Paladin Requirements
It takes an exceptional character to become a paladin, as reflected in the class qualifications listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Class Qualifications
Ability Requirements
|
Strength |
12 |
|
Constitution |
9 |
|
Wisdom |
13 |
|
Charisma |
17 |
Prime Requisites
Strength
Charisma
Races Allowed
Human
Alignments Allowed
Lawful good
A player who tries to generate a paladin by using Method I, described in Chapter 1 of the PH, may be rolling dice all day. Although the odds improve slightly when using Methods II-IV, only Methods V and VI give a reasonable, albeit slim, chance of producing the necessary numbers.
Although the strict ability requirements may frustrate a player wanting to create a paladin character, they're necessary to regulate play balance. Paladins are among the game's most formidable characters. If they were as easy to roll up as, say, warriors or mages, the surplus of powerful characters would make it difficult, perhaps impossible, for the DM to come up with encounters challenging enough for all members of a party. A DM may also have other reasons for limiting the paladin population—for instance, the campaign world may discourage the development of paladins—or may restrict the number of paladins simply to enhance their mystique.
But if your DM is open to paladin player-characters, you might consider using Table 2 instead of dice rolls to generate the required ability scores. Roll 1d12 and use the indicated statistics.
Table 2: Pregenerated Ability Scores
|
D12 |
Str |
Dex |
Con |
Int |
Wis |
Cha |
|
|
1 |
12 |
8 |
16 |
10 |
15 |
17 |
|
|
2 |
17 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
14 |
17 |
|
|
3 |
12 |
9 |
12 |
10 |
16 |
18 |
|
|
4 |
15 |
13 |
15 |
11 |
14 |
17 |
|
|
5 |
14 |
16 |
9 |
15 |
18 |
17 |
|
|
6 |
12 |
11 |
11 |
9 |
13 |
18 |
|
|
7 |
18* |
12 |
12 |
12 |
14 |
17 |
|
|
8 |
13 |
11 |
14 |
10 |
17 |
18 |
|
|
9 |
16 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
16 |
17 |
|
|
10 |
13 |
14 |
13 |
9 |
13 |
17 |
|
|
11 |
15 |
12 |
17 |
14 |
15 |
18 |
|
|
12 |
14 |
15 |
10 |
13 |
13 |
17 |
* Roll percentile dice for exceptional Strength.