The paladin is one of the standard playable character classes in most editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The paladin is a holy knight, crusading in the name of good and order, and is a divine spellcaster. From 1st through 3rd edition, paladins were required to maintain the Lawful Good alignment. In addition, compared with other classes the paladin class has one of the most restrictive codes of conduct and paladin characters are expected to demonstrate and embody goodness. Failure to maintain a lawful good alignment or adhere to the code of conduct causes paladins to lose their paladin status and many of their special abilities until they are able to atone. With the introduction of the 4th edition of D&D, paladins become champions of a chosen deity instead of just righteous warriors, paladins can be of any alignment, and can no longer fall in disgrace and lose their paladinhood. Publication history Creative origins The development of the Dungeons & Dragons Paladin, first introduced in the original Greyhawk supplement, was heavily influenced by the fictional character Holger Carlson from Poul Anderson's novel Three Hearts and Three Lions, which was in turn based on the epic poetry of the . Also mentioned as a basis were the paladins of Roland, the Palatine Guard of Augustus deified, the Papal Guard of the same name, and the Christian myths of King Arthur. Dungeons & Dragons The paladin was introduced in Supplement I – Greyhawk (1975), as a subclass of fighting man. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition The paladin was one of the standard character classes available in the original Player's Handbook. The paladin was one of five subclasses presented in the original Player's Handbook. In the 1st edition of Dungeons & Dragons the paladin class had very high ability score prerequisites, and stipulated that only human characters could be paladins. Despite this, several Dragon magazine articles describe paladins of other races besides human and of other cultures besides the Western European chivalric romance notion of a true Christian knight. In the Player's Handbook, paladin appeared as a sub-class, and while a paladin was now much more powerful, paladins have to satisfy more rigorous criteria. When Unearthed Arcana was first published in 1985, the paladin class became a sub-class of the newly introduced cavalier class. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition The paladin, as part of the "warrior" group, was