Player's Handbook Edition Rules Supplement

TheComplete

Paladin'sHandbook

by Rick Swan

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Introduction.

Chapter 1: Character Creation.Paladin Requirements, 5Level Advancement, 5Armor and Weapons, 6Clerical Magic, 7

Chapter 2: Paladin Abilities.Detect Evil Intent, 10Saving-Throw Bonus, 11Immunity to Disease, 12Cure Diseases, 13Laying On Hands, 14Aura of Protection, 14Holy Sword, 15Turning Undead, 16Bonded Mount, 17Clerical Spells, 24

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Chapter 3: EthosStrictures, 25Edicts, 31Virtues, 32Code of Ennoblement, 37Violations and Penalties, 39

Chapter 4: Paladin KitsAcquiring Kits, 44DM Decisions, 44Kit Subsections, 44

True Paladin, 46Chevalier, 46Divinate, 48Envoy, 49Equerry, 50Errant, 52Expatriate, 54Ghosthunter, 56Inquisitor, 57Medician, 58Militarist, 59Skyrider, 61Squire, 62Votary, 65Wyrmslayer, 66

Abandoning Kits, 68Creating New Kits, 68Demihumans as Demipaladins, 69Dual-Classed Paladins, 70

Chapter 5: ProficienciesCompiled Proficiencies, 71Clarifications and Modifications, 72New Proficiencies, 73

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Chapter 6: EquipmentStandard Equipment, 77Badges, Standards, and Crests, 79Additional Equipment, 79New Magical Equipment, 82

Chapter 7: Role-PlayingDemographics, 84Becoming a Paladin, 86Routine Activities, 90A Day in the Life, 93Courtly Love, 94Economics, 96The Paladin's Personality, 98Strongholds, 100Privileged Relationships, 106Experience, 106

Chapter 8: FaithCampaign Models, 108Alternatives to Churches, 111Guidelines for Religious Edicts, 111Types of Edicts, 112

Chapter 9: OrdersStandard Information, 116Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, 117Radiant Heart Auxiliary, 117Ancient and Revered Order of the Thorn, 118Distinguished Order of the Crystal Dawn, 118Righteous Order of the Iron Dragon, 119Order of the Divine Hand, 120

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Appendix: Bibliography 121

Appendix: Original AD&D® Game Paladins 122

Paladin Character Record Sheets 124-126

Paladin Kit Sheet 127

Tables1: Class Qualifications, 52: Pregenerated Ability Scores, 53: Experience Levels, 64: Total Proficiency Slots, 65: Saving Throws, 66: Paladin Attacks Per Round, 67: Two-Weapon Attack Roll Penalties, 78: Paladin Spell Progression, 79: Paladin Spells, 7-8

10: Turning Undead (Paladin), 811: Degrees of Evil, 1112: Level Progression of Special Powers, 1313: Bonded Mounts, 1814: Fealty Combinations, 3415: Penalties for Enchanted Paladins, 42

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16: XP for Equerry Bonded Mount, 5117: Ghosthunter Abilities, 5618: Turning Undead (Ghosthunter), 5719: Frequency of Dispel Evil Magic, 5820: Militarist Honors, 6021: Skyrider Mounted Missile Fire, 6122: Votary Spell Progression, 6523: Nonweapon Proficiencies, 7124: Barding Construction Times, 7225: Miscellaneous Equipment, 8026: Job Applicant's Reaction, 10527: Staff Sizes for Strongholds, 10528: Paladin Experience, 10729: Optional Experience Awards, 10730: Experience Levels (1st Edition), 12231: Attacks Per Round (1st Edition), 12232: Spell Progression (1st Edition), 123

CREDITSDesign: Rick Swan

Editing: Allen VarneyBlack and White Art: Ken Frank, Mark Nelson,

Valerie ValusekColor Art: Les Dorscheid, Fred Fields,

L. Dean James, Glen OrbikElectronic Prepress Coordination: Tim Coumbe

Typography: Angelika LokotzProduction: Paul Hanchette

TSR, Inc.POB 756Lake Geneva,WI53147USA

TSR Ltd.120 Church End,

Cherry HintonCambridge CB1 3LB

United Kingdom

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and AD&D are regis-tered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. DUNGEON MASTER, DM,and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the UnitedStates of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of thematerial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without theexpress written permission of TSR, Inc.

Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distrib-ution rights in the book trade for English language products ofTSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the UnitedKingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade byregional distributors.

© 1994 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

To ride abroad redressing human wrongs,To speak no slander, no, nor listen to it,To honor his own word as if his god's,To lead sweet lives in purest chastity,To love one maiden only [...]And worship her by years of noble deeds....

credo of the Knights of the Round Table(Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Idylls of the King)

What comes to mind when you think of the pal-adin? For many of us, his image is indelibly linkedto that of the medieval knight, the supreme hero ofthe Middle Ages. Clad in shining armor, his lancegleaming in the morning sun, the knight is thequintessence of gallantry, the champion of the pow-erless, and the personification of courage—at leastas we remember him from history.

