Paladin Adventurer Talents

The following talents are alternative talent choices for the core book Paladin. Also see Champion Talents and Epic Talents.

Some of the talents below are split talents. Instead of granting all abilities immediately at 1st level, you gain each ability at the listed level, usually first, second and third. If you take the talent later in your career, you gain the abilities at 5th, 6th and 7th, or 8th, 9th and 10th respectively.

Battle Chaplain

You trained with an order that prides itself in teaching the way of the sword with as much zeal as it teaches divine liturgy and canon law.

1st level: Gain a fighter maneuver of your level or lower. When you make a melee attack, declare whether you want it to be a flexible attack, which can trigger a fighter maneuver, or a Smite Evil, or just a basic attack before you roll the die.

2nd level: Choose either one-handed or two-handed martial weapons. You gain a +1 bonus to hit with them.

3rd level: Gain a second Fighter maneuver, at 2 levels lower than your current level.

Adventurer feat: You can trigger a fighter maneuver even when you Smite Evil.

Champion feat: Gain a third Fighter maneuver, at 4 levels lower than your current level.

Epic feat: Choose a Fighter talent that can be used once per battle. You can use it once per day.

Corrupted Champion

The temptations of the Diabolist weigh heaviest on those of purest heart. Her gifts are subtle. She would never risk losing a valuable agent with overtly visible markings that betray their true allegiance. You feel your power slowly increase as the demonic corruption takes hold. You haven’t given in yet… at least that what you keep telling yourself. You’d rather not look into a mirror too long, afraid of what you’ll see. Deep inside, you know that your soul is forfeit, and you act on borrowed time. Was it worth it?

Roll d12 for damage with two-handed heavy melee weapons and d12 for recovery dice.

Whenever you roll a natural 1 on an icon relationship roll with a different icon, you can trade it for a 5 with the Diabolist.

Adventurer feat: As a free action, you can reroll an attack or save. In exchange, switch one of your icon relations to the Diabolist until the next time you use a 5 or 6 with that relation. You must have an icon relation you can switch to use this ability.

Champion feat: When you use the reroll, gain a +1 bonus for each current icon relationship die with the Diabolist.

Epic feat: For one battle per day, roll 1d8 on the demon ability table and gain that ability.

Death Knight

In the early days of the Lich King, he relied entirely on armies of revived zombies and skeletons, but his mindless hordes were too easily outmaneuvered. He soon learned that even an army with a near endless supply of expendable bodies requires leaders to direct them in battle.

Training promising necromancers in the arts of warfare carried the danger of nurturing a future rival who could both raise and army and lead it. Vampires were smart and strategic, but they couldn’t lead the troops in daylight and considered themselves too cultured for the dirt of the trenches. Instead, the Lich King corrupted the bodies of the paladins who had tried, and failed, to defeat him, and created the order of the Death Knights.

When you take this talent, you are Sorta Dead, as per the necromancer talent (13TW p84). You can take the feats of that talent. You also gain a necromancer spell, which can be any spell up to your level. You can replace Intelligence with Charisma as key ability for the spell.

Your Smite Evil deals negative energy damage (consider renaming it appropriately).

You must have at least one icon relationship point with the Lich King to take this talent.

Adventurer Feat: You can use the Deathknell necromancer talent on an enemy after you hit it with Smite Evil, if its hit points are low enough.

Champion feat: When an enemy is staggered after you hit it with Smite Evil, it is weakened until the end of its next turn.

Epic feat: You can choose a second necromancer spell, at two levels lower than you class level.

Demonslayer

You have experience hunting down and killing the creatures that creep up from the abyss through the hellholes to plague the Dragon Empire. You must have at least one icon relationship point with the Diabolist, Crusader or Great Gold Wyrm to take this talent.

1st level: You gain 5 points towards a background that represents your knowledge of these creatures and how to fight them.

2nd level: You gain Banish Demons as a daily spell (as Turn Undead, the spell targets demons and devils). 

3rd level: When you use Smite Evil against a devil or a demon, and you hit, you deal extra damage equal to your level. If you miss, the smite is not expended.

Adventurer feat: You gain a +1 bonus to all defenses while there is at least one nearby enemy demon or devil.

Champion feat: When you choose to add the escalation die against a devil, you can roll a hard save (16+) to avoid the devil's due effect.

Epic feat: Demons and devils are vulnerable to your attacks.

