Paladin CHARACTER CONCEPTS

Emperor Justinian I and his court, from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.
The soldiers left, with the golden neck-torques typical of Byzantine guardsmen,
are scholares.

The Quintessential Paladin
Author Alejandro Melchor
Series Quintessential Series
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2002

The material below is designated as Open Game Content

At first sight, the paladin is a narrow class to follow, as his duties, his role and even his alignment are all clearly defined. Such devotion and dedication requires a unique personality and discovering just why the character took up arms to defend an ideal with such devotion is as interesting as playing that reason out. Paladins are completely committed to their cause and do not waver or deviate from it, always defending the cause of good. The character could be an idealist who seeks to make the world a better place, an embittered avenger who wishes to make the forces of evil pay for their crimes, the reincarnation of a once and future king sent to deliver his people from hardship or even the physical embodiment of an ideal, born from the collective hope of the people. A paladin is nothing if not a symbol of determination, courage and dedication.

Any one character concept may be applied to a character as it is being created. The listed bonuses and penalties are applied, any roleplaying description modified and adjusted to take into account the template and then the character is ready to play! From this point forth, both the player and the Games Master should be aware of the character concept chosen and take steps to ensure the character is played accordingly.
It must be stressed; character concepts are a roleplaying tool, not simply a method to gain lots of new abilities!

Appointed

Baldwin_of_Boulogne_entering_Edessa_in_Feb_1098 Painting by J.Robert-Fleury,
1840, “Les Croisades, origines et consequences”

Among the ranks of a faith’s protectors, there are those who had no choice in the matter of taking up arms, for it is hard to ignore one’s destiny when the vision of a god points out a path so clearly. The appointed are paladins who received their mission from a holy vision. Some receive vivid dreams about the pain of the world and how they could alleviate it, others meet a stranger on a road who gifts them
with a mysterious sword and the ‘fortunate’ simply see an avatar of a deity pointing at the nearest chapterhouse telling them to become a paladin or else. Whatever the case may be, appointed paladins did not choose their life even if they find it to their liking later on, each day is a test of their sense of duty and their ideals.

Adventuring: Appointed paladins go out on adventures because they have little choice in the matter. They go from quest to quest, looking for the next sign that will point the way once an adventure is over. The appointed are well-used to having little rest from their quests and, once they are free of other duties, they will often go to the nearest temple of their deity to seek out other opportunities to right wrongs or uphold the tenets of their faith. Some of the appointed offer a token resistance to their mission but deep inside they know that what they are doing is right; they just wish they had the idea in the first place instead of it being pointed out to them.

Roleplaying: As their future was laid down by external sources, an appointed paladin does not seem so concerned about planning ahead. Any of his earthly plans may come to naught when the heavens issue a call for duty, forcing him to change gears. He tends to drift through life with the quiet confidence that, whenever he finds himself with no direction, one will present itself. This certainty of purpose frees his mind from such matters, giving him more time to focus on more immediate concerns, and often makes for a rather jovial warrior who trusts that the future
has something in store for him already so, why worry? The ones who try to resist complain a lot about their destiny, but it is obvious that it is only to be argumentative, as they will follow the path anyway.

Bonuses: Whenever the appointed finds himself in a quandary – from a choice between two roads when choosing the right one is of vital importance, to not knowing what to do after returning from an adventure and healing his wounds – he can expect to see a sign pointing him in the right direction. Once per game session, the player may roll 1d20 and, if the result is less than the character’s level plus his Charisma modifier, the Games Master can give him a hint about the current problem.

Penalties: Appointed paladins unwittingly give up a part of their free will in their devotion to a higher power. They suffer a -2 to all Will saves for one day (24 hours) after seeking a sign, this reflects his opening himself up to influence from outside forces which, unfortunately, also leaves him vulnerable to malign forces as well.

Avenger

Richard I in Palestine before 1812 Philip James Loutherbourg

If a land needs paladins it is because the innocent suffer, and such heroes rise from the ashes of destruction and abuse. The avenger is a paladin who was forced to fight evil because he suffered greatly at its hands. He has suffered a loss so terrible that he takes his desire for revenge to a sublime level, realising that by acting against such evil, he is not only avenging himself, but all of his fellows. His pain goes beyond hate, his mission to vanquish evil becomes a driving force for his entire life, and he is convinced that his role in life is to prevent others from suffering as he has. Avengers fight back in the name of those who cannot or will not, with two words eternally burned into their hearts, giving them purpose: ‘Never again’.

