Yeah I know horrible title.
I have this idea for a Paladin like character who is fueled by 'Righteous Fury' in combat, basically a rage mechanic.
So I was thinking of doing a Celestial Bloodline Bloodrager but with some class changes to sort of make it a little more paladin like.
I am working with my GM who is allowing me some design latitude in this characters class so I was looking for help and advice from the board on what would be balanced.
The basic idea is to swap the Bloodrager spell list for the Paladin spell list but then I hit a brick wall. I would like to swap out some of the Bloodrager class abilities that would not be needed given the new focus but am unsure what would be balanced.
Honestly I am only really looking to trade out Blood Sanctuary for something from the Paladin since the new spell focus will not be on AOE's but I am not sure what would be a good fit.
Though on second thought perhaps swapping out DR for Lay Hands? If that would be an even exchange?
Open to any suggestions from the masses overall though.
Thank you all in advance for taking the time to read this and any responses.
I've always wanted to make an Id Rager Bloodrager that uses the Kindness emotional focus, since it mimics the kind of long suffering patience turned to holy fury when provoked into battle. Gets Lay on Hands and you can even change your Emotional Focus temporarily when the need arises. Makes your spells psychic spells, so thats fun too.
You could slap on VMC Paladin as well if you want more Paladin abilities (detect evil, code, smite evil, Divine Bond, mercy) at the costs of additional feats. This might be the best way to go about it, since you don't have to worry about modifying existing classes.
Another option would be to take the paladin archetype Temple Champion and take either the anger inquisition or rage domain. You don’t gain rage until later level, but you have most of the paladins' powers.
I mean, the easiest way to make a raging Paladin is just to go Paladin with 1 level in Bloodrager and the Extra Bloodrage feat.
If you want more Bloodrager with less Paladin then it's a bit different.
The basic idea is to swap the Bloodrager spell list for the Paladin spell list but then I hit a brick wall.
This sounds reasonable. I don't actually know how unbalanced it might be, but since Spells aren't really the main draw of either a Bloodrager or a Paladin I don't imagine it'll break anything even if it is an upgrade.
Honestly I am only really looking to trade out Blood Sanctuary for something from the Paladin since the new spell focus will not be on AOE's but I am not sure what would be a good fit.
So the first thing here is that Blood Sanctuary is terrible. Anything you get for it has to be inconsequential or you're getting a sizeable upgrade. My first thought is getting the Paladin's Detect Evil. It's actually fairly useful on a Paladin because they don't want to waste Smite Evil, but on you it's mostly flavour. That seems fitting as a replacement for a +2 bonus to a roll that you'll likely never make.
Of course If you're looking at Bloodrager archetypes there may be something that swaps out Blood Sanctuary that's better or more thematic, I don't know.
Though on second thought perhaps swapping out DR for Lay Hands? If that would be an even exchange?
Not remotely. Lay on Hands is an incredible class ability that probably defines the class as much or more than Smite Evil. Damage Reduction is ... I mean it's not bad, but it's not the main draw.
It's worth noting that Mercies make LoH significantly better, and without them it's not quite the same draw, but it's still a lot better than a small amout of DR.
You could maybe get LoH by replacing Blood Sanctuary, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge and Damage Reduction? That's probably still favouring LoH, but it's closer to even.
Then maybe instead of Bloodline Feats you get Mercies? 3rd level Mercy at 6th, then 6th level Mercy at 9th, etc etc.
That leaves you with your Bloodline Powers and Bloodline Spells , but you also get some nice Paladin goodies. What do people think of that?
Honestly I still think you're getting more than you give, but 5 feats and 4 class features for LoH and Mercies seems more reasonable.
But If you have the GM's fiat then custumize all you want :)
I sorta do but I also want what I come up with to be close to reasonable, hence why I sought more input from better minds here on the boards.
I am looking to keep in the Bloodrager as a base framework. In addition to getting more Bloodrage and Bloodline powers, with the spell base swap I would be able to cast my (now Paladin) spells while bloodraging, which I would not be able to do as a Paladin who dips bloodrager/barbarian. It also allows me to be Lawful Good and still rage since bloodragers have no alignment restrictions.
Swapping out Blood Sanctuary for Detect Evil as MrCharisma suggested sounds real good. One mostly useless abiliity for one slightly useful one seems even.
My GM is good on losing Uncanny and Improved Uncanny straight up for LoH so that seems cool as well.
I am still open to other idea's at this point though so keep them coming if you feel inspired.
I should note I am NOT looking for Smite or to use VMC. Smite seems overkill and VMC comes online too late for my personal taste.
... with the spell base swap I would be able to cast my (now Paladin) spells while bloodraging, which I would not be able to do as a Paladin who dips bloodrager/barbarian.
Just a note: The MAD MAGIC feat allows you to cast from any class while Bloodraging. Probably not important for this character but useful to know for the future.
My GM is good on losing Uncanny and Improved Uncanny straight up for LoH so that seems cool as well.If you're both happy with that then that's fine, but it's probably a significant upgrade. I'd throw in Damage Reduction at least in order to pay for LoH.