POLL QUESTION(S):
When calculating the abilities of the Paladin, how many of you out there are counting this against the what the Paladin can/cannot do? And Why?
I personally see it as worthless and if anything a hinderance. All you do is GLOW GOODNESS... wow, exciting. I'm thinking the Barbarian gets a ton more love for being illiterate, (insert sarcasm here) perhaps Paladins would do better if they were also illiterate. After all what diety does'nt hang a large placard or statue of their holy symbol right out front anyway?
Actually all the "aura's of good/evil" stuff is just plain silly. All it does is make you a target. The only people detecting one way or the other want to just use the information provided to get more of a combat advantage.
It's too easy to obscure the results (undetectable alignment is a low level spell), and in game it only has an effect for a few specific spells and the paladin's smite.
Oh, and detect evil/good.
Which leads to another rant,
I've seen Detection spells (detect evil/good/magic) kill the caster before becuase that's what the DM thought an "overwhelming" aura would do (it's soo powerful your head explodes). If such wording is going to be included it needs to be stated that it either has no game effect or exactly what the game effect is.
I've seen people Dazed, Stunned, Blinded, and head exploded, all over the fact they cast detect magic/good/evil and saw an "overwhelming" aura, in five different states with eight different groups.
That really sounds like nonsense to me. Detect evil clearly states the effect of overwhelming alignment auras (text identical in 3.5 SRD and Pathfinder RPG):
If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura’s power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura’s source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.
Anything beyond that is gratuitous stupidity on the GM's side.
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That really sounds like nonsense to me. Detect evil clearly states the effect of overwhelming alignment auras (text identical in 3.5 SRD and Pathfinder RPG):
If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura’s power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura’s source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.
Oh, that's hot. All of my major villains are going to do whatever Book of Vile Darkness thing they have to do to get an overwhelmingly evil aura, just so that they can stun Paladins who look at them.
Nuns and orphans of the world, look out, daddy BBEG needs a new Paladin-stunning power!
Nice! Now I at least know what to throw back at them for that. Wonderful. It's gotten so people I know around here won't even use the detection spells becuase they've become a trap for the DM to abuse.
I've seen people Dazed, Stunned, Blinded, and head exploded, all over the fact they cast detect magic/good/evil and saw an "overwhelming" aura, in five different states with eight different groups.
Heh, that reminds me of Ravenloft's craziness back in 1st ed., where even having a Paladin in the party was like carrying a flashing neon sign "EAT AT JOE'S".
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If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura’s power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura’s source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.Anything beyond that is gratuitous stupidity on the GM's side.
Yay! I did it right! Does that mean I'm a good DM? I couldn't find the rule, but that's what I thought I remembered. :)
I mean, stunned for 1 round is still painful if you don't have locking gauntlets.