#twelve paladins of Charlemagne

[themostancientdreams]

He's trying his best to take care of his feral children paladins.

Honestly charlie deserves more credit because if I had to take care of twelve, much less three of his paladins I would've thrown myself out a window.

[dailyfatecharlemagne]

Day 8

Charlemagne, about being in possesion of the singular braincell among the Paladins: I have one brain cell and it bounces around in my skull like a windows screen saver. Charlemagne: When it hits a corner perfect, I’m allowed one good idea.

[versegm]

Astolfo: So that's all of us! Every member of the twelve paladins of Charlemagne.

Guda: ... There are fifteen of you.

Astolfo: Yeah but twelve sounds cooler so.

[tgrailwar-zero]

“Crafted by the lair of a Beast” you say. So you are aware of what is growing at the center of the Solar Cell. But the words spoken about us before we were sealed aren’t wrong. It’s just that we have changed greatly since then.

How aware are you of the history of the Solar Cell, why it was created, and what the main goal of that Beast is?

CHARLEMAGNE: "I know of the Beast. The dark, raging fire of a once benevolent goddess. The Beast laid it's seeds within the Holy Grail War of the Moon- and then, when the time was right, it unleashed itself and slaughtered countless Masters and Servants. When the Moon Cell retaliated, it sequestered itself on the Far Side of the Moon, out of the sight of the 'Eye of God'. There-- here, rather-- it incubates. For once it reaches its true form, it can overpower even the miracle that is the Moon Cell Automaton, and then the planet itself."

CHARLEMAGNE: "As such, we have arrived. You see, the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne are summoned when--"

CAROLUS-TILPINUS: "When the Knights of the Round Table oversleep?"

BRADAMANTE: "When Lord Merlin needs a good laugh?"

ROLAND: "When Hector forgets to pick up the phone?"

ASTOLFO: "When you're getting real desperate for heroes?"

CHARLEMAGNE: "…The Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne are summoned when the world forgets about freedom, justice, and light. There is a darkness residing at the core of the Solar Cell, and we have been chosen to defeat it. This 'Solar Cell' is a place of immense potential- perhaps the beginning of a new humanity, residing within the Moon Cell. As such- we serve as liberators!"

[princesssarisa]

Sorry for spamming you with asks, but on the subject of atypical fairy tale princesses, there's also the Apennine Sibyl. In classical mythology, there were ten sibyls. Medieval Christianity expanded the number to twelve and cast them as having prophesized about the coming of Jesus. The story of the Apennine Sibyl is a doozy. She's a powerful, virtuous, and wise, but very proud fairy queen who had the gift of prophecy and believed, in her absolute perfection, that she was entitled to be mother of the Messiah. When God chose some humble human girl, she challenged His decision and was punished with ruling an underground kingdom outside of the sight of humans. She built her realm under the Sibillini Mountains into an earthly paradise. In chivalric legends, she would be a recurring character both for King Arthur's Round Table and Charlemagne's paladins. Depending on who was writing and what story was being told, she was both a lustful seducer of knights and THE MOST CHASTE WOMAN in all of Christendom and beyond. She was best frenemies with Morgan Le Fay, and both engaged in fist-fighting with her, and in helping her welcome King Arthur to Avalon to rest and recover. She was Lancelot's first love, and might have even been his original love interest before stories assigned him an emotional love affair with Guinevere. Her lovers and husbands were the most impressive heroes and knights of three eras -- Alexander the Great, the conqueror; Lancelot du Lac, the best knight of the Round Table; Ector de Maris, Lancelot's brother; Lamorak, a powerful knight treacherously murdered by his comrades; Sagramore Le Desirous, berserker knight; Widukind, pagan rival of Charlemagne; Baudoin, younger brother of the paladin Roland. She was also a blueprint for the legend of Venus and Tannhauser, as she would take knights into her cave and they would never be found again. Powerful, proud, wise, ambitious, and also chaste, the Apennine Sibyl or Queen Sibylla is a fairy career woman who deserves to be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Queen Mab or Titania in fantasy fiction.

I've never heard of this character until now. I'll have to read more about her.

[oneknightstand-if]

Man the Charlemagne ask made me giggle because I HC my PC is little cloudcuckoolander maniac who's arthurian knowledge level is jacksquat but knows the 12 paladins like the back of their hand. They had (silently and fervently) praying that they could be orlando/roland just to run around in anger screaming about lost love naked or go "you must gangnam... Like I have" and talk about beef sandwiches which is a double layered reference to orlando.

MC: I'm Roland the Valiant, one of the Twelve Pala--

Merlin: NO YOU'RE NOT.

But there actually is a few crossovers between the Knights of the Round Table and the 12 Peers/Paladins (such as Bradamante meeting Merlin at his tomb and Ogier the Dane going to Avalon and meeting Morgana & Arthur). Nothing with Charlemagne or Roland, however.