Though The Complete Paladin's Handbook encom-passes aspects of the historical knight, it casts amuch wider net. While you'll find the horse sol-diers who served the lords of the feudal age, you'llalso meet riders of unicorns, killers of dragons, andnemeses of the undead; men and women who ridemajestic war horses and wield magical swords; andworshippers of ancient religions and followers ofarcane philosophies, some serving powerfulchurches and monarchies, others answering only totheir own consciences.

This book focuses on the paladin's motivations,special abilities, and unique restrictions—that is, allof the elements that distinguish him from othercharacter types and make him so challenging toplay. We probe the paladin's personality, unravelhis emotions, and try to understand what makeshim tick; look at his role in an adventuring partyand in society as a whole; and examine what hisreligion demands of him and what he expects fromhimself. Along the way, we discuss more than adozen new character kits, show you how to designa code of behavior for your paladin, and describenew proficiencies and equipment.

For your convenience, this book compiles andsummarizes all of the relevant rules from theDUNGEON MASTER™ Guide (abbreviated DMGin the text) and Player's Handbook (abbreviated PH).

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It also includes a new set of character sheets in theback of the book, designed to record virtually everydetail about a paladin character.

Keep in mind that all of this material is optional.Every idea must have the approval of the DM™before it can be incorporated into a campaign.

All of the material in this book uses the AD&D®2nd Edition rules. Players using the originalAD&D PH and DMG should carefully adapt thishandbook to the campaign. For reference, theappendix of this book summarizes original AD&Dpaladin rules.

The Unearthed Arcana book, a supplement to theoriginal AD&D rules, declared the paladin to be asub-class of the cavalier. In the AD&D 2nd Editiongame, this no longer applies. The paladin remainstied to the fighter group, with the cavalier, in astreamlined form, reworked as a character kit inThe Complete Fighter's Handbook.

Many concepts in The Complete Paladin's Hand-book draw heavily on the proficiency rules intro-duced in the AD&D 2nd Edition PH. We stronglyrecommend you use proficiencies in your cam-paign and review the rules before proceeding.

The Roots of the PaladinThe life of the historical knight was less roman-

tic than fictional accounts would have us believe.The word cniht was first used to describe the sonsof French peasants who arrived in England fol-lowing the Norman conquest in 1066. Crude inmanner and appearance, the cniht soldiersattracted attention because of their expensivearmor and horsemanship, a skill held in highregard. Despite these advantages, the cniht werestill second-class citizens, a notch above peasantsbut decidedly inferior to the aristocracy.

With feudalism the status of the cniht (eventu-ally Anglicized to kiiights) improved dramati-cally. The feudal era began when wealthy lordsgave small pieces of land to groups of peasants inexchange for their labor, and struggling land-owners signed over their property to a lord inreturn for protection. The relationship wassecured by a bond of honor and a clear under-standing of their mutual responsibilities. In time,all parties in feudal relationships became part ofthe nobility, and feudal offers were extended onlyto those of acceptable stature.

As a lord's holdings grew, so did his need forskilled warriors to defend against foreigninvaders. Knights made ideal candidates. In thefeudal tradition, lords secured their services byoffering them property, grand estates includingmuch farmland, many buildings, and even the

peasants who provided the labor. As the knightsacquired wealth, they also gained prestige,becoming a distinct and honored social class thatwas usually restricted to the sons of aristocrats.

The status of the knights solidified in the 11thcentury when the church, prompted by self-inter-est and a genuine desire to promote order in anincreasingly anarchic society, gave its officialsanction. Knighthood was declared a sacred call-ing, and the ordainment of new knights became aholy ritual. With this new accreditation came newresponsibilities, formally defined in the code ofchivalry, a set of principles based on religiousideals. While continuing in the lower ranks of theprivileged class, the knight now symbolized thehighest standards of moral behavior and wasadmired by peasants and royalty alike.

Though the knight commanded respect, he wasrarely envied. His life was dangerous and brutal,marked by incessant confrontations and the con-stant threat of humiliation. Rather than adventur-ing for honor or pleasure, most engaged in aconstant struggle for income, desperately seekingany and all opportunities to earn an honest living.The rigid chivalric code, which made abstractprinciples of loyalty more important than lifeitself, resulted in a death sentence for mostknights. Few lived beyond age 30. Those whosurvived often spent their remaining years penni-less and broken, depending on the charity of asociety that had all but forgotten them.

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CHAPTER

Character Creation

This chapter compiles all of the statistics, adjust-ments, and level progressions from the PH andDMG pertaining to the paladin. Although no twopaladins are exactly alike, all of them have thesefundamentals in common.

