can also call on his god once per day to provide him with the ability to cast a spell he has not prepared that day. This can be any Divine Spell and can be of any level up to one level higher than spells he can normally cast. Using this ability costs the normal amount of Divine Inspiration points to cast the spell, plus an additional number of Divine Inspiration points equal to the spell level (though these additional points do not count against the maximum number of points he can use for spellcasting each encounter). At 12th level, a Paladin can use Moment of Need an additional time each day.
Ok now I consider this what makes the Paladin truly competitive and may actually need some balancing. Effectively the chart showing “max spell level” is wrong - any Paladin who can cast spells can cast a spell one level higher than the value shown in that chart, but it’s a special exception to the rules with limited use. This is what pushes the Paladin to the top of Tier 3 and, if versatility alone were enough to make it into Tier 2, would land him in the bottom there.
Why? Because he can cast up to 7th level spells (1x per day at low levels and 2x/day later on), but from any divine spell list. Ya it’s good. It’s expensive though, to the point that most players won’t want to count on using it, lest they diminish their other abilities that rely on the same pool of points. But when they do run into a situation where they simply don’t have the tools they need, this is an extremely powerful ability.
To give an example with numbers again, a 10th level Paladin could normally cast 3rd level spells, but Moment of need allows him to cast a 4th level spell once per day. If he has a CHA mod of +8, he has a total pool of 80. He can normally spend up to 20 points casting spells each encounter. If he decides to cast a 4th level spell, it will cost him 17 points, 13 of which count against his per encounter limit for spellcasting (leaving only enough points to cast one more 2nd level spell), and will cost a total of nearly ¼ his total points for the day, which he may need for healing, turning, etc.
Divine Cleansing: Paladins stand strong against the common hordes of evil. At 4th level, a Paladin gains the ability to turn undead or evil outsiders. This ability works as a Cleric of the Paladin’s level, except it can affect either undead or evil outsiders. Each use consumes 2 Divine Inspiration points and the Paladin can use this ability a number of times each day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. Other than the changes specified here, this ability is treated exactly as the the 3.5 Paladin ability "Turn Undead."
Two differences from turn undead. First, I put undead and evil outsiders (mostly demons and devils) in the same camp as “standard-evil-invades-the-world-we-have-to-stop-it” type enemies. Paladins are usually there to stop demons from coming through a rift to kill us all, or turn back an undead army. This is mostly a thematic thing, but also has potential for them to fill a niche role in certain campaign settings (and sets precedent for the DM to say, “hmm maybe I want my central hero to be a dedicated enemy of (insert key type of bad guy in campaign). Second, it obviously uses points - the same as most of the class abilities. I tried to make it user friendly though, with the ability to convert these turn uses to the many applications 3.5 developed for expending turn attempts.
One more thing...the limitation on uses/encounter not only matches the way other expenditures of points work, but also prevents some abuse in my opinion (looking at you DMM Persist).
Divine Impetus: A whisper from his god can drive a Paladin to actions otherwise impossible. At 6th level, a Paladin can spend 10 Divine Inspiration points, once per encounter as a free action, to gain a second standard action on his turn. At 14th level Divine Impetus instead grants an additional full round action, but costs 20 Divine Inspiration points (still limited to once per encounter).
Did I rip off factotum? Maybe…
Still, it makes sense to me, and I think is a very powerful boost, but at an appropriate level.
Divine Reach: Healing through touch is not always enough. At 8th level, a Paladin who uses Healing Touch can target an ally within 30 feet.
Boosts healing - at this point a Paladin should be pretty good at it.
Divine Guidance: While other souls must rely on their own knowledge, a Paladin trusts his god to guide him. At 10th level, a Paladin can use Divine Guidance once per week to seek guidance from his God. This ability works like the Commune spell, but with the following differences: Answers to the Paladin's inquiries may be up to five words, and he does not pay the associated experience point cost of casting the spell.
Since I moved Divine Grace back to 2nd level, I needed a replacement here. I kept coming back to the idea that I need to fortify the Paladin's ability to "not be useless," which is a common trait of low tier classes when they face challenges that don't match up to their specialty.
