Paladin talents (3pp)

Class Features (Revised)

Contents

Smite Evil and Smite Powers

When you activate your Smite Evil, choose one of your Smite powers and gain its effect. You must choose the smite power before making the attack roll, and before you know whether your smite hits or misses.

Smite Evil (Revised)

Close-quarters power; Once per battle, plus once per day per Charisma modifier; Free Action

Effect: Your next paladin melee attack deals 1d12 extra damage on a hit. In addition, you can activate one smite power of your choice, which can be True Smite below, or a smite power gained through talents.

4th level paladin: 2d12 extra damage

6th level paladin: 3d12 extra damage

8th level paladin: 4d12 extra damage

10th level paladin: 5d12 extra damage

Adventurer Feat Gain an additional use of Smite Evil per day.

Champion Feat Your Smite attacks become uninterruptible. Enemies cannot trigger interrupt actions against your smite attacks.

True Smite (Smite Power): Deal half of both melee attack and smite extra damage on a miss.

Adventurer Feat Gain a +4 bonus to the attack roll with True Smite.

Smite Powers for existing Paladin talents

Bastion

Bastion Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, gain temporary hit points equal to the smite’s bonus damage roll.

Adventurer Feat Gain twice your level in temporary hit points on a miss.

Cleric Training

Blessed Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, choose a nearby ally. That ally gains a bonus to their next attack roll equal to your Wisdom or Charisma modifier (whichever is higher).

Adventurer Feat Gain a bonus equal to your Wisdom or Charisma modifier to the Smite attack roll.

Divine Domain

Divine Smite (Smite Power): Hit or miss, you can use the at-will attack spell associated with your domain as a quick action this turn. If it is a ranged spell, you don’t provoke opportunity attacks with it. This replaces the smite extra damage.

Adventurer Feat If you have used the invocation of your domain this battle, gain a +1 bonus to both the smite and the spell attack.

Fearless

Courageous Smite (Smite Power): If you hit an enemy who has a fear aura or a fear-based attack, the target can‘t use that ability (save ends).

Adventurer Feat Deal extra damage equal to the enemy‘s level.

Implacable

Conduit Smite (Smite Power): Choose an effect that you have successfully saved against at the start of your turn (if any). On a hit, impose that effect on the target.

Adventurer Feat Also gain the effect on a natural even miss.

Lay on Hands

Healing Smite (Smite Power): Spend a recovery to heal, but grant the healing to a nearby ally.

Adventurer Feat If the ally is staggered, they heal additional hit points equal to the smite’s extra damage.

Champion Feat On a natural 16+ on the attack roll, the recovery is free.

Epic Feat Both you and the ally gain the healing.

Paladin’s Challenge

Exalted Challenge (Smite Power): If you use the talent to challenge the target with your Smite Evil attack, the target takes holy damage equal to your Smite Evil bonus damage whenever it attacks one of your allies.

Adventurer Feat The target also takes the Smite Evil bonus damage if it uses any method to no longer be engaged with you, such as disengage, pop free, or teleporting.

Path of Universal Righteous Endeavor

Absolving Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, a nearby ally can save against a “save ends” effect.

Adventurer Feat The save has a bonus to the roll equal to your Charisma modifier.

Way of Evil Bastards

Sickening Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, the target has disadvantage on their next attack roll against you.

Adventurer Feat If the target misses with its next attack, it takes ongoing negative energy damage equal to three times your level.

Adventurer Tier Talents

Conviction

Define three moral convictions for your character, such as “protect the innocent,” “speak the truth,” and “never turn down a challenge.” When you make a skill check while acting based on one of your convictions, you add a d6 conviction die to the roll.

However, whenever you act against one of your convictions, you lose the use of the conviction die until the next full heal-up. If you have committed a gross violation, say you willfully lied while under oath in the above example, the conviction die becomes a penalty to all skill checks until you atone. Work out an appropriate atonement with your GM.

Champion Feat While in a battle that is aligned with your moral convictions, add the conviction die to saves.

Epic Feat Your conviction die becomes a d8.

Smite of Conviction (Smite Power): If you have entered the battle based on your convictions, add your conviction die to the attack roll. In addition, the first time you miss with Smite of Conviction this battle, the smite is not expended.

