User:The bluez in the dungeon/Paladin In The Dungeon (3.5e Class)
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Low - Moderate - This is a remade version of the paladin base class. It's a class part of the In The Dungeon series. The paladin redeems itself by gaining new class features and improving its precedent ones.
The two great changes are a better version of the smite ability and the new feature: zeal. 20 1 Good Good Poor Poor Prepared Divine Spellcasting, Other Minor
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Paladin In The Dungeon[edit]
A paladin is the champion of the weak, bulwark of justice, purity and loyalty. It's a warrior of high ideals, often religious, that wields its weapon and its integrity against the forces of evil and corruption. More than a holy fighter, though often one, a paladin is the embodiment of zeal and dedication to a cause or an oath. If you choose the paladin class you will be granted the righteous tools to smite and banish evil, to resist fear and fight against any odds, no matter how much overwhelming.
Making a Paladin[edit]
You are a martial class at the core but with a narrower scope: fight evil and defend the oppressed. Your class grants you the necessary features to fulfill your duty or die honourably while trying. You excel with good and lawful clerics, fighters, rangers, other paladins and sometimes monks. You are the most uncomfortable with classes that prefere falseness over forwardness such as rogues, cruelty over compassion as the barbarian or that outright dwell with occult forces such as warlocks or evil clerics. Your relationship with bards, sorcerers and wizards it's determinated by your personal attitude towards arcane magic and levity.
Abilities: Strength and Constitution are your key abilities, if you wish to fulfill your martial role (or Dexterity if you prefer ranged combat). Beside that, Charisma is fundamental to increase your offensive and defensive features as well as strenghtening your spells.
Races: Every race that feels the call of justice answers it with paladins, so they are not much limited to single races, so long the individual is strong and pure in its beliefs.
Alignment: Lawful good[1].
Starting Gold: 6d4 x 10 (150 gp).
Starting Age: Moderate.
| Level | Base Attack Bonus |
Saving Throws | Special | Spells per Day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort | Ref | Will | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Divine Grace, Feat of the Champion, Lay on Hands | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Aura of Courage, Divine Health | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Sacred Skills, Zeal +4/+2 | 0 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Critical Smite, Special Mount | 0 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Feat of the Champion, Remove Affliction | 1 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Battle Blessing | 1 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Sacred Resistance, Zeal +5/+3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Charging Smite | 1 | 0 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Feat of the Champion, Zealous Smite | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +3 | Extra Smiting | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +4 | Zeal +6/+4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +4 | Improved Aura of Courage | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +4 | Feat of the Champion, Innocents' Champion | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +5 | Purifying Light | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Improved Sacred Resistance, Zeal +7/+5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Holy Champion | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +6 | Feat of the Champion, Unweary Zealot | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +6 | Aura of Heroism | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +6 | Perfect Zeal, Zeal +8/+6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class Features[edit]
All of the following are class features of the paladin.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
Aura of Good (Ex): The power of a paladin's aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to its paladin level.
Detect Evil (Sp): At will, a paladin can use detect evil, as the spell.
Smite Evil (Su): One time per Charisma modifier + 1 (minimum 1) per day, a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack or a ranged attack (within 30 feet-9 meters). It adds its Charisma bonus (if any) to its attack roll and deals 1 extra point of damage per paladin level. If it hits, all the attacks it does during the same round are smite attacks (so it may do them when making a full attack). The extra damage from the smite attack is divine and overcomes any damage reduction. If the paladin accidentally smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up.
A paladin may not smite an unaware oppontent as administring justice must be an honourable act.
Divine Grace (Su): At 2nd level, a paladin gains a bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (if any) on all saving throws.
Feat of the Champion: At 2nd level a paladin gains a bonus feat for which it meets the requirements. The feat must be chosen from the fighter bonus feats list or among any feat that has the ability smite or zeal as a requirement, or that requires paladin levels. It gains another at the 6th, 10th, 14th and 18th level (each four paladin level).