Although there are plenty of Knights of the Round Table available if you want to run around buck naked wailing about lost love.

[darksaiyangoku]

RWBY: Christmas Tales

The Masked Swordsman

Blake cupped her hands for warmth as she wandered around the markets. During these four days, traders from all across Remnant would set up their stalls and bring treasures from their native kingdoms; jewels, weapons, fabrics and sweets. Blake's nose twitched as she couldn't decide what to get for her beloved. Jaune had been her friend since childhood and had moved from his original home in Charlemagne to Kuroyuri. Unlike many of her peers, Jaune wasn't a fighter. Instead, he shared Blake's passion for poetry and literature. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Maybe she could find a storybook within the market. She moved through the crowd and tapped the shoulder of an ox faunus.

Blake: Excuse me, ma'am. Do you know any stalls that sell books?

Ox Faunus: Oh of course. They're over by the pottery. The man has a vast collection from all four kingdoms.

Blake: Thank you so much. *bows*

Blake shuffled through the crowds again, trying to fight her urge to yell at everyone to get out of her way. She finally reached the book stall and came face to face with a young tiger faunus.

Tiger Faunus: Welcome to my Treasure Trove of Literature, my dear! We have every book you could possibly sink your teeth into! What takes your fancy today?

Blake leaned over and scanned the table. Of all the books, one stuck out to her the most. It was a black and white image of a caped swordsman surrounded with twelve knights. Blake's eyes sparkled with joy. It was Jaune's favourite tale; Charlemagne and his Twelve Paladins, the namesake of his home nation.

Blake: *picks up book* I'll take this one.

Tiger Faunus: Excellent choice. That'll be 10 gold lien, please. Would you like it gift-wrapped?

Blake: *nods head and pays* Thank you.

Tiger Faunus; You're welcome and have a Merry Christmas, my lady. *bows*

Blake smiled as the book was wrapped in a beautiful white cloth. She took her present and bowed to the vendor. Her nose twitched as she caught the scent of freshly baked cakes. She followed the trail to a small, makeshift bakery, where she saw a pile of mouthwatering strawberry cream buns. Jaune was sure to love this. She paid three silver lien for a box and once again ,oved through the sea of the crowd. As soon as she left the down, she saw that the clouds had become thicker and a dark grey. A few specks of snow fell and brushed against her face. She pulled her scarf above her mouth and continued her walk along the path. The snow began to fall thicker and heavier. Even with her Aura, Blake shivered through the bitter cold. The wind grew wild, obscuring her vision and pushing her back.

Blake: Ugh! Damn it!

When the wind finally cleared, Blake found herself standing face to face with her enemy; The Masked Swordsman. He wore a blood red shitagi, black hakama and a white oni-like mask, with two black horns.

Masked Swordsman: We meet again, Belladonna. *draws a azure bladed katana* Today, you will meet your end.

Blake: *draws her jet black katana* I don't have time for this, Swordsman. You've been tormenting me for the better part of a year. Today, the conflict ends.

The two of them circled around the path, raising their swords high. In a flash, they clased and a loud, deafening clang echoed as both of them struggled to push each other back. Blake began to glow a deep purple and split into a shadow clone, catching the Masked Swordsman off guard. She tried to thrust, only for him to counter and land a punch straight into her stomach.

Blake: Agh!! *stumbles back*

The Masked Swordsman raised his sword for downward strike, but Blake split into another shadow clone. She reached to her belt and poured a vial of Burn Dust onto her blade. A flame ignited and she slashed towards The Masked Swordsman. Desperately, he tried to dodge as a wave of fire burned the snowy ground. He looked into Blake's eyes and saw that they were bloodshot. She hadn't blinked once. She was intending to finish this once and for all. They both gripped their swords with both hands and ran towards each other. Blake swung with devastating force and cut a piece of the Swordsman's mask off.

Masked Swordsman: GAAAAAARGH!!!!! *grabs part of his face* NO! NOO!!! MY MASK!!!

Blake: *sheathes sword*

Masked Swordsman: This... this isn't over!!!

The snow fell faster and the Masked Swordsman djsappeared. Blake looked down at the broken mask and noticed black blood. Her eyes were wide with panic. Whoever the Masked Swordsman was, he wasn't human.

[Arc House]

A loud knock was heard and Jaune rushed over to answer the door. Standing outside was his girlfriend, Blake, shivering.

Jaune: Blake! What the hell are you doing out tbere? Get inside! *drags her in*

Blake: T-T-Thanks J-J-Jaune.

Jaune: *closes door and chuckles* It's okay, sweetheart. What were you doing out there?

