The Perfect Paladin

This is a thread i think everyone can get into the archtype of the holy warrior, I feel its one of the most challenging classes to play personally...similar to the knight class it has a code of honor it must follow, but unlike it's knightly counterpart these rules are unwritten and its left up to the morals of the pc and his interpretation of right and wrong... Here insues the conflict, from person to person the concepts right and wrong are very different, i mean we all know the heavy overtones of tho must not kill in cold blood, but wat about the not so obvious conflicts were the lines become blurred and difficult decisions must be made...

Im going to start it off slo with a very familiar question-

You are a paladin of insert god's/cause name here and you are in a bar, their is a ruckus in the back, some men are making alot of noise while playing cards...You detect evil only to find out that one of the men is evil...what is your next course of action?

I would first sit and observe them and the main guy in particular to see wat there true intentions are. Look at wat weapons they carry and approach the main guy and wish to speak with him outside. Once outside, let him no that he had done a misfortune deed and pronounce a fight to vanquish the evil(maybe not to the death) but to pay for the crime/s he committed and ask for forgiveness once completed.(depending on my deity)

I would order a drink and sit tight to make sure the ruckus doesn't escalate. If it does I would ask the men to quiet down or exit the bar. Obviously they are gonna come together and try to whip my ass. I smile and after I'm done mopping the floor with them, I'll pay the barkeep for any damages to the place and the debt these men owed. Drag them outside and tie them up with my unlimited supply of rope and leave the for the local guards to deal with.

Lol. That is a good way of looking at it, but wat bout the main evil guy. I'm sure after seeing his boys gettin there asses whopped, he's out.

Nah he's getting his ass beat too.

Its a loaded question.

Saying you were in a bar and a bunch of good guys were causing a rukus? What would you do? How would your actions differ?

Just because he is evil it does not mean that a crime was committed. Your duty as a Paladin is not to police who spilled a drink on who? You should not be biased to the incident unless the situation is called for.

Remember your a Paladin, God talks to you! He give you spells, healing, and armor baby.

Another comment on the first post is ethics when it comes from Culture. Yes, killing, rape, extortion are all bad acts in any good society. How about subtle stuff like etiquette?

You are a foreigner in these lands and your laws vary from these laws. The Samurai are LG, but can slay a peasant on site if I feel in any (legitimate) way he has dishonored me. That is harsh...Not in feudal Japan. In ancient (maybe even modern) Muslin society you can die for viewing the face of anothers wife. Italy, a man can legally kill his wife if cought in the act cheating.


"Culture" is a very advanced way to play your character off.

It has been my experience that there are two major schools of thought when it comes to being a Paladin, Slayer of all Evils and the Judge.

The Slayer of all Evils: The Slayer sees evil and he attacks. If there is an evil tormenting a small village he seeks it and slays it. If there is monster staring death down upon the party he square his shoulders and charges in. Unfortunately, this Paladin is the same jerk that walks into a pub but instead of taking a drink he scans the room with his Detect Evil finds a guy radiating evil and fucks him and his drinking buddies up, killing him in the process. When asked why, the answer is always "He was evil, and I'm a Paladin."

The Judge: The Judge uses his power and his role as Champion de Good to find evile and cast judgement. He tends to mete out punishment in degrees. Steal, lose a hand. Fight, get... what did Dark Shoo call it?

Nah he's getting his ass beat too.

(favorite line from this thread). The problem this Paladin faces is he is always making moral descisions that test his views of wrong and right and other's tolerance of his self-righteousness.

i think im faced with that situation now. 2 members of the party are evil and i know this. instead of killing them flat out and not know what they have done i have decided to cleanse their taint. i will find a way to do it also. just u wait lol

See that is creative role playing!

better than killing the 2 party members then getting my ass beat by the others lol

HA! Get support from the other players. Maybe we can have a little battle, those who survive will dictate the next characters that the loosers rolls up...ha.

i dont think thats a good idea. The one thing i learned is that if you are neutral your natural inclination will learn towards more evil than good unless you keep it in check. You will always look out for yourself rather than others. Now there are exceptions to this rule but mostly things will be different when it happens. As of right now i am the only force that is Outwardly good. All other people are either neutral or evil. I count the neutral people as more evil than good until the evil people do something outwardly evil to make the rest of the party rise up against them. I will bide my time until that day happens but in the meantime i will still try to find a way to cleanse the taint. Perhaps father Justin can help... lol

Funny perspective. You logic work for this group because everyone tends towards evil. also since your LG; the purest of good...everyone tends towards evil.

well it true though lol

What would you do if the entire party rose up against you, Paladin? What would they do if you made the Undecided make a choice, as the time does come in every man's/woman's life? Interesting. Are you playing today, lancelot?

yes im playing and idk if shoo told u but i need the number to pizza hut if u want me to order

“Aim above morality. Be not simply good, be good for something.”
— Henry David Thoreau

sooo after that humbling experience of dying. me being a paladin is no longer being cocky is going to be easy. i dont feel like talk junk anymore cuz idk who saw me get my ass whooped out there. im going to stay quiet and play my position in the middle and wait till there is a battle b4 i fight

A Paladins role is far from the middle; you are an extreme. Any Class that requires you to play one of the two extreme ALG's is potent. How many CE class's do you see; The Anti-Paladine?

Enjoy your guy don't always wait for the battle.

ok ok makes sense but i still have been humbled by death

Why would you have to do anything in the bar? Sure, you know he's evil, but how is he evil? They are causing a problem in the bar, but no one else seems to mind. If you over hear the bar tender saying something about him wanting them out of his bar, then that's something different. Then by all means "kick" them out. Just because something is evil doesn't mean you know why they are so. They could be evil because they extract revenge on those who do wrong in this world. Maybe they are just a little extreme. They could be evil because they are spies and are selling information to someones enemies. Of corse they could be evil because they walk around killing anything and everything they meet. But without proof or knowledge of their evil, you can't really do anything, legally anyway. Why not go undercover and follow them to find out what evil this being has committed or is committing or is going to commit? Then when you catch them in the act you can do what is needed to be done with the law on your side. Well that's just what I was wondering....

Legendary wrote:Why would you have to do anything in the bar? Sure, you know he's evil, but how is he evil? They are causing a problem in the bar, but no one else seems to mind. If you over hear the bar tender saying something about him wanting them out of his bar, then that's something different. Then by all means "kick" them out. Just because something is evil doesn't mean you know why they are so. They could be evil because they extract revenge on those who do wrong in this world. Maybe they are just a little extreme. They could be evil because they are spies and are selling information to someones enemies. Of corse they could be evil because they walk around killing anything and everything they meet. But without proof or knowledge of their evil, you can't really do anything, legally anyway. Why not go undercover and follow them to find out what evil this being has committed or is committing or is going to commit? Then when you catch them in the act you can do what is needed to be done with the law on your side. Well that's just what I was wondering....

HOLY SHIT! Who is this Legendary guy and why doen't he roleplay his SINGLE class Paladin this way. I think the party could have used such an exemplar...

thats the best answer i have heard in this topic

You know I could role play my paladins in this fashion and it would be extremely easy to do, but then where is the fun of watching you go nuts at how I could've done this or that? It's the same as how you love to start my characters with none of their gear...Why am I always in a loincloth? Why cant I be fully clothed in tattered clothing? This is why my characters are always so upset when I first start to play them. It's hard to be happy and play well with others when there's always a draft shrinking my balls....