A plethora of paladins

I am perusing my much enjoyed and heavily guarded copy of Dragon Magazine Archives on CD and I came across an article I was looking for that I thought might tickle the fancy of the modders, in case they run out of things to do. oke:

Back in Dragon #106, an article appeared called A Plethora Of Paladins. It outlined rules for paladins of every alignment. How cool is that?!

The Dragon Magazine Archives are not very formatting friendly at all regarding copying, pasting, screenshotting or anything else. I'll just include the basics of each alignment because there's much more information in the article that would get rather long and there's tables that I would have to type from scratch because of said formatting problems.

 

THE MYRIKHAN

The neutral good myrikhan, whose name in the original Creation
Argots means “godservant,” is primarily a field agent of a good
church, the one on whom quests fall. Myrikhans usually (95%)
travel alone, although they sometimes accompany others with a
similar goal. They are rarely seen in the company of other
myrikhans, and in a group are almost certainly abiding at the
church until their next mission. Myrikhans live for good deeds.
Should a myrikhan ever commit an evil deed, his church will excom-
municate him and he will become forevermore a normal fighter.
Myrikhans favor leather armor and chain vests, sometimes aug-
menting this protection with great helms or shields. They spend
much time outdoors and usually wear furs to protect themselves
from cold. Utility is the heart of their wardrobe, a combination of
efficiency and minimal encumbrance. Their most common mount is
a pony or light warhorse. Their few weapons are usually a favorite
and only one or two others.
Wisdom and intelligence are the prime requisites of the myrikhan.
A score of 16 or greater in one of these abilities adds 10% to earned
experience, and scores of 16 or greater in both abilities add 15%.
Myrikhans receive spell bonuses and chances of spell failure accord-
ing to their wisdom scores as clerics do (see the Players Handbook,
p. 11, Wisdom Table II: Adjustments for Clerics).
Myrikhans use any magic items usable by fighters or clerics. At 9th level and above, a myrikhan with sufficient funds can build a
fortress or church stronghold, thus attracting followers. Because
myrikhans are agents of a church, any established base will be an
extension of that church — a myrikhan always serves under a high
priest. Myrikhan Table III shows the type of followers attracted by
the myrikhan.

The special abilities of a myrikhan are:
1. Detection of evil within a 100’ radius, revealing only the gen-
eral direction and requiring unbroken concentration.

2. Saving throw bonuses against evil magic at +1 for each three
levels the myrikhan has ( +1 at 1st through 3rd level, +2 at 4th
through 6th level, etc.). Evil magic includes any spells cast by evil
NPCs or monsters, and any effects of magic items that are intrinsi-
cally evil or that are used by evil beings.

3. Turning of undead as a cleric of equal level, including creatures
of the lower (evil) planes.

4. Spell use at 6th level and above. Myrikhan Table II shows the
number and level of such spells.

5. Hit and damage bonuses of +1 per level when fighting larger-
than-man-sized giants and humanoids, similar to a ranger’s anti-
humanoid combat ability

6. At 4th level, a symbol of power received from the church. A
suede collar that ties at the rear and is removed only in emergencies
carries the precious metal symbol, unique to the character, that gives
the myrikhan protection from evil as long as he wears it. The collar
and symbol are worth 50-500 gp.

7. A 10% chance per level to identify plants and animals, auto-
matic at 10th level and above.

8. Hit and damage bonuses of +1 for each three levels ( +1 at 1st
through 3rd level, +2 at 4th through 6th, etc.) with a favorite
weapon. At 1st level, the myrikhan designates a certain type of
weapon (bastard sword, quarterstaff, morning star, etc.) as a favorite
weapon and receives the bonuses for any weapon of that type.

The strictures of a myrikhan are:
1. Forbidden retention of wealth. The church pays personal ex-
penses from a limited fund for each myrikhan. Treasure goes imme-
diately to the church. The myrikhan keeps single items (one sword,
one ring, one staff, etc.) and no more.

