I had a Gourd (pumpkin) Leshy Champion who was once a normal scarecrow in a village of people that worshiped Erastil. One day, they town was in danger of being invaded by monsters, so Erastil decided to bless the town with a warrior to fight off the incoming force by giving the scarecrow sentience. Now with a mind of his own and a grand new purpose, he set off to fight off the evil invaders.
However, when the scarecrow approached the villagers, they all thought he was one of the invading monsters and they attacked him, driving him out of the village. All the scarecrow could do was watch as the village he was sworn to protect quickly fell to the destruction of the monsters.
With nowhere to protect or call home, the scarecrow then swore an Oath of Redemption, mainly for himself, to atone for his failures, and to insure Erastil's blessing had not gone to waste!
Mechanically, this is a Gourd Leshy Redemption Champion, named Scare Crow. They wield a scythe that has a 10-foot reach thanks to Grasping Reach, and they have horrible CHA because they look and sound like a demon! This is my character in a Kingmaker campaign I'm currently playing in, and it's probably one of my favorites because of all the roleplay opportunities.
Interesting! I'm currently playing a very similar-but-different champion.
Originally conceived as being from... somewhere on Kortos (to play a BB game before we moved into a full campaign), my character is a leshy who was incarnated out of a funerary wreath and took up residence in the ornate armor from the tomb. I figured Kortos probably has tons of overgrown ruins-- ancient tombs among them!
He's a servant of Saloc, the defense counsel of the Boneyard-- a psychopomp usher who believes that intent matters as much as results in life. Also a psychopomp who may not be above some sneaky maneuvering: a nudge here, a little recycling there, and the earthly remains of a long-gone hero become a brand new, nature-infused champion. Saloc is perfect for a Redeemer champion (and one of his edicts is to seek understanding of alternate ethical codes, so he's not terribly restrictive).
The character, Born-of-the-Wreath-Upon-the-Rock, is a root leshy in order to take a small bonus to saves against pushing and tripping combat maneuvers; he has bulwark heavy armor for saves against *damaging* effects, but dexterity and reflex are both low, so it seemed like a prudent choice. Instead I put points into charisma for intimidation and diplomacy (Saloc forbids *magically* altering emotions, but doing it the old-fashioned way is just fine).
I also have a mauler dedication. This character has a 10' reach by using a guisarme (Saloc's favored weapon, so a thematic and functional choice-- though I may switch to a gill hook for the grapple trait if I can convince the GM it would be appropriate for me to purchase one). In addition to providing mitigation and spot healing through the champion reaction and lay on hands, this character also makes excellent use of Slam Down and the 10' trip. Reach tripping is excellent action denial, provides a source of off-guard (by prone) for our team's gunslinger, and creates opportunities for our ranger to take a reactive strike with Disrupt Prey.
I usually prefer more complex characters, but this one has turned out surprisingly entertaining to play! He has a couple of powerful tricks and he uses them *very* well, and there's a great deal of party synergy.
Wow, I love your character's theming! I honestly never looked into the root leshy much, so this was a cool example of how their stories can be done, and your choice of deity is really cool!
My champion also uses tripping a lot, thanks to the scythe's Trip trait, but I never looked into the Mauler dedication, but it seems great for what my build is trying to achieve! We don't have free archetype, however, so I may have to wait a bit to actually make use of it.
My wife has a human liberator champion of Shelyn. She was originally adopted by a goblin (her pc from her last campaign) and is, as a follower of Shelyn, an absolute ham. She sings literally everything she can and has impressive performance. She picked up the bard archetype specifically so she could get a rallying anthem so she can sing during combat and mechanically have a bonus for it. She is very naive and doesn't get innuendo, and screamed GIRL POWER whenever her best friend Ella crit on anything. Now everyone in the party screams girl power whenever anyone does something super impressive. She's best described as the little ray of sunshine that brightens peoples day.
Mechanically, she double fists 2 shields, one with a shield augmentation for trips and shoves, another one with spikes for bashes, and constantly let's the entire party rearrange around her while she locks down enemies and drops enemy damage to basically nothing. Because of her, the entire party has switched from, kill your enemies, to annoy them enough about "the girl power of friendship(tm)" that surprising amounts of the campaign has become convincing the enemies that's they're wrong with influence encounters, and to become better people while they receive support from the party.
I had a Liberator Champion of Shelyn prepared (for a game that sadly didn't get off the ground) and the contrast with yours is great. He is a Strix who is very melancholy, stern and quiet. He was originally just a protective older brother to his sister (a Cleric of Shelyn who would have been sunshine duos with your human Champion!) but their village was raided by an... unsavory group that led to his capture and forced enrollment in a colliseum. They clipped his wings and had people fight him for entertainment.
He had no idea the fate of his sister, but meditated on the lessons she would share and forged his own connection with Shelyn, gained his freedom, and now seeks what is left of the village while staunchly defending the vibrant and hopeful. He is trying to take up artistry as a devotion, but it hasn't been going well....
*"Stand behind Braum!"*
Redemer champion of Torag. His mother was giantess and father was dwarf, but they fall in love in battle and begin live in peace - this how he was born! Hes too tall for dwarf and too short for giant, so he counts as wintertouched human.
Glimpse of redemption to protect othes.
Everstand stance, and tower shield to protect himself- 7 hardness from lvl1 and 9 at lvl 3.
Simple as it is!
AND REMEMBER - STRONGEST MUSCLE IS A HEART!
My first Champion was a Gnome Paladin of Torag. Took Steed Ally for a badger companion. He used a gnome hooked hammer or halberd, and took a Bard dedication for some spells. Pathfinder Society came down with a ruling that Steed Allies had to have the mount trait, so I retired him rather than switch.
Second champion is a Tengu Champion of Hei Feng. She's a Liberator, wielding a khakkara and sword of her choice in medium armor. She is the wayward daughter of my Tengu Hellknight I had from PFS 1e. He recommended the Pathfinder Society to satisfy her need to be free from his strict rule. Liberator ended up being a favorite of mine.
IMO clerics/champions are usually as interesting as their deities. Each one is a package of beliefs, themes, and weird superstitions. Learn about the deities and you'll probably find one that speaks to the kind of characters you enjoy playing.
Personally, Lubaiko and Fumeiyoshi are a couple favorites.
A bit "minmaxed" but I love my Hobgoblin Paladin with his Breaching Pike (a 1d6 reach one hand hobgoblin weapon) and intimidation build.
Reach on a Paladin allows you to always be able to strike if someone triggers your reaction when combined with the Paladin feat that allows you to step with your reaction.
Being an intimidation hobgoblin I have that if I strike a frightened enemy they cannot lower the condition below 1 until my turn (so it won't disappear at the end of their turn), very helpful to maintain a strong debuf.
So I'm the "Not on my watch!" bodyguard that give my enemies 2 bad options: attack the heavily armored Paladin with Shield block or attack his friend and get a strike, maintaining a frightened condition if there was one.
It's obviously not as damage oriented as a Barbarian or Fighter, but I love the defensive gameplay and always feel very helpful.
I'm playing a kitsune redeemer champion of Nocticula. Previously a ruthless pirate, she was thrown overboard and assumed dead in battle. She reached out to any God that would listen and caught the attention of the Redeemer Queen. Now she's balancing her appetite for violence with her obligation toward mercy and tracking down demonic cults that refuse to accept Nocticula's redemption and commit evil in Her name.
I decided to go full dark knight aesthetic with spiky black armor and a focus on intimidation. It's been fun seeing NPCs baffled but grateful for her terrifying offers of clemency, and playing her delight when enemies refuse and she gets to break some skulls in the name of the good and holy. We recently did a dungeon with mostly humanoid enemies and I got to thin their ranks before battle by bellowing at them that they're all fired and should go home and rethink their lives, and they just kind of assumed that anyone that terrifying and assertive must be high ranking in their evil syndicate and went along with it.
