Paladin
AP 120 EP 20 FF 8 Gen. 1
Described in: Core book
Many Knights believe the Paladin model is a war machine chosen only by wreckers and hotheads. Even Arthur held this belief once, but that is only part of the truth. The Paladin meta-armour is huge, almost twice as large as a Warrior and three times as heavy. More than any other, it makes the term ’piloting’ a meta-armour seem a fitting choice of words. It pushes the definition of a suit of armour to the limit, being more of a mobile artillery platform than a suit due to its slow and unwieldy gait. Most Paladin pilots are, surprisingly, not just mindless brutes drawn to its sheer firepower and destructive capabilities. In fact, technically inclined Knights with sharp reflexes seem to perform better in a Paladin than those more given to mindless destruction.
The Paladin’s genesis stems from a need for more artillery support in wide open theatres of operation. After several defeats due to overwhelming opposing numbers, Avalon high command had to face the fact that the Warrior model could not handle every type of situation on its own. Merlin and his team of engineers began to develop more specialised meta-armour models to fill specific roles, and the Paladin was one of the first created.
Answering a simple need for superior covering fire, it soon became an inestimable aid on the battlefield. The more dangerous the war zone, the better it performed – its firepower surpassing that of other meta-armour and its cutting edge force field projection generator, capable of creating protective barriers at a distance to save vulnerable allies, truly shine the more enemies Avalon faced. Its function on the field is threefold: artillery and cover fire, protecting a defensive position, and drawing enemy fire to its massive frame.
Paladin meta-armours are impressive, tall, bulky, and heavy. Their plating is the thickest of all of Avalon’s armours, measuring a full 4 inches, and made of an alloy that puts other metals to shame. Its complex piloting and weapons systems require skill and precision. The armour’s legs are an example, with their many stabilisers, actuators, and servo motors, constantly offsetting the armour’s weight on surfaces not designed to withstand it. The helmets also reflect this with their multiple displays showing current balance, ground composition, and weapon heat.
At a towering 9 ft 2 inches and weighing in at over 2200 lbs, Paladin armour cannot fit through normal sized doors or, more importantly, safely tread on fragile surfaces like wooden floorboards, damaged concrete, or packed snow or ice. Piloting one therefore means paying constant attention to the ground being trodden, or facing unexpected several storey falls.
The Paladin’s exceptionally slow speed is offset by superior durability and enhanced force field projection. Some Knights see it as little more than a well-protected artillery piece, but those who wear a Paladin model stand by their usefulness, their necessity, even, and prove their worth against overwhelming odds on the battlefield.
Notes
SLOW AND HEAVY
Paladin meta-armour cannot use sprint, stealth, or leap modules. Furthermore, the GM may decide that some surfaces are too fragile to take the armour’s weight. All Stealth and Movement based skill checks performed by a Paladin meta-armour are one difficulty level higher (an Easy (1) difficulty becomes a Simple (2) difficulty, for example).
Shrine force field
The armour can project a force field around itself or around others. This 20 ft dome of bluish light, nicknamed the ft dome of bluish light, nicknamed the ’Shrine’ force field, can protect civilians, an area, other metaarmours, and the Paladin itself.
Effect: Any character inside the Shrine is granted an additional 6 FF points, in addition to any force field they may already possess. Any character leaving the Shrine loses this bonus immediately. Re-entering the Shrine provides the bonus again. Enemies and allies attempting to enter the Shrine require a Strength characteristic of 5 or more or a Flesh aspect of 10 or more. If they do not meet this requirement, they cannot pass through its outer perimeter. Shrine FF bonuses always apply to enemy bands, regardless of their Flesh score. An enemy band with a high enough Flesh aspect score to get through the Shrine inflicts its overwhelm damage to characters inside. If an enemy band has ranged weapons, they deal their overwhelm damage to characters inside the Shrine without having to enter it. In either case, the Shrine’s FF bonus applies against a band’s overwhelm damage.
Allies, Knights, and all kinds of ammunition freely pass through the force field from inside.
Shrine force fields can be deployed up to medium distance, centred on an ally, at the expense of more energy.
Several Shrines cannot overlap, and their bonuses cannot stack. If a Paladin attempts to deploy a Shrine in an area already covered by another Shrine, the attempt fails.
Finally, a Shrine force field cannot be moved even if it is centred around the Paladin. A Paladin cannot deploy more than one Shrine at a time. If the size of an ally, for example, a Barbarian meta-armour using its Goliath mode, exceeds that of the Shrine, this ally cannot benefit from the Shrine’s bonus.
IGNORE FF EFFECTS
Ignore force field effects ignore points added to a character’s FF value by a Shrine.
| Energy | 1 (2 when the Shrine is deployed at range) |
|---|---|
| Activation | None |
| Duration | 1 turn |
Watchtower Mode
The meta-armour’s wearer can choose to deploy two stabiliser modules on its legs, allowing them to fire at an increased rate.
