Paladin

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The paladin is a noble warrior; a man of honour and piety who fights in the name of all that is good in the world, destroying evil with terrible wrath. As such, he has high ideals that he must maintain at all times.

Throughout legend and history there are many heroes who could be called paladins; the Peers of Charlemagne, the Knights of the Round Table, and Saint George the dragon-slayer. However, many brave and heroic soldiers have tried and failed to live up to the ideals of the paladin. It is not an easy task!

A paladin must be lawful good in alignment and must always remain lawful good. A paladin who changes alignment, either deliberately or inadvertently, loses all his special powers; sometimes only temporarily and sometimes forever. He can use any weapon and wear any type of armour. A paladin receives a +2 bonus to all saving throws.

Should a paladin ever knowingly and willingly perform an evil act, he loses the status of paladinhood immediately and irrevocably. All benefits are then lost and no deed or magic can restore the character to paladinhood: He is ever after a fighter. The character's level remains unchanged when this occurs and experience points are adjusted accordingly. Thereafter the character is bound by the rules for fighters. He does not gain the benefits of weapon specialisation since he did not select this for his character at the start.

Should the paladin commit an evil act while enchanted or controlled by magic, he loses his paladin status until he can atone for the deed. This loss of status means the character loses all his special abilities and essentially functions as a fighter of the same level. Regaining his status undoubtedly requires completion of some dangerous quest to once again prove his worth and assuage his own guilt.

Divine Sense

The paladin, so thoroughly aligned with the forces of good, can experience the mere presence of evil as a physical sensation. The player must make it clear that the paladin is attempting to detect evil; only then will the DM reveal the relevant information. He can do this as often as desired, but each attempt takes one round.

A paladin can detect evil radiated by living beings, undead, and evil artefacts. The ability cannot detect cursed objects or traps. The paladin's sensitivity to evil responds to the target's intention to commit an evil act. The ability does not reveal the precise nature of the intended act, nor reveals the target's actual alignment.

A paladin cannot detect an evil presence through 3 feet or more of wood, 1 foot or more of stone, or 1 inch or more of metal. A thin coat of lead also prevents the use of this ability. A paladin perceives such barriers as nonspecific obstructions, without knowing their composition or widths.

Degrees of Evil

Lay on Hands

A paladin can heal by laying on hands. The paladin restores 3 hit-points per experience level. He can heal himself or someone else, and can use this ability a number of times equal to his experience level per day.

Additionally, a paladin can cure diseases of all sorts (though not cursed afflictions such as lycanthropy). This can be done only once per week for each five levels of experience (once per week at levels 1 through 5, twice per week at levels 6 through 10, etc.).

Turn Undead

A paladin gains the power to turn undead and fiends when he reaches 3rd level. He affects these monsters the same as does a cleric two levels lower; for example, at 3rd level he has the turning power of a 1st-level cleric. See the section on priests for more details on this ability.

Aura of Protection

A paladin is surrounded by an aura of protection with a 10-foot radius. Within this radius, all summoned and specifically evil creatures suffer a -1 penalty to their attack rolls, regardless of whom they attack. Creatures affected by this aura can spot its source easily, even if the paladin is disguised.

Call Steed

A paladin may call for his war horse upon reaching 4th level, or anytime thereafter. This faithful steed need not be a horse; it may be whatever sort of creature is appropriate to the character (as decided by the DM). A paladin's war horse is a very special animal, bonded by fate to the warrior.

The steed does not instantly appear in front of the paladin upon reaching 4th level. Rather, the character must find his war horse in some memorable way, most frequently by a specific quest.

Spellcasting

A paladin can cast priest spells once he reaches 9th level. He can cast only spells of the combat, divination, healing, and protective spheres. (Spheres are explained in the Priest section.) The acquisition and casting of these spells abide by the rules given for priests.

Paladin Spell-Slots per Level

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