Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ting-bu-dong 09-13-04, 05:30 AM	Hi, I am playing a goblin paladin in our current D&D game. He is one of those members of savage species who are somehow above the average village-burning, looting, ever-brawling goblinoids. He is outcast from his tribe for being "weak" or "troublesome" and so he is looking for ways to prove himself to him and to his old tribe, struggling with the prejudice the "civilized" races have for goblins. Recently, we freed an oppressed goblin tribe from barghest tyrants and helped it work on its own. Preparing for the return of the beasts, we accomplished peace between the goblin tribe and a neighbouring human settlement, who had been at war for generations. Now, the group hit 9th level and I am stumped on how to continue the development of the character, both rules- as storywise. Up to now, he is focused on his mount, with mounted combat, spirited charge and a homebrew feat called improved mount, which gives the character a dire boar special mount (seems to be pretty strong, but I lack the experience to compare it to regular special mounts). Has somebody got a hint for me, both concerning character concept as well as the appropriate rules to back the ideas up by rules? Are there prestige classes that I can look out for? I seem to have heard something of a Tribal Defender class of some sort, but I don't remember where. Any ideas? tbd
Eraleas 09-13-04, 06:55 AM	A Goblin Paladin? Well, that's strange indeed! First of all, tell us what the rest of the party is like. Are they Goblins too? How do they judge your character? Are they suspicious of him? How does the rest of the world regard him? For prestige classes consider Cavalier from Complete Warrior as a good one since you are more focused on mounted combat and choose the Cavalry Charger (?) tactical feat from the same book which will improve your mounted combat greatly. There is a prestige class named Tribal Protector and it is presented in Sword and Fist on page 35 but it has prerequisites that might not be met by your character (must be of the usual racial alignment etc). Maybe the Kensai will improve your abilities, a Knight Protector might seem suitable or a even Divine Crusader (eventhough it isn't such a great PrC) from Complete Divine. A Hospitaler boosts your healing abilites while an Anointed Knight from Book of Exalted Deeds will give your character a focus on one of his Ancestral Relics. A Fist of Raziel will greatly boost your paladin abilities. Generally it's difficult to help you with so little info on your character. What god does he worship? What are his highest ideals? What major deeds has he accomplished so far? I'd be glad to help you a bit more if you put some more background info. ~Eraleas
ting-bu-dong 09-13-04, 08:16 AM	Hi, the problem with this character is that I started him at 6th level into an ongoing medium-level campaign, and most of the adventure has been combat and plannung so far, so he is not that fleshed-out yet. Most of the adventure was set in the wilderness, alternating between the goblin tribe and the human settlement. The rest of the party is: a Human Fighter, a basic warrior without much background (the player's first character, so we did not expect that much) an Elven Wizard/Fighter/Arcane Archer an Elven Cleric/Wizard/Mystic Theurge Concerning deity: He basically worships the goblin deity, although it is more of recognizing its status than actual worship. My character is more focused on the ideal of general good, instead of a specific cult. However, he has been concentrating on his deity more lately because that was a way to connect with the goblin tribe we freed. I hope that gives you a clearer idea of the situation. Thank you for your suggestions concerning classes. I will look into those. tbd
Eraleas 09-13-04, 09:00 AM	Is this Goblin Deity like Elistrae is for the Drow Pantheon (a good deity among an evil pantheon)? Since your are a paladin you might also consider adopting some levels of Divine Champion presented in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting,some levels of Cleric or Ranger (if you are mainly fighting in wilderness). There is an extremely good PrC for rangers in BoED named "Stalker of Kharash who gains "Favored Enemy: Evil" as one of his class features. Evangelist is a good idea for rp-ing your character trying to develop your god's word among goblinoids. This one is found in Complete Divine but requires a few Bard levels. Check out some Variants presented in Unearthed Arcana (such as Savage Bard if you finally consider Evangelist a good option) or anything else that might trigger your attention. Ask if you need anything else without hesitation. ~Eraleas
BeeKayDubYa 09-13-04, 03:13 PM	Instead of your "Improved Mount" feat, you might want to consider Celestial Mount from the Book of Exalted Deeds. The basic dire boar is CR4 and the "standard" special mount for Small paladins is the Warpony (CR 1/2). On the other hand, the normal boar is CR is CR2. So, the normal boar with the Celestial Template would be about right. If you can find it, one of the FR anthologies featured a story where Drizzt met up with a goblin of greater intelligence and a higher moral code than what are usually found among the race.