Lay on Hands (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, a paladin with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (its own or those of others) by touch. It has a number of charges equal to its Charisma modifier + half of its class level rounded down. It may touch a creature and expend any number of charges, for each charge spent it heals 1d6 hit points. A paladin may choose to divide its healing among multiple recipients, and it doesn't have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action, or a swift action, if used on itself.
Alternatively, a paladin can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. The paladin decides how many of its daily allotment of charges to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.
Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, a paladin is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of it gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the paladin is conscious, but not if it is unconscious or dead.
Divine Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a paladin gains immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.
Spells: Beginning at 4th level, a paladin gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells, which are drawn from the paladin's spell list. A paladin must choose and prepare her spells in advance.
To prepare or cast a spell, a paladin must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a paladin's spell is 10 + the spell level + the paladin's Charisma modifier.
Like other spellcasters, a paladin can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Its base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Paladin. In addition, it receives bonus spells per day if it has a high Wisdom score. When Table: The Paladin indicates that the paladin gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, it gains only the bonus spells it would be entitled to based on its Wisdom score for that spell level The paladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A paladin prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though it cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place. A paladin may prepare and cast any spell on the paladin spell list, provided that it can cast spells of that level, but it must choose which spells to prepare during its daily meditation.
Through 3rd level, a paladin has no caster level. At 4th level and higher, its caster level is one-half its paladin level or its paladin level -3, whichever is higher.
Sacred Skills (Su): When a paladin reaches 4th level, if confronted with a trial, between it and evil, that requires physical prowess to overcome or if under the effect of zeal, it gains a bonus on ability checks and skill checks based on a physical attribute equal to the bonus given to attacks and damage by the zeal feature.
Zeal (Su): Starting at 4th level, a paladin enters a state of righteous might when confronted with an enemy that clearly opposes the paladin's moral code, its religion or the group it belongs to or clearly does or will do or has done something against the paladin's ethics (during combat or outside).
In combat, it lasts one round per Charisma modifier + 3 (minimum 1) and the paladin gains a +4 sacred bonus to attacks and damage and +2 to Charisma. These bonuses increase by one at 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th level. At 8th level it gains also a +1 to AC as a sacred bonus. It increases by one at 12th level and at 20th level (+2/+3).
When the effect fades the paladin is fatigued for the rest of the encounter.
A paladin has always the Edge against opponents that unleash its zeal, regardless of their attack bonus.
The DM and the player should agree whether zeal starts automatically or if the paladin may control it. A paladin may not enter zeal while hiding as it requires a certain dignity.
Critical Smite (Ex): At 5th level whenever the paladin smites and threatens a critical hit, it may add its Charisma bonus to the roll to confirm.
Special Mount (Sp): Upon reaching 5th level, a paladin gains the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve in its crusade against evil (see below). This mount is usually a heavy warhorse (for a Medium paladin) or a warpony (for a Small paladin).
Once per day, as a full-round action, a paladin may magically call its mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. This ability is the equivalent of a spell of a level equal to one-third the paladin's class level. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level; it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular mount from service.
Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed. Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.
Should the paladin's mount die, it immediately disappears, leaving behind any equipment it was carrying. The paladin may not summon another mount for thirty days or until it gains a paladin level, whichever comes first, even if the mount is somehow returned from the dead. During this thirty-day period, the paladin takes a -1 penalty on attack and weapon damage rolls.
Remove Affliction (Su): At 6th level, a paladin may convert its lay on hands to remove some conditions, instead of healing the target. The effects depend on the number of charges expended and on the paladin level.
2 Charges: It may cure the touched creature or itself of any of the following status: fatigued, exhausted, sickened, nauseated, dazed and stunned.
3 Charges: Duplicate the effect of neutralize poison, remove blindness/deafness or remove disease with a caster level equal to its paladin level. This ability is available at level 9th.