Death Knight

You learn three runes, which you can use in battle via the Activate Rune power below. When you activate a rune, you can also use its special smite power.

The direct connection to death has taken a toll on you. You are Sorta Dead, as per the necromancer talent (13 True Ways p. 84), and you have a lesser version of their Wasting Away class feature.

Wasting Away: While Death Knights aren’t quite as wasteful with their physical bodies as necromancers, the necrotic powers still come at a price. If your Constitution modifier is +2 or higher, you take a -1 penalty to attack rolls.

Champion Feat You gain a necromancer spell as a bonus power, at two levels below your class level. You can replace Intelligence with Charisma as the key ability for the spell.

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

For multiclass Paladin / Necromancers with this talent, there is also this special feat:

Total Devotion (Adventurer Feat): Your Death Knight paladin talent is also considered a necromancer talent, which allows you to use its benefits with necromancer talents and spells.

Activate Rune

Close quarters power; At-will; Quick action

Effect: Gain the rune benefit of either the Blood, Death, or Frost rune until the end of the battle. You can only have one rune active at a time — using a different rune ends the current one. When you Smite Evil, you can use the active rune‘s smite power.

Blood Rune

Rune Benefit: When you hit with a melee attack, heal hit points equal to your level.

Adventurer Feat On a critical hit with a melee attack, you can heal using a recovery.

Blood Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, heal hit points equal to the smite extra damage.

Champion Feat On a hit, end any ongoing damage you are currently taking.

Epic Feat Also deal the smite extra damage and heal hit points equal to that amount on a miss.

Death Rune

Effect: Increase your critical threat range with Paladin melee attacks by 1, and they deal negative energy damage. When you drop a non-mook enemy to zero hp, deal negative energy damage equal to your Smite bonus damage to another nearby enemy.

Epic Feat Deal the damage to ALL other nearby enemies.

Raise Minion (Smite Power): If you drop a non-minion enemy to zero hp with the attack, you create a Crumbling Skeleton mook at the start of your next turn. The mook fights for you according to the summoning rules (p. XX) until the end of the battle, or until it is destroyed.

Starting at 3rd level, you can create a Just-Ripped-Free Skeleton mook (13 True Ways p. 88) of your level or lower instead.

Adventurer Feat If you hit with the smite, you can use the necromancer‘s Deathknell talent on the target as a free action, even if you don‘t have that talent.

Champion Feat If you kill a large or huge creature, the skeleton mook you create has twice the hit points and deals double damage.

Frost Rune

Rune Benefit: Your melee attacks deal cold damage. When you hit with a melee attack, deal extra damage equal to your level.

Adventurer Feat On a critical hit with a melee attack, deal 1d6 extra cold damage per level.

Frost Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, the target is stuck (save ends).

Champion Feat The target is also vulnerable to cold (save ends both).

Epic Feat If the target of your smite power is already stuck or vulnerable to cold, it is frozen (can’t take actions) until the end of your next turn.

Divine Mount

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

You can summon a warhorse (see Mounted Combat page 8 for stats) from the celestial realms as a standard action, which stays as long as you require. You can dismiss it as a free action. If your mount is killed, you can summon it again after your next full heal-up.

While you are mounted, you and your mount act as per the mounted combat rules. You can perform two mounted combat actions per battle (one per round). However, due to an empathic link with your mount, you don’t require a mounted combat check — the action always succeeds.

If you feel a different mount would fit your PC better, you can expand your choices with the adventurer feat.

Special: You can pick the feats below individually. You don’t need to take them in order.

Adventurer Feat You can perform a third mounted combat action each battle.

Adventurer Feat You can choose one of the problematic or Praxian mounts in the mounted combat rules as your steed. Or you can summon an aquatic mount, like a shark or dolphin. You can take this feat multiple times, to gain access to different types of mounts.

Champion Feat Your mount deals holy damage.

Epic Feat You can summon a mount that flies.

Smite of the Chevalier (Smite Power): Your mount also gains the Smite Evil extra damage if it hits with an attack on the same turn.

Adventurer Feat Both you and the mount gain a +4 bonus to attack rolls this turn.

Exorcist

Increase your critical threat range against devils and demons by 2.

