Temple-taught Classes

[Cogidubnus]

With these:
Core + Psionics
PHB 2
ECS
Sharn: City of Towers
Magic of Eberron
Player's Guide to Eberron
And anything else on request (ToB appears to be approved)

I want to create a character who was brought up in a temple before becoming a paladin. Any suggestions on classes that would be worth taking 1 level in to represent that time in the temple before he became a paladin?

[Edwin]

With these:
Core + Psionics
PHB 2
ECS
Sharn: City of Towers
Magic of Eberron
Player's Guide to Eberron
And anything else on request (ToB appears to be approved)

I want to create a character who was brought up in a temple before becoming a paladin. Any suggestions on classes that would be worth taking 1 level in to represent that time in the temple before he became a paladin?

Cleric would be a very obvious choice?

Otherwise, depending on what your character is inclined to, Archivist if he likes to study.

Favored soul, perhaps, if he has some sort of special connection to his/her god.

Edit: Actually, maybe cloistered cleric is better than cleric. And any of the other, really.

[Cogidubnus]

Cleric did occur to me, just wondered if it was worth taking if I'm then going to move into Paladin.

[Emmerask]

Well it depends a bit on the world you are playing in, but in general there are not only clerics brought up in a temple. For example a temple of mask might well have a few rogues or a temple of Azuth wizards and monks (says so in the fluff text, duno why monks ^^).
So the temple brought up/ taught thing does not really limit your options what class you want to be before you become a paladin

[Cogidubnus]

Aye. Let me be a little more helpful then. The setting is Ebberon, Sharn to be precise. Rather than having my character be brought up in a temple to the traditional deities, I wanted him to be an orphan adopted into the Temple of the Unknown God, whose name and most other facts about him are kept secret. However, his followers are charged to help those in need, and so among other things look after orphans. The temple is chiefly funded by anonymous private donations from those who wish to support their work. So he could be anything, but I'm looking for something that would stack well with Paladin and fit reasonably well with that, rather vague, fluff.

Ed: The temple's devotees are also taught how to protect the weak, if they show an inclination for it.

[HunterOfJello]

FYI Cleric is one of the best (if not the very best) class to dip into. You grab the ability to Turn Undead, a tons of low level spells, armor proficiencies and 2 Domains. The 2 domain abilities you get are what makes the dip beyond amazing since they provide benefits equivalent to feats.


Check out the Handbook of Dipping Cleric 1

With a single level in Cleric you could get Improved Initiative and Extra Turning for your Paladin. The bonus to Initiative is always great and you can use the Extra Turning to fuel constant Divine Might attacks if you grab the feat.

[Greenish]

Cleric 4, then Ordained Champion. You'll be more paladin than the paladin.

[HunterOfJello]

Cleric 4, then Ordained Champion. You'll be more paladin than the paladin.

Yeah, that's actually better than the Paladin.

If you're really focused on playing a paladin, you might want to consider the Prestige Paladin from Unearthed Arcana, they're much better than core paladins.

[Cogidubnus]

Related to the same character, is there anyway I can get wings like this (at some point):

Spoiler

Show

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7301/paladinmotivational2.jpg

[Greenish]

Related to the same character, is there anyway I can get wings like this (at some point):

Spoiler

Show

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7301/paladinmotivational2.jpg

Favoured Soul 17.
Winged template for +2 LA.
Wing grafts, slowly turn you Evil.

I'd suggest Animal Devotion.

[HunterOfJello]

You can get draconic wings that you can glide with at lvl 1 if you take the Dragon Wings feat from Races of the Dragon and play a Dragonblooded race like a Silverbrow Human.


To gain angel wings you could take tons of levels as a Favored Soul. There might be a way to gain them as an aasimar, i forget.

[Cogidubnus]

*sigh*
Animal devotion works.
Or a Celestial Griffon...

[BardicDuelist]

Personally, I'd highly recommend the Cleric to PrC option over paladin. However, remember that backstory does not need to be represented mechanically. Game mechanics and character history/personality can overlap, but do not have to. If you want to play a paladin, you can simply do so and have his story be that he was brought up in a temple.

For the wings: I'd say the easiest and most mechanically viable is to get a magic item. For instance, a cloak that turns into wings, or winged armor. Talk to your DM, say that this is something that you'd like to eventually get. Maybe he can make it a gift from your temple that your character can earn after proving himself (and making sizable donations :P ).

[Greenish]

There might be a way to gain them as an aasimar, i forget.

Outsider Wings from Races of Faerûn. Requires Celestial (or Fiendish) Bloodline.

[Cogidubnus]

I know backstory doesn't need to work perfectly, I was just asking if there was an efficient way to do what I wanted. Cloistered Cleric with Travel Devotion's looking like quite a good combo now.

[Optimystik]

On the Psionics front, an Ardent, Psion or Erudite could have spent a great deal of time in a temple.

