Lyric the Singing Paladin's page

I'll play devil's advocate here. While I think it is worth playing once, I don't think it is worth waiting for. I didn't get to Confirmation until my second character, Lyric the Singing Paladin, who really loved playing through the Confirmation the very first time. She found it a magical and fun adventure.

On the other hand, my -1 character, Zahra, never missed it, and when later characters played it (I only played it twice after that) they didn't find it that replayable in terms of excitement. It just was not worth it to me to repeat the scenario over and over. There are other repeatable scenarios that I like better, but on the whole, my advice to you would be to play and embrace as many unique adventures as you have available.

Maybe that means revisiting an evergreen that you really loved playing once. But also seek out the new stuff. There is such an extensive catalog of great PF1 adventures as a new player that you are unlikely to run out.

If the Confirmation is offered to you in your first two levels, go do it and have a lovely time. Otherwise, seek out what is open, and have a lovely time.

Hmm

PS My preference for doing something other than the Confirmation was so strong that it meant that I never GMed it until it got assigned to me at GenCon. The person assigning the scenarios was trying to be kind, giving me something that EVERYONE had prepped. Little did he know that I had never GMed it before... On the other hand, I got a table full of wonderful players who were trying out PFS for the very first time. So I had a blast, and they had a blast, as I rediscovered the joys of the scenario with this completely fresh group.

...I knew I was forgetting something yesterday.

Ah, Rosc. Sorry I didn’t hear your song. I’m sure it would have been both great and terrifying.

Hugs,
Lyric

It's curious how the LG camp want to enforce everybody to play by their rules, because they feel it's the righteous thing to do. It's pretty thematic with LG paladins, who also try to force everybody to be like they want them to be. :P

I don’t do that. I’m out to redeem and lead by example, not to force others to live by the strict code that I have set for myself.

So, I have realized that my choice to make Lyric (a PF1 character) deaf would have helped her play perfectly with the Shelynite anathema system. Her -4 initiative modifier was* LEGENDARY in local Minnesota play as I frequently rolled negative numbers for my initiative. As a result, I told people, “I never start fights. I finish them.”

So the whole thing about striking first... What’s this ‘striking first’ that you all speak of? By the time my turn rolled around, the bad guys had already shown their true colors and it was time to righteously smite their asses.

And yes, Lyric does sometimes use the phrase: ‘smite your ass.’

My character, Lyric the Singing Paladin, had a situation akin to this recently. We were in a temple with an evil cult, tasked to remove it, when something evil kept pinging on my "paladar" (detect evil checks).

I shouted, "I know you're there. Show yourself or face the consequences."

[evil thing] "Um, you're not going to smite me, are you?"

Me: "That depends. I don't smite every evil thing I meet. What are you doing here?"

It was a quasit that needed help returning to its plane, and wanted to help us because we were going after its enemies, the aforementioned evil cult. It offered to serve as our guide so that we could clear its way to the portal home.

I thought this out.

"You want back to your plane, and I don't want you wreaking havoc here. So here's the deal. You commit evil acts, I smite your ass. You hurt an innocent, I smite your ass. You betray us, I smite your ass." Then I paused. "If you guide us as promised, and only fight against the cult, I'll send you home."

I temporarily allied with an evil creature against a greater evil. Because Shelyn is a redemptive god, I asked if it wanted to change course and start following a path of good. It in turn said, "You're smarter than the other paladins I've met. Have you considered the benefits of falling? You could make a really dashing anti-paladin!"

In the end, we both honored our agreements and I sent the quasit home. I did not fall.

There are circumstances where a paladin can be thoughtful about how it treats evil, parleys with it or even strikes a temporary alliance. Paladins have a variety of codes, and part of the joy of being a paladin lies in striking a balance, and finding a path where one can be true to one's vows in challenging circumstances.

_____

So.... by making a request to not have any more paladin threads, we’re having another paladin thread? Shelyn is laughing with us.

♫ I’m the very model of a modern singing Paladin
Known for charm and wit and the love of sweet Shelyn
I have no rod up my ass; I’m no moral harridan
Have so many adventures, don’t know where to begin
I’ve sung with gobs, drunk with trolls (they favor gin)
While sharing ditties inspired by Gilbert & by Sullivan!
So lie to rest your Paladins blessed with judgmental overviews
And instead give forumites some happy messages to peruse! ♫

Nathan Goodrich wrote:

Shelyn is getting name-dropped a lot in these playtest articles. Is she becoming more prominent in the new version, or does our article writer just really like her?