Adventuring: The avengers never lose an opportunity to strike at the heart of evil, and look for adventures that will save the livelihoods of many once completed. They are in constant search of those responsible for their loss, but are more than able to put their personal quest for vengeance in the back seat if they are needed for another purpose. The avenger can ask for help or join an adventuring party if their goals are similar to his own, but he has a penchant for going solo if his companions have reservations about fighting injustice wherever it is present. Driven by his desire to protect others, he never ignores people in need, and often delays an ongoing adventure in order to bring whatever hope he can by lending a hand in matters others may think trivial.

Roleplaying: An avenger can carry himself in almost any manner, but behind his eyes there is always a grim bitterness about his inability to protect those he loved back when he first heard the call of paladinhood. He empathises quickly with the suffering of others and lends his shoulder for them to cry on, but will refuse to accept such support as it is his pain that forms the core of his cause. He may speak about his loss and his voice will grow uncharacteristically harsh, but he will wave the matter away and go on as if nothing had happened. When confronted with circumstances similar to the ones that caused him to take the sword for the sake of the innocent, or when he comes face to face with those directly responsible for his own suffering, he will be filled with a righteous fury that will be terrible to behold.

Bonuses: The player must define the painful event that caused his character to become a paladin and choose a creature type or group in the campaign as those responsible. This group can be bandits, the king’s guard, a cabal of wizards or anything the Games Master finds appropriate. The avenger gains a bonus smite once per day solely usable against the creature type or group that caused the painful
event in his past.

Penalties: The avenger’s refusal to let go of his pain helps him remain true to his purpose, but also haunts his nights. Every time he goes to rest, there is a 35% chance that he will relive the painful event in nightmares. He only recovers half the normal amount of hit points he would have healed by resting and cannot prepare spells. He also does not replenish his reserve of positive energy, which affects his turn undead and lay on hands abilities by not resetting the number of turning attempts per day remaining and the number of hit points he can heal. A sleep spell prevents this for a night, but he will automatically have them the next time he goes to rest, even if under the effect of a second sleep spell. If he undergoes a quest to finally defeat the ones responsible for his loss, or finds a way to accept what happened, he is no longer haunted by nightmares, but he also loses the bonus and extra use of his smite evil ability. Such is the price of finding inner peace.

Child
of Legend

Ptolemais (Acre) given to Philip Augustus 1191 Date before 1853 Merry-Joseph
Blondel

Old legends and folk tales affirm that the hands of a true king are the hands of a healer, that he only needs to lay hands on the sick and the wounded, and they will recover. The child of legend found himself with the gift since early in his life and, whether this holy talent was ignored or exploited, he always knew that there was something else in store for him, because he dreams of a great destiny. Becoming a paladin was a natural step for this child who, regardless of his station, is the reborn soul of a great king of an ancient past. Destined to greatness, the child of legend returns in a time where heroes are needed, taking sword and faith to deliver his people, who have been hoping and praying for his return. Mostly ignorant of his true identity, the paladin can do nothing but act upon his instincts to serve his people.

Adventuring: Like many other paladins, the child of legend sees adventures as quests to test and prove himself. He is attracted from early on to the adventuring life, as he feels the pull of destiny that calls him to become more than he is in order to serve his people. He prefers adventures in which some good will come for the common populace, and most of the loot he earns will be spent on charities and overly-large tips. He is drawn to the danger of an adventurer’s life as it is a chance to accumulate Wisdom, and will naturally gravitate towards the position of leader of his companions, a small taste of the responsibilities he will some day have as a leader of men.

Roleplaying: The child of legend is baffled by his dreams and generally dismisses them, but he cannot avoid taking the lead in everything in his life. He respects the opinions of his companions and is never afraid to voice his own, speaking with a clear and confident voice. Leadership comes naturally to him, even if he does not actively seek it. Never hesitant in his actions but always open to learn from mistakes, the child of legend has the bearing of a true king and handles himself with courtesy and natural elegance. He is polite, but not obsequious, and if there is something he does not agree with, he will say it to the other person’s face, be he a peasant or an emperor.

Bonuses: There is a great destiny in store for the child of legend. He has the Leadership feat for free starting at 1st level. In addition, after he reaches 9th level, bards may make a bardic knowledge check (DC 20) to identify the signs of kingship that adorn him. When the paladin receives his special mount, the mount recognises him and gains all the memories of the ancient king’s own mount, which it may or may not share, with its Intelligence score being +1 higher than listed for the paladin’s special mount. At a convenient moment for the campaign, the child of legend finds the sign that marks him as the realm’s true king, be it a holy weapon, a piece of jewellery or a new-found birthmark as determined by the Games Master.