2. Speaking his deity’s name only on consecrated ground, prayers
and godcalls notwithstanding. Deviations incur serious punishment
and require atonement and meditation.

 

THE GARATH

Garaths are chaotic good church guardians. They primarily de-
fend their churches, no matter what the method or cost; often guard-
ing church journeys or caravans. Devout church members, garaths
adhere to their god’s strictures with absolute conviction. If a garath
ever breaks a church rule, he loses his garath church rank and abili-
ties and becomes forevermore a normal fighter.
Garaths pride themselves on finely crafted and exquisitely detailed
clothes, weapons, and armor. Plate mail is the most common garath
protection, always embellished with church symbols and holy script.
Wisdom and charisma (a factor of devotion for garaths) are the
prime requisites of the garath. A score of 16 or greater in one of
these abilities adds 10% to earned experience, and scores of 16 or
greater in both abilities add 15%. Garaths receive spell bonuses and
chances of spell failure according to their wisdom scores as clerics do
(see Players Handbook p. 11, Wisdom Table II).
Garaths use any magic items usable by fighters or clerics. Normal
followers are those found in the church as lower-level garaths, for a
garath’s level determines his church rank. At 7th level, the church
appoints two 1st-level fighters of the same race as personal guardians
to the garath. Check for other followers at each new level using a
5% chance per level beginning with 2nd level of a follower joining
the garath (5% at 2nd level, 10% at 3rd, etc.). If a follower is indi-
cated, roll once on Garath Table III to determine the type of fol-
lower. Garaths never build strongholds.

The special abilities of a garath are:

1. Detection of evil within a 100’ radius, revealing only the gen-
eral direction of the evil source and requiring total concentration.

2. Saving throw bonuses against evil magic at +1 for each three
levels the garath possesses ( +1 at 1st through 3rd level, +2 at 4th
through 6th level, etc.). Evil magic includes any spells cast by evil
NPCs or monsters, and any effects of magic items that are intrinsi-
cally evil or that are used by evil beings.

3. Protection from devils beginning at 5th level, including all
lawful evil creatures from the lower planes.

4. Spell use at 8th level and above. Garath Table II shows the
number and level of such spells.

5. The ability to use all holy swords (of chaotic good alignment) as
paladins do.

6. Good welcome from any allied chaotic good church. A garath
abuses this only at the risk of deviating from his alignment.

7. Hit and damage bonuses of +1 for each 4 levels of experience
( +1 at 1st through 4th level, +2 at 5th through 8th, etc.) with any
weapon, due to their fierce fighting ability and devotion.

8. Two bodyguards appointed at 7th level. These two 1st-level
fighters, of the same race as the garath, progress in level as normal
NPCs and will serve unto death. The church will not replace killed
bodyguards.

The strictures of a garath are:

1. Forbidden retention of wealth. Garaths keep non-monetary
treasure if desired; otherwise, they give it to the church.

2. Use of force only against non-good-aligned individuals, except
for self-defense or church defense.

3. Employment of only good-aligned individuals, except for
church defense.

 

