Paladin Nuance
Holy warriors sent out by their deity to protect the faithful and punish the faithless, paladins are the vanguards and special forces of their religion. Granted incredible powers by their deity, paladins serve with a devotion and intensity that most others find intimidating. Paladins are the hands of their deity in the world. When the paladin acts, they act at the behest of their deity and their deity takes notice.
Paladins' intense devotion with their deity requires them to follow strict oaths and rules that their deity sets forth. Because they directly represent the power of their deity, enemies of that deity are likely to pursue the paladin wherever they go, presenting challenges that the deity is eager to pit their paladin against.
Strictures cannot conflict with your paladin oaths. If you ever violate one of your Strictures or oaths, then you lose access to all divinely granted abilities until you spend a Long Rest atoning for your deviations.
Details on specific Strictures are at the bottom of this page.
Clerics within 60ft of you can feel their power like a chill running down their spine (if their religion is opposed to yours) or a pleasant warmth (if their religion is aligned with yours). Similarly, when a cleric enters your aura, you feel their divine connection and know whether their religion is aligned or opposed to yours. Abilities like Nondetection circumvent this detection.
Unlike clerics, paladins do not need to rely on their faith for a miracle to happen, relying instead on following their Strictures. Instead, the paladin must be wary when using their divine power, lest they draw the attention of their deity's enemies.
You have access to all of the prayers available to paladins, and can cast any of them as long as you have a spell slot of the appropriate level.
Each time you make a Prayer Check, the DC increases by 1 for each subsequent Prayer Check. The DC resets to Prayer Level + 8 when you go at least 10 minutes without casting a prayer.
Success: your prayer is cast and takes its effect as normal.
Failure: your prayer is cast and takes its effect, but ripples of power draw the attention of your Divine Nemisis. Roll on the Enemy's Eye chart below.
Natural 1: in addition to the effects of failure, your casting has drawn the attention of a powerful entity that opposes your deity. Your Divine Nemisis sends a Rival Champion to deal with you.
The summoned Rival Champion counts as a Summoned Creature, and it's CR is almost always going to be at least equal to your level, and will do what it can to chase you if you flee, but it will only continue the chase for up to one hour for each paladin level you possess. After that it decides not to waste any more time. Usually.
Rival Champions are directly opposed to your deity and relish the chance to eliminate you. The GM is encouraged to pick creatures that reflect this. For example, it is unlikely that a good aligned paladin would attract a Celestial rival. It is more likely for their rival to be Fiendish or Undead. That said, anything can happen, and the GM can pick any creature they feel makes sense.
Divine Smite: instead of Fiends, your divine smite deals its bonus damage to creatures who wield arcane magic. It affects Undead as normal.
Divine Smite: instead of its usual effects, your smite deals its bonus damage to dishonorable creatures (CN, CE, or NE creatures are innately dishonorable), and creatures who have offended your honor or the honor of someone under your protection.
Primary Domains: Honor, Tea, Tea-Leaves, Tea-Brewing, Tea-Ceremonies, Jolly Good Times, Polite Society
Usually, the fallen's preferred tea plant is planted atop the grave following the ceremony.
Divine Smite: instead of undead, your smite deals bonus damage to constructs and dwarves. It affects fiends as normal.
Primary Domains: War, Champions, Abjuration, Courage, Honor, Necromancy.
When a worthy opponent is slain, followers of Marn often return to their body after the battle to stand it upright in order to assist their fights in the afterlife. For particularly worthy opponents, and even more so for dear friends, this standing up can become an elaborate ritual. Very rarely, this might result in the reanimation or resurrection of the worthy warrior, allowing them to continue their worthy fight.
Conversely, when a follower of Marn slays someone they view as a coward or otherwise thoroughly unworthy, they will (if able) crush the bones in the coward's body to make sure they cannot stand in the afterlife and make them more difficult to resurrect or animate.
Paladins' intense devotion with their deity requires them to follow strict oaths and rules that their deity sets forth. Because they directly represent the power of their deity, enemies of that deity are likely to pursue the paladin wherever they go, presenting challenges that the deity is eager to pit their paladin against.