Penalties: The weight of a crown is great, even if not yet worn. The child of legend is totally devoted to the welfare of others and cannot use his lay on hands ability to heal himself. Additionally, he suffers a -1 morale penalty to all attack and damage rolls until he uses a weapon that befits his stature; this weapon can be any magical weapon with a +2 or greater enhancement, any weapon that deals holy damage or
is enchanted with divine magic, or a bonded weapon (as described in the Holy
Weapons chapter). When acquiring such a weapon, the penalty is gone forever,
even if he later loses that weapon.

Crusader

scannée depuis le Larousse 1922 par Nataraja-Shiva

A paladin’s life is devoted to the cause of order and the good of all, for this he rises whenever the forces of evil threaten that peace, be they of mortal or outsider origin. For the crusader, life is a continuous battle against darkness and, as long as it threatens the innocent, he will never stand still. A crusader takes on the mantle of paladinhood because he believes strongly in his cause. He believes that someone must stand against darkness, and that said someone is him. He does not believe himself superior to the rest of his fellows, quite the reverse, sacrificing his life and peace of mind so he can stand forever vigilant to evil’s incursions.

Adventuring: Taking on adventures is the only way of life for the crusader. He may have a home he returns to from time to time, but he is never truer to himself than when he is on the road, rooting out the threats to the people of the land and destroying them before they have a chance to cause any harm. If he has companions on his crusade, the paladin is grateful to the deity or cause that he serves, but he is willing to strike out on his own if that is the only way. He judges every adventure he embarks on with care and, even if he can postpone major undertakings for the sake of his companions, his degree of support for their plans will be directly proportionate to the worthiness of their cause.

Roleplaying: The crusader is a paladin who eschews everything else for the sake of his cause. He may become taciturn when he ponders the sacrifices he has made, but those brief periods of introspection only serve to strengthen his purpose. He is completely devoted to the fight against darkness, and he may become irritable if he is distracted from his longstanding crusade for prolonged periods. He is always watchful of everything that surrounds him, looking for the signs of encroaching evil, and that is often a point of contention with more carefree companions. He has a duty to fulfil, and he has little time for distractions.

Bonuses: Crusaders are always on the watch for evil and its minions, their detect evil ability is always active within a 30 feet radius. They do not need to specify the ability’s activation in order to sense the presence evil when it passes close to them, but they must use the ability normally in order to gain more information. In addition, they can sense the general direction when an overwhelming evil aura enters an area within 100 feet per paladin level.

Penalties: Among the sacrifices that the crusader makes is his trust in others. As he is ever-watchful of evil, he may sometimes make mistakes. The Games Master can inform of the presence of evil where there is none, and the crusader must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + his own caster level) in order to clear his senses. If he fails, he will waste all his energy as he usually does to bring down this imaginary evil until he is shown definite proof that he was wrong.

Emissary

This 1895 painting by Edwin Austin Abbey shows the Arthurian knight Sir
Galahad discovering the fabled Holy Grail. The famous chalice earned its spiritual
power as the cup used by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper.

The role of defenders of the faith usually falls on mortals, but sometimes a deity judges that no mortal can answer the call and sends one of his own celestial servants to fill the void. Emissaries are celestials who are born in mortal flesh, predestined to become paladins from the moment of their conception. The child behaves oddly and there is always a strange aura around him, and finally comes into his true nature on puberty, when he leaves his parents’ home to become the deity’s agent in the mortal world. The emissary understands his role and embraces it without hesitation, his divine power expressed in the paladin’s abilities. He knows that he is a mortal for the time being and makes the most of it.

Adventuring: The emissary joins adventures for his own reasons, which are mostly ineffable and probably incomprehensible to mortals. He acts upon his master’s wishes offering no explanation or excuse. He just smiles enigmatically. He is constrained by mortal limitations and he knows he can die, but he is not afraid as it only means his return to his master’s side and is a valuable addition to any adventuring party for his selfless courage. He may never reveal what he truly is to his companions, but he will drop his divinely inspired advice more often than not to manoeuvre the party to the right place at the right time.

Roleplaying: Despite his celestial origin, the emissary is a mortal, a normal member of the race from which he was born. He is aware of his dual nature and this may cause occasional conflict, especially if he was sent as punishment rather than as a trusted agent. He acts haughtily without meaning to, and some of his comments may come across as really condescending. Sometimes he is at a loss about some of the mortals’ attitudes, even if he has been one for years and can make gross errors of judgement by measuring others with the same scale that he measures himself and his former peers among the celestial hosts, and more often than not sees the world in plain black and white.

Bonuses: The emissary is never too far from his master. Once per week, he may use commune as a spell-like ability, but he may ask only one question. In addition, instead of using the paladin’s normal smite evil ability, he can spend its once-per-day use to cast banishment when
striking an evil outsider, using the paladin’s full level instead of his caster level.