A Wilder would be an excellent choice to represent the tortured individual trying to "purge themselves" of the horrible abilities welling up within.

A Divine Mind would be there self-flagellating for picking such an awful class

[Cogidubnus]

On the Psionics front, an Ardent, Psion or Erudite could have spent a great deal of time in a temple.

A Wilder would be an excellent choice to represent the tortured individual trying to "purge themselves" of the horrible abilities welling up within.

A Divine Mind would be there self-flagellating for picking such an awful class

Yeah yeah. I just want to try playing one. See if it's possible to not be hated.

[Optimystik]

Yeah yeah. I just want to try playing one. See if it's possible to not be hated.

Just be a Psychic Warrior with a rosary in your pocket.

An Incarnate could be in a temple too, though Incarnum tries to be as generalist as religious classes get.

[sonofzeal]

Any class (well, except for possibly Barbarian and maybe Warlock) can have been temple-taught. A Fighter could be a temple guard, a Bard could be a worship leader, a Beguiler could be a corrupt priest (at least in Eberron where alignment is fuzzy). If you can't figure out a way to get your class in, you're probably not thinking hard enough.

[lsfreak]

Honestly, why not just straight paladin? I don't see how being raised in a temple means you have to start out as something else. Where do you think paladins get their start? They're raised in the temple as devout worshipers. Perhaps the church themselves trains certain individuals that show promise. Perhaps being indoctrinated simply occurred at the same time you were under the tutelage of an expert fencer, thus the divine and partial prowess of your character developed at the same time.

[Cogidubnus]

It's not necessary, I just wondered if there was anything useful that combined nicely with paladin. Cloistered Cleric and Travel Devotion is a good boost to my paladin's offensive abilities though. Plus, it means I get Turn Undead twice, so can use Travel Devotion more often.

[Machiavellian]

My suggestion:

Race: Lesser Aasimar (+ 2 WIS and CHA!)
Class: Cloistered Cleric 3/Prestige Paladin 2/Ordained Champion 10/Sacred Exorcist 5
Feats other than prerequisite/: The wing feat mentioned earlier, Otherworldly, Dynamic Priest (makes EVERY Casting CHA-based), and Force of Personality (since you are using CHA for everything, WIS is no longer needed)

[Optimystik]

Which Dragonlance book is Dynamic Priest in again?

[Coidzor]

Aye. Let me be a little more helpful then. The setting is Ebberon, Sharn to be precise. Rather than having my character be brought up in a temple to the traditional deities, I wanted him to be an orphan adopted into the Temple of the Unknown God, whose name and most other facts about him are kept secret.

Whoa. I didn't know Vecna had made it to Eberron too! Seems to be trying a different tack with this cult too...

[Machiavellian]

Which Dragonlance book is Dynamic Priest in again?

I cannot remember. I just memorized that feat for any cleric build I ever do (makes cleric less MAD [as if cleric wasn't SAD enough], meaning that a Cloistered Cleric really only needs CON and CHA)

and yes, I play paladins (Usually Sword of the Arcane Order MFK palys), and I use either Dynamic Priest or Serenity, depending on backstory

[Cogidubnus]

Whoa. I didn't know Vecna had made it to Eberron too! Seems to be trying a different tack with this cult too...

Haha. A very different tack, if he's going about doing good.

[Greenish]

It's not necessary, I just wondered if there was anything useful that combined nicely with paladin. Cloistered Cleric and Travel Devotion is a good boost to my paladin's offensive abilities though. Plus, it means I get Turn Undead twice, so can use Travel Devotion more often.

You don't get extra uses from having Turn Undead twice.

[Cogidubnus]

You don't get extra uses from having Turn Undead twice.

Don't you? Not even from different sources?

[taltamir]

With these:
Core + Psionics
PHB 2
ECS
Sharn: City of Towers
Magic of Eberron
Player's Guide to Eberron
And anything else on request (ToB appears to be approved)

I want to create a character who was brought up in a temple before becoming a paladin. Any suggestions on classes that would be worth taking 1 level in to represent that time in the temple before he became a paladin?

why does the character has to have a prior class? paladin is a perfect class for him. First, as a young child he probably didn't learn much...
then he might have started down the path of clerichood, only to divert into paladinhood later. He doesn't need to have finished an entire 1st level worth of training though. I mean, even if he went on to be a wizard or something he doesn't need an entire first level, but for a "Raised in temple" the perfect classes are monk, paladin, and cleric. And he is a paladin.

[Greenish]

Don't you? Not even from different sources?

Turn Undead (Su)
For the purpose of determining his ability to turn undead, a prestige paladin's class levels stack with his levels from all his other classes from which he has gained the ability to turn undead. For instance, a 4th-level fighter/1st-level cleric/2nd-level prestige paladin would turn undead as a 3rd-level cleric.

It stacks your levels for turning undead, not your uses.