How can I get working wings for a Paladin Warforged in heroic tier?

Question

I have a level 2 Paladin Warforged, and want to give him wings.

His early life/background is Divine Companionship and he worships Pelor. His theme is Ironwrought. He is a tank build.

The DM is happy with this idea if I can find suitable items and if the ability to fly increases as he advances (i.e., only short flight bursts at first — getting better at it over time).

Is there a suitable pathway to get some kind of wings over the next few levels? I've seen some paragon paths, but not for warforged, and not for paladin.

Answer 1

I'd approach this by taking the mechanics of existing magic items and changing their flavor to match your goal.

You might have a hard time finding items that explicitly grant flight, especially at low levels but consider other movement bonuses. Any item that gives a bonus to movement speed, falling, or jumping/athletics could be flavored as your developing wings offering some benefits without being fully functional yet.

For example, as a heroic tier character you might define your wings as a level 3 Safewing Amulet (reduces falling damage) or a level 5 Cape of the Mountebank (a teleport reaction you could attribute to a brief burst from your wings). As you progress in level you might upgrade this item normally or define a progression path which swaps it out for the mechanical effects of other items. Perhaps at level 12 they become Battlestrider Greaves and at level 20 you replace them with a Ring of Flight.

Counting your wings as an existing magical item can also give your DM an easy way to keep the bonuses your "wings" offer balanced with the rest of the party.