Once per battle or scene, you can concentrate as a quick action and sense the presence of demons within the nearby or far away area.

Adventurer Feat Gain a +1 bonus to attacks against devils and demons.

Epic Feat Gain a +1 bonus to all defenses against devils and demons.

Smite of Interdiction (Smite Power): On a hit, the target takes ongoing holy damage equal to twice your level. If the target is a demon or devil, it is also hampered (save ends both).

Champion Feat When you hit a staggered devil or demon with a natural 16+ on the attack roll, you banish the creature back to the Abyss.

Fallen Soul

Source DPAS

Choose one warlock spell of your level or lower. That spell is now part of your powers. You can change the spell at each full heal-up.

Adventurer Feat Choose a warlock pact. You can use the pact power once per day.

Champion Feat Choose a second Warlock spell.

Epic Feat Choose a third Warlock Spell level.

Fist of the Crusader

In battle, when you are staggered the first time, roll 1d4 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 Thorns: When an enemy makes a melee attack against you and the natural attack roll is lower than your Strength score, deal damage equal to your Strength modifier (x2 at 5th level; x3 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 (x2 at 5th level; x3 at 8th) and immediately save against any “save ends” effects of that attack.
  3. Crusader’s Gaze: When an enemy makes an attack against you and the natural roll is lower than your Wisdom score, gain advantage on your next attack roll against the target.
  4. Crusader’s Defiance: When an enemy makes an  attack against 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.

Champion Feat For one battle per day, gain the Crusader’s Boon at the start of your first turn.

Epic Feat When you gain the Crusader’s Boon, you can spend a recovery to heal.

Crusader’s Fist (Smite Power): If the target has fewer hit points that your maximum after you hit, it is cowering in fear (-4 to attacks and can’t use the escalation die) until the end of your next turn.

Adventurer Feat Against demons, the fear effect is (save ends).

Glory of the Empire

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.

Adventurer Feat While you are conscious, 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.

Glorious Smite (Smite Power): If you hit, the target has disadvantage on their next attack roll if that attack does not target you.

Golden Legion

You gain two powers, Exalted Breath and Indomitability, and the Roar of the Golden smite power.

Adventurer Feat You gain resist demon attacks 16+.

Roar of the Golden (Smite Power): If you have used Exalted Breath this battle, regain your breath weapon if the natural attack roll of your smite is 16+.

Exalted Breath

Close-quarters spell; Breath weapon; Daily

Target: 1d2 nearby enemies in a group

Attack: Charisma + Level vs. PD

Hit: 1d8 per level + Charisma fire damage

Natural even hit: Three times your level ongoing fire damage 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 Exalted Breath again on that turn if you wish.

Champion Feat Target 1d3 enemies.

Indomitability

Close-quarters spell; Daily; Quick action

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

Epic Feat Gain an additional use of Indomitability per day for each icon relationship point you have with the Great Gold Wyrm.

Grey Guard

You gain the Prince of Shadows’ Luck blessing, which allows you to reroll a skill check or a save once per day per Charisma modifier.

Adventurer Feat You gain 3 points towards a background in disguise and espionage.

Champion Feat You gain an extra daily use of your Luck blessing for each icon relationship point with the Prince of Shadows.

Epic Feat When you roll a 4 on an icon relationship die with the Prince of Shadows, you can switch that icon relationship die for a 5 with a different icon. This represents the Prince of Shadows’ network within the other icon’s organization.

Lucky Smite (Smite Power): You can expend one of your Luck blessings to reroll the Smite Evil attack roll.

Guardian of the Sacred Grove

Gain a flexible attack from the Warrior Druid list. You can trigger the maneuver with paladin melee basic attacks, but not with smites, unless you use Nature’s Smite below.

Adventurer Feat Choose one terrain from the druid’s Terrain Caster talent, and gain a daily spell of your level or lower from its list. You can switch Wisdom for Charisma in the spell’s description. You don’t need to be in the terrain to cast it.

Champion Feat You can cast the Wild Heal spell from the Wild Healer talent twice per day.

Epic Feat Choose either a second flexible attack, a second daily spell from the same terrain, OR a third daily use of Wild Heal.