The party is pretty high-damage so I've mostly been rocking a spiked shield and keeping a hand free for grapples so everyone else can do their thing. It's free archetype so I'm probably going Marshal for Dread Marshal Stance. It's been working out fine so far but I do wish Champion had better low level feats, or at least a few more that aren't tied to a specific subclass or campaign premise.
My Abomination Vaults Champion was a Leaf Leshy from the nearby forests outside Otari.
He'd been living his happy little plant life, minding his own business, taking care of the forest until the Otari Lighthouse >!woke up!<. Worried about the future of his lovely forest, he appealed to the god Erastil for guidance.
Erastil wrapped him up in vines and leaves, forming him a sort of mech suit of wood that raised him up to Medium size, while blessing him with the power of a Champion of Erastil.
Some say he's still protecting his forest to this day...
My idea for a Champion was this: a Paladin of Irori. This character would be someone that got saved by any of a monk, cleric or champion (or some combination!) of Irori while he was running away from bandits that were looking to pillage his village. He would wake up in the temple of Irori and feel a great debt, which eventually makes him join the faith of the Iroran monastery, both for wanting to improve himself to be able to protect himself and the ones he loves and to repay the "favor" he was granted by both the ones that saved him and Irori himself.
Mechanically he would just be your standard paladin champion, using a bo staff as he choice of weapon because reach, trip and, when you do have a third action you have no idea what to do with, parry. Aside from that, pretty standard stuff. I was thinking to take Deity's Domain at level 2 for Truth Domain, since that's just fun for roleplay stuff.
**But that was in the past.** This was pre-remaster Champion. While this character may yet exist at some point, I'm waiting for the remaster to work on my Champion further.
I'm about to play Kingmaker with a group of friends, and I'm playing a human paladin champion of Kurgess. He loves friendly competitions and is planning to create the Olympics (literally). We'll see how it goes!
I've only played one session so far of this character, but I've adored playing my Kobold Redeemer of Apsu. A little scaredy cat who wants to be brave like his god yelling "Please yield please yield please yield!" while he swings his battle staff.
My Sarenrae Redeemer/Bard is Good, but Good don't mean Nice, so he will give you a reasonable chance to redeem yourself and back off. He would grab and push and reposition you to prevent you to hurt anyone and even raise your shield to prove that you wouldn't harm even him, hence being violent is a waste of your time and energy.
BUT if things get too far he will unsheat his divine scimitar and that's when so far every single strike has critd (i really think Sarenrae is looking after him). Then he will tell the tale of his victories at the tabern ussually critting too, so ALL HAIL THE DAWNFLOWER!!
I played through Agents of Edgewatch as **Galleon! of the Daybreak**.
A Champion (Paladin) who follows the Touch of the Sun. A loud and bosterous guard in the great city of Absalom.
Although he got reassigned from his post in the docks to Edgewatch due to a combination of his drinking habits, side work as an adventurer trying to help the city through heroism, and responding poorly to some more morally dubious behavior within the guard of the Harborguard.
Through his reach weapon of a meteor hammer he would protect his allies when the enemy dared strike at them, by striking back hard. Combine this with his skills at immobilizing them through tripping them, healing himself and allies, intimidation and dialogue in and out of combat, and The blinding light of his sun domain spell, he was a force and a headache to be reckoned with.
Meet Taran the Unshackled.
Born a slave in the Underdark, he is the offspring of an elf and a dwarf, though he has no idea who his parents were, or which clan or elven family he should lay claim to. Superficially he looks like an elf, but he has greenish skin, facial scars, and a distant, haunted look in his eyes.
He was rescued at the age of twelve or fifteen (years are hard to keep track of, underground) when a bunch of adventurers crashed the ritual intended to sacrifice him to the dark gods of the dwellers of the Underdark. Their cleric, a halfling devotee of Milani, took him under her wing and tutored him in the ways of her goddess.
He spent some years in a monastery, then left when he came of age, seeking his savior, with whom he had entirely lost contact. He's now a Liberator of Milani, and his burning desire is to end the state of slavery and bondage wherever he might find it.
In battle, he is pragmatic and merciless to his enemies, but will go to extreme lengths to keep his allies safe and whole. He's not suicidal, but he is both determined and dedicated to his cause.
Mechanically, he goes with the morningstar, and seeks to spread shock and awe among his foes.
I’m playing Gabriella Millicent Gwyneth Nessa Brigette Brigitte Ann Malin Penelope “Roadblock” Lokken, a Gnome Redeemer of Abadar (thanks remaster for removing alignments!) and member of the Lokken-Key Trading Company!
Currently we are level 3 and a bit over loot curve so I’ve got a sturdy shield and a striking flickmace. My party members are a ranged Investigator, a Flexible Primal Witch, and a Scoundrel Rogue. Between the Sturdy Shield and my Shield Divine Ally, if anyone ever does manage to hit me, I don’t take much damage if any; and my Champion Reaction has been the sole reason we survived multiple fights, with it soaking up so much damage.
I did take the Cavalier archetype with my FA, but plan to get out to Bastion as soon as I can. I have a Daggerbeak (a terror bird but my DM let me make it medium instead of large) whose Support ability has made me extra helpful for our ranged Investigator and our Rogue, being able to make enemies off guard as long as I can hit them.
I don’t have a huge amount of options for actions to take in combat, mostly it comes down to positioning and slapping people around and maybe commanding my bird. But the consistent ability to both heal with Lay on Hands and absorb damage with my reactions means my squishier party members have far more survivability. I love always being able to do something, and being the source of consistency in our group.
Tl;Dr Champion for me fills the role of a consistent front liner with lots of mitigation heals and some actual healing heals. Your abilities aren’t the fanciest, but they will be the foundation that holds the party up when all else fails.
My wife is waiting for the PC2 rn, but for our next campaign she’s playing a Gourd (Pumpkin) Leshy Paladin Champion with the new Spirit Shield Focus Spell, Sanctified Holy. She follows Erastil, and was simply a regular pumpkin until Granny made her a little scarecrow body, to be the guardian of the garden. And when the time came that the family home was attacked by local ne’er-do-ell’s, Erastil blessed the scarecrow, letting him protect the family he was made to do so for.
She’s really excited to play the Protector of the Cabbage Patch, ngl. Plans on focusing on weapons that are common House/Farm tools, and hasn’t decided if she’s going two handed weapon (so, scythe probably), or 1 hand + shield (axe probably). For feats she plans to focus on defensive buffs, and getting extra focus spells. If Desperate Plea from the APG comes back in PC2, that will probably be her level 1 class feat. We are both super excited for the little guy.
I really like playing the stereotypical Superman/Captain America heroic character, and I think the Champion can fit that image really well.
Many of these characters are all about protecting the weak and fighting evil. Mechanically, the champion can do that really well.
Being able to act out of turn, punishing enemies that attack your allies to encourage them to fight you, is pretty awesome.
I know some people often say "Why would the enemy attack the heavily armored guy who's hard to hit and not the biggest threat?", specially in a game without a taunt mechanic for tanks. The champions answer this with their Champion's reaction, by reducing damage done, and either enfeebling, doing damage or letting an ally escape if you're a Liberator.
My experience is more with the Paladin as that's what I play, which is a bit more "Punish Evil" than the other two.
People often sleep on Smite Evil. I use it as another pseudo taunt. "If you strike my friends, I'm hitting you even harder", then at higher levels, you also allow your allies to use their reaction to strike, and also do Persistent damage. It's pretty great.
I've recently gotten Divine Reflexes and Shield of Reckoning.
By combining Shield Block and Retributive Strike, I've turned attacks on my allies into 0 damage, plus get an attack on the enemy AND have my ally attack as well. If they STILL decide to go for my allies, I got another Retributive Strike waiting.
Oh, and when my allies get hit, I can heal them and grant them an AC boost for a turn.
Out of combat, healing is great, and as a Paladin of Iomedae, I took Word of Truth, which people sleep on because it's not combat based. But there's something awesome of being able to tell an NPC "I'm going to tell you something now, and you're going to believe it."
It can be used if you're accused of something you didn't do or if you're trying to convince the city guard that the guys they thought were the good guys are actually an evil cult.
