Infamous 1e Class Guide: Paladins

 Introduction

Paladins are regarded highly by many players, often filling the role of the leader of a player team. A Paladin is capable of a minor supportive roll, being capable of providing limited healing to his party when the Cleric is otherwise disposed, or dead! The main feature of any good Paladin is his or her use of charisma, a highly useful tool that should be used to the fullest. In combination with a Paladin's other abilities, this becomes an incredible support for the rest of the party. They are also well known for their very high stat requirements, rivalled only by Monks and Bards. To play a Paladin, one must first be lawful good, as well as have no less than 12 strength, 9 intelligence, 13 wisdom, 9 constitution, and of course, a minimum of 17 charisma. If a Paladin somehow manages 15 strength and wisdom, 10% additional experience is awarded to the character. These requirements are why several people don't opt to play Paladins, even if these stats are rolled. The reason for this being that there are other classes that can sometimes make better use of these stats. Note that if a character wishes to play a Paladin of evil, an Anti-Paladin must be created instead.

The Strictures of the Paladin

Before any of the advantages of the Paladin are mentioned, it would first be wise to go over the restrictions and downsides of playing the class. First of all, as stated above, the Paladin's stat requirements are undeniably harsh, making a Paladin character a true challenge to roll. In addition to this, all advantages one worked hard to acquire as a Paladin are permanently revoked if the character ever knowingly and willingly performs an act of evil. In this event, the Paladin becomes a normal Fighter of the same level. If a chaotic act is ever intentionally performed by the Paladin, these advantages are temporarily revoked, and may only be regained by seeking penance by a Lama (7th level Cleric) who is also lawful good in alignment. Paladins also are always and exclusively Humans, as no other race is capable of meeting the divine requirement to play a true Paladin, although some races may play Cleric/Fighters, which are similar in their function. In addition, Paladins may never retain any more than a particular limit of magic items at any given time. These limits are as follows.

1 Suit of armor.
1 Shield.
4 Weapons, including daggers, and a magical arrow may be counted as a part of a magic bow if such an item is acquired.
4 Other miscellaneous magical items.

Paladins will never attempt to hoard an excessive amount of wealth, and may only retain enough wealth to manage his own possessions and needs in a modest manner, as well as maintain a body of men-at-arms, and a small castle or likewise fortress. In addition to this, a factor of 10% of all wealth acquired by the Paladin must be donated to a local church which worships the same God* as the Paladin. This may not be done by simply giving 10% of his personal earnings to a player Cleric in the party. This act must be done in a purely unselfish manner. Paladins will only recruit henchmen of lawfully good alignment, and may only associate him/herself with characters of some form of good, or good tendencies. The Paladin may adventure with neutral, non-evil characters on a single adventure basis, and will often not establish further contact with neutrals afterward. This is unless the Paladin may convince these neutral characters to opt into a more specialized, good alignment. Any adventure involving neutral allies must be for the sake of furthering the greater good.

* - All Clerics and Paladins of good alignment in Farvion worship the God of creation and the heavens.

This last note may not be so much a restriction or downside, as it has its own advantage. A Paladin will always seek alliance with other lawful good entities, regardless of whether or not these entities are player characters. This is especially so for lawfully good Clerics and Fighters. Other lawful good characters, though not necessarily monsters, also generally regard Paladins highly, and are also likely to want to form an alliance with Paladins.

Holy Avenger

As soon as 1st level, a Paladin is capable of detecting evil, similarly to the Cleric spell, Detect Evil. This is accomplished by the Paladin scanning an area with his palm outstretched, and is often an obvious sign of detection. This can be accomplished at up to a 60' range, and may be repeated as many times as the Paladin wishes. Evil will be detected as long as the Paladin focuses in the general direction of it's location. Paladins also make all saving throws at +2, which is very helpful. Paladins also have a limited pool of healing they may bestow upon anyone, albeit all at once. A Paladin may "Lay on Hands," healing 2 hit points of damage for every level of the Paladin, once daily. Paladins are also immune to all forms of disease, and are capable of curing a disease of another once each week for every 5 levels of experience the Paladin possesses. At 6th level, the Paladin would be capable of curing 2 diseases, and at 11th, 3 diseases may be cured each week.

Furthermore, beginning at 3rd level a Paladin may Turn Undead as a Cleric would, though at 2 levels lower than where the Paladin is. As such, at 3rd level a Paladin may turn the undead as though he or she were a 1st level Cleric, as a 2nd level Cleric at 4th level, etc. Beginning at 4th level, a Paladin gains access to a very special warhorse. This warhorse will appear wherever the Paladin desires, but may only be summoned in this way once every 10 years. If a warhorse dies, the Paladin must wait the duration before summoning a new one. This warhorse classifies as an intelligent heavy warhorse, with 5 + 5 hit dice (5d8+5 hit points), AC 5, and the speed of a medium warhorse, being at 18" each round. When a Paladin reaches 9th level, he or she will gain the spellcasting ability of a 1st level Cleric, and will progress as seen on the table in the Player's Handbook. This spellcasting capability ends at 20th level, by which point the Paladin will be capable of casting 3 of each spell level, up to 4th. These spells are subject to the spell bonuses gained by having a high wisdom, so if a Paladin reaches this high level, it is recommended that a Paladin have enough wisdom to gain several additional spells.