Nature’s Smite (Smite Power): You can trigger your Warrior Druid flexible attack with this smite. If the target is a creature that’s not native to the current terrain, you have advantage on the attack roll, and you can trigger your Warrior Druid flexible maneuver based on either d20 roll.

Guardian of the Vault

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. In addition to traps, you can use this ability against trapped or cursed magic items and artifacts.

When you wear heavy armor, reduce the damage you take from hits by non-mook enemies by your level. (You swear that this is a blessing by the Dwarf King and only works with armor of fine dwarven craftsmanship.)

Adventurer Feat You gain a bonus to magic item power recharge rolls equal to your Charisma modifier.

Champion Feat Once per day, you can concentrate on a known, named artifact to gain insight into its lore or a vision of its location.

Epic Feat Increase the damage reduction to your level + 5.

Hammering Smite (Smite Power): Reroll all natural 1s and 2s on the damage dice with your Smite Evil. This applies to all damage dice, not just the extra damage.

Infernal Devotion

Choose one demonologist spell of your level or lower. The spell is now part of your powers, and you are considered an initiate of that path for the spell’s effect. You can choose any spell that is not a summoning spell. You can switch the spell after a full heal-up.

Adventurer Feat Gain a resistance based on the path of your chosen spell: resist poison 12+ for corruption, resist fire 12+ for flame, and resist melee attacks 10+ for slaughter.

Champion Feat Choose a second demonologist spell, at two levels lower. The spell must be from the same path as your other spell.

The smite power you gain from this talent depends on the demonologist path you choose the spell from.

Corrupt Smite (Smite Power): Your smite deals poison damage. On a natural even hit, deal ongoing poison damage equal to the smite damage to a different, random nearby enemy.

Flaming Smite (Smite Power): Your smite deals fire damage. At the start of your next turn, deal fire damage equal to the smite bonus damage to all enemies engaged with you.

Slaughtering Smite (Smite Power): Increase your Smite Evil extra damage dice to d20.

Epic Feat On a natural 18+ on the attack roll with your Smite Evil, you gain a free use of your chosen demonologist spell for this battle.

Inquisitor

You gain a 5-point background as an inquisitor. When you make a skill check to detect a lie, illusion, or falsehood, and the check is a natural even failure, reroll the check once.

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

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

Inquisitor’s Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, the target is hampered until the end of your next turn. The target can choose to take damage equal to 10 times your level to shake off the effect.

Adventurer Feat On a natural 16+ with Smite Evil, the hampered effect is now “save ends.”

Lightbringer

You gain resist damage from undead 12+ (5th level: 14+; 8th level: 16+).

You gain the cleric spell Turn Undead as a bonus power.

Adventurer Feat You gain advantage on skill checks to sense the presence of undead.

Champion Feat When you resist damage from an attack by an undead creature, you are also immune to any non-damage effects of the attack.

Epic Feat You gain a +1 bonus to attacks and defenses against undead.

Radiant Smite (Smite Power): Your Smite Evil attack deals holy damage. Against undead, set the smite bonus damage dice as the maximum.

Lorekeeper

You gain a 5-point background to represent your excellent academic training. In addition, you can reroll a natural even failure on a skill check to remember facts or knowledge once per scene.

Adventurer Feat You gain a +1 bonus to all defenses when defending scholars, tomes of knowledge, or places of learning.

Smite the Ignorant (Smite Power): Target the enemy’s MD with your Smite Evil attack roll.

Champion Feat If you hit a target with a lower MD than your own, you also daze it (-4 to attacks) until the end of your next turn.

Stormhammer

When you hit with a melee attack, add lightning damage equal to your Constitution modifier (x2 at 5th level; x3 at 8th).

Adventurer Feat You gain resist lightning and thunder 16+.

Stormhammer (Smite power): You can throw your melee weapon to make your Smite Evil attack as a ranged attack against a nearby or far away enemy, using Strength and your melee WEAPON dice. The weapon returns to your hand.

Champion Feat On a natural even hit, you can teleport to engage the target as a free action.

Epic Feat On an even miss, make a second attack against a different nearby enemy.

Valiant of the Star Court

Once per battle, you can end a condition you are under as a free action. The conditions you can end with this ability are taught by the elven races: dazed (high elves), stuck (wood elves), ongoing poison damage (dark elves), and hampered (half-elves).