Penalties: The character is considered both a humanoid and an outsider when determining the spells and effects that can target him. He is prevented from approaching a creature surrounded by a protection from good or can be imprisoned inside a magic circle against law, while still being a valid target for charm person. He cannot be banished, however, as the Material Plane is his home plane for the time being. Such effects
simply stun him if he fails the saving throw.

Idealist

Illustration from page 130 of The Boy’s King Arthur: Tristram and Isolde
– “‘Oh, gentle knight,’ said la Belle Isolde, ‘full woe am I of thy departing'”
The Boy’s King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory’s History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Edited for Boys by Sidney Lanier (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922).

Choosing the life of a paladin is relatively easy; the hard part comes in living up to its tenets. An idealist donned his armour with the firm belief that his efforts will make a difference and that he can help in the building of a better world. Idealist paladins may disagree on the details of their vision of the future, but they are the same when it comes to pursuing them. They are often accused of being impractical dreamers, but it is undeniable that their enthusiasm is contagious, or at least baffling, as they emerge from the worst of a combat, their armour battered and weapons bloodied, sporting a smile and telling all he meets that everything will be alright. Idealists are often the leaders of revolts against tyrants and the spear-points of a band facing an enemy that threatens the peace and prosperity of the land.

Adventuring: Idealist paladins tend to wander aimlessly, looking for ways in which they can lend a hand. A prospecting band of adventurers is as likely to meet this paladin helping a villager patch his roof as fighting off a group of bandits, and he will seldom refuse any invitation to join a party. He sees the adventurer lifestyle as something natural and expected of him. His cheer and optimism, coupled with a paladin’s natural strength of personality, quickly becomes a party’s moral backbone and, even if they do not seek it, wins them the group’s leadership. The idealist will gladly assist in any adventure his party embarks on, provided it is not pursuing an ignoble goal. In this paladin’s eyes, every little action counts towards a greater good.

Roleplaying: Idealist paladins do believe strongly that everything that happens is for the better. They find the silver lining in every cloud but this is not blind optimism, as they think that good things happen because people make them happen. They are among those people. They believe that a better world is just around the corner, and that as long as there is life there is hope. The idealist is not stupid and knows that he does not live in an ideal world, which is why he is a warrior trying to bring such a world into being. He is generous with his friends and merciful towards
his enemies, which does not mean that he shirks from his duty of fighting the evil that is keeping his ideal world from coming.

Bonuses: The idealist holds to his beliefs so strongly that he can derive additional strength from them. Instead of using his smite evil ability to damage an opponent, he can draw from his adherence to good to give a morale bonus equal to his level to any ability and skill check or saving throw. As his use for the day is spent in this way, the paladin cannot smite evil until after he rests.

Penalties: Even if not soft-hearted, the paladin likes to believe that there is some good in every person’s heart and that people can be redeemed. When he uses his smite evil ability, he only deals extra damage equal to half his level, because he does not really want to hurt someone he can bring back onto the right path. Evil outsiders and truly malefic and malign creatures receive the smite’s full damage. Even for the idealist, some creatures simply cannot be forgiven.

Innocent

Edward Burne-Jones’s art Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898)

A pure and noble heart beats beneath the armour of a paladin, but true purity and nobility are extremely hard to find, and the advent of a true innocent is often foretold in legends and watched closely by the forces of good. An innocent has no room for evil in his soul, walking through swamps unsoiled and untouched by evil’s manifold temptations. An innocent does not stray from the path of righteousness because it never occurs to him that he can. He approaches every problem from the fresh perspective of one who is considering it for the first time ever, yet never failing to learn from the experience and applying that knowledge in the future. Innocents are in the vanguard of the forces of good, even if they do not understand how they got there.

Adventuring: Innocents strike out driven by curiosity and a desire to learn everything. They feel a need to help others and always answer a call for help. Their intentions are always good and there is no duplicity in their motives, and they have trouble thinking that the same goes for the rest of the people they meet. The risk and apparent foolhardiness of any given task is unimportant for the innocent; if there are people in trouble, he is going to help. This attitude makes him a very valuable member of any group, for they can count on him for aid and to ‘volunteer’ for the most dangerous or tedious tasks. The innocent might feel a bit hurt if he finds out he is being used, but after an honest talk he will consider the matter settled.

Roleplaying: The character is a mixture of child-like naiveté and iron-hard conviction. For the innocent, the world is a place filled with good people, with evil reserved for demons, undead and other nasties. However, the innocent is not a fool, even if he makes a very good job at looking like one. He knows that there is such a thing as deceit and evil intent, but they are so outside his experience that they are always the last on his list of possibilities when looking for the source of a problem. His detect evil ability helps him to avoid his purity being used by evil manipulations, but he sometimes forgets to activate it because he has an inherent trust in everybody.