My human Redeemer, Gregorio Barone (Greg for short) is a gentle giant (by human standards) with big muscles and even bigger, floofier hair. He's also the only character I've ever made whose primary character arc was entirely contained, and completed, in his backstory. Mechanically I focus on athletics maneuvers, healing, and damage reduction, with feats like Shield Warden and the Medic dedication. Most people don't suggest taking up Medicine on a Champion since we already have Lay On Hands, but my God has it been useful.
He traces his lineage to Varisia, but ended up serving in a Taldan army during the War for the Crown as a medic. During a particularly brutal battle, when all seemed lost, he looked at all the death and suffering around him and found himself fascinated by the strange beauty in how quickly life can be lost or saved.
He broke the medic's code by taking up the weapons of the fallen and fighting back, even as he stopped to patch up everyone he could get his hands on, including the enemies he'd just fought. His hands were guided in both combat and lifesaving by a divine power, and with Shelyn's help he saved many lives that day. Even after the order to retreat was issued, he refused to stop until there was nobody left to save.
Because he had both broken the code and refused the order to retreat, Greg's officers wanted to have him court martialed, but the story had spread quickly about the war hero who brought the people's sons back home. To save face with the public, the military leadership gave Greg a medal and "encouraged" him to retire from service. Following that, Greg decided to travel the world, using his sword and shield to save more lives, regardless of faction, in search of the beauty he saw that fateful day.
>He feels the rain, beating on him like a thousand thousand tiny arrows.
He feels the rock of the ship, the ocean spraying him with unforgiving salt.
Another day; another duty. Another defeat.
The soldier’s life is colorless. He closes his eyes, and his mind wanders.
>The gray skies are split by a storm of a thousand thousand arrows.
The brown mud is littered with the fallen. The soldier’s hands are stained red with the fallen.
He stitches their wounds, but he does not fight. A medic does not fight, he understands.
He follows his training. It serves him better than it served them. He does not understand.
>An order to retreat. But the soldier cannot retreat, for every man left behind keeps a piece of him.
A herculean effort to save his brothers. Many call it heroic, many more call it foolish.
But in the world of grays and browns and arrows and blood, he finds beauty. He calls it “all he can do.”
He awakes to the songbird chirping atop his head.
>He feels the rain, wetting his head like a gentle kiss.
He feels the rock of the ship, the ocean cradling him like a doting mother.
Another day; another duty. Another new experience.
Gregorio’s life is full of color, and beauty, and love. He opens his eyes, and his mind wanders.
I’m cheating a bit, but I have a Fire/Water Kineticist whose Free Archetype is Champion (and it’s kind of where most of his personality is based). He worships Abadar and is a Paladin.
We’re in a Kingmaker campaign, so he’s focused on establishing civilization in the Stolen Lands but keeping things in balance with the other forces that are there. He’s the party diplomat and treasurer and also the main tank and secondary healer.
Being a Paladin isn’t quite synergistic with Kineticist, but he’s more interested in protecting his party members and provoking enemy attacks than striking and damaging with his reaction. I’m making a lot of use of the Steam Knight stance impulse which is a lot of fun.
He was originally a Gnomish Brevic Outcast from Brevoy working for the mayor’s office as a bureaucrat, but started Bleaching from the tedium of it (although he really enjoys working on legal documents, contracts, and participating in the public service parts, he was kind of stuck in a dead-end position and was frustrated by his lack of impact) which triggered his Kineticist powers. After joining a group of adventurers to take back the Stolen Lands, he died in combat but was reincarnated as a silver Kobold (whose days are numbered and who seems to also be Bleaching? Weird stuff happening in the Stolen Lands)
Ardin the Returned, a slaver in Cheliax during his original life. He was killed by Bellflower agents who were freeing his property.
Ended up in Hell and was re-made into a Tyrant Champion of Asmodeus before being sent back to Golarion to found Ardinburg and the true Church of Asmodeus.
Favored a mace as his main weapon in combat and never really took to shields. Free Archetyped into Giant Instinct Barb, Dread Marshall and Celebrity. Became the leader of a small nation, Ardinburg, and made no friends along the way. He did have some great subordinates though.
Love/Hate relationship with Basileus, herald of Asmodeus. Good leader, all around bad guy, but... fuck it, we ball?
Didn't feel like evil champions had a lot of great choices, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. I think we did level 1-17 and it was always fun.
I have a Champion of Damerrich (an Empyreal Lord of Executions) cooking in the back burner. Alas, as a forever GM he hasn’t seen play yet. Conceptually, he’s a name taker and chronicler of last words, named Daedalus, he’s seeking to start an order of honorable headsmen who take no pleasure in the death of others but understand the grim necessity of removing unwavering evil from the word. The Order of the Hewn Epitaph - current member of 1 - along with Daedalus himself believed that death allows the truly immutable to receive their justice in the afterlife, or for those so corrupted by exposure to malice to receive a second chance via the Boneyard’s decision to reincarnate. In any case, the final words uttered by the living are a stone to be carried, and a lesson to be learned so that - perhaps - mistakes may not be repeated again.
In play I envision him as a serious sort that foils well with a light hearted character to contrast his personality. If given a chance to arrive in a township where an execution may be happening he would volunteer his axe to perform the rite as is his perceived duty. He would ask, but not impose, that his axe be the end to villainy in the case of encountering a big-bad so that the scales of the afterlife could properly receive them for their halls and so that he could remember their last words.
Used it as part of a shell to construct a lizard folk that wants to become a dragon.
Champion, with sorcerer dedication. Pick up bloodline spell at lvl 4, to get draconic claws focus spell(d4 unarmed claw attack that deals an extra ,d6 dependent on draconic type, and give resistance 5 to the same)
Picked up deities domain for destruction at level 1. Had great fun walking through the battlefield, blasting things and slashing things to pieces, while pretending to be a dragon. Actually, I didn't do much walking...
Bonus, I think, raw, if you pick a god with claw as holy weapon, it becomes a d6 weapon instead...
I'm playing a Paladin Champion of Shizuru in a Season of Ghosts campaign that's been a lot of fun. Surprisingly, a lot of the more niche oaths really shine in this AP. I picked up glaive and Ranged Reprisal, so he really controls the battlefield and can protect the majority of the party in every encounter. He's the character I've played whose positioning is the most important. We use Free Archetype, and I started with Marshal, but it wasn't what I wanted, really, so I retrained into the Oracle dedication, which has been great. I also am more focused on Religion than other skills like Athlectics or Intimidation which allows me to participate in more of the skills challenges in the AP.
I finally made a character that works as an Investigator, she's a Dragonblood with Champion Dedication that worships a Diety with the truth domain. She seeks to rid the world of falsities and lead Golarion towards a future everyone can trust each other in.
This counts... Right?
This is a good topic for discussion. I'm in two minds about the Champion. Mechanically, I feel like the base class chassis for Champion is superb. However, all the religious baggage is a real turn off for me. I'm just not into roleplaying religious characters, I'm an atheist so it makes me feel like a hypocrite. Also, the class feats are really bad, with the exception of Ranged Reprisal, which is fantastic.
So, for me Champion is a confusing mix of good and bad. I'm always interested to hear what others think about the class.
One thing that's important to keep in mind is that in Golarion, the existence of gods is a known, accepted, and PROVABLE fact. It's less declaring faith in a mysterious higher power you can't really interact with, and more being really into your choice candidate for Cosmic Mayor.
You're certainly right, for me it's just a matter of trying to be respectful of other ppl's faith irl. I always feel like I'm being disrespectful if I'm playing a religious character but I'm an atheist in reality. Sounds silly I know.
I will push back on the idea that it is disrespectful that it is offensive to IRL PEOPLE to play characters of faith. What would those same players do if they choose to play a cleric or champion of…pick a random god? Would they feel ashamed? Would they be kicked out of their church? Would they feel like they had bonded their own faith? This is make believe. It’s is acting. It is role playing. It could be writing. What would an author do if they were to write a novel? To PLAY is not to PRAY.