THE LYAN

The lawful neutral lyan functions more as a cleric than a fighter,
for his church consists only of other lyans (no acolytes, clerics,
priests, etc.). The subclass name and its level titles derive from the
ancient names for the ascending floors of the Arbiter’s Edifice, a
massive tower of legend in which the Arbiter lived and ruled. Lyans
call their god the Arbiter despite his true name, which is often held
sacrosanct and reserved for the most solemn church rituals. (Many
believe that the Arbiter is actually Primus, ruler of Nirvana.) Lyans
believe that, after death, their souls travel to the Edifice Prime (Nir-
vana), a celestial reconstruction of the original mythical tower, and
serve the Arbiter thereafter. A lyan devotes himself to law and its
promotion, and should he ever commit a chaotic act with other
courses available, he loses his status in excommunication and be-
comes forevermore a normal fighter.
Although the rules of the edificial churches (the term for any
lyan’s church) forbid armor or weapons on consecrated ground,
elsewhere lyans wear any type of armor desired, usually leather or
studded leather reinforced by a breastplate and gauntlets (which in
no way hinder their somatic spell-casting actions). Their mounts are
the largest and strongest of their type, their weapons the most fierce,
their methods the most efficient and unforgiving in dealing with the
dangerous forces of chaos.
Wisdom, strength, and constitution are the prime requisites of a
lyan. A total of 45 or more in those abilities adds 10% to earned
experience, and a total of 51 or more adds 15%. Lyans receive spell bonuses and chances of spell failure according to their wisdom scores
as clerics do (see Players Handbook, p. 11, Wisdom Table II: Ad-
justments for Clerics). Lyans can use any magic items.
At 10th level, a lyan can construct his own edificial church, thus
attracting followers. Lyan Table III shows the type of followers
possible.

The special abilities of a lyan are:

1. Detection of chaos at 20’ per level to a maximum range of 400’
(at 20th level). (This benefit corresponds to the abilities of detection
of good or evil.) The lyan can determine the type of chaos (good,
neutral, or evil) after two rounds of concentration.

2. Saving throw bonuses against chaotic magic at +1 for each
three levels ( +1 at 1st through 3rd level, +2 at 4th through 6th
level, etc.). Chaotic magic includes any spells cast by chaotic NPCs
or monsters and any effects of magic items that are intrinsically
chaotic or that are used by chaotic beings.

3. Spell use at 3rd level and above. Lyan Table II shows the num-
ber and level of such spells.

4. Hit and damage bonuses of +1 per level when fighting any
chaotic creatures, of either good, neutral, or evil nature.
The lyan has no strictures other than the rules of his edificial
church. When and if he forms his own, he determines his own rules,
which must roughly correspond to the Arbiter’s standards.

 

THE PARAMANDER

The true neutral paramander’s name means “one beside the
world,” an allusion to the position of their god after he created and
balanced the universe. A paramander seeks to maintain that bal-
ance, often by manipulating (and, when necessary, destroying) high-
powered beings of deep alignment convictions (e.g., paladins and
anti-paladins) or by aiding weak opponents of those beings. Any
deed of outright good, evil, law, or chaos, performed without a
previously determined balancing effect on the world’s structure,
causes him to become forevermore a normal fighter. The paraman-
der must justify every action in the interests of pure neutrality.
Paramanders favor subdued design in armor and weapons. Ar-
mor, though unrestricted, is usually leather or studded leather and,
like paramanders’ shields, bears little or no decoration. Paraman-
ders ride light horses or ponies, mostly gray or brown. Weapons
tend toward simplicity (swords, staves, etc.); no missile weapons are
used.
Intelligence is the prime requisite of a paramander. A score of 16
adds 10% to earned experience, a score of 17 adds 15%, and a score
of 18 or greater adds 20%. Paramanders have chances to know
listed spells and minimum and maximum spells per level as magic-
users do (see Players Handbook p. 10, Intelligence Table II: Ability
for Magic-users).
Paramanders have no followers. Instead, at 9th level or above,
they take on an apprentice, training him in the ways of balance and
neutrality. The apprentice, a normal 0-level fighter with 2 hp, be-
comes a 1st-level paramander after achieving 1,172 experience
points (see Paramander Table I) in the service and under the guid-
ance of his magister (master). A hit-dice value of d8 + 1 per level
replaces his 2 hp, and the new paramander leaves his magister’s
service.
A paramander can train any number of apprentices, one at a
time. The magister commonly gives to his apprentice a favorite
weapon or other item, perhaps something that his old magister gave
to him upon completion of his own apprenticeship.

