Becoming a Paladin (CPaH)

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Becoming a paladin requires intense training, strict discipline, and total commitment. Though most paladins acquire their skills under the auspices of their government or church, there are no established career paths or mandatory instructional techniques. Following are some of the most common ways to become a paladin, along with a few kits typically associated with them.
==Religious Patronage==
Churches secure paladin candidates at an early age, usually 8–10 years old. High-level clerics, trained as recruiters, quietly observe their congregations, looking for vigorous and intelligent children from pious families. When the recruiters agree on a potential candidate, they approach the parents and request that they relinquish custody of their child to the church. If the parents decline, the recruiters pass on the candidate and continue their search. While some churches may override the parents' decision, most abide by the family's wishes, believing that effective training is impossible without the parents' support.
If the family agrees—most do, as they consider the offer a high honor—the child becomes a ward of the church. The candidate moves into a dormitory of a church-operated school, frequently located in a distant, isolated region to minimize distraction. Paladin candidates are often taught side by side with clerical acolytes, studying religious history, and ethical philosophy along with such fundamentals as reading, writing, and etiquette. Candidates also engage in rigorous exercise and weapon practice.
Within a few years, the students are separated, with paladin candidates focusing on horsemanship and combat skills, and the clerical acolytes concentrating on spellcasting and church doctrine. Paladin candidates may also receive advanced training in medicine, language, and other academic subjects. Somewhere between the age of 15 and 17, depending on his progress and aptitude, a candidate is subjected to a series of tests, ranging from oral exams to evaluate his understanding of the paladin's ethos, to confrontations with undead opponents to display his courage and combat skills. A candidate who passes all his tests is then eligible to become a full paladin.
Suggested Kits: Divinate, Inquisitor, Medician, Votary.
==Divine Intervention==
The gods may choose a mortal to become a paladin for reasons of their own. Alternately, a qualified mortal may petition the gods for paladin status. A suitable candidate must meet all of the physical and mental requirements for paladinhood, and must also demonstrate unshakable faith. Neither age nor social status is critical, though younger candidates of underprivileged classes are generally preferred. The gods will guide the candidate through a long series of quests and training exercises to ensure that he develops the necessary skills. On occasion, the gods may grant paladin powers to the candidate directly, foregoing training of any kind.
Suggested Kits: Errant, Ghosthunter, Inquisitor, Wyrmslayer.
==Government Sponsorship==
Recruiters representing large monarchies are constantly on the lookout for young paladin candidates, needed to replace retiring paladins or paladins killed in action. The recruiters largely depend on referrals from their contacts in the aristocracy, but also consider petitions from upper and middle class families without formal ties to the government. Because recruits must begin their training at an early age, candidates may be as young as five or six years old.
The recruiters thoroughly investigate the background of all potential candidates, conducting extensive interviews with the candidates' friends and family, and observing the candidates at work and play. Candidates must be physically sound, emotionally stable, intuitive, and well-behaved, qualities that an experienced recruiter can recognize even in the youngest child. For every hundred candidates evaluated, no more than two or three make the grade.
A candidate's initial training begins at home. With supervision and support from government tutors, the candidate learns to read and write, and receives basic instruction in etiquette and religion. He exercises for several hours each day, and learns to ride and care for a small horse.
At age 7 or 8, the candidate moves into the household of a nobleman, lord, or retired paladin where his training proceeds in earnest. He perfects his riding skills, learns to use weapons (practicing with undersized wooden replicas), and plays chess and other simple war games that teach strategy. He attends formal state functions to learn protocol, and is taught to respect and obey his superiors. Occasionally he joins soldiers on routine military excursions, helping to care for their horses and observing how they conduct themselves in the field.
In his early teenage years, the candidate becomes a full-time squire to a practicing paladin. To mark the occasion, the candidate is sometimes awarded spurs in the same design as the master's; the candidate's spurs are silver, the master's are plated in gold. Under the master's supervision, the candidate learns swordsmanship and mounted combat techniques. The master provides daily instruction on ethics and philosophy, detailing every nuance of the paladin's ethos. He may also send the candidate on a quest to test his character, such as plucking a feather from a harpy or retrieving a scale from a dragon turtle.
Most importantly, the candidate accompanies his master on the battlefield and fights at his side. Despite his inexperience, a candidate is expected to hold to the same standards as a regular paladin, sacrificing his life if necessary to protect his master or defend his monarch. Consequently, many candidates fail to survive their apprenticeship. Those who persevere for three to five years are eligible to become full paladins.
Suggested Kits: Chevalier, Envoy, Militarist, Squire.
==Supportive Mentor==
Characters without connections to churches or governments may seek out mentors to teach them the skills of a paladin. Suitable mentors include benevolent sages, reclusive clerics, and elderly paladins. Most live solitary lives on the fringes of society, free of obligations to the church or state. Many have devised unique philosophies that substitute for formal religions. A potential student is probably expected to learn and follow the mentor's faith, no matter how arcane.
Because a mentor seldom accepts more than one student at a time, the neophyte paladin benefits from individualized attention, often completing training within four or five years. Despite its brevity, the training period is intense and demanding, concentrating on weapon mastery, horsemanship, and ethics. The student must also swear allegiance to the mentor's values, which duplicate the essential components of a paladin's ethos. The mentor declares the student ready for paladinhood when he completes a final test, which may require the student to defeat the mentor in mock combat or fulfill a quest that the mentor himself was never able to complete.