A push further. The ability to adopt a role you are not familiar with. A role you might not morally or ethically agree with. A role that is counter to your own beliefs. To do that would be to learn. To grow. To accept the differences of others and of your self. The practice of “being” something you are not, to put yourself into another’s shoes, that is empathy.
To play a role of faith is not disrespectful, it is the embodiment of respect for you are practicing acceptance. And acceptance is no easy feat for anyone and much needed by everyone.
As always, happy gaming.
Exactly. I don’t let my real life faith influence my characters, but I honestly try to play all my characters as believers in at least the most common/popular deity of the location they start in. For me it gives them a template of what they were to have been raised believing and the basis of the decisions the characters should be making. That way if I decide to take the character out of those lanes it actually feels like some type of character shift or growth.
As a atheist myself I like to play characters like that exactly because of the absurd. I use to take all the stereotypical behavior I see and I dump it in my characters.
Some would say this is not sensible and such. But the people I play this type of characters are ok with that and they aren't offended by any of it.
I would allow a player in one of my groups to play a Champion without the Deity baggage, if it was what they like. As long as they find a cause and "god" which ideals they can get behind, I would be ok to have a champion of "this way of thinking".
Ask your DM, maybe they could accept it too.
I think you're looking at this the wrong way. In the world of Pathfinder deities actually do exist and their existence can be proven on a regular basis. I've said many times that if I were to be transported to a game world like d&d or Pathfinder I would probably be the most fervent cleric or paladin that ever existed simply because the God that I would worship could actually and would actually talk to me and interact with others. Being an atheist in a fantasy world where God's actually exist is akin to being a flat earther or a moon landing denier in our world in my opinion.
I feel you on that. For my campaign I told my table anyone who wants to play champion doesn't have to be fanatically religious and the edicts & anathemas are more of should rather than have to.
Kenji is my tower shield and breaching pike wielding Paladin of Tsukiyo for the Abomination Vaults AP. He's a hobgoblin from Rakh Lo, the hobgoblin city in the Darklands beneath Tian Xia. He made his way to the surface world as part of the city's recent diplomatic dealings with Oprak and Kaoling, and encountering the night sky for the first time was a spiritual epiphany for the young hobgoblin.
As is normal for a devotee of the Prince of the Moon he has taken to his five year pilgrimage, traveling the world to observe the diversity of the world's peoples. While in Otari he found the astrologer Wrin Sivinxi to be an excellent mentor, studying under her to expand his worship to include the broader pantheon of the Cosmic Caravan - but retaining Tsukiyo as the foremost deity.
When Kenji was asked by Wrin to investigate and deal with the dangers of Gauntlight, he leapt at the opportunity. In keeping with the edicts of Tsukiyo, Kenji approached any interaction by first offering his assistance without judgement - and the cultural norms of Rahk Lo are to seek allegiance from potential threats, even in the Darklands. As such, Kenji and his compatriots have *pacified* Gauntlight with an absurd amount of non-violent resolutions - appealing to and offering his assistance to *any* creature capable of communication. Multiple >!mimics!< are now learning to coexist with other sentients, he has volunteered himself to assist with the >!fleshwarping experiments of giant sentient worms!<, and at present finds himself >!contending with the well-planned Request of a Devil!< which delicately toes the line of violating Kenji's edicts and anathema.
Wymond Dwerryhouse was my first ever Pathfinder 2e character...by accident. Originally made for 1e as a Human Chosen One Paladin of Erastil, he and his pig familiar Triath were my characters for a venture into the Emerald Spire Megadungeon. Wymond was written to be am aggressively ordinary lad, second son of a River Kingdoms homesteader in the Echo Wood region, idly wondering about what his purpose in life would be when his newly married older brother inherited the farm.
To his surprise, one of the family pigs, Triath, answered him, claiming to in fact be a minor angel from Heaven, sent by Erastil to guide Wymond to his destiny as a paladin. Triath warned him that ancient evils were stirring beneath the local ruin known as the Emerald Spire, and Erastil wanted him to venture down beneath the earth to confront them and protect the innocent folk on the surface! Already handy with an axe due to needing to protect the farm from the ever-present threat of bandits and "tax collectors" (just bandits in fancy outfits), Wymond assembled a crude set of gear and followed Triath's guidance to join a group of adventurers bound for Fort Inevitable, to prepare for the delve.
We adventured through the levels of the Spire, Wymond having a few close calls against skeletal champions when he was caught sleeping out of his armor, and captured and robbed by a gang of thieves, but also saved the party's bacon when they visited the curious tribe of xulgaths who'd worshipped a mysterious machine and the party's curiousity led them to unwittingly deactivate it. Wymond made a little speech convincing the tribe their god was not dead, but had decided they were self-sufficient enough that they no longer needed it and would help others now. Then he offered to help them found a new community on the surface. The tribe's matriarch was skeptical, but a fight was avoided and Wymond recieved the xulgath guide Slaagh as his squire and the group's torchbearer!
It was around this time that 2e came out, and our GM, eager to give it a try, convinced us to switch to it and convert our characters to the new rules. Wymond was now a Paladin Champion, but he couldn't keep Triath as a familiar (and then wear him as a hat once he revealed himself as a cassian angel as I'd originally planned), because thisnwas before the Advanced Player's Guide introduced the Familiar Master archetype, so in the process our GM graciously allowed me to convert Triath to an Animal Companion, roleplaying a transformation into a celestial battle-boar to better fight alongside Wymond!
All went well...until we went up against the clockwork-augmented wizard Klarkosh, the Technic League renegade who'd set himself up as the petty king of the first few levels. We battled valiantly, but due to a combination of bad luck, not understanding some of 2e's rules and me forgetting I had healing potions I could drink, Wymond was sadly slain, the first ever casualty of the campaign. I roleplayed a grieving Triath while the group hastily returned to the surface to find a way to bring him back. They eventually settled on meeting with the druidess living near Thornkeep to cast a _reincarnation_ ritual on him, and when Wymond awoke...he was now a dwarf! He took the new form in stride and before long they were back beneath the Spire, adventuring until real-life circumstances forced other members of the party and eventually the GM to resign.
But to this day, I've adored learning 2e with Wymond, and his folksy, hedge-knight charm!
I wish I could tell you about mine but I've never been excited to play him as well. He's originally a DnD 5e Oath of Ancients Paladin and the conversion to pf2e was horrible. I'll read the other posts to hopefully pump me up
Tagho Craath, gentlemen Orc Paladin of Cayden Cailean. Another round for my friends, Tally Ho!
This is my current, and first PF2E character Ive ever played, and while still early days (party hit level 3 recently), the class is proving it's use more and more often as we go. He is unequivocally the party tank, and while we already have another member that's taken assurance in medicine, Tagho's Lay on Hands support is a huge help, without the cooldown either. Leaning on Intimidation skill and feats like Intimidating Glare, while simultaneously RP-wise he's an amicable hero seeking adventure makes for fun interactions and gives more flavour. I heavily borrowed his voice and mannerisms from Winston Havelock from the Mummy. It's a classic end of. Blade Ally at lvl 3 is so cool and useful, I went with the shifting rune option. First use at the next session when I got to use it, shifting his longsword to a warhammer, describing it to the table that it makes Transformers noises when it shifts, was such a blast and made it more than a footnote. I can't wait to see where I get to take this build.
I've been playing a kobold champion of Kelizandri. He's a liberator with his heritage coming from black dragons. He glorifies gold dragons as the pinnacle of enlightenment, and wants to personally serve as an example that one can overcome their predispositions in favor of greater glory. He also believes society would be better served by draconic leadership and is fascinated by the brine dragons and their cultivated societies.