Divine Emissary

You have been sent to this realm by a deity to spread its word and take a careful watch over events that are about to unfold. To fulfill your mission, you have been granted a number of divine gifts.

This talent can be helpful if, as a player, you are unsure whether you can fully commit to a campaign's schedule. The teleport allows your PC to jump right into the action from anywhere at the start of a session, and be "off on other duties" when you miss a session.

1st level: Once between full healups, you can teleport to a location that is either a holy site of your deity or the current location of a fellow PC. You gain an extra use of this power for each relationship point with the Priestess.

2nd level: You gain the Message spell from the Wizard list as a power.

3rd level: Choose an adventurer-level magic item. This item has been given to you by your faith, to support your mission and serve as a token of identification. Depending on your style, and the nature of your mission, you can choose something widely visible like a suit of armor or something more subtle like a ring. This item does not count against your level limit for magic items.

Adventurer feat: Whether you want it or not, you are deeply involved in the politics between the divine and the mortal realms. You gain 3 points towards a background to represent that insight.

Champion feat: Upgrade your granted item to champion level. At 8th level, it becomes epic.

Epic feat: You can use your teleport ability to transport the entire party.

Fist of the Crusader

The Crusader's Fist is the most dedicated, ruthless and fanatical unit of the Crusader. They are men of action, brash and are ill-tempered. They are the first to ride into freshly discovered hell holes, and the last to come out. On the battlefield, they fight with bestial ferocity, especially when wounded. For them, the end justifies any means, and their heated rivalry with the followers of the Great Gold Wyrm has caused more than one tavern brawl.

In battle, when you are staggered the first time, roll 1d6 and gain a Crusader’s Boon from the table below. Each boon gives you a special interrupt action that you can use at-will until the end of the battle.

1 Crusader's Punch: When an enemy makes a melee attack against you and the natural roll is lower than your Strength score, deal damage equal to twice your Strength modifier and pop free. Double the damage at 5th level, triple it at 8th.

2 Crusader's Heart: When an enemy makes an attack against you and the natural attack roll is lower than your Constitution score, reduce the damage by your Constitution modifier (double at 5th, triple at 8th) and immediately save against any save ends effects of that attack.

3 Crusader's Dominance: When an enemy attempts to disengage from you and the natural save roll is lower than your Dexterity score, make a melee attack against them.

4 Crusader's Tactics: When an enemy makes a melee attack against you and the natural attack roll is lower than your Intelligence score, you or the next ally to attack it can roll twice on the attack and take the better result.

5 Crusader's Gaze: When an enemy makes an attack against you and the natural roll is lower than your Wisdom score, deal psychic damage equal to your level plus Wisdom modifier (double at 5th level, triple at 8th).

6 Crusader's Defiance: When an enemy makes an attack against you and the natural roll is lower than your Wisdom score, deal psychic damage equal to your level plus Wisdom modifier (double at 5th level, triple at 8th). When an enemy attacks you and the natural attack roll is lower than your Charisma score, the enemy is struck by fear (dazed and can't use the escalation die) until the end of its next turn.

Taking this talent requires an icon relationship point with the Crusader.

Adventurer feat: For one battle per day, gain the Crusader’s Boon at the start of your first turn.

Champion feat: When you gain the Crusader’s Boon, you can also spend a recovery to heal.

Epic feat: Roll one additional d6 for each icon relationship point with the crusader, and choose one result you like.

Glory of the Empire

In a past age, your paladin order spread the glory of the Empire to the corners of the known world. You protected the sea wall, stood guard near the abyss, and ventured far west to secure new settlements past the Giantwalk. Now, the ancient imperial roads are in ruins. The magic that pacified the lands and guaranteed a bountiful crop is weakening. Your order is long past its golden days, but now, you are needed more than ever. You stand with the Emperor. You protect civilization.

Choose one tactic from the Commander list up to your level and add it to your powers. You can change this tactic during a full heal-up.

This talent requires an icon relationship with the Emperor.

Adventurer feat: Your nearby allies gain a +1 bonus to MD.

Champion feat: Choose a second tactic, up to two levels below your class level.

Epic feat: Gain all feats of your two current tactics.

Golden Legion

You serve the Great Gold Wyrm. You represent the most noble and respected order or Paladins. Your master has sacrificed himself to prevent the world from getting overrun by demons, and you will not disappoint him. Ever. You must have an icon relationship with the Great Gold Wyrm to take this talent.