Blake: *laughs* Buying your Christmas present, silly. *gives him the red cloth wrapped present* I hope you'll like it.

Jaune: If it's from you, I know I'll love it. *kisses her forehead*

Blake: *giggles and blushes* I also picked up some cream buns. You want to have some?

Jaune: Of course! Let's sit by the fire.

Jaune and Blake sat with each other by the warmth, kissing and cuddling, as they counted the days for a wonderful Christmas.

[paranoid-rhythm]

FGO Fes 2023: Bierzelt Chaldea Bar Spiderweb - Charlemagne [Translation]

Setanta Lady Avalon Saitou Hajime Xu Fu Charlemagne Ereshkigal Alter Ashiya Douman Ibuki Douji (Summer)

"Hey, Master! Are you enjoying the festival? What are you doing in this shady bar on the edge of Bierzelt Chaldea?

Oh, me? Well, just a bit earlier, I was with my men who were getting too excited about the festival when I saw Master enter this place. I got curious, so I followed you here.

Since we're already here, let's drink one together, Master! Letting me monopolize your time during chances like this won't incur any punishment for me, right? Hehehe…

Come on! Keep that glass moving! Cheers!"

Cheers!

"Phew! As expected, drinking a glassful with the Master is the best!

By the way Master, I tried wearing this apparel from your home country called a "jinbei". Ta-da~! I look cool, huh?"

You look super cool! As expected of Charlie!

"Right? Right?!

Astolfo made a mask modeled after my face, and while at that, I asked him to make one of everyone! I have one for you as well, Master, so wear it later okay? And of course, you'll wear the one that has my face on it, right?

Putting that aside… The truth is, I haven't been to many bars. It's kind of hard for me to get used to this dim lighting and silent atmosphere… I mean, if it were the other me, he may still have a proud and dignified atmosphere even in a place like this. As for me, I love places under a bright, sunny sky instead!

Oops, I forgot that one shouldn't talk too loudly in places like this…

Don't you think that speaking in a low voice like this makes it feel more cool and mature, and fits the atmosphere?"

Charlie, too close, too close! (Blush…)

"Ah… Whoa there… Sorry about that, I'm not used to speaking in a quiet voice so I got a bit carried away…

Could it be that I made your heart skip a beat? Hahaha! These kinds of things happening while drinking with the Master isn't bad every once in a while.

Oh, right! After this, the Twelve Paladins would assemble in the Oktoberfest venue! Master, do you want to come too? You'll come too, right? Wait, no, since we've already come this far, even if you say no, I'll take you along with me! Come on, let's get going, Master!"

[haz3-daz3]

I've never seen anyone write for Fate before, I'd be really happy to request from you if it's alright with you. If a request is okay with you, could the reader be an ocarina player who was shunned for playing where she came from? She's forced to enter the Holy Grail war and summons Astolfo. Reader apologizes to Astolfo often over time as she feels she'll let him down. She reveals she really just wanted to be a musician, and Astolfo becomes supportive of her goal. For the first time, reader feels reassures that her dream was worth chasing.

I gotchu covered!

Hope this is to your likinggg (￣ω￣)

im so sorry in advanced if Astolfo's OOC (ಥ﹏ಥ)

There are also a ton of other ocarinas so I uh chose the 12-hole ones because hey, Charlemagne’s 12 Paladins, ya know?

I also have no experiences with ocarinas so im sorry if the depiction is lacking (ﾉω･､)

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Astolfo x OcarinaPlayer!Reader

"Join the Holy Grail War, they said, it would be fun they said. Well no they didn't say that, more like they pushed me into it so, ha, I guess..."

Y/N sat in one of the sterile rooms of this secretly-owned-by-the-Mages' Association-motel. One where her parents specifically got for her since...well, she's the one representing the family in the War. The Holy Grail War.

The Servant she summoned; perpetually perky, pink-haired paladin only hummed in response. A gauntlet-wearing hand scratching the side of his rather pretty, fair-skinned face as he processed this information.

Rider Class Servant. True Name Astolfo, One of Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins. Rider of The Hippogriff. And apparently a cross-dresser no thanks to a certain fellow Paladin going insane, but details, details.

"I see." He said, it was pretty generic, and it honestly sort of grated on Astolfo's nerves too. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing well as my Master." He tried; optimistic purple-pink eyes trained on his Master's face who in turn just shrugged, clearly not convinced. "For now, that is." She said, eyes suddenly finding the corner of the room interesting. “Just you wait, I’ll let you down eventually…” She muttered, more to herself than to him but he still heard her.

He crossed his arms, a sigh leaving his lips as he looked around the room. The white sheets of the bed, brown wood furniture, some strange colored shell-looking object with holes, tiled floors—

Hey wait a moment.

