Devotion
Soon, I will play a final adventure with one of my favorite player characters, Alice Gardener, a PALADIN. It has been a joy to explore her character and develop her world, but her story is soon to be concluded. All good things, as they say. I have been introspective over these past few days due to her immanent conclusion, thinking about our relationship with fiction and how it can help explore our internal and external realities. It's strange to say to someone, especially someone outside my niche interests, that I am a bit emotionally attached to a fictional character of my own making, but it is nonetheless the truth.
This post is not entirely without content for you, dear reader. Below, I will give my review of the PALADIN class, and some example PALADINs. I humbly advise you to read the original article by The Lovely Dark, or this won't make a lot of sense.
Egoism
You're special. Her fire lives in your heart, and her glory shines from your eyes.
First, the review. The skills are all evocative and the items are all immediately useful. A book of matches and a flask of gasoline, hell yes. At template A, Summer Teeth is a good ability for risky actions, with the character either doing an impossible action movie stunt or falling on their face. It also ties well into the theme of Charisma which is present throughout the PALADIN. This is by far the ability I used the most with Alice, interpreting it as supernatural reality-warping narcissism instead of the patronage of some spirit.
The next ability is my only real problem with the class. Alice never once used Season of Revolutions. The requirement "must be the boss of you" is too restrictive for the small benefit (damage dice explode) it gives. I never attacked the actual boss/questgiver in any of the adventures because it wasn't necessary and Alice would have (according to the rules I played by) a small 1-in-8 chance to have her damage die explode.
What would I suggest instead? Probably something akin to the Braid's Glamors but with some entries changed to better reflect the setting and nature of that specific PALADIN.
The next two templates, B and C, provide the abilities Hold Me! Touch Me! and Divinity of Broken Towns. I like how the PALADIN can heal as well as hurt with their kisses, potentially lending the class an aspect of toxic love. I certainly leaned into it. No comments on the sick-ass motorcycle familiar/mount. That's a fucking awesome idea.
I haven't actually reached template D :(. Maybe that will change soon, but theoretically I like Pleasure Principle. It ties well into the Charisma theme again, and serves as a nice conclusion of what Summer Teeth started.
Exemplars
Just dreams. Just empty space and you. But fuck it. That doesn't sound so bad.
Second, the random images I collected as inspiration for other PALADINs, along with some vague thoughts. I think crediting artists is important, so here are the links to the artists of the below illustrations.
PALADIN OF THE ROAD
Americana vibes. A desert highway at dawn. Smells of both cigarettes and weed.
Rides a motorcycle of burnished bronze that spews thick black smoke.
PALADIN OF ROSES
European vibes. Can insult you in several different languages. Not who she says she is.
Rides a scarlet motorcycle that has an engine that sounds like loud orchestral music.
PALADIN OF DANCING YESTERDAY
The taste of sweet coffee on the tongue. Morning walks on campus. An obsessive academic.
Rides a rusted and worn motorcycle that looks like it's a hundred years old.
PALADIN OF THE COBALT EYE
An odyssey through strange lands. Lukewarm blue fire. A vow he intends to keep.
Rides a motorcycle of a modest design that is covered in hieroglyphs.