About Paladin and Ranger Variants [Archive] - Wizards Community

About Paladin and Ranger Variants [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Reddius
12-07-05, 07:34 AM The Complete Warrior present some rules for Paladin and Ranger when they dont have spells. Still I see Paladins a bit weak so I was thinking on adding them up without taking their spellcasting. Rangers...ummm well they have nice abilities but still those might not influence much if they are added.

Paladin

New Abilities
Lv6th Blesesd Weapon - Your weapons can pass dmg reduction good - not too strong ability. Paladin deserve to have this.
Lv11th Divine Might - once per day (1 min per caster lv) +4 to one of the following abilities Str, Wis or Con
Lv13th Tend Mount - Just an ability to heal you mount...thats it. Which is good to keep your mount alive. Paladin should have this.
Lv16th Holy Sword - (Once per day) At this level he can already cast the spell Lv4, so its just like having one more spell per day.

Ranger

New Abilities
Lv6th Fast Movement Lv6th - well thats good ability. (Like Babarian)
Lv11th Nature's Blessing - Same as Paladin's Divine Might except that rises dex instead of str
Lv13th Healing Touch - Neutralize Poison or remove disease (one per day) - which they can already cast.
Lv16th Freedom of Movement (one per day) - Same as Pal Holy sword. He can cast this spell already, so its just like having one more spell per day.

In Summary adding these might have too much impact on the classes in fact it might be good to make player go farther into this classes. Many of the players just get a few levels and then switch to prestige classes.
Mac Awol
12-07-05, 10:33 AM Still I see Paladins a bit weak so I was thinking on adding them up without taking their spellcasting.
adding these might have too much impact on the classes in fact it might be good to make player go farther into this classes. Many of the players just get a few levels and then switch to prestige classes.

Well I sorta fixed the Paladin in a very simple way, actually it is more of a variant paladin, but it does add a reason to continue as a paladin into the higher levels:

Domain Paladin
These Paladins are all dedicated to the service of a deity, compared to other paladins who first and foremost fight for an ideal; these Paladins put their deity first. Not all paladins have mounts or suck at casting spells.

