3. Paladin Class Guide

Paladin Class Guide


  • A Guide to the Paladin Class

    To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,
    To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,
    To honor his own word as if his god's,
    To lead sweet lives in purest chastity,
    To love one maiden only […]
    And worship her by years of noble deeds….

    – credo of the Knights of the Round Table
    (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Idylls of the King)

    **1. Overview

    (a) Historical Origins of the Paladin**
    The early concept of the paladin in Dungeons & Dragons was loosely based on the medieval European knight of legend: a hero in shining armor, a fearless and righteous champion sworn to uphold the laws of God and the King. Examples from history include: King Arthur's knights, the paladins of Charlemagne, and the Knights Templar. While the knights in these examples were different in many ways, they all adhered to the 'chivalric code', a strict moral code based on religious ideals of how they should behave. This code emphasized honor, duty and loyalty above all else, leading most knights to die very young. An old knight was a rare sight indeed.

    (b) Paladins in Faerun
    Paladins are holy knights first and foremost. Their duties are to uphold the edicts of their faith and their knightly vows, protect the Church, and above all fight evil. In fulfilling these duties, paladins must always act in a Lawful Good manner or risk falling out of favor with their god, losing all class abilities and ceasing effectively to be paladins. In exchange for adhering to these strict requirements, paladins receive considerable benefits that ordinary warriors do not. Also, they may be respected or even revered by commoners, who often see in paladins the heroic knights of bards' tales.

    © Class Requirements
    Much has changed since 2nd edition D&D. Paladins are no longer a Human-only, male-dominated class. They no longer need to swear oaths of chastity or poverty. Now, anyone can be a paladin as long as she meets two basic requirements:

    1. a Lawful Good alignment; and

    2. a patron deity that accepts paladins.

    These requirements tend to make paladins more difficult to role-play than most other classes. Consider how easy it is for a cleric or druid to fall out of favor with her deity by violating her deity's ethos – now consider that a paladin must be faithful both to her deity and to the principles of Law and Good. Also, since paladins are held up to be paragons of virtue, they are expected not just to do the 'right thing', but to go above and beyond: to be selfless, always doing the right thing regardless of what harm might befall them. This means sacrificing themselves for the greater good, for no other reason than it is the right thing to do. When a paladin fails to uphold the principles of Law and Good, she will fall, losing all of her paladin abilities and becoming a disgrace in the eyes of her god and others. Sometimes, a powerful paladin will fall very hard indeed, becoming a fiendish Blackguard in service to a dark god or power – but that is a story for another class guide.

    (d) Class Abilities
    In return for remaining Lawful Good and adhering to their deity's strict code, paladins are granted several benefits that set them apart from other classes. They have access to the feats and skills of fighters and enjoy the same base attack bonus and skills progression. At level 1, the paladin automatically receives the feats to wear heavy armor and wield martial weapons. The following are the unique abilities that a paladin gains upon levelling:

    Level 1: The paladin is immune to disease and adds her charisma bonus (if positive) to all saves. The paladin also gains the Lay on Hands ability, which heals a number of hit points equal to the paladin's class level multiplied by her charisma bonus, once per day.

    Level 2: The paladin is immune to fear and gains the ability to smite evil. This special attack applies the paladin's charisma modifier to her attack roll, and her class level to the damage delivered. This attack may be used once per day, only applies to evil creatures, and cannot be used with a ranged weapons.

    Level 3: The paladin gains the ability to remove disease once per day. Also, the paladin can turn undead three times per day plus the paladin's charisma modifier. The effectiveness of the turning depends on the paladin's class level and charisma bonus. Undead may be destroyed or forced to flee.

    Level 5: The paladin gains the ability to summon a warhorse mount. This magical beast gets stronger when the paladin reaches levels 8, 11 and 15. A paladin's bonded mount is much stronger than a normal warhorse.

    The paladin can gain access to a limited but effective set of cleric and unique paladin spells beginning as early as level 4, but usually level 6 (if the paladin has 14 wisdom, which is recommended). Many of these spells augment the paladin's strengths, such as protection from evil and from elements, weapon enhancing spells, healing, and spells that increase strength and charisma. These spells give the paladin added versatility. While the paladin's spell choices are limited, they can be very useful if used wisely.

