Sci Fi Paladin

[Aldenbrant]

Perhaps some kind of mechanized knight? I invision some kind of knightly looking mech with a shield, some kind of rifle, a lightsaber thing perhaps and a side arm. Something similiar to War Hammer 40k.

[Quarian Rex]

Sci-fi Paladin brings to mind something a lot more in the gray realm for me. One of the things that I really liked about 5e was that it explicitly said that once you had your class abilities they don't get taken away. I always thought that that was extremely appropriate especially with the divine type classes. Members of a religion can shape their followers how they want but once a god has a follower it only cares that the prayers keep coming in, nothing else.

This opens up a lot of interesting options for heresy and heterodoxy and such. Think of a group of Sci-fi Paladins much like 40k space marines, completely indoctrinated and gaining power from that faith/focus. Then see their worldview shift as they are exposed to the harsh realities of their universe. All the Pally's constantly eyeing each other for the slightest sign of heresy, not because their god/emperor/AI/latent hivemind/whatever will strip their fallen comrade of their power, but because it won't. Seeing a Sci-Pally go against the faith/code/teachings/oaths/etc. and still use the gifts would lead to the sole conclusion that the fallen one had somehow 'corrupted' their power, and so are an even greater threat. Violent self-policing and uncomfortable questions sounds pretty damn interesting.

Thoughts?

[jqavins]

Sci-fi Paladin brings to mind something a lot more in the gray realm for me. One of the things that I really liked about 5e was that it explicitly said that once you had your class abilities they don't get taken away. I always thought that that was extremely appropriate especially with the divine type classes. Members of a religion can shape their followers how they want but once a god has a follower it only cares that the prayers keep coming in, nothing else.

This opens up a lot of interesting options for heresy and heterodoxy and such. Think of a group of Sci-fi Paladins... Seeing a Sci-Pally go against the faith/code/teachings/oaths/etc. and still use the gifts would lead to the sole conclusion that the fallen one had somehow 'corrupted' their power, and so are an even greater threat. Violent self-policing and uncomfortable questions sounds pretty damn interesting.

Hmm. I don't think I agree with the 5e part of this, but I like where it ends up anyhow. The god(s) may only care that the prayers keep coming in, but they surely do care when (if) the prayers stop coming in. And if they are sentient, active gods who can tell when the prayers are not backed up by actions and sincere beliefs, then they might care about those too. In that case, religious classes like cleric and paladin should be the first (and perhaps only) ones to lose any powers if they "stray."

On the other hand, I really like the self-policed paladins idea that you ended up with. I'd spin it this way; if it's possible for one to loose faith but keep the powers, that proves (at least in some eyes) that the god(s) or god substitute is not sentient, does not care about faith and actions, and that threatens the faith of the others. This requires, the way I'm seeing it, that behind the curtain the god(s) or god substitute doesn't care, or isn't responsible for the powers, or cares but not in the way the faithful think, and the beliefs of the corps are false. And, of course, that's why these "faithless" paladins are so hated; if there's anything worse than a heretic it's a heretic who's demonstrably right.

Reminds me of a 3.5e character I made up with a somewhat detailed backstory and have never had a chance to play. He's a paladin accused of a grave sin, and of heresy for claiming that, while he did what they say, it is not actually a sin at all. For the "sin" itself he is cast out of the order, but for the far greater crime of still having his powers the church wants him dead.