Oaths and Strictures
In addition to their regular oaths, paladins must also adhere to a set of Strictures laid out by their religion. These Strictures define the paladin and allow them to tap into their deity's power.Strictures cannot conflict with your paladin oaths. If you ever violate one of your Strictures or oaths, then you lose access to all divinely granted abilities until you spend a Long Rest atoning for your deviations.
Details on specific Strictures are at the bottom of this page.
Divine Senses
As the champions of their deity, paladins are acutely aware of the supernatural entities around them, allowing them to survive encounters that would kill a less prepared warrior.Sense Divinity
As a paladin, you can feel the power emanating from other paladins. When two paladins come within 60ft of each other, they can feel the divine power that infuses each other, and immediately know whether they serve the same deity, and whether their deities are fundamentally opposed to each other. Abilities like Nondetection can hamper this ability, but if two paladins ever come within 5ft of each other there is nothing short of a Wish spell or direct divine intervention that can prevent them from sensing each other.Clerics within 60ft of you can feel their power like a chill running down their spine (if their religion is opposed to yours) or a pleasant warmth (if their religion is aligned with yours). Similarly, when a cleric enters your aura, you feel their divine connection and know whether their religion is aligned or opposed to yours. Abilities like Nondetection circumvent this detection.
Prayers
Instead of preparing spells, paladins need only pray to their deity in order to receive aid. These prayers are part of the divine power granted to the paladin in exchange for their strict adherence to their oaths and strictures.Unlike clerics, paladins do not need to rely on their faith for a miracle to happen, relying instead on following their Strictures. Instead, the paladin must be wary when using their divine power, lest they draw the attention of their deity's enemies.
Preparing Prayers
You gain your magic from adherence to your deity's Strictures. Accessing that power is as simple as a brief, reverent request to your deity for aid. Aid which they are happy to give.You have access to all of the prayers available to paladins, and can cast any of them as long as you have a spell slot of the appropriate level.
"Casting" Prayers
You can cast a prayer by making a Charisma (Religion) check (called a Prayer Check) with a DC of 8 + the level of the prayer you are casting.Each time you make a Prayer Check, the DC increases by 1 for each subsequent Prayer Check. The DC resets to Prayer Level + 8 when you go at least 10 minutes without casting a prayer.
Prayer Check Results
Natural 20: in addition to the effects of a success, your prayer is filled with an extra burst of divine energy. One enemy within your paladin aura takes damage as if from a 1st level Divine Smite. If there are no enemies within your aura, then you or an ally within your aura is healed for the same amount.Success: your prayer is cast and takes its effect as normal.
Failure: your prayer is cast and takes its effect, but ripples of power draw the attention of your Divine Nemisis. Roll on the Enemy's Eye chart below.
Natural 1: in addition to the effects of failure, your casting has drawn the attention of a powerful entity that opposes your deity. Your Divine Nemisis sends a Rival Champion to deal with you.
Rival Champion
In combat, the Rival Champion usually takes 1d4 rounds to arrive. However, many circumstances can increase or decrease this time.The summoned Rival Champion counts as a Summoned Creature, and it's CR is almost always going to be at least equal to your level, and will do what it can to chase you if you flee, but it will only continue the chase for up to one hour for each paladin level you possess. After that it decides not to waste any more time. Usually.
Rival Champions are directly opposed to your deity and relish the chance to eliminate you. The GM is encouraged to pick creatures that reflect this. For example, it is unlikely that a good aligned paladin would attract a Celestial rival. It is more likely for their rival to be Fiendish or Undead. That said, anything can happen, and the GM can pick any creature they feel makes sense.
Strictures by Deity
Each deity's Strictures are included below, along with some extra details about the religion's ceremonies that a paladin should know. If you ever break one of your strictures, your divine powers as a paladin cease to function until you complete a Long Rest during which you perform the Atonement Rite, which is included in each entry.Cir
Paladins of Cir are known for their zealous determination in pursuit of their divine goals. They spare no expense in achieving their goals and are more than willing to sacrifice themselves to accomplish their given quest.Divine Smite: instead of Fiends, your divine smite deals its bonus damage to creatures who wield arcane magic. It affects Undead as normal.
Elgvorn
Paladins of Elgvorn are very rare, almost exclusively selected to fulfill a specific purpose. Unerringly polite and an all around delight to be around, they are often celebrated as pillars of their communities, regardless of social station.Divine Smite: instead of its usual effects, your smite deals its bonus damage to dishonorable creatures (CN, CE, or NE creatures are innately dishonorable), and creatures who have offended your honor or the honor of someone under your protection.
