The "Paladin In Name Only"

So, I caused a bit of a stir last Monday with my post Concept Policing is Something Gamers Should Stop Doing. This wasn't, of course, meant to say that a DM has to allow every concept to come to a table, or that players should feel free to throw all sense to the winds to make the most ridiculous characters that come to their minds. What I had in mind was more along the lines of gamers, as a community, stopping their knee-jerk reactions whenever someone chooses to play against type in a way that creates a unique character who makes sense, and who obeys the rules, the canon, and the setting of the game you're in.

Characters like the Paladin In Name Only.

A little spit and polish goes a long way.

Let's set the scene. A figure approaches the party, dressed in heavy armor. The armor is bedecked with holy symbols, and figures of religious lore. The person wearing the armor, whether it's a man or a woman, has a forceful personality. A born leader, whose commands are law in battle, and whose suggestions off the field are given weighty consideration. The character has a deep knowledge of a certain faith, and is also a part of that church's military arm. This character prays every day, and follows a strict, ethical code that determines their actions.

Is this character a paladin? Well, they appear to be... but no one says they have to be.

The Mechanics

Nothing in the above description is completely unique to paladins. The description could fit a cleric or an inquisitor, but it could also fit a fighter or cavalier dedicated to a religious cause. Knights in shining armor come in a big variety of mechanical flavors, and just because they look and act in ways we typically associate with paladins, that doesn't mean they aren't just a mere mortal who aspires to follow in the footsteps of the righteous.

Every aspirant has to start somewhere.

 

There are all kinds of ways to mechanically support a hero of the faith concept, without actually taking paladin levels. For example, Bravery is one of the most commonly exchanged fighter abilities, but combined with a background trait that provides a bonus against fear, and feats like Iron Will, it's possible to appear all but fearless in the face of true evil. With the right feats, fighters can be deadly weapons against the enemies of a faith.

That's far from the only option, though. Cavaliers of all varieties gain the ability to challenge their foes, and to steel their allies' morale in the face of danger. Those sensations might, to the uninitiated, bear similarities to declaring a smite on an evil enemy, or spreading the force of one's divine light out to protect his or her allies. Samurai's Resolve allows them to move forward through sheer force of determination, shrugging off punishment and terrors in a way that might make them seem superhuman.

The point is, before you decide to play a Paladin In Name Only, you need to know what abilities you're focusing on to create someone who has dedicated his or her life to being a paragon of goodness. The further you get from being a divine spellcaster, the bigger the surprise is going to be when the party realizes, in-character, that it's faith without magic backing your sword arm.

Story

There are a thousand reasons for someone to aspire to heroism... what's yours?

Heroism comes in many forms, and for many reasons.

 

For example, you could take some inspiration from history and say that your fighter was the most powerful warrior in the land, putting him in a select order of holy knights. In case you didn't know, that was pretty much what the word paladin originally meant, since it referred to the 12 Peers of Charlemagne. Alternatively, your Paladin In Name Only might be a wandering do-gooder, traveling from town to town with nothing more than his armor, weapons, and trusty steed in order to help the defenseless and downtrodden. He may have found his faith in a fox hole while fighting against a demonic incursion, or she may have been raised by a holy order. Even if this character wasn't chosen to be the embodiment of divine rightness, and to serve holy judgment, that is no reason not to use characters who have as models for what kind of adventurer you want to become.

There's also the personal motivation a character has to dedicate their life to a cause like this. There's the born-again hero, who lived an ignoble life, but who saw real greatness and courage on a battlefield like the World Wound. That changed this character, and made them want to be better, tempering their talents for violence and helping steer them toward a more just course. Being a hero might be a family calling, the way some families all do a stint of military service, and the character isn't going to let a little thing like not being divinely chosen stop him from following in his ancestors' footsteps. Maybe the character grew up hearing stories of great paladins and their deeds, and holds that up as his or her highest ideal.

Why Do This?

The point of the Paladin In Name Only is not to pull a "gotcha" moment on the rest of the party, who suddenly realize they don't have a secondary healer. The purpose is to play with the expectations of what drives certain types of characters, how they act, and what it's like to share in their endeavors. It's also to show that just because there's no mechanical negative to breaking your vows and sworn oaths, that doesn't mean those things don't still matter to a character who took them. After all, they inform the character's view of the world, and of who he or she is... they're kind of a big deal. They might even be big enough for the Paladin In Name Only to go on a quest of redemption, even if it's only to make peace with not measuring up to an ideal that's all but impossible with divine grace, and even more difficult without it.

For those who are interested in straight paladins, you might find 5 Tips For Playing Better Paladins more up your alley. If you want to use another class though, my 5 Tips For Playing Better Base Classes list is getting a little bigger all the time!

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That's all for this installment of Unusual Character Concepts. Hopefully this one gave you something to chew over, whether you're a player, or a game master.

