Paladin
Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test - an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to do good in the world. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting them from disease, healing them and their allies, and guarding against fear.
| Type | Base class |
| Hit die | d10 |
| Skill points | 2 + Intelligence modifier per level |
| Attack bonus | full - 1 per level, +20 by level 20 |
| Strong saves | Fortitude |
| Spellcasting | Prepared |
| Alignment | Lawful good |
| Primary ability | Wisdom |
How it works
- While Divine Might is active, every hit you land on an evil creature deals smite damage. The amount depends on your weapon's size compared to your own size, not on your level. It is doubled against undead.
- The Smite Evil feat itself works only against evil creatures.
- A pure Paladin with Divine Might active also deals that divine damage to neutral creatures.
- If you also have Smite Good, your Paladin and Divine Champion levels are added together and compared with your Blackguard levels to decide which smite Divine Might uses.
- A Holy Avenger has a 50% chance, on each hit that deals damage, to cast Dispel Magic on the target. Its caster level is your Paladin level, or 10 if that is higher.
Requirements
| Alignment | Lawful good |
| Race | any except Undead, Stone Giant, Mountain Dwarf, Vampire, Lich, Mummy, Skeleton |
What you gain, level by level
| Level | Gain |
|---|---|
| 1 | Weapon Proficiency (simple), Armor Proficiency (light), Armor Proficiency (medium), Armor Proficiency (heavy), Shield Proficiency, Weapon Proficiency (martial), Divine Grace, Divine Health, Lay on Hands (3 + (your combined Paladin and Divine Champion levels / 10) a day), Weapon Proficiency (Paladin) |
| 2 | Aura of Courage, Smite Evil (1 + (your combined Paladin and Divine Champion levels / 10) a day, and 3 more with Extra Smiting) |
| 3 | Remove Disease (1 + (your Paladin levels / 5) a day), Turn Undead |
| 5 | Summon Mount, Mounted Combat |
| 21 | Epic Paladin, +1 Charisma |
| 23 | bonus feat (and again every 3 levels to 38) |
| 30 | +1 Charisma, +1 natural armour |
| 40 | Guardian Angel, +2 Charisma, +2 natural armour |
Spells
Spells are prepared in advance and spent as they are cast. The casting ability is Wisdom.
How a save is worked out, and what a slot is actually spent on, are on Magic.
Spells a day, by spell level. A level that is not listed has the same allowance as the last one listed above it.
| Level | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | - | 0 | - | - | - |
| 6 | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| 8 | - | 1 | 0 | - | - |
| 10 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 11 | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 12 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 14 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | - | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | - | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 19 | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20 | - | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Spell list
Every spell on the Paladin list, by spell level.
Bonus feat choices
A bonus feat is granted at the levels marked in the table above, and can be spent on any of the following.
As a bonus feat or as an ordinary feat: Armor Skin, Devastating Critical (any of 40), Divine Shield of Steel, Epic Prowess, Epic Reputation, Epic Spell Focus (any of 8), Epic Toughness (any of 10), Epic Weapon Focus (any of 40), Great Charisma (any of 10), Great Smiting (any of 10), Greater Spell Focus (any of 8), Improved Combat Casting, Improved Critical, Overwhelming Critical (any of 40), Perfect Health, Planar Turning.
Class skills
One point per rank instead of two: Concentration, Craft: Harvesting, Craft: Mastery, Craft: Speed, Discipline, Heal, Lore, Parry, Persuade, Ride, Taunt.
Races that favour it
Aasimar (male characters), Azer (male characters), Celestial (male characters). A character of one of those races who stays single-classed in this one earns extra experience - see Character development.