Paladin
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Paladin is a default base class with Arelith specific changes.
Contents
Introduction
Arelith Paladins enjoy changes that benefit their spellcasting and martial abilities. Mechanical changes are included in the #Class Mechanics on this page and explained in the #Arelith Changes section. Base mechanics can be found on NWNWiki. The #Roleplay Tips section provides suggestions for character development.
Requirements
Alignment restrictions: Lawful good only
Spellcasting: Requires a Paladin Deity as their patron deity.
Class Features
Hit die: d10
Proficiencies: armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, weapons (martial, simple)
Skill points: 4 + int modifier ((4 + int modifier) * 4 at 1st level)
Class Skills: concentration, craft mastery, discipline, heal, intimidate, leadership, listen, lore, parry, ride, sail, spot, taunt
Unavailable feats: weapon specialization
Primary saving throw(s): fortitude
Base attack bonus: +1/level
Spellcasting
- Divine (spell failure from armor is not a factor)
- Charisma-based
- A base charisma score of 10 + the spell’s level is required to cast a spell
- Bonus spells are based on modified charisma
- The charisma modifier affects spell DCs)
- Spontaneous cast (no spell preparation required)
Oaths
Oath feats define a Paladin's skillset and are selected at class level 6. Higher tiers of the chosen oath are automatically granted at Paladin levels 16 and 26; Harper Priest and Harper Paragon count towards this level requirement. A Paladin can only ever have one Oath. Once selected, the Oath may not be changed.
There are five Paladin Oaths, that focus on different aspects of the class.
- Oath of Inquisition: Specializes in the elimination of undead and extraplanar threats.
- Oath of Perseverance: Specializes in the art of healing, bolstering his allies in their moments of greatest weakness.
- Oath of Reckoning: Specializes in the virtue of persistence, remaining stalwart even in the face of crushing despair.
- Oath of Vengeance: Specializes in sacred warfare, honing his skills to undo evils all over Faerûn.
- Oath of the Ancients: Specializes in ancient traditions and druidic rituals, fostering the spark of life and smiting any who dare obscure it.
| Oaths | Tiers | Level Req. | Skill Bonus (Total) |
Passives (Total) |
Abilities | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skill | Bonus | Attack Bonus | Damage Bonus (Divine) | ||||
| Oath of Inquisition | 1 | 6th | Spot | +3 | +0 | +0 |
|
| 2 | 16th | Spot | +6 | +1 | +1 |
| |
| 3 | 26th | Spot | +9 | +2 | +2 |
| |
| Oath of Perseverance | 1 | 6th | Heal | +3 | +0 | +0 |
|
| 2 | 16th | Heal | +6 | +1 | +1 |
| |
| 3 | 26th | Heal | +9 | +2 | +2 |
| |
| Oath of Reckoning | 1 | 6th | Concentration | +3 | +0 | +0 |
|
| 2 | 16th | Concentration | +6 | +1 | +1 |
| |
| 3 | 26th | Concentration | +9 | +2 | +2 |
| |
| Oath of Vengeance | 1 | 6th | Leadership | +3 | +0 | +0 |
|
| 2 | 16th | Leadership | +6 | +1 | +1 |
| |
| 3 | 26th | Leadership | +9 | +2 | +2 |
| |
| Oath of the Ancients | 1 | 6th | Animal Empathy | +3 | +0 | +0 |
|
| 2 | 16th | Animal Empathy | +6 | +1 | +1 |
| |
| 3 | 26th | Animal Empathy | +9 | +1 | +2 |
| |
Level Progression
Hit points rolls on Arelith are always maximum.