The special abilities of a paramander are:

1. Detection of good or evil within a 50’ radius. At 3rd level and
above, the paramander can determine the. exact nature of the good
or evil (lawful, neutral, or chaotic) with minimal concentration.

2. Immunity to diseases of all types, including diseases caught
from monsters, such as mummies, lycanthropes, and so forth. This
includes diseaselike attacks from monsters like green slime.

3. Saving throws against non-neutral-aligned magic at +2 for
each five levels ( +2 at 1st through 5th levels, +4 at 6th through
10th levels, etc.) and against half-neutral-aligned magic at +1 for
each five levels ( +1 at 1st through 5th levels, +2 at 6th through
10th levels, etc.). Non-neutral alignments consist of lawful good,
lawful evil, chaotic good, and chaotic evil. Half-neutral alignments
consist of lawful neutral, neutral good, neutral evil, and chaotic
neutral. Aligned magic includes any spells cast by NPCs or monsters
of a specific alignment and any magic items that are intrinsically of a
specific alignment or that are used by beings of a specific alignment.

4. Spell use at 8th level and above. Paramander Table II shows
the number and level of such spells.

5. The use of certain thief functions at a level equal to half that of
the paramander (1st-level ability at 1st and 2nd level, 2nd-level
ability at 3rd and 4th level, etc.). The functions include open locks,
find/remove traps, move silently, hide in shadows, and hear noise.
Racial adjustments do not apply.

The forbidden accumulation of wealth is the only stricture of a
paramander, as they have no use for wealth other than as expendi-
tures in the line of duty Hoarding treasure rarely affects the balance
of the world.

The Paremandyr

A rare and horrible creature, the paremandyr is an insane cousin
to the paramander, a mobile and intelligent death-dealer. The two
are identical in every way but one: The paramander strives to create
balance by molding the powerful forces of aligned convictions,
whereas the paremandyr strives to destroy these forces, believing
that in oblivion there is perfect balance. The paremandyr leaves a
sigil on his victims, a unique sign that identifies the death’s origin. Paremandyrs and paramanders have equal benefits and strictures,
and they use the same tables. They cast the same spells and follow
the same rituals of apprenticeship.

 

THE FANTRA

The chaotic neutral fantra, whose name means “guardian,” bears
the weapons of the church. Fantras belong to a nomadic culture, the
members of which call themselves meadlennes (“tribe members”).
Fantras sometimes see themselves as guardians of their entire peo-
ple, their protective and comforting nature giving them a charisma
score bonus of +3 when dealing with other meadlennes. Fantras and
their people care only for their god and themselves. People not of the
same tribe and whose religious beliefs differ from those of a fantra
are called attlennes (“outsiders”) and are regarded as no different
from intelligent animals. Should a fantra ever aid an attlenne with-
out good cause (i.e., without aiding the meadlenne tribe in some
way), he loses his status, is excommunicated and exiled, and be-
comes forevermore an attlenne and a normal fighter.
Fantras only wear armors of chain mail quality or lighter, and
they only carry wooden shields. They have few personal possessions,
because they must carry all of their equipment on horseback or in
carts when the tribe moves. Fantras prefer mounts with stamina,
depending on them often for their lives.
Wisdom is the prime requisite of a fantra. A wisdom score of 17
or greater adds 10% to earned experience. Strength and constitution
are secondary requisites, adding an additional 5% to earned experi-
ence for a total of 28 or more. Fantras receive spell bonuses and
chances of spell failure according to their wisdom scores as clerics do
(see Players Handbook, p. 11, Wisdom Table II).
Nomadic fantras never build strongholds. At 9th level or above, a
fantra might attract tabaxi or atomies as followers, but otherwise he
works only with other fantras.

