Paladin
Benwick
Do you believe in evil? If you don't, slap yourself. It's real. It can be seen. It can be felt. It can whisper temptations, and eat you. It has to be fought constantly to keep from getting out of control, and sometimes it still gets out of control. Just look at Benwick.
Used to be a nice town. Orderly, purposeful, protected. But the town was never built to be a nice town; it was built to plug a hole to somewhere bad. A hole that couldn't be plugged, so the only way to deal with it was to send good men at it to die, over and over and over again. The men they sent were righteous, they were willing, they exalted in every strike they made against the darkness, and when they finally succumbed to the endless tide, they died fighting and smiling, to be replaced by the next schmuck.
Benwick's not a nice town any more. Eventually it became too much, but they never gave up; they just kept fighting, until the place was a ruin. And they kept fighting after that, until they became decorations of that ruin. And more keep coming to keep fighting, to keep what was kept there... Kept there. Everyone calls those folks 'knights in shining armor,' but they have the dirtiest job in Faerun. If the gods weren't on their side, and if they weren't willing to keep up that pointless fight, you'd really, REALLY believe in evil.
Overview:
Chivalry. Heroism. Leadership. Righteousness
These are the things that paladins are known for far and wide, the reputation they prefer to garner among the populace to go about their business in peace, but the true meaning of a paladin is sacrifice.
To give up the self to help the many, to suffer indignities and tortures to spare others from them, to live a life fighting the most dangerous creatures in the multiverse so that little Timmy can sleep with his dog in the farm house at night, free from the belly of a fiend.
Paladins don't choose the life, even if they sometimes think they do; they're instead chosen for their zeal, wisdom, and determination by the gods they revere, and find their way into the tutelage of a senior paladin who teaches them the importance of faith, how to fight, and how to struggle through the worst the universe has to offer.
They train in heavy armor, shields, and martial weapons, and soon learn how to call upon the miracles of their god to aid them in battle or heal the wounded and sick.
Holy crusaders, paragons of virtue, fearless leaders, and devotees of justice and peace- every paladin is supposed to be all of these and more. Few achieve a perfect record, but they all die trying.
Key Mechanics:
Divine Grace - Paladins receive their Charisma modifier as a bonus to all saves.
Divine Health - Paladins are immune to disease.
Lay on Hands - Every ten minutes a paladin can heal a number of hit points equal to their charisma modifier times their class level to themselves or another creature, or use this to deal damage to an undead creature.
Aura of Courage - Paladins are immune to fear.
Smite Evil - Once per day a paladin can attempt a mighty blow against a creature of evil alignment. If the creature is evil, the attack gains a bonus equal to the paladin's charisma modifier, and the damage gains a bonus equal to the paladin's level.
Remove Disease - Once per rest, paladins can instantly cure a disease from a target with a touch.
Turn Undead - Paladins can attempt to make undead flee in fear. Charisma modifier increases the effects and the number of times this can be used, and level also increases the effects. Undead that are much weaker than the paladin can be destroyed outright.
Optional
Paladins who take the Power Attack feat can take the Divine Might and Divine Shield feats, which allows them to turn uses of Turn Undead into divine damage bonus or AC, scaling with their charisma modifier.
Detect Evil - Paladins can attempt to detect evil by spending xp and piety. Evil creatures who fail a will save based on the paladin's Wisdom modifier alert the paladin that there's evil nearby.
Bonus Wisdom - Every seven levels, paladins gain +1 permanent wisdom, as if they had spent an ability score increase on it.
Spellcasting - Paladins gain the ability to cast spells up to fourth level at higher levels. To cast all their spells paladins require a wisdom of 14. Any save DCs are wisdom-based, and high wisdom increases the number of spells that can be cast per day.
Paladins have access to all their spells, but must prepare them every rest. The layout of spells can be changed between every rest.
Notable Spells
Bless Weapon - This spell enchants a weapon with an enhancement bonus that scales with paladin levels, up to +5 at level 26. It also adds divine damage against Outsiders at level 13 and Dragons at level 18.
Aura of Glory - If the character has majority paladin levels, this spell lasts hours per level. This spell grants the paladin +4 charisma.
Deafening Clang - This spell adds scaling sonic damage to the enchanted weapon for rounds/level. It maxes out at +7 damage.
Holy Sword - This spell can be applied to a weapon to make it a powerful Holy Avenger, a +5 weapon that deals bonus damage to evil creatures and attempts to dispel magic on hit. Magic Circle vs Alignment - Allows the paladin to grant bonus AC, saves, and will saves vs mind affecting spells to themselves and nearby allies.
Key Mechanics at Level 20:
- BAB: 20/15/10/5
- HP: 200+20x Constitution
- Saves: +12 Fort, +6 Reflex, +6 Will
- Skills: 40 + 20x Intelligence: concentration, craft armor, craft trap, craft weapon, discipline, heal, lore, parry, persuade, ride, taunt