Bonuses: The pure heart of an innocent bolsters his magic. His caster level is the same as his class level for the purpose of determining spell effects and caster checks, instead of being half as for other paladins. He does not gain new spells nor can he cast more spells per day. In addition, he receives a +2 morale bonus on all his turn undead checks.

Penalties: Innocents take everything at face value, believing that their own openness and honesty are echoed in everyone he meets. He suffers a -2 morale penalty on all resisted Sense Motive, Innuendo and Diplomacy checks when being lied to or when the truth is hidden from him. He also suffers a -2 on all saves against mind-affecting magic and effects, and a -4 to see through illusions. If something happens during his life that shatters his innocence, the character does not suffer from the penalties anymore, but also loses the caster level and turn undead benefits from being an innocent.

Knight-Errant

Sir Galahad.George Frederic Watts

Righting wrongs and rescuing damsels in distress is common fare for the knight-errant, a warrior who chooses life on the road instead a stable life. Even having a base of operations is a strange concept for this paladin, for it limits him to an area, where he could be out there saving the world. He holds great enthusiasm for his role as knight protector, and does not mind lacking simple luxuries. For him, there is always the next mission, the next town to save from marauding monsters, the next relic to unearth from a cursed tomb and the next evil cult to vanquish. His eyes are always on the future, travelling from quest to quest in his weather-beaten armour, often talking openly with his mount as he has little to no other constant company. Luckily for them, their constant travelling exposes them to greater opportunities to find and solve trouble.

Adventuring: Knights-errant go on adventures because that is what they do. They live for adventure as long as they are out there doing some good in the world. Like an idealist paladin, a knight-errant believes firmly in the worthiness of his purpose, although he has no definite goals in the end. He has nothing to prove and nothing to achieve except for the mere satisfaction of a job well done, and the recompense of a smile of relief in the people he helps. Any loot he finds is saved to repair and upgrade weapons and armour, and to feed himself. He is not as detached from material wealth as other paladins, because he needs it to buy better tools with which to fight evil. Knights-errant rarely belong to a religion, instead fighting evil out of their own convictions and beliefs, without the leash of a church hierarchy.

Roleplaying: Knights-errant are a romantic lot. Even if their desire to help others in their endless adventuring is genuine, it does not keep them from getting a kick out of it. Of course, each paladin enjoys the life on the road in different ways. From the boisterous and borderline-swashbuckling to the grim and determinate, knights-errant are not only content with their choice, but they embrace it so fully that they enjoy it. Life itself is an adventure, and they spend their life living it to its fullest, not losing valour for the slightest setback and always pushing forward.

Bonuses: The knight’s constant travel has earned him a reputation in the land, as well as exposure to all the tales and gossip exchanged by the common folk or even the nobility. They can find out rumor’s and stories in order to ferret out the next adventure. They can add a bonus to any Gather Information check equal to half their class level. Additionally once per day they can ask for hospitality from any household they find; the household’s owner must make a Will save (DC 10 + paladin’s level + paladin’s Charisma modifier) and if he fails must provide a sleeping place and food for the paladin, and cannot harm him for as long as he remains his guest. The household must belong to a member of the same race as the paladin, or at least should not be openly hostile to the paladin’s race. Knights-errant do not abuse this ability and never ask for anything more
than their host can offer without great sacrifice.

Penalties: No ties means a great freedom of action for the knight-errant, but also means that the paladin has no support, and that he must learn his abilities by himself. His life of adventure makes the knight focus on the combat aspects of his Profession, and cannot cast spells of levels of which he can cast 0 spells, not even if he has bonus spells due to a high Wisdom score.

Mystery

Galahad Joseph Noel Paton

There are times when people need a champion so desperately, that they make one without knowing. The mystery paladin is he who arrives from nowhere to defend a cause, and will vanish as easily as he appeared after his work is done. He leaves so many questions in his wake that he forges a legend out of his enigmatic nature. In truth, the mystery did not exist before the people needed their protector; he is the embodiment of the ideal that needs defending, being born as an adult and without real memories of any childhood. Mysteries are the tangible manifestation of an abstract ideal; they are made flesh and steel so that the ideal may have a defender when no mortal rises to the occasion.

