The Paladin killed someone...what to do?

[Truth Seeker]

So...what were you ranting about again?

...and now for my daily rant about religion and politics... (what, I couldn't resist)

Just kidding Galfridus, I am looking forward to reading how this plays out for you.

 

[Galfridus]

Resolution

Okay, here's what happened!

The halfling was saved by the priest of Kord and taken into custody by the paladin and the other PCs.

I decided on several consequences for the paladin's actions:

1) The paladin had a celestial "advisor", a leonal who he (and only he) could see and/or talk to. This advisor was replaced by an inevitable with the mission of aiding the paladin in the interpretation and application of the laws of Hieroneous and the mortal realms.

2) The paladin was ordered to place the halfling on trial, with the paladin as judge. (The King's priests received a vision, and the King issued a decree granting the paladin special jurisdiction for the trial.)

Other consequence are not yet known -- spoiler text follows. Players, stay out!

[sblock]
3) All of the paladin's spells and abilities that relate to evil (Protection from Evil spells, smiting, etc.) now apply to Chaotic creatures instead. This will be a serious issue as the main campaign enemies are Lawful Evil...

4) When the paladin feels he is ready, he may seek atonement to clear the stain on his soul. The nature of that atonement is not known.
[/sblock]

The paladin acted very appropriately during this session: he confessed his actions to a high priest of Hieroneous, sought guidance, and was genuinely upset and confused over what he had done. A good RP session.

Unsurprisingly, the thought of adminstering laws was met with less than utter enthusiasm, confirming that this was a proper consequence for his actions. The paladin has a lot of work ahead of him -- but it will be fertile ground for roleplaying, and should improve rather than detract from the game.

Thanks to everyone who posted advice -- it was very helpful!

 

[Truth Seeker]

That sounds like a nice twist. Did the wife have a part in this also?

Okay, here's what happened!

The halfling was saved by the priest of Kord and taken into custody by the paladin and the other PCs.

I decided on several consequences for the paladin's actions:

1) The paladin had a celestial "advisor", a leonal who he (and only he) could see and/or talk to. This advisor was replaced by an inevitable with the mission of aiding the paladin in the interpretation and application of the laws of Hieroneous and the mortal realms.

2) The paladin was ordered to place the halfling on trial, with the paladin as judge. (The King's priests received a vision, and the King issued a decree granting the paladin special jurisdiction for the trial.)

Other consequence are not yet known -- spoiler text follows. Players, stay out!

[sblock]
3) All of the paladin's spells and abilities that relate to evil (Protection from Evil spells, smiting, etc.) now apply to Chaotic creatures instead. This will be a serious issue as the main campaign enemies are Lawful Evil...

4) When the paladin feels he is ready, he may seek atonement to clear the stain on his soul. The nature of that atonement is not known.
[/sblock]

The paladin acted very appropriately during this session: he confessed his actions to a high priest of Hieroneous, sought guidance, and was genuinely upset and confused over what he had done. A good RP session.

Unsurprisingly, the thought of adminstering laws was met with less than utter enthusiasm, confirming that this was a proper consequence for his actions. The paladin has a lot of work ahead of him -- but it will be fertile ground for roleplaying, and should improve rather than detract from the game.

Thanks to everyone who posted advice -- it was very helpful!

 

[Kahuna Burger]

The paladin acted very appropriately during this session: he confessed his actions to a high priest of Hieroneous, sought guidance, and was genuinely upset and confused over what he had done. A good RP session.

excellent! I'm glad something possitive came out of all this.

 

[Jim Hague]

Bravo! An excellent way to handle the issue. Lemons to lemonade is always the best option.

 

[FickleGM]

Nicely handled.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Exquisitly handled. Good job!

 

[tonym]

You must be a supremely skillful and charming person to believe you can make that array of humiliations palatable to a player.

I'm not the most likable fellow, but I'm nicer than that.

Good luck.


Tony M

 

[Conaill]

Sounds good. Make sure not to spring the additional consequences on the player as a surprise. It's important that he realizes this is all part of the same package. Otherwise it might feel like he's being punished twice.

 

[Demmero]

I guess I'm somewhere between the gung-ho positive replies and the flat-out negative one.

I don't see where Consequence #3 is anything but trouble down the line, but I like the way that you made the paladin the judge at the halfling's trial, giving him another chance to do "justice" upon him...but not in a moment of blind rage.