Paladin
Player's Handbook p43

Game Rule Information

The following changes have been made to the powers and abilities of the Paladin. Any published rules for the paladin that do not directly contradict the contents of this page still apply.

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: I use the rules for Weapon Group Feats (UA p94). At first level the druid gains the Basic Weapons feat and any three other Weapon Group Feats. The paladin's proficiency with armour is unchanged.

Ignore Spell Failure (Light Armour): Paladins gain this feat as a bonus feat at fourth level.

Ignore Spell Failure (Shields): Paladins gain this feat as a bonus feat at fourth level.

Ignore Spell Failure (Medium Armour): Paladins gain this feat as a bonus feat at sixth level. If they already have this feat they may select another in its place.

Ignore Spell Failure (Heavy Armour): Paladins gain this feat as a bonus feat at sixth level. If they already have this feat they may select another in its place.

Spellcasting: Paladins cast divine spells in the same manner as clerics. However, their spell-point total is small and their repetoire relatively weak, so they tend to use spells to back up their martial prowess. Paladins gain access to 1st level spells at level four, 2nd level spells at level eight, 3rd level spells at level eleven and 4th level spells at level fourteen. They may not cast orisons. See the section on magic for more information on divine spells. A paladin's caster level is half his class level.

Special Mount: The rules for the paladin's mount follow the version 3.0 of the D&D game rather than version 3.5. The mount is a creature resident on the same world as the paladin. It is usually a heavy warhorse but its exact type should be discussed between the player and the GM. At 5th level (or later if the mount is particularly powerful) the paladin will gain the services of his mount. It works best if the paladin meets the mount during a scenario, but the horse could just as easily be presented by the paladin's church. From that moment on the mount remains with the paladin, although he can stable it if he goes somewhere the mount can't follow. The mount does not appear in a flash of light when the paladin clicks his fingers. However, spells exist in the paladin's repetoire that allow him to call his mount from a distance.

Also please note that the base animal used as a paladin's mount is not typical of its kind. It should be generated using the same mechanics used for player characters. Attributes should be rolled on 4d6 (drop the lowest die) and hit points should be rolled rather than taking the average amount.

Variants

The following paladin variant appears in the Unearthed Arcana. It deserve a mention here for the sake of completeness and its position in the rules. Players shouldn't feel obligued to adopt it instead of the standard class. Variants don't make the character any more powerful, they simply make it different. "Official" variants are found in a variety of sources, for a complete list of all the variants I use in my campaigns follow this link.

Paladins of Freedom, Tyranny and Slaughter: Effectively chaotic good, lawful evil and chaotic evil paladin with different skills, auras, codes of conduct and spell lists. Although terms like "paladin of freedom" are clumsy the actual idea of a knightly order that uses much the same mechanics as the paladin but is bent down some different ethical path is perfectly sound. See Unearthed Arcana p53 for more information.

Planar Substituion Levels: Paladins who make the prerequisites may swap out certain class abilities in favour of planar-related ones. At 4th level they may swap Turn Undead for Smite Evil Outsider. At 6th level they may swap Remove Disease for Celestial Mount. At 10th level they may swap their third use of Smite Evil with Alignment Purity. They also gain Knowledge (the planes) as a class skill. See Planar Handbook pages 27 and 33 for more details.

Nonspellcasting Paladin: Introduced by p13 of The Complete Warrior, this variant of the paladin foregoes the ability to cast spells. In return you would gain the ability bless weapon at 6th level, bolster your fighting ability with divine might at 11th level, heal you mount more effectively from 13th level and call upon the powers of a holy sword at 16th level. See The Complete Warrior for more details.

See Also

• Magic
• Divine Magic
• Spell Points
• Spell Failure
• Languages
• Paladin Orders
• Paladins of Iourn