| Base spells per day | Known spells | |||||||||||||||||
| Level | BAB | Fort | Reflex | Will | Feats | HP | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 0th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | ||
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Divine Grace, divine health, lay on hands | 10 | * | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | 20 | * | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | |||
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | remove disease, turn undead | 30 | * | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | 40 | * | 0 | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | |||
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | fearless +4 | 50 | * | 0 | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | - | - | - | ||
| 6th | +6/+1 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Oath | 60 | * | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | ||
| 7th | +7/+2 | +5 | +2 | +2 | 70 | * | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | |||
| 8th | +8/+3 | +6 | +2 | +2 | Fearless +6 | 80 | * | 1 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | ||
| 9th | +9/+4 | +6 | +3 | +3 | Fearless: Fear Immunity | 90 | * | 1 | 0 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | - | ||
| 10th | +10/+5 | +7 | +3 | +3 | 100 | * | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | |||
| 11th | +11/+6/+1 | +7 | +3 | +3 | 110 | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | |||
| 12th | +12/+7/+2 | +8 | +4 | +4 | 120 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | |||
| 13th | +13/+8/+3 | +8 | +4 | +4 | 130 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | - | |||
| 14th | +14/+9/+4 | +9 | +4 | +4 | 140 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | |||
| 15th | +15/+10/+5 | +9 | +5 | +5 | 150 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | |||
| 16th | +16/+11/+6/+1 | +10 | +5 | +5 | Greater Oath +1 AB +1 Divine Damage | 160 | * | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 17th | +17/+12/+7/+2 | +10 | +5 | +5 | 170 | * | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 18th | +18/+13/+8/+3 | +11 | +6 | +6 | 180 | * | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 19th | +19/+14/+9/+4 | +11 | +6 | +6 | 190 | * | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 20th | +20/+15/+10/+5 | +12 | +6 | +6 | 200 | * | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | |||
* Note: Cantrips on Arelith have been customized to allow infinite casting
Epic Paladin
Bonus feats: The epic paladin gains a bonus feat every three levels after 20th. In other words, at levels 23, 26, and 29.
Epic bonus feats: armor skin, epic prowess, epic reputation, epic spell focus, epic toughness, epic weapon focus, great smiting, greater spell focus, improved combat casting, overwhelming critical, perfect health, planar turning
Unavailable epic feats: epic weapon specialization, outsider shape, construct shape, dragon shape, undead shape
| Level | Feats | HP range |
| 21st | CL +3 against dispels, Improved Turning | 210 |
| 22nd | 220 | |
| 23rd | Bonus Feat | 230 |
| 24th | 240 | |
| 25th | 250 | |
| 26th | Epic Oath +2 AB +2 Divine Damage, Bonus Feat | 260 |
| 27th | 270 | |
| 28th | 280 | |
| 29th | Bonus Feat | 290 |
| 30th | 300 |
Spells
See Category:Paladin_Spells for a list of all spells by category.
| Cantrips | 1st level spells | 2nd level spells |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd level spells | 4th level spells | |
Arelith Changes
| Change | Level | Description | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chosen Deity | - | Clerics, Paladins and Druids must be one of the cleric alignments of that deity. See Chosen Deity to read more. Paladins are required to select their patron from the Paladin Deities. | |||||
| Detects Evil | - | By using the -detectevil command, a paladin can detect the presence of evil characters near by. However, this comes with a cost to the deity's power and presence, as well as the loss of 100xp per use. | |||||
| Spell changes | - | For specifics, see Category:Paladin_Spells. | |||||
| Class skills | - | Paladins gain Intimidate, Listen Sail and Spot as class skills. | |||||
| Bonus Language | - | Celestial. | |||||
| Spellbook | - | Can save and load Spellbooks through the Crafting Skills menu. Special Abilities > Crafting Skills > Choose "Spellbooks" from the menu. | |||||
| Lay on Hands | 1 | 10 minute cooldown rather than uses per day. | |||||
| Remove Disease | 3 | 3 minute cooldown rather than uses per day.
| |||||
| Paladin dispel resistance | 21 | character gains a CL +3 against Dispels. | |||||
| Paladin and Harper Priest | 21 | If you have at least 21 levels of paladin and at least 3 levels of harper priest, you will get 2 less CL towards dispels. | |||||
| Divine Synergy | 21 |
| |||||
| Divine Smite | 2 | Instant use. Adds Charisma Modifier to AB and class levels to damage (Capping at 20). Cooldown is 6 seconds between use, increased by 1 second per Great Smiting feat. You can save up to a single use of this skill, Extra smiting allows you to save up to 3 uses. A single use refreshes every 3 minutes, Extra Smiting halves the refresh time to 1.5 Minutes. Only works with melee weapons. Divine Smite shares the character's weapon threat range and critical multiplier, with the exception of bonuses granted by Weapon Master feats.
| |||||
| Turn Undead | 3 | This feat has been heavily modified on Arelith, read more about it here | |||||
| Fearless | 2 | A Paladin is conditioned to charge into battle against even the most fearsome of opponents and gains a +2 bonus to saving throws vs fear. This bonus increases to +4 at level 5, +6 at level 8, and becomes Fear Immunity at level 9. | |||||
| Aura of Courage | 2 | Removed and replaced with Fearless. | |||||
| Improved Turning | 21 | A Paladin receives this feat as a free feat. This feat was previously known as Extra Turning but has been renamed and customized on Arelith |
Divine Smite
Divine Smite is an instant use ability. Adds Charisma Modifier to AB and source class levels to damage (Capping at 20). Cooldown is 6 seconds between use, increased by 1 second per Great Smiting feat. You can save up to a single use of this skill, Extra smiting allows you to save up to 3 uses. A single use refreshes every 3 minutes, Extra Smiting halves the refresh time to 1.5 Minutes. Works with melee weapons and unarmed. Divine Smite shares the character's weapon threat range and critical multiplier, with the exception of bonuses granted by Weapon Master feats.
