Main character in the 1950s Western television series Have Gun, Will Travel. Played by actor Richard Boone, his card read "Wire Paladin, San Francisco". The surface meaning was that this is how one reached Paladin to purchase his services as a gunfighter, but I recall reading in an article about the series years ago that it is also a pun. The man's first name was actually "Wire".

Please bear in mind that I have not been able to confirm this elsewhere.

The most favored knights of Charlemagne's court were called the paladins -- inmates of the palace, and the Emperor's equal companions.

The paladins in the legends and romances of Charlemagne are:

• Orlando (or Roland), son of Charlemagne's sister Bertha
• Rinaldo of Montalban, son of Charlemagne's sister Aya
• Bradamante, Rinaldo's sister, a famous warrior woman
• Namo, the Duke of Bavaria
• Salomon, the King of Brittany
• Turpin, the Archbishop, a wise and good warrior
• Astolpho of England, the handsomest man alive
• Ogier the Dane, an amazingly tough fighter
• Malagigi the Enchanter, who is sometimes mischevious
• Florismart, Orlando's friend
• Ganelon of Mayence (or Gano), the treacherous knight

Orlando Furioso by Ariosto and The Song of Roland are good sources to read about the paladins. The third volume of Bulfinch's Mythology, The Legends of Charlemagne, nicely condenses some of the stories from Orlando Furioso and other tales.

Because of Dungeons and Dragons, most people think of paladins as virtuous and good; in the legends, sure, they are Christians, fighting Saracens and evil enchanters, but their knightly honor is more important to them than religion.

They come off as gang members on an extended, no-responsibilities spree; starting a war that devastates an entire countryside of peasants is OK, even if you are just trying to rescue your beloved war horse, or prove that you are the one true knight who has the right to wear the insignia of ancient Troy.

In the world of fantasy role-playing games, a young person is sometimes called by his or her deity to a hard life of service.  The character pledges unquestioning faith, unwavering courage, and constant charity.  Thus a paladin emerges. 

The basics

A paladin is modeled on the classical Arthurian knight — chivalrous, devoted, and brave.  The paladin can be one of the more difficult characters to effectively role play and perhaps the most difficult to qualify for.  In some game systems, paladins have to be human, and in others, species/race does not matter.  Elf and dwarf paladins are common, although, in the Dungeons & Dragons system, I've always wanted to play a halfling or gnome paladin, if only for comic relief.  Several qualities make up a good paladin. They must possess a high charisma, as they must always admirable and respectable.  Being essentially fighters with a divine calling, physical strength is essential.  A paladin also needs to have wisdom or intuition since they have the potential to cast clerical, or divine, spells. More than anything else, however, a paladin must rigidly and unfailingly follow a strict moral code.  Thus the paladin is required to be aligned lawful good.  Some dungeon masters require that the paladin follow a specific deity, take vows of poverty, limit the amount of magical items they may use, or require the paladin to tithe.

Role-playing the paladin

This moral code can either be quite entertaining or quite annoying, in role-playing terms, depending on how one does it.  For instance, often a less-experienced gamer will play a paladin as if she were a naïve Judeo-Christian prude.  This sort of character moralizes and proselytizes endlessly, forbidding rogues from thieving or assassinating and fighters from executing the orc chieftain the party just captured and questioned.  I have seen more than one game session derailed because we needed to take a surviving bad guy to town to be properly adjudicated by the legitimate authorities.  On the other hand, I have seen characters play their paladins as crusaders, knights errant, champions of retribution and vengeance, and religious fanatics.  These characters all satisfy the requirement for following a strict moral code — not necessarily one most people in the real world would agree with — but are much more fun to be around in game terms.  In any case, no paladin can knowingly or willingly associate with evil characters or characters that continually and flagrantly defy his moral code.

However one chooses to play the paladin, the character's behavior must strictly conform to the strictures the dungeon master and player have agreed to.  If the character behaves cowardly, unjustly, or in anyway against the code, the DM has the ability to rob the character of his powers.  This represents the deity withdrawing her favor from the wayward warrior.  In game terms, this means the character is nothing more than a fighter.  To get these back, the paladin must atone for his transgressions in some meaningful way.  If the paladin willingly commits an evil act, the DM will probably decide that he may never become a paladin again.  In any case, it is always a life changing event for a paladin to be stripped of her powers. The change might be so traumatic that the character chooses the way of the blackguard, or anti-paladin — the quintessential black knight.  That's when the game gets really interesting.

The powers

The powers bestowed upon the paladin by virtue of her divine favor are quite impressive and more than make up for the limitations of the chivalrous lifestyle.  They vary from game system to game system, but here are some common ones.