On top of all this, should a Paladin acquire a "Holy Sword," a circle of power is emitted wherever the sword is drawn, and only by the Paladin character. This circle of power is 1" in diameter, centered on the sword, dispelling magic within that circle. This is treated as a Dispel Magic spell, cast at the level of the Paladin.

Holy Swords

Across the isle of Farvion, many legendary swords are said to exist in different parts of the isle. Some of these swords are very rare, often having only one of their kind, and some of these swords have several duplicates throughout the land. The following are representations of such swords, with some details on the weapon locations.

Anduril

Anduril is a magical Broadsword(+1) of protection, one that gives great defensive power to those who wield it. When held by a Paladin, or Cleric/Fighter multiclass, this sword shares the user's Armor Class with any of the user's allies within a 1" diameter circle. In addition to this, the user gains a +1 Armor Class bonus, and also will get a +2 to all Saving Throws. According to Merrick Minerva, the sword is located somewhere deep within the northmost mountain of the Camber Mountains.

Type: Broadsword +1
Classification: Holy Sword
Restrictions: Clerics, Paladins only

Excalibur

Known in myth and legend as a Longsword(+1) used by the mighty king Arthur Pendragon of Camelot, Excalibur is a sword of immense power that strikes down that which cannot be killed. It was forged in a great dragon's breath many years ago, giving the weapon magical properties. Excalibur deals double its damage against all undead, as well as creatures without a defined lifespan. It also will deal double damage against vampires, lycanthropes, liches, Necromancers, and other creatures that may be classified as undead. It is rumored to be under Paradise Lake, however this is unconfirmed.

Type: Longsword +1
Classification: Holy Sword
Restrictions: Good alignment

Eyelander

The Eyelander is a mighty Two-Handed Sword that would supposedly grant it's user great power with every monster it kills. When dealing the killing blow to a monster with 5 or more Hit Dice, the strength, dexterity, or constitution of the user would randomly increase by 1. These bonus lasts until the Eyelander leaves it's wielder's possession, and would reset once this happened. There is no way to predetermine which stat will be increased, and should one attempt to be increased above 25, no bonus will be gained. It was said to have belonged to Travis DeGroot, a Human Fighter, however his body was found in the mines beneath Dodok, a Dwarven city. The sword was never found.

Type: Two-Handed Sword
Classification: Holy Sword
Restrictions: None?

Claymore of Oath

The Claymore of Oath is a powerful Two-Handed Sword that allows it's user to swear a "blood oath" to the weapon on the battlefield. The user may sacrifice any number of Hit Points to the weapon, splitting those points evenly between the "to hit" bonus of it's next attack, as well as the damage dealt. The Hit Points sacrificed in this manner may not be gained through healing magic, and will always be recovered slowly, at a rate of 1 point each day, regardless of constitution bonus. When Hit Points are used in this way, the user must make a System Shock roll, or faint instantly from shock. This weapon may only be used by Paladins. It is said to be found in the same place as the mythical fountain of youth.

Type: Two-Handed Sword
Classification: Holy Sword
Restrictions: Paladin

Paladins: Leaders and Preachers

When building a Paladin character, it is strongly advised that you do not often stack your weapon proficiencies together, for although this is possible due to Paladins being considered a Fighter subclass, it is much more useful to take only one weapon, and spend the rest of your proficiencies on charisma skills. All proficiencies which would normally be used by a charisma Fighter are still highly useful to a Paladin, though ones that would especially be useful are Intimidation and Recruiting. A Paladin may opt to use his or her warhorse as a vessel for this Intimidation proficiency, which when successfully used, may pair well with using an influenced target in Recruiting. Taking the +Influencing proficiency is also strongly advised. In general, most charisma proficiencies are highly useful to the Paladin regardless, and most times ought to be taken. The more useful ones are Bribery, Carousing, +Deception, and Interrogation. 

Higher Levels: Godly Disciplines

When a Paladin reaches 9th level, he becomes able to research new classes, fighting styles, and in some cases, Paladin exclusive spells, similar to how a Fighter would research such things.* A Paladin may also adopt any fighting style already researched by another Fighter, if all of it's prerequisites are met. Of course, the monetary and temporal costs are the same as always, and for the creation of a spellcasting class, a special magic item must first be acquired. The Holy Sword used by the Paladin may qualify as the magic item required, if the DM allows it.

* - Normal Fighters cannot research spells, obviously.

Conclusion

A Paladin is a natural leader, and in order to rightfully play this Fighter subclass, you must know how to assume that role. A Paladin is the major support for his or her team, whether this support is with defensive tactics and magic in combat, or gathering information outside of combat. In any case, the Paladin is a highly valuable class for any party, and is one of the few reasons good aligned characters may still exist in this world. To be capable of handling such a mantle as this, you must work hard at your character. Just because you are a Paladin, doesn't mean you are entitled to respect. You must earn it. Earn your place as a leader, and become the Paladin the party needs!