Paladin RequirementsIt takes an exceptional character to become a pal-

adin, as reflected in the class qualifications listed inTable 1.

Table 1: Class QualificationsAbility Requirements

Strength 12Constitution 9Wisdom 13Charisma 17

Prime RequisitesStrengthCharisma

Races AllowedHuman

Alignments AllowedLawful good

A player who tries to generate a paladin by usingMethod I, described in Chapter 1 of the PH, may berolling dice all day. Although the odds improveslightly when using Methods II-IV, only Methods Vand VI give a reasonable, albeit slim, chance of pro-ducing the necessary numbers.

Although the strict ability requirements mayfrustrate a player wanting to create a paladin char-acter, they're necessary to regulate play balance.Paladins are among the game's most formidablecharacters. If they were as easy to roll up as, say,warriors or mages, the surplus of powerful charac-ters would make it difficult, perhaps impossible,for the DM to come up with encounters challengingenough for all members of a party. A DM may alsohave other reasons for limiting the paladin popula-

tion—for instance, the campaign world may dis-courage the development of paladins—or mayrestrict the number of paladins simply to enhancetheir mystique.

But if your DM is open to paladin player-charac-ters, you might consider using Table 2 instead ofdice rolls to generate the required ability scores.Roll Idl2 and use the indicated statistics.

Table 2: Pregenerated Ability Scores

312123456789101112

Str12171215141218*1316131514

Dex8109131611121110141215

Con16101215911121411131710

Int109101115912101191413

Wis151416141813141716131513

Cha171718171718171817171817

* Roll percentile dice for exceptional Strength.

Level AdvancementPaladins advance in level and hit points at the

same rate as fighters. For each level up to 9, theygain ldlO hit points. They receive 3 extra hit pointsat level 10 and beyond. Table 3 summarizes the pal-adin's level advancements, along with the corre-sponding THAC0 scores.

Keep two adjustments in mind:• Paladins whose Strength and Charisma scores

equal or exceed 16 earn a 10% bonus to all earnedexperienced points. A paladin must have a 16 ormore in both of these abilities to qualify for thebonus.

• Unusually high Constitution scores award hitpoint adjustments. A paladin with a Constitutionof 17 receives a +3 bonus per hit die, and a score of18 grants a +4 bonus.

Character Creation • 5

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Table 3: Experience Levels Table 5: Saving ThrowsLevel

123456789

1011121314151617181920

XP Needed0

2,2504,5009,000

18,00036,00075,000

150,000300,000600,000900,000

1,200,0001,500,0001,800,0002,100,0002,400,0002,700,0003,000,0003,300,0003,600,000

Hit Dice (dlO)1234567899+39+69+99+129+159+189+219+249+279+309+33

THACO2019181716151413121110987654321

Advancing in level, a paladin gets new profi-ciency slots, as shown on Table 4. Remember that apaladin suffers a -2 penalty when using a weaponwithout the required proficiency.

Table 4: Total Proficiency Slots

Level1-23-56-89-11

12-1415-1718-20

Weapon456789

10

Nonweapon3456789

Table 5 summarizes the saving throws applicableto each level. Unlike other characters, paladinsreceive a +2 bonus to all saving throws. For conve-nience, the paladin's modified throws are given inparentheses; for example, a lst-level paladin mustroll a 12 or better to avoid the effects of paralyzation.

Level1-23-45-67-89-1011-1213-1415-1617+

PPDM1413111087543

(12)(11)(9)

'(8)(6)(5)(3)(2)(1)

RSW161513121C9765

(14)(13)(11)(10)1(8)(7)(5)(4)(3)

PP1514121198654

(13)(12)(10)(9)(7)(6)(4)(3)(2)

Breath1716131298544

(15)(14)(11)(10)(7)(6)(3)(2)(2)

Spell171614131110876

(15)(14)(12)(ID(9)(8)(6)(5)(4)

AbbreviationsPPDM = Paralyzation, Poison, or Death MagicRSW = Rod, Staff, or WandPP = Petrification or PolymorphBreath = Breath Weapon

Armor and WeaponsAs members of the warrior group, paladins can

wear any type of armor. Regardless of the armorworn, paladins suffer no penalties to any of theirspecial abilities.

Paladins can also wield any of the weaponslisted in Chapter 6 of the PH. As they increase inlevel, they can make more than one attack perround, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Paladin Attacks Per Round

Level1-6

7-1213+

Attacks/Round1/round3/2 rounds2/round

A paladin may fight with two weapons at thesame time, holding one in each hand, providing thesecond weapon is smaller and lighter than the mainweapon, and that he avoids using a shield. Withthese qualifications, the paladin may make an addi-tional attack each round with the second weapon.However, fighting with two weapons simultane-ously gives a penalty on both attack rolls. The basepenalty is -2 for the main weapon and -4 for the

6 • Chapter One

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