• Foremost, the paladin has the ability to heal by laying her hands on himself or others. 
• The paladin also enjoys incredible health, being impervious to all diseases.  This divine grace also translates into better luck in avoiding misfortune, or in game terms, bonuses to saving throws.  
• Paladins have the innate ability to Detect Evil. 
• More experienced paladins gain immunity to fear effects and help bolster the courage of allies nearby.
• These paladins also gain the ability to cure diseases in others and repel or destroy the undead as if they were clerics. 
• They can also smite evil by channeling their righteous fury into a single blow against a maleficent foe. 
• Some paladins can cast clerical spells and may summon supernaturally enhanced mount.

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Incidentally, the word "paladin" is an old one. Various etymology sites I've visited agreed that the term has long been associated with the 12 Peers of Charlemagne, his most trusted and noble knights. This usage derives from Middle French paladin, meaning "a warrior." Following this to the Latin, there is palatinus meaning "palace official." I have also heard that the word has Arabic origins dating back to The Crusades.

Sources:
dictionary.com
WWWWebster
http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/p1etym.htm
and others

Paladin: The Diablo II Character Class

Paladin is one of the five Diablo II character types. He is characterized as being "noble", a traditional Paladin trait outside of Diablo II. As such, his skill tree includes many skills (mostly consisting of "auras") that benefit others in the party¹. My Paladin (Reverius) is currently at level 21, and has the Prayer aura at level 20. Of course, that results in quick mana depletion when providing a typical party of 10 or so (including NPCs) with regeneration capabilities.

Usual Equipment

The Paladin is usually equipped with certain types of items that work specifically for the Paladin by giving him Paladin skills or work exclusively for Paladins.

Weapons include scepters (usually beneficial to Paladin skills) or, on the more generic side, maces or swords. It depends whether better damage or speed is desired, or more skills. At higher levels, weapons like two-handed swords tend to be used if the Paladin is a particularly offensive one. I am currently using the Bloodrise Morning Star over the scepter I could be using... it does way more damage. The full list of Normal scepters consists of Scepter, Grand Scepter, and War Scepter types, although there is no reason why a Paladin can't use any kind of weapon.

As far as defense goes, pretty much anything works. I am using a regular helm, Hsarus' Iron Heel, regular gloves, and regular armor. The belt I'm using is a Strong Belt of Regeneration, which gives me Replenish Life +5. This complements my Prayer skill nicely. The important piece of defense as a Paladin is the shield. Paladins have specialized shields; at least in the earlier stages (Normal skill level up to Act 3), they are Targes and Rondaches. They typically provide Paladin skills, as well as resistances to magic. The Normal Paladin Shields consist of Targes, Rondaches, Heraldic Shields, Aerin Sheilds, and Crown Shields.

Skill Tree

All skills in Diablo II have a maximum of 20. One skill point can be assigned to any available skill each time a character reaches a new level. However, the maximum can sometimes be exceeded by equipping items that grant additional skill points to specific skills that have already been maxed out. The Paladin skills are grouped into the three sections below. The charts show the required level on the left, and skill prerequisites by lines connecting the skills. For instance, Cleansing requires a character level of 12 and Prayer (at least one skill point of it).

Defensive Auras

1  |    Prayer                    Resist Fire
   |       |
6  |       |        Defiance      Resist Cold
   |       |          |
12 |    Cleansing     |           Resist Lightning
   |       |      \   |
18 |       |        Vigor
   |       |          |
24 |    Meditation    |
   |                  |
30 |                Redemption    Salvation

Offensive Auras

1  |    Might  -->    \ 
   |      |            \
6  |      |              Holy Fire      Thorns
   |      |                  |             |
12 |    Blessed Aim          |             |
   |      |                  |             |
18 |    Concentration    Holy Freeze \     |
   |      |                  |        \    |
24 |      |              Holy Shock     Sanctuary
   |      |                                |
30 |    Fanaticism                      Conviction

Combat Skills

1  |    Sacrifice                         Smite
   |      |                                  |
6  |      |           Holy Bolt              |
   |      |               |                  |
12 |    Zeal              |               Charge
   |      |               |                  |
18 |    Vengeance     Blessed Hammer  \      |
   |      |               |            \     |
24 |    Conversion \      |               Holy Shield
   |                \     |
30 |                  Fist of the Heavens

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Footnotes:

1. In Diablo II, there are usually multiple characters in a party, especially on Battle.net. They fight close to each other. The auras of the Paladin affect all members of the party including other players and NPCs.
2. Prayer is one of the few auras that requires mana to function. It uses a certain amount of mana to heal a certain number of hit-points.

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Sources:

1. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/normal/paladinshields.shtml
2. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/normal/scepters.shtml
3. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/paladin-defense.shtml
4. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/paladin-offense.shtml
5. http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/skills/paladin-combat.shtml

Pal"a*din (?), n. [F., fr.It. paladino, fr. L. palatinus an officer of the palace. See Palatine.]

A knight-errant; a distinguished champion; as, the paladins of Charlemagne.

Sir W. Scott.

 

© Webster 1913.