Adventuring: Mysteries exist for one purpose only: to represent and defend a single cause. The personality they adopt plays little part in their choice of a career, for they are the direct product of the cause, and exist only for the cause. They take little interest in any quest that does not involve the core concept that defines them and if they are members of a party, may follow others grudgingly, but always upholding their purpose in every one of their actions. They care little for their own existence for they know that if they fall, another will take their place as a servant of the abstract, as the ultimate expression of a cause. They take enough loot to sustain their mortal existence, but have no ambitions beyond fulfilling their duty.

Roleplaying: The mystery paladin is not really a mortal; he is just an idea pretending to be flesh. His outlook is coloured always by the idea that he serves and gave him life and judges everything according to that core. His mortal personality might vary, but will always be concordant with his core concept. Some mystery paladins might have been mortal once, but by fusing with their cause they have ceased to be, and their mindset is one step removed from that of the people whose form they assume. The mystery is immortal in a certain way, for ideas die hard and,
as long as people believe in them, such belief can summon a mystery paladin into being to defend it.

Bonuses: As physical expressions of an idea, mystery paladins draw power from that connection. They have access to a single cleric domain, able to prepare one extra spell as if they were a cleric of their same level. The domain is the idea they represent, or is closely related to the idea. For example, a mystery can be a paladin of Justice and have access to the Protection or Law domains, depending on which aspect of Justice needs defending at the moment. He enjoys the Domain’s granted power and can prepare its first level spell as if he was a cleric, even if he has
no spellcasting ability yet, or cannot cast a spell of that level. This allows the character to cast that single spell for levels beyond 4th, which is the
normal limit for paladins. Thes single domain spell is cast as if the paladin were a cleric of equal class level. The player can choose a Domain from the SRD or from any other compatible product, but the Games Master has the final word on which Domain is adequate for a mystery.

Penalties: As they are not strictly servants of the divine and not truly mortals per se, mystery paladins have a rather alien mindset and their relation with divine energies is not as strong. They do not add their Charisma modifier to their saves as per the divine grace class feature nor to the times per day they can attempt to turn undead. Furthermore, mystery paladins who divert from the ideals of their cause or act in an opposing manner to it are treated as if they had commited an evil act.

Paragon

Charles de Steuben, Bataille de Poitiers, en octobre 732, oil on canvas,
5,42 m x 4,65 m, painted between 1834 and 1837, today Musée du Château
de Versailles, France.

Righteousness is a narrow and exacting path, and not many have the will to see it, let alone the strength to follow it. The paragon is one of those few, striding bravely forward and leading the way by example. He is the ultimate expression of a paladin’s ideals: virtuous and true, courageous and merciful. He strives hard to remain that way, with daily meditation or prayer that reaffirm his conviction or by undergoing quests that will test his mettle and improve his skill and character. He does not preach to others; he knows that not many are fit to follow the way of life he chose and is not judgmental of others’ shortcomings. He trusts that, by living by his ideals, he will set the example that others may follow.

Adventuring: Paragons are always testing their prowess in all aspects of their life, honing their skill in combat as well as the connection with the divine and the virtue of their heart. They take on almost every assignment, looking for a lesson in life in the most insignificant event. Only when the need is dire do they devote themselves to a mission of choice, happy to follow either their companions or simple fate to undertake a task. They have little ambition save for becoming stronger and setting an example for others with their behaviour, starting with their adventuring
companions.

Roleplaying: A paragon is always concerned in bettering himself and often downplays his own ability, living in the belief that he is not good enough. Yet. Selfless and committed, the paragon strives to reach the pinnacles of his own potential, sometimes going to extremes to prove his worth and never afraid to make mistakes or admit to them. Some paragons may become blinded by their search for perfection, believing themselves to be the exemplars of all that is good and noble, but such paladins quickly fall to their pride, failing to become true paragons and too often becoming blackguards, consumed by their own vanity. The paragon knows that his chosen lifestyle is difficult and makes no assumptions about it; he only knows that in order to create a perfect world, he must first perfect himself.

Bonuses: As his power grows and the confidence in himself increases, a paragon’s virtue radiates from him in an intangible aura. At various levels, the paladin’s aura of courage changes and grows to protect him from any kind of magic that would challenge his conviction, and such faith and single-mindedness can extend to protect others around him. The paladin’s aura of courage gains additional abilities according to the following table:

paladin Level	Aura of Courage effect
1-3	As normal
4-6	Extends to 15 feet radius
7-9	paladin gains +2 bonus against mind-affecting effects
10-12	Extends to 20 feet radius
13-15	paladin is immune to mind affecting effects, allies inside aura gain +2
16-18	paladin gains +2 against death effects
19-20	paladin gains +2 against negative energy attacks

Penalties: Their Concentration to perfect themselves leads paragons to sacrifice some of the attention they pay to others. The amount of hit points they can heal with their lay on hands ability is half normal, and they can remove disease one less time per week than normal (minimum of once per week). In addition, if the paragon ever becomes an ex-paladin for any reason, he loses the additional bonuses of his perfected aura of courage forever, even if he later atones and returns to the paladin path. When that happens, he can now heal his full allotment of hit points with
lay on hands and can remove disease like a normal paladin.