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Even MORE Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting

As has been noted by countless gamers on both sides of a DM screen Pathfinder has a lot of rules. I mean a lot of rules. Rarely does a session go by without at least one serious discussion over rules that sends a player to the library to better understand that little-known text on page 117. Even with all of these available rules though there are some that may be more important to your game than others. The series currently consists of over 25 rules, and the full list of updates includes:

- Playing By The Book: Some Pathfinder Rules That Players Keep Forgetting
- MORE Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting
- Even MORE Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting
- Still More Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting
- 5 More Rules Pathfinder Players Keep Forgetting

Some of these rules will be truly obscure. Some of them will be things you already know, because you read the book. But presented here are more rules players are likely to either not know, or have forgotten about (sometimes in a suspiciously convenient way).

#1: You Can't Put on Full Plate Alone

Full plate is the ultimate in medieval body armor. It turns any fighter into an unstoppable colossus, able to wade through the sword strokes of lesser men to arise victorious at the end of a battle. But there's a reason that knights have squires; you can't get the full armor bonus if you put the suit on by yourself.

Isn't it great having squires? Verily.

When donning either half plate or full plate according to the rules on page 153 of the Core Rulebook you need at least one other person to help you. Otherwise the armor is considered to have been donned hastily, which reduces its effectiveness by -1.

I told you some of these were obscure, didn't I?

#2: You Can't Win Arguments With PCs Via Diplomacy

The diplomacy skill, detailed on page 93 of the Core Rulebook is the bread and butter of certain builds. Sly rogues use this skill to open doors, and charismatic bards use it to make friends in every tavern and court they play. It's useful for the urban ranger gathering information, the paladin adjudicating a case, and dozens of other characters besides. It's even a key part of my Tyrion Lannister character build. But there's something you can't do with diplomacy, and that's convince the rest of the party to like you.

No matter how many NPCs adore you.

For everyone who's still angry that the DM let a diplomacy check affect your character's opinion toward the party bard, well you're rightly pissed. Diplomacy is specifically allowed only on NPCs. If you can't actually roleplay your way into your party-mates hearts then there's nothing you can do about it no matter how high your charisma is or how amazingly charming your dice say you are. It is a PC's prerogative to hate you if he or she feels like it.

#3: Almost Everything Takes Precision Damage

In Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 one of the biggest frustrations that came with playing a rogue was that so many enemies simply didn't take precision damage. No sneak attack, no critical hits, no nothing. Pathfinder changed that up significantly, but a lot of the old rules get mixed up with the new rules in players' heads when it comes to just how useful a rogue is in combat.

Everybody chill out; I got this.

Under the old rules everything from constructs and undead to plants and outsiders got to give rogues the finger. In Pathfinder though everything takes precision damage unless it says otherwise. That means undead, constructs, plants, devils, demons, barkeeps, and everything else you can sneak up behind.

There are still some things that are immune to precision damage. Oozes are one of the best examples, but anything that's incorporeal is also immune to your kidney-stabbing. There are other creatures immune to precision damage, but before you decide to preemptively not roll those extra 5d6 of sneak attack you've got you should ask the DM whether or not this thing is immune to your sneak attack.

#4: Perception Can Be Used To Identify Potions

Perception is one of those skills that you should always invest in. It's great for detecting ambushes, finding secret doors, locating traps, hearing invisible assassins, not getting your pocket picked, and the list goes on and on. Characters with extremely high perceptions can be a pain (which is why DMs should remember there's a -1 penalty for every 10 feet away from the source a character is, and that there are all sorts of negative modifiers that can be applied to this skill check), but they also have a nearly magic power.

They can identify a potion's powers by its taste.

Pick your poison! No, I'm serious, they're all poison. Don't drink them.

According to the chart on page 102 of the Core Rulebook a player can make a perception check of 15 + the potion's caster level to identify what its powers are by taste. It doesn't say the whole thing has to be drunk to make the check, but there might be some negatives for even tasting a given potion. On the one hand this encourages players other than spellcasters to get in on the action, and it can make for some interesting roleplay. It's also a good chance to throw a curve ball at players who test the safety of everything with their mouths.

#5: Being Flat-Footed Is A Thing

Also on the list of rogue problems is being caught flat-footed. Detailed on page 178 of the Core Rulebook the flat-footed condition is what you're suffering from in that first round of combat when you haven't gotten to act yet. You can't take attacks of opportunity, and you can't apply your dexterity modifier to your armor class. You also lose dodge bonuses, and a slew of class abilities and feats are adversely affected by this condition.

Most people know what being caught flat-footed is. At the same time it's the most commonly overlooked or conveniently forgotten rule in Pathfinder combat.

Ah hell... was that initiative?

Being flat-footed is something that's a minor inconvenience to a lot of PCs. To some though, such as the dancing rogue or the whirling dervish, it can mean being utterly vulnerable for a round. When it's the players going first though knowing that your enemy hasn't had time to fully react to combat can make a big difference in your strategy.

#6: Yes You Can Critical With Spells

If you confirm a critical hit with a spell that has an attack roll and does damage then it will do two times as much damage. If a spell does ability drain or damage then the drain or damage is doubled according to page 184 in the Core Rulebook. Lots of players forget this rule, but it's one reason that a critical hit with a spell like chill touch can leave enemies with more than a few d6 of extra pain.

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