Rethgryn's page

A lot of people on here argue about what is and what isn't an appropriate action for a paladin to take. I have many of my own views, and as paladin is actually my favorite class, for both RP and mechanic reasons, I am one of those people who is very opinionated about the topic.

However, lately, I've been wondering something; Is Paladin really such a strong class that it needs what literally seems like a built-in self-destruct button?

Originally, in the earlier versions of D&D a Paladin was an incredibly potent class. If I'm not mistaken, the stat requirements to be a paladin in AD&D 2nd ed. were so strict that meeting them through standard methods was next to impossible. The abilities they gained, however, were equally potent by contrast.

But now? Is the paladin class really so powerful in Pathfinder, as compared to every other class, that an alignment restriction is necessary? Would a CN paladin really be some kind of game-breaker, or is the alignment restriction simply a leftover from previous version of the game?

And what about other classes? Would a Monk be any more powerful if it wasn't restricted to lawful alignments? Or would the Barbarian class become more powerful if they could be lawful? How about druids and their neutral restriction?

Yes, the alignment restrictions make a certain sense from a role playing aspect, but are they necessary? Has anyone every tried running a non-alignment restricted campaign? If so, how did it go? If not, why?

I'm not leaning towards one side or the other on this one. From the role play perspective, the alignment restrictions make a lot of sense to me, and I'd prefer that they stay there. But, from a mechanical standpoint, I don't really see a necessity for them.

I'd really prefer it if alignment wasn't tied to the game mechanics, as it is now you would need a lot of tweaks to house rule it out but it seems to be something a lot of fans get mad about if you take it out.

Well not every assassin is in it for the money or is even paid to assassinate targets. I'd probably handwave the killing someone to become an assassin to allow non-evil assassins. If the assassin is motivated to take out bad people, dictators, and that sort of thing and make sure they stay dead, I would see that as valid.

Have you read anything of another RPG called Changeling the Lost? While it is a modern day horror RPG, It has great material and ideas that could be adapted to the fey in DnD.

Changeling the Lost is about normal people who were abducted from our world and taken to Arcadia by the true fey who mutilated and tortured them into taking on a fey seeming. While they were gone, the true fey left behind clones called "fetches" who stole their lives. The Changelings escaped and organize themselves into Seasonal Courts for mutual aid, comfort, and defense against the true fey and the loyalists who want to take them back.

The four seasonal courts have a defining emotion and a certain role to play. While there is no explicit Seelie / Unseelie line, the True Fey are like the Unseelie and the Changelings are like the Seelie. The Summer Court are the warriors, their signature emotion is wrath. The Fall court are creepy scholars and occultists, their signature emotion is fear, The Winter is Sorrow and they are the stealthy types whose philoophy centers around not being seen and leaving no foot prints, while the spring court's emotion is desire and are the healers and poets of the changelings and are all about rebirth, renewal, and being free. You could use them in a DnD game just fine. Maybe in Golarion there are seelie and unseelie versions of the four seasons.

Also would it be game breaking to waive the alignment restriction on Assasin's. It seems like its not unthinkable to have a non-evil assassin, like on assassin's creed.

The book doesn't say anything about what happens. Do they lose all their class features like Paladins?

I'd love to see Paizo do one though, they are an established name and all.

Given what Paizo has done with Pathfinder, I think it would be awesome if Paizo could give D20 modern a facelift. Perhaps they could fix and add new talents, new feats, or just reprint the out of print and under supported system.