    **2. Playing a Paladin: Character Concepts and Hints & Tips

    (a) General Suggestions**
    As long as one adheres to the general requirements of the paladin class, there are many options in choosing what type of paladin to play. A paladin could be a traditional knight who rides into battle on her mighty bonded warhorse and faces evil head-on. Or she could be a quiet scholar who roots out evil and corruption without fanfare. The paladin could be a soldier in the service of a goodly lord or government, or he could be an errant knight whose Church has given him leave to wander the lands fighting evil wherever he finds it. A paladin can assume any of these roles, and often assumes more than one, depending on the player's interests, the character's goals, and circumstance.

    In designing a paladin, a player should keep in mind that paladins usually require investment in several ability scores. As a front-line fighter, paladins need moderate to high Strength and Constitution scores, and perhaps Dexterity as well. At the same time, they require Wisdom to cast spells and Charisma to take advantage of their special abilities like Turning and Lay on Hands, as well as boost their Saves.

    Below are some design choices to consider when building a paladin. While none is necessarily superior to any other, each has pros and cons and some may be more lend themselves better to different styles of play.

    (b) Builds
    The Charisma-Based Paladin
    This paladin will focus on boosting Charisma as much as possible to take advantage of the saving throws and special abilities that paladins enjoy. A Charisma paladin benefits most from feats such as Divine Might and Divine Shield, which grant bonuses to attack and defense, respectively, according to the paladin's Charisma bonus. These paladins will also benefit from increased and more effective turning. Typically, these paladins will be average fighters in many situations, but can use feats like Divine Might to become serious damage-dealers over a limited period of time. They will also enjoy very high saves and be very useful against certain enemies, such as undead, whom they can turn with ease.

    The Strength-Based Paladin
    The strength-based paladin will forego high numbers in other ability scores to focus on the key ability for any warrior. Such paladins will make excellent frontline fighters if they also maintain good values in Constitution and Dexterity. They might also begin or multi-class as fighters to gain additional feats. Inevitably, this paladin will sacrifice higher ability scores in Charisma and perhaps Wisdom, which may reduce the effectiveness of some spells, feats, or other unique paladin abilities. However, even with lower scores in these areas, they will be strong frontline fighters who also have fear and disease immunity.

    The Balanced Paladin
    This paladin tries to balance the need for moderate to high scores in Strength, Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma. Such paladins usually require items that boost one or more of their ability scores in order to be truly effective. This is because a Strength- or Charisma-based paladin will always be capable of higher damage output and greater staying power in battle as a result of either high physical stats or paladin-specific feats like Divine Might. However, if the balanced paladin can overcome this disadvantage and survive, it is a very rewarding build to play because of its versatility both in combat and roleplaying.

    Later on, items can make up for most weaknesses by boosting this paladin's ability scores. Typically, such items should focus on Strength and Charisma, as these are the key paladin ability scores - but a paladin starting with a lower wisdom score, for example, might obtain an item boosting this score instead so that the paladin can cast spells.

    © RP Tips
    From an RP perspective, the paladin is a challenging class to play. Keep in mind that there is more than one right way to play a paladin - paladins are people too, and have their own unique personality traits and flaws. Do not be afraid to play your paladin as a person, even if that means falling. Paladins do fall sometimes and you should not take it as an attack on you as a player or a criticism of your play style if a DM gives you a fallen token. Instead, take it as an opportunity for further RP and to explore the possibilities for your character. Will your paladin repent and seek to restore her honor? Or will the loss of her god's favour leave your paladin bitter and jaded, perhaps turning to a darker path? There are many possibilities. However, if you do not wish to play a fallen paladin, it is best to keep in mind the basic requirements of the class: acting in a 'Lawful Good' manner according to D&D's objective alignment system and following the tenets of her god.