Knowledge is power, or something, and with an ability like this, I don't see how a Paladin who hits level 10 could ever be useless to a party. It could be said that this is a fluff type ability, but I actually see it as being key if the DM is any good. Any time the party needs guidance because they've hit a brick wall or something, if they have a Paladin with them, they sort of have a free "phone a friend." Of course that friend is a god, so pretty useful in my opinion. And I also think it just fits - the Divine Crusader in the group praying for guidance, then telling everyone else what they need to do next.
Divine Burst: The healing gift of a Paladin cannot be contained. At 16th level, a Paladin who uses Healing Touch heals the target for the standard amount, and also heals allies within 30 feet of the target for half the amount.
More healing. You can yawn, but let me finally say something more about the line of Healing Touch -> Divine Reach -> Divine Burst. I really think 3.5 screwed up healing, to the point where it was better 95% of the time to spend an action killing enemies faster than to try to heal damage. This is why things like Crusader from Tome of Battle were cool, as they removed the need to calculate the trade off. I digress, but my point is that healing people should have been a reasonable way to spend action in combat. Healing Touch is good because of the burst potential, compared to say a cure spell.
Divine Reach is good because it provides positional advantage. If you need to move before attacking in a round, you’re (normally) only going to get one attack anyway. So if you can heal and then move (without having to move to the ally who needs the healing), the trade off isn’t always a bad one, and you can be set up to smash some face next round.
Divine Burst is great because there is plenty of AoE burst damage a party may suffer, while not as many great options for burst AoE healing. There are certainly cases in combat where it would be worth using this ability over, say, attacking.
By the time a Paladin has his full line of healing abilities, he also has Impetus. So maybe he Does a full attack around (including a smite that Blinds all enemies within 30 feet for one round), then uses Impetus for healing touch, which heals every party member in 30 feet (possibly from very low HP to full, if the Paladin decides to blow his points that way). I certainly wouldn’t mind being on said Paladin’s team.
Divine Form: The power of his god transforms a Paladin into a mighty avatar. At 18th level, a Paladin may spend 10 Divine Inspiration points as a standard action to transform into a Half-Celestial (or Half-Fiend if Evil) for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier. Neutral Paladins can choose either form when they activate this ability. Divine Form can be used once per encounter.
What to say...my inspiration for this was that the Paladin should have some sort of transformation, power up, etc. I picked Half-Celestial because it fits thematically and seems pretty powerful for the level. Of course it opens the doors to certain abuses...without even choosing an outsider race, the paladin can turn into one, then use Moment of Need to cast Polymorph to be something else awesome, or whatever (I forget if there is a way to persist polymorph, but if so, he can of course do that through DMM Persist if he has the feats). I think going back to class tiers though, stuff like this falls into the tier 3 clause “Can be game breaking with specific intent to do so.” In other words, the ability to turn into a Half-Celestial each encounter, at 18th level, isn’t going to break the game or trivialize encounters by itself, but it certainly has potential abuses. Of course it’s easier to just become an outsider some other way, much ealier, and pick a class with better spell progression if that’s really what you want to do.
Final Plea: When all hope seems lost, a Paladin’s faith turns his god’s favor into the greatest gift. At 20th level, by expending the remainder of his Divine Inspiration points for the day as an immediate action, a Paladin can become immune to hit point damage for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma modifier. He can still die from effects that do not rely on hit point damage, but if this happens, a True Resurrection spell targets him when the Final Plea would normally expire. This ability cannot be used more than once per week.
Seems appropriately thematic as a capstone, and especially given the “you-can’t-kill-me-ness” Paladins often show.
Change Log
08/06/2014: First posted.
09/06/2014: Moved Divine Grace from level 10 to level 2, but capped it at Paladin level.
10/06/2014: Added (improved) commune at 10th level. Improved smite damage.
10/06/2014: Added Climb, Jump, Survival and Swim to class skills.
10/06/2014: Changed cleansing uses per day and made it more clear that it "acts like" traditional turn undead. Still uses inspiration points.
14/0602014: Clarified how spell selection/spellcasting works.
Divine Companion: While a Paladin’s god always walks with him in spirit, he also grants a more tangible presence. For many Paladins this is a trustworthy mount, but for others it is some other companion that travels with them. At 6th level, a Paladin gains a companion similar to the Druid’s Animal Companion ability, but with the following differences. The Paladin is treated as his level -2 for determining the companions progression (and which companions are available to him), but his companion has the Celestial template.
Not a crazy departure from the base Paladin, but honestly I just don’t think they all have to be mounted, so they have a “companion” instead.