5 Charges: Duplicate the effect of restoration with a caster level equal to its paladin level. This ability is available at level 12th.
7 Charges: Duplicate the effect of greater restoration with a caster level equal to its paladin level. This ability is available at level 15th.
9 Charges: Duplicate the effect of revivifySC with a caster level equal to its paladin level. This ability is available at level 18th.
Once per day per each step of the ability, as an immediate action, if the paladin is subjected to one of these effects and has enough charges, it may recover from it expending the appropriate charges.
Battle Blessing: At 7th level the paladin gains the Battle Blessing[2] feat for free.
Sacred Resistance (Su): At 8th level, while zeal is active, the paladin gains spell resistance 10 + its Charisma modifier, but only against spells and spell-like abilities with the evil, chaotic or vile descriptor or if used by evil or chaotic enemies.
Charging Smite (Su): From the 9th level a paladin that smites evil on a charge inflicts three times its paladin level instead of the normal extra damage. This ability may be used while on foot or mounted.
Zealous Smite (Ex): At 10th level, while zeal is active, any critical hit it confirms against a proper adversary activates the smite feature, as if it had successfully smitten the enemy. This effect doesn't waste any of the smite feature uses.
Extra Smiting: At 11th level the paladin may smite 5 + Charisma modifier (minimum 5) times per day instead of 1 + Charisma modifier.
Improved Aura of Courage (Su): Beginning at 13th level your aura of courage doubles its range and the bonus it gives (now it's 20 feet-6 meters-and allies gain a +8 bonus against fear).
Innocents' Champion (Ex): Beginning at 14th level if the paladin has 0 hit points or lower, it remains conscious and acts as if it had hit points above 0. Zeal immediatly becomes active. Until the paladin reaches -10 hit points and dies or it regains enough hit points to raise above 0 the zeal feature remains active, even beyond its normal duration. When the paladin regains hit points above 0 zeal persists but only for its normal duration.
If the paladin has the Diehard feat it may remain alive in this state until -20 hit points.
Improved Sacred Resistance (Su): At 16th level your spell resistance while zeal is active becomes your paladin level + Charisma modifier.
Purifying Light (Su): By the 15th level, while zeal is active, a paladin may emit a light that acts as the spell daylight, with range of 30 feet (9 meters) and duration equal to that of zeal. This light inflicts 1d6 per two paladin's levels of divine damage (not subjected to damage reduction) each to evil creatures, and 1d6 per paladin level to undead, evil outsiders or enemies that foul emissaries of evil (such as chromatic dragons). It also blinds for one round those affected. A Fortitude save (DC is 10 + half the paladin levels + its Charisma modifier) halves the damage and reduces the blinding effect to dazzling. Those who resisted once may not be blinded again by the same instance of the light, but may still be dazzled. If an affected creature has weakness to light apply the stronger of the effects.
Holy Champion (Ex): At 17th level when the paladin reaches its negative limit of hit points (-10 or -20) its countdown for zeal begins. It may remain alive until zeal continues. If it's under its normal limit of negative hit points when zeal is over it dies. If hit points raise above the negative limit zeal remains active indefinitely as normal. At level 20th it gains damage reduction 10/evil.
Unweary Zealot (Ex): At 18th level a paladin does not suffer fatigue after zeal ends.
Aura of Heroism (Su): From 19th level aura of courage improves drastically: allies in the area are immune to fear effects. Anyone immune to fear inside the aura (including the paladin and its allies) that is subject to a fear effect is instead affected by the spell greater heroism except that bonuses increase to +8 and temporary hit points are equal to double the paladin's class level (up to a maximum of 40). It lasts one round per Charisma modifier. This bonuses stacks with the bonuses given by zeal.
Perfect Zeal (Su): At 20th level the zeal feature lasts 3 + Charisma modifier rounds and spell resistance increases by 5.
