For other uses of Paladin, see Paladin (disambiguation).
A paladin is the prototypical "knight in shining armour," a hero of sterling character and courage, who rights wrongs and defends the weak and oppressed. The word comes from the Latin word palatinus ("attached to the palace") - compare palatine. The original paladins of legend appeared as the heroes of the Chanson de Roland and of the other romances of chivalry which told of the legendary court of King Charlemagne. Legends originally tell of twelve paladins attached to Charlemagne's court. The best-known list comes from the Italian epics of Tasso and Ariosto and their successors; it includes:
Astolpho, descended from Charles Martel and a cousin of Roland. Handsome and swaggering; he went to the moon to fetch back Roland's brains when he went mad, as told in Orlando Furioso
Tales of the paladins of Charlemagne once rivalled the stories of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table in popularity. Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, whose works were once as widely read and respected as Shakespeare's, contributed most prominently to the literary/poetical reworking of the tales of the epic deeds of the paladins.
The tales told of the paladins took as their subject matter the wars between the Franks and the Moors during the Islamic conquests of Spain and their invasion of southern France. Their adventures became known as the "Matter of Charlemagne" or "Matter of France", even as the adventures of King Arthur and his knights classed as the "Matter of Britain."
The late nineteenth centuryCeltic revival benefitted the Arthurian material and encouraged its reworking and recirculation. No such aura of latter-day romance could assist the Charlemagne material, which remained strongly Christian and triumphalist in its presentation. As a result, twentieth-century readers know Arthur and his Camelot well while hearing little of the paladins of Charlemagne, who once enjoyed equal renown.
The paladins of Charlemagne gave their name to the paladin character class in Dungeons & Dragons and in other role playing games.
In addition, Retribution Paladins are popular for their increased damage abilities for groups, such as Improved Seal of the Crusader, which grants all attacks against the target a 3% increased chance to crit, and Improved Sanctity Aura, increasing the damage of the Paladin's group by 2%.
Paladins do not have as many survival tools as a Warrior tank, particularly the lack of a Shield Wall type of emergency button, and as much of their threat is reactive will not off-tank as well as a Warrior or Feral Druid.
Paladins are particularly vulnerable to Silence and Interrupt effects, as all of a Paladin's abilities are part of a single magic school (Holy).
Paladins are proficient with all simple and martial weapons, with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (except tower shields).
When Table: The Paladin indicates that the paladin gets 0 spells per day of a given spell level, she gains only the bonus spells she would be entitled to based on her Wisdom score for that spell level The paladin does not have access to any domain spells or granted powers, as a cleric does.
A paladin prepares and casts spells the way a cleric does, though she cannot lose a prepared spell to spontaneously cast a cure spell in its place.
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