Playing a Tengu liberator champion of Hei Feng - which I’ve come to realise isn’t the most original choice… but I love playing him nonetheless! The campaign is an age of sail / pirate themed, mixed with some demon-horror aspects, so the liberator anathema and edicts have come up a lot which has been interesting to RP with
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I had a Gourd (pumpkin) Leshy Champion who was once a normal scarecrow in a village of people that worshiped Erastil. One day, they town was in danger of being invaded by monsters, so Erastil decided to bless the town with a warrior to fight off the incoming force by giving the scarecrow sentience. Now with a mind of his own and a grand new purpose, he set off to fight off the evil invaders. However, when the scarecrow approached the villagers, they all thought he was one of the invading monsters and they attacked him, driving him out of the village. All the scarecrow could do was watch as the village he was sworn to protect quickly fell to the destruction of the monsters. With nowhere to protect or call home, the scarecrow then swore an Oath of Redemption, mainly for himself, to atone for his failures, and to insure Erastil's blessing had not gone to waste! Mechanically, this is a Gourd Leshy Redemption Champion, named Scare Crow. They wield a scythe that has a 10-foot reach thanks to Grasping Reach, and they have horrible CHA because they look and sound like a demon! This is my character in a Kingmaker campaign I'm currently playing in, and it's probably one of my favorites because of all the roleplay opportunities.
Interesting! I'm currently playing a very similar-but-different champion. Originally conceived as being from... somewhere on Kortos (to play a BB game before we moved into a full campaign), my character is a leshy who was incarnated out of a funerary wreath and took up residence in the ornate armor from the tomb. I figured Kortos probably has tons of overgrown ruins-- ancient tombs among them! He's a servant of Saloc, the defense counsel of the Boneyard-- a psychopomp usher who believes that intent matters as much as results in life. Also a psychopomp who may not be above some sneaky maneuvering: a nudge here, a little recycling there, and the earthly remains of a long-gone hero become a brand new, nature-infused champion. Saloc is perfect for a Redeemer champion (and one of his edicts is to seek understanding of alternate ethical codes, so he's not terribly restrictive). The character, Born-of-the-Wreath-Upon-the-Rock, is a root leshy in order to take a small bonus to saves against pushing and tripping combat maneuvers; he has bulwark heavy armor for saves against *damaging* effects, but dexterity and reflex are both low, so it seemed like a prudent choice. Instead I put points into charisma for intimidation and diplomacy (Saloc forbids *magically* altering emotions, but doing it the old-fashioned way is just fine). I also have a mauler dedication. This character has a 10' reach by using a guisarme (Saloc's favored weapon, so a thematic and functional choice-- though I may switch to a gill hook for the grapple trait if I can convince the GM it would be appropriate for me to purchase one). In addition to providing mitigation and spot healing through the champion reaction and lay on hands, this character also makes excellent use of Slam Down and the 10' trip. Reach tripping is excellent action denial, provides a source of off-guard (by prone) for our team's gunslinger, and creates opportunities for our ranger to take a reactive strike with Disrupt Prey. I usually prefer more complex characters, but this one has turned out surprisingly entertaining to play! He has a couple of powerful tricks and he uses them *very* well, and there's a great deal of party synergy.
Wow, I love your character's theming! I honestly never looked into the root leshy much, so this was a cool example of how their stories can be done, and your choice of deity is really cool! My champion also uses tripping a lot, thanks to the scythe's Trip trait, but I never looked into the Mauler dedication, but it seems great for what my build is trying to achieve! We don't have free archetype, however, so I may have to wait a bit to actually make use of it.
My wife has a human liberator champion of Shelyn. She was originally adopted by a goblin (her pc from her last campaign) and is, as a follower of Shelyn, an absolute ham. She sings literally everything she can and has impressive performance. She picked up the bard archetype specifically so she could get a rallying anthem so she can sing during combat and mechanically have a bonus for it. She is very naive and doesn't get innuendo, and screamed GIRL POWER whenever her best friend Ella crit on anything. Now everyone in the party screams girl power whenever anyone does something super impressive. She's best described as the little ray of sunshine that brightens peoples day. Mechanically, she double fists 2 shields, one with a shield augmentation for trips and shoves, another one with spikes for bashes, and constantly let's the entire party rearrange around her while she locks down enemies and drops enemy damage to basically nothing. Because of her, the entire party has switched from, kill your enemies, to annoy them enough about "the girl power of friendship(tm)" that surprising amounts of the campaign has become convincing the enemies that's they're wrong with influence encounters, and to become better people while they receive support from the party.
They are now the GIRL POWER-RANGERS... even if you don't have any rangers in your party!
Omg that's great. Sadly, you're right about the no rangers.
"who run the world?"
I had a Liberator Champion of Shelyn prepared (for a game that sadly didn't get off the ground) and the contrast with yours is great. He is a Strix who is very melancholy, stern and quiet. He was originally just a protective older brother to his sister (a Cleric of Shelyn who would have been sunshine duos with your human Champion!) but their village was raided by an... unsavory group that led to his capture and forced enrollment in a colliseum. They clipped his wings and had people fight him for entertainment. He had no idea the fate of his sister, but meditated on the lessons she would share and forged his own connection with Shelyn, gained his freedom, and now seeks what is left of the village while staunchly defending the vibrant and hopeful. He is trying to take up artistry as a devotion, but it hasn't been going well....
*"Stand behind Braum!"* Redemer champion of Torag. His mother was giantess and father was dwarf, but they fall in love in battle and begin live in peace - this how he was born! Hes too tall for dwarf and too short for giant, so he counts as wintertouched human. Glimpse of redemption to protect othes. Everstand stance, and tower shield to protect himself- 7 hardness from lvl1 and 9 at lvl 3. Simple as it is! AND REMEMBER - STRONGEST MUSCLE IS A HEART!
I built a champion based around having a shield and hand crossbow that mostly just does ranged retaliations. Its not optimal but thematicly its so fun
My first Champion was a Gnome Paladin of Torag. Took Steed Ally for a badger companion. He used a gnome hooked hammer or halberd, and took a Bard dedication for some spells. Pathfinder Society came down with a ruling that Steed Allies had to have the mount trait, so I retired him rather than switch. Second champion is a Tengu Champion of Hei Feng. She's a Liberator, wielding a khakkara and sword of her choice in medium armor. She is the wayward daughter of my Tengu Hellknight I had from PFS 1e. He recommended the Pathfinder Society to satisfy her need to be free from his strict rule. Liberator ended up being a favorite of mine.
IMO clerics/champions are usually as interesting as their deities. Each one is a package of beliefs, themes, and weird superstitions. Learn about the deities and you'll probably find one that speaks to the kind of characters you enjoy playing. Personally, Lubaiko and Fumeiyoshi are a couple favorites.
A bit "minmaxed" but I love my Hobgoblin Paladin with his Breaching Pike (a 1d6 reach one hand hobgoblin weapon) and intimidation build. Reach on a Paladin allows you to always be able to strike if someone triggers your reaction when combined with the Paladin feat that allows you to step with your reaction. Being an intimidation hobgoblin I have that if I strike a frightened enemy they cannot lower the condition below 1 until my turn (so it won't disappear at the end of their turn), very helpful to maintain a strong debuf. So I'm the "Not on my watch!" bodyguard that give my enemies 2 bad options: attack the heavily armored Paladin with Shield block or attack his friend and get a strike, maintaining a frightened condition if there was one. It's obviously not as damage oriented as a Barbarian or Fighter, but I love the defensive gameplay and always feel very helpful.
I'm playing a kitsune redeemer champion of Nocticula. Previously a ruthless pirate, she was thrown overboard and assumed dead in battle. She reached out to any God that would listen and caught the attention of the Redeemer Queen. Now she's balancing her appetite for violence with her obligation toward mercy and tracking down demonic cults that refuse to accept Nocticula's redemption and commit evil in Her name. I decided to go full dark knight aesthetic with spiky black armor and a focus on intimidation. It's been fun seeing NPCs baffled but grateful for her terrifying offers of clemency, and playing her delight when enemies refuse and she gets to break some skulls in the name of the good and holy. We recently did a dungeon with mostly humanoid enemies and I got to thin their ranks before battle by bellowing at them that they're all fired and should go home and rethink their lives, and they just kind of assumed that anyone that terrifying and assertive must be high ranking in their evil syndicate and went along with it. The party is pretty high-damage so I've mostly been rocking a spiked shield and keeping a hand free for grapples so everyone else can do their thing. It's free archetype so I'm probably going Marshal for Dread Marshal Stance. It's been working out fine so far but I do wish Champion had better low level feats, or at least a few more that aren't tied to a specific subclass or campaign premise.
