Paladin Variant Traits And Variant Aasimar Race

[Nazhkandrias]

Alright, here's the scenario - I intend to create a paladin, in case whatever party I find myself with is short a fighter or a healer (or both). But, being me, with my infernal inability to conform to the norm (that's a catchy little phrase), I have to do something differently. Nope, Core Races and Classes aren't for me. Even if it's a change as insignificant as Hill Dwarf to Mountain Dwarf, I gotta be me. So, the paladin so far -

RACE - Faded Aasimar (please contribute cooler name ideas)
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Faded Aasimar Racial Traits

- Ability Score Adjustments: +2 Wis, +2 Cha, -2 Con. (The penalty to Constitution balances the otherwise downsideless traits of an Aasimar, with the explanation that as the divine influence fades over the generations, so does some of the body's vitality. Being accustomed to divine power and having it slowly fade away is tough on Constitution, but not crippling. Faded Aasimar are simply a little more frail than Aasimar; they lose little of their wisdom or charisma. Penalizing Dexterity or Strength wouldn't make sense - Celestials aren't clumsy or weak, but their ties to another plane might have an odd effect on mortal offspring. Balanced, as far as LA is concerned, and still very well suited for a Paladin.)
- Native Outsider. (A little strange, but not a major asset. Vulnerable to anti-outsider abilities and effects, invulnerable to effects that affect only humanoids. Not a huge factor in determining LA.)
- Medium Size. (Nothing odd here!)
- 30 ft. move speed. (Again, nothing new.)
- Darkvision 60 ft. (One of the only non-diminished Aasimar traits. Great, but not major.)
- Light as a Spell-like Ability, once per day. Caster level equal to ECL. (Daylight is a little on the heavy side for determining LA, and Light is just a step below. A useful, but not gamebreaking skill, especially when usable only once per day. Simply means that if you need to see color for an hour or so, you can.)
- +1 to Listen and Spot checks. (Half those of an Aasimar, similar to the difference between Elves and Half-Elves. If you think that it would be fair to bring it up to the full +2 without incurring an LA, let me know.)
- Resistance 2 to acid, cold, and electricity. (Reduced from the high levels of the Aasimar to a reasonable level. Rarer energy types, so it's a big feature of the race, but I think it still manages to coast in with no LA.)
- Automatic Languages: Common and Celestial. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Sylvan. (Same as Aasimar, but with more emphasis on Common, and less on Celestial.)
- Favored Class: Paladin. (A perfect fit.)
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OK, the rundown for the race is this: same as the Progression class for Aasimar as seen on the Wizard's website, with two differences: Half the skill bonuses, automatic bonus to Wisdom, and a penalty to Constitution for balance. On the Wizard's web site, this race is given no LA, and the option to become a full Aasimar with one level. This is the same, save for the aforementioned differences and no option for gaining the full Aasimar traits. As such, I think it works with no LA, but I think cutting the skill bonuses might be a little harsh. So, should I keep the full bonuses, or would that raise the LA to +1?

They are not "Half-Aasimar", as that implies a split of power, rather than a gradual weakening due to a further genetic removal from the celestial in the family. Oh, and feel free to use this race if you like it - same rules apply to Faded Tieflings and the like. Penalty to Constitution, full ability adjustments, halved skill bonuses, and the rest is under the progressions article on the Wizard's site.

Now, for my main question: My Paladin will utilize a plethora of variants, most notably the Paladin of Freedom variant class (instead of immunity to fear with Aura of Courage, immunity to compulsion with Aura of Resolve, a CG alignment, slightly altered spell list, and Bluff replaces Diplomacy as a class skill. More fun to play, I'm chaotic by nature. All variants found on the Crystalkeep website, under Base Classes PDF). Also added are the Sword of Celestia ability substitution (mount replaced by free special weapon, increases in power, eventually becoming a +2 Holy Lawful [Chaotic in my case] weapon at level 20) and the Aura of Sanctity ability substitution (ability to Turn Undead replaced by Aura of Sanctity similar to Aura of Courage, except that it grants immunity to Compulsion, Instant Death, or Petrification and bonuses to saves to those nearby).

My questions are...

1. When the Sword of Celestia ability states that the Celestial Weapon becomes a +2 Holy Lawful weapon, does that imply a +2 Magical Weapon, thus giving a bonus to attack, and a Holy weapon, doing extra damage to evil creatures and has Good subtype with a +2 enhancement cost, and a Lawful (or in my case Chaotic) alignment, for purposes of overcoming damage reduction, OR... Does it imply that the weapon is Holy and Axiomatic (in my case Anarchic), thus adding a further +2 (+4 for extra traits total, + 6 overall) to the weapon's total enhancement? OR is it a miswording, and the weapon is only a +2 enhancement, along with being of Good and Lawful alignment, for purposes of damage reduction? Regardless, I'm using a spiked chain. Heck yes, high five for non-archetypal Paladin.

2. As for the Aura of Sanctity, I chose it because I don't want to limit my effectiveness to Undead. This ability gives me better overall power, but the question remains: Immunity to Death effects, or Petrification? I already have immunity to Compulsion, but I'm torn. Instant death is nice to avoid, but I have little experience with petrification. Is it as big a pain as Death effects? Which would result in better, well, results?

3. Opinion on the variant race, please. It's more or less the same as the Wizard's variant, I see no reason why it shouldn't lack an LA. Also, opinion on the skill cuts, I think that I could probably keep 'em at full without much impact.

Sorry for the verbose and long post, I've had this question in my head all day. If everything checks out, I'll give character details. You'll like him, trust me. Very unique, lots of potential for a Paladin, especially in a dungeon environment!