Project Heretica - not just a Paladin retooling

[T.G. Oskar]

THE ARMOR SUITS OF VIRTUE
Much like the Avenger weapons mentioned above, the following weapons are unique and exclusive to Paladins (whether the original version or those from Project Heretica), and some are made exclusively for Blackguards (both original version and Project Heretica version), Justiciars or Anarchs. All suits of armor share the following traits:

• The suit of armor can only be made of the following types: scale mail, chain mail, breastplate, splint mail, banded mail, half-plate, full plate. Occasionally, an armor suit of virtue may assume the form of a chain shirt, but not any other kind of light armor. The armor may be forged of mithral or adamantine in very rare occasions, providing the usual benefits. All suits of armor are described as if using a full plate; replace it for the desired armor type (including the material composition, if desired) when granting the suit of armor to a player.
• The suit of armor has a magical enhancement bonus of +1 regardless of the user. Only a paladin (or a blackguard, a justiciar or an anarch) may unleash the full power of the suit of armor, generally improving it to its maximum capability. A character may attempt to emulate the paladin status, but to do so it must succeed on a DC 25 Use Magic Device check, and the effective Divine Champion level for the character is equal to its Use Magic Device check minus 25.
• Although indicated on the armor description, the armor suit's enhancement bonus increases based on the class level of the user. As a general rule, the armor gains an enhancement bonus as if a magic vestment spell had been cast by a cleric of the character's class level (thus, an 8th level paladin wearing a full plate of righteous endeavor treats the suit of armor as a +2 armor, while a 13th level paladin treats it as a +3 armor). Unlike the magic vestment spell, the enhancement bonus of the armor keeps increasing after 20th level (thus, a 24th level paladin treats the suit of armor as a +6 armor).
• Unless indicated, an armor suit of virtue does not possess armor spikes. If they do, they are enchanted separately, although the wearer may exchange part of the enhancement bonus to AC into the armor spikes.
• If a suit of armor is meant for a character of a specific alignment, the armor grants a negative level to its wielder. An armor suit of virtue meant for all divine champions has no such penalty.
• Although the armor is given a price, item level and construction method, an armor suit of virtue is never crafted; instead, it is always given as a gift for a deserving divine champion by a powerful representative of its alignment (for example, a paladin could receive a full plate of righteous endeavor through a warden archon or a ursinal guardinal). In rare occasions, the suit of armor may be found as part of a treasure, likely an armor suit of virtue worn by a slain champion; in that case, the armor does not grant the divine champion its abilities until it proves its worth. In vastly rarer occasions, the armor suit may be already part of the divine champion (such as being inherited, or secretly refurbished and improved by a deity or outsider), but it does not show its power until a critical moment. In the latter two cases, it is better to use the rules for an item of legacy (see the Weapons of Legacy supplement for more details).
• Although not mentioned, each suit of armor has a degree of intellect, but are not intelligent suits of armor. In rare occasions (a roll of 1% if using random determination) the suit of armor has full intellect (likely a found armor suit of virtue that houses the soul of a powerful slain divine champion whom decided to remain upon the weapon to prevent his fate from befalling others). The limited sapience of the armor suit of virtue allows it to restrain its abilities if a divine champion has not been found worthy of using it, and when the champion has regained worthiness. An armor suit of virtue with full intellect usually has a restricted alignment and the usual purpose of advancing the cause of his alignment (unless the wielder had a specific goal in mind).

In the case of a paladin wielding both an avenger weapon and an armor suit of virtue, both create a synergistic effect:

• If the avenger and the armor suit of virtue are meant for different duties (such as a divine avenger and a Hellshield armor suit), the magic circle effect of the weapon doubles in potency (providing a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus to saving throws).
• If the avenger and the armor suit of virtue are meant for the same duty, the two gain a further synergistic effect. Examples of same-duty items include:
  
  • a divine avenger and an armor of righteous endeavor
  • a divine purifier and a Truedeath armor
  • a hallowed redeemer and a Hellshield armor
  • an occultslayer and a Spellcease armor
• If the avenger and the armor suit of virtue are both fully intelligent but are meant for different duties (such as an intelligent divine protector and an intelligent Drachensgaard armor), the items won't influence their user unless one quest conflicts with the duty of another (such as, for example, in the case of defending a town from a dragon assault or attacking the dragon on its lair); in this case, if one item influences over another, the other item becomes inactive until the duty is complete (if the user overcomes both influences, nothing happens unless the wielder shirks its duties). In the case of intelligent items with the same duty, the wielder gains a -4 penalty to the Will save to overcome the influence as both items act in unison.

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The counterpart to the Avenger weapons, the Armor Suits of Virtue are meant to provide the ultimate in protection to their wearer, which of course must belong to one of the divine champion classes. Most of what I've said with the Avenger weapons applies here, so make sure you give it a watch.

The main difference, of course, is that while the weapon special qualities are awesome, the armor special qualities suffer quite a bit. Those on the DMG are pretty lackluster (IMO, at least), and its pretty hard to craft a proper suit of armor aside from a few choice enhancements (Healing, Blurring/Greater Blurring/Displacement, BoED's Soulfire, Heavy Fortification). Thus, you'll see that many of the enhancements are not accounted for as part of the enhancement bonus cost, but rather as part of a spell effect.

Oh, just like with the Avenger weapons, the Armor Suits of Virtue are also based on armor presented elsewhere, but this time not as part of D&D history but as part of semi-official supplements. Their history was really awesome, so I had to translate them. At least one will be VERY familiar to you guys.

ARMOR OF RIGHTEOUS ENDEAVOR
Price (Item Level): 61,500 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); transmutation
Activation: --
Weight: as armor
This full plate has its chest blazoned with the symbol of the user's deity. When worn, the armor shines with light of its own accord, magnified by the glistening reflection of external light. Worn by different people, the armor changes form to represent their inner selves.

When wielded by a paladin, blackguard, anarch or justiciar, an armor of righteous endeavor (its most common name, but usually known as the armor of vices, or a judge's armor-coat) has an enhancement bonus of +1 for every four character levels. Furthermore, the armor grants damage reduction against attacks based on the user's character level:
{TABLE=head]Character Level|Damage Reduction**
1st to 9th|1/alignment
10th to 12th|3/alignment
13th to 15th|6/magic and alignment
16th to 20th|9/magic and alignment
21st+|10/epic and alignment*[/TABLE]
*: "alignment refers here to the alignment opposed to that of the wielder. For example, a paladin gains damage reduction against all attacks except those of evil weapons.
**: if wielded by a character with 20 levels in a divine champion class, it increases the wielder's existing damage reduction by means of class by 5, up to a maximum DR of 20.

If wielded by a divine champion that also has a divine avenger, the armor also grants a bonus on all saving throws against spells and abilities of an alignment opposed to that of the wielder (such as evil spells or a supernatural ability used by an evil character, for example, in the case of a paladin) equal to the armor's enhancement bonus. This is in addition to the double-power magic circle effect.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, resistance, righteous might; creator must be an outsider with the chaotic, evil, good or lawful subtype.
Cost to Create: 30,750 gp + armor cost + 2460 xp

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Just like the Divine Avenger is the vanilla Avenger, this is the Vanilla Armor Suit of Virtue. The armor protects from the basics, granting DR against everything except certain weapons (meaning you're protected from quite a bit of stuff) and the bonus to saves if you happen to hold the Divine Avenger. It should be pretty basic protection, coupled with a shield for maximum effectiveness.

DRACHENSGAARD
Price (Item Level): 142,000 + weapon cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: Strong (DC 22); abjuration and transmutation
Activation: -- and swift (command)
Weight: as armor
The armor is crafted of metal plates with incrusted dragon scales, coated with a metallic sheen or thick paint, over a layer of dragon hide. The armor is neither oppressively heavy nor unusually light, but offers superb protection against attacks. When worn, one can feel the power of a dragon surging forth.

When worn by a paladin, blackguard, anarch or justiciar, Drachensgaard is treated as a dragonhide full plate with an effective enhancement bonus of +1 for every four class levels. Drachensgaard is forged against a specific kind of true dragon in mind, but works equally well against all kinds of dragons. The armor grants the following traits against all dragons in particular:

• Immunity to the dragon's frightful presence ability
• Resistance 10 against fire, cold, electricity and acid attacks. This applies to attacks from non-dragons, as well.
• The evasion class ability, but only against the breath weapon and tail sweep attack of dragons, as well as any spell that forces a Reflex save cast by a dragon.

Against the specified kind of true dragon, Drachensgaard provides the following benefits:

• The effective enhancement bonus of the armor increases by 2
• Damage reduction 10 against the dragon's attacks
• Spell resistance against the dragon's spells equal to 15 + the wielder's character level.
• +8 bonus on saving throws against the spells and spell-like abilities of the dragon.

Once per day, the wielder of the weapon can activate the full powers of the Drachensgaard when fighting an opponent of the dragon type. Once active, the armor grants the following benefits to the wielder for up to one minute:

• A +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, Constitution and Charisma
• A +2 enhancement bonus to natural armor, plus 1 for every three character levels after the 3rd. This stacks with any existing natural armor bonus, but not with an enhancement bonus to natural armor.
• A fly speed of 60 ft. with perfect maneuverability.
• Immunity to magic sleep and paralysis effects.
• Two claw attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage.
• Once per transformation, a breath weapon that deals 1d6 points of damage per two character levels. The breath weapon depends on the armor's color or hue (for example, a Drachensgaard with golden scales duplicates the effect of a gold dragon's cone of fire, while a Drachensgaard with black scales duplicates the effect of a black dragon's line of acid).

When first worn, the armor indicates the type of dragon against which it is most efficient, usually in Draconic but understandable to the wielder regardless of language (for example, a Drachensgaard made to face red dragons will indicate its purpose, most likely through a message such as "death to the crimson ones!" or "slay the proud head of Tiamat's own!"). Usually, a Drachensgaard is painted with a color (or hue) of an opposite dragon type; thus, a Drachensgaard with a metallic hue is best against one type of chromatic dragon, while a suit of red or black color is best against a type of metallic dragon.

