Yeah I agree. At least make it a feat or something.
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Can anyone explain this to me? Particularly since Golarian's deities are a bit freer with ranged attacks as favored weapons than even the standard Greyhawk ones, shouldn't Abadar's or Erastil's favored warriors be able to smite with their favored weapons?
There's a part of me that wants paladins to only be able to smite when standing toe to toe with their foes. No "nuke them from orbit" option.
On the other hand, if the paladin's god prefers to use ranged weapons to bring low the infidels, then I can see an argument for letting the paladin do the same.
My preferred solution is to let the player choose between ranged smite and melee smite when creating the character.
If you limited it to "favoured weapon only" then the range wouldn't really matter. A paladin smiting a number of times/day with a longbow really isn't that scary.
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If you limited it to "favoured weapon only" then the range wouldn't really matter. A paladin smiting a number of times/day with a longbow really isn't that scary.
I tend to agree. I'd actually go one step further and say that paladins can only smite with their deity's favored weapon, but up the flat damage bonus to d6s. I've always wanted to have a ranged paladin, but the rules support just isn't there. So instead, I've had to make due with my swashbuckler-paladin (fought with a rapier), and my samurai-paladin (bastard sword). I've always liked paladins, especially if people play them like the noble crusaders of justice they're supposed to be and not the rancid dickwads that popular consent has turned them into.
Jeremy Puckett
I completely disagree with a paladin having to use their deities' favored weapon to smite. Unless a god, for whatever reason, forbids a given weapon, why should the paladin be limited to that weapon? In my campaign, I have a paladin of Lathander. She uses a longsword, not a mace. Over the years, no paladin of Lathander that I can recall has ever been portrayed with a mace.
I get that you want to emphasize a cleric carrying a weapon similar to their god's weapon. They are the example for their faith. But a paladin is a holy warrior for their faith, and sometimes, even if your god's favored weapon is a quarterstaff, it makes more sense for the holy warriors of the faith to have a greatsword.
I don't think its OGL, but there is a ranged smite feat. I'm sure some wording can be twisted around to make this work for Pathfinder if its needed in the core rules, but I think it should be an option, not the default. Paladins tend to be front line fighters, and smiting at range, as the default, doesn't seem to fit that mold.
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Paladins tend to be front line fighters, and smiting at range, as the default, doesn't seem to fit that mold.
I don't care for game designers making my character for me. If you don't want to be told that your paladin has to use a mace, why do I have to be told my paladin can't use a longbow?
In general, the point is that there seem to be no balance reasons for it, but there are numerous flavor reasons against it, so why is it still here? If you simply delete the word "melee" from the ability, you lose no backward compatibility, but you open up all sorts of options for holy warrior who might find that, for whatever reason, delivering their god's justice at range suits them better. The "deity's favored weapon" part is merely the most obvious reason why someone might want to do so - it's hardly the only one, though.
I think smite should not only have a range function, but a social function as well.
My paladin tells evil to "talk to the hand"...roll for Pwnage...
I think smite should be allowed for all weapons, ranged or melee. It's not like it unbalances anything, but it is really annoying under the current rules. As it stands you to take a feat from the Book of Exalted Deeds, not one of those that is normally allowed in my games.
I agree with giving Paladins the ability to Smite at range. Paladins are already a fairly optionless class, why limit their options further with a melee only smite?
I do think similar rules should apply to ranged smite as it does to sneak atk though. You must be within 30 ft. Just to keep it from getting abused.
As a matter of fact I am making this a house rule whether Pathfinder changes it or not.