Hacking 2e: The Paladin Kit – Part 1

Nice greaves.

Described by 2e as the “noble and heroic warrior, the symbol of all that is right and true in the world,” the game has high expectations for the Paladin. They are a pillar of goodness and law based solely on roleplay and vibes, requiring adherence to a Lawful Good code in order to retain their powers, lest they fall to a shameful state of specializationless fighterdom. For the history, I will continue to direct you to Stoddard’s History of the Classes: The Paladin Class.

This is the first attempt to rebuild the non-core classes as kits. In this case: a Fighter kit. That means a removal of Weapon Specialization and the addition of the myriad features that come part and parcel with the Paladin.

And boy, what a collection of features. Try as I might, I could not eat the whole meal, so I’ve got another split entry.

 

1. Ability Requirements

By far the most demanding of the Ability Score requirements with a steep 17 in Charisma, as it was in OD&D, and a smattering of additional reqs: Strength 12, Wisdom 13, and a 9 in Con for good measure. In other words, good luck. If you’re rolling 3d6 down-the-line, forget it, it’s about a one in a thousand chance.

While I’ve generally been against absurd gates which keep people from playing the type of character they envision, I think these Ability Score gates are something worth keeping. I appreciate that it codifies the rarity of the class, even in the case of 4d6 drop-the-lowest and place anywhere character gen.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the ability requirements across all the classes are fine. They’re doing what they’re supposed to: preserving rarity and archetypes. Without notable cause, I won’t bother mentioning them again.

 

2. Alignment

The requirement for Lawful Good behavior makes the Paladin a Paladin, instead of just a Fighter with a lot of extra stuff. Instead of merely a guideline on how to play the class, it’s a roleplay edict which must be followed or else. Performing a chaotic act nets you a trip to the cleric-principal’s office and a requirement to “do penance,” whatever that might mean. Performing an evil act results in the immediate loss of all your powers and demotion to a Fighter without specialization – a truly harrowing fate. You also lose everything if you did the bad thing “while enchanted or controlled by magic,” though in that instance you can do a dangerous DM-crafted quest to get your paladinhood back, which really seems like bad form on the DM’s end.

The determination of what constitutes a chaotic or evil act is, of course, purely the DM’s call. It’s a terrifying amount of power to hold over the head of a player who worked really hard to convince you that their generated scores were definitely legit. If handled poorly, it’s a recipe for disagreement and resentment, a situation which I’m sure was replete amongst 2e’s target demographic.

Added to this is the requirement to not associate with those who do evil, which puts a real damper on the party while they’re trying to justify burning down the orphanage. The Paladin gained a reputation in this era for being the sanctimonious party-pooper, which I think is well earned. I’m not sure how you would be anything else, considering that the floor might drop out from under you if the DM thinks that your failure to prevent the party’s murderhoboism is tantamount to aiding and abetting. It may be justified, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact that this is the fantasy TTRPG equivalent of bringing a cop to a house party.

Yet even with such pitfalls, I don’t think you can remove the alignment requirements, and its repercussions, without losing something essential in the Paladin. In later editions, the Paladin doesn’t really come across as a champion of pure truth and justice, unless you have a player that really hams it up. Instead, the Paladin comes off more as a type of knight with some fancy powers. It’s the alignment chokehold which makes the Paladin what it is, and that restriction is the roleplay price for getting the neat extras; without a mechanism for enforcement, you just get the powers with no cost, and the archetype is diminished.

It requires direction on how to adjudicate such ambiguous red lines, but that’s a job for a GM’s guide, not the class entry.

 

3. Detect Evil

The Paladin’s built-in radar that pings evil monsters and characters. Based on the text, it also detects “evil intent,” but the Paladin’s entry doesn’t go into detail on that. It has a range of 60 feet in “a particular direction,” it takes one round to perform, and you can do it an unlimited number of times.

That directional bit is vague. The 1e PHB is of no help either, noting that you “detect it in the right general direction.” Thanks, Gary. If we template the power based on the spell Detect Evil, then it’s a 10-foot wide beam of evil-finding. Yet if we go off the spell, it introduces another complication: that spell’s text states that it does not detect character alignment except in specific circumstances, which includes that ‘intent’ language, while the Paladin’s power specifically says it detects evil characters. So, your call, I suppose. This power is derided as a plot-spoiler, but apparently that’s dependent on how the DM interprets the text’s imprecise gesturing at what it can actually detect.

My preference would be to tighten this up a bit. Remove its ability to detect actual alignment, and restrict it to detecting evil magic, evil objects, and the imminent intent to commit evil acts; if the high priest is evil, that’s his business, but if he’s going to betray that party at a critical moment, let the Paladin smell it. To make up for the constriction of this ability, the power can be passive; the Paladin doesn’t need to use a round to check for evil, they just know evil when they sense it. As such, it should also be 360 rather than directional, with a smaller 30-foot range for manageability. If I want to bring back in the one-round action, let the Paladin extend it out to 360 feet (like the priest version of the spell) if focusing on a specific object or person.

