5 Backstory Ideas for Your Paladin in Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)

The Paladin is like a mixture of Cleric and Fighter, they can serve on the frontline, with high Armor Class and Hit Points, or they can serve as an additional healer, using their spells and Lay on Hands abilities to help keep their allies alive. Paladins are also high damage dealers, able to use their Smite ability to lay out quite a bit of damage. They have to balance this with limited spell slots, and the Paladin does have some utility spells to accent their group. Now it’s time to come up with a few quick backstory ideas to help bring your character to life. Here are five intriguing ideas to use in your game, or to build off of to create a unique character you’ll love to play.

#1: The Faithful

You live a life in service to your deity or church. The Faithful is the classic idea for a Paladin, serving as a holy warrior who places their faith above all else. Your Faithful could range from a champion of the god of the sun, swinging a flaming sword, or they could be a champion of the dead, seeking names to cross off their list. Maybe you’re a high ranking member of the church, or maybe you’re just another priest in service to their higher power. If you are going to play a Faithful think about questions such as, what does your faith fight for and why is it important to you? Do you work for the church or are you a solitary warrior, maybe you’ve been charged by a dream or prophecy? Think about what brought you into the faith, what brought you into the church and what traditions are most important?

For many Faithful, you might have joined the Church because it is the faith of your people, or the god that your parents follow. For others, the tenets and traditions may have called to you? For some, they joined the Faith because they had nowhere else to go, being brought into a monastery or serving the church for room and board. You’ve proved yourself useful and now they’ve trained you to carry out the will of the faith. What has caused you to leave the church now, or to carry your faith out into the world? Maybe your superiors have chosen you for a mission for the church, or maybe you feel the need to spread the word. Either way, work with your DM to determine allies within the Church, and how your faith might pertain to the world at large!

#2: The Crusader

Similar in many aspects to the Faithful, the Crusader fights for their church or their kingdom directly, seeking to retake a holy city or recover an artifact that is important to their faith. The Crusader is the epitome of the holy warrior, charging off to far off lands to prove themselves and take glory for their church. As a crusader maybe you’ve joined the fight to seek glory for yourself, maybe you truly believe in the mission or you’re on the quest only to find riches for yourself. Being a Crusader means taking the fight to the enemy. What was your Crusade for? Where did your Crusader go? Did you learn to fight before you travelled across the world, or did you learn on the road?

As a Crusader, the Faith comes first. Consider whether your character hates those he is fighting against, or that he instead fights only because he believes in the Church’s will. Does the Crusader have any codes or limitations, or will they do whatever they believe is necessary to succeed. The Crusader might fight against a foreign power, or they might be against evil in general, or specifically fighting undead or demons. Work with your DM to determine what your Crusade might have been for, and how that fits into the history of the world!

#3: The Warden

The Warden is the protector of the natural world. They could protect an ancient grove, or a hidden oasis far into the desert. You could be a Warden against Undead, Aberrations or Fiendish Outsiders, protecting the Material Plane from interlopers. The Warden uses their mixture of magic and combat prowess to fight against injustices, and uses their abilities to track down powerful creatures and destroy them when necessary. Consider how your Warden came to take their stand, either against these creatures or to protect a holy place. Maybe the magical location has been protected by their family or people for countless generations, and now it is under siege from an outside power.

Consider how your Warden learned their magical abilities. Did they gain it through their faith, or did they gain the abilities through their connection to the natural world. Maybe the location they protect grants them the power directly. If you’ve chosen a particular location to protect, consider how that might affect the way you adventure, and talk it over with your DM to make sure the character concept works well with the world. If you’ve chosen a particular type of monster that you are opposed to, consider why this is important to you as a character.

#4: The Royal

Not all Paladins were always trained as powerful warriors. For some, they were trained for other purposes, perhaps as a Royal Guard, or maybe even part of the Royal family. This backstory idea fits well for the Oath of the Crown or Order. The Royal might have faith in deity, or their power and magic might come directly from their faith and dedication to the crown. The Royal has a range of skills and combat prowess from some of the best tutors in the land. Consider where your Royal stands in the line of succession, and how being one of the most well known and powerful people in the land has affected your character.

For a different perspective, perhaps your Royal didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury. Maybe they belong to a Royal line that was kicked out of power, or even hunted. Maybe they were a bastard child, exiled from the land, but seek to retake the crown. Work with your DM to figure out which Royal line you could be a part of, and how that will affect you over the course of the campaign. This also allows you to build some contacts and NPCs within the Castle or Palace to connect your character to.

#5: The Messiah

As a Paladin, you are often considered a representative of the faith and church, but what if your character is even more than that. Perhaps you are an aspect of your god, come to earth to achieve some sort of momentous goal. Maybe you are part of the prophecy, destined to spread the faith of your god. You could be a part of a much larger movement, a resurgence of a particular faith. You could truly believe that you are the reincarnation of a past god, whether everyone believes you or not could be another thing to consider. Does your Messiah have followers? How does your Messiah know they are the Messiah? Were they told directly by an angel or another divine entity, or did they have a dream? Maybe they don’t even know if they are the Messiah, but others truly believe it.

Consider whether your Messiah likes the weight that has been placed on their shoulders, or if they have fully accepted what they must do. Are they willing to make sacrifices in the name of their quest, or are their lines they are unwilling to cross? What does your Messiah do with their followers, or do their followers have a mind of their own? Your Messiah might find themselves trying to do their best to do good things, but maybe their followers have different ideas of what is the right thing to do. This is a backstory idea that requires more work with your DM to make work, so definitely discuss with them how you want to make your idea work.

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• Magic Items for Paladins
• Best Feats for Paladins

This is part of a series of backstory ideas for each class. To check out the other articles in this series, follow the links below!

• Barbarian
• Bard
• Cleric
• Druid
• Fighter
• Monk
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Wizard