Salutations.
So I’ve wrestled with this idea before but now I’m actually intending to try it out and I wanted to get some feedback first! So, I’ve roleplayed a couple paladins over the years but they’ve typically been elves/humans.
Is it too outlandish to imagine a gnomish paladin wandering around? I can see surprised reactions being common IC but is there any reason why it shouldn’t work? The only evidence I’ve seen of one shown/developed by Blizzard would be in the form of a Hearthstone Card titled Commander Rhyssa that -appears- to be a paladin. But I digress.
With their potential to become priests, their affinity for the Light is there - although there’s contention as to whether or not it’s actually -belief- over -will-. But looking back at the blood knights of yore in Quel’Thalas, their original paladins commanded the Light by -will-. Although it had side effects such as horrible migraines, IIRC.
So what are people’s opinions? Too outlandish to attempt? My idea was to use a gnome warrior gal, farm some paladin-esque mogs and go around righting wrongs as an easily underestimated shortstack with a hammer.
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I think it’s a neat idea honestly. I could see a situation where a Gnome’s faith is strong enough to where they’re able to wield the Light. I think the only point of contention could be Gnomes don’t seem the religious type as a whole, but with the influence of Human beliefs and all the time Gnomes have been in the Alliance, I could see some Gnomes embracing it.
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Go for it. There’s already some gnome paladins around!
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It´s entirely justified for gnomes to become paladins and I don´t see any reason why any decent RPer would have an issue with such concept.
On top of that, I know one gnome paladin RPer (the one and only Beans) and it´s amazing concept.
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Yeah, i don’t see why you can’t Rp a gnome paladin.
Go for it.
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I mean I’ve seen a worgen paladin around ( granted, not often rp’ed with that char so I can’t speak of the quality), so a gnome doesn’t seem that outlandish at all!
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More gnomes are always welcome!
Beans is a good example indeed.
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Is Beans the blonde lady gnome part ooof… I think the Silver Hand?
In any case, techno-paladin is a pretty cool concept, go for it!
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There might be.
In the lore, Alliance Paladins are traditionally empowered by the Priesthood of whatever people they represent. Early Paladins were empowered by human priests, and I believe Arthas was as well, though if this has been changed at any point since then, I have no idea. Gnomes don’t really have a clergy so to speak, given their only real representation as a Priest class has been field medics and surgeons. This might just be their very underdeveloped lore, though.
That said, it’s a piece of lore which is only really referenced in novels and it’s bad faith to assume everyone is aware of it, and things may have changed that I’m not aware of since then.
You could definitely play the character, though with some limitations from not being able to access class animations and the like.
At the end of the day, even if Gnome Paladins don’t have a clergy to be blessed with to become “true” paladins, very little outside of gameplay mechanics prevents a Gnome Priest from wearing heavier armour and whacking sinners with hammers.
Paladins for most players really just means any divinely empowered warrior or martial priest, so potato potato, really.
Worth noting about being a Paladin is that they’re more than just a priest who decided to equip some plate armour one day. Though faith in the Light is a requirement, it isn’t the only barrier of entry as a priest deciding to armour up is just a cleric by definition as presented in the novels (Rise of the Lich King, Of Blood and Honour)
What separates you from a priest in plate is that Paladins undergo a ritual with their local clergy where they empower you and the recipient is scrubbed clean, born anew in the Light with “divine fire coursing through their veins.”
To qualify for that the recipient has to be the prime example of what it means to be a Paladin and being worthy of becoming the clergy’s champion as once you’re subjected to it, the Light itself judges your soul and there’s an implication that the unworthy don’t make it out alive.
That said, nothing stops an individual gnome from doing this and being a person of merit to be deemed worthy of the honour. Such a gnome might very well be the closest thing to a perfect Paladin to overcome all these obstacles and still triumph.
There’s been no mention of any change what so ever since, and Blizzard’s stance always has been that old lore is canon until a new piece of lore directly contradicts it. This ain’t it.
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Beans is the Gnome Paladin with infinite amounts of chicken soup.
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Beans is a gleaming paragon of justice, joy, and wonder. I fully support there being more gnome paladins and have often thought about my gnome going down that path…
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No unique concept is without their haters, I recall the first Paladin Guild I joined wanted me gone day one because “gNoMeS CaN’T bE pAlADins”.
But in the end, I did my research, found a nice Paladin community to bunk with (Call of the Silver Hand) and they made her what she is today along with a very supportive community. As long as you somewhat understand the paladin lore/concept and reflect it through your gnome and Role Play, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Warrior is likely your best as the plate mogs majority are shared between the Paladin class, don’t forget to pick up some trinkets to make up for your lack of light abilities OOC for cool effects ICly.
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Going to hijack slightly but; do you have a list of these trinkets?
Was looking for some for my LF Warrior
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It’s not a lot but this is what I got so far so I hope it helps ^^
- Apexis Focusing Shard (Toy - Draenor Time Walking) Allows you to fire a beam of concentrated light to a player target, Horde or Alliance
- High Powered Flashlight (Trinket - Engineering or AH) Allows you to create a spotlight effect, similar to Elune Stone or Champion Salute Toy
- Archive of Faith (Trinket - Fallen Avatar) Creates a more glittery light beam to an allied target and produces a faint yellow shield on both you and your target
- Smoldering Titanguard (Trinket - Aggramar) Creates a fiery ward that explodes trails of fire in four directions (Kinda cool for consecration ICly)
- Heart of Azeroth (Neck - Bfa) Azerite traits have ideally bluish and yellow light affects which can be perceived as paladin abilities
- Sunglow (Consumable - Vindicator Jaelaana) Makes your character glow for 5 minutes and give off light
- Ward of Envelopment (BfA - Champion of the Light) You and allies get a fiery light shield but I have yet to confirm as it’s harder to acquire
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Thank you! It’s nice to hear from a paladin gnome veteran! And thanks everyone else for the feedback.
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