Lore: The first Drachensgaard was created by a draconic cleric of Bahamut and given to a non-draconic champion and dragonslayer. The armor was forged from the scales of a great wyrm red dragon slain after a difficult battle, with the dragonslayer being the only survivor. The creator, a gold dragon itself, bathed the scales in molten gold and provided the armor with powerful protective magic in order to ward off other followers of Bahamut and fellow metallic dragons of the dragonslayer's quest, and to warn the children of Tiamat of the power of such armor. After a fell trap by a follower of Tiamat, the original Drachensgaard was kept as a prize by Tiamat herself, and now suits of armor of both types exist, given only to the most powerful dragonslayers.

Special: A Drachensgaard may be altered to become more effective against another type of dragon in particular. To do so, a ritual must be made by collecting enough dragon hide to create a full plate armor for a character of the same size as the wielder, dragon scales from a great wyrm dragon of the type the wielder wants the armor to be most effective against, and no less than 1,000 gp from the treasure horde of slain dragons. The wielder must then seek a dragon and spend at least 24 uninterrupted hours in prayer and meditation as the dragon provides its power. At the end, the armor changes its effectiveness and becomes adorned with the color of the dragon that sponsored the ritual. This ritual may not be done more than once per month.

As well, there are some suits of Drachensgaard armor that have scales of the color of gems. These are most effective against a type of gem dragon, and thus grant power resistance and a +8 bonus against the powers and psi-like abilities of gem dragons.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, draconic might (SC 72) or polymorph, protection from spells, resist energy; creator must be a dragon or outsider that follows Bahamut or Tiamat.
Cost to Create: 71,000 gp + weapon cost + 5700 xp

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Fluffy yet effective, the Drachensgaard is meant to assist in the battle against the most notorious monster in the game: the eponymous dragon. The original incarnation was pretty weak, almost hilariously so (a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against dragon's breath weapons? A bonus on Climb checks?). Thus, the armor needed some buffing.

As you can see, it has three "modes", each more powerful than the one below. The first is the normal mode, which provides a modicum of protection against dragons. The second is the hunter mode, which grants superior protection against the type of dragon it's best suited for. Finally, the "half-dragon" mode is meant to grant the wielder the upper ground (so to speak) in the battle against dragons. If using the "half-dragon" mode against the type of dragon the armor is best suited for, you're in for two steps below invulnerability.

HELLSHIELD
Price (Item Level): 124,000 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); abjuration and transmutation
Activation: -- and swift (command)
Weight: as armor
The armor is comprised of several plates that have etched images regarding to the war between good and evil. The images show bodies of felled fiends vanquished by the image of a sun, struck by heavenly lightning, or even pierced by a blade from the heavens, indicating the definite victory of the forces of good.

The Hellshield armor may only be worn by a paladin or a justiciar of lawful good alignment. Worn by this divine champion, Hellshield has an enhancement bonus of +1 for every four character levels. The armor also contains the following properties:

• The ability to resist elemental and alignment traits of the Lower Planes. Furthermore, the wearer is constantly under the benefit of an endure elements effect for as long as it stays on the Lower Planes.
• Resistance 20 to fire, cold and acid attacks.
• A constant discern lies effect while wielding the armor. In the case of a spell or effect that would bypass this trait, the effective caster level for this ability is equal to the wearer's character level.
• Spell resistance 15 + character level against spells and abilities of evil outsiders. This also includes psionic powers and psi-like abilities, if applicable.

Once per day, the wearer of this armor may unleash the full power of Hellshield. When active, the wearer gains the following abilities for 1 minute:

• A +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma
• Temporary hit points equal to 5 plus the wielder's character level.
• A fly speed of 60 ft, with perfect maneuverability.
• Damage reduction 10/magic and evil. If the wielder's character level exceeds 20, it is instead DR 10/epic and evil. In the case of a 20th level paladin with damage reduction as a class feature, the damage reduction increases by 5, to a total of 20.
• Immunity to fire, cold and acid attacks.
• Any melee attack (whether with a natural or manufactured weapon) is treated as magic and good aligned for purposes of bypassing damage reduction. If the wearer's character level exceeds 20, the attack is also treated as if using an epic weapon.

The benefit of Hellshield may be activated only as a swift action, with one exception. If the wearer of this armor falls to 0 hit points or less because of an attack of an evil outsider, he or she may activate the full benefit of this armor as an immediate action in response to the attack. This implies that the wearer may bear the brunt of the attack and remain conscious and alive for the duration of the benefit, thus potentially ignoring a fatal attack, so as long as the wielder has more than 0 hit points remaining after the attack has been resolved.

If Hellshield is wielded by a paladin that also wields a hallowed redeemer, the latter gains the benefit of the evil outsider bane special property. This is in addition to the double-strength magic circle against evil effect.

Lore: It is said that the first Hellshield was the suit of armor worn by one of the first Knights of the Chalice, blessed by the herald of Heironeous himself to bear the brunt of traveling through the Lower Planes and taking the battle to their own ground. The first Hellshield was lost nearly a millenia ago, its whereabouts unknown. Some say that the original wielder of the suit of armor was vanquished after a brutal assault, his last words to Heironeous being "I have seen...the Chalice...". Since then, the members of the Order of the Chalice grant Hellshield as a parting gift for those high-ranking members who dare to undertake the quest of the fallen knight-brother, as none has ever returned alive after departing.

Special: a twisted version of the Hellshield, known as the Heaven's Sin, can only be worn by blackguards and justiciars of lawful evil alignment. The armor has the following traits:

• The ability to resist elemental and alignment traits of the Upper Planes. Furthermore, the wearer is constantly under the benefit of an endure elements effect for as long as it stays on the Lower Planes.
• Resistance 20 to fire, cold and electricity attacks.
• A constant glibness effect while wielding the armor, as if cast by a bard of the wearer's character level.
• Spell resistance 15 + character level against spells and abilities of good outsiders. This also includes psionic powers and psi-like abilities, if applicable.

Once per day, the wearer of this armor may unleash the full power of Heaven's Sin. When active, the wearer gains the following abilities for 1 minute:

• A +4 enhancement bonus to Strength, Constitution, Wisdom and Charisma
• Temporary hit points equal to 5 plus the wielder's character level.
• A fly speed of 60 ft, with perfect maneuverability.
• Damage reduction 10/magic and good. If the wielder's character level exceeds 20, it is instead DR 10/epic and good. In the case of a 20th level blackguard (or justiciar) with damage reduction as a class feature, the damage reduction increases by 5, to a total of 20.
• Immunity to fire, cold and electricity attacks.
• Any melee attack (whether with a natural or manufactured weapon) is treated as magic and evil aligned for purposes of bypassing damage reduction. If the wearer's character level exceeds 20, the attack is also treated as if using an epic weapon.

In all other regards, it behaves as a Hellshield, except it only benefits evil divine champions. The benefit of Heaven's Sin when combined with an unholy despoiler grants the weapon the good outsider bane special quality, however.

No similar armor exists for anarchs, nor for justiciar of lawful neutral alignment.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, discern lies or glibness, endure elements, protection from energy, visage of the deity (SC 230) or polymorph; creator must be an outsider with the good or evil subtype that follows a deity with the War domain and the Good or Evil domains.
Cost to Create: 62,250 gp + armor cost + 4980 xp

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The suit of armor meant to fight evil (or good) outsiders in their own turf, both Hellshield and Heaven's Sin are meant to provide great protection when fighting on the Lower (or Upper) Planes. The protection provided is pretty standard, with AC, energy resistance and SR against the pesky spells and SLAs of outsiders, plus protection from the harsh environment (to an extent) and mental protection against lies (or the ability to lie with great skill). Much like the Drachensgaard, it also has a "super mode" you can activate that grants you many of the traits of a celestial (or fiend), plus the double-strength Magic Circle effect which grants even MORE protection.

Also, is it pretty obvious I dig the Chalice fluff? It's pretty awesome, particularly that Shyamalan-esque twist. I would have hoped the writers did something with the Knights of the Chalice; else, I'll have to make an adventure of my own...

HUMILIANTHIR
Price (Item Level): 134,100 + armor cost (armor), 117,750 + double armor cost (barding)
Body Slot: Body (also barding)
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); divination and transmutation
Activation: -- and swift (command)
Weight: as armor (or barding)
This armor is comprised of a suit of armor fit for riding, as well as a barding for the rider's mount. The suit of armor has details regarding horses and pegasi on its chest plate, while the barding has the image of a mount and rider striding forth.

When worn by a paladin, blackguard, anarch or justiciar, Humilianthir acts as a linked feathered full plate of nimbleness and mobility (see the feathered special quality in Arms and Equipment Guide, page 93) with an effective enhancement bonus equal to 1 for every four character levels. Humilianthir has a companion barding that acts as a linked full plate barding of easy travel with an enhancement bonus equal to 1 for every four character levels of the mount's master when worn by a divine champion's special mount, but the mount's master must be wielding the armor in order for the mount to take benefit of its own armor. Despite its weight, a flying mount wielding Humilianthir is capable of flight if the barding is treated as medium or heavy armor, but it still takes speed penalties. A non-flying mount may gain the benefit of its master's flight ability by means of the feathered special quality as long as he or she rides it.

When both parts of the armor are worn, the wielders may expend their daily uses of their linked special quality in a unique way. As a swift action, the divine champion may expend one of the daily uses of its linked armor in order to teleport into the mount's saddle, as if a greater teleport spell had been cast, with the following restrictions:

• The mount and the rider must be within 500 feet of each other.
• The mount and the rider must be within line of sight of each other. If the rider (or the mount, in the case of the latter being intelligent) uses the linked property of the armor (or the barding), they are treated as seeing each other for purposes of this ability.
• The rider may only teleport into the mount's saddle (or back), not away from it.
• Spells that restrict teleportation, such as a dimensional anchor or dimensional lock, restrict the teleportation in case the mount or the rider are affected by them.
• If the mount is intelligent, it may activate a daily use of its own linked barding to duplicate the same effect; alternatively, the mount may elect to warp into its master's side. A mount must have an Intelligence score of 8 or more to use either the linked barding special property or the teleportation property, but may not use it unless it senses its master is in danger or the divine champion expresses need for it.

