D&D 5E Best on screen depiction of the Paladin Class

Who are your favorite paladins on screen?

  • Sir Landry (Knightfall)

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Percival (Excalibur)

    Votes: 18 23.4%
  • Lancelot (Excalibur)

    Votes: 23 29.9%
  • Saladin (Kingdom of Heaven)

    Votes: 6 7.8%
  • Van Helsing (Van Helsing)

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Solomon Kane (Solomon Kane)

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Brienne of Tarth (Got)

    Votes: 19 24.7%
  • Ser Davos the Onion Knight (GoT)

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Ser Berric Dondarrion (GoT)

    Votes: 7 9.1%
  • Kain (The Warrior and the Sorceress)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Ivanhoe)

    Votes: 7 9.1%
  • Balian (Kingdom of Heaven)

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Peter (Chronicles of Narnia)

    Votes: 8 10.4%
  • Li Mu Bai (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Captain America (MCU)

    Votes: 35 45.5%
  • Superman (DCU)

    Votes: 10 13.0%
  • The Lone Ranger (The Lone Ranger TV series)

    Votes: 5 6.5%
  • Paladin (Have Gun, will Travel)

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • The Operative (Serenity)

    Votes: 4 5.2%
  • Goliath (Gargoyles)

    Votes: 3 3.9%
  • Optimus Prime (Transformers)

    Votes: 16 20.8%
  • Arthur (King Arthur 2004)

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Anduin Lothar (Warcraft)

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Galavant (Galavant)

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Ahmed Ibn Fadlan (13th warrior)

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Thomas Marshal (Ironclad)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Inigo Montoya (Princess Bride)

    Votes: 9 11.7%

I wobbled back and forth between Lancelot and Percival in Excalibur. But I ended up going with Lancelot because he fails. He loses his paladinhood and experiences the fall from grace, then dies seeking redemption. Being a paladin isn't always easy. Certainly back in the day, it seemed like DMs were encouraged to jump on the slightest excuse to strip them of their power.

Yep. For years, that Lancelot character was the gold standard for what paladins are. Including all the angst ;)
 

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I went with Percival and the Landry guy from Knightfall (he doest do magic, but still...).

My headcanon-go-to for Paladins is, weirdly, Roland from the S.K The Dark Tower. He's clearly based on THE Roland, and in the book all gunslingers are knight (based on the knights of the round table) who have to swear an on oath to wield their gun and gain their supernatural skills. I did not see the movie though, so I'm not sure how we this appears in screen. Roland the Gunslinger. Oath of Vengeance Paladin, Vow of Enmity: The Man in Black. :P

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
 


You know, I know I included modern versions as well, but I just wouldn't feel right with Captain America, a modern representation, being the winner for a D&D paladin. It would just feel...off
And yet you included the Gargoyles cartoon. :unsure:
 


The next poll is rangers. I'm probably gonna need some help here with examples, particularly from anime. Here is what I have so far:

Atreyu (Never Ending Story)

Aragorn (Lotr)

Cyclopes (Krull)

Dar (Beastmaster)

Eric the Huntsman (Snow White and the Huntsman)

Hank (D&D cartoon)

Deedlit (Lodoss War)

Mani (Brotherhood of the Wolf)

Natty Bumppo (Last of the Mohicans)

Daniel Boone (Daniel Boone, trailblazer)

Johnathon Knox (Shoot to Kill)


Edit The last two, I feel I need to add for completionist, but I don't feel comfortable doing so. I'd rather have examples where native americans weren't whitewashed or treated badly in the films of the characters. I mean, Chingachgook was also a ranger, but his role was much smaller than Daniel Day Lewis's, and Magua was more of a fighter/assassin than a ranger. So I'm totally open for positive native American representations. Please help me out here.
 
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Daryl Dixon from the Walking Dead springs readily to mind. Heck, in recent seasons he's even got an animal companion.

Prince Humperdinck from the Princess Bride. If I recall correctly, it's even moreso in the book.

Owen from Jurassic World

The next poll is rangers. I'm probably gonna need some help here with examples, particularly from anime. Here is what I have so far:
 


I know you're saving Aragorn for the next poll, but to me he's an excellent depiction of a Paladin. A true warrior who follows a deep code of honour, resists temptation, has a commanding presence that inspires others to follow him, and is blessed with gifts of healing.
 

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