Astolfo perked up in curiosity at the vaguely hair dryer shaped trinket on the end table of the bed, right beside where his Master sat. His footsteps light as he came near, picking it up and noticing the 12-holes around it. But purpose did it serve?

“That’s my ocarina.” His Master said, finally not looking as glum. A slight sheen in her non-battle-hardened eyes, her attention completely on the thing he held. “An ocarina?” While the Grail did give Astolfo basic knowledge about the era he’s summoned in, he’s not entirely sure what an ocarina is. Still confused on what those 12-holes are for. “Is it for decoration?”

“No, silly.” His Master chuckled, looking nothing like that girl who was so insistent that she’d disappoint as his Master. “Here let me show you,” she said, gently taking the ocarina as she grasped it with both hands and placed her faintly pink lips on the “handle”? Astolfo does not know his ocarina anatomy.

She blew, and a tune came out. “It’s an instrument? Amazing…” Astolfo said, his voice trailing off. Noticing how his Master seemed to be encouraged by his interest.

“My peers don’t think it’s amazing; a waste of time, they call it.” Y/N said, shoulders sagging but she still held the ocarina like it was her greatest treasure.

Astolfo bristled at that, a waste of time? Preposterous, something that brings joy to someone was not a waste of time to the cross-dressing Paladin. “Why don’t you play me something, Master? I wanna hear a tune!” He said, hoping to somewhat cheer her up.

Y/N hesitated, looking at him, expecting mockery, but all she saw was genuine curiosity. Well, he was a knight, not to mention her Servant so maybe he’s just being nice, she rationalized. Not really used to the earnestness in those rosy eyes.

“Okay, just one.” She said, placing her lips on the windway, opting for that one song she first learned. Though she highly doubts Astolfo knows what a video game is.

Astolfo sat down beside her, wondering how she was to play with the wind instrument. But he didn’t need to dwell long before a sweet tune filled the room, silencing his more chaotic thoughts and his evaporation of reason. Sanity intact.

Lashes fluttered close, fingers deftly covering and freeing the air from the numerous holes and producing different tones. He still doesn’t know how this ocarina worked, all he knows is that whatever she’s doing, it’s soothing.

Astolfo couldn’t help the tapping on his foot, or the subtle sway as he let himself be lost in the music, breathing evenly.

But it was quickly silenced when both of them suddenly felt a presence. Astolfo could sense a Servant, the stench of mana unmistakable. And while anger never came quick to him, tonight, he was irritated. His Master didn’t finish the song.

His lance appeared in his hand in a swirl of wind, cloak donning his shoulders. And even Y/N looked dejected she didn’t finish her playing, taking a deep breath as she stood. “Let’s get to it, then.” She said, eyes determined and trained on Astolfo.

Astolfo grinned, a shot of smugness as he leveled the lance, resting on his shoulder. “Okay, and after that, could you finish the song for me?”

Y/N looked surprised at that, freezing a moment before she returned his smile, a sight that further gave Astolfo a rush of bravado.

“I’ll play you as many songs as you want.”

[lustfulchaldea]

Fattest asses in chaldea?

The emperor takes the bronze medal. With a fat, clapping, rippling ass built to take fat, aching cocks, to jiggle as she struts around with a fake sense of superiority that can be broken down by a proper stud putting her in her place, there is no doubt that she is one of the most caked-up whores in Chaldea.

Britomart takes second, with a plump, perky booty that makes the most resoundant claps and ripples when she strides through the hall, greeting everyone with pep and cheer. In fact, it is harder to find a time where it is not wobbling in some capacity, as Britomart's rear is so immense that it seems to be in a default state of motion rather than the opposite.

However, there can only be one winner. And all are aware of who that is.

Bradamante, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne, Knight of the White Feather... There was simply no chance she could be beaten. Everything about Bradamante's prodigious rear wobbling and rippling screams 'perfection', and causes boners with every hip-swaying step she takes through the halls. Not on purpose, though. Her ass is so fat that she has to sway and sashay to properly move, though the rippling claps of her ass always leave her confused as to their origin. It's built to sink one's palms into, groping and squeezing at it with every ounceof strength they possess as they sweep the slutty paladin into a kiss... But be warned, for it may smother you if you cannot properly sate Bradamante's deep lusts.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice #17: Charlemagne

Today on Grailfinders, it’s ya boy, Charlemagne. As a servant who quite literally operates on the rule of cool, Charlemagne would make a great fit for any Pathfinder party. To rule that cool, Charlemagne is a Duelist and a Swashbuckler, though his main class is Champion. He’s a king, but if it quacks like a paladin and has a powerful glowing sword like a paladin, it’s a paladin.

