Divine Providence
Starting at the 4th class level, the Paladin may expend a Turn Undead attempt to gain damage reduction, and a bonus to his AC, SR and all saves equal to his class level and Charisma modifier as a Free Action. This ability can be used in response to any attack, spell, event or effect, but its use must be declared before any rolls are made. If the Paladin succeeds on any save that normally has a partial effect on a success, it instead has no effect. The Paladin may opt to roll 2d20 for any saving roll made while Divine Providence is active, selecting the outcome of his choice.

The effects of this ability last until the end of the Paladin's next turn.
There are three game balance issues I see with this ability. The first is the nature of the bonus; it is the sum of levels in Paladin and the Charisma modifier. The second is the ability to roll 2d20's for the save. The third is the ability affecting multiple aspects at once.

The first level this ability is available, it is not inconceivable to have a total modifier for this ability equal to +7 (+4 from level, +3 from Charisma modifier). In contrast to a similar ability gained at similar levels by the Swordsage, the Zephyr Dance counter is a 3rd level maneuver that grants a static +4 AC vs a single attack. Available one level before a martial adept could access that maneuver, Divine Providence already offers a better bonus for the same duration of the ability.

Likewise, the feat Divine Armor grants a static DR 5/-- for a single turn when utilizing the same mechanic as Divine Providence, and the feat is not available until a level after Divine Providence comes into play. Furthermore, the feat requires a divine caster level of 5, which a Paladin would not have until 10th level. So Divine Providence is more powerful and comes into play far earlier than Divine Armor would for a normal Paladin.

To replicate the dual d20 rolls, we can look at two separate ablities. There is the feat Survivors Luck that allows an immediate action reroll of a failed saving throw, and the 5th level maneuever Iron Heart Focus allows the same with the additional caveat that the second roll must be taken even if it's worse.

The luck feat requires character level 9, and the manuever cannot be learned until level 10. So again, Divine Providence comes into play far earlier than these abilities that only replicate a single aspect of Divine Providence, and do so worse than Divine Providence, in that they do not provide a bonus on the roll, and one of the abilities requires you to take the lower roll.

Another aspect of Divine Providence that can replicated with a manuever, and perhaps my biggest concern with the ability, is the numerical value of the bonus. The 8th level maneuver Diamond Defense offers a bonus on a saving throw equal to the character's initiator level. Even here, however, Divine Providence is better than Diamond Defense because Divine Providence is not just Paladin level, but Paladin level plus Charisma modifier. Diamond Defense is not available until 15th level.


If we were to combine all these abilities into a single ability, the Divine Armor feat, Zephyr Dance, Iron Heart Focus, & Diamond Defense, the Paladin's Divine Providence ability would still be better, because it offers the same bonus to the different aspects (AC, DR, SR, & Saves) at the same time, all for the cost an immediate action and a turn undead attempt.


My recommendation:

- Change the bonus to Charisma modifier.
- Have the Paladin choose a single ability to be affected per activation.