And THAT is how Dragonborn are made!Sadly, it's a baby wyvern. So it's size small while I am size medium. I don't think I can ride it.Luckily, it can ride you. I hope you like saddles!
Would that work with an orc?
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Would that work with an orc?And THAT is how Dragonborn are made!Sadly, it's a baby wyvern. So it's size small while I am size medium. I don't think I can ride it.Luckily, it can ride you. I hope you like saddles!
Dragorcborn!
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Dragonborc!
To rewind this topic a bit, I'm less interested in whether a Unicorn makes a more powerful animal companion than a horse than in how a player character got a Unicorn. The rules serve a baseline. They assume a Paladin gets a camel, elk, Giraffe, Horse, giant seahorse, yak, or zebra because those creatures meet that baseline. A good GM can adjust encounters and how they reward other player characters to compensate for a Unicorn. The larger question, IMHO, is whether the Paladin encountered the Unicorn, earned its trust, formed a bond with it, and now wants it to become a companion... or if the Paladin just turned 5th level and the player thinks a Unicorn would be a cool mount.
To rewind this topic a bit, I'm less interested in whether a Unicorn makes a more powerful animal companion than a horse than in how a player character got a Unicorn. The rules serve a baseline. They assume a Paladin gets a camel, elk, Giraffe, Horse, giant seahorse, yak, or zebra because those creatures meet that baseline. A good GM can adjust encounters and how they reward other player characters to compensate for a Unicorn. The larger question, IMHO, is whether the Paladin encountered the Unicorn, earned its trust, formed a bond with it, and now wants it to become a companion... or if the Paladin just turned 5th level and the player thinks a Unicorn would be a cool mount.
This could be as easy as a backstory thing where the paladin grew up in a forest or valley that had unicorns as inhabitants and one such unicorn saw a kindred spirit in the paladin from a young age and decided to follow him/her, or maybe the paladin's deity bestowed a unicorn upon the paladin at level 5 as a divine gift of some kind. This is entirely GM/PC-creativity time.
Have the unicorn count as a "bond -2 levels" or the like? Sure, you may need to use a horse for level 5-6, but at level 7, the unicorn is then available, and it scales from there on out.
This could be as easy as a backstory thing where the paladin grew up in a forest or valley that had unicorns as inhabitants and one such unicorn saw a kindred spirit in the paladin from a young age and decided to follow him/her, or maybe the paladin's deity bestowed a unicorn upon the paladin at level 5 as a divine gift of some kind. This is entirely GM/PC-creativity time.
And creativity should be rewarded, agreed. I'm just saying, I wouldn't hold it against a GM for saying "great story, I appreciate you fleshing your character's background after the fact, and this certainly sets the stage for earning a Unicorn mount... but earn it you will nonetheless have to."
The biggest issue is alignment... why the h3ll would an intelligent, free-spirited [chaotic] creature dedicate itself to helping a someone that is the very example of discipline/order? Why would such a creature abandon its faith in nature to help the Paladin's god? Why would it even want the company of a Paladin?
I don't see anything beyond a brief, yet polite, conversation between them before they part ways for good... never to see one another again.
I agree in general, but there are so many exceptions to so many rules that this wouldn't come close to my top 20 things to worry about.
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I agree in general, but there are so many exceptions to so many rules that this wouldn't come close to my top 20 things to worry about.
The story as to why the relationship exists in the first place concerns me way more than any trivial power adjustment or balance issues.
In a d20 world I an see how it doesn't make sense. But in fairy tales and myth, the unicorn is a noble yet wild creature that avoids people so that it isn't captured (Chaotic Good), but could be captured by a virgin, which was sometimes altered as someone who is "pure of heart" or whatever. In the grognard days, a lot of people automatically equated that with Lawful Good.
That's my educated guess for why I've seen that sort of relationship exist, anyway.
Oh, I agree, completely.
The fantasy image of a Unicorn, and all it represents... can easily be combined with the fantasy image of a Paladin, and all it represents. Both are noble/regal/dignified/righteous... both are generally considered or associated with "good".
But, g0dd@mm!t... the one freaking class where alignment has to mean SOMETHING, and you go pick the pretty horse with a horn that happens to be diametrically opposed to a very core part of your existence? Why, now? Be a Barbarian, Cavalier, Cleric, Druid, Hunter, Oracle, Ranger, Shaman, Warpriest, or whoever else has easy access to an Animal Companion/Mount... then ask for a Unicorn... literally any other class where alignment matters less. Even the other classes with alignment restrictions can still be closer to the Unicorn's alignment than a Paladin.
And no, I do not think we should "just" change the Unicorn's alignment... why should I change my name when he's the one that sucks? (Michael Bolton, Office Space).
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Lawful good and chaotic good are not diametrically opposed alignments. Lawful good’s diametrically opposed alignment is chaotic evil. While a paladin has to lawful good, the good part is more important than the lawful. A paladin does not fall when he performs a single chaotic act but does fall when he performs a single evil act. While a lawful good and a chaotic good creature may have differences they can still work together and even respect each other. I understand that in todays polarized society that may seem like it is impossible, but that does not need to be the case, and at one time it was not like that.