Aura of Protection

   An invisible aura of protection continuously surrounds a paladin. The aura extends 10 feet in all directions, enveloping anyone and anything within its boundaries. The aura persists even when the paladin is asleep or unconscious, dissipating only when the paladin dies. However, it doesn't extend through walls, doors, or any physical barrier.

   The magical aura has a disrupting and disturbing effect on evil opponents, causing them to make all attack rolls at a –1 penalty. Affected opponents include:

• Monsters and characters whose alignments are lawful evil, neutral evil, and chaotic evil.

• Extraplanar, conjured, and summoned evil entities, or those summoned by evil spellcasters.

• Monsters and characters who have been charmed by evil casters or otherwise have been compelled to commit evil acts.

   Only evil opponents within the radius of the aura suffer the attack penalty. The aura affects a large opponent if even a portion of its body occupies the aura's radius. When an evil opponent moves out of the aura, the penalty no longer applies, but as soon as the opponent re-enters the aura, the penalty again takes effect.

   An evil opponent within the aura suffers the –1 penalty when directing attacks against the paladin, other characters or creatures within the aura, or characters or creatures outside the aura. The penalty applies to all physical attacks made by an evil opponent, but not magical attacks. Because the aura disrupts living creatures and not inanimate objects, missile attacks made outside the aura's radius aren't penalized; an ogre who throws a rock at a paladin from a distance of 11 feet makes a normal attack roll.

  Special considerations include these:

• Evil opponents experience the paladin's aura of protection as an unpleasant physical sensation, such as mild nausea, a prickling of the skin, a tightening of the throat, or a sudden chill. Because the sensation is so pronounced, evil opponents can almost always identify a paladin as the source, even if the paladin is disguised. Non-evil creatures and characters don't experience these sensations. Consequently, they may not be sure when they move in and out of the aura's range. Nor does the paladin feel anything unusual when an evil opponent enters the aura; therefore, the aura in no way helps to detect evil.

• A paladin may benefit from a protection from evil spell, even though the aura mimics many of the spell's properties. Protection from evil also blocks attempts at exercising mental control and prevents bodily contact by extraplanar and conjured creatures. The spell and the aura function simultaneously for the spell's duration, with the paladin receiving the benefits of both. However, the attack penalties aren't cumulative; evil creatures suffer a –2 penalty to their attack rolls, not –3.

• The aura of protection gives the paladin obvious advantages in melee combat. But though a paladin may be inclined to gather companions around during a battle so that they may also benefit from the aura, this isn't always a good idea. Strategic movement can be difficult when several people struggle to remain in a confined area, and a 10-foot radius doesn't allow much freedom. A cluster of characters also makes a good target for enemy missile attacks as well as spell attacks affecting large areas.

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