Lore: Humilianthir is an ancient Elven term, loosely translated into "the bond between mount and master". The original was a suit of leather armor and leather barding, created by an elven sorceress for her brother, a rare paladin of Corellon Larethian, and his mount. The elven warrior, sir Caldeth, became a powerful defender of the elven lands and a brave warrior alongside his brave steed, Silverhooves, because of his skill at mounted combat. The original pair of armor and barding that comprise Humilianthir are prized treasures of the elven civilization, and have since been duplicated by other mounted knights, given to those who have a supernatural bond with their trusty steeds.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, cat's grace, fly (armor), bear's endurance (barding), telepathic bond, greater teleport (both); crafter must be an elf or outsider that follows a deity with the Travel domain.
Cost to Create: 67,050 + armor cost + 5364 xp (armor); 58,875 + double armor cost + 4710 xp (barding)

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See the part of the lore? It's taken verbatim from the place I found Humilianthir in the first place. It's literally a set of leather armor and leather barding meant for a paladin and its special mount.

I always heard, and I found out afterwards by reading 1st Edition books, that Paladins ALWAYS seek for the best type of armor in terms of construction, regardless of their magical properties. Thus, if a full plate was found, it was considered more valuable to the Paladin than a +5 Magic-Eater Half-Plate of Greater Blurrying because the full plate, normally, would grant better protection.

So...why, again, was Humilianthir a set of leather equipment for a Paladin? Really beats me.

The teleportation aspect, though, is something I'm proud of, because it uses an existing trait of the item and turns it into something else. Turning uses of the Linked armor property into uses of teleportation was a clever twist to the main effect of the original Humilianthir (which was a 1/day teleport into the mount's saddle), which reinforces quite a bit the unique properties of the armor (and the barding) by allowing tactical retreats and swift re-mounting. Suitable for mounted combat, no? Plus, you get flight as well, so you don't have to worry about aerial enemies!

PRAESIDIUM LUMINATA
Price (Item Level): 160,200 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 18th
Aura: strong (DC 22); abjuration, divination and evocation
Activation: -- and swift (command)
Weight: as armor
The armor seems plain, with no ostentatious decorations, but it shines with a light of its own. A small buckle on the belt with a holy symbol that seems to change into that of the wearer serves as the one sole decoration and proof of magical trait.

Praesidium Luminata may only be worn by a paladin or a justiciar of lawful good alignment. When worn by one of these divine champions, Praesidium Luminata acts as a called full plate of daylight with an enhancement bonus of +1 for every four character levels. The armor gains the following properties when its daylight ability is active:

• All good allies within the area of bright light of the divine champion add half the armor's enhancement bonus (round up) as a morale bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls, while evil creatures in the same range take a penalty to the same rolls instead.
• The light is bright enough to affect creatures with light sensitivity, but is not considered as natural sunlight for purposes of weaknesses related to them (such as a vampire's weakness to sunlight). Creatures with such sensibility are affected as normal.
• Shapeshifters within the area of the bright light have an image of their true selves superposed upon their own for as long as they are within the area of the light. The shapeshifter is not aware of the juxtaposition of its true self, but may be aware by the reactions of others. The image is superposed for as long as they remain within the area of bright light, and for one minute afterwards within the area of dim illumination (if they are outside of both areas, the image no longer appears).

While the aura of light is active, a divine champion may temporarily augment the potency of the illumination as a standard action. Until the beginning of the wearer's next turn, the armor emits a blinding light, duplicating the effect of a sunburst spell on all evil creatures with a caster level equal to the wearer's character level. The save DC for the partial effect is equal to 10 + half the wearer's character level + the wearer's Charisma modifier. Using this ability reduces the duration of the daylight ability for one minute; if the duration of the aura of light is of less than one minute, the sunburst effect activates but the aura is extinguished at the end of the wearer's current turn (instead of the next turn).

Lore: Praesidium Luminata, whose name means "safeguard(ing) of the light" in a rare ancient dialect that combines traits of Common, Draconic and Celestial, was given as a gift by a priest of Pelor to a paladin of Heironeous after an outstanding defense of an outpost against the minions of Hextor. The armor swells with the power of the sun, and originally held none of the traits of detecting shapeshifting. How this trait came to exist within the copies of Praesidium Luminata is unknown, but it is said that it represents the power the moon has over some shapechangers, such as lycanthropes.

In the EBERRON Campaign Setting, the first suit known as Praesidium Luminata was a majestic piece of armor worn by a paladin of Dol Arrah, until it fell into the hands of a crusader of the Silver Flame during the crusade against the lycanthropes. The armor was blessed by a mysterious individual which granted it the ability to reveal the true form of those that touched the light. Ironically, he was unaware that his fight against the lycanthropes had turned him into a lycanthrope himself, and he was slain by his own men after the armor revealed his true form. Some claim that the armor is thus tainted by the enigmatic Traveler, but the Purified claim that as a traveler's tale and keep the original hidden from the eyes of the faithful, as a relic of the great Crusade.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, heroism, sunburst, true seeing; creator must be an outsider with the good subtype that follows a deity with the Glory or Sun domains.
Cost to Create: 80,100 gp + armor cost + 6408 xp

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A multiple purpose suit of armor, the Praesidium Luminata definitely works wonders against many creatures, such as light-sensitive enemies, undead and shapechangers. Heck, just gaining a +2 morale bonus to attack and damage rolls just by wearing the armor helps, but providing the same as a penalty to your enemies?

But, I know that's not the whole shebang that's gonna get you "what the heck did ya smoke!?" It's definitely gonna be the Sunburst effect, because if you calculate how many uses you get out of it, you get...well, between 1 to 30 uses out of it. Yes, that's pretty amazing if you think about it, but the worst is that you use your character level for its caster level (and the saving throw is pretty high as well, so few chances of a partial effect). Sunburst is not that amazing normally, but against undead, it's almost a death sentence, and two rounds worth of 25d6 points of damage at 25th level is really hilarious.

Of course, I got inspired on what I did with Humilianthir, and since the original is sorta meh (it offers the morale bonus to attack, the penalty to attack against enemies, the revealing effect of the light, amongst others), but it has something this one lacks, and that's the ability to reveal invisible creatures. So, it loses something REAL nice, and instead you get something broken? Ain't I a schtinkah? (Excuses to Warner Bros. for doing such a bad mimic of Bugs).

SPELLCEASE
Price (Item Level): 157,000 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); abjuration
Activation: --
Weight: as armor
The breast plate on this armor has a set of five purple gems shaped like a V. Runic phrases etched in the armor serve as wards against fell magic.

When worn by a paladin, blackguard, anarch or justiciar, Spellcease works as a magic-eating full plate of spell resistance with an enhancement bonus equal to +1 for every four character levels. The armor grants spell resistance equal to 5 + the wearer's character level against all spells, except those with the "harmless" descriptor on their saving throw or spell resistance.

Even if the wearer fails its saving throw against the spell (if any) and the spell bypasses the armor's spell resistance, if the spell has an alignment descriptor opposed to that of the wearer or is cast by a creature of the opposite alignment to that of the wearer's divine champion class, the spell is absorbed without ill effect. Once it is first worn, the armor absorbs a quantity of spells equal to 5d4+30 spell levels; each time the armor absorbs one-fifth of the specified amount, one of the gems turns black and inert. Once all five gems turn inert (and thus, all spell levels have been absorbed), the armor loses its capability to absorb any more spells.

Recharging the gems is extremely dangerous. As a full-round action, the wearer of this armor may purge the weapon of any absorbed magic it has, but the wearer takes damage as a result; for every spell level the wearer purges, it takes 1d6 points of damage (to a maximum of 50d6 if the armor manages to absorb 50 spell levels). If the armor absorbed its maximum amount (between 35 to 50 spell levels, based on the result of the roll) and the wearer purges the spell energy at once, the amount of spells absorbed may be rerolled; else, the wearer may only absorb up to the specified amount. This damage may not be resisted by any means, and the wearer must purge all spell energy absorbed at once. The damage is done even if the spell had other effects (for example, an absorbed disintegrate spell and an absorbed flesh to stone spell do not deal their usual effects, instead dealing the aforementioned damage).

If the wearer of this armor wields an Occultslayer weapon, whenever the divine champion attempts to counterspell using the greater dispel magic effect of the weapon, the spell is reflected back to the caster instead of merely counterspelling. This effect works only once per round, and disables the aura of spell disruption of the Occultslayer for 1d4 rounds as if the wielder had used the area version of greater dispel magic.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, spell resistance, spell turning; creator must be an outsider that follows a deity with the Magic or Protection domain.
Cost to Create: 78,500 gp + armor cost + 6280 xp

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If Occultslayer was meant to be THE weapon against spellcasters, this is THE armor against them. Spell resistance is mostly a joke, especially one like that, but the spell absorption effect really makes this armor a menace. Twinned, Split Ray, Empowered, Maximized Enervation? No worries; that's about 6 spell levels absorbed, so you can withstand what could be a potentially lethal combination (though, it can be more if the Wizard isn't using metamagic reducers).

The trick, of course, is to know when and how to discharge. 50d6 can be a lethal amount of damage, more if it's taken at once. With an average of 175 and a full amount of 300, very few characters may withstand such an onslaught of damage coming at them. Discharging, say, 5 or 10 spell levels while you're resting might not be a hassle, but discharging 35 to 50 spell levels isn't as so. Thus, if you accept the gamble, you can have a chance to absorb MORE spell levels (and thus get greater protection) or less spell levels (and a more manageable range of damage).

Oh, and the Spell Turning effect if you combine Occultslayer and Spellcease? Yes, I am angry at spellcasters. Grr.

TRUEDEATH
Price (Item Level): 102,000 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); abjuration and transmutation
Activation: -- and full round
Weight: as armor
This suit of armor is adorned with holy sigils that ward against the undead and their powers. The symbol of a deity of light is proudly embedded in the armor's chest piece. The armor is coated with a film of dew, which is blessed by the power of the armor.

Truedeath may only be worn by a paladin. If worn by one, Truedeath acts like a soulfire full plate of ghost ward with an effective enhancement bonus of +1 for every four character levels. Unlike the typical ghost ward effect, the wearer may add all of its armor bonus to AC against incorporeal touch attacks, not just the armor's enhancement bonus.