Effect: When this mode is activated, the meta-armour can no longer move and its reaction score is halved. From the next turn onward, the character gains one bonus combat action per turn that can only be used to fire a ranged weapon. All the Paladin’s combat actions can be used to shoot in akimbo style, so long as the corresponding fighting style is active (remember: activating a different fighting style requires a move action).
Further additional attacks granted by modules, ability effects (such as a Warmaster’s pulse ability) or shoulder turrets (that require a move action to activate) can be performed on top of the usual attack and the extra Watchtower mode attack. It is entirely possible for a Paladin to attack once with their normal attack action, once thanks to the Watchtower mode, a third time thanks to a Warmaster pulse, and once more with a missile pod or a Balder cannon, for instance.
Warning: Each additional shot provided by the Watchtower mode costs 1 energy point. Ambidextrous style cannot be used when in Watchtower mode, but akimbo style (see Chapter Chapter 4: Game mechanics 4: Game mechanics – Scenes and conflict Scenes and conflict phases, on page 85), which counts as a single attack, can.
| Energy | 2 |
|---|---|
| Activation | Move action / 3 seconds outside of a conflict phase. |
| Duration | Until deactivated |
| GP | Description |
|---|---|
| 150 | The Paladin may slot a one-handed or two-handed weapon (without the heavy attribute) that they have purchased on each arm (one weapon per arm), and still carry other weapons in their hands. One-handed weapons occupy one slot on an arm, two-handed weapons take up two slots. Additional modules can be installed in an arm’s remaining slots as usual. Installed weapons can be removed and replaced in between missions. Slotted weapons are considered held in the character’s hands. They can freely switch from one weapon to another each turn. The ease advantage has no effect on this evolution–only weapons without the heavy attribute may be slotted, regardless of advantages |
| 200 | The Shrine force field now provides 8 FF points to those inside it instead of 6. The Paladin may activate it centred on themselves for 6 turns or one minute for 5 EP, and for 10 EP at range |
| 250 | Costly composite material is used to lighten the meta-armour’s plating, also slightly reducing its height. The Paladin’s ’slow and heavy’ effect is removed. |
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Watchtower mode provides its user with one additional combat action that can only be used for ranged attacks, starting on the turn following the mode’s activation. Each additional shot provided by Watchtower mode costs 1 energy point. Additional actions obtained by other means do not require this energy expenditure, the cost only applies to ranged attacks gained via Watchtower mode.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
None. The level 4 Ranged OD reduces the ambidextrous fighting style ranged penalty from 3 D to 1 D, but does not remove the ambidextrous restriction. Watchtower mode does not allow for use of the ambidextrous style, regardless of Ranged OD level.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
No. So long as the Paladin pays the Shrine’s EP upkeep each turn, it remains as strong as it was when first placed.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
No. If a character gains different FF bonus values from the same type of source, they only take the highest one and add it to their usual FF value (they get the strongest Shrine or portable force field and ignore the lower ones).
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
Not usually, no. Most weapons with the heavy effect require a move action + combat action to be used. Watchtower mode only provides an additional combat action to be used to fire a ranged weapon. Using a heavy weapon in Watchtower mode is only possible if the character has an advantage such as ease or additional move actions.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
A band’s overrun score deals damage if they can reach and attack enemies inside the Shrine force field:
- A band capable of passing through the Shrine will deal its overrun damage.
- A band that cannot pass through the Shrine but has ranged weapons can shoot at people in the force field and deals its overrun damage too.
- Bands that only do melee damage and cannot pass through the Shrine will not be able to deal their overrun damage.
- In either case, the Shrine’s FF bonus applies against a band’s overwhelm damage.
Please note that the ignore FF effect also ignores Shrine FF, but does not allow the creature to pass through the Shrine itself (that depends solely on the NPC’s Flesh score).
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
As with other rules, the character’s initial values (their substats) are divided by two, before adding or subtracting circumstance bonuses (pavise/ shield/buckler, fighting style, etc.). For example, a Paladin with a Ranged score of 5, one Ranged OD, and a pavise, will have a reaction score of 7 (6 ÷ 2 + 4) in Watchtower mode.
Q&A > Rules system questions > Core system, combos and actions - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
When not specifically stated (as in the case of the portable force field), the rule is simple: force fields from different sources are simply added together. Two Paladin metaarmour shrines cannot apply to the same target, nor to a target protected by a portable force field. Drone shielding, on the other hand, adds its FF value to Shrines (or portable force fields). Two portable force fields placed by separate knights do not stack (same source, the portable force field), etc.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
While inside a Shrine’s FF, all allied characters (PCs and NPCs) targeted by the Knight gain a 6 point increase to their FF, provided they already have a FF to increase. If a character has other FF increases provided by sources other than the Shrine (such as drone shielding), the effects stack.
Q&A > Meta-armour questions > Paladin - Jan. 17, 2025, 12:31 p.m.
The rule about Paladin armours taking up two spaces rather than one is not a consequence of its “Slow and heavy” disadvantage, appearing in the general rules on vehicles. Paladins can never use Steed bikes.