Could also be that the god they decided to talk about was Shelyn so they keep talking about it.

Either way, I’ve been ecstatic to hear* so much about her in the Playtest Blogs. Shelyn is the goddess that speaks to my heart. How wonderful to see the glaive that I bear in her name get called out in the blog for its special qualities.

_____
* Okay, so as a deaf character, maybe I’m not actually ‘hearing’ the message of Shelyn in a literal sense. Maybe it’s just being sung directly to my heart.

"Ummm. Please tell me that my Goddess still loves my singing, and not just boring building stuff?"

“I also plan to keep singing!” Lyric smlles down at her goblin friend. “Maybe we can sing together!’

Thanks for making Shelyn your first example here.

It’s a perfect expression of her beauty. Now... if I were Lyric the Singing Cleric and not Lyric the Singing Paladin, are you saying that I would be able to Color Spray? Will that spell still be able to stun people with rainbows at higher level? (Sort of like how Heaven’s Oracles do it in PFS 1?)

I am also hoping for a MUSIC domain. Both Unity and Artistic Flourish are exciting domain powers for me.

Hmm

The Additional Resources and Campaign Clarifications updates are now live, and we have numerous FAQs that should also be appearing shortly. These updates include all of the November products, including Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Wilderness, for which you should also see the Ultimate Wilderness FAQs. Most notably, though, these updates address two prevalent character options: the ring of seven lovely colors and the spell snowball.

The Ring of Seven Lovely Colors: This ring is sacred to Shelyn, functions as a ring of protection +1 (a 2,000 gp value), and allows the user to transform into songbird seven times a day (somewhere between 20,000–70,000 gp in value, depending on how you do the math) for the low price of 4,000 gp. In practice, we’ve seen several issues. The first is that the ring’s price is overall too low for its benefits. Second, the ring inadvertently facilitates combat, which has spun into hyper-agile “songbird of death” builds that frequently shut down combats single-handed—particularly jarring given a relic of Shelyn (goddess of love, art, and beauty) has turned into an offensive tool.

The Campaign Clarifications document has made several changes to this ring. First, the price has been increased to 7,000 gp. Second, the referenced spell is now beast shape II instead of beast shape IV; this has no mechanical effect but merely better represents the ring’s price and functions. Third, the ring now includes the following text:

Quote:

The ring’s magic shares Shelyn’s preference for mercy and peace over violence. If its wearer willingly makes an attack while in songbird form, the polymorph effect ends immediately and the rings’s songbird transformation ability deactivates for 1 week. If the wearer is forced to make an attack against her will (such as from the effects of confusion), the songbird form does not deactivate.

Lyric can still have her ring and use it the way Shelyn intended! Shelyn be praised! Thank you, thank you, thank you, John, on behalf of myself and all the other non-violent Shelynites who love the Ring of Seven Lovely Colors.

Hmm

Before we go, I would like to say that I, Lyric the Singing Paladin, am opposed to seeing dance lessons stop for the lovely Sarenites that I have met!

Sarenrae is such a nice goddess, and my goddess, Shelyn, beams everytime one makes the world a more beautiful place with an offering of dance.

Where does it say you cannot follow the paladin code of Torag? I follow the paladin code of Shelyn.

In that case, it is discovered the end enemy was a traitor all along who sabotaged a mission in the background for a outerworld patron. Knowing that patron, it was 99,99 percent likely this end in a bloodbath and unlikely to be receptive to any talk.

But the paladin still did the speech, I wasn't surprised this was for nothing. Self-defence was not enough, the better case was to bring it straight to the enemy's face.

Hell is paved with good intentions.

Phillippe, let’s agree to disagree on this. It’s clear that you had a bad experience with a non-tactical Shelynite paladin. But Lyric has a positive intelligence modifier, and I play her that way.

There is nothing that says that you cannot take down a known deceiver and murderer. Even Shelynite paladins will have moments when they rush an enemy. In one murder investigation, I found out that a certain scoundrel had murdered a bard, and I could not let that evil doer walk away. I took them OUT. Simarly, someone who has sacrificed innocents to a demon... Yeah, Lyric would totally smite that.

The thing that I love about paladins is that there are a variety of ways to play them, from the hardass Oath of Vengeance types to canny archers to Bret’s folksy Erastilian paladin who tracks creatures in the woods and has pegged survival as one of his main skills. Your deity has a major effect on your values as a paladin, but your personality and tactics are not set in stone. There is room to discover who you are, and to have your own unique approach to things.

