This entry is part 3 in the series Character Hooks

By D.L. Campbell

paladin-candleOne of the first posts I ever read at Campaign Mastery was the amazing 50 Barbarian Hooks. I instantly thought, ‘I hope there will be more of those!’ followed by ‘I wanna try that!’

Another list has joined the party (though I’m still greedy for more – hint, hint everybody) and I finally produced one, too. I settled on paladins because while the requirements of the class can be demanding, there are still a variety of ways they can play a role in a game.

50 Paladin Hooks

  1. Reestablishing law and order in the wake of a societal upheaval
  2. Asked by his king to begin diplomatic relations with a newly encountered people
  3. Stay with a trapped unit of soldiers to heal and assist them until reinforcements can arrive
  4. Performing tasks to earn a dragon’s respect so it will agree to be her mount
  5. Wants to clear out the ruins of an ancient library and restore access to its knowledge
  6. Start a crusade against elementals terrorizing peaceful settlers
  7. Having returned from years of battle, tries to convince church hierarchy the crusade is costing too many lives; they should find another way
  8. Establish a hospital in a remote area and train other healers
  9. Must clear the name of her church after it has been accused of a heinous crime
  10. Hunt down avengers of enemy deities
  11. A dangerously powerful artifact was stolen from his church; he must track it down and return it
  12. After a spiritual crisis, traveling the world looking for signs to restore their faith in their deity
  13. Seek the perfect site for a new cathedral
  14. Her kingdom needs her to help stimulate commerce by establishing a trade caravan between two neighboring cities
  15. Find out why his holy symbol is losing its powers
  16. Determined to crush the cult he fell prey to before finding the true path of his current faith
  17. Escort and protect dignitaries who visit the capital city
  18. In Sehanine’s name, helping two lovers find a way to lift the curse keeping them apart
  19. Seek justice for the death of a hero
  20. Go into a lich’s lair after a party that invaded it weeks ago; neither the party nor the lich have been seen since
  21. Inspire a band of allies to join in her sacred mission
  22. Dreams of performing enough great deeds to earn a place as an exarch upon her death
  23. Bodyguard an eladrin prince or princess as they explore the world outside the Feywild
  24. Serve Ioun by guiding a group of students as they study magic
  25. Quest for the pieces of a magical suit of armor; it was taken and scattered by enemies when the last wearer of it was defeated
  26. Became an adventurer to develop the skills to become a slayer of a particular monster
  27. Must elude pursuers from his faith because he has cast aside his honor in pursuit of vengeance against an enemy
  28. Select, train and lead a town militia
  29. Work as an investigator of strange religious happenings
  30. Patrol and maintain the graveyard for a huge city – its graveyard is the size of a small town
  31. Assist her church in setting up its rulership of a nation
  32. Guide a growing city in learning to execute the law with authority and compassion
  33. Provide aid and security to a region devastated by natural disaster
  34. Entrusted with the guardianship of her people’s ancestral burial grounds
  35. Called by Melora to protect the last few of a species decimated by disease until they can recover their numbers
  36. Act as advisor/enforcer for prisoners due to be released; rehabilitates those that wish to reform, polices those that can’t or won’t
  37. Work with a wizard to gather the skills and knowledge to create an artifact
  38. Recruited to clear a Feywild mountain pass of evil creatures
  39. Find and join a legendary secret society dedicated to fighting demons
  40. Try to convert a captured, conflicted minion to her side
  41. Itching to raid the treasure hoard of an enemy dragon
  42. Follow the clues in a prophecy, search for a magic blade and the one who can wield it – he is destined to lead the kingdom into a new era
  43. Desperately trying to figure out if the voice he hears is his deity calling him, or a sign he’s going crazy
  44. Atone for having previously served an evil deity
  45. Has adopted a belief that makes her a heretic of her faith – driven to convince others of the true way
  46. Had a lifelong quest he was unable to complete because he grew too old for combat; acting as guru to a new party trying to complete the task
  47. The Raven Queen requires her to defeat a villain who is blackmailing nations for protection money with an artifact that allows him to create winter weather
  48. Armed with a charter from their queen, he intends to carve a settlement out of the wilderness and rule it
  49. Start a mercenary company that will only accept honorable jobs
  50. The church of Avandra has given its paladins one year to perform great deeds of exploration; at the end of the year, they will gather to tell their tales and one journey will be judged the best, with the prize being a holy avenger


D.L. Campbell has been playing roleplaying games for 15+ years – and has the extensive dice and book collections to show for it.



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