Penitent

Percival_with_the_Grail_Cup.jpg” alt=”The Temptation of Sir Percival Arthur Hacker” width=”540″ height=”600″>

The Temptation of Sir Percival Arthur Hacker

The penitent paladin fights evil with a zeal without par, for he knows first-hand the insidious roots that it can plant in a person’s heart. He knows this, because he pursues paladinhood as a way to atone for a dark past when he served the very forces he now fights. The penitent remembers his days as an evil person and is haunted by regrets for the atrocities he perpetrated. With a staunch commitment to make things right, this paladin tries hard to make up with good deeds all the evil of his past, sometimes attacking the forces of darkness with a ferocity that astounds other followers of good. Every morning that he prays to receive the divine gifts he is entitled to, he begs for forgiveness and for the chance to prove his worth and his change of heart.

Adventuring: Penitents are prone to take the lead when battling the forces of evil, whether asked to or not. Some penitents would welcome death in combat as a final proof of their redemption, while others cling to life as they believe they have not done enough. A penitent paladin is
a valuable addition to any party, as he will go out of his way to protect all of his companions, and can offer many insights into the tactics of their enemies, for he used to be one of them. They will be very vocal about supporting adventures that will damage the darkness, but acquiesce if his companions decide to pursue lesser missions, because a life of service is also a path to forgiveness.

Roleplaying: Penitents are tormented by their past misdeeds and never waste a chance to demonstrate that they are good now. They live in constant turmoil, fearing that they have not earned redemption for as long as they feel the dark impulses in their hearts. They cling to their codes of honour with such fervour that they are willing to die by their word if that is what it takes to prove themselves. A penitent paladin acts with grim solemnity, for he feels that his life and service should feel like punishment, and is somewhat pushy when it comes to rallying forth to combat his foes and former allies.

Bonuses: His first-hand knowledge of evil and its ways grants the penitent an extensive lore by which to recognise it. He gains the equivalent of the bardic knowledge ability, where he rolls a d20 plus his level and Intelligence modifier to gain knowledge of a certain topic, but the penitent ability only applies to evil creatures, items or events. The penitent can (and should) reduce this bonus to symbolise his redemption as detailed below.

Penalties: Be it born from self-loathing or actual mistrust by divine forces, the penitent cannot use his paladin sacred abilities as efficiently. He functions as a paladin of inferior levels than he actually has for the following abilities: Lay on hands (level multiplies hit points cured), smite evil (extra damage equals level), remove disease (level determines uses per week) and spell casting (level determines caster level and access to spells). By renouncing his connection to evil, the penitent can earn his powers as follows: for every +1 he permanently loses from the evil lore ability above, the paladin adds one level regarding the mentioned class abilities. For example, a 10th level penitent paladin would have a +10 bonus to evil lore checks, but he would be considered a 1st level paladin when determining how many hit points he cures with lay on hands, deals only +1 extra damage with his smite evil ability, and may not remove disease nor cast spells. If he gives up +5 from the evil lore ability, he is considered a 6th level paladin and can now cure his Charisma times six hit points, deals +6 extra damage with smite evil and can remove disease twice per week and cast one first level spell. He rolls his evil lore checks at +5 plus any Intelligence modifier. The character cannot sacrifice more bonus points so that he functions as a higher level paladin than he actually is; thus, the same 10th level paladin cannot give up +10 points from his evil lore bonus to function as an 11th level paladin, but simply retains a minimum of +1 bonus. When the paladin gains a level, he can choose to apply it to his effective paladin level for the mentioned abilities or to his evil lore check, but he can sacrifice it at any point. Once the sacrifice is made, the points cannot be traded back. The penitent has renounced them forever.

Questor

Last Crusader Carl Friedrich Lessing (1808–1880)

Some paladins live and die for a cause, dedicating their entire lives to following its tenets and fulfilling its goals. Called ‘questors’ for the lifelong quest they undertake, they take an oath upon becoming paladins, swearing to pursue a particular mission for their entire lives. They give up any other pursuit in order to focus their energies on their chosen quest, even to the cost of their personal lives. Such complete devotion marks them forever, often changing fate in such a way that they always end up where they are supposed to be, even if they had no idea how to get there. The look of determination in their eyes mark them apart from other paladins, for they do not wander aimlessly looking for random evils to fight they know what they want, and they know that they will be doing it until they die.

