Fallen Paladin

Paladins, Battle Clerics, and other warriors of renown and great faith, what happens to them when they fall and do not get back up again? What happens when their anger or thirst for revenge leads them down a dark path? The Fallen Paladin is their end. In many ways, they are the absolute antithesis of the Paladin, but with a far darker, stolen power.

Playing the Fallen Paladin

The Fallen Paladin is a heavy martial-utility class built upon the ruins of a shattered vow, replacing holy light with bitter spite and necrotic siphon magic. To receive the full benefit of your defensive class features, you are highly encouraged, though not strictly required, to wear Level 3 (Heavy) Armor. Because Fallen Paladins often fight entirely alone, they maintain one of the most versatile weapon selections in the game, a grim necessity that combines their past noble training with raw survival instincts. This class is an investment: it features a slower progression rate with basic abilities at lower levels, but it rewards patience with exceptionally powerful, high-impact features as you reach the upper tiers.

Abilities

Armor Allowed: Level 3 (Heavy)

Weapons Allowed: Longsword and Shield, One-Handed Mace and Shield (+1 damage), One-Handed Hammer and Shield, Longsword, Shortsword, Dagger, Knife, One-Handed Mace, Hand-and-a-Half Sword, One-Handed Hammer, Two Handed mace, Poleaxe, Long Spear,  and Glaive.

Level 1

• Shield Use: You may use all shields except for body/tower shields.

• Plague Immunity: Your exposure to the dark margins of the world has hardened your body. You do not take damage from plague areas.

• Mace Master of Malice: You gain a +1 one damage bonus with one handed maces and two handed maces.

• Spirit Scroll Use: You can use Spirit Scrolls

• Ghost Talker: You possess the grim ability to speak directly with the dead. You can freely communicate with spirits, ghosts, and players who are currently dead or bleeding out on the field to glean information.

• Code of Malice: Your pride and spite are absolute. You may never ask a foe for mercy, nor may you accept an offer of mercy from an enemy. You must fight to the bitter end or find another way to escape.

Level 2

• Drain Energy: You can siphon the life force of your enemies to fuel your own survival. This spell is represented by a black spell packet. Upon scoring a successful hit with this packet, the target instantly loses 1 HP, and you gain 1 HP. This ability completely ignores armor values, but it can be blocked by a shield. By using this ability, you can successfully go above your base maximum HP pool. This can be cast three times per day (3x day) and can be renewed, but only at an unholy place, battlefield, graveyard, or a site of great tragedy.

  
  

• Grave-Bound Call: You rip away the peaceful rest of the fallen, forcing the dead to serve your thirst for knowledge. By placing your hand on a player, NPC, or monster who is currently dead (Ghost), you may call out: “Arise and Answer” The target's spirit is immediately bound by necromantic magic and compelled to honestly answer up to three "Yes" or "No" questions regarding the circumstances of their death, who killed them, or what they witnessed just before falling. This ability can be used up to six timers per day (6x day) but can be renewed at an unholy place, a battlefield, a graveyard, or a site of great historical tragedy. 

Level 3

• Cultural Ability

Level 4

• Aura of Spite: Your bitter presence chokes the morale of those around you while reinforcing your own dark resolve. When activated, this ability grants a +1 HP bonus to you for every ally in your party that is currently wounded (which is anything less than their current maximum HP). This goes up to a maximum bonus of +3 temporary HP. This is constantly in use and has no limit on times used and does not need to be renewed.

  
  

• Shatter the Vanguard : After landing a successful melee strike against an opponent (a hit must be made, but damage need not be dealt), your dark instincts find the fatal gap in their posture, causing your very next weapon strike to gain the Piercing trait. When you land this follow-up attack, you must call out “Piercing!” to completely bypass the target's armor. Once this second strike successfully lands and delivers damage, the effect dissipates. If your strike misses or is blocked by a shield, the effect remains charged until you successfully land the hit. It does not work against evil monsters or evil NPCs. This ability resets naturally at dawn, but it can be renewed early at an unholy place, a battlefield, a graveyard, or a site of great historical tragedy. 

Level 5

• Sacrifice Armor: You can call out "Sacrifice" to sacrifice points of APR in order to negate damage received from the last attack you suffered. Each point of APR sacrificed absorbs 2 points of damage, up to the total APR of your worn armor. Damage exceeding the absorbed amount is taken by your physical health. The APR reduction is restored upon armor repair by a Smith, forge, or a high-enough level dark artisan. Unused absorption points are lost at the end of the encounter, battle, or duel. This ability can be used once per day (1x/day) and resets at dawn. It can be renewed by a Smith.

Level 6

• Cultural Ability

Level 7

• Scourge of the Realm: You gain the title and rank of Scourge of the Realm. Your terrifying reputation precedes you; at the start of each event, you extort or collect 15 GP as tribute from fearful local merchants or shadowy benefactors.

  
  

• Vengeful Smite: You can channel your bitter resentment into a crushing melee attack. You gain a +2 bonus to damage on your next successful weapon strike. Unlike a Paladin's divine variant, your smite is fueled by pure malice and affects any target regardless of their alignment. This can be used three times per day (3x day) and can be renewed, but only at an unholy place, battlefield, graveyard, or a site of great tragedy.

Level 8

• Beacon of Despair : You project the twisted, bitter inverse of a Paladin's Aura of Courage, but it can only be unleashed upon a foe whose lifeforce has already been compromised. If an opponent has already been successfully struck by your Drain Energy attack during the current encounter, battle, or duel, you may immediately follow up by calling out: “Despair!”.  The target is overcome with profound spiritual defeat, rendering them completely incapable of benefiting from any healing spells, healing abilities, healing potions, healing scrolls, or active morale buffs. Surgery will still work but the target will automatically receive a side effect for each surgery performed. This profound hopelessness is exceptionally long-lasting, persisting continuously until sundown or sunrise, whichever occurs first. This can be negated by a special quest, if one can be found. This ability can be used three times per day (3x day) but can be renewed, but only at an unholy place, battlefield, graveyard, or a site of great tragedy. The Commander's Battlecry ability will not negate the side effect of this attack.

Level 9

• Cultural Ability

Level 10

• Archon of the Final Malice: You now receive the title and rank of Archon of the Final Malice. Your reputation now grows by leaps and bounds and you are feared not only by local inhabitants but also by officials, nobles, and even adventurers. Because of this overwhelming dread, you receive 25 GP at the start of each event. Additionally, Your voice now carries the absolute authority of the grave. Your Ghost Talker ability is permanently upgraded: once per day, you may point at a player who is currently dead and call 'Rise and Shield Me!' The Ghost player must physically stand up and act as a shield until the end of the current encounter, battle, or duel. They cannot attack, but they must stand in front of you to block incoming attacks until the duration expires and they return to their resting place."  Normally Ghosts are incorporeal and cannot be attacked but the strength of your necromantic magic gives them enough substance to take damage. This ability can be used three times per day (3x day) and can be  renewed, but only at an unholy place, battlefield, graveyard, or a site of great tragedy.

  
  

• Death Curse: When a Fallen Paladin is reduced to 0 HP, they receive one final, un-ignorable action before falling unconscious. They point at a visible target player, NPC, or monster and issue a devastating final hex. This curse instantly reduces the target to 1 HP. Furthermore, the cursed target cannot be healed by any means, magic, potions, divine healing, or surgery, until they are completely revived from 0 HP themselves, until the next dawn breaks, or until they complete a specific, admin -approved holy quest to cleanse the taint.