Divine Smite grants scaling Damage based upon the difference between the smiter's alignment and the alignment of the recipient of the Smite.
The full amount of Smite damage (100%) is delivered at opposite ends of the Alignment Chart, meaning a Lawful Good smiter and a Chaotic Evil recipient (or vice versa). Partial Smite damage is delivered based upon the following:
- Start at 0% Smite Damage (same alignment)
- Each difference on the Law <-> Chaos axis is +10%
- Each difference on the Good <-> Evil axis is +40%
- A small, unknown RNG amount is then added to help prevent alignment metagaming
Great Smiting
- Great Smiting can be taken as repeating additional feats to increase their potential smite damage. The character's potential Divine Smite bonus damage increases to 1 + (smite tier / 2) times their combined Paladin, Divine Champion, Blackguard, Harper Paragon, and Zhentarim Enforcer levels, up to a maximum of 20 * (1 + (smite tier / 2)).
- Instant Attack:
Instant Attack Feats (Activated):
- Instant attacks share a cooldown timer: Dirty Fighting, Divine Smite, Eldritch Blast, Eviscerate, Elemental Maelstrom, Elemental Strike, Misericorde, Whirlwind Attack
- Using instant attacks lower attacks in the following round by 1. This is meant to offset the free attack gained by activating them.
- Instant attacks are made to look and feel like regular melee attacks while actually being an entirely independent feature. Cannot trigger cleave and similar abilities for this reason.
- Instant attacks mirror the animation delay of regular attacks via a short cooldown after casting a spell.
- Parrying instant attacks works differently the normal parry mechanics because it is scripted and implemented differently. Parry cannot riposte instant attacks, but parrying the instant attack does not count against parries-per-round. Against a character that has 4 APR and additionally uses an instant attack every round (like a hasted Spellsword), parry builds can parry 4 of these 5 attacks per round and riposte three of them.
- Most instant attacks (except Whirlwind Attack) ignore Weapon Master crit feats. Exception is elemental strike/maelstrom which only allows Ki Critical for Bladesingers (where the feat is built-in to the path) to enable their extra threat range.
- If an attacker is running, their melee instant special attacks against PCs now roll at a disadvantage.
- This disadvantage applies to both attack and threat rolls, causing the attacker to roll a d20 twice and proceed with the lower result. Replaces a prior 0.5 second movement speed penalty.
- Epic Dodge does not cause Instant Attacks to automatically miss due to an engine limitation (Epic Dodge is hard coded to affect normal flurry attacks). It instead forces any Instant Attack to roll at disadvantage until it causes one to miss. Then it goes on cooldown for 6 seconds.
- This means attacking a target that has Epic Dodge while moving will roll twice at disadvantage. Effectively rolling four times.
- Instant Attacks can apply Sneak Attacks if the requirements to perform a Sneak Attack are met.
Alignment Chart
| Percentage | +10% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axis | Lawful (70-100) |
Neutral (31-69) |
Chaotic (0-30) | ||
| +40% | Good (70-100) |
Lawful Good (LG) | Neutral Good (NG) | Chaotic Good (CG) | |
| Neutral (31-69) |
Lawful Neutral (LN) | True Neutral (N) | Chaotic Neutral (CN) | ||
| Evil (00-30) |
Lawful Evil (LE) | Neutral Evil (NE) | Chaotic Evil (CE) | ||
Roleplay Tips
- Author: Zeral
Origins of Paladins
Paladins are holy warriors. The operative words being holy, as in divinely inspired or patronized, and warrior, which implies an amount of martial prowess in terms of being used against other living, and unliving things. All paladins must have a patron deity, and for good reason, without it they'd lose the majority of their class abilities, and they'd have no idea how to live their lives. Paladins are required to have a code. They must live by a set of principles or ethics to maintain their class. If you want to arbitrarily decide how to do good, and do it without 'restrictions', the chaotic equivalent of the paladin is the Holy Liberator.