    If you have a question about what it means to be Lawful Good, read the paladin description in the manual, source material and in game carefully. You might also post your question on the forums or ask a DM or Player Guide. Often, there are no easy answers to what is right or wrong in a given situation, but keep in mind that D&D uses an objective alignment system in which some acts are always bad or always good. The DMs must enforce these rules, just as other characters in game may choose to praise or condemn your character for her actions. Here is a basic list of actions that are always considered evil and will likely cause your paladin to fall:

    • betraying your trust, including lying to or cheating others

    • using poison

    • killing a good/innocent person or creature (i.e. not in self defense)

    • torture

    While not an evil act, knowingly associating with or helping evil will also cause your paladin to fall.

    When in doubt, ask first whether the local laws would forbid an action. Then ask whether it is objectively 'good' or 'evil'. There may be many possible permutations, but a paladin will always strive to do that which satisfies both Law and Good, wherever possible. Sometimes, what is Lawful and what is Good will not be consistent. In such cases, your paladin will have to choose. Some DMs will force you to choose, because it makes the story interesting and fun. If you find a DM who does this, embrace the opportunity for unique paladin RP and character development, but be aware that if your paladin strays too far away from Lawful or Good on the alignment axis, she will lose her paladin status.

    Many of the paladin's requirements will be situation specific. For example, a paladin who knows that someone is planning to kill another in cold blood would not simply refrain from participating in the murder, but would try to stop it. On the other hand, the prohibition against lying does not mean that a paladin must always divulge all information on a particular topic. While the paladin must never knowingly deceive others about the truth, this does not mean that the paladin is beholden to give out sensitive information. On the contrary, divulging information might well be a violation of trust if the paladin was given that information in confidence by a friend or ally.

    When the rules are unclear, use common sense and/or ask someone who might know. Ultimately, however, do not let the strict requirements of the paladin class restrict your RP. If you wish to take your character in a new direction, feel free to do so. Just be aware that there will be IG effects of your (and your character's) decisions.

    (d) Combat Tips
    The paladin is more than just a fighter with spells. The paladin receives unique bonuses and abilities to combat specific kinds of enemies, like undead that carry disease, magical beasts that cause normal heroes to flee in terror, and extraplanar threats like demons and devils. Against these types of creatures, the prepared paladin is a frightening opponent.

    Paladins are especially effective against undead. Their fear and disease immunity give them added protection against these foes. Additionally, a moderate to high charisma paladin can turn undead more effectively than many clerics. The Bless Weapon spell also gives the paladin the ability to do extra damage to undead. Smite evil will always work on undead, because they are always evil. Finally, remember that Lay on Hands can be used to harm undead, just as any other positive energy (healing) spell.

    With the bonded mount, the paladin gains a lot of speed on the battlefield. Also, while most characters will try to keep their horses out of harm's way, the paladin's bonded mount can hold its own in many fights, especially at higher levels. This could help the paladin in a tough situation, where the bonded mount becomes a powerful ally in the fight.

    Since Lay on Hands functions like a touch attack, it does not leave the paladin open to an attack of opportunity like casting a healing spell would. This makes the ability useful for healing yourself or an ally who is badly injured and surrounded by enemies. It's a great way to make friends in battle.

    3. Narfell-Specific Rules

    The following are links to posts by the DM team about how different rules for paladins are interpreted and enforced in Narfell. These posts may also be helpful in determining how to RP your paladin in different circumstances.

    Paladin Code: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=45064

    Paladins, Detect Evil, and requirements on evil associations: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=44373

    Basic RP Guidelines for Priests and Paladins: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=42081

    Multiclassing: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=53622

    Paladin Orders: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=13808&start=15

    **4. Useful Links

    (a) NWN Links**
    NWN Wiki entry on Paladins: http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Paladin

    (b) Narfell Links
    Shadevar's Guide and Tips for Paladins: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=132325#132325

    Stories of Kanen Hightower: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=80

    Journal of Shane Andryl: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5874

    Shadows and light - Kara's Journal: http://www.narfell.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=18439

    © Other Links
    Historical Paladin entry on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paladin


  • It's worth mentioning that if you go with NWN Engine's recommended ability score allotment (for humans at least) it will allocate a Dex score of 9. That means a -1 modifier to your AC at all times in addition to any of the expected modifications (ranged AB, reflex, dex-based skills).

    I've seen a number of paladins take the 9 Dex then wonder why their AC is so low.