Champion Feat You can use this talent twice per battle.

Elven Crown Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, roll 1d4 and put the following condition on the target.

  1. Dazed (save ends)
  2. Stuck (save ends)
  3. Three times your level in ongoing poison damage
  4. Hampered until the end of your next turn

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 Tier Talents

These talents can only be taken in your 5th or 8th level talent slot.

Avenger

Once per battle, when an enemy you are engaged with makes an attack against one of your allies, you can make a melee attack against that enemy as an interrupt action after it makes the attack. You can Smite Evil with that attack.

Champion Feat You can use this talent at-will (but you are still limited to one interrupt action between your turns).

Avenging Smite (Smite Power): If a nearby ally is dying, you have advantage on the attack roll. If both attack rolls hit, the target is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Champion of Pain

While you are staggered, increase your WEAPON and smite damage dice, as well as your recovery dice, by one step. (1d4 -> 1d6 -> 1d8 -> 1d10 -> 1d12 -> 2d6)

The first time you are staggered in a battle, you gain advantage on your next melee attack.

Smite of Suffering (Smite Power): If you hit, you lose hit points equal to the smite extra damage, and deal ongoing damage to the target equal to the smite extra damage.

Champion Feat Also gain the ongoing damage and hit point loss on a miss.

Epic Feat Increase your smite damage dice by 1d12, and halve the hit point loss.

Cleansing Touch

Once per day per Charisma modifier, you can touch an adjacent ally (or yourself) as a quick action to end a condition they are under. You can end the condition regardless of whether it requires a save or not.

Champion Feat You can use this ability on nearby allies (they no longer have to be next to you).

Epic Feat You can expend multiple uses of this talent with the same quick action, and target a number of allies (including yourself) equal to the number of uses spent.

Cleansing Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, you cleanse the target. Cleansed targets cannot put effects on enemies or allies (save ends). This also ends any effects that are currently active. The target can still deal damage normally, and they can still use powers that affect themselves, just not other creatures.

Shield of Devotion

Once per battle, when a nearby ally is hit by an attack, you can grant the ally a normal save (11+). If the save is successful, the target takes no damage from the attack, and all its effects are negated. On a failure, the ally takes half damage and effects apply.

Champion Feat If you are engaged with the attacker, the save is an easy save (6+).

Devoted Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, gain a free use of Shield of Devotion this battle against the target’s attack against one of your allies.

Sword of Faith

You gain a +1 bonus to melee attack rolls.

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

Guiding Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, the target is vulnerable to your allies’ attacks until the start of your next turn.

Epic Tier Talents (New)

These talents can only be taken in your 8th level slot.

Celestial Wings

Once per day, you can summon glowing wings of celestial origin on your back, to allow you to fly until the end of the battle or scene.

Winged Smite (Smite Power): 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 The wings granted by your smite power last until the end of your next turn.

Chosen of Darkness

If an enemy targets you with an attack, that enemy takes negative energy damage equal to 10 + your Charisma modifier. The enemy with the most hit points on the battlefield is immune to the effect.

Cleaving Smite (Smite Power): Hit or miss, deal the Smite extra damage to a number of additional nearby enemies equal to your Charisma modifier. Choose targets by their hit point total, starting with the lowest.

Radiant Presence

Enemies engaged with you have automatic disadvantage on all saves, including disengage checks. If they fail a save, they take radiant damage equal to your level.

Radiant Smite (Smite Power): On a hit, the target is weakened (-4 to attacks and defenses) until the end of your next turn.

Epic Feat The weaken effect is “save ends.”

Zealot

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.

Zealous Smite (Smite Power): Make two Smite Evil attacks against two different enemies you are engaged with.

Errata

[P162] Golden Legion: “If you have used Breath of the Golden this battle” -> “If you have used Exalted Breath this battle”

[P162] Guardian of the Sacred Grove, adventurer feat: Add “You don’t need to be in the terrain to cast it.”

Section 15: Copyright Notice

DPAS: Dark Paths & Ancient Secrets. © 2016, Kinoko Games

Dark Alleys & Twisted Paths. © 2019, Kinoko Games

scroll to top