Each time an undead creature makes a successful attack against the wearer of Truedeath, the creature takes 2d4 points of damage from the coating of holy water that exudes from the armor. As a full round action, the wearer of the armor may elect to gather all of the holy water drops from the armor and launch it as a splash weapon, acting exactly as a flask of holy water except the wearer adds his character level to the damage dealt to the main target, and half damage to undead within 5 ft. This effect only affects undead creatures, not evil outsiders (as would be usual for a flask of holy water). After doing so, the wearer of the armor loses the coating of holy water dew until it recharges (which takes one minute).

If the wearer of Truedeath is slain, the armor prevents the wearer from spawning into an undead creature by any means. This effect works for as long as the armor is worn over the corpse, and for an amount of days equal to the wearer's character level; if the wearer is then affected by such an effect, the corpse is immediately destroyed.

If the wearer of Truedeath wields a divine purifier, the retaliation damage is instead equal to the paladin's turning damage, and the wearer needs only to expend a daily use of turn undead to immediately renew the holy water coating on the armor as a free action. This is in addition to the double-strength magic circle effect that works only against undead creatures.

Lore: The origin of Truedeath is uncertain, but some loremasters relate its creation to one of the few orders that harbor a significant number of hunters of the dead, the church of Pelor, and a sacred font of holy water. Legend states that the first suits of Truedeath were forged for the most skilled hunters, and that their powers emerge from a secret font that harbors holy water, hidden in one of the many churches of Pelor (or a suitable deity with the Sun domain; in the EBERRON Campaign Setting, the font is located in Flamekeep hidden from the eyes of the Purified). It is said that all copies of the suit are linked to the font, and if the font were to be drained of its water or destroyed, all copies would lose such power. The waterfont, known only as the "font of St. Michael" (in honor of one of the greatest hunters the order has ever had), is said to bless and purify any water placed upon it, and that bathing in the waters restores youth. Truth is, legend states that the original font was destroyed and remade, and that there is more than one font, which ensures the power of Truedeath remains intact.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bless water, death ward, mage armor, spawn screen (SC 197), turn undead; creator must be a cleric of Pelor (Lathander or Re-Horakhty on Forgotten Realms, Dol Arrah or the Silver Flame on EBERRON) or an outsider that follows a deity with the Sun or Glory domains.
Cost to Create: 51,000 gp + armor cost + 4080 xp

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The armor against those pesky undead creatures, Truedeath is definitely one armor you'll want to wear. It has the combination of what's possibly the two best armor enhancements around: a permanent Death Ward effect and extra AC to touch, which is doubly formidable! But, the retaliation effect against undead creatures places it firmly in the hands of undead hunters, probably Hunters of the Dead which might like the superb protection provided by the armor.

ARMOR OF THE DREAD EMPEROR
Price (Item Level): 30,000 + armor cost
Body Slot: Body
Caster Level: 15th
Aura: strong (DC 22); abjuration and necromancy
Activation: -- and standard (command)
Weight: as armor
This armor is designed with intricate motives, fit for royalty, but twisted beyond belief. The golden color of the armor has been tarnished into a sinister black. The armor has chains on its waist and vambraces, although the links are broken from whatever was on the other end.

Only a blackguard may wear the armor of the dread emperor. If a blackguard wears it, the armor of the dread emperor is treated as a fearsome full plate with an effective enhancement bonus of +1 for every four class levels. The armor of the dread emperor grants a +4 bonus to the saving throw DC of any compulsion. By sacrificing one of the daily uses of the fearsome armor property, the wielder may use dominate monster as a spellcaster with a caster level equal to the wearer's character level (with a save DC equal to 14 + half the wearer's blackguard level + half the wearer's Charisma modifier; the +4 bonus from compulsions is already added).

The true power of the armor of the dread emperor manifests only when a creature is marked or compelled by the wearer. By making an arcane mark (if the wearer has access to it), etching a physical mark on a helpless or willing target (which deals 1 point of damage), or successfully compelled to act at the whim of the wearer (such as by using the dominate monster spell-like ability from the armor), one of the chains begins to shine and forms a spectral chain to the target so as long as it remains within the fiendish aura of the blackguard. Each time the wearer of the armor takes hit point damage (not ability damage), the damage is divided equally between all creatures.

The armor of the dread emperor has a synergistic effect based on the fiendish aura active by the blackguard. If the blackguard has one of the following auras active, the armor of the dread emperor grants the following benefits:
Cowardice: the blackguard shifts all damage to the "chained" creatures and takes no damage himself.
Cruelty: for every five points of damage the wearer of this armor takes (after reductions) during the end of the blackguard's current turn and the beginning of the next one, all creatures within the area take 1 point of damage from the aura.
Vengeance: once per round, the blackguard ignores the damage it would otherwise take from the split total damage from one attack (thus, while the other creatures take their share of the damage, the blackguard takes none). The damage is instead added to the retributive damage from the aura.

Lore: This armor belonged to a mysterious individual called the Dread Emperor. A master of the arcane arts that hid his appearance upon an armor gilded with gold, the Dread Emperor made his claim as the absolute ruler of the world. The armor was made specifically by him, for him; thus, it fit in such a way he could use his magic with little problem. Occasionally, he was surrounded by children that he held bound by chains flowing from his waist and vambraces, which he used to draw power from and divide the damage he could take, without care for the results. The legend of the Dread Emperor, however, was cut short; while the forces of good attempted to slay him but hesitated to harm the children, the forces of evil did not, and thus he was slain by another prospective overlord of the world. The current incarnations of the armor of the dread emperor are based on the modifications done by its new owner.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, fear, shield other; creator must be a blackguard.
Cost to Create: 15,000 gp + armor cost + 1200 xp

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Since blackguards lacked their unique armor suit, I arranged to give them something that already existed within D&D. Delving through the pages of the Book of Vile Darkness without attempting to lose my sanity, I remembered the Armor of the Dread Emperor, which with the Belt and the Ring of the Dread Emperor a spellcaster could essentially fuel their spellcasting by killing kids. While not as extreme in that regard, I figured it was the right armor for the aspiring blackguard who wants to become an evil overlord, and fit for a BBEG to wear.

The suit of armor reunites two of the things I like most about retooling these items: first, the modification of an existing trait by granting a new use to a special quality that might not see much use, and the synergy with the class that's meant to wear it. For the first, the fearsome special quality is cool but up to a point, and then it becomes weak; the latter makes the already devastating fiendish auras even more dangerous, particularly cruelty which further adds to the damage over time, and vengeance which ensures you deal a brutal hit.

As always: questions? Comments? Yay, awesome weapons for Pallies and Co.? OMG, you're worse than Blizzard delivering loot to power-hungry gamers!?!?!? Somewhere in the middle?

By the way: if you were figuring the cost of a Holy Avenger, it's hilariously low for what it's supposed to be. And I mean the original Holy Avenger, not the Divine Avenger. The Holy Avenger costs a whopping 120,630 gp, but when you calculate the costs, the weapon should really cost...400,000 gp.

No. Seriously. I kid you not. Wanna see?

First, count the cost of enchanting an 8th level spell at caster level 18th. That's 8x18x2000 (it's use-activated), so that's 288,000 gp. Add to that the 98,000 gp that costs making a +5 holy weapon, and that adds up to 386,000 gp. But wait! It's a cold iron longsword, so every +1 costs an additional 2000 gp, and since it's an effective +7 weapon, that costs up to 14,000 gp, for a grand total of 400,000 gp. Make the calculations on your own.

Now, if you multiply that by .30 (which is reducing the cost up to 30%), you end up with exactly 120,000 gp, with which the remaining costs of the weapon (315 for a masterwork longsword, doubled because of cold iron), that makes a grand total of 120,630 gp.

All calculations are based following that, except for the weapon properties (based off Sacred and Sacred Burst, as well as Profane), and the Sunsword which is a frickin' artifact. Just in case you figure "it's too high". You might take me because of something else, but consider that you need to multiply the entire result (sans the weapon cost) by .30 in order to get the actual result. You can help on that, if you may.

[NineThePuma]

Going to sit down and read through this (probably while on the bus to campus), but I'm curious to know if we're ever going to get the "fifth" Divine Champion you mentioned a while back?

The Incarnum one? Or did you post it already, and I forgot, which is entirely possible.

[Cieyrin]

Going to sit down and read through this (probably while on the bus to campus), but I'm curious to know if we're ever going to get the "fifth" Divine Champion you mentioned a while back?

The Incarnum one? Or did you post it already, and I forgot, which is entirely possible.

It's not shown up yet, at least as far as I'm aware. Neither it or the Divine Mind redux have been posted.

Read through the Avengers. I likes what I see, especially with the Sunblade having tiers of power that still makes it useful for nonpaladins but more so with paladins. I also must say I like the Sunsword, makes me think much of how the Sommerswerd should be in D&D, since the Kai Lords are basically Ranger Paladins. Good stuff!

[T.G. Oskar]

Posted the Armor Suits of Virtue for all of you guys to see. That only leaves...the addendum of Paladin-lite, but I'm thinking of making that addendum a separate post. It would be similar to what Cipher's proposal of making a "Paladin-lite" and then making what he wanted to do (Knight Eternal), while cross-linking both in order to cater to both sides (those who want a minor fix, those who want a more comprehensive fix).

There's also the need to add the Knight of the Middle Circle, from the Defenders of the Faith 3.0 splat, which I somehow forgot to add. That should complete a great deal of the Project Heretica material.

That said, I was also thinking whether I should export this to, say...I dunno, BG? I'm honestly intimidated by the discussions there, so I'd feel a bit bad if my 'brewing skills were not up to task.

Going to sit down and read through this (probably while on the bus to campus), but I'm curious to know if we're ever going to get the "fifth" Divine Champion you mentioned a while back?

The Incarnum one? Or did you post it already, and I forgot, which is entirely possible.

It's not shown up yet, at least as far as I'm aware. Neither it or the Divine Mind redux have been posted.