To go further, I can just make this how the Detect Evil spell works (with a time limiter for the spell rather than always on), and then just hand that to the Paladin as a passive power. I’ve yet to discuss my thoughts on how spells should work in the hack (or my belief that Cleric spells should be called prayers, should not have components, and should be more distinct from the Wizard’s options), but let’s try one here:

Detect Evil
(Divination Sphere)
Reversible

Range: Self
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: 30-ft radius or special
Duration: 10 rounds + 5 rounds/level
Saving Throw: None

Detects the presence of evil-aligned magic, locations, and items. It does not reveal the alignment of evil creatures, unless the being is extremely evil (such as devils and demons), but it can detect the imminent intent to commit acts of evil. The detection is sensory, like a smell or feel, and can be of lesser or greater intensity depending on the severity of the evil detected and the immediacy of any intended act.

By focusing for one round while the prayer is active, the detection can be sent out toward a specific object or person, up to 360 feet away.

The reverse of this prayer is Detect Good, which detects good-aligned magic, locations, items, and intentions.

It’s a start. I’m not here to build a Clerical magic system, so consider this a trial run. By taking this route, the feature is now significantly buffed, threatening the collapse of ambushes and evil mysteries. Good. You’ve got a Paladin in the party; that’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s the party’s recompense for having the killjoy with them.

4. Saving Throw Bonus

A straight-up +2 bonus to all Saving Throws. It’s overpowered and simple and I love it.

 

5. Disease Immunity

An immunity to “all forms of disease.” Again, it’s simple and does the job of making this character a bit more than their peers. As I noted when building the Healing skill, I’ve got to work on a disease table at some point.

 

6. Lay on Hands

An absolute classic and an iconic power of Paladins. This lets them heal 2 hp per experience level, on themselves or others, once a day.

It needs a bit more, which I’ll accomplish below.

 

7. Cure Disease

Cures any disease once per week per five levels of experience. This is similar to Lay on Hands, enough so that I’d like to just merge it into that power, as 5e did. However, the rate is a bit fiddly to mix in, and therefore I’m in favor of having Lay on Hands either heal hp or cure disease once per day. I don’t think I’ll break the game if the Paladin can cure magical rickets seven times a week.

If Lay on Hands is going to perform double duty, it should get a bump. For that, let’s use the increase granted to disease curing: you gain additional uses of Lay on Hands at 5th, 10th, and 15th level.

Since the Healing skill reduces a disease to its mildest form, that means diseases have severity, and hence levels. If I’m looking to temper this disease removal feature, I can have it only apply to diseases equal to a Paladin’s level.

 

8. The Half Finished Paladin Kit

Kit: Paladin
Ability Requirements: Strength 12, Constitution 9, Wisdom 13, Charisma 17
Alignment: Lawful Good

Paladins are noble heroes of truth and justice. As an avatar of good, they can both sense and repel evil, they are immune to disease, and they can heal wounds. The Paladin is granted these powers only through their commitment to compassion, charity, and duty.

Paladins lose the Weapon Specialization feature.

Paladins gain the following features:

A Higher Ideal: Paladins must perform acts of Lawful Goodness in order to maintain their power. Willful acts of Chaos result in a temporary loss of all Paladin features, which can only be regained through the blessings of a Lawful Good Cleric. Willful acts of Evil result in a permanent loss of all Paladin features, which can never be regained. A Paladin without their features is considered a Fallen Paladin, who is nothing more than a Fighter without Weapon Specialization.

Detect Evil: Gains the ability to sense evil-aligned magic and evil intentions, as though permanently under the effect of the prayer Detect Evil.

Blessed: +2 bonus to all Saving Throws.

Disease Immunity: Has immunity to all forms of disease.

Lay on Hands: Gains the ability to heal either themselves or another, once per day. This feature can be used to restore an amount of HP equal to twice the Paladin’s level or cure any disease equal to or less than the Paladin’s level. Gains a cumulative, additional daily use of this feature at 5th, 10th, and 15th level.

x

 

9. Intermission

So far, so good. The kit explains what is lost and gained, and what is gained is direct and simple. The prayer Detect Evil pulls double duty, letting me offload the feature’s many abilities into the Magic chapter. The only hefty boy here is the kit’s alignment detail, but the cognitive load is low; this is roleplay direction with repercussions, rather than rules that need constant reference.

The remaining Paladin features are tricky, especially due to the addition of Cleric features. Next time, I’ll tackle the remaining set and finalize the kit.