The special abilities of a fantra are:

1. Immunity to normal diseases of all types, excluding magical
diseases and lycanthropy.

2. A 10% chance per level to identify plants or animals, automatic
identification coming at 10th level and above.

3. A 15% chance per level to identify pure water or nonpoisonous
wild foods, automatic at 7th level and above.

4. The ability to concoct antidotes from natural herbs and roots.
The antidote has a 10% chance per level of the fantra of neutralizing
the poison in 1-4 rounds. This ability assumes the availability of
proper herbs and roots. Concoction time ranges from 2 rounds to 2
hours, depending on the complexity of the poison (and therefore the
antidote). The fantra must know the exact nature of the poison to
concoct a suitable antidote, 5. Spell use at 1st level and above. Fantra Table II shows the
number and level of such spells.

The strictures of a fantra are:

1. Forbidden retention of wealth. All treasure falls to the tribe and
its eigen (chieftain). Fantras keep only personal magic items such as
weapons and rings.

2. Tribal gain over personal gain. The fantra must sacrifice all for
the tribe.

 

THE ILLRIGGER

The lawful evil illrigger creates for his god a framework of evil on
which to operate and subdue key proponents of good. He has crisply
efficient assassination skills and maintains a functioning network of
followers to precipitate his crimes upon the world. Should the illrig-
ger ever commit a chaotic or carelessly disruptive act, his church will
excommunicate him and he will become forevermore a normal
fighter.
Illriggers prefer armor and weapons of darkened metal. Plate mail
and morning stars predominate. Illriggers wear great helmets bear-
ing the symbols and war standards of their gods. Insignias of rank,
each a subsymbol of the illrigger’s personal sigil, accompany every
follower.
Wisdom and intelligence are the prime requisites of the illrigger.
A total score in both abilities of 32 or greater adds 10% to earned
experience, and a total of 35 or greater adds 15%. Illriggers have
chances to know listed spells and minimum and maximum spells per
level as magic-users do (see Players Handbook, p. 10, Intelligence
Table II: Ability for Magic-users) and receive spell bonuses and
chances of spell failure according to their wisdom scores as clerics do
(see Players Handbook, p. 11, Wisdom Table II).
Illriggers can use any magic item unless it has an intrinsic good
alignment. Each time the illrigger gains a level, a cumulative 10%
chance indicates the presence of a follower (10% upon reaching 2nd
level, 20% upon reaching 3rd, etc.). Illrigger Table III shows the
type of followers attracted by an illrigger. An illrigger with sufficient
funds can build a stronghold at any time.

The special abilities of an illrigger are:

1. A continual emanation of a protection from good spell.

2. Immunity to all forms of disease.

3. Detection of good at 5’ per level. The illrigger can determine
the type of good (lawful, neutral, or chaotic) in one segment of con-
centration.

4. Saving throw bonuses against chaotic magic at +1 for each
three levels ( +1 at 1st through 3rd level, +2 at 4th through 6th
level, etc.). Chaotic magic includes any spells cast by chaotic NPCs
or monsters, and any effects of magic items that are intrinsically
chaotic or that are used by chaotic beings.

5. Spell use at 5th level and above. Illrigger Table II shows the
number and level of such spells.

6. The use of certain thief functions at a level of ability equal to
half the level of the illrigger (1st-level ability at 1st and 2nd level,
2nd-level ability at 3rd and 4th level, etc.). The functions include
open locks, find/remove traps, move silently, hide in shadows, and
hear noise. Racial adjustments do not apply.

7. The ability to attack on the assassins’ table for assassinations
after surprising an opponent.

The illrigger follows no strictures other than the rigid rules neces-
sary to maintain his church. Nearly all known illriggers are devil-
worshippers.

