Here's a few of my ideas, feel free to include/ignore to your heart's content. I understand you want it in the style of Paladin's Quest, but maybe you could incorporate some other elements into the map, such as these:
PUZZLES: Scatter them throughout the map. Have lots of very basic ones, or maybe one really complex one.
FREE-ROAMING: Make interactive landscapes and/or villages. Immerse the player into the story!
CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-ADVENTURE: Offer multiple ways to get from Point A to Point B.
...OR NOT: Either that, or just one painfully obvious path. I think that anything other than these extremes would confuse the player, just my opinion.
JOIN A SIDE: Are there different parties? Is there a conflict? If so, it would be interesting to be able to choose who you're rooting for and supporting.
Again, these are just suggestions. I think that any of these would make for an awesome map.
