[Ability] Smite

[Alitar]

Would it be possible for smite to be reviewed? It appears to discharge even without a valid target (or for no target at all) and additionally it appears to have a coded cool-down that is longer than the length of a round.
In regards to function- At present it takes up a full round to perform the smite, thus costing the paladin his attacks for that round. This makes it a liability rather than a boon in any circumstance I can imagine. It's also worth noting that it appears to miss consistently more often than the first strike in the round (perhaps it still leans on a skill check?). In canon, as I understand it, it simply affects one of the round's attacks. Could the same be applied in FK or would our code prevent it? If code prevents that, might it be possible to make the strike be an automatic critical hit? I'm not sure what we might do to adjust it but at present, as I said, it is more effective to avoid using smite in combat than it is to use it and that is not how it is meant to work.

[Aldren]

I'll bump and agree with Alitar's sentiments above. As it stands now, smite takes an entire combat round to discharge (disallowing a paladin's usual 4 attacks/round) and does such miniscule damage that I don't think I've used it more than 20 times total in my knighting career. When it is used, it's used fantastically for RP but doesn't have much utility now that rounds and initiative work differently.

If anyone else has any insight, I'd be glad to hear it. I know this is a small thing considering the small and restrictive number of paladins in-game, however I think the class needs all the help it can get as it does not benefit from the same feats available to other melee classes. Buffing this ability would not be game-breaking by any means, seeing as it only functions versus a paladin's chief enemy - those of evil alignment.

[Larethiel]

I completely agree with both statements above. Give smite some love