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This came up in a discussion the other day. Is the banishment effect of Holy Champion intended to be involuntary?
That is, does a paladin *have* to attempt a banishment if he hits an evil outsider with his smite, or could he choose to continue smiting?
Side questions to the above:
How does the ability resolve against a native outsider? How does it resolve if the paladin is off his or her home plane, or worse, on said evil outsiders' home plane? Would he be effectively prevented from smiting in such circumstances?
Presuming that the paladin could choose whether to attempt a banishment would seem to resolve these questions, but by RAW I'm not at all certain that that's intended.
This came up in a discussion the other day. Is the banishment effect of Holy Champion intended to be involuntary?
That is, does a paladin *have* to attempt a banishment if he hits an evil outsider with his smite, or could he choose to continue smiting?
The banish effect is automatic and cannot be switched off.
How does the ability resolve against a native outsider? How does it resolve if the paladin is off his or her home plane, or worse, on said evil outsiders' home plane? Would he be effectively prevented from smiting in such circumstances?
Native outsiders cannot be banished. The paladin would be able to smite as normal, but the banishment effect does not kick in.
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Actually we now have a19th level paladin in the party who loves his smite so I'd love an official answer on the state of play. Does the smite end only if the banishment is successful? Or is it a one hit and the effect ends, start a new smite?
I'd love to have an answer to this too. Seems like the intent was "smite ends after critter is successfully banished," which is a "patch" to the smite ability that would otherwise "stay turned ON until the fiend is dead" (i.e. smite ends if dead OR banished)
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Actually we now have a19th level paladin in the party who loves his smite so I'd love an official answer on the state of play. Does the smite end only if the banishment is successful? Or is it a one hit and the effect ends, start a new smite?I'd love to have an answer to this too. Seems like the intent was "smite ends after critter is successfully banished," which is a "patch" to the smite ability that would otherwise "stay turned ON until the fiend is dead" (i.e. smite ends if dead OR banished)
I concur. I'm 98.84% certain that is the intent. The author didn't want you stuck with your Smite staying on while the critter was a zillion miles away on another plane, so they wrote a little clause "after the banishment effect" thinking "yeah, that solves it, the banishment effect sends the demon home, so the smite can end now" without considering that "banishment effect" could be read to be a failed banishment.
Given the potential, as written, for this amazing capstone ability to leave the paladin standing there with NO smite and a big nasty demon preparing to eat him for lunch, well, as written, it weakens the paladin rather than strengthening him.
I'm positive that that was not the intent.