Gnomistavalan Paladin

There are currently 10 available character classes available in the Skype campaign that I'm running. That's way too many, but, at the same time, I want to make lots of cool options available to my players.

The solution? Begin retiring regular classes incrementally as I replace them with Glantri style prestige classes.

First to be replaced will be the Paladin. In the regular class' place will be the option to build a tailor-made Paladin for whatever god the PC worships.

Religion hasn't been playing much of a role in my Skype campaign so far, except for Flynn's PCs, who follow his Gnomish god, Gnomistavala. They started building a temple to Gnomistavala, and also tend to evangelize for Gnomistavala whenever they meet a new NPC they aren't interested in stabbing to death. I decided that this level of piety merited Flynn's surviving PC (the other one recently died in The Tower of the Stargazer) being made a Paladin by Gnomistavala and we cooked up this class, based heavily on the Paladins and Myrmidons of Robert Conley's Majestic Wilderlands.

First off, I swiped the Paladin's Fivefold Code from the Majestic Wilderlands, and Flynn tweaked one rule. I'm not going to lay out the Code here because the Majestic Wilderlands is copyrighted and I'm not up to date on what all the different ways something can be fair use are. The handy thing about the Fivefold Code is that it maps nicely to the five circles of a Glantri class. For each circle attained, there can be a test of one of the five precepts of the code.

EDIT: The Fivefold Code is licensed under the OGL, as Robert Conley generously pointed out to me below. This is the code as Flynn tweaked it:

• Show no fear to your enemies even when all is lost.
• Let truth guide your life even unto death.
• Let the light of goodness and bravery guide you into Gnomistavala's love.
• Pursue justice, no matter how high or lowly the wronged.
• For what man is a man that does not make the world better?

Flynn tweaked the fourth item of the code to reflect that "while Gnomistavala is not in any way against protecting the innocent, Justice is his highest concern." End Edit.

For following the Fivefold Code, piety to Gnomistavala and sacrificing XP and gp, a Paladin of Gnomistavala gets these abilities:

Smite [First Circle]
A Paladin may add 1d6 per day per circle gained to the damage of a blow. Added damage dice may be added to a single blow or added to separate blows.

Heal [First Circle]
A Paladin may cure wounds three times a day. Each time the Paladin cures wounds, d4 hit points per level of circle achieved are healed.

Mount [Second Circle]
A Dire Badger that is sentient but does not speak will come to the Paladin. The Badger will communicate telepathically with the Paladin. If the Badger dies, the Paladin will mourn for the Badger for 1d6 weeks and then undertake a quest to find a new Badger.

Light [Second Circle]
The Paladin may shine as if the target of a Light spell. The Paladin may start and stop shining at will.

Immune to Disease [Third Circle]
The Paladin is immune to disease.

Immune to Charm [Third Circle]
The Paladin is immune to the spell Charm Person.

Cure [Fourth Circle]
Once a day, then twice a day once the Fifth Circle is reached, the Paladin may Cure a disease afflicting another character.

Spell Immunity [Fifth Circle]
A Paladin is immune to all spells cast upon him unless he chooses to allow the spell to take its effect. This applies only to spells that directly affect the Paladin, not spells that indirectly affect the Paladin, such as Fireball.