The Paladin's Mount[edit]
The paladin’s mount is superior to a normal mount of its kind and has special powers, as described below. The standard mount for a Medium paladin is a heavy warhorse, and the standard mount for a Small paladin is a warpony. Another kind of mount, such as a riding dog (for a halfling paladin) or a Large shark (for a paladin in an aquatic campaign) may be allowed as well.
A paladin’s mount is treated as a magical beast, not an animal, for the purpose of all effects that depend on its type (though it retains an animal’s HD, base attack bonus, saves, skill points, and feats).
| Paladin Level |
Bonus HD |
Natural Armor Adj. |
Str Adj. |
Int | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th–7th | +2 | +4 | +1 | 6 | Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Share Saving Throws |
| 8th–10th | +4 | +6 | +2 | 7 | Improved Speed |
| 11th–14th | +6 | +8 | +3 | 8 | Command Creatures of Its Kind |
| 15th–20th | +8 | +10 | +4 | 9 | Spell Resistance |
Paladin’s Mount Basics: Use the base statistics for a creature of the mount’s kind, but make changes to take into account the attributes and characteristics summarized on the table and described below.
Bonus HD: Extra eight-sided (d8) Hit Dice, each of which gains a Constitution modifier, as normal. Extra Hit Dice improve the mount’s base attack and base save bonuses. A special mount’s base attack bonus is equal to that of a cleric of a level equal to the mount’s HD. A mount has good Fortitude and Reflex saves (treat it as a character whose level equals the animal’s HD). The mount gains additional skill points or feats for bonus HD as normal for advancing a monster’s Hit Dice.
Natural Armor Adj.: The number on the table is an improvement to the mount’s existing natural armor bonus.
Str Adj.: Add this figure to the mount’s Strength score.
Int: The mount’s Intelligence score.
Empathic Link (Su): The paladin has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The paladin cannot see through the mount’s eyes, but they can communicate empathically.
Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible.
Because of this empathic link, the paladin has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar (see Familiars).
Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.
: At the paladin’s option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts on herself also affect her mount.
The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the paladin before the duration expires. Additionally, the paladin may cast a spell with a target of “You” on her mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A paladin and her mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount’s type (magical beast).
: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the paladin’s, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn’t share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have.
Improved Speed (Ex): The mount’s speed increases by 10 feet.
Command (Sp): Once per day per two paladin levels of its master, a mount can use this ability to command other any normal animal of approximately the same kind as itself (for warhorses and warponies, this category includes donkeys, mules, and ponies), as long as the target creature has fewer Hit Dice than the mount. This ability functions like the command spell, but the mount must make a DC 21 Concentration check to succeed if it’s being ridden at the time. If the check fails, the ability does not work that time, but it still counts against the mount’s daily uses. Each target may attempt a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 paladin’s level + paladin’s Cha modifier) to negate the effect.
Spell Resistance (Ex): A mount’s spell resistance equals its master’s paladin level + 5. To affect the mount with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the mount’s spell resistance.
Ex-Paladins[edit]
A paladin that changes alignment from lawful good or that grossly violates its faith or oath tenets or that fails miserably because of cowardice loses all of its class features, except for Bab, extra feats (though some may be depedent on its class features), saves and skills.
Variants[edit]
- Champion-The martial adept paladin, student of the Sublime Way, its devotion gives it proficiency with the Anointed Champion or Devoted Crusader discipline.
- Inquisitor-A paladin that works as an agent in some kind of organitation, acquiring the means to unveil the truth and punish heretics and criminals.
- Life Warden-The merciful champion, a paladin that defends life and health above all, focusing its skills on healing and caring for others.
- Magic Mauler-These paladins have a burning hate for arcane magic and creatures that use it. They learn to dispel and counter magic.
- Undead Scourge-A paladin whose only aim is to purge the undead and who receives the divine tools needed for its end.
- War Hero-A different type of paladin, one who instead of evil focuses its abilities onto battlefield tactics and guiding its allies.
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