Paladin - Only one weapon?

[Trevis Martin]

Hey Clinton

I've just recently purchased and read Paladin and I have a question.  There is a point early in the rules that you mention its important the the Paladin characters all have the same weapon.  It doesn't seem to be mentioned to anywhere else in the rules, nor does it have any actual effect that I can see.  Is it a matter of color only?

regards,

Trevis

[Clinton R. Nixon]

From page 4, Setting Creation:

Arms
Every order has a weapon associated with it: this is the talisman of their power and focus of their energy. The weapon is symbolic of the danger of their power, both to others and themselves. All members use this weapon, and it must be chosen before play. ...

If the GM feels it is necessary, the weapon can be made vague in order to allow for variation, but this is not recommended.

---

There's not a mechanical effect in the game for this (besides the fact that all Paladins can use their Arms skill with this weapon, and cannot with others), but it's a match with the source material, and a bit more important than Color according to the above description.

[Mike Holmes]

There's not a mechanical effect in the game for this (besides the fact that all Paladins can use their Arms skill with this weapon, and cannot with others)

That's like saying that Swords in D&D have no mechanical effect except that they do damage.

I'd call this a critical mechanical effect that drives the feel of play.

Mike

[Ben Morgan]

The way I've always looked at it, a Paladin's Arms is more than just a weapon, it's a symbol of power and authority.

It's like the marines 'rifle' speech: "This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine... My rifle, without me, is nothing. Without my rifle, I am nothing."

Think about lightsabers. When you walk into a room with one, people notice. Everyone knows just by looking at it that anyone who carries one either is strong in the Force (and really knows how to use it), or they are a fool and they got lucky, and they are not long for this world. IMO, it's one's affinity with the Force that allows them to wield a lightsaber in a combat situation and not cut their own arm off.

As a GM, it's something I can milk for atmosphere, and for me, that sort of thing is worth a lot more to me in-game than any mechanical effect.

-- Ben

[Trevis Martin]

Ok, I can see that it may be more than color.

Then my question is do you allow non-paladin characters?  if so, do they not use the Dark/Light animus powers? Take Star Wars (the original three) - Luke, Ben, Yoda and Vader were the only members of the Jedi, and thus the only ones who used the lightsabers. But the rest of the SW heros didn't.

Or do you allow multiple orders that believe in the same god/code or only have minor variations but have different weapon foci?  The game seems to say that you can only have one order, one focus.

[Bob McNamee]

Somewhere about the Forge there's a thread about making the Fellowship of the Ring into its own Order. With each character having a different arm and a little different spin on what the do with Animus.
I remember it being appiled to the Star Wars folks too.
Han uses a Blaster, and uses Animus to bluff a squad of storm troopers etc.
Think they applied the idea to the Buffy gang too,

[Michael S. Miller]

See the following threads for ideas on customizable Paladin:

Paladin for Moral Relativists
Abstracted Paladin Orders
A Paladin on the Hellmouth
Middle Earth in Paladin/Middle Earth in Donjon

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

In regard to weapons being unique, here's the spin I put on it for my (as yet unplayed) Paladin setting.

The weapon is a psionic manifestation of the warrior-monk's mind; it materializes in his hands, and once materialized, it's visible only when in motion (any motion, so most of the time). It always looks static-y.

Now, exactly what kind of weapon varies - sword, staff, whatever, as long as it's a historical melee weapon and not some kind of fucked-up uber-weapon from fantasy movies or comics.

My point is that the actual weapon differs from character to character. However, the distinctiveness of its origin, nature, and appearance provides the unity among practitioners of the Way that is, I think, the goal of weapon rules.

Best,
Ron

[Trevis Martin]

Great threads, thanks guys

Clinton, this looks like a great game and I'm looking forward to playing it.  I hope to see your revised version soon!

regards

Trevis