The paladin is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster.
From 1st through 3rd edition, paladins were required to maintain the Lawful Good alignment. In addition, compared with other classes the paladin class has one of the most restrictive codes of conduct and paladin characters are expected to demonstrate and embody goodness. Failure to maintain a lawful good alignment or adhere to the code of conduct causes paladins to lose their paladin status and many of their special abilities until they are able to atone. With the introduction of the 4th edition of D&D, paladins become champions of a chosen deity instead of just righteous warriors, paladins can be of any alignment, and can no longer fall in disgrace and lose their paladinhood.
Publication history
Creative origins
The development of the Dungeons & Dragons Paladin, first introduced in the original Greyhawk supplement, was heavily influenced by the fictional character Holger Carlson from Poul Anderson's novel Three Hearts and Three Lions, which was in turn based on the epic poetry of the . Also mentioned as a basis were the paladins of Charlemagne, the Palatine Guard of Augustus deified, the Papal Guard of the same name, and the Christian myths of King Arthur.
Dungeons & Dragons
The paladin was introduced in Supplement I – Greyhawk (1975), as a subclass of fighting man.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition
The paladin was one of the standard character classes available in the original Player's Handbook. The paladin was one of five subclasses presented in the original Player's Handbook. In the 1st edition of Dungeons & Dragons the paladin class had very high ability score prerequisites, and stipulated that only human characters could be paladins. Despite this, several Dragon magazine articles describe paladins of other races besides human and of other cultures besides the Western European chivalric romance notion of a true Christian knight.
In the Player's Handbook, paladin appeared as a sub-class, and while a paladin was now much more powerful, paladins must satisfy more rigorous criteria. When Unearthed Arcana was first published in 1985, the paladin class became a sub-class of the newly introduced cavalier class.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition
The paladin, as part of the "warrior" group, was one of the standard character classes available in the second edition Player's Handbook. The second edition Player's Handbook gives several examples of heroes throughout legend and history who could be called paladins: Roland and the 12 Peers of Charlemagne, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Sir Galahad.
With the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, the paladin class reverted to being tied to the fighter group. With elements of the cavalier class, it was reintroduced as a character kit in The Complete Fighter's Handbook, published in 1989, and finally got its own recognition in The Complete Paladin's Handbook, published in 1994.
As in 1st edition, the paladin class had very high ability score prerequisites, and stipulated that only human characters could be paladins.
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition
While there are no specific ability score requirements, a paladin character in 3rd edition is still advised to have some high scores in order to be effective. These abilities are: Strength and Constitution: As their class makeup and general honor code favor front-rank combat, Strength and Constitution are both important to Paladins in order to deal and withstand damage in melee. Charisma: Charisma is key to the Paladin's most crucial abilities: Lay on Hands (for healing) and Smite Evil (to harm malign creatures); both function relative to Charisma bonus, as does Divine Grace, which grants improved saving throws (commonly used to resist harmful magic). Turn Undead is also bolstered by Charisma. Wisdom: Though generally less critical than Charisma, a good Wisdom score is necessary in order for a Paladin to access divine spells at higher levels.
Other Paladin class abilities include the ability to detect evil at will, immunity to fear and disease, the ability to cure disease, the opportunity to use "holy avenger" swords with imbued divine spells or extra damage to evil creatures, and to summon a "special mount" – usually a heavy warhorse of unusual strength and intelligence. Their spell-casting and Turn Undead abilities are similar to but weaker or more specialized than comparable cleric abilities.