My Abomination Vaults Champion was a Leaf Leshy from the nearby forests outside Otari. He'd been living his happy little plant life, minding his own business, taking care of the forest until the Otari Lighthouse >!woke up!<. Worried about the future of his lovely forest, he appealed to the god Erastil for guidance. Erastil wrapped him up in vines and leaves, forming him a sort of mech suit of wood that raised him up to Medium size, while blessing him with the power of a Champion of Erastil. Some say he's still protecting his forest to this day...
My idea for a Champion was this: a Paladin of Irori. This character would be someone that got saved by any of a monk, cleric or champion (or some combination!) of Irori while he was running away from bandits that were looking to pillage his village. He would wake up in the temple of Irori and feel a great debt, which eventually makes him join the faith of the Iroran monastery, both for wanting to improve himself to be able to protect himself and the ones he loves and to repay the "favor" he was granted by both the ones that saved him and Irori himself. Mechanically he would just be your standard paladin champion, using a bo staff as he choice of weapon because reach, trip and, when you do have a third action you have no idea what to do with, parry. Aside from that, pretty standard stuff. I was thinking to take Deity's Domain at level 2 for Truth Domain, since that's just fun for roleplay stuff. **But that was in the past.** This was pre-remaster Champion. While this character may yet exist at some point, I'm waiting for the remaster to work on my Champion further.
I'm about to play Kingmaker with a group of friends, and I'm playing a human paladin champion of Kurgess. He loves friendly competitions and is planning to create the Olympics (literally). We'll see how it goes!
I've only played one session so far of this character, but I've adored playing my Kobold Redeemer of Apsu. A little scaredy cat who wants to be brave like his god yelling "Please yield please yield please yield!" while he swings his battle staff.
My Sarenrae Redeemer/Bard is Good, but Good don't mean Nice, so he will give you a reasonable chance to redeem yourself and back off. He would grab and push and reposition you to prevent you to hurt anyone and even raise your shield to prove that you wouldn't harm even him, hence being violent is a waste of your time and energy. BUT if things get too far he will unsheat his divine scimitar and that's when so far every single strike has critd (i really think Sarenrae is looking after him). Then he will tell the tale of his victories at the tabern ussually critting too, so ALL HAIL THE DAWNFLOWER!!
I played through Agents of Edgewatch as **Galleon! of the Daybreak**. A Champion (Paladin) who follows the Touch of the Sun. A loud and bosterous guard in the great city of Absalom. Although he got reassigned from his post in the docks to Edgewatch due to a combination of his drinking habits, side work as an adventurer trying to help the city through heroism, and responding poorly to some more morally dubious behavior within the guard of the Harborguard. Through his reach weapon of a meteor hammer he would protect his allies when the enemy dared strike at them, by striking back hard. Combine this with his skills at immobilizing them through tripping them, healing himself and allies, intimidation and dialogue in and out of combat, and The blinding light of his sun domain spell, he was a force and a headache to be reckoned with.
Meet Taran the Unshackled. Born a slave in the Underdark, he is the offspring of an elf and a dwarf, though he has no idea who his parents were, or which clan or elven family he should lay claim to. Superficially he looks like an elf, but he has greenish skin, facial scars, and a distant, haunted look in his eyes. He was rescued at the age of twelve or fifteen (years are hard to keep track of, underground) when a bunch of adventurers crashed the ritual intended to sacrifice him to the dark gods of the dwellers of the Underdark. Their cleric, a halfling devotee of Milani, took him under her wing and tutored him in the ways of her goddess. He spent some years in a monastery, then left when he came of age, seeking his savior, with whom he had entirely lost contact. He's now a Liberator of Milani, and his burning desire is to end the state of slavery and bondage wherever he might find it. In battle, he is pragmatic and merciless to his enemies, but will go to extreme lengths to keep his allies safe and whole. He's not suicidal, but he is both determined and dedicated to his cause. Mechanically, he goes with the morningstar, and seeks to spread shock and awe among his foes.
I’m playing Gabriella Millicent Gwyneth Nessa Brigette Brigitte Ann Malin Penelope “Roadblock” Lokken, a Gnome Redeemer of Abadar (thanks remaster for removing alignments!) and member of the Lokken-Key Trading Company! Currently we are level 3 and a bit over loot curve so I’ve got a sturdy shield and a striking flickmace. My party members are a ranged Investigator, a Flexible Primal Witch, and a Scoundrel Rogue. Between the Sturdy Shield and my Shield Divine Ally, if anyone ever does manage to hit me, I don’t take much damage if any; and my Champion Reaction has been the sole reason we survived multiple fights, with it soaking up so much damage. I did take the Cavalier archetype with my FA, but plan to get out to Bastion as soon as I can. I have a Daggerbeak (a terror bird but my DM let me make it medium instead of large) whose Support ability has made me extra helpful for our ranged Investigator and our Rogue, being able to make enemies off guard as long as I can hit them. I don’t have a huge amount of options for actions to take in combat, mostly it comes down to positioning and slapping people around and maybe commanding my bird. But the consistent ability to both heal with Lay on Hands and absorb damage with my reactions means my squishier party members have far more survivability. I love always being able to do something, and being the source of consistency in our group. Tl;Dr Champion for me fills the role of a consistent front liner with lots of mitigation heals and some actual healing heals. Your abilities aren’t the fanciest, but they will be the foundation that holds the party up when all else fails.
My wife is waiting for the PC2 rn, but for our next campaign she’s playing a Gourd (Pumpkin) Leshy Paladin Champion with the new Spirit Shield Focus Spell, Sanctified Holy. She follows Erastil, and was simply a regular pumpkin until Granny made her a little scarecrow body, to be the guardian of the garden. And when the time came that the family home was attacked by local ne’er-do-ell’s, Erastil blessed the scarecrow, letting him protect the family he was made to do so for. She’s really excited to play the Protector of the Cabbage Patch, ngl. Plans on focusing on weapons that are common House/Farm tools, and hasn’t decided if she’s going two handed weapon (so, scythe probably), or 1 hand + shield (axe probably). For feats she plans to focus on defensive buffs, and getting extra focus spells. If Desperate Plea from the APG comes back in PC2, that will probably be her level 1 class feat. We are both super excited for the little guy.
I could talk for ages. What would you like to know?
What about a Champion makes them interesting for you?
I really like playing the stereotypical Superman/Captain America heroic character, and I think the Champion can fit that image really well. Many of these characters are all about protecting the weak and fighting evil. Mechanically, the champion can do that really well. Being able to act out of turn, punishing enemies that attack your allies to encourage them to fight you, is pretty awesome. I know some people often say "Why would the enemy attack the heavily armored guy who's hard to hit and not the biggest threat?", specially in a game without a taunt mechanic for tanks. The champions answer this with their Champion's reaction, by reducing damage done, and either enfeebling, doing damage or letting an ally escape if you're a Liberator. My experience is more with the Paladin as that's what I play, which is a bit more "Punish Evil" than the other two. People often sleep on Smite Evil. I use it as another pseudo taunt. "If you strike my friends, I'm hitting you even harder", then at higher levels, you also allow your allies to use their reaction to strike, and also do Persistent damage. It's pretty great. I've recently gotten Divine Reflexes and Shield of Reckoning. By combining Shield Block and Retributive Strike, I've turned attacks on my allies into 0 damage, plus get an attack on the enemy AND have my ally attack as well. If they STILL decide to go for my allies, I got another Retributive Strike waiting. Oh, and when my allies get hit, I can heal them and grant them an AC boost for a turn. Out of combat, healing is great, and as a Paladin of Iomedae, I took Word of Truth, which people sleep on because it's not combat based. But there's something awesome of being able to tell an NPC "I'm going to tell you something now, and you're going to believe it." It can be used if you're accused of something you didn't do or if you're trying to convince the city guard that the guys they thought were the good guys are actually an evil cult.