Adventuring: Questors prefer to set out on adventures that have something to do with their chosen quest, although if they are part of a group they can set it aside temporarily in order to help friends. They shine when their current undertaking has something to do with their oaths, and they become invaluable companions on such occasions, for their enthusiasm and drive makes them better at everything they do, and they rarely fail to achieve their goals. They will take the lead when they are fulfilling their quest, and voluntarily step down when the group is focused
in other adventures.

Roleplaying: Questors can be found with any personality range, with only their unflinching motivation distinguishing them from other paladins.
They seem to come alive when the object of their quest comes to the fore, but can be very obstinate when they are being led away from it. It is not that the questing paladin loses heart when not actively pursuing his objectives, it is just that his mind is occupied in planning on resuming them while he helps out with something else.

Bonuses: The character makes an oath that will bind him for life when he becomes a paladin. This oath is a task that the paladin promises to uphold for as long as he draws breath, and so it must be open-ended. An oath cannot be so broad that it applies to everything the character does, like ‘destroy all evil creatures’, but must be more specific, like ‘rid the kingdom of evil humanoid tribes’; an oath that, even if fulfilled,
requires upkeep and constant vigilance. The Games Master has the final say on what kinds of lifelong oaths are adequate. Whenever the character is actively pursuing the spirit of the oath, he gains a +1 sacred bonus to all attack and damage rolls, plus a +1 to saves against mind-affecting magic that would deter him from following his quest. These bonuses stack with those from the aid and bless spells. Once per day, he can gain a morale bonus equal to his Charisma modifier to any skill check as long as he is working towards fulfilling his oath. Again, the Games Master is the final arbiter for whether the bonus applies to the situation.

Penalties: Questors are easily distracted when they are not fulfilling their oath, not putting as much effort into it as they do when following their calling. After a week of not following their quest in some form or another they suffer a -1 morale penalty to all attack and damage rolls and to every Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma-based skill check. Downtime does not count, as the character is getting his strength back. Only when spending time actively doing something unrelated to his quest does he begins to lose interest in this way.

Former
Squire

This picture shows an armed march of mediaeval knights in the pastoral city
of Tuebingen (Baden-Wuerttemberg/Germany). The painter is de:Gustav Adolf Closs.

While many paladins find themselves saddled with the role without trying, or feel the call deep within their souls, others have yearned to don the armour and wield the blade since young. They apprentice themselves to another paladin or enter an order in the hope of getting training, and become squires, paladins-in training who will one day assume the duty and honour of paladinhood. Former squires defend law and peace not because they were chosen by some outside source or event, but because they chose to and it is their lifelong dream. Those who are not quite ready to become paladins abandon their training to become either clerics or fighters so that only those really worthy can call themselves paladins.

Adventuring: Adventures for former squires are the same as for every other character: a chance to do some good and gain experience to become stronger… so they can fight greater evils. Unlike the apprentices of other professions, paladin squires are taught that, even if the ultimate sacrifice is sometimes adequate when fighting for the cause of good, they should learn their limits and do not die uselessly. Squires have already seen some action alongside their masters, and are thus prepared to handle many situations, and come into the life of an adventurer better prepared. They are used to obeying commands, but are also trained to take the reins, so they tend to be just and fair leaders.

Roleplaying: Former squires have a wealth of experience to draw from as they remember their past adventures with their masters. Some of them will even have levels of another class, usually as a fighter, before they take their vows as paladins, and therefore have a couple of tricks up their sleeves. Some former squires may look upon others with a bit of condescension as they have finally reached their goal to become a paladin, but more often than not they are used to being humble and to work well with others.

Bonuses: The character was trained by an experienced paladin, and thus has a slight edge over other paladins. At character creation or when the character gains the first level of paladin, players can choose to have one of the following added to their starting character:

• A masterwork version of a single suit of armour and one weapon whose normal versions the character can afford and is proficient with.
• Four extra skill points to symbolise the extra training the character received.
• One extra feat, to symbolise specialised training.

Penalties: The former squire has many memories regarding his past adventures with his master, but sometimes is at odds whether they apply to a current situation or if it is time to improvise and become confused when a tried and true method fails. They have a -2 penalty to their initiative checks as they adjust to the situation at hand and, if they fail an attack roll or skill check by more than 10 points, they have a -2 penalty to all further attack rolls and skill checks as they clear away the confusion of having failed so disastrously until they have a chance
to rest for the day. After 5th level, the character has advanced sufficiently to gain his own experiences and develop his own ways, and can get rid of this penalty by sacrificing 250 experience points.