Hmm

I spent time in a Fairy-hill as a child with a whole bunch of other children that all grew up to be paladins! In between singing, dancing and weaving fairy garlands we practiced smiting evil outsiders and undead. Fairy boot camp. Look it up. It's a thing!

If someone is attacking those I have sworn to protect -- which includes my own party -- I do not hesitate to fight to protect them. What I do hesitate to do is kill unless it is an evil outsider or undead. I will talk to the other side the entire time, entreating them to change their ways, and do other tactics including fighting non-lethally. But being a Shelynite does not mean being a patsy. You are allowed to fight in self-defense. Lyric's terrible initiative modifier is legendary (I once had a -4 modifier, since I'm deaf) but that's okay. I tell everyone, "I never start a fight. I just finish them."

Hello there! I'm Lyric the Singing Paladin, and I wanted to tell you that Shelynite Paladins don't need Virtuous Bravo to be awesome. You can fight with a glaive, sing with trolls, and redeem all those that need redemption just off straight paladin. Or if you like, you can be a paladin who splashes Oracle, or Bard, or even Swashbuckler.

What makes this character memorable -- and she's been memorable to all who have met her -- is not her mechanics, but the love and fervor with which she greets the world. I think that you should make your Shelynite Paladin, and enjoy him or her, and not worry about fancy mechanics. The Core Paladin is very strong, and there are other legal archetypes that you might find that work well for your concept.

I look forward to meeting your next character, and maybe even adventuring together at a convention, whether online or in person!

No supervision required for events with your friends in your own home.

BlackOuroboros wrote:

Rysky wrote:

And this goes back to something I hate about PFS, your character's don't matter, your roleplaying doesn't matter, it's just builds and getting through missions. What's the point.

To have fun playing 4-5 hour blocks of pregenerated content for a hybrid roleplaying / tabletop strategy game and to do so a smoothly as possible.

If I play a Paladin, or other follower of a Diety, I'd like to roleplay that. Roleplaying is fun.

Lyric pats Rysky on the shoulder. "Of course you can roleplay your paladin in PFS!" Lyric looks around the room. "My goodness. You can be a wonderful character, and a team player, and a paladin. Being good and lawful does NOT mean boring. I'm a Paladin who collects slightly naughty songs, and is interested in redeeming people."

She pauses. "I have worked with Necromancers, and I've come to terms with them early on. It's important for both of us, if we want to explore and cooperate to figure out the bounds of our working relationship. I've told a necromancer straight out that if he wants to control an undead that was already undead.... Well that's okay. You're taking an evil destructive power and preventing it from hurting people. However, I've also explained that I don't want a soul to fail to find rest, and respectfully requested that they don't animate fresh dead while traveling with me."

She sighs. "I try not to have my rules limit what other characters do. If they animate an undead, I will not smite them. But I will be very, very disappointed, and do everything I can to free that soul at the end of the adventure." She smiles. "I try to see the beauty in others, and to be a team player. If I don't like a proposed solution, I will explain why, and then offer an alternative suggestion. Sometimes if you think outside the box, you can find a path that everyone can agree upon."

This is an all-singing musical event, right?

School of Spirits is amazing. It was a good chance to explore the beauty of Shelyn.

There currently is not a legal option. However, we deaf Pathfinders would love for you to join our Petition for a Non Evil Sign Language that all Pathfinders could learn.

Once again, I am seeing a request for Sign Language in PFS.

Is there any adaption or compromise we can make to allow sign language in PFS to be legalized?

Markov Spiked Chain wrote:

I don't think it steps on the Paladin that much. Full BaB, Heavy Armor, crazy saves and Smite Evil are all great, and make the core "do something with your actions other than healing" idea of Oradin work. There's still a lot of room for a party healer up front smashing face off.

I'm entirely surprised no one has made an Oradin using the Spirit Guide archetype. Was it just because that books version of life link was broken?

I am an Oradin with Spirit Guide Archetype, but I am a life oracle who pulls in other spirits for hexes and spells. If you want the life oracle goodies you really want to have life mystery.

Cue Anna, Elsa and Lyric the Singing Paladin

❄️️ "Oooh, did I filk that one and forget about it?" ❄️️

^ I love those snowflakes, Eadie!

I should note that this is also a very old thread.

Since then, we can all get Read Lips for a single point in Linguistics.

Deaf and proud,
Lyric

Please don't ban this ring.

There are so many of us who want it just because it's a lovely, flavorful item. Lyric has no dex bonus. It gives her nothing except for a deflection bonus and the ability to fly sometimes in a form where she can cast no spells and do no fighting.

