Wasn't quite sure where to put this, but when I saw that the paladin and the ranger were coming up in Alpha 2 and 3, my initial thought was that I'd like them to look a lot like the paladins and rangers from the Book of Hallowed Might.
I wasn't too upset with the paladin, but I'd still like to see the holy sword as a "given" of the class instead of the trade off for the horse, and perhaps allow some other alternate to the horse as well as leaving the horse as an option.
I love the Hallowed Might rangers as more flexible roaming wilderness tanks that can follow a lot of different paths while still maintaining the key components of rangers.
So I guess in the end this post is a vote to look really, really hard at the Book of Hallowed Might rangers and paladins before all is said and done, especially not that Monte is on board with this.
So you'd rather see a Craft Holy Sword class feature for pally, a limited version of Craft Magic Weapons and Armor?
I started to think of alternate feats, but honestly my brain is crackling with too much stuff, and I've already stated my ideas on how to improve paladins.
Okay, what about:
Imbue Holiness:
At level X, the paladin may imbue divine power from her own life force into the symbols of her station. Although these vary from order to order, they always include her armor, weapon, and horse.
[SIDEBAR: It should be noted in the law section that all of these are forfiet at the loss of single combat or if one falls in battle.]
The paladin may only imbue the following list of qualities: [insert list of qualities]
When augmenting mount or followers, the paladin may only grant those that she herself possesses. If a paladin ever loses her paladin status, inherent benefits are retained by the augmented, but supernatural enhancements cease to function.
Oh dear. If this is allowed, it explains a great deal. The order's master/mistress bestows paladin abilities upon the paladin as the conduit of the deity's power. I like this concept, but admit it doesn't meld well with all play styles. I'm going to see how it merges with arcane pools, combat styles, and other 'shared powers', but it'll probably make it into my house rules. Besides, it explains flukes like Sturm Brightblade, with the attitude of a paladin but none of the powers.