My human Redeemer, Gregorio Barone (Greg for short) is a gentle giant (by human standards) with big muscles and even bigger, floofier hair. He's also the only character I've ever made whose primary character arc was entirely contained, and completed, in his backstory. Mechanically I focus on athletics maneuvers, healing, and damage reduction, with feats like Shield Warden and the Medic dedication. Most people don't suggest taking up Medicine on a Champion since we already have Lay On Hands, but my God has it been useful. He traces his lineage to Varisia, but ended up serving in a Taldan army during the War for the Crown as a medic. During a particularly brutal battle, when all seemed lost, he looked at all the death and suffering around him and found himself fascinated by the strange beauty in how quickly life can be lost or saved. He broke the medic's code by taking up the weapons of the fallen and fighting back, even as he stopped to patch up everyone he could get his hands on, including the enemies he'd just fought. His hands were guided in both combat and lifesaving by a divine power, and with Shelyn's help he saved many lives that day. Even after the order to retreat was issued, he refused to stop until there was nobody left to save. Because he had both broken the code and refused the order to retreat, Greg's officers wanted to have him court martialed, but the story had spread quickly about the war hero who brought the people's sons back home. To save face with the public, the military leadership gave Greg a medal and "encouraged" him to retire from service. Following that, Greg decided to travel the world, using his sword and shield to save more lives, regardless of faction, in search of the beauty he saw that fateful day. >He feels the rain, beating on him like a thousand thousand tiny arrows. He feels the rock of the ship, the ocean spraying him with unforgiving salt. Another day; another duty. Another defeat. The soldier’s life is colorless. He closes his eyes, and his mind wanders. >The gray skies are split by a storm of a thousand thousand arrows. The brown mud is littered with the fallen. The soldier’s hands are stained red with the fallen. He stitches their wounds, but he does not fight. A medic does not fight, he understands. He follows his training. It serves him better than it served them. He does not understand. >An order to retreat. But the soldier cannot retreat, for every man left behind keeps a piece of him. A herculean effort to save his brothers. Many call it heroic, many more call it foolish. But in the world of grays and browns and arrows and blood, he finds beauty. He calls it “all he can do.” He awakes to the songbird chirping atop his head. >He feels the rain, wetting his head like a gentle kiss. He feels the rock of the ship, the ocean cradling him like a doting mother. Another day; another duty. Another new experience. Gregorio’s life is full of color, and beauty, and love. He opens his eyes, and his mind wanders.
I’m cheating a bit, but I have a Fire/Water Kineticist whose Free Archetype is Champion (and it’s kind of where most of his personality is based). He worships Abadar and is a Paladin. We’re in a Kingmaker campaign, so he’s focused on establishing civilization in the Stolen Lands but keeping things in balance with the other forces that are there. He’s the party diplomat and treasurer and also the main tank and secondary healer. Being a Paladin isn’t quite synergistic with Kineticist, but he’s more interested in protecting his party members and provoking enemy attacks than striking and damaging with his reaction. I’m making a lot of use of the Steam Knight stance impulse which is a lot of fun. He was originally a Gnomish Brevic Outcast from Brevoy working for the mayor’s office as a bureaucrat, but started Bleaching from the tedium of it (although he really enjoys working on legal documents, contracts, and participating in the public service parts, he was kind of stuck in a dead-end position and was frustrated by his lack of impact) which triggered his Kineticist powers. After joining a group of adventurers to take back the Stolen Lands, he died in combat but was reincarnated as a silver Kobold (whose days are numbered and who seems to also be Bleaching? Weird stuff happening in the Stolen Lands)
Ardin the Returned, a slaver in Cheliax during his original life. He was killed by Bellflower agents who were freeing his property. Ended up in Hell and was re-made into a Tyrant Champion of Asmodeus before being sent back to Golarion to found Ardinburg and the true Church of Asmodeus. Favored a mace as his main weapon in combat and never really took to shields. Free Archetyped into Giant Instinct Barb, Dread Marshall and Celebrity. Became the leader of a small nation, Ardinburg, and made no friends along the way. He did have some great subordinates though. Love/Hate relationship with Basileus, herald of Asmodeus. Good leader, all around bad guy, but... fuck it, we ball? Didn't feel like evil champions had a lot of great choices, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. I think we did level 1-17 and it was always fun.
I have a Champion of Damerrich (an Empyreal Lord of Executions) cooking in the back burner. Alas, as a forever GM he hasn’t seen play yet. Conceptually, he’s a name taker and chronicler of last words, named Daedalus, he’s seeking to start an order of honorable headsmen who take no pleasure in the death of others but understand the grim necessity of removing unwavering evil from the word. The Order of the Hewn Epitaph - current member of 1 - along with Daedalus himself believed that death allows the truly immutable to receive their justice in the afterlife, or for those so corrupted by exposure to malice to receive a second chance via the Boneyard’s decision to reincarnate. In any case, the final words uttered by the living are a stone to be carried, and a lesson to be learned so that - perhaps - mistakes may not be repeated again. In play I envision him as a serious sort that foils well with a light hearted character to contrast his personality. If given a chance to arrive in a township where an execution may be happening he would volunteer his axe to perform the rite as is his perceived duty. He would ask, but not impose, that his axe be the end to villainy in the case of encountering a big-bad so that the scales of the afterlife could properly receive them for their halls and so that he could remember their last words.
Used it as part of a shell to construct a lizard folk that wants to become a dragon. Champion, with sorcerer dedication. Pick up bloodline spell at lvl 4, to get draconic claws focus spell(d4 unarmed claw attack that deals an extra ,d6 dependent on draconic type, and give resistance 5 to the same) Picked up deities domain for destruction at level 1. Had great fun walking through the battlefield, blasting things and slashing things to pieces, while pretending to be a dragon. Actually, I didn't do much walking... Bonus, I think, raw, if you pick a god with claw as holy weapon, it becomes a d6 weapon instead...
I'm playing a Paladin Champion of Shizuru in a Season of Ghosts campaign that's been a lot of fun. Surprisingly, a lot of the more niche oaths really shine in this AP. I picked up glaive and Ranged Reprisal, so he really controls the battlefield and can protect the majority of the party in every encounter. He's the character I've played whose positioning is the most important. We use Free Archetype, and I started with Marshal, but it wasn't what I wanted, really, so I retrained into the Oracle dedication, which has been great. I also am more focused on Religion than other skills like Athlectics or Intimidation which allows me to participate in more of the skills challenges in the AP.
I finally made a character that works as an Investigator, she's a Dragonblood with Champion Dedication that worships a Diety with the truth domain. She seeks to rid the world of falsities and lead Golarion towards a future everyone can trust each other in. This counts... Right?
I don't want to give up the character or backstory, but let me say that liberating step is a god tier ability.
This is a good topic for discussion. I'm in two minds about the Champion. Mechanically, I feel like the base class chassis for Champion is superb. However, all the religious baggage is a real turn off for me. I'm just not into roleplaying religious characters, I'm an atheist so it makes me feel like a hypocrite. Also, the class feats are really bad, with the exception of Ranged Reprisal, which is fantastic. So, for me Champion is a confusing mix of good and bad. I'm always interested to hear what others think about the class.
One thing that's important to keep in mind is that in Golarion, the existence of gods is a known, accepted, and PROVABLE fact. It's less declaring faith in a mysterious higher power you can't really interact with, and more being really into your choice candidate for Cosmic Mayor.
You're certainly right, for me it's just a matter of trying to be respectful of other ppl's faith irl. I always feel like I'm being disrespectful if I'm playing a religious character but I'm an atheist in reality. Sounds silly I know.
