How To Play A Paladin Correctly.

An odd turn of phrase caught my attention in the worst roleplayed classes thread.

Someone said something to the extent that they had only ever seen one paladin played correctly.

So how do you play a paladin correctly? What is your version of correct for a paladin.

Like most complex topics its easier to point out what you "shouldn't" do rather than what you should do.

Firstly avoid being blood thirsty... most Paladins seemed like Frenzied Crusaders. You should be a living example to others and not a zealot barbarian. Most paladins forget that they will make the world better not only by their actions... but what they show the world.

Which leads us to the many forgotten qualities a Paladin should have:

Humility: Stop ordering people around. No "Holier than thou."
Generosiy: Donate more.... help more.
Good Will: You should be always helpful and positive in your actions
"Pure": Its about trying to remain "pure" from the daily temptations and mistakes of human life. To remember when you do fail to be really regretful.


Second... Awful/Lawful Stupid alignment should be avoided. Everyone has stories about Paladins not backing off fights or charging head on into hordes of foes. Just because you are one of the chosen holy warriors doesn't mean your diety has enough time and power to help you get out alive of every encounter. Paladins do not have a death wish... or not all of them. Your not a evil killing machine only.

Third: Balance. Anyone who seeks to be the embodiement of good should never be extreme. Your life should include discipline as well as adventure... prayer as well as fighting. Innocence as well as worldliness. Your not a living saint... just a messenger... still you need to operate in the "real" world. Clerics can be religious fanatics... you can't. Others have defects and so do you. Help them out and comprehend them... people come in many colors... not only black and white. Evil and Good. So avoid the famous "kill all evil detected" syndrome. By working with others you not only fight evil... you spread your good example and your dieties ideas.

(Last one is personal. I feel Paladins have to have a touch of innocence. Every religion puts children as an example of purity... purity comes from their innocence. Even selfish children are innocent in their desires. I feel Paladins should have this touch of innocence. My latest Paladin is very innocent... but not all have to. Only those who have this innocence can escape the temptations of power and greed. Good examples of this are Hobbits in LOTR... or Peter Sellers the Gardener character in "being there".)

read "The Deed of Paksennarion"

force of personality (ergo the Cha stat not being a dump stat). they lead by example and have a strong character. they have a personal code.

they do the right thing.

they are not matyrs for matyrs sake.

they don't run around judging others character just b/c they can. (no detect evil on every living soul)

I think you can have quite a good deal of variation between any two paladins, albeit less so than is possible between two of any class without alignment restrictions (fighters, wizards, etc.).

I've roleplayed a young idealistic paladin who would give Galahad an inferiority complex, who fit into many of the cliched ideas about paladinhood. And then I played one who was older and more cynical (almost depressive) because he was aware of the pervasiveness of evil and his inability to significantly descrease its effects on the world. At the same time, he battled evil tirelessly, fighting the good fight simply because it was the good fight. He was also a little fond of the bottle and definitely not celibate.

My point: there isn't a single "correct" way to play a paladin, even though there are a number of wrong ways.

There used to be something on the Wizards of the Coast message boards called The In-Depth Paladin Role-Play FAQ, but I can't find it now. Maybe someone with better web-fu than me can locate it?

Above all else know & adhere faithfully to the Code of Conduct. The spirit of the Code. Not just the words.

Be sure you and your DM agree ahead of time on what the elements of that Code mean. This will save you a lot of grief if the two of you disagree on the details.

If you find yourself asking how you can "interpret" an action so it fits the Code, don't do it.

For paladins IMC, I'm going to echo Rashak Mani - his views virtually mirror my concept of paladins and what I tell the players of them IMC.

Further, I remind my players that "good deeds" are what paladins revolve around, and they do *not* go out and "kill evil". In fact, if they can avoid killing it's even better. Further, the term "holy warrior" does not describe paladins IMC - while they may receive divine spells, they are almost never even connect in any way to a church - they are above religion, and while they may be good in combat, combat is always a last resort.

That IMC. YMMV.

arnwyn said:

For paladins IMC, I'm going to echo Rashak Mani - his views virtually mirror my concept of paladins and what I tell the players of them IMC.

Further, I remind my players that "good deeds" are what paladins revolve around, and they do *not* go out and "kill evil". In fact, if they can avoid killing it's even better. Further, the term "holy warrior" does not describe paladins IMC - while they may receive divine spells, they are almost never even connect in any way to a church - they are above religion, and while they may be good in combat, combat is always a last resort.

That IMC. YMMV.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say combat is a last resort... since we are playing D&D... but combat when needed is a necessary evil. My paladins loathes the results which is the bloodshed even when he knows it was correct to do so. He hasn't killed a human being yet too... thou he pities humanoids "monsters".

An exception might be a St. Cuthbert Paladin, he/she could correctly be played in the stereotypical way most Paladins are played thou... a justice machine more worried about bringing evil down...


I forgot to add to the end of my post... but here goes a good warning to Paladins and adventurers of other sorts:

"Beware ye who battles monsters lest ye become a monster yourself. When you gaze into the Abyss... the abyss gazes also into you."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Rashak Mani said:

I wouldn't say combat is a last resort... since we are playing D&D... but combat when needed is a necessary evil. My paladins loathes the results which is the bloodshed even when he knows it was correct to do so. He hasn't killed a human being yet too... thou he pities humanoids "monsters".

Click to expand...

Well, I agree with that somewhat, but some players have tried to justify that "necessary evil" argument to go smack down and kill anything that could even be remotely construed as a threat (thankfully, the last time this happened was more than a decade ago with my group).

So, I try to remind the players of paladins IMC that combat *should* be a last resort - in other words, don't try to goad people into a fight just so you can kill them and claim "self defense". Ain't happening in my game. (Of course, I should probably note that when I mention combat as a last resort, I mean lethal combat.)

Again, I'm sure other people's games vary widely from how I do things.