The Paladin - Laird and Protector

[ReformedCE]

Most recently I have been playing vanilla Carc with the variant "If Pigs Could Fly... We Wouldn't Have to Throw Them".  All in all its quite a bit of fun.  Watching the pig fly across the board, smashing farmers here and there has added an very satisfying combative aspect to the game.  But it got me to thinking, are pigs really the best warriors in France? NO.  What is?  It is that feudal lord, the guardian of his home and people, the Paladin, Laird, and Protector.

Each player receives a new piece, the mighty hero of old, the mounted Paladin!  The Paladin is a brave adventurer, discovering new lands; a master of diplomacy, settling disputes with grace; and a warrior, renown for his use of the siege, the lance and the sword.  He seeks a land for his people, and the defense of that land against all evil doers.

The Paladin is played as a follower same as normal followers.  However, as the laird of his land, he is worth more than the lowly city knight or peasant farmer.  He is as powerful as the Larger Follower and worth two follower points.  However, as a man of bloodshed and war, he is not permitted to occupy Cloisters or Cathedrals.

Once a Paladin is on the board, he may move about his lands upon his trusty steed.  However, he gains his sustenance from his citizens and may therefore only travel a maximum of as many days (tiles) as he has Followers in the land (on the board).  He may stop when ever he likes, but may go no further.  The Paladin only moves when no new follower is placed; clearly he doesn't have time to travel when receiving a pledge of fealty from a new subjugate.

The Paladin is a respectful neighbor, and will therefore only move through features where he has a claim.  If there are no Followers on a feature, he rightfully has a claim to it by virtue of discovering the land.  If the feature does have Followers, it must have one of his followers on the feature to pass through or stop on the feature.  New Followers must join his entourage from afar, earning trust before seeking an audience, therefore, Followers may not be placed on a feature occupied by the Paladin.

His presence on a feature at the time of completion resolves many disputes by adding his two Follower points in the contest for Follower majority.  Once the feature has been completed, the Paladin remains to enjoy his new completed conquest.

To trespassers and evil doers, the Paladin is a fearsome foe.  The Paladin has both the right and the strength as protector and law to slay any Follower, Pig, Builder, Fairy, or Dragon on the tile and feature where he stops for the night (i.e. the piece is removed from the board and returned to the player' supply).  Of course as a noble gentleman, he only exercises these rights within his own lands, those unclaimed or previously claimed features mentioned before.

The Paladin is heavily armored and is not easily slain.  His weakness is for the fair maidens in the land, alas a well placed princess tile can distract him from his duty and remove him from the game.  He may also be slain by the dastardly coward, the Musketeer.
Another Paladin is the only foe that may defeat him in honest combat.  When a Paladin stops on a feature and tile occupied by another Paladin, a duel ensues.  The Paladin owners draws 6 tiles (or evenly split the remaining tiles) and construct the highest scoring mini-map he can with the Followers remaining in his supply.  As a superior tactician, the Paladin with the most points on his 6 tile mini-map wins the duel and scores the points from the mini-map.  The other Paladin is slain in battle.  The ghost of the fallen hero must wait for the day his son may take his place (by being deployed as a Follower) and avenge his death.  The 12 tiles are then shuffled back into the remaining supply.

There you go, the Paladin Expansion!!!

Understandably, this will greatly affected the way the game is played, but it can make for a lot of fun!

What do you think?