You gain two powers, the Breath of the Gold spell and Indomitability.

Adventurer feat: You gain resist fire 16+.

Champion feat: You can target 1d4 enemies with your breath weapon.

Epic feat: You can use Indomitability once per battle.

Breath of the Golden

Close-quarters spell; Daily

Target: 1d2 nearby enemies in a group

Attack: Charisma + level vs. PD

Hit: 1d8 per level + Charisma fire damage

Natural even hit: 10 ongoing fire damage per tier and the target is dazed (save ends both)

Miss: Half damage

Breath Weapon: For the rest of the battle, roll a d20 at the start of your turn. On a 16+, you can use Breath of the Golden again on that turn if you wish.

Indomitability

Daily; Free Action

Effect: Cancel all effects and conditions on yourself, including ongoing damage. You can cancel these effects even if you are prevented from taking actions, such as by being stunned. You can spend a recovery to heal.

Grey Guard

On the surface, the Grey Guard is a Paladin order that supports the Empire and the Cathedral on missions that require a more subtle approach, in enemy organizations or enemy territory. They provide protection to imperial delegates on important missions, and secure trade routes and messengers in unsafe territory.

Behind the scenes, the Grey Guard is yet another front for the Shadow Prince, and any information that is protected by the guard also passes through its hands. The Emperor knows, but it is not clear whether he see's the Shadow Prince's involvement as a benefit or a threat that is to be carefully isolated.

Members of the Grey Guard take the protection of secrets very seriously, and gain a +1 bonus to MD.

They also gain the Shadow Prince's Luck blessing, which allows them to reroll a skill check or save once per day per Charisma modifier.

Adventurer feat: You gain a +1 bonus to Luck rerolls for each icon relationship die with the Shadow Prince.

Champion feat: Increase the MD bonus to +2.

Epic feat: You can use Luck to reroll attacks.

Guardian of the Vault

It may be a surprise to those not familiar with dwarven values, but the best knights of the Forge don't protect the border against the orcs, or the throne room, they protect the Dwarf King's treasure vault. And they don't just protect burglars from getting in, they protect certain items from getting out. Ever wondered where the original left hand of the Lich King is kept?

Serving as a guardian is an honor exclusive to dwarves. For a non-dwarf to join these ranks would be quite unique. You must have an icon relationship with the Dwarf King to take this talent.

As a guardian, you are especially trained in dealing with magic items and artifacts, both the beneficial and the dangerous kind. You gain the Rogue's Trap Sense ability, and you can use it against magic items and artifacts as well as traps.

When you wear dwarven-made heavy armor, a special blessing of the Dwarf King reduces the damage you take from a hit by a non-mook enemy by your level.

Adventurer feat: When you wield a dwarven-made weapon, increase your damage dice with it by one step. This only applies to WEAPON damage dice, not extra damage such as from Smite Evil.

Champion feat: You gain a bonus to item power recharge rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.

Epic feat: Once per day, you can concentrate on a known, named artifact to gain insight to its lore or a vision of its location.

Harbinger of Chaos

You are a champion of the gods of chaos, who infused your very being.

1st level: When you roll exactly a natural 13 on a initiative or a melee attack roll, you are infused with chaos. After resolving the attack, roll on the high weirdness table (13TW p18). Then, at the end of your turn, gain a chaos mage at-will spell. Roll a d6 (or use the bean bag method) to determine whether you get an attack, defense or iconic spell, and roll a d12 or an icon die for the icon of an iconic spell (see the Spell Determination chapter on 13TW p16).

2nd level: Once per day, you can choose a chaos mage daily spell instead.

3rd level: Once per battle, you can choose a chaos mage once-per-battle spell instead.

Adventurer feat: Once per day, you can trigger this ability on a natural 13 on any d20 roll.

Champion feat: Once per day, when you gain a chaos spell, you can choose to roll on the attacking warp, defensive warp or iconic warp table of the corresponding talent.

Epic feat: You also trigger this ability on a natural 1.

Hospitaller

You belong to a Paladin order that takes care of the wounded, the sick and the dying.

1st level: When you Smite Evil, and the attack is a natural even hit, you can spend a recovery to heal.

2nd level: When you Smite Evil, and the attack is a natural odd hit, a nearby ally can spend a recovery to heal.

3rd level: When you Smite Evil, and the attack is a critical hit, both you and a nearby ally can spend a recovery to heal.