Oh, certainly not. I'm not sure when I'll post them, but the Zealot and the Kshatrya are to be posted on separate threads.

Read through the Avengers. I likes what I see, especially with the Sunblade having tiers of power that still makes it useful for nonpaladins but more so with paladins. I also must say I like the Sunsword, makes me think much of how the Sommerswerd should be in D&D, since the Kai Lords are basically Ranger Paladins. Good stuff!

Heh heh.

I definitely need to read a bit more about that weapon, though I'd love to see 3.5 interpretations of the Swords of Power. It all depends on how you make their stories really come alive, considering that you need to balance the roleplay aspect (the rich story behind its creation) with the mechanical aspect (that it has to remain relevant throughout the course of the character's career).

[dawnsolara]

That said, I was also thinking whether I should export this to, say...I dunno, BG? I'm honestly intimidated by the discussions there, so I'd feel a bit bad if my 'brewing skills were not up to task.

BG is now minmaxboards (minmaxboards . com / index . php but remove the spaces) because their boards were inundated by spammers, I believe. But please post your stuff over there - they're friendly and fun, and would have valuable input on your project, too. More eyes are always good for a project like this. Don't be intimidated!

[Cieyrin]

Having read the Armor Suits (I remember that Dragon article ), I've noticed that Anarchs are kinda neglected, as the weapons and armor they can use are the ones all the other Divine Champions get. Maybe I'm just a fan of ye olde Paladins of Freedom and Majesty's Warriors of Discord, the opposites to the Paladins, but we need some divine scythe wielder gear, stat!

[Elfstone]

I have been waiting soooo long for the divine items! Although for the armor I think you had some bad copy pasta because the price has weapon price instead of armor price added to it.(only for the Drachenguard). I like the Pseudo latin names for some of the items. All of them seem to work fine and complement the classes that use them nicely. Can't wait for the fifth class.

[NineThePuma]

Anarchs get pwned and don't get much support, but you knew that already.

[moghue]

I will tell you now, this is by far the best and most well thought out retooling of any core class I have seen yet and I have been watching for months. I would like to give credit where credit is due.

[T.G. Oskar]

Having read the Armor Suits (I remember that Dragon article ), I've noticed that Anarchs are kinda neglected, as the weapons and armor they can use are the ones all the other Divine Champions get. Maybe I'm just a fan of ye olde Paladins of Freedom and Majesty's Warriors of Discord, the opposites to the Paladins, but we need some divine scythe wielder gear, stat!

Anarchs get pwned and don't get much support, but you knew that already.

Yes, I am well aware that Anarchs lack support, but you may figure it's because I seem to be a bit off on what they could provide. I don't want to fall into the idea of randomness, but I want something that's considerably and iconically chaotic. The only ideas I have on my mind relate to weapons that improve buffing, or related to fortune (but that lies on the path of randomness), though I might have to raid the splats for purposes of entropy. Slaadskin armor and maybe a sword that contains the power of all elements could be pretty interesting, but I need to refine a bit more the ideas in order to make something worthwhile for potential Anarch builds. I only find "leader of the rebellion" and "wandering warrior" as the typical Anarch archetypes, aside from the archetypes proper to Divine Champions, which sorta limits me compared to Paladins (undead hunters, demon hunters, noble knights, holy warriors and bodyguards), Blackguards (The Dragon or the Big Bad, unholy warrior, leader of the undead, black knight and scheming noble, etc) and Justiciars (bounty hunter, warrior of law, judge-jury-&-executioner), from which I drew inspiration to make the weapons.

Rest assured: if I develop something for Anarchs, it'll have its own post, because the other two posts are full. How's that for a compromise?

[NineThePuma]

Well, in thinking, yeah, it's hard to imagine something other than the obvious "Rebel" and "Wandering Warrior" because part of the problem that arises is a tendency to focus more on the moral implications of the chaotic alignment. An Anarch who overthrows governments because it happens to be a government and an Anarch who frees slaves because no one should have their lives dictated for them are both possibilities. I could see Anarchs playing well with Bez-Kismet (and, in fact, contemplated playing a Gestalt Anarch/Bez-Kismet who was almost entirely in a Rage Against Fate at one point) so maybe looking more into "Casting off Fate" than anything else?

[absolmorph]

What about manipulating the chaos to better suit their purposes? Rolling twice on things could be a nice way to give Anarchs some shiny items to call their own.

[Cieyrin]

So we have Rebel Anarchs and Wanderer Anarchs. What about a War Mongerer, one who seeks to create conflict not for a goal but to generate chaos? (I've been watching Babylon 5 lately, makes me think of the Shadows ) Or one who fights explicitly for Freedom, not against a specific government but for everything or is that still a Rebel?

[T.G. Oskar]

So we have Rebel Anarchs and Wanderer Anarchs. What about a War Mongerer, one who seeks to create conflict not for a goal but to generate chaos? (I've been watching Babylon 5 lately, makes me think of the Shadows ) Or one who fights explicitly for Freedom, not against a specific government but for everything or is that still a Rebel?

*facepalm*

You know, you mention the "War Monger", and I was reminded of this guy, whose belief was that only a world of constant war would allow humanity to survive. That definitely is the mark of an evil Anarch, since a world of constant war is a world of chaos and destruction. In fact, his theme song is called CHAOS, for goodness sakes!!

So, I guess we can add "War Monger" to the list of Anarch archetypes...

EDIT: Oh, I decided to provide you guys with a small gift: a homebrewed spell for clerics and paladins, but region-locked.

The paladin will see some action on the next mission, since I convinced my players to detour using a side mission. Unlike the traditional missions with the half-giant Fighter and the kender Bard (which are now a Fighter/Warblade/Sword Saint and Bard/Druid/Rogue/Fochlucan Lyrist respectively), this one will truly put the retool to the test.

My players will play Tier 1 classes. Namely, a warforged Artificer and a Dreamsight shifter Druid. There will also be an Archivist/Wizard which is using the retooled version of the Mystic Theurge, and already has 3rd level casting on both sides while being 7th level (still one spell level behind, but not for too much), so that'll be the sanity spot. Oh, and a changeling Factotum with levels in Binder who may or may not be inscrutably evil...or an old friend of the Mystic Theurge. Ooooh, the chances...!!!

In any case, this spell was designed in-game for the Paladin, who wished to have some extra offensive power. It is based off the Ice Axe spell from Spell Compendium, and it can be used by regular Paladins...so as long as they live in Eberron and follow the Silver Flame:

ARCHIBALD'S AXE OF THE SILVER FLAME
Evocation [Fire]
Level: Cleric 3, Paladin 3 (Silver Flame)
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 0 ft.
Effect: Battleaxe-shaped weapon of silver flames
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes

After casting the spell and motioning to light in flames, the torch fully burns, but is not consumed, by flames of silver. The flames form into the shape of an axe, with its head forming the holy symbol of the Silver Flame.

This spell behaves exactly like the ice axe spell (see Spell Compendium page 118) but with the following changes.

The axe deals 2d12 points of damage +1 point per two caster levels (maximum of +10) with a successful hit; half the damage is fire damage and the other half results directly from the divine power of the Silver Flame, thus ignoring resistance to fire.

Lore: This spell was constructed in the 5th of Nym of the year 999 YK by Archibald Brittlebeard, an adventurer hunting for ancient magic scrolls of the Ages of the Giants and the Dragons, by request of sir Adelbert d'Deneith, paladin of the Silver Flame and scion of House Deneith. The spell was designed to mimic the favored weapon of the paladin, a battle axe. This spell was sent, as an offering, to the authorities of the Silver Flame to wield as a weapon against the enemies of the church.

Special: Only clerics, paladins and archivists (see Heroes of Horror) that have the Silver Flame (or any of its manifestations) as a deity may use this spell.

Material Component: 25 gp worth of silverburn powder (see Faiths of Eberron page 153 for more details) and a torch, which consumes at the end of the spell's duration.

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The spell was a need for paladins to have a proper spell that covered three things: first, that Paladins need some solid offensive; second, to cover 3rd level spells which are usually crappy; and third, to cover for the apparent inclination of paladins to swords (i.e: original Holy Avenger). Ice Axe is a pretty nifty spell, which while ignoring Strength modifier to damage is otherwise treated as a magic weapon that deals magic damage (and all of the same type), but most specifically providing melee touch attacks with a weapon. Strength may be an issue, but not necessarily Power Attack (it IS a battle-axe shaped weapon, after all, and battleaxes are one-handed weapons...), or Smite, or other bonuses to damage. Thus, while Clerics will undoubtedly have it, Paladins can definitely make proper use out of it, even the core, vanilla version of it.

Game-wise, Archibald (the Mystic Theurge I was speaking you about) crafted the spell for Adelbert (my DMPC paladin whom has served as the testbed for the retool itself) as a personal petition, as a way to express his faith but feeling a bit down that he has no particular legacy (you see, the half-giant Fighter made a few new alchemical items, and the Bard sold the rights to sell one of the Kender weapons from Dragonlance, and they're reaping the spoils...), and because he needed that extra "punch" while making sure that he could deal a serious amount of damage.

The nifty trait is that I simply made a slight alteration by treating the spell as if it were Flame Strike damage. This is because, being the Silver Flame, limiting the spell only to fire damage would have made many of the evil outsiders they face unable to take full damage. 2d12 is nothing to sneeze about, especially as full attack damage (which means a Paladin could land reliably well four hits, because of the melee touch nature of the spell, dealing somewhere around 8d12+40 at 20th level, or 8d12+20 if using core vanilla version), and even more if Haste comes in play.

[Cieyrin]

Nice spell, there. I can just imagine throwing the silverburn powder into the torch for it to suddenly flame up and consume the torch to generate the axe. Neat imagery to boot.

[T.G. Oskar]

I seem to always find new stuff to add.

Per request, there's at least two new Avengers, both of which can be used by Anarchs, and at least ONE that's Anarch-exclusive. I might place an Anarch-exclusive Armor Suit of Virtue as well, but whenever I get the inspiration.