 

THE ARRIKHAN

The neutral evil arrikhan, whose name in the Creation Argots
means “beastservant,” acts as an opposite to the myrikhan. The
arrikhan serves his god in the field, carrying out the orders of the
high priests of the church. Like a myrikhan, an arrikhan almost
always travels alone. An arrikhan lives to promote the evil ways of
his god. Should he ever commit a good deed, he will find himself
unquestioningly excommunicated. If the church allows him to live
(which is not likely), he becomes forevermore a normal fighter.
Arrikhans favor light armor because of its low encumbrance, often
using exotic hides or breastplated furs for their protection. Their
weapons tend to do the maximum amount of physical destruction
(morning stars predominate).
Wisdom is the prime requisite of an arrikhan. A score of 14 adds
5% to earned experience, a score of 15 adds 10%, a score of 16 adds
15%, a score of 17 adds 20%, and a score of 18 or greater adds
25%. Arrikhans receive spell bonuses and chances of spell failure
according to their wisdom scores as clerics do (see Players Hand-
book, p. 11, Wisdom Table II: Adjustments for Clerics).
Arrikhans can use any magic items except those usable only by
magic-users or illusionists. An arrikhan with sufficient funds can
build a stronghold at any time. Thereafter, he has a cumulative 5%
chance per month beginning with the completion of the stronghold
of attracting followers. Arrikhan Table III shows the type of fol-
lowers attracted.

The special abilities of an arrikhan are:

1. Saving throws against good magic at +1 for each two levels
( +1 at 1st and 2nd level, +2 at 3rd and 4th level, etc.). Good magic
includes any spells cast by good NPCs or monsters and any effects of
magic items that are intrinsically good or that are used by good
beings.

2. At 3rd level and above, affecting undead as a cleric of two
levels below the level of the arrikhan (1st-level ability at 3rd level,
2nd-level ability at 4th level, etc.). The arrikhan can turn the un-dead or ally them with himself as desired. The ability has no effect
on devils, demons, or other extraplanar creatures — it only affects
undead.

3. Hit and damage bonuses of +1 per level when fighting against
good opponents. The arrikhan must be aware of the good alignment
for these bonuses to apply.

4. A 10% chance per level to identify plants and animals, auto-
matic at 10th level and above.

5. At 5th level and above, the ability to call for a warhorse that
magically appears near the arrikhan. The mount has a 5% chance
per level of the arrikhan of being a nightmare of maximum hit
points; otherwise, it is a normal heavy warhorse, AC 5, HD 5 + 5,
NE. The mount will serve faithfully unto death, but only two such
horses can be called in the arrikhan’s lifetime.

6. The ability to torture helpless victims. This torture requires
special instruments (restraints, hot irons, salt and other caustic
chemicals and irritants, etc.). The creature being tortured must
make a saving throw against its constitution score (rolling its consti-
tution or less on a 3d6 roll) during each turn of torture; otherwise, it
will reveal any information that the arrikhan wishes to know. Tor-
ture damage accrues at 1-4 points per round. Player characters
cannot be tortured for information in this manner, but may be
harmed.

7. Spell use at 7th level and above. Arrikhan Table II shows the
number and level of such spells. Halflings of the arrikhan class,
unable to learn cleric spells, cannot advance past 6th level; dwarves
of the arrikhan class, unable to learn druid spells, cannot advance
past 10th level.

8. Detection of good in a radius of 50’ + 5’ per level, revealing
only the general direction of the good source and requiring unbro-
ken concentration.

9. The use of certain thief functions at a level of ability equal to
half the level of the arrikhan (1st-level ability at 1st and 2nd level,
2nd-level ability at 3rd and 4th level, etc.). The functions include
find/remove traps, move silently, and hide in shadows. Racial bo-
nuses do not apply.

10. A 15% chance per level to identify pure water or nonpoison-
ous wild foods, automatic at 7th level and above.

11. The ability to concoct ingestive poisons and their antidotes
from natural herbs and roots. Arrikhan Table IV shows the possible
poisons and antidotes and their concoction times. This ability as-
sumes the availability of proper herbs and roots.

The strictures of an arrikhan are:

1. Referring to his god only by his titles or as “arriman” (“beast-
lord”), except when the god’s name must be used (rituals, ceremo-
nies, proselytization, etc.). The oinodaemon is the usual deity wor-
shipped.