Adventurer feat: Add your Charisma modifier to the healing granted by this talent. Double the bonus at 5th level, triple it at 8th.

Champion feat: You grant the healing even if the attack is a miss.

Epic feat: The first recovery from this talent each battle is free.

Inquisitor

You are tasked with eradicating the lies and falsehoods that endanger the Empire. In peaceful times, inquisitors act as enforcers who catch fugitives, instigators of rebellion and practitioners of the dark arts. But these are not peaceful times. As the law breaks down in the outskirts of the Empire, they are acting more and more as judge, jury and executioner in one.

When make a skill check to determine a lie, illusion or falsehood, and the check is a natural even failure, reroll the check once.

You also gain the Counter-magic ability of the Wizard’s High Arcana talent.

You must have an icon relationship with the Archmage or the Emperor to take this talent.

Adventurer Feat: On a natural even hit with Smite Evil, the target is hampered until the end of its next turn.

Champion Feat: You can now cast Counter-magic twice per battle.

Epic Feat: On a critical hit with Smite Evil, the target is hampered (save ends).

Lawful Good

You have sworn to follow the law and serve the greater good, to set a shining example for nobles and the common folk alike. The path of the righteous is not an easy path to follow, as there are many temptations and moral conflicts. The letter of the law does not always agree with the morally right thing to do.

1st level: You gain a d6 righteousness die that represents your inner moral compass. Whenever you make a skill check while acting in the interest of the law and the greater good, add the die to your roll. For example, you would gain the bonus if you convince a sinner to seek atonement, to notice evil intentions, to smash the statue of a false god or stop an assassin from slipping poison into a cup. At the same time, you take the die as a penalty if you ever attempt heinous acts like deceit, theft and murder.

2nd level: Once per day, as a free action, you can declare an opponent to be a force of evil. You can add your righteousness die to all attacks and saving throws against that opponent.

3rd level: If you defeat a foe you declared a force of evil, you regain 1d6 uses of smite evil and one recovery.

Champion feat: The ability to declare a force of evil is now Recharge 16+.

Epic feat: You can sense the presence of anyone you have ever declared a force of evil within roughly a mile radius.

Lightbringer

You are the shining beacon that brings light into the darkest corners of the Empire. When the darkness refuses to retreat, when the creatures that lurk in it snap back, you drive them out with the sharp edge of your sword.

Your Smite Evil attacks deal holy and fire damage. When you hit with Smite Evil, deal the Smite’s bonus damage dice to all nearby enemies. Double your Smite bonus damage against undead.

Adventurer Feat: You gain resist attacks by undead 16+.

Champion Feat: You gain a +1 bonus to hit against undead.

Epic Feat: When you use Smite Evil against undead, that Smite is not expended.

Paladin Special Mount

Note: This talent is requires the Mounted Combat rules published in 13th Age Monthly #20

You can summon a divine steed from the celestial realms to serve as your mount in combat. For human Paladins in the Dragon Empire, this steed takes the form of a Warhorse (see Mounted Combat page 8), but the mount can take a different form if it fits your race, region, culture or religion.

You can summon your mount at-will as a standard action, and it stays as long as you require. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned.

As per the mounted combat rules, you and the mount are treated as one combatant while you ride it. Your mount can be killed when you take a critical hit, or when you are reduced below zero hp, and it fails a save vs. critical hit. If your mount is killed, you can summon it again after your next full healup. If you unmount during combat, the mount returns to the divine realm.

• While riding your steed, you can attempt one mounted combat action per round as a quick action.
• You can attempt as many per battle as you wish, without the standard limit of two.
• An emphatic link with your mount allows you to add your Charisma modifier to mounted combat control checks.
• The first mounted combat action you perform in a battle doesn't require a combat control check, and doesn't increase the DC for the following control checks.
• Failed mounted combat control checks don't increase DC of following checks.
• As a divine creature, your mount deals holy damage.

Adventurer feat: Your second mounted combat action in a battle also doesn't require a mounted combat check and doesn't increase the DC.

Champion feat: Your third mounted combat action in a battle doesn't require a check or increase the DC.

Epic feat: When you make a Smite Evil attack, you mount also gains the bonus if it makes an attack on the same turn.

Silver Arrow

You have been trained in a religious tradition that uses ranged weapons. Such deities are often connected to hunting, lightning and storms, or elven culture.

1st level: You can use Smite Evil with ranged attacks as well.