EXECUTIONER
Price (Item Level): 103,200 gp + weapon cost
Body Slot: -- (held)
Caster Level: 18th
Aura: strong (DC 24); necromancy and transmutation
Activation: -- and swift (command)
Weight: as weapon
The weapon is crude and brutal looking, its blade looking impossibly sharp and stained with fresh blood. When swung, the blade moves through the air with unusual ease, as if it cut air itself.
An executioner may only be wielded by a blackguard or an evil-aligned anarch. When a character of that class wields it, it is treated as a keen vicious maiming longsword with an effective enhancement bonus of 1 for every four class levels (bludgeoning weapons gain the impact property instead).

By spending an encounter use of smite good or entropic strike as a swift action, the next attack done with the executioner has its critical threat range and critical multiplier increased by 1. The increase to the critical threat range applies after the increase by means of the keen weapon property and stacks with it. The increase to the critical multiplier affects the extra damage from the maiming weapon property as well. If the roll results a natural 20, the weapon is treated as if it had the vorpal property. If the attack misses, the smite good or entropic strike use is not wasted (as if using the smite, except the wielder does not gain any other benefit from the ability such as the bonus to attack rolls, extra damage, or imposed effects).

If the blackguard or the anarch has a feat, magic item or class feature that grants a bonus to the critical threat confirmation roll, this bonus is also added to the damage on a successful critical hit, but after the calculations are made.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, circle of death, keen edge, enervation; creator must be a chaotic evil outsider that follows a deity with the Death or Destruction domains.
Cost to Create: 51600 gp + weapon cost + 4128 xp

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This weapon, simply put, is a bargain for what it provides. For starters, it's a weapon with the keen (or impact), maiming and vicious properties: just keen and maiming with the right weapon can be a deadly combination. With the scaling enhancement bonus added, you can have a weapon that deals a pretty decent amount of damage quite reliably.

However, the true power of this weapon happens when you sacrifice smite good or entropic strike. As you can see, the power of this smiting ability directly enhances the weapon but does not look for alignment, so it can be used on anybody. On a weapon such as a greatsword, this means you get a 16-20 critical threat (19-20 base, 17-20 with keen, plus one to the critical threat range after keen so that's 16-20) and a x3 on the multiplier, with the maiming property dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage on top. While keen and maiming doesn't stack with critical threat auto-confirming abilities, you have a pretty good chance to land a hit that effectively slays the enemy in one blow. If you happen to roll a natural 20, then the weapon instantly slays the opponent.

The last ability (extra damage with stuff like Power Critical) is minor by comparison, given that it doesn't stack with the critical threat multiplier, but it makes these choices slightly more useful than they usually are (which is next to none). All in all, the weapon is pretty simple in its construction, meant to deliver pretty solid hits with nearly each blow, and more if you aim for extra success on critical hits.

DISCORDANCE
Price (Item Level): 102,000 gp + weapon cost
Body Slot: -- (held)
Caster Level: 20th
Aura: strong (DC 25th); divination, evocation and transmutation
Activation: -- and immediate (command)
Weight: as weapon
The sword seems to be done poorly, but only at a glance; it is oddly balanced, but it holds warps and rare spots of all the colors of the rainbow upon it. The blade of the weapon seems to shift materials at random, and gems incrusted on both its guard and pommel shift colors, but reflect light as if they were clear, forming rainbows.
Discordance can only be used by an anarch. In the hands of one, Discordance acts as an anarchic metalline morphing longsword of prismatic burst with an effective enhancement bonus of 1 for every four class levels. The morphing property of the weapon applies as an immediate action (instead of standard) as part of attacking a creature. An anarch wielding this weapon may use it as its holy symbol for purposes of her disable construct ability and divine focus.

Whenever an anarch rolls a natural 5 on a damage roll, reroll the result and add 5 points of damage. If the 5 appears on a single die, reroll only the die. The effect is cumulative.

Discordance automatically detects any lawful creature within a 60 ft. radius as a standard action, which causes the weapon to shine with all the colors of the rainbow. If an anarch faces a lawful creature, the weapon deals an extra 2 points of fire damage to the creature (and other hostile lawful creatures within 60 ft.) and shines with a red color. The effect of the weapon changes in subsequent rounds:
2nd round: the weapon’s shine turns orange and the weapon deals 4 extra points of acid damage instead of the fire damage
3rd round: the weapon’s shine turns yellow and the weapon deals an extra 8 points of electricity damage instead of the acid damage
4th round: the weapon’s shine turns green and the weapon deals 1 point of Constitution damage instead of the acid damage. The ability damage is negated if the creature is immune to poison
5th round: the weapon’s shine turns blue and the weapon imposes a -4 penalty to Dexterity (minimum 1) instead of the Constitution damage. The penalty to Dexterity is negated if the creature is immune to petrifaction.
6th round: the weapon’s shine turns indigo and the weapon causes the confusion effect for 1d5 rounds instead of the penalty to Dexterity.
7th round: the weapon’s shine turns violet and the weapon displaces part of the creature’s body, dealing an extra 2d6 points of damage instead of the confusion effect.
8th round: the weapon shines with all the colors of the rainbow. Roll 1d8 and apply the result as if the weapon was on the round indicated by the result (for example, a result of 4 would cause the Constitution damage). A roll of 8 allows the wielder of the weapon to roll twice (rerolling any further results of 8) or choose which effect to apply.
Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, chaos hammer, detect law, fabricate, lucky streak (CSc 100), prismatic spray; creator must be a chaotic outsider that follows a deity with the Chaos and Luck domain, or that has access to the Limbo domain (SC 284)
Cost to Create: 51,000 gp + weapon cost + 4080 xp

Spoiler

Show

And here it is, the Anarch-exclusive weapon, which has some reliance on luck but otherwise it's pretty random. Discordance only loosely bases on Discordianism, except if violent instead of comedic.

Being a morphic and metalline weapon, this is one of the few weapons who can bypass just about every single damage reduction sans alignments and DR X/-. With the ability to turn into a bludgeoning, piercing or slashing weapon at the whim of the wielder, Discordance won't ever be the same weapon. The ability to unleash an attack as powerful as Prismatic Spray on a critical hit means you can attempt to crit-fish whenever necessary for a strong effect.

The ability to reroll the results that end in 5 is a reference to the Law of Fives, where you'll always see a five anywhere. Here, the effect becomes a bit more destructive because if for some reason you roll a 5 on average, you'll rack up the damage real fast. This makes the falchion, the guisarme, the ranseur and the scythe particularly brutal options, since you might roll a 5 more often than usual, so the damage will probably skyrocket. Likewise, any weapon with more than one dice over 6 will have a strong chance of rerolling the damage, thus furthering the damage you deal. While I didn't want to add the element of randomness as a key aspect of the weapon, I definitely had to add this reference, because of it's inherent hilarity.

However, the key aspect of Discordance is that it's an anti-order weapon. It is a weapon of pure Chaos; thus, against lawful creatures, the weapon unleashes it's true power, which is basically...a washed-down Prismatic Spray effect. As you can see, it takes 8 rounds to unleash its full power, so you might not see the weapon's full power in effect, but the first few effects aren't so bad (fire, electricity or acid damage which doubles the earlier damage dealt and, since it's static damage, it should stack with any multiplier), and if things get rough Con damage with each hit (essentially a pseudo-Wounding weapon) should do the trick. After 8 rounds, the randomness effect kicks in, and the chance for a roll of 8 for double the fun suddenly makes the weapon a bit more dangerous (particularly if you roll 4 and 7 constantly, as you'll have a weapon that deals 2d6 HP + 1 Con points of damage with each hit). It fits really well with the Prismatic Burst special quality, and makes the weapon quite a bit more reliable than usual. I believe that, even with the randomness factor kicking in, Discordance is a relatively potent weapon for Anarchs.

The one thing I had to break my head is on how to make it costlier. You see, compared to weapons such as Hallowed Purifier, Wraithblade or the Sun Blade, Discordance is pretty cheap for its cost, even if it's the weapon with the highest caster level amongst the Avengers. Prismatic Burst is really a bargain at 30k gp, particularly since it doesn't add to your base enhancement bonus and thus it can be added to a +10 weapon pre-epic.

[Cieyrin]

Nice weapons, though Discordance's confusion effect calls for a d5, causing me confusion. I'm assuming you meant d6, though with the Rule of 5 in effect, I'm not sure.

[T.G. Oskar]

Nice weapons, though Discordance's confusion effect calls for a d5, causing me confusion. I'm assuming you meant d6, though with the Rule of 5 in effect, I'm not sure.

It's another reference to the Rule of 5. Who says you have to limit yourself to the typical interpretations of the dice when you're playing an Anarch anyways? That makes it doubly interesting, particularly since it can last for a reasonable amount of rounds (3 rounds on average, up to 5 rounds).

[absolmorph]

What happens on the 9th round?

[Cieyrin]

What happens on the 9th round?

I think once it hits round 8 and beyond, it randomizes, as it's fully powered.

[T.G. Oskar]

I think once it hits round 8 and beyond, it randomizes, as it's fully powered.

Exactly as mentioned. Discordance really doesn't power up, but rather has an element of compiling all parts of a low-power prismatic X effect, until at the 8th round you essentially have a random effect with each swing. It doesn't cycle, however, starting from the beginning, so it remains "fully powered" or fully "compiled" from 9th round and thereafter.

--

In any case, I mentioned last time that my campaign would mark the reappearance of the Project Heretica Paladin, and this time, my players were changing their characters for a short side story with new characters.

While the "main group" (technically the Paladin is part of the main group, but he was "settling stuff" because I wanted to introduce a DMPC which is another playtest) has the Bard becoming a "Sylvan" Lyrist (a Fochlucan Lyrist, but Fochlucan doesn't exist in Eberron) and facing a one-minute battle against beholderkin, the Paladin got a side mission involving some adamantine mines. This is a great chance for my players to get adamantine items (and an excuse for my DMPC to have adamantine plate armor, mind you), and test some new characters.

