Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Count me in with the folks who would like to see paladins get full channel energy, but let me add a twist.
Clerics channel energy to blast undead. That's one of their main schticks.
In 3rd Ed, turning undead and curing were regularized to positive/negative energy, so turning now was channeling good mojo or bad mojo. Undead liked bad mojo and hated good mojo.
Here's my thought on paladins.
A paladin's schtick CAN be undead, but I think classically we think of them as people out there fighting evil outsiders and dragons as their iconic adversaries. Dragons... while iconic, just aren't something you'll be fighting very often (unless you're in Dragonlance, of course).
Evil outsiders? OMG, almost any high-level campaign is going to be chock full of them, if not as the main behind-the-scenes bad guys then as servants and soldiers for the main bad guys.
So how about this as a notion:
A paladin's ability to channel energy is, rather than a cleric's generic positive/negative energy, instead divine sacred energy from the upper planes. This energy still heals for any good-aligned creatures (neutrals might get full healing or might only get half healing from it - which does sort of fit with a paladin's somewhat judgmental credo).
But instead of damaging undead, it:
1. Damages evil outsiders.
2. Damages evil outsiders and undead.
3. Damages ANYTHING evil. If you're an EvO (or just have the [evil] subtype), you take full damage. If you're any other kind of evil, you take half.
(and, of course, as my prejudice is well known, it could blast chaotics too, but I'm pretty much alone on the island on that one)
It uses the same basic mechanic as the cleric, but it gives the paladin his own unique schtick that isn't just a second-rate knock-off of what the cleric can already do.
Thoughts?
Hi, Jason.
I like the Channel Sacred Energy idea for the Paladin.
Definitely worth some thought. Lay on Hands and Smite should probably be functions of channelling sacred energy. And, the auras should be, too. In essence, the auras are passive sacred energy.
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What about having Channel Sacred Energy as a power that you choose which alignment axis it affects? When you acquire the power, you choose whether it will affect evil creatures or chaotic creatures? Both fit the Paladin "flavor" and provide a little uniqueness from one character to another.
!!! Just had a thought. What about having this choice affect a Paladin's Smite as well? You choose at 1st level whether your Paladin is a crusader of law and order or one of good and righteousness--that choice affects all other Paladin abilities accordingly. What do you think?
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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What about having Channel Sacred Energy as a power that you choose which alignment axis it affects? When you acquire the power, you choose whether it will affect evil creatures or chaotic creatures? Both fit the Paladin "flavor" and provide a little uniqueness from one character to another.
!!! Just had a thought. What about having this choice affect a Paladin's Smite as well? You choose at 1st level whether your Paladin is a crusader of law and order or one of good and righteousness--that choice affects all other Paladin abilities accordingly. What do you think?
I was all for it affecting both, which didn't seem to meet much agreement.
Your twist is interesting, in that paladins could have the choice of being more focused on the LAWFUL good or on the lawful GOOD.
P.S. - Glad to see someone came across and picked up this thread. :)
P.S. - Glad to see someone came across and picked up this thread. :)
I'm glad to see people working on improving the 3.5 Paladin for the Pathfinder RPG. One of my favorite characters in AD&D was a paladin (the cavalier sub-class version from the AD&D Unearthed Arcana). I wasn't satisfied with the 3.5 Paladin (feeling that a fighter/cleric was a better translation of what I imagined a paladin to be). Again, I'm glad to see people working to improve the 3.5 paladin.
I was all for it affecting both, which didn't seem to meet much agreement.
Your twist is interesting, in that paladins could have the choice of being more focused on the LAWFUL good or on the lawful GOOD.
P.S. - Glad to see someone came across and picked up this thread. :)
The idea of picking if you are more tied to the Ethical (Law vs. Chaos), or Moral (Good vs. Evil) aspect is an interesting idea.
While I would still contend that the Lawful-centric Paladin deviates from the established tradition [and in-game should be part of a different knightly order], the notion of choosing is far more acceptable to my sensibilities than being able to do both.
This would actually make for some interesting rivalries between two such factions. The Good-centric paladins taking exception to the persecution of non-evil, perhaps even good creatures, while the Lawful-centric paladin could rightly take issue with a lawful-evil ruler getting smote.
"Just whose side are you on anyway?" Asked the two lawful good 'paladins' of one another. :)
As for the idea of Sacred Channelling, I think it's an interesting notion to say the least. It would also explain why Paladins and Clerics do different things with what is currently the same energy.
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UPDATE ALERT: A REVISED VERSION OF THE BETA PALADIN HAS BEEN POSTED BY JASON ON THIS THREAD.
Check it out, and save yourselves debating changes that have already occurred!