2nd level: Your ranged Smite Evil attacks do not provoke opportunity attacks.

3rd level: Once per battle, you can make a ranged Smite Evil attack as an immediate action after an opponent attacks one of your allies.

Adventurer feat: On an even miss with a ranged Smite Evil attack, that use is not expended.

Champion feat: On a natural even roll with a ranged Smite Evil, the target is hampered until the end of your next turn.

Epic feat: Once per day, attack two enemies with a ranged Smite Evil attack.

Stormhammer

When you hit with any melee attack, add your Constitution modifier in lightning damage. When you hit with Smite Evil, also add 1d4 thunder damage. Double these bonuses at 5th level, triple them at 8th.

Adventurer feat: You gain resist lightning and thunder 16+.

Champion feat: If an enemy is vulnerable to thunder or lightning damage, you gain a +2 bonus to hit against them.

Epic feat: When you Smite Evil, deal the extra lightning and thunder damage to all nearby enemies.

Valiant of the Star Court

The Valiants of the Star Court are an elite guard that serves to protect the Elven Queen. Each member undergoes rigorous training by high elven sword masters, wood elven scouts and dark elven assassins to protect her and her nobles from any inside and outside threat.

While traditionally, the members of this guard are younger children of nobles from all elven races, some noble houses of other races have occasionally sent promising younger children to the court to train as a valiant to strengthen diplomatic ties.

You must have an icon relationship with the Elf Queen to take this talent.

At first, second and third levels, choose one of the boons below, until you have chosen all three.

White Boon: You are immune to the dazed condition.

Green Boon: You gain a +1 bonus to your critical threat range with swords and bows.

Black Boon: You gain resist poison 16+.

Adventurer feat: You gain three points towards an elite guard background that covers not only prevention measures against poison and assassination but also court etiquette and diplomacy.

Champion feat: The first enemy you hit with Smite Evil in a battle is also dazed (save ends).

Epic feat: Increase the bonus to critical hits to +2.

Champion Level Talents

You can take the following talents as your 5th or 8th level talent.

Champion of War

You are the chosen champion of your deity, and you can feel his or her guiding hand in every strike.

You gain a +1 bonus to melee attack rolls.

Champion Feat: When you hit an enemy with your Smite Evil, that enemy is vulnerable to your allies' attacks until the start of your next turn.

Epic Feat: For one battle per day, grant all nearby allies a +1 bonus to attack rolls.

Cleansing Touch

You channel the merciful hand of the Priestess to relieve your allies from their ailments. You must have an icon relation with the Priestess to take this talent.

Once per day per Charisma modifier, as a quick action, you can end a condition that an ally next to you is under. You can end the condition regardless whether it requires a save or not.

Champion Feat: You can use this ability on nearby allies.

Epic Feat: You can use this ability on yourself.

Radiant Presence

The creatures of darkness are in awe of your shining presence and weakened in their resolve.

When an enemy you are engaged with rolls a save, including a save to disengage, it must roll twice and take the lower roll.

Champion Feat: If the save fails, the target takes holy damage equal to your level.

Epic Feat: When you hit an enemy with Smite Evil, you can expend a second use to make the opponent weakened (save ends).

Epic Level Talents

You can take the following talents as your 8th level talent.

Shield of Devotion

If your heart is pure and your belief is unshaken, the power of faith can block the mightiest of strikes.

Once per day, when you or a nearby ally is hit by an attack, you can negate the attack as an interrupt action. Until the end of the battle, the target has resist all 14+.

Epic Feat: You can use Shield of Devotion twice per day.

Winged Smite

You have discovered your true soul, a reborn angelic being that was cast down to the mortal realm.

When you take the free action to activate Smite Evil, you can fly across the battlefield on ethereal wings to engage a nearby enemy. If you make the attack in mid-air, the wings let you land safely.

Epic Feat: If your Smite Evil attack is a natural even roll, you can spend a second use of Smite Evil to make another Smite Evil attack against the same or a different nearby enemy as a free action.

Zeal

Your heart burns with religious devotion. No matter how tired you are, no matter how often they slash at you with their swords and their claws, you swing your hammer again and again until they are driven back and defeated.

Once per round, when the escalation die is even, you can make a melee basic attack as a quick action.

Epic Feat: Once per day, move yourself to the start of the initiative order at the start of a round, after the escalation die is increased.

 

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Version 0.4, 12 Feb 2017

Art credit: totorrl - Loc Ppj V32