The Bard player settled for a blaster-focused Shifter Druid, who's going for the "bear with a bear companion riding a bear" theme, but with Arcs of Lightning and Flame Strikes ahoy. Meanwhile, the Fighter player settled for an Artificer, since he's thinking about leaving that character as the guild's main craftsman (they have an official adventurer's guild now, by the way). This Warforged Artificer has an advanced Iron Defender as a pet, since the Fighter player got interested in Artificers given how they're presented in DDO. I settled for the Paladin, another NPC (a Dwarven Archivist/Wizard/Retooled Mystic Theurge), and a little surprise for them: much like in the other party, a Changeling Factotum with levels in Binder and Rogue. Thing is, the players (and the Pally's party, by the way) figured there's an imposter upon them, and the Paladin is openly distrusting their Changeling party member, but so as long as the "impostor" (or the real deal, that's the beauty of it) doesn't backstab the party or something like that, he's fine with it. Because of the relaxed restrictions of the code, the Paladin can collaborate with someone who may or may not be quite evil, although he might just be collaborating with the old friend of the Theurge and the real deal. The impostor will be decided randomly, in order to keep the suspense even on my side.
The day was spent with only two battles, while they tested their new characters. The first battle was against a pair of Totem Giants, giants who use incarnum and fly into rages, as they were flanking the Druid and his bear companion (whom, because of being a reincarnated ancestor, has the trait of a single Incarnum feat instead of the usual feats). The Druid, a member of the Greensingers, started by a very unusual casting of Charm Monster, which essentially simplified the battle somewhat by disabling one of the giants (though the newcoming party of the Paladin, the Artificer, the Factotum and the Theurge were fair play, as they met the Druid at that moment). The Druid's animal companion did most of the work, but the Paladin had a pretty awesome moment as he simply walked through the battlefield to reach the Druid (who was about to die from the non-charmed Giant) and ignored both attacks of opportunity (through a combination of decent AC and Displacement), before striking at the enemy with a smite (which, because of a change to Improved Smite, can deal normal smite damage to neutral creatures). The giant wasn't stunned, but between the Paladin and the bear, one of the giants was essentially busted. Because of the defeat, the battle was finished, although some deals had to be dealt. This was the second moment of awesome for the Paladin: without his trusty axe and his shield, and using the Artificer as a translator, he convinced the giant that killing him in vengeance would be akin to imitating what he himself had done, thus preventing an untimely death. Of course, that was a bit of an ego trip, but the players were very amused (and impressed) by the roleplaying, making that a memorable moment. We joked that, with the Fighter on a different mission, the Paladin could finally show what he's made of.

The second battle was against four Spectres (most generally below the party's range), which was a pretty easy battle despite the lack of the usual heavy hitter. On this battle, the Druid was the MVP of the match, even though his animal companion was out of the battle (because of the spectres' ability to panic any animal), because of his use of Lightning Arc. The group fought cohesively, with the Paladin and the Artificer dealing heavy hits to the enemy (the Pally through Awesome Smite, the Artificer by enchanting his repeating crossbow with Ghost Touch), while the Theurge essentially flunking his spell (a natural 1 with a Spiritual Weapon spell, which I ruled that dissolved as swiftly as it was made) and the Factotum couldn't really collaborate as she would have wanted to, though she landed a few hits.

It was a short day as we took a bit of time doing some preparations, but here's the outcome of the day:

• Sometimes, when there are few players and they've had their own moments to shine, a DMPC should shine as well. It's not an excuse to overwhelm, but a DMPC with moments where it can shine without overwhelming the players make for a memorable experience. Unlike before, he's getting a bit proactive, which is good as he's the only melee combatant aside from the Druid's animal companion.
• One thing to notice is that the Paladin does pretty well on dungeons, but not so spectacularly on random encounters. While on a dungeon, the Paladin can buff himself pretty well, so he can do slightly more than usual, but whenever taken by surprise, the Paladin still relies on smiting and having a good defense, which makes Battle Blessing quite useful in these situations. Though, to his point, his choices in battle have changed slightly, what with the choice of smiting, Deafening Clang, Divine Sacrifice and the changes to feats.
• Another thing to point is how the dynamic changes wildly over the lack of excessive damage. The battle against the Totem Giants, which was of the same CR as the Paladin and slightly over the other characters, took mostly two turns, and while slightly difficult, it was not overwhelming. However, it was surprising to see the Druid (and his animal companion) nearing Death's door (because of the circumstances), but the others were barely harmed.

I'm still unsure when I'll have the next session, but the next session will involve a small dungeon with encounters rounding CR of 6 to 10, with a chance of CR 11 or 12 if necessary. I'll expect to grind them with lots of battles while they traverse the dungeon to recollect better data.

In any case, I should finish the Anarch's armor suit, but there's only one thing to essentially "close" this thread, and that's the material that allows bits and pieces of Project Heretica to those who don't want a full rewrite to the Paladin, but only a fix. I intend to make it a separate thread, with links between the two sides, so that people who are interested only in the Pally "patch" don't have to drudge over the full rewrite, though my interest is to make this my official "view" of the Paladin. It's pretty close to what I did with the retoolings of the Monk, where the first attempt exists as a "Monk lite" while the other is an extensive retooling with which I'm a bit more comfortable. Do you consider this the best way to handle it, or would you be interested in clumping this appendix to this thread instead?

[T.G. Oskar]

After a good month without playing (well, more like a month and a week or so), time for a week of double play!

So, my players (testing the Artificer and the Druid) entered the abandoned mine, which means a dungeon instance, which draws the kind of data I want for playtesting, as it involves various encounters in a single day. So far, we've had two combat encounters and one non-combat encounter, but since the day hasn't officially finished (and I want at least two more encounters during the same day before I let them rest), this turns into an excellent opportunity.

The first battle was against a Plague Spewer, essentially a HUGE undead that spews rat swarms and hits with plague (MMIII). Being the paladin the frontman, and with a good 100+ HP, it was an excellent way to test the entire group. The Artificer was already prepared with an Undead Bane repeating heavy crossbow with a Shocking enhancement, so he could deal quite a bit of damage, and the Druid had turned into a brown bear alongside his brown bear, which meant that the Paladin would have been overshadowed.

Quite the contrary, the Paladin was the hero of that particular fight. If I mention that on one round he did almost half the amount of the undead's HP worth of damage, would you believe it? Well, he pulled that off, and particularly because of smiting. Surprisingly, although he survived being hit by the rat swarm, he got hit and actually suffered disease from the plague spewer's attack (remember, the Paladin no longer has auto-immunities). Had it not been by the opportune application of the Artificer's Spell Storing Item infusion duplicating Remove Disease, he would have had to wait until next day and potentially suffer ability damage (damn low rolls, despite his respectable +12 Fort!!). All in all, the Paladin and the Artificer did most of the damage, and the Paladin soaked a bit of the damage taken by the Artificer's iron defender homunculus.

The second battle was against a Mimic (advanced to 11 HD) and a Phasm, which had a special ability to assume a single Huge form (conveniently, being on a burial ground for Giants, it assumed the form of a Cloud Giant). In this case, the Druid used the Arc Lightning spell to deal most of the damage, while the Artificer landed a lucky crit on the Mimic. In this case, the Paladin relied on his tried-and-true strategy of providing his excellent defensive aura and soaking most of the damage, so no one really suffered a lot of damage anyways. He used Bull's Strength and a javelin, though, so he contributed to the damage. Oddly enough, even though all enemies did melee attacks, the retributive damage from Divine Punishment applied only once.

So, what can be drawn from this?

• 10th level is very nice in terms of damage potential, especially when sources of damage overflow are absent. Battles didn't last more than 3 rounds at most, and even then the Paladin did the singlemost amount of damage in the day, reaching nearly 50 points in a single non-crit blow, without using Power Attack at all.
• While his other contributions were pretty small (he aced a Diplomacy check to convince some "miners" to assist him on exploring the mine, he barely lost resources. He only wasted a single spell, while the Druid has almost all of his 2nd and 3rd level spells out, the Artificer used a good deal of 1st and 3rd level slots, and the Mystic Theurge has only used about three spells overall but hasn't done that much.
• Positioning can be a trouble, particularly if you go last. Movement speed, likewise. Particularly if, because of the circumstances, you're left at the back of the battle (surprise back attack, yay!!) Otherwise, the Paladin could have contributed a bit more with the second battle, since he could only move 20 ft. while the enemies were over 60 ft. away.

Since the Holy Week is nearby, that means there will be another game next week (over here, Holy Week is given free, or at least between Thursday to Sunday, much like Spring Break), so there's a few more chances of rectifying, but this is good enough as the party overall hasn't wasted more than 50% of its resources just yet, so no need to rest.

Also, having a new computer (though a particularly small-screened one), that means I can retake the work I was stripped from for about two whole weeks, which combined with the inability to do much with the old laptop, means I should go ahead with many of the things I promised. Not sure what else to post, though, so if you have any ideas on what I should post this month...

[T.G. Oskar]

Finally, after some time, it's Summer! Which means we'll be playing possibly twice or three times per week!

This time, the party (currently with the Paladin, a Druid with a bear animal companion, an Artificer with an Iron Defender homunculus, and a Cleric/Dragonfire Adept/Dragonfire Disciple whom I'm playtesting as well), now formed into a guild (with my player's primary characters, the Fighter/Warblade/Kensai retool [Sword Saint], the Bard/Rogue/Druid/Sylvan [Fochlucan] Lyrist and a few NPCs which are currently on a "site defense" mission) have decided to clear an abandoned fort chock-full of Warforged devoted to the Lord of Blades. To do so, the Paladin was given a small set of followers (10 1st level Fighters) to lead, as part of a garrison to defend the fort once reclaimed.

The reason I needed to mention this was because this was the first time the Devotion aura really made a change. A shocking use of Unholy Blight striking 13 creatures and potentially one-shotting most NPCs was no worse than two downs. Definitely, absorbing 48 hit points worth of damage from all targets (damage from the other 12 targets, as he passed the Will save to halve damage, which was negated by means of Mettle) definitely saved the 1st level soldiers from an untimely death (from a 8th level Unholy Blight, by the way, used through a wand by a 5th level Cleric). Just to mention: all (save 1 soldier, which rolled high enough and was in the area of Magic Circle against Evil) of the 1st level Fighters, as well as some of the 1st level Scouts following the party, failed the Will save, and all of them took 10 points of damage (instead of 14), which made the Fighters survive with 1 hit point. Considering that they had a pretty high AC, and that aside from the Cleric and a 5th level Warblade the rest were pretty weak (1st-3rd level Warriors and 3rd level Fighters), so they had enough AC to auto-succeed, due to the huge bonus from Devotion.