Suggested Kits: Errant, Inquisitor, Skyrider, Wyrmslayer.
==Inherited Title==
In some cultures, a lawful good child of a paladin is automatically eligible to become a paladin himself. The child's consent is usually irrelevant; a dutiful offspring follows his parent's wishes without much fuss. The parent oversees the child's training, which begins in the family stronghold. The child learns manners and discipline by tending to livestock, serving meals, and assisting the staff. Later, the parent teaches the child to ride and wield a lance, with supplementary instruction in swordsmanship, etiquette, and religion. He may also enroll the child at a royal academy or church school to complete his education. Should the parent die before the child becomes eligible for paladinhood, the church or government assumes responsibility for continuing the child's training, a gesture made in appreciation of the parent's lifetime of service.
Suggested Kits: Chevalier, Divinate, Squire, Votary.
==Confirmation Ceremony==
When a candidate is ready to assume the role of a paladin, the momentous occasion is usually marked by a formal ceremony. The administering official may be a government representative, a church dignitary, the candidate's mentor or parent, or an avatar of the gods. As dictated by tradition and the paladin's preference, a ceremony may be public, held before a large audience in the town square, or private, performed in an official's chamber or a remote outdoor locale. Most ceremonies incorporate the paladin's Code of Ennoblement, discussed in Chapter 3. Other details are up to the DM; he is free to adapt or modify any of the ceremonies described below, or make up his own.
Confirmation ceremonies can also make good springboards for adventures. The DM might consider enlivening a ceremony with one or more of the following events:
* The administering official fails to show up. (Has he been kidnapped or worse?)
* An evil wizard stages a destructive intrusion.
* An old friend of the candidate makes a surprise appearance, bringing an urgent message (an uprising in a neighboring     kingdom, the discovery of an ancient civilization).
* A cleric's incantation, the manipulation of an ancient artifact, or the shadow of an eclipse opens a portal to another plane   of existence.
Ordainment by Dubbing: The simplest confirmation ceremony requires the candidate to kneel before the administering official, who holds a ceremonial sword over the candidate's head. After the candidate recites his Code of Ennoblement, the official taps the sword on the candidate's neck or shoulders, then pronounces him a paladin. The new paladin rises, embraces the official, then quietly departs.
Sacrament of the Sword: On the day of the ceremony, the candidate rises before dawn and bathes in a stream, cleansing his body and, symbolically, his spirit. He dons a white robe, representing his piousness, tied tightly at the waste with a thin sash, a reminder of the discomfort all agents of faith must endure. Surrounded by his family, invited guests, and representatives of his church and government, the candidate faces the rising sun and recites his Code of Ennoblement. The administering official presents him with a sword made of crystal or glass, symbolizing the fragile boundary separating good from evil. The official then slaps the new paladin on both sides of his face or strikes a blow against his chest, an emphatic reminder always to follow his oath.
Feast Day: Associated with paladins who are trained by the church, the Feast Day ceremony begins two days before the actual confirmation. The candidate spends 48 hours alone in a dark chapel, offering prayers to her deity and subsisting on nothing but bread and water. At the end of this period, the administering official opens the doors and windows to bathe the chapel in sunshine.
One by one, the candidate's teachers, family members, and guests file inside. The candidate greets them individually, thanking them for their support during her training. After all have arrived, the candidate takes a seat in front of the congregation. The official gives a sermon about the significance of this great day, then the candidate kneels before him and swears to the Code of Ennoblement. The official touches the candidate's shoulders with a ceremonial sword and kisses her forehead. The new paladin leaves the church to the sound of applause, then rides through the town so that everyone can see her. The day climaxes with a great feast, filled with songs, dances, and games.
Rite of the Seven Lambs: The candidate joins six paladins in an open meadow. The paladins bring seven lambs, all of them sick or wounded through natural causes. One of the paladins, serving as the administering official, reads prayers and leads the candidate through his Code of Ennoblement. Each paladin then lays hands on one of the lambs, healing it. The new paladin lays hands on the final lamb. Clippings from the healthy lambs are placed in a cloth bag, which is given to the new paladin to commemorate the occasion.
Convocation of the Blessed Waters: Prior to the ceremony, the administrating official obtains a suit of armor from a paladin who died in battle. The official retains the helmet, then submerges the rest of the armor into a stream or lake, symbolically imbuing the water with the spirit of the deceased paladin. The candidate washes her ceremonial costume in the blessed stream; a typical costume consists of a linen shirt, a crimson or purple tunic, silk stockings, leather shoes with silver ornaments, and a golden robe embroidered with images of eagles and lions. The candidate allows the wet costume to dry in the sun.
On the day of the ceremony, the candidate dons the costume and meets the official near the blessed stream. The official and the candidate stand on a velvet carpet, surrounded by dignitaries and invited guests. After reciting the Oath of Ennoblement, the candidate kneels and drinks from the stream. The official presents the candidate with the helmet of the deceased paladin, completing the ceremony. The new paladin joins her guests for a modest meal under the open sky.