2. Forbidden accumulation of wealth or treasure. All plunder
must go to the church, which might or might not award part of that
plunder to the arrikhan as a reward for his deeds.

 

ANTI-PALADIN

Are the players in your campaign bored?
Has smiting the enemies of God and Mankind become a drag?
Now, add an element of surprise and unknown danger to your
NPC encounter tables: Let the players meet an Anti-Paladin!
As an NPC, the Anti-Paladin represents everything that is mean,
low and despicable in the human race. No act of treachery is too
base, no deed of violence too vile for him. Thoughtless cruelty, sheer
depravity and senseless bloodshed are his hallmarks: Chaotic and
Evil deeds are, in fact, his very lifeblood.
Obviously, through your many adventures and campaigns, you
as a Dungeon Master have already acquired these traits. Now you
can exploit your talents without restraint as you watch your play-
ers—especially those Paladins —try to deal with this non-player
character!
Recognizing an Anti-Paladin should be fairly easy for players.
Perhaps it’s his preference for black: black horse, black armor,
black sword; or his grim, skull-shaped keep-raised in black basalt
or gleaming obsidian—looming ominously against a gray, brooding
sky on some chilly, windswept mountaintop.
Maybe it’s the company he keeps: brigands, thieves and assas-
sins if they’re human; orcs, ogres, hobgoblins and trolls if they’re
not!

(1) A +2 bonus on all saving throws.

(2) Immunity to Disease. Furthermore, the Anti-Paladin is a
“carrier,” with the ability to transmit the disease of his choice to the
character of his choice by touch alone. He may do this, however, but
only once per week for every five experience levels he has acquired,
i.e. at 1st-5th levels, once/week; 6th-10th levels, twice/week, etc.

(3) Laying on of Hands. Once a day, the Anti-Paladin may
Cause Wounds in others or cure damage to himself, giving/healing
two hit points of damage for each acquired experience level. As for
(2), above, he must do this by touch alone.

(4) Protection from Good. This aura—extending in a 1” radius
around the Anti-Paladin—is magical “insurance” against the Pala-
dins, Clerics and other characters of Lawful Good alignment who are
constantly seeking to foil his nefarious schemes! For this reason, a
Detect Magic spell will always register positive when cast against an
Anti-Paladin.

(5)Thief’s Backstabbing Ability. The Anti-Paladin receives a +4
bonus to hit, with double damage if he hits, whenever he attacks a
victim from behind. Since he will only attack from a position of
strength-usually above and behind, with dagger, sword or what-
ever is close at hand—backstabbing is the Anti-Paladin’s preferred
method of attack!

(6) Use of Poisons. An aficionado of the fine art of poisoning,
the Anti-Paladin favors the poisoned cup over armed combat in
gaining his evil ends. If he absolutely must face an equal or superior
opponent in open battle, he will be sure to envenom his blade to
obtain a combat advantage.

 

Is alignment and other character stuff one of those .dll things that cannot be worked with because it's too hard?

 

A Chaotic Neutral Pally?

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOH!!

I want one!!

sirchet will now be known as THE FANTRA! (comes in grape and orange flavors)

Mwahahahahahahah!

 

Actually, as I remember, in the old D+D the evil version of a Paladin was an Avenger.

 

Dragon, and Dungeon Magazine had articles like this all the time.

Personally I think they went too "PC" as in Politically Correct, in these type articles.

There was one on different colored Unicorns and different colored Pegasi as well, each with there own characteristics...

They just took the "Special" away from "Special" classes and creatures. Paladins SHOULD only be Lawful (and yes maybe "Awful") Good. Pegasi and Unicorns should ONLY BE White, not Roan or Appaloossa, as "neat" as that my seem when creating them. Just because a thing CAN be done, doesn't mean it SHOULD be done.

