Dispel Magic vs Paladin's Divine Aura

[Demiurge]

As dispel magic can affect all spells and spell-like effects in the AoE, should it have a chance to temporarily negate a paladin's DA? It sounds like it is a spell-like effect (protection from evil) so I'm thinking I'd treat the paladin as a magic item in this respect (1d4 round suppression on a successful check) and use his level as the CL.

[serleran]

Yes. Disjunction can also permanently destroy it. Or, it can in my game.

[Treebore]

It can definitely be treated that way. In my opinion it is there directly as a result of a Deific will, so it will always be there. Unless an opposing deific will removes it.

So unless you want mere mortals negating the will of gods....

[serleran]

If an artifact is the result of the "will of the Gods" then they are affected by disjunction. I have no problem with that. Dispel magic would momentarily suppress it. However, anti-magic shell or something similar would not. That seems somewhat contradictory.

Or, you could just rule it is a supernatural effect and not vulnerable to magic negation at all. It also means it takes shapechange to get the abilities bestowed.

[Treebore]

Well, that is the point, if I determine a Artifact is mortal made, Disjunction works when cast by a Mortal Caster, if I determine the Artifact is god made then it requires deific level casters for Disjunction to work.

I found this distinction to be important in real high level games.

[serleran]

Well, this is a different discussion, but I do not believe in the concept of "mortal artifacts." Mortals may create some very powerful magic, and some of it may even exceed actual artifacts, but anything classified in that range means divinity was involved. The mortal probably manufactured the vessel containing the power, but the power itself comes from the deity.

I don't find it ever matters.

[Omote]

IMO Dispel Magic would suppress a paladin's aura, but not destroy it. The power is a divine gift, and in my mind, would be very difficult to destroy.

~O

[Treebore]

Well, this is a different discussion, but I do not believe in the concept of "mortal artifacts." Mortals may create some very powerful magic, and some of it may even exceed actual artifacts, but anything classified in that range means divinity was involved. The mortal probably manufactured the vessel containing the power, but the power itself comes from the deity.

I don't find it ever matters.

Well that is why I decide if an so called "artifact" is truly an artifact that is deific made or not.

An item made by a 20th or 30th level spell caster still seems very god like to those zero and first level folks. Plus they are indeed very powerful.

So when you run a game where the players characters are getting into level 20 and above, and you have a Gods book telling you the gods themselves are only 15th, 20th, 25th level, you have to come up with something that still makes Gods something for such mortals to fear. So I divide it between mortal and deific magic. Mortals cannot save against or negate deific magic, Deities never fail to save against mortal magics, and always dispel them.

So that is why I do things the way I do, it works.

[Mark Hall]

I'd not given it thought, before. I'd probably rule that it could be suppressed, like a magic item, and that disjunction would knock it out for a day... essentially, the paladin is a magic item that the deity creates every day.

[clavis123]

I would not allow the Paladin's aura to be suppressed by Dispel Magic, or any other spell. Nothing in Creation can suppress it as long as the Paladin keeps faith. I prefer to think of the aura being more mysterious in nature than mere magic. It's something other, a puzzle with no solution. Of course, I personally like a milieu to include certain irreducible things that just are.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I say NAY. This is not the result of any kind of spell being cast on the paladin. It's a token from a patron deity for that paladin's faith and service to the faith and, in part, divine protection against the foes of said deity. It's not a mere spell that the deity came down and cast during the paladin's "swearing in" ceremony.

[Mark Hall]

But, then, we get back to divine relics, which can, depending on your reading, be disjoined by disjunction. If it works on them, why doesn't it work on Paladins?

[Go0gleplex]

Dispel or Disjunction do not work on the Paladin's ability in my world. The aura is a reflection of the paladin's pure soul magnified and enhanced by an actual portion of the deity the paladin follows. The phrase "god is in each of us" has a greater meaning to a paladin...and neither dispel or disjunction are powerful enough to negate a deity's actual "life force."