Please! Although it has appeared widely in forum theory crafting, I have never seen anyone who abuses it in practice. Not even psychic casters.

Welcome to the Shelyn Paladin club, Steven! I'm Lyric, and it's a pleasure to meet you!

Nah. Though I admit that I'm a Paladin 2 Life Oracle 4 -- all the healing and all the songs!

Somewhere in the Grand Lodge, a Singing Paladin is surprised when the party stumbles into her room. Largely because she cannot hear them... But once she turns around and reads their lips, she smiles.

"So you have discovered my secret plot! With my Silver Crusade Buddies, I plan to turn the society into a place for joy and song where all can cooperate! Yes! It's true! Ha! You know what happens now?" She laughs -- a musical laugh that is all the more terrifying because of its cheery sound. "It's time for us to share milk and cookies!"*

____

If that doesn't work, she challenges the party to a rap smack down.

♫ I'm Lyric in the place to be
Yeah, I'll smite your ass
But I'll do so cheerfully

I'm Lyric, I get under your skin
I'm Lyric the singing, smiting, smiling paladin
Behold... the power of Shelyn! ♫

___
* She personally redeemed those cookies from the Dark Side.

As a player, these bits may be even shorter.

___
*♫ I - am - your singing pal-a-din! ♫

Am I going to regret SkalCon?

Come now, let’s hoist a beer

Regrets? Not with our crew,
We give our all without exemption!
We do what we have to do and see it through, it’s our redemption!
We’ll shear Venture Keith of his excess hair until it’s all gone
And more, much more than this, we’ll do at SkålCon!

Come, try our hospitality
The fine food and drink of FFG
And through it all, if there is doubt
Jack’s bacon bourbon will drive it out
We’ll have a ball, then we’ll stand tall for our dear SkålCon!

We’ll laugh, making history
I’ll finally meet TOZ, Chris and Wei Ji
What’s more, you’ll all at last meet ME!
Raising funds for Charity
In the middle of warm September
Yes, it’ll be a con you’ll remember

Pathfinders, what have we got?
If not each other, then we have naught
We take our chances, roll the dice, go beyond Minnesota nice
And at the last, we’ll have a blast, for it is SkålCon!

Source: Frank Sinatra's My Way

Says the Hellknight of Asmodeus...

...from the Silver Crusade faction!

"Wait a minute. I like Cold Pl--- Aieeeee!" Whatever Lyric would have said next was lost as she got sucked into the internet plane, the only place she could now exist.

Oooooo
When she was just a girl
She expected the world
Admitting she liked Coldplay
On the internet she's doomed to stay
Crying out PF-PF-PFS
PF-PF-PFS
PF-PF-PFS
Went too far, still no regrets

"Huh. Why's it so flat here?"

I don't care about cigars, but people who sing at the table are a damn nuisance, and should be firmly muzzled.

Lyric looks at the muzzle that she's been issued with a clear look of puzzlement. Then her expression clears. "Zarta starts the weirdest fashions, doesn't she!"

Oh, am I ever guilty of singing at the table...

Lyric lost her elven favored class bonus to errata. A change from a revelation boost from 1/2 to 1/6 levels is tough. Fortunately there was no change to the human FCB. So instead of buffing revelations, she's adding spells to her spell list. I took an extra revelation in order to start boosting channel right away and make up for the multiclassing. Post-errata, I would have never taken the feat to get channel. Sigh.

But the errata did not change the Tiefling FCB, which is crazy good for oradins.

Go deaf oradins!

Hmm

For curses, I went deaf! No wimpy legalistic curse for me! Advantages: immunity to sonic, silent spell casting, and the most memorable initiative modifier around.

(Lyric rocks a -4 initiative bonus!)

Well, on time for your levels of oracle, but remember that you have paladin levels too. This means that you'll be getting all your spells later.

Do you have a build that you wish us to comment upon?

Hmm

Hi, I'm Lyric the Singing Paladin, and I'm a Spirit Guide Oradin!

I love Spirit Guide because it has really opened up options for me. Just keep in mind that spell casting is delayed, and if you go with 2 levels of Paladin for Lay on Hands that you won't be able to pick up spells from your spirit until level 6. The delayed casting is the balancing point that keeps you from cheesing out too much.

Hmm

*Koko Find Path Teach You Love Heart Sign Language Want Be One Of Ten Wear Mask*

Lyric hugs Koko, because Koko just made her day! That's wonderful sign, Koko!

Where there is enlightenment, there is music and a chance to make things a little more right in the world.

Yep, I know about that trait. I even thought about taking it, even though it would have to mean that I (a paladin) would be maxing bluff skill.