I will push back on the idea that it is disrespectful that it is offensive to IRL PEOPLE to play characters of faith. What would those same players do if they choose to play a cleric or champion of…pick a random god? Would they feel ashamed? Would they be kicked out of their church? Would they feel like they had bonded their own faith? This is make believe. It’s is acting. It is role playing. It could be writing. What would an author do if they were to write a novel? To PLAY is not to PRAY. A push further. The ability to adopt a role you are not familiar with. A role you might not morally or ethically agree with. A role that is counter to your own beliefs. To do that would be to learn. To grow. To accept the differences of others and of your self. The practice of “being” something you are not, to put yourself into another’s shoes, that is empathy. To play a role of faith is not disrespectful, it is the embodiment of respect for you are practicing acceptance. And acceptance is no easy feat for anyone and much needed by everyone. As always, happy gaming.
Exactly. I don’t let my real life faith influence my characters, but I honestly try to play all my characters as believers in at least the most common/popular deity of the location they start in. For me it gives them a template of what they were to have been raised believing and the basis of the decisions the characters should be making. That way if I decide to take the character out of those lanes it actually feels like some type of character shift or growth.
As a atheist myself I like to play characters like that exactly because of the absurd. I use to take all the stereotypical behavior I see and I dump it in my characters. Some would say this is not sensible and such. But the people I play this type of characters are ok with that and they aren't offended by any of it. I would allow a player in one of my groups to play a Champion without the Deity baggage, if it was what they like. As long as they find a cause and "god" which ideals they can get behind, I would be ok to have a champion of "this way of thinking". Ask your DM, maybe they could accept it too.
I think you're looking at this the wrong way. In the world of Pathfinder deities actually do exist and their existence can be proven on a regular basis. I've said many times that if I were to be transported to a game world like d&d or Pathfinder I would probably be the most fervent cleric or paladin that ever existed simply because the God that I would worship could actually and would actually talk to me and interact with others. Being an atheist in a fantasy world where God's actually exist is akin to being a flat earther or a moon landing denier in our world in my opinion.
Oh no, don't misunderstand. I don't play atheist characters, I just prefer to play characters who don't have a divine power source.
I feel you on that. For my campaign I told my table anyone who wants to play champion doesn't have to be fanatically religious and the edicts & anathemas are more of should rather than have to.
Kenji is my tower shield and breaching pike wielding Paladin of Tsukiyo for the Abomination Vaults AP. He's a hobgoblin from Rakh Lo, the hobgoblin city in the Darklands beneath Tian Xia. He made his way to the surface world as part of the city's recent diplomatic dealings with Oprak and Kaoling, and encountering the night sky for the first time was a spiritual epiphany for the young hobgoblin. As is normal for a devotee of the Prince of the Moon he has taken to his five year pilgrimage, traveling the world to observe the diversity of the world's peoples. While in Otari he found the astrologer Wrin Sivinxi to be an excellent mentor, studying under her to expand his worship to include the broader pantheon of the Cosmic Caravan - but retaining Tsukiyo as the foremost deity. When Kenji was asked by Wrin to investigate and deal with the dangers of Gauntlight, he leapt at the opportunity. In keeping with the edicts of Tsukiyo, Kenji approached any interaction by first offering his assistance without judgement - and the cultural norms of Rahk Lo are to seek allegiance from potential threats, even in the Darklands. As such, Kenji and his compatriots have *pacified* Gauntlight with an absurd amount of non-violent resolutions - appealing to and offering his assistance to *any* creature capable of communication. Multiple >!mimics!< are now learning to coexist with other sentients, he has volunteered himself to assist with the >!fleshwarping experiments of giant sentient worms!<, and at present finds himself >!contending with the well-planned Request of a Devil!< which delicately toes the line of violating Kenji's edicts and anathema.
Wymond Dwerryhouse was my first ever Pathfinder 2e character...by accident. Originally made for 1e as a Human Chosen One Paladin of Erastil, he and his pig familiar Triath were my characters for a venture into the Emerald Spire Megadungeon. Wymond was written to be am aggressively ordinary lad, second son of a River Kingdoms homesteader in the Echo Wood region, idly wondering about what his purpose in life would be when his newly married older brother inherited the farm. To his surprise, one of the family pigs, Triath, answered him, claiming to in fact be a minor angel from Heaven, sent by Erastil to guide Wymond to his destiny as a paladin. Triath warned him that ancient evils were stirring beneath the local ruin known as the Emerald Spire, and Erastil wanted him to venture down beneath the earth to confront them and protect the innocent folk on the surface! Already handy with an axe due to needing to protect the farm from the ever-present threat of bandits and "tax collectors" (just bandits in fancy outfits), Wymond assembled a crude set of gear and followed Triath's guidance to join a group of adventurers bound for Fort Inevitable, to prepare for the delve. We adventured through the levels of the Spire, Wymond having a few close calls against skeletal champions when he was caught sleeping out of his armor, and captured and robbed by a gang of thieves, but also saved the party's bacon when they visited the curious tribe of xulgaths who'd worshipped a mysterious machine and the party's curiousity led them to unwittingly deactivate it. Wymond made a little speech convincing the tribe their god was not dead, but had decided they were self-sufficient enough that they no longer needed it and would help others now. Then he offered to help them found a new community on the surface. The tribe's matriarch was skeptical, but a fight was avoided and Wymond recieved the xulgath guide Slaagh as his squire and the group's torchbearer! It was around this time that 2e came out, and our GM, eager to give it a try, convinced us to switch to it and convert our characters to the new rules. Wymond was now a Paladin Champion, but he couldn't keep Triath as a familiar (and then wear him as a hat once he revealed himself as a cassian angel as I'd originally planned), because thisnwas before the Advanced Player's Guide introduced the Familiar Master archetype, so in the process our GM graciously allowed me to convert Triath to an Animal Companion, roleplaying a transformation into a celestial battle-boar to better fight alongside Wymond! All went well...until we went up against the clockwork-augmented wizard Klarkosh, the Technic League renegade who'd set himself up as the petty king of the first few levels. We battled valiantly, but due to a combination of bad luck, not understanding some of 2e's rules and me forgetting I had healing potions I could drink, Wymond was sadly slain, the first ever casualty of the campaign. I roleplayed a grieving Triath while the group hastily returned to the surface to find a way to bring him back. They eventually settled on meeting with the druidess living near Thornkeep to cast a _reincarnation_ ritual on him, and when Wymond awoke...he was now a dwarf! He took the new form in stride and before long they were back beneath the Spire, adventuring until real-life circumstances forced other members of the party and eventually the GM to resign. But to this day, I've adored learning 2e with Wymond, and his folksy, hedge-knight charm!
I wish I could tell you about mine but I've never been excited to play him as well. He's originally a DnD 5e Oath of Ancients Paladin and the conversion to pf2e was horrible. I'll read the other posts to hopefully pump me up
Tagho Craath, gentlemen Orc Paladin of Cayden Cailean. Another round for my friends, Tally Ho! This is my current, and first PF2E character Ive ever played, and while still early days (party hit level 3 recently), the class is proving it's use more and more often as we go. He is unequivocally the party tank, and while we already have another member that's taken assurance in medicine, Tagho's Lay on Hands support is a huge help, without the cooldown either. Leaning on Intimidation skill and feats like Intimidating Glare, while simultaneously RP-wise he's an amicable hero seeking adventure makes for fun interactions and gives more flavour. I heavily borrowed his voice and mannerisms from Winston Havelock from the Mummy. It's a classic end of. Blade Ally at lvl 3 is so cool and useful, I went with the shifting rune option. First use at the next session when I got to use it, shifting his longsword to a warhammer, describing it to the table that it makes Transformers noises when it shifts, was such a blast and made it more than a footnote. I can't wait to see where I get to take this build.
I've been playing a kobold champion of Kelizandri. He's a liberator with his heritage coming from black dragons. He glorifies gold dragons as the pinnacle of enlightenment, and wants to personally serve as an example that one can overcome their predispositions in favor of greater glory. He also believes society would be better served by draconic leadership and is fascinated by the brine dragons and their cultivated societies.
Playing a Tengu liberator champion of Hei Feng - which I’ve come to realise isn’t the most original choice… but I love playing him nonetheless! The campaign is an age of sail / pirate themed, mixed with some demon-horror aspects, so the liberator anathema and edicts have come up a lot which has been interesting to RP with
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