Paladins:

Possibly the most important change here is that paladins are no longer bound to Law, although they still have to be Good. Paladins and Priests provides two basic special abilities that really define the paladin- the ability to heal, and the ability to smite evil- and offers up a list of class skills and advancement that make sense. Also good is a text box that addresses what happens to a fallen paladin, and how to go about the process of redemption.

Some good thinking went in to the mechanical aspects of becoming (and staying) a Paladin, and I like the requirement of an Archaic Weapon. It does seem to pigeonhole the Modern Paladin, but then I had visions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a lot of ‘80’s demon-movies dancing in my head as I imagined playing a Paladin in the modern world.

Priests:

In the Modern D20 setting, being a Priest doesn’t mean you are a bruiser in armor who can sling spells- necessarily. Paladins and Priests makes mention that the Modern system allows you the flexibility to make a non-combatant priest character, if you choose. Also significant is mention that in the modern world, gods are a lot less likely to pop in and have a chat with your priest character.

The two major foci of the priest character, like in D&D, are the ability to cast divine spells and the ability to turn creatures (undead, outsiders, etc). Plenty of the right information is provided regarding spell advancement and the rules for turning. I especially like the inclusion of the Religious Rank talent- allowing your character to be a force to be reckoned with within his particular religious organization, regardless of the actual character level.

Conclusion:

I really liked this product- the very idea behind it seems good to me. Plenty of good information and ideas are within. I would have done two things differently, neither of which detract from the quality of the product.

# 1 - The illustrations were very good for paladins and priests, evoking a feeling of uniqueness, of being set apart from society, which is all together appropriate for the subject matter. However, as the thrust of this product is 'how to play paladins and priests in modern fantasy', I feel modern illustrations would have served better. Or at least a combination of the two, with the old-world feeling illustrations providing a link to the past traditional roles.

#2- I would have liked to have seen some good examples of running a paladin or priest character in the modern world. Some examples are provided (such as a modern paladin may be a soldier, or a rescue worker if his talents are more centered on healing) but I am referring to some story-text; some flavor bits to really sell the idea of playing one of these classes. For example, for the paladin as a rescue worker, something like: "D.J. wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his arm, his hands being too bloody to use for the purpose. There were just too many bodies- and they kept coming. D.J. had to stop being an EMT and start being a triage nurse; the most critically wounded needed to be identified and prioritized right away. Someone nearby said a car bomb was responsible for this catastrophe- D.J. filed that information away for later use; right now, he had a job to do." This kind of thing really brings the idea home.

Not having #1 or #2 doesn’t take away from Paladins and Priests, however. It seems a fine product, and is the right resource for adding these classes to your modern campaign. I give it a 5/5.

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