You can check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Ancestry & Background

again, we’re not doing anything surprising here, charlie’s a Human. that gives you a boost in Charisma and Constitution, as well as the skilled boost in Diplomacy for training now and expertise at level 5. you also have Natural Ambition, giving you another level 1 champion feat right away. once per day, you can give out a Desperate Prayer to your god for an extra focus point. given how many you’ll burn through smiting your enemies, this’ll literally be a godsend.

speaking of level five, at that level you get a Cooperative Nature, giving you a +4 boost to all your aid checks. you’re not a warrior, but you know like, twelve, that’ll do the job nicely. delegation’s the name of the game.

at level 9 you can give Group Aid, letting you re-use your aid for multiple people, making that boost go a lot further. you’ve got twelve paladins to help, you can’t waste a whole reaction on all of them.

at level 13 your Stubborn Persistence will help you not get fatigued mid-fight. given how big the battles you participate in are, you’ll need all the stamina you can get.

finally, at level 17 your Heroic Presence kicks in, and you can cast Zealous Conviction once a day, giving your allies a boost in power for up to ten minutes, as long as you command them well.

and of course, once again they don’t let you literally be a king in a TTRPG, so we’ll have to settle for Noble again. that gives you a boost in Charisma and Strength, as well as training in Heraldry and Society, plus the Courtly Graces skill, letting you use Society to make an impression with other nobles.

Class Levels

1. Proficiencies:

Trained: Perception, Religion, Reflex saves, Class DC, Unarmed/Simple/Martial Attacks, Unarmored/Light/Medium/Heavy Armor, Divine Spells, Athletics, Acrobatics, and as your intelligence improves Intimidation and Nature

Expert: Fortitude and Will saves

Your Key Ability is Strength, and you also gain an Ability Boost in four stats of your choosing, such as Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. If you’re going to be a Saber class servant, you’ll have to be all-around good at fighting. And if you’re going to run on the rule of cool, you’ll have to look cool doing it.

As you are a lawful good character, you’ll become a Paladin like your knights, giving you access to the Retributive Strike reaction to strike back against foes who harm your friends, as well as the Lay on Hands devotion spell to heal them afterwards. This also makes you trained in Performance, to look even better in the eyes of your loyal knights.

Finally, we’ll further improve your protective powers by giving you a Ranged Reprisal. While this means you can make a Retributive Strike with a ranged weapon, we’re picking up this feature so you can expand the range of your sword, stepping towards enemies who are just out of reach when you use your reaction.

2. At level two you’ll take a Fiendsbane Oath, helping you deal even more damage against demonic enemies at the cost of forcing you to fight them if you come across them. Your skill works against both demonic and divine enemies, but there’s only so much rebelling you can do as a paladin.

On the plus side, if you run into an unsavory divinity you can try to Glad-Hand it, allowing you to make a diplomacy check immediately to make an impression on a them. While there is a penalty to the check, you can try again at the usual time, effectively giving you advantage on your roll.

you also gain the duelist dedication, letting you quick draw your sword, drawing and attacking in a single action.

3. at third level you can welcome a Divine Ally into your blade, allowing you to add a rune of disrupting, ghost touch, returning, or shifting to it. none of these are super necessary, but ghost touch sounds cool! seriously pathfinder why do only the villains get an option that’s actually useful most of the time?

anyway, you’ve clearly got an eye for picking employees, so you’re now a Hireling Manager, making all your lackies a little bit better.

speaking of better, you’re better in Performance now, go nuts.

4. at level four you get the standard laser sword accessory, the Sun Blade devotion spell. Now you can launch a saber beam at an enemy, dealing extra damage against both evil and undead enemies, as well as on a sunlight field.

you can also make a Distracting Performance while trying to create a diversion. instead of aiding an ally who is sneaking, you can use a performance check instead of the ally rolling deception. if you follow the rule of cool, you’re naturally going to be the center of attention.

if you’d rather be the center of someone’s attention in a fight, issue them a Duelist’s Challenge as an action, turning them into your dueling partner, and you into theirs. while dueling, any attack you make with a one-handed melee weapon now deals extra damage, at the cost of dealing less damage to anyone else until your partner is defeated or flees.

5. At level five you get an Ability Boost in four stats of your choosing, like Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma. You also gain expertise with Unarmed Attacks as well as Simple and Martial Weapons, and your skill in Acrobatics improves.

6. At level six you can Smite Evil for a round, dealing extra good damage to a target of your choice. The duration of this effect extends itself by a turn every time they attack one of your allies.

You can also make a Triumphant Boast when you perform, picking a single target to compare your performance check to their Will DC. If you’ve mastered performance, this will affect up to four targets, and a legend can pick any amount of them. If your check is higher, you gain a +1 bonus to Demoralize them in the next 24 hours. Furthermore, if your charisma is 20 and you’re at least a master in Performance (both of which will be true by the end of this build), your bonus increases to +2.

