From the upholders of peace to the warmongers of the Gods: one of the most popular classes ofDungeons & Dragonsis the mighty Paladin, and with good reason. They’re powerful martial characters who also have a powerful range of magic spells to use, ones you’ll mostly ignore because, let’s face it, we’ll just waste our spell slots on Smite. Regardless, there’s a lot of fun to have with this class, making memorable characters with it.
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To help you pass potential creativity blocks, we have some backstories that you can check for inspiration. You can even mix some of them too, depending on what you wish to accomplish with your character.
10Templar
The obvious choice, but it’s important to talk about to make our list complete. To make a traditional Paladin, you’re able to always take whatever church is common in your scenario and be part of it. You can also choose whether you’ll be a good representative or not, just be careful not to break your oath - or do it, oathbreakers are an option too!
If it’s an option in the scenario, you don’t need necessarily to follow an order of good deities; evil Gods have their followers too.
9Redemption
This is an easy idea to mix with other backstories - a former bad person, delinquent, or outright criminal going through a redemption path to make amends. This backstory really fits a lone wolf too, all the while can give you an interesting contradiction of a good person with a shady past, one that the DM can even use further, making it haunt you as you venture along. It’s always nice when the backstory you wrote appears in the game, after all.
This is also a good option if you want to play anOathbreakerwho wishes to reclaim their lost status.
8Shaman
If civilization is no fun for you, you can come from a tribe. Though you won’t be a Paladin in title, a tribal religious figure fits beautifully with the class. It’s also a fun concept to make a fish out of water character, with your character being unfamiliar with urban locations.
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The hardest part here is justifying why a Shaman would drop their tribe. Maybe you were kicked out, maybe they were all killed, and you’re now seeking revenge or something like that.
7Cultist
In case you want to be a bit more extreme, you can be part of a cult rather than a church, where the rules you have to abide by can be a bit looser. A fanatic or a cultist can be a good choice for non-good-aligned characters, and given the fact you have divine powers, you could even be the leader of a cult - although this idea is better if the campaign is starting at higher levels.
Still, a religious extremist is an interesting concept, especially depending on what deity you’re serving.
6Zealot
This is a similar option to the previous entry, although this time you would bemore of a lone wolf. A single religious fanatic that follows their God’s ideals to the letter, on a one-person crusade across the world.
This would also be a good fit for neutral or evil deities. After all, if your character is well-behaved and considered good by most, you’d be seen as a simple wandering priest rather than an extremist zealot. Evil Paladins can have their charm too.
5Champion Of A God
This option will make you similar to a Warlock in terms of backstory, but it also fits the Paladin, and it’s easy to mix with other backstories here too. Essentially, your character was hand-picked by a deity to represent them.
Why? Well, that’s up to you. Or, if your DM is willing, you can let them decide the reason, and you can play your character blindly, trying to uncover why you were chosen by a God to wield their power.
4Monster Hunter
Gods usually have their enemies; Evil deities and their forces of evil, such as demons. You won’t be strong enough to fight an evil God (not at first, at least), but you can focus on decreasing their army, one demon at a time. Or whatever other monster from the scenario you’re playing on,such as Liches, Vampires, or something similar to those. It’s also a straightforward reason to justify your travels and your life as an adventurer.
3The Only Life You Know
If you want to make a good character that is also tragic, this is a beautiful option. Instead of being a Paladin because you want to, your character was trained to do so. Perhaps they are an orphan, raised by the church. Training to be a paladin sounded like the obvious next step.
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They’ve said the words and made their vow, but now that they’re exploring the world out there, should they keep this path, or should they remain loyal to the church? And the story can go in different directions, depending on whether you want to stay with the church or break the path your character was put into.
2Noble
Another interesting way to make a fish out of water character, at least to some extent. A Noble who is also devoted to religion and became a Paladin because of it. It’s also a more realistic option since most swordsmen with heavy armor were nobles, as these things weren’t as affordable.
This would also be a fun way to have a character with a black-and-white view of right and wrong, and not knowing how most people live their lives, causing an interesting clash between their views and how the world works.
1A Vow To Yourself
You may want to talk to the DM before making this one, but you could make a “Paladin” without a God or religion. Someone who simply made a vow to themself and committed to it.
The question here though would be where your powers are coming from. It could be an item, a pact with some other creature, or your bloodline (making it similar to a Sorcerer, for instance). But you could be just a person who has mighty powers and a vow to use them in a certain way.
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