Next session will have a boss battle against four 7th level Warforged, comprised mostly of strong classes (Warblade, Artificer, a Warforged Scout Rogue, plus the retooled Warmage and the enemy Artificer's Iron Defender), but with some pre-buffing before. I expect this to be an easy battle (4 vs. 5, or rather 5 vs. 7), but it should be pretty fun considering the small combat area.

[T.G. Oskar]

Alright, now for some REAL news (and not updates about my playtesting, which nobody really seems to care apparently)...

I've posted a version of the Project Heretica Paladin on the good Dungeons & Dragons wiki (not the other one, which I refuse to post at), which has none of the comments and has links to all necessary information. If you wish to help on clarity editing (such as posting some links) and whatnot, please inform it within the discussion section. The version presented there is the most recent one, and any changes I personally do will appear both here and on the link.

I'll see when I post the rest of the material around, as well as the whole bulk of the retools.

[T.G. Oskar]

After some discussion regarding the Paladin in its wiki format, I've been suggested a series of boosts to the class. I'd like to gather ideas here (as well as there, and there's good ideas indeed) for what I should do, as it'll involve some changes both there and here (and thus, to all of the PBAJ).

Here's the ideas exposed:

• Reworking Resounding Smite from scratch. The suggested ideas are making it AoE right from the beginning (which is nice), adding deafening (which is good), and sundering equipment (heck no!!). ideas on how this can scale through all three tiers?
• Damage Reduction from Standing Before Adversity applies since 4th level, and scales (DR 5 at 4th, DR 10 at 9th, DR 15 at 14th), and turn it into untyped. I feel half-tempted to make it DR = level +1. This makes 14th level lack an appropriate boost, as DR was tbe feature at that level. What should replace 14th level?
• Apparently, the damage dealt by Divine Punishment is too little, and doesn't make people start hitting the Paladin and stop hitting its allies. Suggestions were made to impose a penalty on attack rolls and/or increase the damage dealt. I agree partly with this, as while damage is sound enough, it's not what makes people hit the Paladin (it's the Aura of Devotion's bonus to AC that does, usually). There was also a suggestion to make DP apply earlier (actually, at 1st level...), which I'm reticent at.
• Return Divine Grace to 2nd level. I'm ambivalent to it, because it makes 2nd level WAY too attractive and loaded (basically, you get Charisma to damage AND saves at 2nd level), and makes 11th level lack something. I've agreed to lower it a few levels (namely 7th or 8th, as Lay on Hands and Mettle are pretty lonely), though. Thus; what ability should the Paladin have at 11th level, given that Divine Grace at 11th level is no longer viable?
• Boost Aura of Retribution's damage. I might return it to "damage equal to damage dealt or 5 times your Constitution modifier", with the shield bonus adding to damage (as per "5 + enchantment bonus x Con").

There's also some changes that will appear here soon:

• Turn Undead is now as potent as that of a Cleric, but the Paladin has less uses per day (up to their Charisma modifier). This makes it useful at all levels (alongside the spells that boost it), and it'll have enough uses thanks to Charisma being an important stat for the Paladin.
• Boost their spell save DC. The proposal thus far is 10 + half the paladin's level + the paladin's Charisma modifier (same as Smites). Agree, disagree?
• The multiclass restriction is gone.

So: questions? Comments?

[dawnsolara]

Return Divine Grace to 2nd level. I'm ambivalent to it, because it makes 2nd level WAY too attractive and loaded (basically, you get Charisma to damage AND saves at 2nd level), and makes 11th level lack something. I've agreed to lower it a few levels (namely 7th or 8th, as Lay on Hands and Mettle are pretty lonely), though. Thus; what ability should the Paladin have at 11th level, given that Divine Grace at 11th level is no longer viable?

You could give them "Improved Mettle" at level 11, just like there's an improved evasion.

[THEChanger]

You could give them "Improved Mettle" at level 11, just like there's an improved evasion.

The Paladin already gets Improved Mettle at Level 13.

[dawnsolara]

The Paladin already gets Improved Mettle at Level 13.

Yeah . . . maybe I shouldn't make suggestions for classes while tired.

[Cieyrin]

Minor nitpick before I go on: Blinding Smite's damage increase against light sensitives doesn't mesh with the current standard of 5+ Pally level, as it currently replaces that damage, so you actually do less at lower levels (2 vs. 6 at 1st and only bypassing once you get past 5th, where they meet up and your Improved version may kick in).

Now, for the suggested changes
- Re: Resounding Smite: I kinda like it as-is but if others aren't, I suppose I support the first 2 tiers, though expanding the holy explosion to full smite damage with the same save may be in order for tier 2/3. Tacking on deafness and sicken would as well, methinks.
- Re: Damage Reduction: I'd scale directly with level instead of in steps. For 14th level, I'd suggest having a floating spell slot for on the fly casting. Call it Divine Inspiration, for sometimes, you really need it. By floating, I mean able to choose from the entire list, not just the spells known currently be a specific paladin. Call it 1/day or Cha/day, up to 1/encounter, something like that.
- Re: Divine Punishment: It doesn't need moving. I'd apply 5+1/2 Pally level + Str mod, like with smites, for alleviating the issue.
- Re: Divine Grace: If it really needs moving, 8th is a good spot, as 7th opens up 2nd level Pally spells, an important milestone. For 11th, the ability to step into harm's way for an ally, enhanced by using a shield, wouldn't be bad.
- Re: Aura of Retribution: 5 is definitely the magic number and I agree.

As for turning and spells, I think they're good as-is. As said, paladins are the militant arm of their faith, their ability to turn being not as great as a cleric of equal level only makes sense, since they're also trained in applying strength of arm alongside strength of faith, so having a balance between the two works best in my thoughts. As for the save DCs, I don't think Pallys really need it, as the spell selection is aimed more at buffing and less against blasting, which the save DCs would be needed for.

[T.G. Oskar]

Minor nitpick before I go on: Blinding Smite's damage increase against light sensitives doesn't mesh with the current standard of 5+ Pally level, as it currently replaces that damage, so you actually do less at lower levels (2 vs. 6 at 1st and only bypassing once you get past 5th, where they meet up and your Improved version may kick in).

Can't believe I didn't notice up until now. Will change (on both places) now.

Now, for the suggested changes
- Re: Resounding Smite: I kinda like it as-is but if others aren't, I suppose I support the first 2 tiers, though expanding the holy explosion to full smite damage with the same save may be in order for tier 2/3. Tacking on deafness and sicken would as well, methinks.
- Re: Damage Reduction: I'd scale directly with level instead of in steps. For 14th level, I'd suggest having a floating spell slot for on the fly casting. Call it Divine Inspiration, for sometimes, you really need it. By floating, I mean able to choose from the entire list, not just the spells known currently be a specific paladin. Call it 1/day or Cha/day, up to 1/encounter, something like that.
- Re: Divine Punishment: It doesn't need moving. I'd apply 5+1/2 Pally level + Str mod, like with smites, for alleviating the issue.
- Re: Divine Grace: If it really needs moving, 8th is a good spot, as 7th opens up 2nd level Pally spells, an important milestone. For 11th, the ability to step into harm's way for an ally, enhanced by using a shield, wouldn't be bad.
- Re: Aura of Retribution: 5 is definitely the magic number and I agree.

• Resounding will need a bit of work, but I at least agree about the idea of making it AoE right from the beginning. The logistics will be what's needed. I still want the idea of knockback (and prone), or deafening and sonic damage, but at least I got a better idea out of it now.
• Decided to do that as of the moment. As for a 14th level ability, I decided for "not failing saves on a natural 1"; it gives the vibe of getting an unnatural amount of resolve, and it makes every point worth it.
• I thought as much, and I was intending to leave it on that level. I settled for a penalty to attack rolls based on the Paladin's Strength modifier, to make the ability weigh more (sorta like Iron Guard's Glare, but temporary and adding damage)/
• I also agree on 8th level, falling right in with Mettle. However, the "Cover-like" ability for 11th level seems a bit too weak for that level range. I'd feel tempted to grant the Paladin free access to Battle Blessing at that level... Any other ideas that might seem fitting for, say, fighting a whole army alone or something?

As for turning and spells, I think they're good as-is. As said, paladins are the militant arm of their faith, their ability to turn being not as great as a cleric of equal level only makes sense, since they're also trained in applying strength of arm alongside strength of faith, so having a balance between the two works best in my thoughts. As for the save DCs, I don't think Pallys really need it, as the spell selection is aimed more at buffing and less against blasting, which the save DCs would be needed for.

I would agree with it, were it not because the inherent problem with Turning. I could introduce a change in the mechanics, but if going with the mechanics as presented on the SRD, the Paladin will need every point it can get, and with this it can, at least, equal the Cleric in terms of potential. However, less uses mean that Turning will be preferably a Cleric trait, as the Cleric might get more uses per day.

Regarding the spell save DCs, the counter-argument for it would be that the Paladin draws heavily from the Cleric spell list, which contains a good number of spells with save DCs. If the intention with the Paladin was to buff instead of having spells with save DCs, I would have had to remove those spells with save DCs (unless they also provided a buff, such as Dispel Evil/Chaos), which defeats the point of expanding the spell list. Because of this, and because the Paladin never gets spells higher than 5th level, those spells that require save DCs should be reasonably useful. It's a clear argument, particularly as the effect of a 2nd level spell by 8th level, or a 3rd level spell by 11th, won't be as much, so it induces to many "traps" scattered all around. Certainly boosting the save DCs makes stuff like Sound Burst a bit more powerful (with a higher DC, that means you get to stun a few people), but the overall effect isn't the same as a 4th level spell. And, because of the small amount of spell slots, that means you'll be competing between buffing spells and spells that cause effects, so you can choose only buffing spells, go a bit closer to damage, or balance it out. So, boosting save DCs is necessary to make the paladin spell list stand out, but since it's based on the paladin's level, it only becomes a big concern with a character whose Paladin level = character level.