You can also perform a Dueling Parry as an action, giving you a higher AC for a round. Everyone loved those fight scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean, so why wouldn’t you try to emulate them? Although Charlemagne came first, so I guess they’re emulating him?

7. At level seven your Armor Expertise does what you’d expect it to, but it also gives you the armor specialization of medium and heavy armor. Chain armor removes damage from critical hits, while Wood deals damage back at enemies who critically hit you. The other armors, Composite, Leather, Plate, and Skeletal, reduce incoming damage from piercing, bludgeoning, slashing, and precision damage, respectively. Charlemagne’s second and third ascensions are clearly wearing platemail, and I’ll be generous and assume the first ascension is wearing leather, as there’s no sort of cloth armor with a specialization.

If specialization isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps the exact opposite? With Untrained Improvisation, you can add your level to any untrained skill checks you make. Given how Charlemagne can canonically learn just about anything, I’m sure you’ll get plenty of use out of this feature.

You also learn a Weapon Specialization, which unlike the armor specialization is simply a flat damage increase for all weapons. You’re better with Athletics checks as well.

8. At eighth level you can Sense Evil as a Vague Sense, though evil creatures can attempt to disguise themselves with a Deception check.

You can also make Powerful Leaps now, as Kris had no better idea on what skill feat to give you this level. You can now jump higher and further!

Finally, you can take on the Swashbuckler Dedication, the subclass that explicitly functions on the rule of cool. You become trained in the Arcana skill. As a Gymnast swashbuckler, you gain panache by performing daring maneuvers as the GM allows, or by grappling, tripping, and shoving enemies. While you have panache, you gain a bonus to your speed, as well as any checks to Tumble Through or the three actions mentioned above.

9. At ninth level, your Champion Expertise improves your class DC and divine spells, and you can make a Divine Smite when you use your Champion’s Reaction, dealing extra lingering damage to your target. You also become a Juggernaut, making you a master of Fortitude saves and turning your successes critical. Your Lightning Reflexes also improve your Reflex saves. We’ll also improve your Diplomacy a little. I know you’re not the more kingly Charlemagne, but it never hurts to be polite.

10. at level 10 your ability boost bomps up your strength dexterity constitution and charisma! tbh it feels a lil weird to go from dnd drip feeding you more stats to pathfinder shoving them down your throat four times.

also if you wanna look really cool, you can sacrifice armor as a reaction to take less damage! this’ll break your armor, or destroy it completely if it’s already broken, but it looks so cool!

if you play your cards right you might even make a group impression. not rlly, you still gotta use your make an impression action, but now you can look good in front of four people per action instead of one!

if you really wanna look cool though, you can make sure everyone goes after you, voluntarily taking the last spot in initiative in order to get a free panache.

11. at level eleven, your alertness makes you an expert in perception, and your divine will makes you a master at critically passing will saves. you can also exalt your reaction slappies, so now everyone can get in on the fun!

i think you’re kingly enough by now to make shameless requests. it doesn’t matter how weird your request is, it won’t make people like you less! very important when you hired astolfo.

speaking of hiring, if you’re gonna drag knights around with you, you’d better brush up on your heraldry lore!

12. at level 12 your aura of faith makes all your attacks deal extra damage against evil peeps, and your friends get a boost as well on their first attack each round!

you’re pr good at physical stats, but let’s get smart. with unmistakable lore, you never critically fail on any recall knowledge check that you’re trained in! you got a lotta knights, you need to keep all those shields and stuff sorted.

finally, you can use your panache on an unbalancing finisher, spending that speed and stopping any further attacks that turn for a chance to make your target flat-footed for a round.

13. at level 13, your Armor Mastery does what you’d expect. you’re a master in armor. you’re also a master in athletics! and weapons! thanks, weapon mastery!

14. at level fourteen, your Aura of Righteousness gives you and everyone nearby resistance to evil damage. I’m like, 70% sure they don’t mean righteous as in “really cool in the 90s”, but you never know!

you can also Evangelize now. I mean you’re a paladin of something, right? if a creature disagrees with the existence of your god and you pass a diplomacy check they’ll be stupefied for a bit.

finally, you can spend an action to enter a Dueling Dance, a dueling stance that gives you a permanent version of your dueling pants- I mean parry. sorry, I was getting lost in the rhyme scheme for a second there.

15. at fifteen you get an Ability Boost in Strength, Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma. your Incredible Investiture lets you hold more magic items at once so you can stop giving all the cool ones to Astolfo, and your Greater Weapon Specialization means you deal even more damage with weapons you’re good at using. finally, bump up your Religion. I don’t think we ever actually use it for anything, but you’re a paladin, it would be embarrassing if you crit failed a check.

