Hiding a Paladin From a DL

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I've got a paladin IMC who has asked a Vistani about where he might be safe from all the "attention" he's been getting. Any of you have suggestions? Do you think anti-scrying magic might work? What about hiding in a phantasmagoria, or in an outsider's reality wrinkle, assuming it was stable enough, like Malistroi's in G'Henna before he was released.

[tec-goblin]

Oh! It's simple: kill a random villager.

[Greywolf]

Carinval is always an option and is suggested at the end of the product, or any mass holy site of the paladins alignment I would image would provide enough "distortion" to confuse the Dark Lords, or a misnaumor spell to confuse the alignment of the paladin.

[Jester of the FoS]

Hang around with high level paladins disguised as their squire.

In all seriousness holy sites such as churches or great cathedrals may act as a blank spot to particularly evil or undead lords. Perhaps there are certain items such as amulets againt scrying you could rule work against this or at least give him a save.

[Snake]

Have the Paladin find higher level good than this own self is capable of. This way he can't be singled out as easily.

So I guess I'm repeating what David wrote.

[Charney]

I think the best option a paladin would use would the cathedral/ holy site. Indeed, it should provide a relatively safe haven if the darklord is unaware of it.

But remember that unless he needs to heal, a paladin wouldn't hide this way. If he follows a chivalric code, he won't hide often for it would be a cowardly act. he might even loose his status.

Come to think of it, this "attention" paladins get might be the #1 cause of fallen paladin status. They can't take it anymore and just quit.

[Sir T]

*Staggers in, chopping at some tenticled horror. he spins ANd disamobleds a lychanthrope thatr was sneaking behind him, throws his sword into a vamipre the was materialising in an atempt to grapple him, kicks the groin out of a Zombie thats erupting from the floor and punches the demon pach trough the gate that had just opened with his bare hands*

Attention? What attention? *whimper!*

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Oh! It's simple: kill a random villager.

Beautiful! Just the advice the darkly neutral Vistani would give.

But for real advice, I agree with Charney. The "Attention" is why paladins are rare. They usual quit, fall from grace, or die in battle.

Most attempts to hide should be frought with the peril of falling from grace.

Hide in a church -> cowardly, and not there when people in danger need you.
Escape Ravenloft -> near impossible. Most portals require a blood sacrifice.
Kill a villager -> fall from grace.
Reality Wrinkle -> You're a paladin hanging around a demon all day.

The only one that seems viable is staying with Carnival, although that attracts a different kind of "attention" (and you have to not mind the Twisting).

A couple ides that are so weird they might just work:
- Multiclass to monk. If you survive 20 more levels, you get your own reality wrinkle. (I think. I remember azalin answered this a billion times, just down't remember his answer.)

- Find a small, managable fiend (like Quist). Instead of destroying it, find a way to imprison it in some magic item. Carry around the magic item as your own personal reality wrinkle. (Of course this adds a moral question as to whether this is appropriate behavior for a paladin. On the one hand, you're suppoesd to smite evil, not enslave it. On the other hand, you could say that imprisoning an evil forever is a better punishment than slaying it.)

[Troile]

I think this is the same thing as border closure.

I don't think most darklords would pay attention to a paladin...let alone really know what it is.

It is a plot device for sure.

There is also the fact that "evil" doesn't exist to wipe out good...it just exists.

In certain domains I can see where this would be a problem...but I don't think so in most.

[Stygian Inquirer]

I've got a paladin IMC who has asked a Vistani about where he might be safe from all the "attention" he's been getting.

I do not know how much attention you are giving your paladin but I think that the point of the Darklords being able to detect paladins is to prevent anyone from ousting them from their positions. I make use it when a paladin is directly trying to affect the Darklord, i.e. kill them.

Otherwise I do not use it too much because you can easily make the players paranoid and worried to even leave the house in the morning. Then the paladin class levels would convert to Ravenloft Wussie class levels.

[Azalin Rex]

Paladin is like a "festing wound" for darklord. So when he will have free time he definetly will kill any paladin in his domain.

[Jester of the FoS]

Young darklords might not know what the 'blip' on their radar is but older, wiser and more experiance lords most certainly will. Keep in mind some darklords with no supernatural abilities might not sense a paladin as strongly if at all. I do not see Drakov being able to sense let alone track a pally although he may feel ill at ease when in close proximity to one.
Strahd on the other had would smitey ASAP.

I disagree that hiding in a church is cowardly, especially if you're an enemy of a darklord. That isn't cowardly so much as sensible. And there is nothing chaotic, unlawful or evil in being scared so a paladin has every right to spend their off hours hidden in the basement of an abandoned cathedral sitting in a room decorated by holy symbols, wards, salt circles and rings of holy water. Yes by not being in an inn he may not be there when he is needed but if he stays alive he can do much more good than if he dies because he remained in plain sight. Discresion is the better part of valour.
Of course staying hidden when you see or hear someone in need is entirely different.

I still think most anti-scrying magic would work, but only to a muted extent such as the Misdirection spell (IIRC its name correctly). They would still know that somewhere there is a paladin, the festering wound would still be there, they just have no idea the specific location.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I agree with David's points that hiding in a church is not always cowardice, and that most DL's would prefer to scratch the itch if they know how.

By the nature of you suggestions, I take it that none of you put much stock in anti-scrying magic. Specifically, what about the following:

--Nondetection
--Misdirection
--Mage's Private Sanctum
--Mind Blank
--Sequester

[Manofevil]

I've been following this and as another who prefers to play paladins (i like to keep people guessing) I think that this really should run on a case by case basis.
Why, for example, should Strahd take time out of his quest for Tatyana to go chase down some metal-clad lunatic on a horse who may not be affecting him in any way to begin with? It doesn't make sense.
Azalin gave me the impression from the novels that he might actually have more use for the paladin than he would for any of his ruling class.
Drakov DOES strike me as the type to target these individuals specificly but I can't see how he'd find out about them.
What possible reason would Adam have to go after them?
Harkan Lucas would definitely target them the minute he knew about them. He's probably always looking for another excuse to kill someone. Probably his favorite passtime.
Jaqueline Renier would probably see them as a new toy to play with.
Yagno Petrovna would probably recieve orders from his 'God' that this heretic must be eliminated.

I guess I just don't see how this Paladin affects the Darklords. If they immediately develope headaches or something the minute one enters their domain then, yes, I can see them targeting paladins, but if all that happens is the Darklords suddenly become aware of them, then I can't see why some, like Harkan Lucas or Yagno Petrovna, wouldn't attack them while others, like Adam or Hazlik, wouldn't ignore them (At first at least) and still others, like Azalin or Ivana, wouldn't in fact welcome them. Remember, the personalities and motivations of each Darklord has to be taken into account. There are certain things they won't necessarily do just because they're the bad guys.

[Greywolf]

When I posted the church or holy site as a "static zone" I didnt mean to take it as cowardly, and most paladins that served the church also lived there anyway. Also I would think the cowardly way would be to hide behind a stronger, more powerful source of good, as he is delibertly putting others in danger by hiding his power undeanothers that could get that person(s) killed.
I still say a misdirection or alignment spell or magic item would work best.