I'm not too surprised that Unsanctioned Knowledge doesn't seem to pop up more often since it requires scarce resources and a paladin has a pretty severely restricted number of spells. Still though, cherrypicking from a variety of spell lists with a rosary of pearls of power in once hand and a sword itching to smite in the other sure sounds like a fun deal.
My concept for an agile and easygoing warrior-mystic themed paladin to spite the tired old class cliches would probably pick:
1-Vanish, 2-Mirror Image, 3-Good Hope, 4-Airwalk
since the obvious haste / fervor would be covered by Oath of Vengeance or Oath against Savagery, and Mirror Image is just too 'mystical powers!' to pass up.
My own concept aside, what do people like on an unorthodox paladin?
There is always heroism for the 2nd spell level spot.
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3rd - animate dead and 4th - Chaos hammer! It may be a loophole, but Paladins don't have the "opposing-alignment spells" prohibition that Clerics, Druids, and Inquisitors do....
Otherwise, 2nd - gallant inspiration is not terrible, nor is silence, and shield of faith, murderous command, or ear-piercing scream are all solid choices for 1st.
The Choices are Yours, and Yours Alone! Good Luck....
there's also Divine Power and suchlike buff spells.
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I'm not too surprised that Unsanctioned Knowledge doesn't seem to pop up more often since it requires scarce resources and a paladin has a pretty severely restricted number of spells. Still though, cherrypicking from a variety of spell lists with a rosary of pearls of power in once hand and a sword itching to smite in the other sure sounds like a fun deal.
My concept for an agile and easygoing warrior-mystic themed paladin to spite the tired old class cliches would probably pick:
1-Vanish, 2-Mirror Image, 3-Good Hope, 4-Airwalk
since the obvious haste / fervor would be covered by Oath of Vengeance or Oath against Savagery, and Mirror Image is just too 'mystical powers!' to pass up.
My own concept aside, what do people like on an unorthodox paladin?
It always been my opinion that Unsanctioned Knowledge is a bit of a trap. Rarely is there a party without an arcane spellcaster, rarely is the best use of a Paladin's turn in combat casting a spell and the existing spell options, parsed properly, are just too good.
We recently completed a Wrath of the Righteous run and my Paladin was more magical than most (due to race and multi-classing), but at 20th level, his Paladin spells (with 22 CHA) were:
1st - Hero's Defiance x2, Compel Hostility, Divine Favor x3
2nd - Litany of Righteousness x3, Protection vs. Evil (Communal) x3
3rd - Blessing of Fervor x3, Deadly Juggernaut
4th - Bloodsworn Retribution, Burst of Glory, Sacrificial Oath x2
I used Pearls of Power almost exclusively to increase uses of Litany of Righteousness, of which you can never have too many. For martials, I'm all about immediate action and swift actions spells and Paladins have them in spades. Between that, Lay on Hands and Divine Interference for erasing critical hits, I'd argue that they have the best action economy in the game. At later levels its not often you get to 'power up' before a fight, but even then I've got Blessing of Fervor, Communal Protection vs. Evil and Divine Favor to drop 3/day each.
Don't fix it if it ain't broke - that's my 2 cp, anyway.
bladed dash is also worth mentioning from the bard list.
+1 to DD since it lets you get 'pounce' later via dimensional dervish (albeit at 13/15/17th, but hey)
Looks solid. Though always, always, always go Oath of Vengeance over Oath Against Savagery. The first is amazing, the second not good at all.
I know Oath of Vengeance is by far the most popular choice for a lot of good reasons, but my particular build concept is rather different than the usual. I'll post the thing elsewhere if I feel inclined, but the short of it is that it's dex-based: Dervish Dance + Sohei 1 + Crusader's Flurry + Combat Reflexes + Holy Reach for a whirlwind of slices. As a major bonus of Sohei + high initiative, you're in a great position to buff the party with things like Haste or Good Hope and then wait for them to run into your reach scimitar lawnmower.
Thanks for the spell ideas to chew on... its level 2 where there's just too much stuff to pick from, and Litany of Righteousness is already begging to be used as was mentioned above. That's part of why I thought Mirror Image - not to try to use as a regular defense, but when the big throw-down is about to happen or you really don't want to get touched or bit or whatever.