All I want is a sign language. Feel free to sign my petition if you would like one, too!

There's been some concern about abuse potential, but honestly, I think all it would so is add beauty and richness to the Golarian world.

Hmm

Lyric the Singing Paladin: Nah, I saw it. I liked it. Very creative and says what a lot of us are thinking. Also, I just put together that you are Hmm. :)

Yep. This may be my best-known character. For some reason, it's the one people remember.

Hmm

Lune, you probably missed the song that the errata inspired from me:

Vida la Errata

I do know that Compton's considering allowing people to retrain Fate's Favored if they took it for the Jingasa.

Hmm

I have two oracles in society play. I never dared pick up the Ring of Revelations to try to UMD another oracle's mystery, though I thought about it before discarding the idea. Right now, the only way for oracles to play with another mystery's toys is by becoming a Spirit Guide archetype right out of the gate. Or bypass oracle altogether and just be a shaman.

What's interesting about Spirit Guide is that the most O.P. oracle revelations are NOT available: no awesome display, no sidestep secret, etc. So what is left are all the flavorful ones that you can change around each day, depending on the adventure that you're anticipating.

Lovely.

Hmm

Quote:

But I have one piece of good news to sing

No one’s touched my seven color ring!

To be fair, that's from a different book, so you may want to hold your breath til all the season's re-printings are released.

Lyric grabs a necklace of adaptation so she can hold her breath until then.

"Remember, I'm an eternal optimist! For now, my pretty ring is still in the store window!"

Hmm

PS You have to admit... It was a great song, right?

I used to rue the nerfs
Cried over those boots of earth
My favored class bonus gone
Vanished with the mists of dawn

I hear the forumites wails a-ringing
The errata’s curses they’re singing
Gone four-mirror, my sword and shield
Pathfinders goin’ naked in the field
For some reason I can’t explain
The jingasa’s no longer worthy of its name
Only one crit that’s absurd
For a hat that once ruled the world

[2X]

Source: Viva la Vida by Coldplay

[Disclaimer: I know maybe three people at most read these but eh, what the hecky]

Given the Shelynite convention that just showed up, I think it's evident that more than three people are reading this!

"Welcome! You've been in Mendev? So have I! For some reason, they keep sending me back there..."

"Oh how perfect!" Lyric looks down with delight at the little wooden rose in her hand, and kisses Varg on the forehead. "Thank you so much! I don't carry much with me, but I'll treasure this!"

I'm totally adding this to my character sheet. It's adorable!

Perform Sing: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

In return, Lyric sings you a song.

A rose bloomed in the wood
A friendship made, we understood
The blessed music of Shelyn
Shining from a heart so pure and good
Giving all the joy he could --
Love is calling! Let it in!

It would be so much fun to play all our Shelynite paladins together. I was so excited when a recent scenario had another Shelynite paladin in it as an NPC. We should start a glee club!

I can't tell you how many times people have asked me in a game... "What kind of a paladin are YOU?"

"The kind that doesn't have a stick up her ass."

___

Lyric has:

A tall pretty red headed half elf in plate armor comes into the room and smiles at everyone. Prominent is a glaive, a holy symbol of Shelyn, and a permanently chipper disposition. "Hello, I'm Lyric, the Singing Paladin! Um, could you look my way when you're talking? I'm deaf, but I read lips."

"I've never been to [adventure Location] before, but I bet we'll make lots of new friends!"

Out of character, I hand out sheets with Lyric's paladin code and explain that she's an oradin (Paladin / Life Oracle cross.) She fights, she heals and she makes friends with everyone. She's even made friends with trolls, goblins and other monsters. It's the power of music. Everyone loves music, right?

Lyric's laughably horrible initiative rolls are legendary in the Twin Cities Lodge. I decided not to pour resources into improving Lyric's initiative, because in the end, it just doesn't matter. What's the difference, really, between -4 and zero? She generally goes at the end of the group, and it does not matter at all.

Lyric is a strong contributor to any group she's in. She keeps the group healed and strong, and she's a fantastic face. Her lip reading has even proved helpful in adventures, as has her immunity to sonic attacks. Being able to smite an evil caster while under a silent spell that affects me, and not him? Marvelous...

Yeah, her auditory perception is non-existant. But she can see how her teammates react, and perception is usually earmarked by everyone else in a party. Lyric covers areas of expertise that are often neglected by others.

I really love that being an oracle gave me the freedom to explore deafness in a Pathfinder character. It was really the whole reason I decided to be an oracle in the first place.