The Divine Champion: a(n Anti)Paladin alternate class to worship any god, your own way !

[Maxximilius]

Hey everyone !

I just finished the Divine Champion (Google Doc link), a variant for the (anti)paladin intended to be akin to a true combat cleric, allowing a greater variety of characters, and a greater liberty in the choice of their codes of conduct. A divine champion may worship any god, and live by the appropriate code of conduct !

You want to play a booze-drinking divine champion of Cayden vowing never to hit a woman or answer to any tribunal ? A sadist divine champion of Zon-Kuthon delighting in suffering and bleeding with his barbed sword ? A tribal divine champion of Gozreh staying afar from metal items, natural enemy of destruction ? There is an archetype for that !

Hope you'll like it, let me know if you have suggestions, commentaries or anything crossing your mind. :)

[Valkyn Highwind]

Finally an option to be a paladin without actually being a paladin. :)

[Maxximilius]

That's the intent ! A divine champion hurts less due to her nerfed smite, but she obtains more versatility in her code and divine powers. Also, NEUTRAL PALADINS gals and dudes. Enjoy your nature/magic/death lovin'.

(Actually, I believe the Divine Champion will become the base replacement to the paladin and antipaladin in our games when our DM finds about this.)

[Tim4488]

Heathen's Smiting contains both of the following chunks of text:

"if the target of this smite is an outsider with a subtype opposite to her deity's alignment axis, or a dragon (or creature with levels of cleric or paladin/antipaladin) with the selected alignment, the bonus to damage on the first successful attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the divine champion possesses;"

"If the target of this smite is an outsider, a dragon, a creature
with levels of paladin/antipaladin (or cleric with domains opposing the divine champion's domain), the bonus to damage on the first successful
attack increases to 2 points of damage per level the divine champion possesses. This ability modifies smite evil/good."

Only error I've seen so far. Very cool stuff as always, Maxximilius. Thanks for producing it.

[Maxximilius]

The first chunk of text is the smite for aligned divine champions; the second one is for neutral characters. ;)

[VM mercenario]

On the smite heathen ability, put the change to duration on the beginning of the paragraph, as it is it gets kinda of lost between the two damage enhancements. Had to read it twice before I really noticed it.
On divine energy, the dice reduction is for all alignments or just for neutral champions? The wording suggests the first, but the position of the phrase suggests the second.
Does the champion loses or trades anything for the domain?

[Ciaran Barnes]

Its hard to read. I would increase the size a bit and switch to a less compact font.

[Maxximilius]

Here is a new link, I was trying a new presentation for the documents but they may be hard to read with some screens, even in pdf.

The divine champion receives reduced smite duration (Charisma modifier in rounds + 1 if wielding her deity's favored weapon instead of the usual "full encounter of until dead") and shared smite duration at 11th level (1 round + 1 if wielding her deity's favored weapon instead of the usual 1 minute); reduced versatility in weapon proficiency (even more in the current version), and reduced energy healing or damage for every alignment. These are little nerfs but ultimately balance the class, especially in comparison to what an inquisitor or cleric of same level may accomplish.
Since the powers/day she receives from her domain are still based on her Wisdom ability modifier, you will need a high ability score if you want to rely on them... something you may probably not afford if you want to stay relevant in martial situations (Str/Dex/Con), with your class abilities (Cha), and if you want some skill points per level (Int).

She is more versatile and customizable as a character, notably thanks to domains (allowing you to use alternate channelings from Rite Publishing's Divine Channeler !), but she will be less efficient at the whole "Good vs Evil" schtick in comparison to a pure paladin or antipaladin, kinda like providing a pure melee class with supernatural powers but less melee damage/day. But hey, being able to smite with a thunderbolt is awesome.

EDIT: the low level domain powers got nerfed down to 1 + Wisdom or half cleric level/day.