Becoming a Paladin
Becoming a paladin is always a conscious decision. However, this does not imply that one simply bucks up and joins the paladin core, and becomes one in a brief training montage. Some people can be paladins, and some people just flat-out can't. About one in every thousand members of any sentient species has the capacity for being an adventurer, about one in every five hundred of those could become a paladin. Scale those ratios down extremely for inherently evil races. When one realizes they should be spending their life helping people and keeping things peaceful to the best of their ability, they go discover how to become a paladin. It's a calling, not an organization.
Paladin-hood is something culturally notable. People are not paladins because they feel like it, and they do not become paladins because they spent weeks in the wilderness communing with their god. Unless that's part of the initiation, but that comes later. Paladins are recognized by the priesthood, and generally welcome, though not all paladins work directly with priests. And, in some cases, the conflicting interests of the lawful good-aligned paladins and the slightly more flexible priesthood can cause them to not abide each other. Faiths fight within themselves as well as outside, even the good ones.
Paladins, as mentioned before, must have a code. The code is usually inherited from preceding paladins, which eventually extrapolates into what is known as an "order" of paladins. Most paladins have had at some point a mentor. People do not instinctively know how to do the right thing in all situations, and so, upon learning that there exist people with their same shameless drive for moral action in all things, paladins go to learn from them. On occasion this happens later in life, when people have encountered many paladins, until they find an order or mentor that best speaks to them.
The actual initiation, and when the character is deemed 'paladin' is decided either by the mentor, order, or society. The mentor may stand one day and say "You're done." to their pupil, call them a paladin and equal, and send them packing. Equally, an order may set forward a specific set of guidelines or test to finalize inclusion. Less frequently, upon the death of mentor, or unavailability of the order, a paladin my deem themselves to be 'paladin'. This is an extremely rare situation, however. And, as always, the final decision is up to the god.
Being a Paladin
Any character, ordained and armed as a paladin, generally armored, is suddenly put in a precarious situation. Unlike most priests, that can say "I am a cleric of Cyric." and have the common folk flinch, paladins are not recognized as frequently by their faiths so much as their occupation. A paladin is a paladin to most people. This means, among other things, that people do not come to paladins for consolation, answers to life's questions, or donations. They do, however, hear 'paladin', and think of evil that they need squelched. Paladins are frequently heroic figures, and often more than any other class manage to rise into higher levels of power. The common people will see a glowing, peerless fighter who can defeat dragons with the loss of only an eyebrow, regardless of how powerful the paladin actually is. It is for this reason that paladins are frequently roamers. It's unhealthy for people to expect their heroes to be on-call for the rest of eternity, and having the convenient and completely true excuse of "I must move on." allows a paladin to occasionally delegate problems beyond him or her to someone more capable.
Paladins, by and large, are not idiots. They tend to be well-educated, civilized and highly socially aware. The majority are astute, considerate and fairly blunt. They are, more than normal people, aware of what their action or inaction is doing to the world. Should they linger for the grand feast when that ring really needs to be thrown into the caldera? Probably not. They know this. Yes, it's possible and completely understandable to get the occasional naive paladin, but they do not tend to live long or at all. Quixote should have been killed three times over, if he had not somehow chosen highly inept people to 'challenge'.
What the paladin must do in their life, however, is adhere to the tenants of their code, and do good. You must, and may not ever willingly commit an evil act for the sake of a sin. There are some murky waters surrounding this general statement, but it remains by and large inviolable. If the shopkeep is refusing to tell you where the evil ritual to bring ruin to the world is taking place out of fear of reprisal, you have permission to break his nose to get the information out of him. You're holy warriors, darn it. Not holy wusses.
That being said, a paladin is not to be faulted for on occasion not showing compassion, or getting fed up with people. They are not to be faulted for raising a fist in anger, briefly, given that they lower it with significantly less anger.
The largest development point for a paladin is probably selection of a deity. Lawful good and neutral good deities really never conflict with their paladins. They say 'go for it'. No issue with a bit of law and good in the world, even the neutral ones will concede that point. The god of a paladin defines their priorities. A paladin of Tyr wants justice out of all situations, whereas a paladin of Kelemvor or Illmater would likely be interested in less life being lost in any situation. Always take your deity's preferences into account before acting in a given situation, as a paladin.
There is a lot of variation and development for different ways for people to play paladins. They are not all the 'crusader' type, nor the righteous avenger. They have as much variation in preferences and activities as rogues or fighters. Just keep in mind the best intentions and a slightly stoic mindset concerning life, and you should be good.
External Links
- Information about default NWN class are available on NWNWiki.
