one of the standard character classes available in the second edition Player's Handbook. The second edition Player's Handbook gives several examples of heroes throughout legend and history who could be called paladins: Roland and the 12 Peers of Charlemagne, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Sir Galahad. With the release of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition, the paladin class reverted to being tied to the fighter group. With elements of the cavalier class, it was reintroduced as a character kit in The Complete Fighter's Handbook, published in 1989, and finally got its own recognition in The Complete Paladin's Handbook, published in 1994. As in 1st edition, the paladin class had very high ability score prerequisites, and stipulated that only human characters could be paladins. Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition While there are no specific ability score requirements, a paladin character in 3rd edition is still advised to have some high scores in order to be effective. These abilities are: Strength and Constitution: As their class makeup and general honor code favor front-rank combat, Strength and Constitution are both important to Paladins in order to deal and withstand damage in melee. Charisma: Charisma is key to the Paladin's most crucial abilities: Lay on Hands (for healing) and Smite Evil (to harm malign creatures); both function relative to Charisma bonus, as does Divine Grace, which grants improved saving throws (commonly used to resist harmful magic). Turn Undead is also bolstered by Charisma. Wisdom: Though generally less critical than Charisma, a good Wisdom score is necessary in order for a Paladin to access divine spells at higher levels. Other Paladin class abilities include the ability to detect evil at will, immunity to fear and disease, the ability to cure disease, the opportunity to use "holy avenger" swords with imbued divine spells or extra damage to evil creatures, and to summon a "special mount" – usually a heavy warhorse of unusual strength and intelligence. Their spell-casting and Turn Undead abilities are similar to but weaker or more specialized than comparable cleric abilities. Typical tenets of the paladin code are as follows (though many variants exist): A paladin must be of Lawful Good alignment in 3rd edition or earlier. A Paladin may never willfully commit an evil act. A Paladin cannot associate with any character who persistently commits acts which would cause the paladin him/herself to fall – notably evil creatures. A paladin must remain