16. at 16 you become an Instrument of Zeal, further buffing your Retributive Strike with an extra damage die and taking away one of your target’s actions next turn.

you can make Agile Maneuvers, reducing the multi-attack penalty of your grapple, shove, and trip attacks so you’re more likely to look cool instead of stupid.

you’re also a Titan Wrestler. A lot of your fighting style is all about cool maneuvers, so being able to disarm, grapple, shove, or trip creatures up to two sizes bigger than you. and even then you can get another size in if you’re legendary in athletics.

17. congrats on being legendary in Athletics. you’re also legendary with all armors, and you’re a master with divine spells.

18 at level 18 you can finally use your Noble Phantasm by entering a Celestial Form, giving you a flying speed, darkvision, and the celestial trait.

you can also… Cloud Jump, I guess. if that flying thing doesn’t work out, you can triple the length of all your jumps.

you also learn how to Dueling Riposte- if an enemy makes a critical failure to hit you, you can react and hit them instead. given your AC, this will be a lot more useful than any reaction to actually getting hit could be.

19. at level 19 you can Rapid Mantel up ledges. yes, yes, you can fly, but if you get knocked off of something this’ll still save you a turn.

your Hero’s Defiance is a free guts as a devotion spell, healing you when you would get knocked down to 0 HP, though it doesn’t do much against disintegration. you’re also a master of performance now, so your desperate struggle to survive will look really cool.

20. for your final level, boost up your Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom. you’re now a Sacred Defender, giving you major resistances to damage by evil or chaotic creatures and preventing critical hits from them. that armor you wear is really swagalicious, and now it’s as good as it looks.

you can also make people Say That Again if someone fails to lie to/ demoralize you. now you can use your reaction to shove them for free panache, and even start combat with a special initiative check if you want.

finally, your Derring-Do makes everything you do while having panache a little cooler, giving you advantage on all checks that your panache already makes better. they really don’t give advantage out easy in this game, so take… well, advantage of it.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

With the heaviest armor you can muster plus your permanent dueling boost, you’re great at not getting hit, which is half the battle. the other half is hitting things. you’re good at that too, but not enough to get a bullet point about it.

the other other half of battle is weird bullshit, especially in Pathfinder, which really cares about positioning and battle maneuvers. with all your panache boosts you’re great at breaking enemy formations and helping all your party do even more damage.

out of a fight, you’re just plain good at everything, with buffs to all your skill checks plus any hired hands are better than they have any right to be.

Cons:

despite a couple of your skills needing intimidation to function, we didn’t really invest in that too much. idk Charlie just doesn’t strike me as being super scary. sure makes Say That Again less helpful though.

you’ve also got just. a lot going on. you have to remember stances and auras and what reaction attacks do what and who’s been tripped or shoved or insulted… nobody said it was easy being king.

you still don’t have a ton of ranged attacks. Sun Blade is awesome, but it only has three charges per short rest and it shares those with the Don’t Die Spell.

[propertyofkylar]

whos winning, King Arthur and his twelve holy knights, Charlemagne and his twelve paladins, or Jesus and his twelve apostles? They all have the power of God and anime on their side so no advantages over the others in that perspective

this is the funniest fucking ask ive ever received. Thank you

[versegm]

I am aware I seem kinda defensive of the subject but I Need You To Understand that looking up any sort of information on carolingian tales is fucking HELL aside from like. The song of roland & the furioso. I google up arthuriana I get twenty powerpoints on the key texts and their influences and what each of them contributed to the mytho. Meanwhile I'm out there fighting for my fucking life just to find the names of Charlemagne's twelve paladins. Which are more than twelve. By the way.

[tgrailwar-zero]

Oh, good idea. Even if Carolus-Tilpinus or the other proxies are skulking around, they’ll be hard pressed to hear us.

And on that note, we should probably discuss what you managed to learn, Rider. Avenger was approached a little while ago with an offer to ally with Charlemagne. Although…while Historia did mention that while it would be “appreciated” it wasn’t necessary, and they seem to have plans for the Nameless City. Conquest, presumably.

CONSTANTINE: "Right."

[ You felt 300 PPT leave your wallet from PRETENDER's fees. ]

He adjusted in his seat, clearing his throat before speaking softly, yet definitively.

CONSTANTINE: "The first important thing is that he brought the Ruler of the Theurgical Holy Grail War with her… Pope Johanna."

…JOHANNA.

She was a kind person, from what you remembered, patiently standing vigil by AVENGER's bedside and answering any questions that you had.

But the last time she saw you, you had convinced AVENGER to wrench himself free of his team due to listening to a malignant virus and led him to near destruction.

...Granted, that had been part of CASTER's scheme, but you had taken the bait rather readily. Either way, it wasn't a great look or particularly great terms to part on.

