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Anti Paladin Character Class

This character class has been culled from a back issue of Dragon(tm) Magazine anddetails a character classes for use in a 1st Edition AD&D game.

Anti Paladin

Creating the NPC Anti-PaladinTable 1CharacteristicBase numberDieStrength126Intelligence108Wisdom126Dexterity612Constitution108CharismaSpecial4To determine the characteristics of an Anti-Paladin, refer to Table 1. A base number appears following each of the first five characteristics shown on that table. To this basenumber should be added the sum rolled on the appropriate die for each characteristic. If aresult of 18 (base number plus die roll) is determined for strength, dexterity or constitution, there is a 25% chance (for each characteristic) that the Anti-Paladin hasexceptional ability in that characteristic.Should one or more exceptional abilities exist, percentile dice should be rolled todetermine the exact level of the exceptional ability and the appropriate bonuses. These bonuses are as follows:

•

Strength - as per the AD&D'M Players Handbook.

•

Dexterity - +4 on reaction/attacking; -5 defensive adjustment; three attacks per round for high-level Anti-Paladins.

•

Constitution - +4 hit points per experience level.

•

Charisma requires special treatment; true evil will either reveal itself in all itshideous ugliness or disguise itself behind a pleasant exterior. For this reason, Anti-Paladins tend to be either sinfully ugly (charisma of 4 or lower) or devilishlyhandsome (charisma of 17+). To determine charisma, roll d4; a roll of 1 equals acharisma of 3, a roll of 2 corresponds to a charisma of 4, a roll of 3 equals acharisma of 17 and a roll of 4 equals a charisma of 18. On rolls of 1 or 4, there isa 25% chance that the Anti-Paladin has an exceptional charisma. If his charisma isexceptionally low, the Anti-Paladin will look as though he could break mirrorssimply by glancing at them, and will automatically Cause Fear in men and

animals whenever he reveals his face! An exceptionally high charisma, on theother hand, will instantly Charm men and many monsters, as the spell (animalsand unintelligent creatures, however, are unaffected). In both cases, saving throwsare applicable.The experience level of the Anti-Paladin is based on the average experience level of themembers of the party in the encounter. If this average is 10 or less, roll d10 for theAntiPaladin's experience level. If the average is 11 or higher, roll d20. In either case,apply bonuses - hit dice,

to hit

bonuses, additional attacks per round, etc. - to the NPCwhere applicable. Hit points, for example, are tabulated with one 10-sided die per levelthrough ninth level, with three hit points per level awarded thereafter (123 hit pointsmaximum for a 20th-level NPC Anti-Paladin, unless modified by constitution). Wherethe paladin is the champion of all that is good and lawful, the Anti-Paladin is the defender of the powers of chaos and evil. By nature, therefore, his alignment is always chaoticevil, without exception!In addition to the bonuses conferred on him by his personal attributes, the NPC Anti-Paladin also enjoys several benefits for his class. These are:1.A +2 bonus on all saving throws.2.Immunity to disease. Furthermore, the Anti-Paladin is a

carrier

, with the abilityto transmit the disease of his choice to the character of his choice by touch alone.He may do this once per week for every five experience levels he has acquired;i.e., at 1st-5th levels, once/week; at 6th-10th levels, twice/week, etc.3.Laying on of hands. Once a day, the Anti-Paladin may Cause Wounds in others or cure damage to himself, giving or healing two hit points of damage for eachacquired experience level. As in (2) above, he must do this by touch alone.4.Protection from good. This aura - extending in a 1" radius around the Anti-Paladin- is magical

insurance

against the paladins, clerics and other characters of lawfulgood alignment who are constantly seeking to foil his nefarious schemes! For thisreason, a Detect Magic spell will always register positive when cast aginst anAnti-Paladin.5.Thief's backstabbing ability. The Anti-Paladin receives a +4 bonus to hit, withdouble damage if he hits, whenever he attacks a victim from behind. Since he willonly attack from a position of strength - usually above and behind, with dagger,sword or whatever is close at hand - backstabbing is the Anti-Paladin's preferredmethod of attack.6.Use of poisons. An aficionado of the fine art of poisoning, the Anti-Paladin favorsthe poisoned cup over armed combat in gaining his evil ends. If he absolutelymust face an equal or superior opponent in open battle, he will be sure toenvenom his blade to obtain a combat advantage.Unlike an assassin, who only uses poison to get a job done, the Anti-Paladin considers poisoning to be both an esthetic pleasure and a means of artistic expression. Thus, the actitself must be artfully accomplished with finesse under the right conditions of mood, lightand setting. This does not mean that your Anti-Paladin cannot be free in his choice of

reasoning for using a poison, however. For example, he might poison an enemy to gain adesired end; or to test a new poison distilled for him by his resident alchemist; or todetermine if his stock of

vintage

poisons is still potent; or simply to see if he can getaway with it!Since poisoning is such an important expression of the Anti-Paladin's artistic nature, hewill prefer to use two-stage and three-stage poisons when - or if - they can be obtained.(A multi-stage poison is any toxic chemical compound whose individual components are,of themselves, harmless and non-toxic. However, when combined - in a victim's stomach,for example - they produce a potent, if not virulent, poison. Such multi-stage poisons arecompletely undetectable, since they are harmless until mixed.)As a case in point, consider the use of a three-stage poison - with liquid, solid andgaseous components in this example - by an Anti-Paladin to remove an obstructive townofficial. Inviting the man to his keep, he wines and dines him sumptuously, meanwhileserving him a drink laced with the first ingredient and a main course liberally sprinkledwith the second. Knowing that the first two ingredients are harmless without the third, theAnti-Paladin can safely eat and drink along with his intended victim, thereby putting theman's fears to rest. Later that night, however, he would complete his fiendish plan byintroducing the gaseous component into his victim's bedchamber (a candle treated withthe third component is one possible means). Thus, the chambermaid will find the man inthe morning dead in his bed "of natural causes", with no blame attached to the Anti-Paladin.So long as the Anti-Paladin himself does not breathe the third (gaseous) component, theother ingredients will eventually pass through his system safely and harmlessly. In fact,he would have ample time to take an antidote (and prepare an ironclad alibi!) beforecompleting his diabolical scheme. Even without multi-stage poisons, the Anti-Paladinwill always maintain a stock of standard poisons and their antidotes - the latter for hisown personal use, of course!The optional poisons suggested in the article Poisons from AA to XX in issue #32 of DRAGONTM Magazine are recommended. (Editor's note: See page 72 of this volume.)Table 2 (below) gives the chance by level for an Anti-Paladin to have a certain poisontype in his "collection." Finally, the Anti-Paladin also receives certain benefits at certainexperience levels: in addition to his class benefits. These are as follows:1.At third level and above, the Anti-Paladin affects the undead, devils and demonsas if he were an evil cleric. For each experience level he gains, this abilityincreases by one; i.e., a 4th-level Anti-Paladin would affect undead as a second-level evil cleric, a 5th-level as a third-level evil cleric, etc. At this level, his sordidreputation for pure, unadulterated evil is such that undead or other evil creatureswill actually seek him out in order to enter into his service! Table 3 details the percentage chance by experience level that an NPC Anti-Paladin will have non-human retainers of these (or other) types.