1. He loses the Special Mount Class Ability.
Not all deities have a special bond to animals.

2. He gains a Bonus Feat at 7th, and 14th level, which must be chosen among the following feats: Combat Intuition, Eyes in the Back of Your Head, Greater Heavy Armor Optimization, Heavy Armor Optimization, Improved Smiting, Mobile Spellcasting, Open Mind, Practiced Spellcaster, Shielded Casting, Spontaneous Healer, Weapon Specialization (any) (may be taken only once at 14th level).
As a holy warrior you learn many things.
3. He loses the Remove Disease Class Ability.
Not all deities care about their follower’s health.
4. He gains +1 Domain Spell as a Cleric, but is limited to only one Domain, which must be chosen amongst those his deity offers. The extra domain spells is added when he gains 0 spells from a given spell level, so at 4th level his spells per day is: 0 + 1.
This makes them better able to cover their deity’s needs.
Reddius
12-07-05, 05:49 PM Umm 2 bonus feats + domain (Still domain spells are limited to Lv4)
Mac Awol
12-08-05, 12:54 AM Umm 2 bonus feats + domain (Still domain spells are limited to Lv4)
It doesn't seem like much in exchange for Speciel Mount and Remove Disease, but as our groups resident paladin player said; "He gets much cooler abilities..."
Actually I thought he was a little overpowered, after all the extra domain spell adds up to 4 extra spells of spell-levels 1 to 4 per day at 14th level, from a limited selection instead of remove disease a number of times per week (3rd level spell), and 3 extra abilities (1 domain power + 2 feats from a limited selection) in exchange for special mount.
but actually I found that it holds just as many limits as the standard paladin, as these abilities dictates which bonus feats the paladin chooses to better benefit from these abilities, which serves me (as a DM) just find, cause that will offcause also dictates which role the paladin plays in the game.
And that stops the paladin from becoming overpowered, instead he becomes a specialist of his choice.
And Weapon Specialization especially makes it worthwhile to gain the higher levels as a paladin.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Reddius 12-07-05, 07:34 AM	The Complete Warrior present some rules for Paladin and Ranger when they dont have spells. Still I see Paladins a bit weak so I was thinking on adding them up without taking their spellcasting. Rangers...ummm well they have nice abilities but still those might not influence much if they are added. Paladin New Abilities Lv6th Blesesd Weapon - Your weapons can pass dmg reduction good - not too strong ability. Paladin deserve to have this. Lv11th Divine Might - once per day (1 min per caster lv) +4 to one of the following abilities Str, Wis or Con Lv13th Tend Mount - Just an ability to heal you mount...thats it. Which is good to keep your mount alive. Paladin should have this. Lv16th Holy Sword - (Once per day) At this level he can already cast the spell Lv4, so its just like having one more spell per day. Ranger New Abilities Lv6th Fast Movement Lv6th - well thats good ability. (Like Babarian) Lv11th Nature's Blessing - Same as Paladin's Divine Might except that rises dex instead of str Lv13th Healing Touch - Neutralize Poison or remove disease (one per day) - which they can already cast. Lv16th Freedom of Movement (one per day) - Same as Pal Holy sword. He can cast this spell already, so its just like having one more spell per day. In Summary adding these might have too much impact on the classes in fact it might be good to make player go farther into this classes. Many of the players just get a few levels and then switch to prestige classes.
Mac Awol 12-07-05, 10:33 AM	Still I see Paladins a bit weak so I was thinking on adding them up without taking their spellcasting. adding these might have too much impact on the classes in fact it might be good to make player go farther into this classes. Many of the players just get a few levels and then switch to prestige classes. Well I sorta fixed the Paladin in a very simple way, actually it is more of a variant paladin, but it does add a reason to continue as a paladin into the higher levels: Domain Paladin These Paladins are all dedicated to the service of a deity, compared to other paladins who first and foremost fight for an ideal; these Paladins put their deity first. Not all paladins have mounts or suck at casting spells. 1. He loses the Special Mount Class Ability. Not all deities have a special bond to animals. 2. He gains a Bonus Feat at 7th, and 14th level, which must be chosen among the following feats: Combat Intuition, Eyes in the Back of Your Head, Greater Heavy Armor Optimization, Heavy Armor Optimization, Improved Smiting, Mobile Spellcasting, Open Mind, Practiced Spellcaster, Shielded Casting, Spontaneous Healer, Weapon Specialization (any) (may be taken only once at 14th level). As a holy warrior you learn many things. 3. He loses the Remove Disease Class Ability. Not all deities care about their follower’s health. 4. He gains +1 Domain Spell as a Cleric, but is limited to only one Domain, which must be chosen amongst those his deity offers. The extra domain spells is added when he gains 0 spells from a given spell level, so at 4th level his spells per day is: 0 + 1. This makes them better able to cover their deity’s needs.
Reddius 12-07-05, 05:49 PM	Umm 2 bonus feats + domain (Still domain spells are limited to Lv4)
Mac Awol 12-08-05, 12:54 AM	Umm 2 bonus feats + domain (Still domain spells are limited to Lv4) It doesn't seem like much in exchange for Speciel Mount and Remove Disease, but as our groups resident paladin player said; "He gets much cooler abilities..." Actually I thought he was a little overpowered, after all the extra domain spell adds up to 4 extra spells of spell-levels 1 to 4 per day at 14th level, from a limited selection instead of remove disease a number of times per week (3rd level spell), and 3 extra abilities (1 domain power + 2 feats from a limited selection) in exchange for special mount. but actually I found that it holds just as many limits as the standard paladin, as these abilities dictates which bonus feats the paladin chooses to better benefit from these abilities, which serves me (as a DM) just find, cause that will offcause also dictates which role the paladin plays in the game. And that stops the paladin from becoming overpowered, instead he becomes a specialist of his choice. And Weapon Specialization especially makes it worthwhile to gain the higher levels as a paladin.