And now her base had been wiped out, the war declared 'over', and if she was in a similar situation to AVENGER and PRETENDER, she had assumed that all of her allies were gone with it.

NERO: "What's the big deal about this 'Pope'?"

The question had come rather blunt, and you could see that RIDER seemed a bit confused.

CONSTANTINE: "...The Pope is the leader of the faith."

He replied, simply.

She raised an eyebrow, not seeming impressed or entirely aware of what that exactly meant. His eyes narrowed slightly before he elaborated.

CONSTANTINE: "The leader of the Catholic faith. The Holy Church. An individual with incredible influence over Western religion, and are occasionally considered people who reached the level of sainthood. A guide for humanity to thrive against those that are unholy and unnatural."

She shrugged, sipping from her glass and gesturing for CONSTANTINE to continue. He sighed, before continuing to relay the information.

CONSTANTINE: "Anyways, if a man like Charlemagne has the backing of the papacy, even via a nebulous one like Johanna, then in his eyes… his crusade is absolute justice, and truly backed by the Lord himself. After all, the papacy had declared him the Holy Roman Emperor when he was alive, and had served to solidify and expand his claim upon Europe in addition to his own accomplishments."

NERO: "And so… this 'Pope Johanna' essentially is giving him the encouragement to expand his claim upon the Solar Cell?"

CONSTANTINE nodded, a bit tentatively.

CONSTANTINE: "…I believe so. Secondly, he's gathering support. In addition to Johanna and his four Paladins, he's managed to pull Lancer from the brink of death. Apparently, Caster was more than willing to let him die due to his zealotry leading him to support Saber over her… and it's coming back to bite her, badly."

He steepled his fingers, leaning forward slightly. The expression on his face was pensive as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

CONSTANTINE: "Pope Johanna, Vlad Tepes, Charlemagne… not to mention four of the virtuous Twelve Peers. Truly, if this is a holy crusade, then He has sent some of his strongest soldiers."

[infjtarot]

Page of Swords. Pastoral Tarot

Element: Air Sephirah: Malkuth (Kingdom), sephirah ten in Yetsirah (Formation) Golden Dawn Title: Princess of Swords, Princess of the Rushing Winds, Lotus of the Palace of Air Elemental Combination: Earth of Air Rider Physical Quality: A girl or young woman with dark brown hair and hazel or gray eyes Rider Deck Theme: Caution, wariness Renaissance Character: Ogier Earth of air suggests bringing ideas down to earth, and yet in many modern decks, based on the Rider, we see the Page on a hilltop, looking as if the wind might take him into the clouds at any moment. Clearly, the air part is stronger than the earth. He looks back over his shoulder, as does the Marseille figure, though there we see the Knave/Valet/Fante standing among grass. When we see the Marseille card, and even the very feminine Visconti, both with their swords, we may remember that fante means “foot soldier.” The knights, of course, will be on horseback. Notice, by the way, the elaborate feathered hats worn by the Visconti Page and Knight, seemingly anticipating the Golden Dawn equation of Swords=Air by some 450 years (and the Shining Tribe suit of Birds by 550). In my view of the court cards as developmental, the pages represent students, or beginners, who do not need to take action but simply appreciate the element and the suit. The Rider Page of Swords is lighter than the other Swords court cards, freer-looking, and yet he looks cautious, even wary, as he holds the heavy sword with one hand and looks back over his shoulder. The sword, remember, is an instrument of battle, and the Page may be someone preparing for a fight. If we switch directions a moment and consider that movement from king down to page, there may be a quality of post-traumatic stress here, the idea of looking nervously back, defensive, long after the danger has ended. By contrast, the Shining Tribe shows the Place of Birds as a literal bird’s-eye view. A labyrinth stretches subtly over several mountains, and the only way to see this literal big picture is to get distance, to see as the birds do. Ogier first battled Charlemagne, then became one of his twelve paladins. Thus he can symbolize the possibility of reconciliation. Ogier’s birth was attended by the fairy enchantress Morgan le Fay, who later took him to live in Avalon (with King Arthur), from where he will return when France needs him. This story brings magic into the Swords theme of intellect. Readings—Caution, wariness, looking backward, perhaps nervously. The other cards can indicate whether caution is justified. Magic, possibly an apprentice, a student of ideas, bringing ideas down to earth. Rachel Pollack

[radioactivesweet]

Vanitas no carte chapter 58 spoilers

I hope I'm not too late to the party but I was thinking about the new character, Charles

So far the other Paladins (namely Roland, Olivier and Astoldo) we've been introduced to are based on characters from the matter of France. In the legend, there are twelve Paladins who serve King Charlemagne or Charles the Great.

So I suppose he might be Charlemagne himself? Him being the first paladin seems be quite a prestigious position too, which would make sense.