Primary Domains: Honor, Tea, Tea-Leaves, Tea-Brewing, Tea-Ceremonies, Jolly Good Times, Polite Society
Attonement Ritual
In order to attone for breaking your Strictures to Elgvorn, you must spend a Long Rest making tea. At the end of this Tea Ceremony, you must attempt a Teamaking Check with a DC equal to 8 + your Paladin Level. If you succeed, you regain your powers.Burial Rites
Followers fo Elgvorn equate amazing tea with spiritual peace. For the honorable fallen, a final tea ceremony is held and conducted in respectful silence. At the ceremony's completion, the extra tea is poured over the body, which is then placed into the ground.Usually, the fallen's preferred tea plant is planted atop the grave following the ceremony.
Marn
Paladins of Marn are known for their ferocity and honor in battle and their hatred of dwarves. They are self sufficient, earning their own wealth and food with their fighting prowess.Divine Smite: instead of undead, your smite deals bonus damage to constructs and dwarves. It affects fiends as normal.
Primary Domains: War, Champions, Abjuration, Courage, Honor, Necromancy.
| Marn Strictures | Explanation |
|---|---|
| No food shall I eat that I have not slain. | You must only eat food you have killed yourself (or helped kill). |
| No wealth shall I claim but that which I plunder. | You must not keep wealth for yourself unless you slew (or helped kill) its former owner (you can hold onto it, but it cannot be your property). |
| No dwarven abode shall I enter, except to fill with death; | If you ever enter a dwarven home, you must kill all who live within (some consider "abode" to include any dwarf-made structure). |
| No dwarf-worked stone shall I touch, except to cleanse with dwarf-blood. | You must not touch dwarf stone except to draw Marn's Upright Axe on it with dwarven blood. |
| No hammer or shield shall I wield; | You must not wield hammers or shields (the sacred weapons of the dwarven gods, Brumil and Makil). |
| Nor lies except on the battlefield. | You must not tell lies except for the purpose of defeating enemies in battle. |
| There is no mercy in battle, only power and honor. | You must not accept an enemy's surrender once the fighting has started, and will never hold back in battle or surrender, though retreat is still an option. |
| To die with honor is to die upright. | You must not kill a creature that is not standing unless that creature has shown themselves to be a coward. In addition, you show respect to the worthy dead by standing them upright. |
| The bones of the shamed shall be broken. | You must break the bones of unworthy opponents after slaying them. |
| But the worthy shall have my respect. | You must treat all worthy creatures with respect, whether friends or enemies. |
| A worthy opponent I shall never refuse; | You must not refuse a duel from a worthy opponent (creatures that are far more powerful than you are not worthy opponents. Yet.) |
| Nor a coward's words accept. | You must not accept the demands, challenges, etc. from an unworthy creature. |
| I will protect my own. | You must do what you can to protect your life, your allies, and your possessions. |
Atonement Rite
In order to atone for breaking one of Marn's Strictures, you must spend a Long Rest on a bloody rampage. Specifically, during the Long Rest, you must kill one creature that is no smaller than a dog and use its blood to draw Marn's symbol (an upright, double-bitted axe). You must do this once for each paladin level you possess.Burial Rites
Followers of Marn value dying in action. When in combat, followers of Marn consider it honorable to kill an enemy before the enemy hits the ground, and they hope to receive the same honor in return. It is not uncommon for a follower of Marn to pause fighting to allow a particularly worthy enemy to stand up after they fall prone to allow them to die on their feet. Only worthy enemies get this honor though.When a worthy opponent is slain, followers of Marn often return to their body after the battle to stand it upright in order to assist their fights in the afterlife. For particularly worthy opponents, and even more so for dear friends, this standing up can become an elaborate ritual. Very rarely, this might result in the reanimation or resurrection of the worthy warrior, allowing them to continue their worthy fight.
Conversely, when a follower of Marn slays someone they view as a coward or otherwise thoroughly unworthy, they will (if able) crush the bones in the coward's body to make sure they cannot stand in the afterlife and make them more difficult to resurrect or animate.