That being said... there is something "Special" about the OCCASIONAL antithesis, such at the odd Anti-Paladin, of the Black Unicorn that is Evil... but they shoudl be the exception, not the rule.

Besides they addressed the other alignments later, 3rd Ed I believe, maybe 2nd, by giving priests of different alignments different God-Granted abilities... that should have sufficed.

IMHO.

 

I totally agree with Maalri.

Maybe a Chaotic Evil "special class" should "balance" the scale of power of the alignments, althought I really don't believe that this is good in any way. D&D is a game about heroes, and heroes are good people. Not necessary good people that follow the rules, but certanly good people. The fact that ToEE allow players to create evil characters dont mean that they should do this!
Paladins are powerful, becose they are heroes of good and law. If you want a powerful champion of evil, create a crazy Barbarian. Or a Cleric of the Death. Or a Evil Mage. RPG books are plenty of this kind of thing. As Enemies of the heroes, of course...
Play good and be the Hero or play evil and be the villain. I keep being happy in to know that good have more support in all those passed times (before 4ª edition, of course), what make it clearly a game of heroes.

 

The real problem here is that the older Dragon magazines were catering to first edition rules. The second, third, fourth, fifth, twelfth and twenty fifth versions of d&d suck in my humble opinion. Just because you can make a new edition, doesn't mean that you should. They are actively sucking the life out of the imagination and atmosphere of the game. With first edition, everything was new and had a glow about it. Everything new you could think of was fantastic adventure. Now it's just schlock, made into big business instead of being there for the gaming enthusiast.

A paladin class for every alignment is bad but it's ok to have a player character that can be half vampire, half grave elemental and half beholder? There are specific rules in third edition to enable this train of thought. This is the kind of thing I'm referring to. All of the new editions try so very hard to suck all the imagination out of the game so gamers won't have to use theirs and be dependent on them for ideas.

The thing that makes first edition superior in every form to all other preceding editions in my mind is that there aren't rules to cover every ridiculous little thing. You actually had to use your imagination and make a ruling that worked on the fly. Every situation and circumstance does not have to be set into stone as a commandment. Some of Dragon's ideas haven't all been winners, that's for sure. The different colored unicorns thing and other stuff like that is over the top. They publish it, but the nice thing is that you don't have to use it. It's there as an idea if you want it. I don't see them as politically correct though. I think it came more out of running out of ideas or just plain quickly thought up/bad ideas at publishing deadline.

Truthfully though, it really is all dependent on the GM. If a GM feels more comfortable using third edition rules, they can make it wonderous. For me, when I used to run games, I used a mish mash of different rules taken from many different games along with making up stuff on the fly based on other situations I've encountered while gaming. I just wish the companies that manufacture d&d stuff would back off and give players the opportunity to experience the game it was meant to be experienced instead of making it a standard cookie cutter profit model with all of these way out there, over the top ideas that dampen imagination. It's all about the story and adventure and making it fun for everybody.

I like the different paladins. In my world, not everyone would be just good and evil. Many many different shades of gray would exist, and these paladins fill that gap.

Maybe what needs to happen is that some fantastic group of techno-cyber-gamers need to invent an open source d&d engine as well as a campaign/world builder and watch the geeky d&d gaming world take off like nothing ever recorded in human history. Old school gamer groups creating all the old first edition modules/campaigns and uploading them to a host site! It could be just like Linux, except for d&d gamers, and easier to use. Click and drag! Man, the group that did that could write their own ticket! The open source wouldn't generate revenue but they could make different gaming products using it, market them and be squillionaires inside of 6 months! But not to become big business. The group would need integrity to not sell out the people and stay true to the hobby for the people!

I think first, we need to get rid of all the ridiculous copyright laws, as well as all the other laws on the books. Then we could start to see miracles. Actually, getting rid of money would take care of this completely and we could all watch out for each other and let people do what they like/want to do instead of having this sense of entitlement that is so profound in people.