Paladins are members of a holy order of lawful knights ordained to act as faithful soldiers for their god, embarking on wandering journeys in search of chivalrous adventures. They seek out and slay evil monsters, recovering treasure to bolster the treasuries of their churches and temples.
Hit Dice: Paladins gain +1d8 hit die per level.
Requirements: A character must have a Strength of 12+, Constitution of 13+, and a Charisma of 17+ to qualify for the paladin class.
Restrictions: The paladin must be of lawful alignment and must carefully adhere to a set of strictures to remain in the good graces of the gods of law. Paladins can wield any weapon, wear any armor, and use shields.
Alignment: Paladins must be lawful. Chaotic paladins are called anti-paladins and aren’t available as a PC class. There is no such thing as a neutral paladin.
PALADIN EXPERIENCE LEVEL TABLE
| Level | Title | XP | HD | Attack Bonus |
| 1 | Errant | 0 | 1d8 | +1 |
| 2 | Bachelor | 3000 | 2d8 | +2 |
| 3 | Banneret | 6000 | 3d8 | +3 |
| 4 | Cavalier | 12,000 | 4d8 | +4 |
| 5 | Gallant | 25,000 | 5d8 | +5 |
| 6 | Crusader | 50,000 | 6d8 | +6 |
| 7 | Templar | 100,000 | 7d8 | +7 |
| 8 | Knight Captain | 200,000 | 8d8 | +7 |
| 9 | Knight Commander | 400,000 | 9d8 | +8 |
| 10 | Supreme Commander | 600,000 | 10d8 | +8 |
| 11 | Lord Knight | 800,000 | 11d8 | +9 |
| 12 | Grand Master | 1,000,000 | 12d8 | +9 |
PALADIN SAVING THROW TABLE
| Level | Death/Poison | Wand/Rod | Petrify/Poly | Dragon Breath | Spells/Staves |
| 1 | +6 | +5 | +4 | +3 | +2 |
| 2 | +7 | +5 | +4 | +3 | +2 |
| 3 | +7 | +6 | +5 | +4 | +3 |
| 4 | +8 | +6 | +5 | +4 | +3 |
| 5 | +8 | +7 | +6 | +5 | +4 |
| 6 | +9 | +7 | +6 | +5 | +4 |
| 7 | +9 | +8 | +7 | +6 | +5 |
| 8 | +10 | +8 | +7 | +6 | +5 |
| 9 | +10 | +9 | +8 | +7 | +6 |
| 10 | +11 | +9 | +8 | +7 | +6 |
| 11 | +11 | +10 | +9 | +8 | +7 |
| 12 | +12 | +10 | +9 | +8 | +7 |
PALADIN SPELL LEVEL TABLE
| Paladin Lvl | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
| 7 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 8 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| 10 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – |
| 12 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Special Features
Strictures: Paladins must follow a code of honor and take an oath of modesty to gain their exalted status as holy knights. They must always act in the name of goodness and law, and always seek to thwart chaos and evil. They must seek penance and atone for any known acts of chaotic behavior, and knowingly performing an evil deed will result in losing their status as a paladin (become a fighter of the same level). They may not retain extravagant wealth or luxuries, and keep only a single suit of magical armor, a single magical shield, up to three magical weapons, and up to three miscellaneous magical items. They must tithe at least 50% of treasure recovered to a lawful organization of their choice, typically their knightly order. They may not adventure with those of chaotic alignment and keep a close eye on those who are neutral.
Raiment: A paladin begins play with a sword, a shield, and brigandine armor at no cost, gifted to them by their knightly order upon taking their oaths.
Detect Evil: Paladins can use the spell detect evil at will.
Holy Swords: When a paladin wields a Holy Sword against an evil monster, they gain the ability to inflict critical hits. When a paladin hits with a Holy Sword attack and rolls the highest possible result on the damage die, the die is rolled again and the new result is added as bonus damage. The paladin can potentially gain a number of bonus damage dice in this way up to their level. In addition, the paladin may cause the Holy Sword to emit light as per the light spell at will. This effect cancels out a darkness spell.
Bonus Attacks: If the paladin defeats a chaotic-aligned enemy in combat, they immediately gain another attack. They may gain additional attacks in this way up to their level.
Lay on Hands: The paladin may lay on hands once per day. Doing so heals the recipient for 1d4 hp per the paladin’s level.
Disease Immunity: Paladins are blessed with immunity to all diseases.
At 2nd Level: The paladin may attempt to turn undead, driving off all undead creatures within sight using the power of their god and their faith. A turn undead roll is 1d20 + CHA + 1/2 Paladin Level vs the creature’s Save DC. On a success, the creature is turned. The effects of a successful turning depends on the level of the creature:
- Creatures with HD greater than the paladin: Kept at bay, unable to approach any closer.
- Creatures with equal or less HD than the paladin: Must flee the cleric’s presence at all costs.
- Creatures with less than half HD of the paladin: Instantly destroyed.
At 3rd Level: The paladin can summon a holy warhorse with 5 HD that magically appears from the wilderness. The horse is intelligent and able to follow complex commands. If lost, the paladin may not summon another warhorse until a decade of time has passed.
At 5th Level: The paladin may cure disease, as per the cleric spell, once per week.
At 7th Level: The paladin’s devotion to the alignment of law grants them limited access to cleric magic per the table above. See Magic & Spells for more information on paladin spell casting.
At 9th Level: If the paladin controls a stronghold, they attract 5d6x10 veterans (1st level fighters) to serve as as loyal henchmen.