I'm trying to make a false paladin character, built more around entertaining rollplaying than optimization. Ideally, all of my party members (and the players controlling them) would think I was a paladin, and most NPCs would assume I was a paladin just from site.
Was thinking of playing an Aasimar cavalier with the Celestial Servent feat and the Halo alternate racial trait. I figure a half angel with a halo in shiny armor riding around on an angel horse would probably cause a good first impression. Probably name him Benedictus Sanctus or something ridiculously over the top like that.
Does Smite Evil have any visual effects? If I just shouted "I smite you in the name of Iomadae" and then used my cavalier challenge on them, would the uninitiated be able to tell the difference? Similarly, if I waved my hands around and chanted gibberish, could I pretend to Detect Evil and just say whatever I wanted for the result, or is there some way people would "feel" that there was no actual magic?
For gear, do the gods get mad if you carry/pretend to use a holy symbol of a god you don't worship? And could I spend the 50 gold to make my armor count as a "Masterwork tool", preferably multiple times, to give me a +2 to Bluff and Disguise to pretend to be a paladin? Flavor wise, I was picturing getting really fancy, shiny armor, probably having some holy symbols carved into it or something.
Any other ideas for how to make people assume "oh, yeah, that's a paladin, i know how that works" without actually being Lawful, or Good, or a paladin at all?
I would say your idea would work as long as another Paladin wasn't nearby.